As a rule, the majority of believers in the church do not really understand faith. Many have come to believe that living by faith is virtually inaccessible for them and only really meant for the Super Saints. Others believe they have to “grow faith.” Still others feel that they are too weak or fallible to ever experience something good from God through faith. But nothing could be farther from the truth!
Whether you are cultured or uncultured, educated or uneducated, rich or poor, strong or weak, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for you and will work for you! I like what Paul says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth;…” But guess what? He also says that faith comes by hearing the Gospel or the Word of God!
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Our word for salvation comes from the Greek word soteria which speaks of “a condition where nothing is missing, nothing is broken and nothing is withheld—wholeness.” It is more than simple forgiveness and going to Heaven; it includes deliverance, protection, prosperity, peace, and healing. And according to Paul, faith is the agent that activates it in our lives.
“But I just don’t have that kind of faith,” you say. That’s the beauty (and power) of the Gospel—it’s not about you! It’s about Jesus!
I remember a time in my life when I was just beginning to grasp this concept. One spring while we were still living in South Africa, I realized that no one in my family had been to the doctor all year. (This was very unusual for our family.) It stopped me in my tracks. Because as a faith preacher, I realized that I hadn’t purposefully believed God for healing, so I couldn’t understand how I was experiencing the benefits of salvation without “fighting the ‘so called’ good fight of faith.” That’s when God revealed and explained the true definition of our fight of the faith to me. He said, “Arthur, the scripture says when you are rooted and grounded in my love, you experience the fullness of my benefits!” (Eph. 3:17-19) I realized it wasn’t so much about my “faith,” but it was about me becoming fully persuaded and absolutely convinced of God’s extravagant, unconditional love for me in and through what Jesus did for me on the cross!
So I stopped trying to do faith and began to believe and rest in the fact that God completely and unconditionally loves me. Because faith and living by faith will not make any sense, unless in the depths of our hearts we become fully persuaded that God “LOVES US UNCONDITIONALLY AND EXTRAVAGANTLY—without respect, boundaries, caution, limits, and without regret!
This is the true message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
No matter what has happened in your past, or what is happening right now, or what might happen in your future, God cannot and will not (He refuses to) stop LOVING YOU!
2 Responses
Amen, thanks for the blessing massage God bless you
Thank you for this clarity.