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BELIEF AND FAITH

Don Bantum

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Believe what exactly? Can you just believe whatever you like? What does real belief look like in the eyes of God? Let’s take a closer look at what believing in Jesus truly means.
 
It’s all about Salvation. If you really believed you’ve been forgiven, there wouldn’t be any reason for you to be confessing all the time to acquire more forgiveness. If you truly knew and believed Jesus has taken ALL your sins away, you’d never feel a need to keep asking Jesus to do what He has already done, once and for all time, on a cross 2,000 years ago.
 
We are saved by grace through “FAITH” in Christ’s completed work. Doubt can’t save anybody. What doubt and confessing really means is you’re an unbeliever. As the epistle of Hebrews tells us,

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth [which is NOT believing Jesus, when He said,] [“it is finished” (John 19:30),] [then, according to God, not me] no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fires [of hell ] that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26-27)

Now this, my friend, is a really big deal; something you need to stop and think about, not just skate over like its not even there! When people continue to confess, and ask God to forgive them, according to Jesus, that’s proof they are in fact unbelievers. I didn’t write the Bible, I’m merely pointing you as well as others to Jesus and his word, so you can come to FAITH in the completed and finished work of Jesus Christ. Don’t make the mistake of just blowing this off, like it was nothing. That would be a truly big mistake as well as like slapping Jesus in the face after his sacrifice for you and dying in your place. Don’t allow Satan to close your mind here, swallow your pride and start believing God when he said, it’s finished, because it’s finished. God said,

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

This is something God has done, not me. We don’t become believers by not believing. We are not SAVED by our great lack of faith, but by Real Faith, in the finished work of Christ Jesus on our behalf. I, as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, have fought and am fighting for YOU, not with YOU, but Satan himself, to get you to see you may have been blinded by religious, denominational, traditions of men. Satan wants us to continue to believe a lie, by confessing to get further forgiveness from God:

For ourstruggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

When we try to get people to see truth, we aren’t fighting the people, but rather the forces of evil at work inside those people, who are in bondage by the spirit of lies, with the grip of Satan that is fighting us to keep that error in place. Satan wants people to think this whole thing is some kind of joke; its not. God said:

“That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:12)

He also said to:

“resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

There isn’t a lot of resisting of the devil taking place, most of the resisting taking place seems to be against the truth of God’s Holy Word, not the devil. People are comfortable right where they are, don’t confuse me with facts, my minds made up and I’d rather go to hell than change my traditional and denominational dogma. Don’t show me, I don’t want to see it. Who do you think it is that’s kicking up such a fuss, do you really think it’s YOU? It isn’t; its:

the powers of this dark world and...the spiritual forces of evil- (Ephesians 6:12.)

Satan doesn’t care what you or anybody else believes, as long as it isn’t truth, and as long as you don’t place saving faith in that truth. And he WILL push your buttons and make sure you resist truth, and no, he isn’t going to leave without a fight. The whole lost world is in bondage to error, lies and half truths. All of those people are comfortable where they are. Satan makes sure they remain comfortable, and busy, real busy, doing “good works,” many times, in all kinds of “church” activities. That will make them feel good about themselves, and keep them all from seeking “THE TRUTH THAT IS ABLE TO SET YOU FREE.” Free from what? Free from everything that isn’t truth.

Notice when Satan was talking to Jesus, he always mingles truth in with the lie; hoping we will take the bait, as he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden. NO, you won’t become as gods.

“A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” (Galatians 5:9 KJV)

You can have it all, and feel really good about yourself, and get up on the stage and take a bow, get your much needed pats on the back, and be honored with awards and plaques for SERVICE. If you’re feet aren’t planted in the truth of God’s word, you’re dead meat. NO, that’s not my opinion, that’s truth, right out of the word of God. People fail to see the simplicity of the gospel message, and make it real complicated, it’s not. People go to church and read their Bibles to find out about THEM, and what it is THEY are supposed to do. They have to find out just what it is, that GOD wants from them. Show me just what it is, that God wants me to do, so I can go to heaven. God tells us in,


John 6:28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29. Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Man thinks this is all about him, and what HE is doing. Nothing could be further from the truth. The BIBLE is about JESUS, and what Jesus HAS done, for mankind, not what mankind is doing for Jesus. Jesus needs nothing from his creation, but His creation needs everything He has done on its behalf, if we are to find spiritual life. Because Jesus is the only one that has a LIFE to offer us, and if we make the mistake of believing this is about us:

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7)

Here these people are, bragging to God about all the great things “they” have done in Jesus’ name. Does it sound to you like Jesus is real pleased with their works-oriented lifestyle? What Jesus said is the work that God requires us to believe. Put your FAITH in JESUS.

Satan is going to do whatever he can, to keep our minds on ourselves and what we are doing, and ignoring completely what Jesus HAS DONE for us. Satan wants us to make this about us, because he knows if he can deceive us into concentrating on us, he has us. When you hear God’s truth, it can save you, if you believe what you hear. He will try to cause you to become anxious and nervous and make you want to flee. God said, resist, that would be an excellent time to resist the devil, and stand fast in the truth of God’s Holy Word. Keep your eyes off of you, don’t get all happy about the wonderful things you’re doing for God. Unless you are born again from the dead, it doesn’t matter what you do, its not going to score you any points with God. You must come to believe in Jesus and what he did in your place on the cross, and thank him for that, and mean it, and never ask Him to forgive you again. Because as it say’s in:

Hebrews 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

So if you keep asking God to forgive you of you’re sins, you are in fact, crucifying the son of God all over again, and putting him to an open shame. And if you think that pleases God, you are very sadly mistaken. The only thing that pleases God, is faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

Colossians 1:22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 

This is great news! You can’t improve on what God has done on your behalf. You don’t need to keep asking for that which, in Christ Jesus, you’ve ALREADY RECEIVED. That’s not faith, that’s presumption. Since Jesus HAS “presented you holy in HIS SIGHT, without blemish and free from accusation,” it makes no sense for YOU to keep trying to obtain further forgiveness for your sins?

If the physical body and blood of Jesus Christ have reconciled you, and as God has said, “without the shedding of blood there is NO FORGIVENESS,” what do you hope to accomplish by repeatedly asking Jesus to die and shed his blood over and over again? If that first sacrifice on the cross 2,000 years ago meant nothing to you, and you are living in unbelief of his ability to make you clean and forgiven, what would be the point for Jesus to do that all over again, when all He would be doing is dealing with an unbeliever?

You must accept that you stand forgiven of all your sins, past, present and future. Let’s face it, when Jesus died 2,000 years ago, all of your sins as well as mine were in the future, unless, of course, our ages exceed 2,000 years!

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, (1 Peter 3:18)

What does “ONCE FOR ALL” mean to you? In order for there to be any further forgiveness to be executed on your behalf, Jesus would have to die again, because without the shedding of blood, we have learned there is no forgiveness of sins. So by constantly seeking more forgiveness of sins, Jesus would have to suffer and die, again and again, just to please YOU! 

Now, as it has been explained above, you must either dispense with your unbelief and place saving faith in Jesus’ finished work on your behalf, or die in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature.

Jesus has taken away the ALL the sins of the whole world, except for the sin of unbelief. That can only be taken away by one’s repentance. Repentance is a change of mind, a complete 180-degree turn from the direction of unbelief to faith in Jesus the Christ. We were all born spiritually dead in the sin of unbelief, and all who have come to Christ had to repent of their unbelief to receive forgiveness because of that unbelief.

You are not the “Lone Ranger” here; we all at some point had to experience the revelation that Jesus died for US! It was for me Jesus went to a cross, suffered, bled and died to take my sins away, and He was raised again on the third day to give ME new life. That is to say, his life living in ME. Then I rested in that KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH, never again to allow Satan to frighten me into believing I had committed some sin that wasn’t covered by the blood of Jesus.

because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:14)

In your mind, just how long is FOREVER? We are not made perfect for 15 minutes, or 30 seconds until we sin again. Nor are we being made perfect because of anything we do or don’t do. But by the blood of Jesus, who IS GOD. So who is it that made us perfect? You don’t have the ability to make yourself perfect. GOD alone, through the blood of his very own Son, Jesus Christ the Lord, has secured your perfection. Our perfection is in JESUS alone, we have no perfection outside of the completed work of Jesus. You may not be perfect in anybody else’s sight, including your own, but you have been made perfect in GOD’S sight, “IF” you can walk by faith in HIS completed work for you.

All of this is available for those who believe. Are you going to put this “BELIEF AND FAITH” issue to rest once and for all, or are you going to continue in your unbelief? Only you and God know the answer to that question? Isn’t it time YOU started praising God and thanking JESUS FOR ALL HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED FOR YOU?

I think it may be necessary for you to understand just exactly what “Salvation” is, and is not, to help you solidify faith and belief. Salvation first of all is NOT having your sins forgiven. If it were, everybody on this planet would be saved, and you and I both know they are not!

Jesus HAS already taken away the sins of the whole world away on the cross. That’s a done deal. What salvation IS, is LIFE from the dead. Once you realize you were born in Adam and spiritually dead, you’ll understand that forgiving a dead man isn’t going to be of much value to him. He has a greater problem than sin at that point; he’s DEAD. So we come to Jesus for Life, not forgiveness of sins.

That forgiveness is found in the Life of Christ. So once we have come to him by faith, we are made spiritually alive. And we receive the forgiveness that Jesus has purchased for us with his very own blood at the cross. You see the penalty for sin is DEATH, not merely being out of fellowship with God, or just being taken to the spiritual wood shed.

All of this is found in HIM. When we come to Jesus by faith, we receive all it is He provided, which is Life everlasting and the forgiveness of sins. So if you can’t get past the forgiveness issue, there is a very distinct possibility you never came to Jesus for Life in the first place. Most people seem to think salvation is merely getting their sins forgiven. But as you can see that isn’t it at all. However, once having come to him by faith, and believing on his name, you have it all, which includes, but is not limited to, having been made alive from the dead, having been made perfect in his sight, and having been made complete in HIM.

I’m compelled to ask at this point, what can you add to “perfection,”, or “completeness?” Not a thing, which is also why Jesus has commanded us to rest in HIM. If you’re resting, there isn’t a lot of work taking place, right?

It’s my prayer that you will walk by faith in the faithful One, even Jesus. If you have any other biblical questions, don’t hesitate to E-mail me, and with the help of ALMIGHTY GOD, I will attempt to give you the answer.

God bless you as you walk by faith in HIM. †††

 

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BELIEF AND FAITH

THE TRINITY

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TITHING UNDER A NEW COVENANT

AM I TRULY FORGIVEN?

THE NEW COVENANT

SALVATION, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

THE DEITY OF CHRIST JESUS

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IS GOD DISAPPOINTED WITH ME?

IS GOD MAD AT ME?

DOES JESUS REALLY LOVE ME?

THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS

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