How do I cultivate the faith of God that is within me?

A. As a born-again believer, you have residing within your spirit the faith of God. You have the life and nature of God. Faith is a fruit of the reborn human spirit (Galatians 5:22). Your faith has the potential to produce the same results that Jesus produced in His earthly ministry (John 14:12).

Faith must be in the unseen before it can be applied to the things you can see. It is cultivated through fellowship with the Father. Your relationship with Him is the most important aspect of your faith walk. You cannot see God, but He will reveal Himself to you through His Word, by the Holy Spirit.

Faith that moves mountains is simply trusting God to keep His Word. You cannot trust God without knowing Him. Fellowship is quality time spent alone with God getting to know Him. Your fellowship with Him will develop trust. It will enhance your faith because you are giving Him the opportunity to reveal Himself to you. You will know Him. Fellowship with God Who is invisible gives birth to the kind of faith that can change things in the visible, physical realm.

You can also promote the development of your faith through meditation and confession of the Word of God. Faith is an action; when you believe that you receive, you will act like it. God told Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Joshua 1:8). Meditation reveals how to act on the Word. Confession is part of meditation. When you are speaking the Word to yourself, you are meditating the Word. You cannot say one thing and think something else. What you meditate regulates what you believe. Meditation and confession will cause you to be able to believe God's Word enough to act on it in faith.

Faith is also developed through praying in the spirit. Jude 1 says, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." Praying in other tongues is a spiritual exercise. As you spend time every day, praying in other tongues, you are keeping your spirit active rather than passive. You will be built up on your most holy faith!

Warning: God Does NOT Forgive All Sins

Most Christians, and sadly many clergy, believe God forgives all sins except one, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” (Matthew 12:31) But that misunderstanding is reading the Bible out of context and making doctrine, not of the totality of God’s Word, but out of a single verse that is meant to be only a part of its complete tapestry. 
This biblical simplification has deceived so many, and in the process denied the very same their Christian inheritance of everlasting life, as an unforgiven sinner cannot enter the Kingdom. And who is the architect of deceiving those of faith? As always, it is Satan. He knows he cannot claim the followers of Christ, as no one can snatch us from God’s hands. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:28) But, and this is where Satan strikes, we can exercise our God-given free will and walk away from the unmerited and loving gift of salvation. Of course, no one in their spiritual right mind would turn from the Holy City in exchange for hell, so Satan deceives us into believing we can live a profligate life without everlasting consequences. In this case, he has us believing only a fraction of the gestalt God provides on the forgiveness of sins. And because so many of us want to do-our-own-thing, we readily embrace a false doctrine that says Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross washes away our continued disobedience so we may have everlasting life. 
But that’s not true. 
One of the most often overlooked and/or misunderstood books of the Bible is Hebrews, specifically chapter 10, verses 26 through 31. “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” 
These verses, perhaps more than others, make clear God’s intent regarding the sacrifice for our sins; i.e., there is far more involved than the sacrifice of Christ, as the other part of the equation is our response to His sacrifice. That’s what Satan is trying to hide from us. The Bible says that if we continue in our sins after knowing the truth, “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” And that would include the sacrifice of the Cross. And without the blood washing us clean, no one is innocent enough to be in the presence of the Lord. 
But, and this is where the rubber meets the road, the matter doesn’t end there. The Bible says that continued sin not only removes the covering of the Cross, but makes us “worthy” for a punishment in excess of dying without mercy. And just in case there’s any misunderstanding, the subject is punctuated with the terrifying admonition that, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” 
The Bible is replete with God's love for His children, and this is another instance. Yes, some might see the warning in Hebrews as harsh, but those who know God see it as another example of His loving care. He wants us to be saved, and for His goal to be realized we have to know the truth. His truth. The only truth that matters. 

Faith Fuel

  

We need to have faith in God to get us down the highway of life, to the destination that God has planned for us. The Word of God is the fuel that keeps our faith moving along.

Christ Lives in me by Ed Lapiz March 4,2011

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The Garden of Eden in You by Kenneth Copeland

If you spend much time at all around a group of believers, there’s one word you’re sure to hear. It’s a good word. A Bible word. A word we toss back and forth in conversation with ease and frequency.

But there’s one problem with it. Scripturally speaking, we don’t fully understand what it means. We have very little idea of the real power and history behind it.

The word I’m talking about is blessing.

Most of us think that word simply refers to something good that God gives us—a gift He bestows. But the blessing of God actually extends far beyond that. It includes not only His gifts, but the creative power behind them. It speaks not only of what we have been given but of who we are and what God has anointed us to do.

If you are a born-again child of God, THE BLESSING encompasses your identity, your capacity and your call.

Such a statement might sound to some like an exaggeration, and it would be if I were using the word blessing like we usually do—to mean an isolated outbreak of God’s goodness in some area of life. But I’m not talking about a blessing like that. I’m talking about THE BLESSING—and that is a far greater thing.

A Dramatic Moment in Divine History 
To understand the true scope of THE BLESSING, we must trace its origin back through the Bible to the first chapter of Genesis. There, in what I believe was one of the most dramatic moments in divine history, THE BLESSING made its first appearance.

In the six days leading up to it, God had spoken the earth into being. He had said, “Light be!”…and light was. At His command, the sun, moon, stars and sea had all been set in place. Plant, animal and marine life had all been brought forth by God’s Word. Everything had been made ready for His crowning creation: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26).

Personally, I believe at that moment a hush fell over the universe as all the angels and heavenly host waited in anticipation to see this God-like being who was about to be created. Their attention was riveted upon this being called man who was to be given authority over the earth. What would this creature be like? What kind of power would he possess? What work would God give him to do?

All those questions were answered in an instant with what happened next.
 

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth (verses 27-28).

The First Words Adam Ever Heard 
With those words, God imparted to Adam and Eve—and to all mankind— THE BLESSING. He told them who they were: the lords of the earth created by God in His image as rulers and royalty. He told them what they were supposed to do: replenish (or fill up) the earth, subdue it and bring it into line with the perfect will of God. He also gave them the power to carry out that assignment.

To bless actually means “to empower.” So the first words Adam ever heard, the first sound that ever struck his eardrums was the sound of God’s voice empowering him with the divine, creative ability to reign over the earth and make it a perfect reflection of God’s best and highest will.

How did Adam know what God’s perfect will for the earth was?

All he had to do was look around him. He was living in the Garden of Eden— a place created and ordered by God Himself. That Garden was a perfect demonstration of God’s plan for this planet. It was a prototype of what He wanted the whole thing to be.

Adam’s job was to exercise his God-given authority and expand that Garden until it encompassed the entire earth. That’s what THE BLESSING was for! It provided Adam with the power to carry on the work God began in creation. It equipped him with the divine resources he needed to follow God’s example and, by speaking anointed, faith-filled words, transform the uncultivated parts of this planet into a veritable Garden of Eden.

In other words, THE BLESSING empowered Adam to be a blessing wherever he went. The Garden of Eden was literally inside Adam.

The God Who Never Quits

Of course, we all know that Adam and Eve messed things up. Instead of operating in THE BLESSING they’d been given and becoming a blessing to the whole earth, they disconnected from God through disobedience. They bowed their knee to the devil and gave him access to their God-given authority. When they did, the whole deal was twisted.

THE BLESSING was turned into a curse. Instead of prospering under their oversight, the earth resisted them and became their enemy. Instead of speaking to it and reigning over it as kings, Adam and Eve worked it like slaves, sweating and laboring just to eke out a living. Talk about a long fall! Adam had once had enough power to subdue the entire earth and bless it; after sin entered the picture, he could hardly make a living in his own garden.

Even so, God didn’t give up on His original plan. He never does. There’s no variableness or shadow of change in Him. Once He sets out to do something, He stays with it until it’s done.

So it’s no surprise that just a few chapters later, in Genesis 12, we find Him reestablishing THE BLESSING that Adam threw away. We find Him offering it again to a man who was willing to obey Him and enter into a covenant relationship with Him. We find Him saying to a man named Abram: 

Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3).

From Generation to Generation

There’s no question about it. That wasn’t just any blessing God was offering to Abram. It was THE BLESSING—the same one Adam was given, the same divine ability and creative anointing that caused goodness and prosperity to spring forth everywhere Adam went. Once again, as He did in Genesis 1, God was offering to a man the power to bless the whole earth.

Abram responded differently to that blessing than Adam did. He didn’t blow it off. He received it with respect and began to operate in it by faith. He even taught it to his children and passed the blessing along to them.

What was the result? Eden-like conditions began to blossom in Abram’s life. Just as God showed up in the Garden to fellowship with Adam and Eve, God began to visit Abram and talk with him. Their relationship was so strong and close that God referred to Abraham (Abram’s God-given name) as His friend.

Abraham’s physical body began to reflect the conditions of the Garden as well. THE BLESSING so renewed and regenerated him that he and his once-barren wife, Sarah, were able to have a son when she was 90 and he was 100 years old.

The great material abundance that marked the Garden of Eden began to manifest in Abraham’s life too. He became very rich in cattle, silver and gold. Everywhere he went, he prospered financially.

Because of THE BLESSING, Abraham and the members of his household learned how to do things they couldn’t do before. Without any formal military training, for example, Abraham’s servants became expert warriors. They fought so effectively that when a coalition of foreign armies attacked, Abraham whipped the whole bunch with just 318 of his servants. Then he freed all the captives and walked away with all the spoil.

Those are the kinds of results THE BLESSING produced again and again in Abraham’s life. They didn’t stop with him, either. They continued in the lives of his descendants because God had specifically said, “I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (Genesis 17:7).

Because of that promise, THE BLESSING can be traced down through generations in the pages of the Bible. We can see it in the life of Abraham’s grandson Jacob as he prospered and increased against all odds. Even when people intentionally cheated him in business, Jacob just kept getting richer. His household eventually grew so big the region he lived in couldn’t contain it.

Jacob’s son Joseph experienced the same kind of success in the face of even greater obstacles. When his brothers sold him into slavery, for example, THE BLESSING empowered him to become the overseer of his owner’s entire estate. Later, when a loose woman’s lies landed him in prison, THE BLESSING promoted him until he was in charge of the whole place. Finally, when the prison couldn’t hold him anymore, THE BLESSING brought him to the palace where he ended up as Pharaoh’s right-hand man and prime minister over the entire land of Egypt.

Who Is Abraham’s Seed?

After Joseph died, the revelation of THE BLESS began to dim and Abraham’s descendants slipped into 400 years of Egyptian slavery. But God—who never quits—raised up a man named Moses, breathed fresh life into that revelation and taught an entire nation of Israelites to walk once again in The Blessing of Abraham.

That Blessing was what split the Red Sea for them. It was what guided them and kept them for 40 years in the wilderness. It was THE BLESSING that demolished the walls of Jericho and launched the Israelites into the Promised Land. It was THE BLESSING that gave Samson the strength to single-handedly slay a thousand Philistines, and gave David the guts and grace to kill Goliath. It was THE BLESSING on Daniel that kept the lions’ mouths shut when he was in their den.

All those people enjoyed the benefits of THE BLESSING because of what God said to Abraham. They all experienced some of its effects because He had promised to give THE BLESSING not only to Abraham himself but to his seed.

“That’s all great, Brother Copeland,” you might say, “but I’m not Jewish. So what does it have to do with me?”

If you’re a believer, it has everything to do with you because the New Testament says that when God gave THE BLESSING to Abraham and his seed, “He [God] saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).

In other words, when God spoke to Abraham and his Seed, He was speaking directly to Jesus. He was giving to Jesus (through Abraham) THE BLESSING that was originally bestowed on Adam.

That’s why Jesus is called “the last Adam” (I Corinthians 15:45). He was the true inheritor of that Blessing. His whole earthly ministry was a demonstration of it. Everywhere He went, He brought blessing. That’s why, when sick people came to Him, He healed them. He was carrying out the mission Adam had been given. He was releasing the power of THE BLESSING within Him to expand God’s kingdom and reproduce God’s perfect will as it was first manifest in the Garden of Eden.

There wasn’t any sickness in the Garden of Eden, so healing is part of THE BLESSING and Jesus healed at every opportunity. There wasn’t any poverty or hunger in the Garden, so prosperity is part of THE BLESSING. Therefore He multiplied loaves and fish to feed the hungry crowds who came to hear Him. There was no harmful weather in the Garden, so when a storm threatened destruction, He spoke to it and calmed it down. That was THE BLESSING in action.

It’s Our Inheritance

But Jesus didn’t stop there. After demonstrating the power of THE BLESSING in His own life, He went to the cross and paid the price for the sin of all mankind. He defeated the curse, rose again and took THE BLESSING back so that you and I could inherit it. As Galatians 3 says: 

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth 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…. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (verses 13-14, 29).

Do you realize what that passage is saying? It’s telling us that through Jesus, you and I have become heirs—not just of a blessing, not just of some blessings, or even many blessings. We’ve inherited THE BLESSING! We’ve been given the power of God to create, to make available, and to overcome anything necessary to bring into manifestation the conditions in the Garden of Eden not only in our own lives but in the lives of others.

That’s our inheritance! We are heirs to everything God did in that Garden. Our job now is to help expand it and do our part to fill the earth with its blessing. That was God’s will for the first Adam and today His will is back in place through Jesus, the last Adam.

Some people say we need to get our minds off THE BLESSING and back on Jesus. But the truth is, you can’t separate Jesus from THE BLESSING. It’s what He came to restore. It’s what He walked in and made available to others when He ministered on the earth…and it’s what He has called us, as His disciples, to walk in and make available to others in His Name.

Today, I believe the angels are once again waiting with anticipation, watching this new-creation race of reborn men who have been given authority over the earth in the Name of Jesus. They’re waiting to respond to our command as we go into all the world, doing the works of Jesus, and telling everyone who will listen that He has paid the price for us all to inherit THE BLESSING.

Grace Radio

Just as we cannot hear radio waves without a radio receiver, so we cannot receive God's grace without faith, and that faith itself is a gift to us from God.

OVERCOMING THE FLESH

To experience God's grace, we must first recognize our need. (See "How can I tell if I'm getting addicted to sex or pornography?") We must turn to him and others for help. That's not easy. Perhaps you realize that you have a problem but still believe you can handle it alone. Guys hate to admit defeat. We don't want to ask for help.

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You Can't Overpower Your Lust

The apostle Paul understood our predicament. He told the Romans, "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing" (Romans 7:18-19).

I'm not suggesting that Paul struggled with compulsive sexual behavior, but he did struggle with sin-just like the rest of us. And like the rest of us, he would make up his mind not to commit a certain sin ever again. Did he succeed? No way! Now, if the apostle Paul couldn't overpower his sin, why should you and I think we can?

Even in a world free of erotic images, men don't control their lust. My oldest son called me last week from Pakistan. In that country men and women never hang out together. And women are covered with clothing from their head to their feet. Yet my son said he met a guy who offered to introduce him to some prostitutes.

If men in a country like that can't control their lust, how can we? From the moment we get up in the morning until we climb between the sheets at night, we're bombarded with erotic images and messages.

Suppose you made up your mind you were going to make it through one day without lusting after a woman. On your way to work your eyes are drawn to the bikini-clad model greeting you from a billboard. A few moments later as you stop at an intersection, you aren't able to keep from noticing the attractively dressed young woman crossing the street.

At work a friend brags about the gorgeous babe he bedded the night before. As you order lunch, the waitress with the short skirt winks at you and smiles. When you get back to the office, a coworker eagerly shows you his favorite erotic image on the Internet.

On your way home you stop at the grocery store and catch yourself gazing at the seminude models that adorn the magazines by the checkout counter.

When you finally get home, you plop down in an easy chair and flip on the TV. As you channel surf, you're exposed to more of the female anatomy than I found in the pages of Playboy when I was a kid.

With the high level of erotic stimulation you face on a daily basis, do you believe you can bridle your lust alone? I remember a friend once telling me (and he said this with a straight face), "I'll never have a problem with sexual lust."

I looked at him and said, "You're absolutely amazing. If that's true, you're stronger than Samson, godlier that David, and wiser than Solomon."

I'll never forget his response. He sat down and stared at me for a half minute without uttering a word. And then he said, "I never though of it like that."

I'll guarantee you, if Samson, David, and Solomon were here, they'd all say, "You can't defeat your lust alone!"

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You Can't Reform Your Lust

“OK,” you may be thinking, "maybe I can't beat it. But I can make myself better. I can reform my lust."

I frequently talk with new Christians who think that becoming a follower of Christ means the lust problem is solved. It's as though they think Jesus waved some sort of magic wand over them and-presto!—their sinful nature was transformed. Their lust was gone.

When they discover that their problem with lust seems even worse than before, they decide they'll study the Bible and pray more. Much to their surprise, that doesn't seem to solve the problem, either.

Listen to Paul's words. In Romans 7:10-11 he said, "The very command that was supposed to guide me into life was cleverly used to trip me up, throwing me headlong."[1]

As sinful human beings, our lustful appetites are so evil, they'll use God's good commands to tempt us. Like a rod stirring up dirt that has settled to the bottom of a jar of water, so God's law excites our lust. Forbidden things are more exciting. Women who are off-limits take on a greaterappeal. God says don't and our lust says do. God says do and our lust says don't.

Trying to reform our lust is like trying to make a dog into a person. For thirteen years a buff-colored cocker spaniel named Pumpkin graced our family. Over those years I taught Pumpkin all kinds of tricks. She obeyed the common commands like sit, lie down, and roll over. I also trained her to jump through a hoop, close a door, sit on her hind legs, and fall over as though dead when I shot her with an imaginary gun.

Yet in spite of all my training, I couldn't keep Pumpkin from acting like a dog. She always did doggy things. She ate things people tried not to step in. She sniffed other dogs in places only dogs sniff. She went to the bathroom in public. No matter how well I trained Pumpkin, she was still a dog.

Similarly, your sinful propensity doesn't reform when you enter a church. It doesn't change when you come to faith in Christ. You can go to church, read your Bible, pray daily, and even lead a ministry without reforming your sinful nature. Paul said, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature" (Romans 7:18).

When we fall under the domination of our sinful nature, we're capable of doing anything evil, whether we're believers or not. When controlled by our lust, we can no more do good than a dog can talk.

Yet when dealing with their lust, men sometimes think they can reform it. They deny its evil power.

You may grow as a Christian. You may become more like Christ in your spiritual nature. But in the flesh, in your sinful nature, you're no better than the day you trusted Christ. And because your lust is driven by sin, you can't reform it.

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You Can't Starve Your Lust

One of the problems I have with a lot of recovery programs is that their primary emphasis is on abstinence. They think the key to defeating an addiction is to stop the behavior. Now, please don't misunderstand me. We can't control any addiction unless we stop acting out. But if that's all we do, it won't work. We'll simply change addictions. For example, our lust will transfer from sex to alcohol. And if we stop drinking, it will move on to shopping or work or gambling.

It's impossible to starve our lust to death. Until the day we're with the Lord, we'll struggle with sin. A number of years ago I read a poem that describes the struggle and defeat we experience when we fight against our lust alone. W It's entitled “The Yipiyuk” (by Shel Silverstein).

In the swamplands long ago,
Where the weeds and mudglumps grow,
A Yipiyuk bit on my toe…
Exactly why I do not know.
I kicked and cried and hollered "Oh!"
The Yipiyuk would not let go.
I whispered to him soft and low.
The Yipiyuk would not let go.
Yes, that was sixteen years ago,
And the Yipiyuk still won't let go.
The snow may fall, the winds may blow.
The Yipiyuk will not let go.
I drag him 'round each place I go,
And now my child at last you know
exactly why I walk so slow.

Like the Yipiyuk, your sinful nature will resist letting go. For a while you may ignore it. Later you may insist it doesn't really have a hold on you. But if you hope to break its power, you must first realize it's there and admit you don't have the power to dislodge it.

Hopefully, you'll tire of fighting a losing battle. Paul did. In desperation he cried out, "Oh, what a terrible predicament I'm in! Who will free me from … this deadly lower nature?" (Romans 7:24 LB).

If someone as spiritually together as Paul realized he was fighting a losing battle, isn't it time for you to do the same thing? I know giving up isn't easy. But it's a step you must take if you're going to find lasting freedom.

You may now begin to see your powerlessness to overcome your lust, and sense your need for God's help.

As a next step, we suggest that you read author Bill Perkin's excellent book When Good Men Are Tempted. Bill details a biblical plan for sexual integrity - one that works, with God's love and assistance.

by www.christiananswers.net

Bring joy into our home Ed Lapiz Mp3

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Ed Lapiz Becoming a giant March 2,2011

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Faith and works

How do the two seemingly contradictory functions of faith and works relate, interact and compliment each other?
By faith alone, in Christ alone, we are saved. Faith is the instrument, Christ is the Saviour.
By works we prove the genuineness of our faith. We are saved by faith alone, but not by the faith that is alone.
Christians are justified before God as they place their trust in Jesus Christ, the Sin-bearer, the Substitute who bore God's wrath in our stead (Romans 3:26; 4:1-5; Galatians 2:16). The Christian starts and lives his life by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). He does not look inside him but outside, to Christ. By faith his hope is sustained (Hebrews 10:35-12:3).
Faith is not simply a feeling, a mere sentiment that results only in positive speech. It is not an optimistic decision. Neither is it passive orthodoxy. Faith is a response, directed towards Christ as it satisfying object. That is why faith must have content. Truths about Christ must be understood and believed. Christian faith is trust in the eternal God as revealed in Scripture and His promises secured by Jesus Christ. It is called forth by the gospel as the gospel is made understandable through the supernatural and free work of the Holy Spirit. Christian faith is not inherited or passed mechanically on; it is a personal act, involving the mind, the heart and will. It is not faith in an idea or philosophy, but in the Triune God.
Faith involves three steps or aspects: knowledge, agreement and trust. Redemptive facts must be made known so that they may be accepted (Romans 10:14).
Calvin defined faith as "a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favour towards us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ, and revealed to our minds and sealed on our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Institutes, III.2.7).
Through faith we run to Christ and hold fast to Him, who satisfied the law on our behalf (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:10-13). In this way we are accounted righteous in the sight of God through faith alone, without doing the works of the law. We are simul iustus et peccator.
But since faith unites to Christ it cannot be lifeless. It works through love (Galatians 5:6). It seeks to doo all the "good works, which God prepared beforehand" for us (Ephesians 2:10).
James rightly says, faith without works is dead, being by itself. He is here describing a faith that knows the gospel and even agrees with it, but has fallen short of trust in God. Failure to grow, develop, and bear the fruits of righteousness shows that the free gift of God in Christ has never been received.
James is concerned about those who merely say they believe but do not actually and genuinely believe. If they did, their behaviour would be holy, manifesting their heart-faith. In this sense faith and works are inseparable, but as regards the obtainment of salvation, it is not what is done in us, but what is done for us (on Calvary) that matters. But if we really look upon the crucified and risen Saviour, our lives would necessarily be transformed. It cannot be otherwise.
Romanism blends faith and works, claiming that both are alike necessary for salvation; Protestantism urges that it is by faith in Christ that we are reconciled to God. But if it is asked, what kind of faith? Then the answer will be, a live faith, a faith the bears good fruit.
Even when we have believed, the good works we do are never perfect. They are acceptable to God only because of the mercy of Christ (Romans 7:13-20; Galatians 5:17). We express our love for God through doing what pleases Him, and He in His kindness promises to reward us for what we do (Philippians 3:12-14; 2 Timothy 4:7,8).
In this we are not making God our debtor, any more than when we first believed in Him. God in rewarding us is graciously crowning His own gracious gifts.
Paul and James on Justification
Paul and James harmonize on the doctrine of justification, even though at first glance they may seem to be at loggerheads.
For instance Paul taught as follows: “We conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28). James, on his part, wrote: “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:24).
Roman Catholicism clings desperately to James’ exposition while disregarding and even contradicting Paul’s theology on justification.
This she does to her own hurt. The balanced Christian view on justification has to listen to both apostles. Together they present the whole picture. That they are good friends can be proved as follows:
1. James does not contradict or deny Paul's doctrine (Romans 3:28; 4:5; Galatians 2:15-16, etc.), for both were guided by the same Spirit of truth (John 16:13-14).
2. James does not speak about how a man is reckoned as righteous before God, but rather about the justification or validity of his faith in the eyes of men (James 2:18: "Show me your faith....").
3. We are justified by faith alone, but works justify our faith, and declare that we are justified. Men cannot see our faith, except by our works (cf. Luke 7:47,50). If you have faith, demonstrate it. The only evidence visible to human eyes is the deeds of obedience. Though God can read the heart, our only view of the heart is by the sight of outward fruit.
4. James treats the question, "What kind of faith is saving faith?" The obvious answer is that faith without works cannot save, something Paul wholeheartedly believed too. Faith that yields no deeds is not saving faith. The New Testament does not teach justification by the profession or the claim to faith; it teaches justification by the possession of true faith. Calvin said: "We are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone." Both Paul and James would have agreed to this statement.
5. Both Paul and James conveniently take Abraham as their example, the former appealing to Genesis 15 while the latter draws his point from Genesis 22. His offering up of Isaac demonstrated the reality of his faith (chapter 15). Yet Abraham's obedience was not the meritorious cause of his salvation; it added no merit to the perfect and sufficient merit of Christ.
6. Thus James is attacking all forms of antinomianism that seek to have Jesus as Saviour without embracing him as Lord. Just as Paul demonstrated that trusting in one's own works is deadly, so James teaches that resting on empty or dead faith is fatal. They complement each other: James deals with antinomianism, Paul with legalism.

What to Do When Healing Doesn't Manifest

You know God wants you healed, and you have taken all the steps you know from God’s Word to receive your healing. But for some reason, your circumstances just do not seem to be changing...healing is not manifesting in your body.

What do you do now?

First, it is important to understand that God has not failed you. He cannot, because there is no failure in Him. It is never God who is short on healing power. Healing always comes. However, it is not always received.

When demands are made on the power of God, the healing virtue of Jesus Christ will flow into a person’s body and make it whole.

In John 5, the story is told about a man who had an infirmity for 38 years. This story, perhaps, gives us the best picture of the frustration that even today’s believers face when it comes to wanting to be healed, and yet, not being able to make it happen when we want it—and need it—the most.

We read that day after day the invalid man lay by the pool of Bethesda hoping somehow to be the first person in the water after the angel stirred it, because if he was the first to make it in, he could be healed.

But then along came Jesus. He asked the man, “Do you want to become well?” The invalid answered saying, “Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool....” (See verses 6-7, The Amplified Bible.)

The significant detail in their conversation at this point is that the man was so focused on the problem of not being able to get into the water before someone else, that he never even considered placing a demand on Jesus to help him—to get him healed.

Like this man, many believers today desire to be healed, yet they have not willed to be healed. What’s the difference?

The difference is that determination is what makes a demand on the power of God. After all, God has sent His Word, and according to that Word, healing has already been purchased by the blood of Jesus. So, the rest is up to us. We must act on this new blood covenant to get the results we desire.

Still, for those times when it seems God’s healing power has somehow been short-circuited and it just is not flowing through our lives, the Bible points out some problem areas that may be the reason for this lack of healing or health. Some of those problem areas include:

• Failure to forgive others (Mark 11:25-26)
• Failure to keep the commandment of love (John 13:34)
• Lack of knowledge and lack of vision (Hosea 4:6; Proverbs 29:18)
• Lack of discernment of the Lord’s body when taking communion (I Corinthians 11:23-32)
• Lack of integrity in your heart (Psalms 25:21)

Since we know there is no failure with God, it is obvious that when believers do not receive their healing, the problem must lie elsewhere. Keeping this in mind, we need to realize that healing largely depends on a firm stand in the fact that your prayer has been heard, and, that it has been answered.

The challenge, then, comes in not swaying from God’s Word. And in part, that means we need to keep our tongue in line with what God says about our healing.

To help you stay in line with the final Word on healing, we suggest you take the following scriptures, look them up in your Bible, then read them over and over, and meditate on them. It may even help you to write or type them out on separate paper so you can have easier access to them throughout your day.

• Proverbs 10:11, 12:18, 13:3, 15:4, 16:24, 18:21
• Psalms 34:13-14
• I Peter 3:10-11

By the way, you may find it interesting to know that nine of the 11 plagues that came against Israel, as recorded in the book of Numbers, were caused by misuse of the tongue. So you see, your mouth—and your words—will either work for you, and bring health and healing to your life, or they will work against you, bringing nothing but harm.

Make them work for your good. Make them get on track with what God has said and is saying. Speak the Word—and keep speaking it and keep speaking it. As you do, God will confirm it. And He says, you are healed!

-By Kenneth Copeland