GOD'S FIRST

COMMANDMENT: BELIEV
E ME!
When God created Adam and Eve (the
first parents of the human race), He
placed them in the Garden of Eden. In
that garden there was a special tree that
God had created; the 'Tree of the
Knowledge of Right and Wrong'. God
summed up the entire issue of morality
by giving Adam and Eve one
commandment to live by:
Of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day
that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
Genesis 2:17
GOD'S COMMANDMENT WAS SIMPLE:
There was only one Law, not many.

GOD'S COMMANDMENT WAS EASY: It

was a commandment not to do
something. No effort was required.

GOD'S COMMANDMENT WAS CLEAR:

God was indicating that righteousness
cannot be achieved through learning the
difference between right and wrong. To
learn right from wrong would be a sin
worthy of death. The way of
righteousness would be to
simply believe God; taking Him at His
word and obeying His commandment
concerning the forbidden fruit.
Throughout the Bible 'believing God' is
also referred to as 'faith in God'.
FAITH =
ACKNOWLEDGING GOD
God presented a perfectly logical idea to
Adam and Eve; that a knowledge of right
and wrong would enable them to
achieve righteousness. It makes sense,
doesn't it? How can a person do what is
right if he does not know the difference
between right and wrong? And God
knows the difference between right and
wrong, doesn't He? And look at how
holy God is! But God told Adam and Eve
that learning right and wrong would be a
sin worthy of death. He asked them to
ignore 'logic' and take Him at His word;
to simply trust Him.
Why would God do that? Why would He
command Adam and Eve to act contrary
to their own intelligence? Because
God's commandment represented the
question of whether or not Adam and
Eve would acknowledge Him, and His
infinitely greater wisdom as the Creator
of the universe. Adam and Eve were
being asked to acknowledge the
profound difference between God and
ourselves; that the smartest of human
beings are mere children in comparison
to the One who created us. They were
being asked to acknowledge that, no
matter what might seem to make sense
to us, if God says something different,
then we are always smarter to trust Him
rather than anything or anyone else.
Adam and Eve's choice was simple;
when challenged with the most
important decisions of life, would they
lean upon their own understanding, or
would they acknowledge God's glory
and depend upon Him? In both the Old
Testament and the New, God's
relationship with mankind is frequently
compared to that between sheep and a
shepherd. God wants us to acknowledge
that in comparison to Him, we as human
beings truly are 'sheep'. We need the
guidance and protection of our Divine
Shepherd. Sheep who wander off often
come to tragic ends; those who stay
close to their master enjoy safety.
Man does not live by bread only, but by
every word that proceeds out of the
mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4
Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He
who has made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people, and the sheep of His
pasture.
Psalm 100:3
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and
lean not unto your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and
He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, says the
Lord. For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
For you were as sheep going astray; but
are now returned unto the Shepherd and
Bishop of your souls.
1 Peter 2:25
I would ask my reader to bear with a
personal story. Many years ago I was a
public employee, working for my local
county road commission. Some of the
men who worked there had other
careers on the side, doing construction
and other things after work. Sometimes
my co-workers would laughingly tease
each other, saying 'Man, if I had your
money, I would burn mine!' In other
words they were saying that the other
guy was so rich that, if they could have
his money, they would throw their own
money away.
Although this idea is silly, but it conveys
the point that I am trying to make here.
God's wisdom is so much greater than
ours, that if confronted with a choice
between His wisdom or ours, every one
of us would be well-advised to take His
and 'burn' our own. This is what the
forbidden Tree in Eden represented; the
question of whether or not we would
acknowledge God, and how much wiser
He is than we are. When God's wisdom
is properly appreciated, it can rightly be
said that it is He alonewho really has any
wisdom at all:
Now unto the King eternal, immortal,
invisible, to God who alone is wise, be
honor and glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
1 Timothy 1:17
To the only wise God our Savior, be
glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and for ever. Amen.
Jude 1:25
It was not that God wanted mankind to
be ignorant. He did not forbid Adam and
Eve to build computers, split the atom or
map human DNA. In fact, God
commanded Adam and Eve to subdue
the earth and rule over it. God loves
human intelligence, industry and
creativity. It was He who made us this
way, and put these traits within us.
It is true that many professing Christians
give people the impression that
Christianity is a religion of ignorance
and superstition, but this is not true.
God does, however, require us to
acknowledge that ultimately, when
confronted with a choice between
knowledge or simply believing Him, the
truly intelligent person will always trust
God above all else.
FAITH = OBEYING THE
LAW
Roughly 3500 years ago, long after the
days of Adam and Eve, God gave 10
commandments to the world through the
prophet Moses (Exodus chapter 20).
These 10 commandments sum up God's
moral requirements; what we must do if
we would be blessed by Him and receive
eternal life. These commandments are
sometimes referred to as the 'Decalogue'
(10 sayings).
The 10 commandments are divided into
two sections. The first five address the
'vertical' relationship between ourselves
and God (and our parents).

MOSES' FIRST FIVE COMMANDMENTS

LOVE GOD
The second five address our 'horizontal'
relationships with our fellow man.

MOSES' SECOND FIVE

COMMANDMENTS
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
When God gave His one commandment
to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,
it represented the first five of the 10
commandments:
You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your might.
Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37
The forbidden fruit represented the
question of whether or not Adam and
Eve were willing to acknowledge and
give glory to God. It represented the
question of whether or not they were
willing to recognize:
1) The infinite wisdom of God.
2) The righteousness and
trustworthiness of God.
3) The goodness, kindness and love of
God.
4) The infinite power of God.
WHAT WAS GOD'S PLAN?
OK, so faith is a right attitude toward
God, and a summation of the first five of
Moses' 10 commandments. But what
about Adam's everyday relationships
with other people? How would Adam
obey God's commandment to love his
fellow man?
God's plan was simple. As Adam fulfilled
the 'primary righteousness' of believing
God, God was going to enter Adam's
body through the Holy Spirit and live
inside him. The love, kindness,
goodness and compassion of God
Himself would flow out of Adam's heart.
If Adam was willing to acknowledge and
glorify God, God's intention was to
share His glory with Adam.
This is still God's plan today. God wants
to share His own nature with us. He
wants us to truly know what it is like to
be God.
"Not by might, nor by power, but by My
Spirit" says the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 4:6
There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus has made me free from the
law of sin and death. For what the Law
could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh, God did by sending his own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
for sin; He condemned sin in the
flesh, that the righteousness of the Law
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4
For as many as are led by the Spirit of
God, they are sons of God.
Romans 8:14
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-
control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Wherefore, my beloved, as you have
always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my
absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling; for it is God who
works in you both to will and to do of His
good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12-13
To whom God would make known what
are the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles: which
is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27
Whereby are given unto us exceeding
great and precious promises: that by
these you might be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through
lust.
2 Peter 1:4
Righteousness belongs to God alone. It
is a supernatural trait. For instance, the
ability to love our enemies is
supernatural; we are not capable of it.
But we can experience this divine
righteousness if we are willing to
provide the 'primary' righteousness of
believing and obeying our Creator.
LOVE FOR GOD MUST
COME FIRST
A proper attitude toward God is the
foundation of all other righteousness.
When our hearts are right toward Him,
they are 'tuned' to relate properly with
our fellow man as well. It is impossible
to love our fellow man if we do not love
God first. The logic of this is
straightforward.
Suppose a thief commits murder during
a bank robbery, killing a bank employee.
Do you suppose that he will be
concerned about running stop signs
during his getaway? Of course not. If he
has committed the greater crime, he will
have no regard for lesser laws. The
same thing applies to mankind. If we are
willing to despise our Creator and even
to declare war against Him, how can we
love lesser beings who are mere
creations? It is impossible to truly value
a human being, if we are unwilling to
value God.
The apostle Paul explained how all of
man's wickedness toward our fellow
man flows out of our first and greater
crime of disrespect for God:
And even as they did not like to retain
God in their knowledge, God gave them
over to a debased mind, to do those
things which are not fitting. Being filled
with all unrighteousness, sexual
immorality, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit and evil-mindedness. They
are whisperers, backbiters, haters of
God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors
of evil things, disobedient to parents,
undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving,
unforgiving, unmerciful. Who, knowing
the righteous judgment of God, that
those who practice such things are
deserving of death, not only do the same
but also approve of those who practice
them.
Romans 1:28-32
King David also recognized this
connection between how we view God,
and how we treat our fellow man,
confessing that his adultery and murder
had their roots in his opposition to God:
Against You (God), You only, have I
sinned and done this evil in Your sight.
Psalm 51:4
This connection, between faith in God
and obedience to God's entire Law, is
seen in God's two-part description of
Abraham's character. First God
acknowledged the righteousness of
Abraham's faith, and then acknowledged
Abraham's fulfillment of His other laws:
Abraham believed in the Lord, and He
counted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:6
Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My
charge, My commandments, My statutes
and My laws.
Genesis 26:5
To believe God is to be pure in heart.
When we repent of our unwillingness to
acknowledge and glorify our Creator,
forgiveness and reconciliation with Him
become possible for us through His
grace. The Lord Jesus referred to this in
His sermon on the mount:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God.
Matthew 5:8
The apostle Peter also pointed to the
'heart-purifying' nature of faith. In
explaining to his fellow Jews why he
declared the gospel of Jesus Christ to
'unclean Gentiles', Peter said...
So God, who knows the heart,
acknowledged them (the Gentiles) by
giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He
did to us (Jews); and made no
distinction between us and
them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Acts 15:8-9
Faith (believing God) represents
obedience to the first and greatest
commandment. And where genuine faith
is found, love for our fellow man and
fulfillment of the rest of God's
commandments will be certain to follow.
This connection between faith and love
is also found in the book of Revelation,
where believing the Gospel and keeping
God's commandments go hand in hand:
And the dragon (Satan) was angry with
the woman (Israel), and went to make
war with the remnant of her seed
(Christians), which keep the
commandments of God and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12:17
Here is the patience of the saints: here
are they that keep the commandments of
God and the faith of Jesus.
Revelation 14:12
FAITH WITHOUT LOVE -
LOVE WITHOUT FAITH
Many who call themselves Christians are
devoid of love for their fellow man.
Because of their hypocrisy, others have
come to despise Christianity. But the
fact that there are Christian hypocrites
does not nullify Christianity itself. God's
coming judgment has been described
clearly, and He has said throughout the
Bible (in both the Old Testament and the
New) that all men (including those who
have experienced His forgiveness and
saving grace) will be judged according
to their deeds and reap what they have
sown (for a further discussion of the fact
that Christians must continue in
obedience to God, see my web page
titled The Necessity of Christian
Perseverance).
The apostle Paul wrote about the
connection between faith in God and
love for man, declaring that faith without
love is useless, and teaching that
whenever genuine faith is present, the
trait of love for our neighbor will also be
found:
And though I have the gift of prophecy,
and understand all mysteries, and have
all knowledge, and though I might have
all faith, so that I could remove
mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:2
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision
avails anything, nor uncircumcision, but
faith which works by love.
Galatians 5:6
But the Bible also talks about 'love
without faith'. The fact that God requires
us to love our fellow man does not mean
that everyone who 'loves' will be
accepted by Him. Today many people
proclaim that 'It's not religion, but love
that matters'. There is a growing
worldwide consensus that says 'If we
love our neighbor as ourselves, then it
does not matter which God we believe
in. If a Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim loves
his neighbor, then he will be justified by
God as surely as any Christian will be'.
But the first commandment is that we
must love the one, true, living God.
There is only one such God, and He has
fully revealed Himself to the world
through His creation, through His word,
through the human conscience, and
through His Son, Jesus Christ. If we will
not acknowledge and honor this God,
then it is impossible for us to truly love
our neighbor. All talk of loving our
neighbor while we promote 'religious
tolerance' is simply masked hatred for
God. Yes, Christians must be tolerant.
But to claim that one person's religion is
as valid is another's is rebellion against
God. The Book of Proverbs warns about
the foolishness of believing that by
loving our neighbor, joining 'hand in
hand', we can escape the judgment of
God:
Though hand join in hand, the wicked
shall not be unpunished: but the seed of
the righteous shall be delivered.
Proverbs 11:21
Every one that is proud in heart is an
abomination to the Lord. Though hand
join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
Proverbs 16:5

THE LOGIC OF
DISOBEDIENCE
There was a serpent in Eden who
contradicted God, challenging Eve about
what she should believe:
And the serpent said unto the woman
'You shall not surely die. For God knows
that in the day you eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and you shall be
as gods, knowing good and evil.'
 Genesis 3:4-5
In effect the serpent was saying 'God
knows right from wrong, and He is
righteous. If you learn right from wrong,
you will be like God, and be able to
achieve the same results that He has
achieved!'
Adam and Eve were confronted with
a life and death decision about whom to
believe. God had said 'You shall surely
die!', and the serpent said 'You
shall notsurely die!'. Because God had
placed a strong survival instinct within
Adam and Eve, and they faced a 'life and
death' choice, they would have to be
completely convinced about the wisdom
of their choice. Despite God's warning of
death, Adam and Eve believed the
serpent instead of Him. They disobeyed
God and ate the forbidden Fruit.
What convinced them that they would
not die? They believed that the Fruit
would give them two kinds of power:
1) The power to produce their own
righteousness.
2) The power to tempt others, preventing
them from being more righteous.
Adam and Eve believed that God would
not be able to condemn them because
they would be able to achieve a degree
of morality, while at the same time
preventing anybody else from achieving
a morality greater than their own
(through faith). They believed that they
would be able to compel God to
compromise on the subject of morality.
Instead of righteousness being defined
by God, it would become 'a relative
thing', defined through a confrontation
between God and man. Instead of man
meeting God on His terms, God would
have to meet men on their terms.
The serpent told Eve that by eating the
forbidden fruit, she would become like
God. It was the blackest lie ever told. By
disobeying Him, Adam and Eve became
as different from God as it is possible to
become.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, a
spirit that the Bible calls 'Sin' entered
and possessed their bodies. This evil
spirit is the counterpart to the Holy Spirit
on God's side of the struggle between
good and evil. If Adam and Eve had
chosen to believe God, they would have
been giving themselves to the Spirit of
God to be indwelt by Him. In learning the
difference between right and wrong,
Adam and Eve were giving themselves
to the spirit of Sin. They became the
property (slaves) of Sin, and indwelt by
evil in its most potent form.
THE WORKS OF THE LAW
Adam and Eve's belief, that they would
be able to use a knowledge of right and
wrong to achieve morality, is seen
throughout the Bible. God describes
such efforts as 'the works of the Law'
(Romans 3:28, Galatians 2:16, 3:1-14).
Adam and Eve are a perfect example of
this. When they discovered that they
were naked, they tried to deal with the
moral issue of human sexuality by
making clothes out of leaves. But their
efforts at self-righteousness exposed
their disobedience, and God condemned
them.
The Bible describes our self-
righteousness, and our efforts to cover
our moral nakedness, in simple terms:
There is a way which seems right unto a
man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death.
Proverbs 14:12
But we are all as an unclean thing, and
all our righteousness is as filthy rags.
Isaiah 64:6
Before becoming a Christian, the apostle
Paul followed this same path. His
mistake was typical of many of the
Jewish people, who believed that a
knowledge of the Law of Moses would
enable them to achieve righteousness
(see my web page titled Testing
Christianity for an explanation of why
God gave the 10 commandments to the
world). Paul wrote the following words
about his mistake, and what he learned:
What shall we say then? That the
Gentiles, which followed not after
righteousness, have attained to
righteousness, even the righteousness
which is of faith. But Israel, which
followed after the Law of righteousness,
has not attained to the Law of
righteousness. Why? Because they
sought it not by faith, but as it were
by the works of the Law. For they
stumbled at that stumbling stone; As it
is written "Behold, I lay in Zion a
stumbling stone and rock of offense:
and whosoever believes on Him shall
not be ashamed".
Romans 9:30-33 (Isaiah 8:14, 28:16)
Today our world is still characterized by
many people who want to 'do the right
thing'. Some want to restore the earth
and its environment. Others strive to
erase the economic disparity between
rich and poor. Some seek world peace
through international unity, while others
reject such unity, believing that
'righteous' nations must impose their
will upon evil nations through economic
and military power. Some people
support 'liberal' causes and agendas,
and some embrace 'conservative' ones.
And many churches and professing
Christians have joined these efforts to
achieve 'practical good'.
Although these various groups often
oppose each other and argue about how
things should be done, they all have one
thing in common: they trust their
knowledge of right and wrong more than
they trust God. They are like the
Israelites over 3000 years ago:
In those days there was no king in Israel,
but every man did what was right in his
own eyes.
Judges 17:6, 21:5
Ultimately these efforts to put the world
'right' will lead to its destruction,
because those who trust in their
knowledge of right and wrong will
inevitably find themselves doing the
exact opposite of what they desire
(see Testing Christianity).
The Bible's first question is 'Must we
keep the Law?', and the answer is a
definite 'Yes!'. The self-righteous person
is right about this. But we must go
beyond the first question to answer the
Bible's second question, 'How can we
keep the Law?' The answer to that
question is 'Through faith in Jesus
Christ'.
In past years it was common to see
people wearing necklaces and bracelets
saying 'WWJD' (What Would Jesus Do?),
the idea being that Christianity is a
matter of figuring out what Jesus would
do in any given situation, and then doing
that. In reality this concept is Adam and
Eve's disobedience masquerading as
Christianity, because the person who
does this is simply using his knowledge
of right and wrong to determine what he
thinks Jesus would do. Christianity is
not figuring out what Jesus would do,
but believing God and allowing Jesus to
live and work within us so that He does
what He wants to do, often without us
being aware of it.
The path of faith is defined by what God
can do. But when a person ignores
God's glory and decides to rely upon
himself, he is seeking to glorify himself.
This is why the Bible describes pride as
one of the primary traits of the wicked:
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,
and the haughtiness of men shall be
bowed down, and the Lord alone shall
be exalted in that day. For the day of the
Lord of hosts shall be upon every one
that is proud and lofty, and upon every
one that is lifted up; and he shall be
brought low.
Isaiah 2:11-12
"For behold, the day comes that shall
burn as an oven. And all the proud, yes,
and all that do wickedly shall be stubble.
And the day that comes shall burn them
up" says the Lord of hosts, "that it shall
leave them neither root nor branch."
Malachi 4:1
God resists the proud, and gives grace
to the humble.
1 Peter 5:5
DECLARING WAR
AGAINST GOD
In choosing to rely on their own
righteousness, Adam and Eve also had
to make sure that nobody else would
become more righteous than
themselves. They would have to tempt
others to sin, in order to insure their
own moral superiority and survival. This
willingness to promote evil was a
betrayal of God, and a declaration of war
against Him. It was a decision by Adam
and Eve to give themselves completely
to evil, as the means of insuring that
nobody else's righteousness would
excel their own.
God has given us a picture of this
betrayal in the relationship between
Samson and Delilah (Judges chapter
16). Samson shared the secret of his
strength with Delilah as a token of love
and trust between them, but Delilah
betrayed Samson for money. God also
revealed the secret of His strength to
Adam and Eve, and they betrayed Him
for all that money can buy.
When Adam and Eve learned right from
wrong, they were binding God and
forcing Him to serve them, just as
Samson was bound and forced to serve
the Philistines. How could this be?
Because God is obligated to judge and
condemn sin. By obtaining the power to
tempt people and lead them into sin,
Adam and Eve were compelling God to
oppose Himself; forcing Him to destroy
human beings whom He loves and
wants to bless. This is why the Lord
Jesus saved His strongest warnings for
those who lead others astray (Matthew
18:6, 23:13, Romans 14:21, 2 Corinthians
11:29, Revelation 2:14).
In a previous section of this web page
titled 'Love For God Must Come First', I
have pointed out that it is impossible to
love our fellow man if we are unwilling to
love our Creator. If we are unwilling to
respect the Greater, we cannot respect
the lesser. But in this section we see
that not only did Adam and Eve render
themselves incapable of loving their
fellow man, but they actually had to
commit themselves to the destruction of
their fellow man, if necessary, in order to
win their moral battle against God. Their
deceitful choice to deny everything that
they knew about God required a
simultaneous commitment to the
promotion of wickedness in others. The
prophet Jeremiah has described this
duality of deceitfulness and evil:
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked: who can know
it?
Jeremiah 17:9
At the cross the Lord Jesus gave His
own life, just like Samson did, in order to
'knock the pillars out from beneath
Satan's kingdom'. After having
overcome every trial and temptation that
could be thrown at Him, Jesus gave
Himself as a perfect, spotless sacrifice
in order to bring Satan down. Through
His death Jesus has conquered the
devil, while making escape possible for
all of us who have lived in Satan's
kingdom of lies, fear and death.
Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, He also
Himself likewise took part in the same;
that through death He might destroy him
that had the power of death; that is, the
devil. And deliver them who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage.
Hebrews 2:14-15
God now calls each one of us to choose
whether we will continue in our
rebellion, or repent and take advantage
of the mercy that His 'Samson', the Lord
Jesus Christ, has made possible
through His cross.
THE 'MORE' TREE
Why did Adam and Eve disobey God in
the first place? What was the motivation
that prompted them to disobey God?
The Bible tells us that the Fruit was
attractive in three ways:
And when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, and that it
was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to
be desired to make one wise, she took of
the fruit and did eat, and gave also to
her husband with her, and he did eat.
Genesis 3:6
The Fruit was attractive to Adam and
Eve because
1) It was beautiful to look at.
2) It was a tasty and brought physical
pleasure.
3) Its knowledge would exalt them,
raising them to God's level of wisdom.
The forbidden Fruit was the one
beautiful thing, the one sensual pleasure
and the one degree of glory that Adam
and Eve were not allowed to have. But to
Adam and Eve the forbidden Tree
represented much more than just the
Fruit itself. Because of the knowledge it
contained, the Fruit represented the
possibility of an unrestrained pursuit
of unlimited pleasure and self-
glorification, without any fear of God's
judgment.
Although God had created them and
given them life, had given them a
relationship with Himself, had given
them authority over a magnificent
planet, had given them marriage and the
prospect of raising children, and had set
before them the possibility of eternal life
as well, this was not enough for Adam
and Eve. They wanted more.
The Bible refers to such over-the-top,
unrestrained desire
as greed, lust or covetousness. The
apostle Peter attributed all of the moral
corruption in the world to lust, and the
apostle John set forth the clear
distinction between loving God and
loving the things of this world:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding
great and precious promises: that by
these you might be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through
lust.
2 Peter 1:4
Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world, the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the Father, but
is of the world. And the world is passing
away, and the lust thereof: but he that
does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15-17
Why does John say that it is impossible
to love the world, and to love God at the
same time? Because that was the choice
that originally confronted Adam and
Eve; a choice between a close and
personal relationship with the Creator,
or the pleasures and self-glorification
that might be obtainable in the created
world. They desired the creation rather
than the Creator. Instead of worshiping
the living God, they chose to direct their
admiration toward created things. This
is why Paul equated covetousness with
idolatry (the worship of created idols):
Mortify therefore your members which
are upon the earth; fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
concupiscence, and covetousness
which is idolatry.
2 Colossians 3:5
It is interesting to observe that when the
Lord Jesus was tempted by Satan in the
wilderness, He also was tested around
these same three aspects of desire
(Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-12). First, after
having fasted for 40 days, Jesus was
tempted to satisfy His physical
desires (His hunger) by turning stones
into bread. Secondly, Satan took Jesus
up to a high mountain so that He could
see the visual splendor of all of the
kingdoms of the world. Jesus could
have had all of the fine cars, corporate
jets, palaces, jewelry and beautiful
women that He might have wanted; but
He refused it.
Lastly, Satan took the Lord Jesus up to
the highest point of the Temple in
Jerusalem. He then challenged Jesus
to glorify Himself as the Son of God by
casting Himself down and letting angels
protect Him. Such a demonstration of
His divinity would have been most
appropriate in that Holy place. But rather
than claim what was rightfully His in any
of these situations, Jesus chose to
humble Himself and put His identity as a
servant above His identity as God.
Let that mind be in you which was also
in Christ Jesus. Who, being in the form
of God (in heaven above) did not
consider it a thing to be clung to, to be
equal with God. But He made Himself of
no reputation, taking on the form of a
servant, and came (to earth) in the
likeness of men. And being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled
Himself and became obedient unto
death; even the death of the cross.
Therefore God also has highly exalted
Him and given Him a name which is
above every other name. That at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow;
of those in heaven and those on earth,
and of those under the earth. And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
THE LIMITATIONS OF THE
LAW
In this web page I have explained the
two paths to achieving righteousness
that are presented in the Bible:
1) The path of believing God.
2) The path of 'the works of the Law'.
One path acknowledges the abilities of
God, and what is possible through Him.
The other path looks to what we can
accomplish independently through a
knowledge of right and wrong. But a
problem arises for the person who
pursues righteousness through 'the
works of the Law'. This is because he
has closed himself into the Law as his
only resource. He has rejected the
abilities of God and has put himself
'under the Law', with all of its limitations.
Therefore when he breaks the Law, there
is only one thing that the Law can do:
rightly and justly condemn him to death.
The apostle Paul described this
distinction, between what is possible
through the Law, and what is possible
through faith in a gracious God:
For the promise that he should be the
heir of the world, was not made to
Abraham or to his seed through the Law,
but through the righteousness of faith.
For if they which are of the Law be heirs,
faith is made void and the promise made
of no effect; because the Law works
wrath. For where no Law is (as the
means of achieving righteousness),
there is no transgression. Therefore it is
of faith, that it might be by grace; to the
end the promise might be sure to all the
seed.
Romans 4:13-16
One of the most important messages of
this entire web site is the Biblical claim
that when Adam sinned in Eden, every
member of the human race was
consciously present within him,
individually and independently choosing
to commit the same sin that Adam was
committing:
For by one man (Adam) sin came into
the world, and death through sin. And so
death passed upon all men, because all
sinned.
Romans 5:12
I will not discuss our connection with
Adam any further in this web page,
except to say that all mankind was in a
'Trinitarian Union' with Adam. Just as
the three eternal Persons of the Trinity
(Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are one
God, so also the many persons of the
human race were one man in Eden. I
have written more about this Trinitarian
Union in the other pages of this web
site.
Here I simply wish to point out that,
inherent in Paul's words is the
conclusion that, in Eden, we all rejected
the divine moral glory that God
originally intended for us. This is the
point that Paul makes in the following
verse; that we have all come short of
God's original intention for us:
But now the righteousness of God
without the Law is manifested, being
witnessed by the Law and the prophets.
Even the righteousness of God which is
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and
upon all them that believe. For there is
no difference: for all have
sinned and come short of the glory of
God. Being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus.
Romans 3:21-24
It is impossible for a condemned sinner
to provide an atonement for his sins, or
a fresh start in his life. This is something
that only God can accomplish. This is
why the Bible says that salvation
belongs to God:
And the Lord passed by before Moses
and proclaimed "The Lord, the Lord
God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, and Who will by
no means clear the guilty.
Exodus 34:6-7
After this I beheld and, lo, a great
multitude which no man could number,
of all nations and kindreds and people
and tongues. They stood before the
throne and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes and with palms in their
hands. And they cried with a loud voice,
saying "Salvation belongs to our
God Who sits upon the throne, and unto
the Lamb".
Revelation 7:9-10
Entrance into God's salvation simply
requires that the sinner reverse his
original decision in Eden (to not believe
God, but rather to trust in a knowledge
of right and wrong):
Therefore leaving the (first) principles of
the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to
perfection (maturity). Not laying again
the foundation of repentance from dead
works, and of faith toward God.
Hebrews 6:1
So then they which be of faith are
blessed with faithful Abraham. For as
many as are of the works of the Law are
under the curse: for it is written "Cursed
is every one that continues not in all
things which are written in the book of
the Law to do them. But that no man is
justified by the Law in the sight of God
is evident: "For the just shall live by
faith". And the Law is not of faith, but
"the man that does them shall live in
them". Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the Law, being made a curse for
us. For it is written "Cursed is every one
that hangs on a tree", that the blessing
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
through Jesus Christ; that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith.
Galatians 3:9-14
WHAT DID THE
FORBIDDEN TREE LOOK
LIKE?
The story of Adam and Eve has been the
object of ridicule for centuries, and
never more so than at the present time.
Adam and Eve have been so caricatured
both by Christians and non-Christians,
and there have been so many cartoons
and humorous advertisements
lampooning the Garden of Eden that
now, in our post-modern era, the story is
considered 'dead on arrival'. Strangely
enough, however, a replica of Eden's
forbidden tree has become known
worldwide as the second most-
recognized symbol of Christianity (after
the cross). It is the Christmas tree.
Every year people erect trees in their
homes and businesses that incorporate
everything that the original forbidden
tree represented. First they make this
tree (and the other decorations and gifts
associated with it) a feast for the eyes.
Secondly, they incorporate many
physical pleasures in their 'worship of
the tree'. They focus primarily on food
and sweets. But some add alcohol, sex
and even drugs to the mix. Thirdly, the
gift exchange associated with this tree
gives people the opportunity to boost
one another's egos. Whether a gift says
that the receiver is important, or that the
giver is thoughtful and generous, every
gift serves to bolster somebody's self-
esteem.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying
beautiful things, physical pleasures and
the love and respect of others. These
things are all God-given, and good if
properly enjoyed. But Jesus Christ came
into the world because we allowed these
pleasures to interfere in our relationship
with God. In partaking of the forbidden
Tree, Adam and Eve set things in motion
that would eventually require the death
of the Son of God in order to make our
forgiveness possible.
To observe the birth of the Savior by
erecting a tree that duplicates mankind's
first rebellion against God, represents a
profound ignorance of Christianity at
best, and at worst a direct insult to God.
The fact that today's Christians are
oblivious to this parallel says a lot about
where Christianity is today. Christians
need to consider the words of the
apostle Paul:
And be not conformed to this world: but
be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that you may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect will of
God.
Romans 12:2
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the
Christmas tree is that children are
taught to be covetous. The message that
Jesus was born to atone for our greed,
lust and pride is nullified. Many families
sing carols and read Bibles around the
tree. But what is a child more likely to
value; verses and carols, or lights,
candy and presents? Later in life, when
some of these same children are
confronted with the real claims of
Christianity, they view the message as
'unbiblical' because it isn't the pleasure-
oriented Christianity that they grew up
with.
GOD'S SECOND TREE
God has now placed a second special
Tree in the world. He has commanded all
people to believe Him and eat its Fruit if
they want forgiveness and the ability to
experience God's righteousness. That
Tree is the Cross of Jesus Christ, and its
Fruit is His broken body and shed blood.

Jesus told people that that they must eat

His flesh and blood in order to be saved:
Then Jesus said unto them, 'Truly, truly I
say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of
the Son of man, and drink His blood, you
have no life in you'.
John 6:53
When confronted with this idea, the
Jews asked "How can this man give us
his flesh to eat?" It's a good question,
and the answer is simple. When we eat
food, it enters every cell in our bodies;
the proteins, carbohydrates and fats
become a part of us. We become united
(or 'one') with our food; we truly are
what we eat. In a similar way, people
who repent of their sins are united with
Christ. They become one with him in His
death, burial and resurrection, and
experience the 'spiritual nutrition' and
new life of being born again with Him.
That is why, in John 6:35 & 48, Jesus
called Himself "the bread of life". Union
with Him gives our souls life, just as
union with ordinary food gives our
bodies life.
This union with Christ is not achieved by
water-baptism, communion or the
Roman Catholic Mass. It is a spiritual
union that the Holy Spirit performs when
a sinner repentantly judges himself and
turns to Christ in sincere faith. So what
is this repentance that can unite us with
Christ? Jesus described it in terms of
picking up one's cross.
One day Jesus asked His disciples who
they thought He was (Mark 8:27-38).
Peter said that Jesus was the Christ, and
Jesus responded by telling Peter that he
was correct. Then Jesus began to tell
His disciples that He was going to be
killed at Jerusalem. Peter took Jesus
aside and began to object, at which
point Jesus rebuked Peter, even calling
him 'Satan'. Jesus was planning to go to
Jerusalem to die for the sins of mankind,
and Peter was trying to talk Him out of it.
Then Jesus made an important
statement about His death, and the
meaning of that death for Christians:
And when He had called the people
together with His disciples also, He said
unto them "Whosoever will come after
me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross, and follow me."
Mark 8:34
Some think that Jesus was talking here
about Christians suffering as they follow
Him through their lives. While it is true
that Christians must be prepared to
endure poverty and even death if called
upon by God to do so, I do not think that
this is what Jesus was talking about
here. When He said 'follow me', I believe
that He was saying 'Follow Me to the
place of crucifixion'. Nowhere in the
Bible are people who are already
Christians ever called upon to carry a
cross. In fact, in the epistles the cross is
described as something that has already
happened to the Christian; it is
a past experience. The apostle Paul
pointed this out:
Know you not that as many of us as
were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into His death? Therefore we
are buried with Him by baptism into
death; that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness
of life.
Romans 6:3-4
For I through the Law am dead to the
Law, that I might live unto God. I am
crucified with Christ.
Galatians 2:19-20
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation. Old things have passed
away; behold, all things have become
new.
2 Corinthians 2:17
So what was Jesus saying in Mark 8:34?
Jesus was talking about repentance, and
the necessity that sinners (if they would
be saved) must condemn themselves to
the same criminal execution that Jesus
Himself was about to endure. The New
Testament does not describe the cross
primarily as a place of persecution and
martyrdom, although Jesus was indeed
persecuted. It describes the cross as
a Treewhere criminals are punished for
their crimes:
Christ has redeemed us from the curse
of the Law, being made a curse for us,
for it is written "Cursed is every one that
hangs on a tree.
Galatians 3:13, Deuteronomy 21:23
Who His own Self bare our sins in His
own body on the tree, that we, being
dead to sins, should live unto
righteousness: by whose stripes you
were healed.
1 Peter 2:24
Jesus was saying that, if someone
wants to be a Christian, 'he must be
crucified with Me'. The word 'deny' (in
Mark 8:34) does not mean to deprive
one's self of something, but rather to
judge, despise, disown and repudiate
one's self. When Jesus spoke of picking
up one's own cross, He was talking
about condemning one's self. He was
talking about sinners seeing their need
for atonement.
It is only as a sinner is willing to
acknowledge and accept condemnation
for his sin, that he can truly see and
believe that Jesus' death on the cross is
the solution for his problem. Repentance
and faith always go hand-in-hand. The
clearest example of one 'picking up his
cross' was the thief who was crucified
next to Jesus. As he acknowledged that
he deserved to be crucified, his eyes
were opened to recognize the Savior
who was hanging on a cross next to
him:
And one of the criminals which was
crucified railed at Jesus, saying "If you
are the Christ, save yourself and us."
But the other answering rebuked him,
saying "Do you not fear God, seeing you
are in the same condemnation? And we
indeed justly, for we receive the due
reward of our deeds. But this man has
done nothing wrong." And he said to
Jesus "Lord, remember me when you
come into Your Kingdom." And Jesus
said to him "Verily I say to you, today
shall you be with Me in paradise."
Luke 23:39-43
For if I build again the things which I
destroyed (my old sinful self), I make
myself a transgressor. For I, through the
Law, am dead to the Law, that I might
live unto God. I am crucified with Christ.
Galatians 2:18-20
The Lord is near those that are of a
broken heart, and saves such as be of a
contrite spirit.
Psalm 34:18
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.
A broken and a contrite heart, O God,
You will not despise.
Psalm 51:17
But to this man will I (God) look; to him
that is poor (spiritually) and of a contrite
spirit, and trembles at My word.
 Isaiah 66:2
I did not come to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.
Matthew 9:3
If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in
us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8-9
The faith of the thief on the cross was
the faith of Abraham; a faith that is truly
righteous in the sight of God because it
condemns sin while turning back to the
God that we have despised and
opposed. And while faith accepts the
righteous condemnation of the Law, it
looks beyond that condemnation to what
God alone can do; offer forgiveness,
new life and genuine righteousness
through the death, burial and
resurrection of His Son.
THE NECESSITY OF
MERCY
For Christians a life of faith is about
both "Perfecting holiness in the fear of
God" (2 Corinthians 7:1), and also
acknowledging their sins and moral
failures. And the Christian knows that
the only solution for those moral failures
is the grace and mercy of God. But the
Christian must also know that the mercy
of God is impossible for himself, if he is
not merciful toward others.
For he shall have judgment without
mercy, who has shown no mercy. Mercy
rejoices against judgment.
James 2:13
Mercy is a requirement for
entrance into God's grace,
and it is a requirement
for continuing in that grace
as well.
One of the great threats to the Christian
is pride; forgetting the moral
debauchery and shame that God saved
him from, and his desperate need for the
mercy of God when he was in that
hopeless condition. Another threat to
the Christian is the false teaching 'Once
Saved, Always Saved' (see my web page
on The Necessity of Christian
Perseverance). This doctrine is simply a
repetition of Satan's lie in Eden: "You
shall not die", and leads to carelessness
on the part of the Christian, and a
disregard for the importance of mercy.
The Lord Jesus reinforced the necessity
of mercy over and over again:
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall
obtain mercy.
Matthew 5:7
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors. For if you forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you. But if you forgive not
men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:12,14-15
Jesus told the parable of a servant who
owed his master a great debt. But after
the master forgave him the debt, he then
went out and demanded that a fellow
servant pay him a much smaller debt.
When that fellow servant could not pay,
he had that servant thrown into prison.
Jesus warned that God's anger toward
unforgiving Christians is like the anger
of this servant's master when he found
out about what had happened:
And his master was angry, and delivered
him to the tormentors, till he should pay
all that was due unto him. So likewise
shall my heavenly Father do also unto
you, if you from your hearts forgive not
every one his brother their trespasses.
Matthew 18:34-35
Jesus condemned the judgmental
Pharisees by quoting the Old Testament:
But if you had known what this means, "I
will have mercy, and not sacrifice", you
would not have condemned the
guiltless.
Matthew 12:7, Hosea 6:6
The importance of mercy is also
revealed in the behavior of Jesus'
earthly father, Joseph, when he
discovered that the woman who he was
engaged to (Mary) was pregnant:
Then Joseph her husband, being a just
man, and not willing to make her a
public example, was minded to put her
away secretly (break off their
engagement).
Matthew 1:19
Joseph had not yet known that the Spirit
of God had caused Mary's pregnancy.
He made the logical assumption that she
had been unfaithful with another man.
But although he probably was hurt and
felt betrayed, the Bible says that he
intended to cover Mary's sin rather than
vengefully expose her and hurt her.
It is important to understand that there
is a difference between confronting
someone about their sin and warning
them about God's judgment,
and condemningthem for their sin. When
Jesus said "Judge not, that you be not
judged" (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37), He
was saying 'Condemn not, that you be
not condemned'. But He also warned
that Christian's must let their light shine
in the world (Matthew 5:16), and that
they will be held responsible if they fail
to warn others of God's judgment (Acts
20:26-27). In fact it is unmerciful not to
recognize sin and warn people about it:
When I (God) say unto the wicked "O
wicked man, you shall surely die". If you
do not speak to warn the wicked from
his way, that wicked man shall die in his
iniquity. But his blood will I require at
your hand.
Ezekiel 33:8
But you, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit, keep
yourselves in the love of God. Looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life. And of some have
compassion, making a difference. And
others save with fear, pulling them out
of the fire; hating even the garment
spotted by the flesh.
Jude 20-23
The world likes to condemn Christians
for being 'judgmental', just like the
citizens of Sodom sought to justify their
aggression against Lot and his visitors
(Genesis 19:9). But Christians must
understand the difference between
recognizing sin and warning people
about it, and condemning people for
their sins. Judgment is something that is
reserved for God. The common proverb
that 'People who live in glass houses
should not throw stones' applies very
much to the Christian.
And the Christian should not call down
God's judgment upon someone who is
injuring him. Jesus had much to say
about patience, and forgiving those who
hate or hurt us:
You have heard that it has been said
"You shall love your neighbor, and hate
your enemy". But I say unto you "Love
your enemies. Bless them that curse
you. Do good to them that hate you.
Pray for them which despitefully use
you, and persecute you".
Matthew 5:43-44
THE MARK OF THE BEAST
In the book of Revelation we are warned
about a 'Mark' that will be imposed upon
mankind in the final days before the
second coming of Christ (Revelation
13:16-18, 14:9-12, 15:2, 19:20). It is called
the 'Mark of the Beast'. No one will be
allowed to buy or sell anything in the
world unless they have taken that mark
in their forehead or in their hand. And it
will be associated somehow with the
number '666' (Revelation 13:18).
But with Revelation's information about
the Mark of the Beast there also comes a
grave warning. All those who take this
mark in their forehead or in their hands
will join Satan to be
tormented eternally and never-endingly
in 'the Lake of Fire and Brimstone':
And the third angel followed them,
saying with a loud voice "If any man
worship the beast and his image, and
receive his mark in his forehead, or in
his hand, the same shall drink of the
wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out without mixture into the cup
of His indignation. And he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the
presence of the holy angels, and in the
presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of
their torment ascends up for ever and
ever. And they have no rest day nor
night, who worship the beast and his
image, and whosoever receives the mark
of his name. Here is the patience of the
saints. Here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus".
Revelation 14:9-12
This information in the book of
Revelation prompts three questions:
1) What is this 'Mark of the Beast'?
2) Why will the 'Mark' divide humanity?
3) Why will taking the 'Mark' be so evil?
WHAT IS THE MARK?
I believe that the 'Mark' will be a
computer chip that will allow people to
become part of the world's new 'Internet
of Things'. I expect that it will be an RFID
(Radio Frequency Identification Device)
implanted under the skin, that will
enable sensors throughout the world to
identify people, interact with them and
manage their lives and the world's
affairs.
These devices are not new. People have
been implanting similar chips in many
things for years. They have been
implanted in animals in order to manage
livestock on farms and in zoos. Today
they are also being implanted in the
products we buy at the store, allowing
businesses to track inventory, prevent
theft and manage sales. And there are
now people around the world who are
being 'chipped' for various reasons by
their employers (or voluntarily, because
they are impressed with the technology).
But it's not the chip itself that we need to
understand; it is the chip's role in a
much bigger computerized system.
Today the nations and corporations of
the world are racing to implement
something called 'blockchain' or
'distributed ledger' technology. This is
computer software that will allow
business to be transacted around the
world through a system that is secure
and 'trust-based'. Institutions engaged in
it will no longer have to worry about
whether or not it is accurate, or
somebody else is cheating them. And
the system will be extremely fast and
economical to run. It is going to
revolutionize the way the world operates
in the very near future. This technology
first surfaced, in primitive form, shortly
after the world recession of 2008. It was
the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. But now the
nations of the world have taken Bitcoin's
concepts to a whole new level.
WHY WILL THE MARK
DIVIDE HUMANITY?
Very simply, the Mark will divide
humanity because of what God has said
about it in His word. Mankind will be
confronted by a choice to simply believe
God and obey Him, or to disbelieve and
take the Mark.
The parallels between God's
commandment to mankind in the Garden
of Eden, and His commandment
concerning the Mark, are striking. As I
pointed out in the first section of this
web page, God's first commandment
was simple; there was
only onecommandment, not many.
God's commandment was easy. It
required no effort. It was a
commandment not to do something. And
God's commandment was clear; it could
be summarized in two words: 'Believe
Me!' These same traits are found in
God's warning about the Mark.
This is why I have included a discussion
of the Mark in this web page on faith;
because these two commandments from
God at the beginning of world history,
and now at its end, focus very sharply
upon the single question of whether we
will believe God or not. It all began with
a simple piece of fruit hanging on a tree,
and it is now ending with a simple Mark
placed under the skin. God is bringing
all of His interactions with humanity to a
head, and the Mark is going to bring an
end to God's conflict with the mankind
very effectively. Simple is
good. Simple is powerful. And the
complex technology of the Mark will
once again confront all of mankind with
the same simple choice; will we trust in
knowledge, or trust the all-knowing God:
Because the foolishness of God is wiser
than men; and the weakness of God is
stronger than men.
1 Corinthians 1:25
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in
Eden, they were not only embracing
moral knowledge; they were embracing
the concept that all knowledge carries
within itself the ability to do better and
become greater. Today what mankind
has been able to achieve through
intellectual knowledge is evident all
around us, and is very impressive. And
our knowledge and achievements are
growing at an accelerating pace. It
would seem that knowledge does indeed
represent the promise of humanity's
survival and success.
But this 'progress' has not impressed
God. It was foretold by Him over 2500
years ago. He told the prophet Daniel
that, in the last days, 'Many will run to
and fro, and knowledge will be
increased' (Daniel 12:4). Man's increased
knowledge has not been unforeseen,
and it should not come close to
impressing us as much as God Himself
impresses us.
Ever since the Garden of Eden people
have believed that knowledge
represents the path to human success.
Some trust in intellectual knowledge and
some in moral knowledge, but the Bible
warns that knowledge without
an acknowledgement of God will always
lead to disaster.
Thus says the Lord, 'Let not the wise
man glory in his wisdom, neither let the
mighty man glory in his might, and let
not the rich man glory in his riches. But
let him that glories glory in this, that he
understands and knows Me, that I am
the Lord who exercises loving kindness,
judgment, and righteousness in the
earth: for in these things I delight' says
the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
The stone which the builders refused is
become the head stone of the corner.
This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous
in our eyes.
 Psalm 118:22-23 (Matthew 21:42, Mark
12:10, Luke 20:17, 1 Peter 2:7)
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the disputer of this world? Has
not God made foolish the wisdom of this
world? For after that in the wisdom of
God the world by wisdom knew not God,
it pleased God by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe. For
the Jews require a sign (from God), and
the Greeks seek after (intellectual)
wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified:
unto the Jews a stumbling block, and
unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto
them which are called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God. Because the
foolishness of God is wiser than men,
and the weakness of God is stronger
than men.
1 Corinthians 1:20-25
Knowledge puffs a person up...
1 Corinthians 8:1
This is the division that the Mark will
produce, centered around these
questions; 'Can mankind now take its
intellectual and moral knowledge to a
whole new level, and 'evolve' toward a
glorious future?' 'Are we on the brink of
unlimited possibilities and taking our
rightful place in the universe?' 'Are we
finally about to confirm our belief that
knowledge contains unlimited
potential?'
WHY WILL THE MARK BE
SO EVIL?
Why has God warned that those who
take the Mark will experience a degree of
punishment reserved for only the most
evil of beings? For Satan himself? I
believe that the answer can be found in
Jesus' words about various degrees of
punishment in the final judgment. In the
gospel of Luke the Lord Jesus described
the basis upon which He will judge men
when He comes back to earth:
And that servant which knew his lord's
will, and did not prepare himself, neither
did according to his will, shall be beaten
with many stripes. But he that knew not,
and committed things worthy of stripes,
shall be beaten with few stripes. For
unto whomsoever much is given, of him
shall be much required. And to whom
men have committed much, of him they
will ask the more.
Luke 12:47-48
The reason that those who take the Mark
will receive the severest punishment is
not only because it will represent the
same issue of faith that has been at the
center of God's relationship with
mankind for thousands of years, but
also because this is a generation that
knows, like no other generation before
it, that creation testifies to us, that
the gospel testifies to us, that
God's judgments testify to us, and that
God's prophecies testify to us.

CREATION TESTIFIES
With man's increase in knowledge
(which God foretold in Daniel 12:4) has
come the revelation that our universe,
our planet, and all biological life are the
handiwork of an infinitely wise, powerful
and capable Creator. The theory of
evolution explains nothing about
biological life. It only reveals the
foolishness of those who embrace it. By
attributing mankind's existence to the
survival-struggles of micro-organisms
and apes, they fulfill the words of the
apostle Paul:
And changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made
like to corruptible man, and to birds, and
fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Romans 1:23
Mankind has despised and rejected
God's claims about our origins:
Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He
who has made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people, and the sheep of His
pasture.
Psalm 100:3
Yes, there is 'microevolution' within
species, allowing the entire species to
adjust to changes in the environment
over time. But this represents the genius
of God, who intended that various
species would be able to adapt and
survive over long periods of time. Today
it is seen in the racial differences within
the human race existing in the various
climates of the world, and in the ability
of species of microorganisms to become
resistant to various antibiotics.
The sudden springing into existence of
the universe, beginning nearly 14 billion
years ago, testifies to us about the
eternal power of God (Romans 1:20).
And our unique planet, with its great
variety of light and heavy elements, its
atmosphere and its water cycle, all
wonderfully capable of protecting the
planet and supporting biological life,
testify to us of the wisdom, goodness
and glory of God. This is why, in the
book of Revelation, the gospel message
is summed up in this command:
Worship Him that made heaven (our
atmosphere), and earth (the land), and
the sea (oceans), and the fountains of
(fresh) waters.
Revelation 14:7
Today the world's leading scientists
continue to reject any discussion of how
the world reveals a Creator. They insist
that a purely materialistic explanation
for the origin of everything represents
the backbone of true science. And in
doing so they fulfill God's condemnation
of them; that they possess the truth, but
suppress it in unrighteousness (Romans
1:18).
I would add that the personal, intimate
nature of God is also revealed to us
through a human race that has been
created in 'the image and likeness of
God' (Genesis 1:26-28). I believe that the
image of God in mankind is seen in
more than our intelligence, our social
capacities and the possession of a
moral conscience. I believe that a
heterosexual God, which is a Family
comprised of the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit, is also reflected in mankind.
It is seen in the heterosexuality of
maleness, femaleness, and in God's first
commandment given to mankind; to be
'fruitful' and bring forth children. The
children of mankind correspond to the
only-begotten Son of God in the divine
Family; the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul
states that even these intimate and
personal aspects of the "Godhead" are
revealed to us (Romans 1:20, see my
video titled "Created in the Image of a
Heterosexual God").

THE GOSPEL TESTIFIES

The gospel of Jesus Christ has been
possessed by the human race
throughout its existence, beginning with
God's promise that the 'the Seed of the
woman' would someday crush the
serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). God also
testified to mankind about His way of
forgiveness and salvation, when He
killed innocent animals and used their
hides to provide clothing for Adam and
Eve (Genesis 3:21).
The gospel was front and center in
Noah's preaching to the world as he
built the Ark (Genesis 6-9, 2 Peter 2:5).
Noah's Ark represented mankind's only
hope of salvation in the face of God's
coming flood. The message was 'Enter
the ark and be saved, or reject the ark
and perish'. This is the same message
presented to the world in the gospel.
Jesus is God's true 'Ark' of salvation. If a
person is 'in Christ', he will be saved. If
we reject union with Christ as our
Savior, we will be lost.
And this is the record, that God has
given to us eternal life, and this life is in
His Son. He that has the Son has life.
And he that does not have the Son of
God does not have life.
1 John 5:11-12
Now in 'historical times' God has
proclaimed the gospel to the world
through His covenant with Abraham,
and His promise that Abraham's 'Seed'
(the Christ) would bring blessing upon
all the nations of the world (Genesis
12:3, 22:18). He has also proclaimed the
gospel to the world through the Mosaic
Covenant, with its laws and animal
sacrifices practiced by Israel,
forshadowing the coming of God's true
'Passover Lamb'; Jesus Christ. And
finally God had proclaimed the Gospel
to the world through Jesus Christ
Himself; through His preaching, His self-
sacrificing crucifixion upon a Roman
cross, and through the testimony and
teaching of His apostles.
Those who reject the Gospel will not be
damned because they didn't hear or
believe some strange message, but
because they rejected the testimony of
their own conscience (Romans 2:14-16).
We all know that there are such things
as sin, wickedness and evil. And we
know that human beings are capable of
wickedness, and that righteousness and
justice demand the death of wicked
criminals. Therefore we also know that
the testimony of the Gospel is true:
And almost all things are by the Law
purged with blood. And without the
shedding of blood is no remission
(cleansing or forgiveness).
 Hebrews 9:22
In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus told His
disciples that He would not come back
to earth again, until His gospel had been
preached to the whole world:
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then the end shall
come.
Matthew 24:14
Today the Bible has been distributed
throughout the world, along with
teaching materials helping people to
understand it, like never before in
history. People throughout the world are
reading the Bible, and information about
it, on their smart phones. The Bible has
been translated into all of the languages
of the world, and is now potentially
present in every house. The leadership
of China is seeking to suppress the
Christian religion within its boundaries,
but God is bringing the Gospel to China
anyway.
This final worldwide preaching of the
Gospel, prior to Christ's second coming,
is portrayed for us in Revelation chapter
14. First the Gospel is proclaimed in the
three messages of the angels
(Revelation 14:6-13). Secondly, those
who believe the Gospel are 'harvested'
(saved, Revelation 14:14-16). Thirdly,
those who reject the Gospel and oppose
God are also 'harvested', to be punished
in the 'great winepress' of God's wrath.
The ultimate message of Revelation 14
is that God is going to judge the entire
world with finality, but not until after He
has made His Gospel thoroughly known
to that world. This, therefore, is the
second reason why those who take the
'Mark' will partake in the severest
punishment revealed in the Bible;
because they will have been thoroughly
evangelized and warned.
 GOD'S JUDGMENTS TESTIFY
As I explain throughout this web site,
the Bible claims that death hangs over
every one of our heads because, when
Adam (the father of the human race)
disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden,
every member of the human race was
consciously present within him, joining
him in committing that same sin.
For by one man (Adam) sin came into
the world, and death through sin. And so
death passed upon all men, because all
sinned.
Romans 5:12
Hence the apostle Paul could rightly say,
in his opening words to the Christians in
Rome, that the wrath of God has been
revealed against all of the 'ungodliness
and unrighteousness of humanity'
(Romans 1:18). The universality of
human death, stretching all the way
back to Adam, testifies to us of our own
sin in Eden and the certainty of God's
punishments.
The certainty of God's judgment has
been further revealed in His destruction
of the world through Noah's flood
(Genesis 6-9), His destruction of Sodom
and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), His
destruction of Egypt and Pharaoh as He
delivered the Israelites from bondage
(Exodus 10:7), and His destruction of the
wicked nations that inhabited Canaan
when He led the Israelites to take
possession of that land under Joshua.
But maybe, more clearly than anywhere
else in historical times, the present
reality of God's judgment has been
exhibited to the world through His
dealings with Israel. God warned the
people of Israel, through Moses, that if
they rebelled against Him their
punishments would be severe
(Deuteronomy 28:15-68). The world first
saw the fulfillment of those warnings in
the removal of Israel's 10 northern tribes
by the kingdom of Assyria at around 740
BC. And it saw the second fulfillment of
God's warnings with the conquest of
Israel by Babylon beginning around 600
BC.
Ultimately, because of Israel's
continuing resistance against Babylon,
the king of Babylon completely
destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its
great Temple, bringing an end to the
Mosaic animal sacrifices and the reign
of David's family in Israel. And not only
did he leave the land of Israel largely
desolate, but the king of Babylon
(Nebuchadnezzar) also enslaved and
dragged many of the Jews all the way
back to the part of the world where
Abraham had first started 1300 years
earlier. God could not have delivered a
more clear and angry rebuke to the
people of Israel than He did.
But it is very important to read a warning
that God gave to all the other nations of
the world, through the prophet
Jeremiah, as He carried out His
punishment Israel:
For behold, I begin to bring evil on the
city which is called by My name
(Jerusalem). And should you be utterly
unpunished? You shall not be
unpunished. "For I will call for a sword
upon all the inhabitants of the earth"
says the Lord of hosts. Therefore
prophesy against them all these words,
and say unto them "The Lord shall roar
from on high, and utter His voice from
His holy habitation. He shall mightily
roar upon His habitation. He shall give a
shout, as they that tread the grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth. A
noise shall come even to the ends of the
earth, for the Lord hath a
controversy with the nations. He will
plead with all flesh. "He will give them
that are wicked to the sword" says the
Lord.

Thus says the Lord of hosts "Behold,

evil shall go forth from nation to nation,
and a great whirlwind shall be raised up
from the coasts of the earth. And the
slain of the Lord shall be at that
day from one end of the earth even unto
the other end of the earth. They shall not
be lamented, neither gathered, nor
buried. They shall be refuse upon the
ground.
Jeremiah 25:29-33
This was a singularly important warning
from the God of Israel to the nations of
the world. But now, at a point in history
over 2500 years after Jeremiah, the
world has also seen the coming of
Israel's promised Messiah. It has also
seen the warning that Jesus gave to the
people of Israel regarding a second
desolation and dispersion at the hands
of the Gentiles, because of their murder
of Himself and their opposition to the
preaching of His Gospel to the rest of
the mankind (Matthew 21:33-44, 23:34-
39, 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16). And finally,
the world has witnessed the fulfillment
of the Christ's warning about the
approaching punishment of Israel; a
punishment that has been far more
severe than the 70 years of desolation
that they experienced under Babylon.
At the end of World War 2 the nations of
the world watched as the Jewish
survivors of Hitler's camps began
streaming back to their ancient
homeland after 1800+ years of
wandering and persecution. The world
watched as the 'dry bones' of a long
dead Israel began to come back to life
(Ezekiel 37). The world knew that the
Jews' origins were in the land of Israel
because the Arch of Titus, built shortly
after Rome's destruction of Jerusalem in
70 AD, was still standing in the city of
Rome, depicting that conquest in its
carvings.
And at the same time the world had also
witnessed man's capacity for mass
warfare for the second time in 30 years,
with the second world war ending with
the first use of nuclear weapons;
foreshadowing an apocalyptic future for
humanity. No confluence of events
could have encouraged the world more
powerfully to consider the warning of
God in Jeremiah 25, than those. And so
through the universality human death,
through God's various judgments in the
history of the ancient world, and now
through the history of Israel, God has
clearly testified to the world about the
certainty of His punishments.

GOD'S PROPHECIES TESTIFY

The number of Biblical prophecies given
and fulfilled regarding a Savior for
mankind, and His eventual victory over
sin and Satan, are too numerous to
present here. I would direct my reader to
the section on Bible Prophecy in this
web site, and to my several videos on
Bible prophecy.
In this web site I focus heavily upon a
famous prophecy given to Daniel after
Israel had been conquered by the
Babylonians; the '70 Weeks' prophecy of
Daniel 9:24-27. In that prophecy God
gave Daniel two separate timetables for
the first and second comings of Israel's
Messiah. The first timetable was 69
weeks long; each week lasting 7 years,
for a total of 483 years. But the 70th
week is not like the first 69 weeks. It is
not a week of years. Rather it is the
'Great Week of the Abrahamic
Covenant', beginning with God's
promises to Abraham roughly 4000
years ago, divided in the very middle by
the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Romans in 70 AD, and soon to be
completed at the second coming of
Jesus Christ.

THE GREAT WEEK OF THE ABRAHAMIC

COVENANT

I will not spend time in this web page

explaining my conclusions about
Daniel's 70th Week. I would refer my
reader to my pages titled 'An
Introduction to Prophecy', 'The Olivet
Discourse', and 'The Timetable for
Jesus' Return'. Here I will simply say
this: God has set the history of the world
and the time of Jesus' second coming
clearly before us. It can be easily
understood if we rightly understand
Jesus' Olivet Discourse (a prophetic
message given to His disciples just prior
to His crucifixion), and John's Little
Book (found in Revelation chapters 10-
13). These two New Testament passages
supply completion to our understanding
of Daniel's 70th Week. And they are so
simple, so straightforward, and so easily
understood that I do not believe that
God could have given the world a more
accurate sense of when the Lord Jesus
will return, unless He had announced
the very day itself.
OBJECTION #1: WHY THE
10 COMMANDMENTS?
A very logical and reasonable question
that someone might ask is 'If God did
not want us to know right from wrong,
then why did He give the 10
commandments to the world through
Moses?' The answer to that question is
very straightforward. God gave His Law
to the world as a tutor or schoolmaster,
pointing mankind to the true way of
salvation through faith in Christ. The
Law was given to show us both
the penalty and the power of sin in our
lives:
Wherefore the Law was our
schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ,
that we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 3:24
Firstly, the 10 commandments were
given to show us the standard of
righteousness that is required for
salvation. It shows us where we have
failed to meet that standard, and the
just penalty that we deserve for breaking
the Law:
Now we know that what things soever
the Law says, it says to them who are
under the Law: that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore by the
deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the Law is
the knowledge of sin.
Romans 3:19-20
Secondly, the 10 commandments were
given to show us the power that Sin has
over us. When a person learns more
about right and wrong, the spirit of Sin
within him becomes excited, and is
stirred up to break the Law (see my web
page titled 'Testing Christianity'). The
Law shows us our weakness and
bondage under this spirit called 'Sin',
and our need for God's power to obtain
deliverance from it:
What shall we say then? Is the Law Sin?
God forbid. Nay, I had not known Sin but
by the Law. For I had not known lust,
except the Law had said 'You shall not
covet'. But Sin, taking occasion by the
commandment, wrought in me all
manner of concupiscence. For without
the Law Sin was dead.
Romans 7:7-8
The sting of death is Sin, and the
strength of Sin is the Law. But thanks be
to God, Who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:56-57
When we think about the Law of God, we
must remember one thing:
GOD'S LAW IS THE STANDARD OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS, BUT NOT
THE MEANS OF ACHIEVING IT
OBJECTION #2:
SALVATION IS 'APART
FROM THE LAW'
When people read some of the things
that Paul wrote in Romans chapter 3,
they mistakenly think that God has
chosen to set aside His Law in providing
man's salvation. They conclude that
people are not saved by obeying the
Law, but through some other way:
But now the righteousness of God apart
from the Law is manifested, being
witnessed by the Law and the prophets.
Even the righteousness of God which is
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and
upon all them that believe.
Romans 3:21-22
Therefore we conclude that a man is
justified by faith without the deeds of the
Law.
Romans 3:28
What needs to be understood is that
when Paul used the phrases "apart from
the Law" and "without the deeds of the
Law", he was referring to 'the works of
the Law'; the pursuit of righteousness
through a knowledge of right and wrong.
Paul was not saying that we do not have
to obey God's Law. Rather, he was
pointing to the truth that I have already
explained; that faith constitutes
obedience to God's Law, while a pursuit
of righteousness through the knowledge
of right and wrong is a breaking of the
Law.
God's standard of righteousness and
His requirement for a relationship with
Himself has never changed. It has
always been the same: genuine
obedience to the Law. Biblical
repentance is self-condemnation for
breaking the Law, together with an
acknowledgement that we are
desperately in need of God's
undeserved mercy and power; a mercy
and power revealed in the death, burial
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God
commands repentance because it is a
turning from sin to righteousness; from
breaking the Law to embracing the Law.
It is the necessary condition which must
be met in order to enter into God's
salvation.
The question isn't 'Must we
obey the Law?', but rather
 'How can we obey the
Law?'
Some see Christianity simply as the
forgiveness of our sins. The idea of a
positive obedience to God's Law is
unknown to them. It is true that
forgiveness is a necessity. The penalty
for sin must be paid. But forgiveness is
only one part of that which saves us.
Repentance is
turning from sin to righteousness. It is a
turning from the futility of self-
righteousness to a righteousness which
God can accomplish within us through
faith and the Holy Spirit. Faith does not
ignore or circumvent the Law; faith
fulfills the Law in very real, practical,
everyday terms.
We find this message consistently in
God's word. In his letter to Titus, Paul
spelled out the two things that lead to
the Christian's justification by God; the
washing away of our guilt through
regeneration and the possession of
genuine righteousness with the help of
the Holy Spirit:
Not by works of (self) righteousness
which we have done, but according to
His mercy He saved us; by the washing
of regeneration (forgiveness), and
renewing of the Holy Ghost
(sanctification or holiness).
Titus 3:5
There is no reason for us to
misunderstand Paul. God's
condemnation of men will be for
breaking His Law, and His justification
of men will be for obeying His Law:
For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
men.
Romans 1:18
Being filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness. Full of envy, murder,
debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, despiteful,
proud, boasters, inventors of evil things,
disobedient to parents. Without
understanding, covenant-breakers,
without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful. Who knowing the judgment
of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death, not only do
the same, but have pleasure in them that
do them.
Romans 1:29-32
God will render to every man according
to his deeds. To them who by patient
continuance in well doing seek for glory
and honour and immortality, eternal life.
But unto them that are contentious, and
do not obey the truth, but obey
unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
tribulation and anguish upon every soul
of man that does evil, of the Jew first,
and also of the Gentile. But glory,
honour, and peace, to every man that
works good, to the Jew first, and also to
the Gentile: for there is no respect of
persons with God.
Romans 2:6-11
For (Jewish) circumcision truly profits, if
you (a Jew) keep the Law. But if you are
a breaker of the Law, your circumcision
is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the
uncircumcised man (a Gentile) keeps the
righteousness of the Law, shall not his
uncircumcision be counted for
circumcision? And shall not the
uncircumcised man, if he fulfills the
Law, judge you who by the letter and
circumcision do transgress the Law?
For he is not a Jew who is one
outwardly; neither is that circumcision
which is outward in the flesh. But he is a
Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the
spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise
is not from men, but from God.
Romans 2:25-29
To remove any doubt about whether or
not God's way of salvation is a matter of
Law-keeping, I present the following
three passages. They begin with God's
description of Abraham, the 'man of
faith':
Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My
charge, My commandments, My
statutes, and My laws.
Genesis 26:5
Think not that I (Jesus) am come to
destroy the Law or the prophets. I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For
verily I say unto you, until heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in
no way pass from the Law, until all be
fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall
break one of these least
commandments, and shall teach men
so, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall
do and teach them, the same shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say unto you, that except your
righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, you shall in no case enter
into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17-20
Do we then make void the Law through
faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the
Law.
Romans 3:31
Little children, let no man deceive you.
He that does righteousness is righteous,
even as God is righteous.
1 John 3:7
OBJECTION #3:
SALVATION IS NOT
EARNED
Many Christians recoil at the idea that
salvation is something that must be
earned. It seems to contradict both
God's grace and justification by faith
apart from 'works'. They recoil at the
idea that a Christian must 'strive' to
enter into eternal life (Luke 13:24). The
idea that a Christian must 'work' in order
to be saved seems contrary to Christian
doctrine:
Now to him that works is the reward not
reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to
him that works not, but believes on Him
that justifies the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness.
Romans 4:4-5
Once again we need to recognize that,
when Paul uses the word 'works' here,
he is talking about 'the works of the
Law'. He is talking about whether or not
it is possible for a person to be justified
by God through a knowledge of right
and wrong. Paul is not addressing the
more general subject of working in
God's service; something that is referred
to in the New Testament as the 'work of
faith' (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Paul is not
addressing the question of whether or
not God requires a person, once he has
rejected his own self-righteous 'works',
to 'work for God' in a new and living
way, and as the reasonable expression
of his faith and gratitude.
While Christians are not justified by 'the
works of the Law', this does not mean
that God does not require Christians to
work. He most certainly does. And He
warns Christians that a failure on their
part to labor for Him faithfully in this
world will cause them to lose the reward
of eternal life in the next. Perhaps this
combination of God's rejection of the
'works of the Law', coupled with His
expectation that Christians nevertheless
will 'work', is best expressed in the
passages below:
For by grace are ye saved through faith.
And that not of yourselves; it is the gift
of God. Not of works (of the Law), lest
any man should boast. For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God has before
ordained that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Do you not say, 'There are still four
months and then comes the harvest'?
Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes
and look at the fields, for they are
already white for harvest! And he who
reaps receives wages, and gathers
fruit for eternal life, that both he who
sows and he who reaps may rejoice
together. For in this the saying is true:
'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you
to reap that for which you have
not labored; others have labored, and
you have entered into their labors.
John 4:35-38
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be
steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, knowing that
your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58
I urge you, brethren - you know the
household of Stephanas, that it is the
firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have
devoted themselves to the ministry of
the saints - that you also submit to such,
and to everyone who works and labors
with us.
1 Corinthians 16:15-16
We give thanks to God always for you
all, making mention of you in our
prayers, remembering without ceasing
your work of faith, labor of love, and
patience of hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ in the sight of our God and
Father.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
But, beloved, we are confident of better
things concerning you, yes, things that
accompany salvation, though we speak
in this manner. For God is not unjust to
forget your work and labor of love which
you have shown toward His name, in
that you have ministered to the saints,
and do minister. And we desire that each
one of you show the same diligence to
the full assurance of hope until the end,
that you do not become sluggish, but
imitate those who through faith and
patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6:9-12
"To the angel of the church of Ephesus
write, 'These things says He who holds
the seven stars in His right hand, who
walks in the midst of the seven golden
lampstands: "I know your works, your
labor, your patience, and that you
cannot bear those who are evil. And you
have tested those who say they are
apostles and are not, and have found
them liars; and you have persevered and
have patience, and have labored for My
name's sake and have not become
weary.
Revelation 2:1-3
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying
to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes,"
says the Spirit, "that they may rest from
their labors, and their works follow
them."
Revelation 14:13
Those who deny that eternal life is a
reward for work should consider the
following passages. Those who receive
God's 'spiritual talents', and faithfully
put them to work, will be rewarded:
After a long time the lord of those
servants came and reckoned with them.
And so he that had received five talents
came and brought other five talents,
saying "Lord, you delivered unto me five
talents: behold, I have gained beside
them five talents more." His lord said
unto him "Well done, you good and
faithful servant: you have been faithful
over a few things, I will make you ruler
over many things: enter into the joy of
thy lord.
Matthew 25:19-21
Those who have failed to put God's
'talents' to work will be cast out of His
kingdom:
But his lord answered and said to him,
'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew
that I reap where I have not sown, and
gather where I have not scattered seed.
So you ought to have deposited my
money with the bankers, and at my
coming I would have received back my
own with interest'. So take the talent
from him, and give it to him who has ten
talents. For to everyone who has, more
will be given, and he will have
abundance; but from him who does not
have, even what he has will be taken
away. And cast the unprofitable servant
into the outer darkness. There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:26-30
The principle of 'repentance from dead
works and of faith toward God' is
'mother's milk' for the Christian
(Hebrews 5:12-6:1). There is no reason
why anyone who has been a Christian
for a significant period of time should be
confused about the difference between
'the works of the Law' and 'the work of
faith' that God requires, and that is
accomplished in the Holy Spirit. To use
the doctrine of 'justification apart from
works' to negate the necessity of
Christian work is to put a stumbling
block before God's people.
OBJECTION #4: I DON'T
LIKE FEAR
In the Bible faith in God is also called
'the fear of the Lord'. Some people say
that they don't want a God whom they
must fear. They imply that such a God
must be a tyrant. Their objections
overlook, however, the fact that the love
of God has already been clearly shown
to us. It is He who has made us and
placed us on this planet in the first
place, and has opened the door to
everlasting happiness for all of us,
based simply upon the requirement that
we acknowledge His trustworthiness
and allow Him to lead us.
God wants to be a Shepherd to us. When
He created us, He brought us into a
dangerous universe where the forces of
good and evil were already engaged in
battle against each other.
Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He
who has made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people, and the sheep of His
pasture.
Psalm 100:3
God brought us into this world of moral
conflict as free moral agents, and with
this moral freedom came the possibility
of either living forever (as a reward for
righteousness) or dying (as the result of
wickedness). And God made our choice
as clear and simple as it could be.
Those who discount the value of fear in
our lives are really striking at the very
foundations of human society. Fear is an
essential part of our everyday
experience. Our fear of death prolongs
our lives and guides us to success in
almost every important thing that we do.
We generally view fearless people as
dangerous, uneducated, foolish or
insane.
We teach our children to look both ways
before crossing the street, and not to go
with strangers, because we fear for their
safety. Men dig down to bedrock before
putting up buildings, bridges and dams
because they fear the waste of wealth
and loss of life that might result from
carelessness. We pass laws about the
proper testing and construction of
planes, trains and automobiles because
we fear crashes. NASA tests and re-tests
its equipment and procedures, because
it fears encountering some unforeseen
situation in space. The fear of lawsuits
governs doctors and hospitals in the
practice of medicine.
People who reject 'the fear of God' don't
really have a problem with fear; they
have a problem with acknowledging and
obeying God. Fearing God is the
ultimate foundation of all human
success. It represents the wise path that
God has chosen to someday lead
mankind to an eternal future where fear
and death will be forever abolished.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy
One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but
the years of the wicked shall be
shortened.
Proverbs 10:27

Faith Of God
Without faith it’s impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), so our
relationship with the Lord is dependent on it. Faith is what brings the
things God has provided for us from the spiritual realm into the
physical realm (Heb. 11:1). Our faith is the victory that enables us to
overcome the world (1 John 5:4). Everything the Lord does for us is
accessed through faith.

Yet there is much confusion about faith today just as there has always
been. It’s like having a computer and knowing its potential but not
having a clue how to use it. Many of us know how frustrating that is.
The Bible is our manual with detailed instructions, but just like in the
natural, few people take the time to really study it. They are impatient
and want to do it on their own. They may reach some level of success,
but to really be proficient, they have to read the book.

One of the areas about faith that gives people the most trouble is the
concept that we have to acquire more faith and that some people have
much faith, while others have virtually none. We spend a lot of effort,
like a dog chasing its tail, trying to get something we already have.
Every born-again Christian already has the same quality and quantity
of faith that Jesus has. That’s awesome!

In Ephesians 2:8, Paul says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” It’s God’s grace that
saves us, but not His grace alone. If that were so, then everyone
would be saved because God’s grace has come to all men (Tit. 2:11).
We have to put faith in God’s grace, but the faith that we use isn’t our
own human faith. This verse says that faith is the gift of God.

There is a human faith that is inherent within every human being, and
there is a supernatural faith of God that only comes to those who
receive the good news.

Human faith can only believe what it can see, taste, hear, smell, or
feel; it’s limited to the five senses. Using natural human faith, we can
sit in a chair we’ve never sat in and believe it will hold us up. We fly in
airplanes when we don’t fully understand how they work, and we don’t
know the pilot, but we trust that everything will be okay. That takes
human faith, which God gave to every person.

What if I asked you to sit in a chair you couldn’t see? Or what if the
chair was missing one of its legs and was falling over? You wouldn’t
sit in a chair like that with human faith. Would you fly in a plane if you
could see that the engine was falling off or the tires were flat? Your
senses would forbid it.

Yet when it comes to God, we have to believe things that we cannot

see. You haven’t seen God or the devil. You haven’t seen heaven or
hell. You haven’t seen sin; therefore, you wouldn’t know what you
would look like if your sins were taken away. However, you have to
believe in all these things to be born again. How can you believe in
things you can’t see? The answer is that you can’t believe in invisible
things with human faith. You need God’s supernatural faith.

Romans 4:17 says, “God … calleth those things which be not as

though they were.” God’s faith goes beyond sight. God’s faith
operates supernaturally, beyond the limitations of our natural faith.

The context of this verse from Romans speaks about how God
supernaturally blessed Abram and Sarai with a child in their old age.
Abram was 100 and Sarai was 91 when Isaac was born. The year
before Isaac’s birth, when Abram still did not have a child by his wife,
God told them the child was coming, and He changed Abram’s name
to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah. Abram meant “high father,”
but Abraham means, “to be populous, father of a multitude.” God
changed Abram’s name and called him the father of a multitude before
it came to pass. Romans 4:17 explains this action by saying that “God
calleth those things which be not as though they were.”

When the Lord created the universe, Genesis 1:3 tells us that He
created light on the first day but didn’t create the sun, moon, and stars
until the fourth day of creation (Gen. 1:14-19). The Lord called light
into being first and four days later created a source for the light to
come from. That’s not the way natural man does things. We are
limited, but God calls things that are not as though they were. That’s
supernatural.

That’s the kind of faith we have to use to receive salvation. We have

to believe in God, whom we have not seen, and believe that our sins
are forgiven, which we cannot prove by natural means. It takes God’s
supernatural faith to receive salvation. Where do we get it from? We
get it from God’s Word.

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God.” We access God’s faith through His Word.

When we hear God’s Word, the Holy Spirit empowers it, and if we
receive the truth, God’s supernatural faith enters us. We were so
destitute that we couldn’t even believe the good news on our own.
God had to make His kind of faith available to us so that we could
believe in Him and receive His salvation. We were saved by using
God’s supernatural faith to receive His grace.

Once we receive God’s supernatural faith at salvation, it doesn’t leave

us. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, FAITH, meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law” (emphasis mine). Faith
becomes a permanent part of our born-again spirits. We sometimes
use the God kind of faith that’s present in our spirits and other times
we don’t. The truth is, it is always present. There is no lack of faith
within any true Christian. There is just a lack of knowing and using
what God has already given us.

Romans 12:3 says, “God hath dealt to every man THE measure of
faith” (emphasis mine). God didn’t give us different measures of faith;
we all received THE measure of faith. If I were serving soup to a lot of
people, and if I used the same ladle to dish it out, then that ladle would
be THE measure. Everyone would get the same amount of soup
because I would use the same measure. That’s the way it is with
God’s faith. He only used one measure. All born-again Christians
received the same amount of faith.

That’s what the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:1; “Simon Peter, a
servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like
precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ.” The Greek word that was translated “like
precious” in this verse is “isotimos,” which means “of equal value or
honor.” We have the same faith that Peter used when he raised
Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:36-42) and when he made people whole
by touching them with just his shadow (Acts 5:15).

We also have the same faith that Paul had. Paul said in Galatians
2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Paul
did not say that he lived by faith IN the Son of God but by the faith OF
the Son of God. The measure of faith that Paul had was the same
measure that Jesus had. It was Jesus’ faith. If there is only one
measure of faith (Rom. 12:3), then we also have the faith of Jesus.

We have the same quantity and quality of faith that Jesus has;
therefore, we can do the same works that Jesus did, if we receive this
truth and begin to use what we have (John 14:12). Because many
Christians have not understood this, they have spent their time asking
for faith or for more faith. How is God going to answer a prayer like
that?
If I gave you my Bible and then you turned around and asked me for
my Bible, what could I do? I would probably stand there in silence
while I tried to figure out what was wrong with you. That’s the reason
there isn’t an answer when we beseech the Lord for more faith. We
already have the same faith Jesus has.

Our Lord did say that He had never seen such great faith as the
centurion manifested (Matt. 8:10), and He also spoke of His disciple’s
little faith (Matt. 8:26), but He was speaking about how much faith He
saw. None of us use all the faith we’ve been given.

In that sense, some do have more faith than others, but technically, it
is more faith that is being exhibited or that is functional. We all have
been given THE measure of faith.

This is a major truth that will totally change your attitude and the
results that your faith produces. Most people don’t doubt that faith
works. They just doubt that they have enough faith to get the job done.
If Satan can blind you to this truth, then he can keep you from using
the faith you have. Understanding this truth will radically change
things.

Philemon 1:6 says, “hat the communication of thy faith may become
effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in
Christ Jesus.” Notice that Paul isn’t praying that Philemon will get
something more from the Lord. He was praying that his faith would
begin to work as he acknowledged what he already had. The word
“acknowledge” means, “to admit, recognize, or report the receipt of.”
You can only acknowledge something that you already have. We
already have the faith of God, and it will begin to work when we
acknowledge this.

The more you know about faith and how it works, the better it will work
for you. If all you knew was that you have the same faith Jesus has,
then that would remove hopelessness and motivate you. People
would eventually see results if they just kept trying, but they give up
easily because they believe they don’t have what it takes. That is not
true. The Lord has given us everything we need, including all the faith
we need. We just need to acknowledge what we have and begin to
learn the laws that govern the operation of God’s faith.

Walking By Faith
One year at our annual Charis Bible College Expand Your Vision
Weekend, as I was worshiping the Lord, I just knew in my heart that
the Lord had entered the room. I didn’t feel it, I just knew it. I knew He
had walked into the auditorium through the left front doors and right up
in front of the stage. He stood there next to me for a moment, then He
turned and started down the middle aisle and toward the back of the
room.

I know the Lord promised He would always be with us and, in fact,

lives within us. But there was a tangible manifestation of His presence.
Very simply put, I believe what we call the anointing is just a
manifestation of what is already true in the spirit realm. The Lord is
always with us, but His presence isn’t always tangibly manifest. This
time it was.

The presence of the Lord was so real, I opened my eyes to look and
see if I could see Him. Within moments, people began to drop to their
knees and worship the Lord in the same sequence that I had sensed
Him walking through the room. People were rejoicing and sobbing out
loud. It was a powerful time of being in the manifest presence of the
Lord.

But here is the thing that was so special to me: I didn’t physically
see or feel anything extraordinary. I didn’t need to. I knew it by
faith. By the Spirit, I knew what was happening before I opened my
eyes and saw any confirmation of the Lord moving through the
meeting and touching people. I was just as satisfied to know these
things by the Spirit as if I had been physically overwhelmed and
pinned to the floor under the power of the Holy Spirit.
As the meeting continued, there were many people touched by the
manifest presence of the Lord. It was one of those times that people
want to build three tabernacles and just camp there (Matt. 17:4).
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, I’ve come to the
place where faith when God’s presence is not manifest is just as
real as the special times when feeling confirms what faith
believes.

That night I ministered from Luke 24 where the two disciples of Jesus
were walking to Emmaus. As they walked along the road, the
resurrected Jesus joined them, but they didn’t recognize Him.

The scripture says,

“And it came to pass, that, while they communed [together] and

reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their
eyes were holden that they should not know him.” (Luke 24:15-16)

These were Jesus’ disciples, and yet they didn’t know Him. How could
that be? How could you not recognize a person you had lived with for
over three years? Mark’s account of this same instance gives us the
answer. Mark condenses this whole encounter into one verse and
says,

“After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they

walked, and went into the country”. (Mark 16:12)

The reason Jesus’ disciples didn’t recognize Him was because He

was in another form. This doesn’t mean He looked like another person
and had different physical features. That same day, just minutes after
this encounter with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus
appeared to His disciples in Jerusalem and showed them the print of
the nails in His hands and feet (Luke 24:39). This was the same Jesus
they had intimately known before. He bore the marks of crucifixion in
His resurrected body. But they didn’t know Him because He was no
longer in a physical body. He was in a spiritual, glorified body. They
were looking with physical eyes that could only see physical things,
and Jesus was in a spiritual body that could only be fully recognized
with spiritual eyesight.

Here is an amazing truth: Spiritual things can only be perceived by

our spirits.Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:6,

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit”.

What Jesus was saying was, flesh is flesh and spirit is spirit. You
cannot perceive the spirit through the senses of the flesh. They are
totally different worlds, or realms, of reality.

The Apostle Paul made this same point in 1 Corinthians 2:14 where
he said,

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned”.

The physical senses can’t discern spiritual things. This isn’t speaking
only of understanding spiritual truths with our minds; this also applies
to seeing spiritual realities with our eyes or feeling spiritual things with
our emotions. Of course there are exceptions where God opened
physical eyes to enable people to see angels and even heaven, but
normally the only way to access the spirit realm is through our spirits
by faith.

Although special times of the manifest presence of the Lord do occur

when we can feel in the natural what is always true in the spiritual, this
is the exception rather than the rule. We are not to be more excited
when we feel something than when we are just walking by faith in the
promises of God. That’s a radical statement!

The Lord began to teach me this very early in my walk with Him. On
March 23, 1968, the Lord manifested Himself to me in a tangible way.
For four months, I was physically aware of the Lord’s love and
presence with me in a way that took virtually no faith. I could feel it. It
was awesome. But then that physical sensation left. Shortly thereafter,
I was drafted and found myself in Vietnam. The absence of Christian
fellowship and everything I was used to made my desperation for the
Lord’s love and presence even more acute. I could truthfully say that I
was desperate for God in the worst sense of the word.

Then one day, I woke up and felt like God was totally gone. I had no
sense of His presence. Hopelessness and a fear came over me that I
had never known. I remember someone coming into my bunker, and I
hid under a stack of clothes. I was so afraid, I just couldn’t face
anyone. I felt exactly like Ephesians 2:12 says, “That at that time ye
were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world.”

It felt like God had died or at the very least deserted me. For three
days I did everything I knew to do to try and regain God’s presence. I
fasted and prayed and studied the Word constantly. Nothing seemed
to make any difference. Then on the morning of the third day, I woke
up and found myself kneeling beside my cot praying. Nothing special
was happening, but the simple presence of the Lord was back. Or
maybe it was simply that the fear and hopelessness was gone.
Whatever it was, I had my normal peace back.

I know according to the Scriptures that the Lord never leaves us nor
forsakes us, so I believe that this was only my perception that the Lord
left me. However, this taught me a wonderful lesson. I discovered that
I had taken for granted the everyday peace that the abiding presence
of the Lord produces. I believe the Lord was tired of me begging for
some special emotional experience. He was wanting me to start
walking by faith instead of feeling. So, He removed my awareness of
His presence and let me feel what hell (the total absence of God) must
feel like. It had a profound impact on me.

I quit asking for some epiphany and just started thanking God for what
I had. I got into the Word of God and began to believe that the Lord
was with me and loved me, not because of what I felt, but because He
told me so in His Word. I began the transition from feelings to faith,
carnality to spirituality, immaturity to maturity. This is how I was
relating to the Lord that night at our CBC Expand Your Vision
Weekend.

I perceived the presence and ministry of the Lord apart from feelings.
It was just a revelation from the Lord that I accepted by faith. When
the manifestations confirmed what I knew by faith, I wasn’t more
certain of His presence than I was before physical confirmation came.
I wasn’t dependent on some physical experience. I had the everyday
love, joy, and peace that I walk in, but I had faith that let me know
God’s presence and love was with me in an infinitely greater way than
anything I could feel or see.

I’ve had some awesome encounters with the Lord, and doubtless, I
will have more. But regardless of what wonderful experiences you or I
have with Him, they are limited. We’ve only scratched the surface or
touched the tip of the iceberg of God’s great love and awesomeness.
What we have inside is infinitely more powerful and wonderful than we
can grasp, and it’s always that way. You may not always perceive
God’s presence and peace with you, but it is. Even in the times when
circumstances are yelling at you and affecting your emotions, God’s
glory is right there inside of you, giving you love, joy, peace, and all
the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

You won’t always feel God’s presence. That may come as a shock
or disappointment to you, but that’s the way it is. And if you are
believing, unrealistically, for a constant tangible manifestation of His
love and presence, you are out of step with God and setting yourself
up for disappointment. That’s not the way He is. The Lord loves to
work in subtle ways that only faith perceives.

Look at the way Jesus came to earth. He didn’t come in some

grandiose style. He came humbly, as a child born to poor parents. His
birth wasn’t announced to Caesar or Herod the king. It was heralded
to lowly shepherds. Even Jesus’ physical body wasn’t exceptional.
Isaiah 53:2 says “he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall
see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”

When people looked at Jesus’ physical body, it took faith to believe

that He was God. He wasn’t beautiful. He was natural. He wasn’t
extraordinary. And when Jesus rose from the dead, He never showed
Himself to a single person who wasn’t already one of His disciples.
We would think He missed a great opportunity. Thousands had seen
Him crucified just three days before. All He would have had to do was
walk down the streets of Jerusalem or into Pilate’s judgment hall, and
people would have been forced to bow their knees and acknowledge
Him as the Christ. But that’s not the nature of God. Hebrews 11:6
says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him.”

Our God is a God of faith, and it takes faith to please Him. He could
make a bird come sit on your shoulder and tell you He loves you every
minute of every day. He could write your name with instructions on
every cloud that passes over. He could have angels come visit you
every morning and night to affirm to you that what He says in His
Word is true. But that’s not faith, and that’s not God. Second
Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

We don’t just walk by faith until we get the sight we really desired. We
walk by faith, period. When sight comes, we praise God and keep
walking by faith.

The things I’ve tried to share with you in this article are profound. Not
everyone will realize the importance of them. But faith is as far
superior to feelings as true love is to lust. There really is no
comparison. Yet lust seems to be more common and easier to come
by than true love. Likewise, dependence on our feelings is more
common among Christians than faith. We know what God said in His
Word, but we don’t feel it, and therefore, we don’t believe it. That’s all
wrong. Faith comes before feelings and always trumps feelings. Faith
will produce feelings, not every time, but sometimes, and we need to
enjoy them when they come. But being controlled by feelings is a BIG
hindrance to true faith. We need to get to the place where God’s Word
is proof enough without emotional confirmation.

I’ve made an audio teaching on this from Luke 24 entitled “Walking by

Faith.” In this teaching, I share about this experience at the Expand
Your Vision Weekend and my Vietnam story I shared in this article. I
go into a lot of detail on this subject that I think could really make a big
difference in your life. There is much more to this than I was able to
convey in this article.

Whose
Righteousness?
The word “righteousness” has become a religious cliché that has lost
its meaning to many people. Even Christians are confused about what
righteousness is and how to receive it. This has left our society without
a clear understanding of what it takes to have a relationship with God.
This is reflected in our nation’s moral collapse. It’s imperative that we
get back to the basics of righteousness.

“Righteousness” and its counterpart, “righteous,” appear 540 times in

520 verses of the Bible. In contrast, “faith,” “faithfulness,” and “faithful”
are only used 348 times in 328 verses. This means that there are 1.5
times as many scriptures about righteousness as there are about faith.
Righteousness is important.

A layman’s definition of righteousness is simply, “right standing with

God.” Righteousness is the condition of being in right relationship with
the Lord. This can only happen through TOTAL faith and dependence
upon Christ. There is no other way, and there is nothing we can add to
our faith to obtain right relationship with the Lord (Rom. 11:6).

One of the things that blinds people to a true understanding of

righteousness is confusion about how we become right in the sight of
God. It is commonly thought that our actions are the determining
factor in God’s judgment of our righteousness. That’s not true. There
is a relationship between our actions and our right standing with God,
but right relationship with God produces actions, not the other way
around. That is to say, we are not made righteous by what we do.

Righteousness is a gift that comes from the Lord to those who accept
what Jesus has done for them by faith (Rom. 5:17-18). The gift of
salvation produces a changed heart that, in turn, changes our actions.
Actions cannot change our hearts. It’s the heart of man that God looks
upon (1 Sam. 16:7), and we must be righteous in our hearts to truly
worship God (John 4:24).

The mistake of thinking that doing right makes us right is the same
error the Pharisees made. Religion has always preached that if we
clean up our actions, our hearts will become clean too. Jesus taught
just the opposite (Matt. 23:25-26). It’s through a changed heart that
our actions change. The heart is the issue. Actions are only an
indication of what is in our hearts. Actions are the fruit the heart
produces.

Modern-day Christianity often puts the emphasis on actions instead of

issues of the heart. This is reflected in Christians’ excessive efforts to
legislate change in people’s actions instead of changing their hearts
by the preaching of the Gospel. It’s the Gospel that contains the power
of God, not political action groups (Rom. 1:16). Laws only affect
actions. The Gospel changes hearts. Once hearts are changed,
actions change.

Contrary to popular belief, Christianity does not promote receiving

justice from the Lord. Praise God for that! The Lord has a much better
plan. We get what we believe.

I once developed pictures in a photography studio for a living. People

would come into the studio to look at their proofs and say things like,
“This picture doesn’t do me justice.” I never had the nerve to say this,
but I often thought, Lady, you don’t need justice, you need mercy.
That’s the way it is with God. We sometimes call for justice but that’s
not what we need. As the Scriptures say, “All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). Again, in Romans 3:23 the
Scriptures say, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God.” “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10).

The wonderful plan of salvation is that those who put their faith in
Jesus and what He did for us get what He deserves. On the other
hand, those who do not put their total faith in Christ will ultimately get
what they deserve. Believe me, that is not what they want. Religion
has subtly instructed people to trust in their own goodness instead of
God’s. This will never work. “For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

The Biblical story of the handwriting on the wall illustrates this point
(Dan. 5:1-31). Belshazzar was the king of Babylon. His father,
Nebuchadnezzar, had conquered the nation of Israel and brought all
the wealth of the temple, along with most of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, back to Babylon. During an extravagant feast, with 1,000
of his lords in attendance, Belshazzar chose to toast his gods using
the golden vessels from the temple in Jerusalem, which was in open
defiance of the God of Israel.

The Lord moved swiftly and dramatically by creating an image of a

man’s hand, with fingers that wrote on the wall in front of Belshazzar
and all his guests. Belshazzar called on all his magicians and wise
men to decipher the writing, but none could. Then the queen reminded
Belshazzar about Daniel who had interpreted the dreams and visions
of Nebuchadnezzar when no one else could. Daniel was summoned
and the writing explained.

The message from God revealed that Belshazzar had been weighed
in the balances and was found wanting. Therefore, his kingdom was
divided and given to the Medes and Persians. This came to pass that
very night. Belshazzar was overthrown, and Darius, the Mede
(Persian), took control.
If we were weighed in the balances against God’s righteousness as
Belshazzar was, we too would come up short. God’s righteousness is
always more in quantity and quality than ours will ever be. Our
righteousness is as filthy rags compared to God’s righteousness (Is.
64:6).

Someone might say, “That’s not fair. No one can compete with God’s
righteousness.” That’s exactly right! However, God’s righteousness is
the standard by which everyone must be measured. So then, how can
anyone be saved? The answer is that no one can be saved, if they are
trusting in their own righteousness. We all must have a righteousness
that exceeds anything we could ever produce through our own effort.
That’s where Jesus enters.

Jesus was in right relationship with God as no one else can be. He is
the Son of God. He is God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). He is
holy and pure and without sin, yet He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21),
through no wrongdoing on His part. He took our sin in His own body
on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God,
and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon
him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:4-5).

In return for Jesus taking our sin, those who put their faith in Him get
His righteousness instead of their own. It’s not our actions that make
us acceptable to the Father. It’s our trust in Jesus that imparts the
righteousness of Jesus into our born-again spirits that makes us in
right standing with God.

Those who don’t understand this righteousness, which comes from

God as a gift, become frustrated trying to establish their own
righteousness through good works (Rom. 10:3). It won’t work. It’s an
all or nothing situation (Rom. 11:6). We must trust completely in what
Jesus did for us to obtain right relationship with God. Any trust in our
own goodness will void the atonement Christ made for us (Gal. 5:4).
This is precisely the condition of millions of people in the body of
Christ today. They receive salvation by putting total faith in Christ for
the forgiveness of their sins, but then they return to believing that the
Lord still relates to them on the basis of their works, even after their
salvation. That’s not true.

Colossians 2:6 says, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk ye in him.” That means if you were saved by putting faith
in God’s grace alone, then you maintain that relationship in the same
way. Some people sing “Just As I Am Without One Plea” when they
are born again. They need to sing this song all the way through their
Christian lives.

Failure to understand this truth is at the root of all guilt and

condemnation. Satan’s only inroad into our lives is sin. If we
understand our right standing with God on the basis of what Jesus did
for us, and not by our own actions, then Satan’s power to condemn is
gone. Those who live with a feeling of unworthiness are not trusting in
God’s righteousness but are looking to their own actions to obtain right
standing with God. That will never work
 Roots of
Righteousness

A while back I had a dream: I saw white roots growing out of my feet.
My first thought was, Well, that’s weird. But then the Lord spoke to me
and said, “Those are the roots of righteousness.”

Before I was born again, I had no biblical background, so even well-

known stories like David and Goliath were new to me. Andrew says
that young believers are like little plants that need to be in a protected
environment until their roots grow deep. In the natural world, the root
system of a plant will sustain it for life. Our spiritual roots will do the
same for our spiritual growth. They need to be strong and firmly
planted so that we can mature and bear fruit.

As I was trying to understand the Bible, I would watch different

ministers on television and read a lot of books. But sometimes it was
hard to connect the dots, because there were a lot of contradictions in
the things I was learning. The Word says that we should not
be “carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine” (Eph.
4:14, Amplified Bible), but we should “grow up in all things into Him
[following His example] who is the Head—Christ” (Eph. 4:15, AMP).
All of us need to take care of our spiritual roots. For healthy spiritual
growth, it’s essential to stay away from influences that contradict the
Word. To overcome problems in this life, we need more than spiritual
input from a variety of sources; we need a stable foundation that will
allow our roots to be firmly established in the faith.

Andrew’s teachings fortify the roots of faith. One of the great benefits
of his messages is that they interconnect and build on each other.
They reveal the whole counsel of God and help eliminate
discrepancies.

The Apostle Paul said,

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him
[reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others
away from sin], [7] having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually
built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established in your faith, just as
you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude.
Colossians 2:6-7, AMP

Paul exhorted us to be deeply rooted in Christ and to be continually

built up in Him and established in our faith, just as we were taught. It
doesn’t matter whether we are new in the faith or have been walking
with God for a long time, our roots will stay strong as we remember
the things we were taught.

Maybe you have already heard all of Andrew’s teachings. But let me
ask you this: Are all the things you were taught active and alive in your
heart? Have you given up in some areas because you didn’t see the
manifestation soon enough? If so, there’s hope.

Sharper than a Two-Edged Sword is one of the best-kept secrets of

the ministry. This teaching is a compilation and summary of the
sixteen most important revelations that God gave Andrew. Each
chapter addresses a specific topic in an abbreviated form. This format
provides an overview that helps you to understand how these truths
relate. Whether or not you are new in the faith, an overview of these
topics will help you put each one in its proper perspective and fortify
the roots of righteousness growing in your life.