Is Faith Itself a Gift from God?

I used to be a Calvinist. But even when I was there were some aspects of Calvinism I just could not accept simply because Scripture spoke otherwise. One such teaching is that the faith we have in Christ for salvation is itself a gift from God. They say that God imparts faith to His elect in order for them to be able to come to Christ. Yet Scripture speak differently:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

This verse is really the only Scripture they have to claim that faith itself is a gift from God. According to them, faith is not something that is produced in the heart of a person who hears the gospel message preached but that it only comes when God specifically puts it there. Yet the Bible says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

But this verse cannot be referring to faith as being a gift from God for two grammatical reasons: (1) the Greek word for “that” which is “touto” is in neuter form and cannot be referring to “faith” which is “pistis” in the Greek and is feminine; (2) the antecedent of the phrase “it is the gift of God” is the salvation which is by grace and through faith.

Faith is not a gift imparted to an individual by God. This verse clearly indicates that salvation is the gift being spoken of, not faith. Please look for a moment at its context.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7

Notice Paul makes the identical statement “by grace you have been saved” shortly before he says it again in verse eight, but does not even mention faith at this point. It appears the subject he has in mind has more to do with grace, or more specifically with how we are saved by grace, than it does with how we receive faith. In other words, salvation is the subject and grace is the basis by which we are saved.

God’s grace is exalted again when Paul states, “the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (v. 7). He is emphasizing the fact that salvation is by God’s grace toward us in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Once again, it is grace that is emphasized with no mention of faith yet.

Verse eight expands on the phrase he already used “by grace ye are saved.” We learn that this salvation is by God’s grace and is received by us through faith: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8, 9).

The gift he is referring to is clearly the gift of salvation. But what happens to the flow of thought when we argue that the gift of God is really the faith through which salvation is received? First we will follow the flow of thought from assuming the gift being spoken of is the gift of salvation. Here is how it flows:

Salvation is a gift from God that He bestows on us by His grace. It [salvation] is not of our selves, that is, it is not of our own works or earned. If it were of our selves then we would have grounds to boast. But it [the gift of salvation] is received through faith on the basis of God’s grace and kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, so that no man has any grounds to boast.

When we say that the gift of God is salvation, then the context of the scripture fits very nicely. But here is what happens when we assume the gift of God to be faith itself:

Faith is a gift from God that He bestows on us by His grace. It [faith] is not of our selves, that is, it is not of our own works or earned. If it were of our selves then we would have grounds to boast. But it [the gift of faith] is given to us by God’s grace and kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, so that no man has any grounds to boast.

As I believe you can see, when we make faith itself the gift of God, we begin to lose clarity in the flow of thought and also introduce some questionable statements. (1) It is confusing to say that faith is not of our works. Faith is not something that can be worked for or earned any way. How can we earn faith? (2) If faith is the gift, then does this imply that salvation is not a gift? Salvation certainly cannot be earned. (3) How then does salvation fit into this verse? It would appear to make faith the main subject and salvation to be only a secondary thought.

If we say that salvation is the gift of God that cannot be earned but is by grace and is received through faith, then the entire passage makes sense. But if faith is the gift, then we are making faith the end result instead of salvation.

So then we see that the issue is about how we receive salvation, not how we receive faith. And the contrast given is whether salvation is by grace or by works. If salvation is a gift by grace then it is received through faith in Christ but if it is not a gift then it is earned by works. If salvation can in fact be earned by works (which it cannot), then it is not a gift at all. Can you see that faith is not the gift but simply the channel whereby the gift of salvation is received?

Paul makes a similar statement in another passage, “Therefore it [righteousness] is of faith that it [righteousness] might be according to grace” (Rom. 4:16). The context here is about how righteousness is through faith so that it is according to grace rather than according to works. He uses Abraham and David as examples of men who learned this eternal truth. The contrast is between grace and works for salvation.

Where is boasting then?

Some Calvinists go even further to say that if faith were not a gift from God but something that is of our selves then we would have grounds to boast. We could then look down our noses at unbelievers because we had enough “sense” to believe the gospel and they did not. In other words, they see faith itself as being a work if it is not in fact a gift. But this goes contrary to what Scripture plainly teaches about faith. Look again at the passages of Scripture we already discussed:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8, 9). The foundation for boasting is based upon works for salvation as opposed to grace through faith. Working for and earning salvation is what Paul opposes, not faith.

“For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God” (Rom. 4:2). This verse comes from the context of the passage we just discussed earlier, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace” (Rom. 4:16). Boasting is based upon an attempt at earning salvation by works rather than receiving it as a gift by grace through faith in Christ. It makes no sense to say that faith must be a gift or else we have something to boast about before God.

To demonstrate, at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Romans 3:26, 27

Contrary to the teaching of many of Calvinists, faith in Christ actually eliminates any grounds for boasting before God. Faith does not compel us to boast but rather excludes boasting entirely. It is the works of the law that would give us a basis for boasting if we could in fact earn our own salvation apart from Christ. Faith is not a work but simply the desired response to hearing the gospel message of the Cross of Christ preached.

Faith is not a work

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. Romans 4:2-5

Notice Paul said, “But to him who does not work, but believes.” Faith is not a work but is mutually exclusive from works. If Abraham had strived and worked for righteousness, it would not have been reckoned to him by grace through faith but as a wage for a debt owed. His faith did not give him a reason to boast but was the very thing that glorified God, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20).

Is confession a gift too?

Would Calvinists be so silly to claim that confession is a gift too? “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). If believing (or faith) is a gift, then should we not say that the confessing is too? If God gives us the faith to be saved then surely He also gives us the confession that corresponds with it. Would they say that He supernaturally imparts an irresistible movement to our lips so that we will have no grounds for boasting in our confession? This obviously becomes ridiculous to even consider.

Conclusion

Faith is not a gift that is deposited into the heart of a person by God. It is a persuasion that comes from hearing the gospel preached, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they ear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14). Believing comes by hearing, not by divine impartation. This is why we must go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

What Did Christ Mean When He Said "You Shall Be Witnesses"?

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). According to Pentecostals, Christ instructed all Christians to receive an impartation of the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation which is evidenced by the sign of tongues. This power is supposedly some kind of an inward power that makes us more effective at evangelizing or sharing the gospel. This is how the word “witnessing” came to be coined.

But Christ was actually speaking to His apostles about them being eyewitnesses of Him after His resurrection. It was the apostles who were eyewitnesses of the risen Lord, “The apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days” (Acts 1:2, 3). And apparently they did not misunderstand what He meant by them being witnesses because when it came time to replace Judas Iscariot they declared this as a needed qualification for possible candidates: “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection” (Acts 1:21-22).

Christ’s resurrection is even the subject of the first sermon preached, “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32). Establishing the one true saving gospel message of Christ dying for our sins and rising from the dead could only be accomplished by actual eyewitnesses of Him. “Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high’” (Luke 24:46-49).

It could not be any clearer than in this passage that the apostles were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ and received a unique power for the task of proclaiming their testimony. The following are several passages which substantiate this fact:

“This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32).

“But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses” (Acts 3:15, 16).

“And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 4:33).

“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him” (Acts 5:32).

“And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead” (Acts 10:39-41).

“He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people” (Acts 13:31).

“But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you” (Acts 26:16).

In Acts 1:8, Jesus was not commanding all Christians to receive power from the Holy Spirit for the task of witnessing. This power was an impartation given exclusively to the apostles and a few other ministry offices in the early church who were actual eyewitnesses of Him. But nobody has seen Him since that time because Paul was the last eyewitness, “Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (1 Cor. 15:8).

Now what exactly was this power that was given to them? This word “power” is translated from the Greek word “dunamis” and almost always refers s to the miracle working power of God. In fact, it was used for the mighty works that Christ performed when He was on earth.

“Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works [dunamis] had been done, because they did not repent: Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works [dunamis] which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works [dunamis] which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day” (Matt. 11:20-23).

“Now He did not do many mighty works [dunamis] there because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58).

“And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this Man get these things? [dunamis]’” (Mark 6:2).

“Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power [dunamis] He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out’” (Luke 4:36).

“Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works [dunamis] they had seen” (Luke 19:37).

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles [dunamis], wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know” (Acts 2:22).

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power [dunamis], who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).

This same word “dunamis” was also used for the miracles performed by those endued with power from the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. The apostles’ eyewitness testimony of the resurrected Lord was confirmed by the signs, wonders, miracles, and healings they did.

“And with great power [dunamis] the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).

“And Stephen, full of faith and power [dunamis], did great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8).

“Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles [dunamis] and signs which were done” (Acts 8:13).

“Now God worked unusual miracles [dunamis] by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19:11, 12).

“In mighty signs and wonders, by the power [dunamis] of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Rom. 15:19).

“Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds [dunamis]” (2 Cor. 12:12).

“God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles [dunamis], and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” (Heb. 2:4).

The power of the Holy Spirit was the ability to perform signs, wonders, and miracles and was given only to certain individuals in the early church who were actual eyewitnesses of the risen Lord. To say that this is a power to be received by all Christians at all times for the sake of more effective personal evangelism is an unfortunate misinterpretation that has brought confusion to many.

What better testimony would there be than for actual eyewitnesses of His resurrection to also show tangible proof that He is alive by the undeniable miracles He is working through them? Many of the people who personally saw Jesus working miracles were now seeing Him continue to display the same miracles after His death. What tremendous proof of His resurrection!

This power to be witnesses has nothing to do with Christians today because Christ ceased appearing to anyone long ago. Scripture is clear that it was an endowment to work miracles, signs, and wonders as evidence of His resurrection from those who were actual eyewitnesses.

Obedience is the Mark of a True Disciple

Christ’s analogy of the vine and the branches in John chapter fifteen helps us understand who is a true disciple and who is not. I believe the withered branches which are burned are false disciples such as Judas Iscariot who commit apostasy. I hold this interpretation mainly because of the statement, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (v. 3). The other eleven disciples, to whom Christ was speaking, were “clean” because of the commandment He had spoken to them previously in the thirteenth chapter.

“Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, ‘You are not all clean’” (John 13:10, 11). Judas was not “clean” because he was not a true disciple. Christ then spoke this word or commandment after Judas departed to betray Him, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34, 35). True disciples keep the commandment of love. This is the word that Christ spoke to the remaining disciples who were “clean.”

Are we “clean?” Are we true disciples of Jesus Christ? Do we really love Him like we say we do? The proof our love is whether or not we keep His commandments: “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” (John 14:21), “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word” (v. 23), “He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (v. 24).

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed’” (John 8:31). Again, Christ stated that true disciples abide by His word; they obey Him. “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”

The test of true discipleship is in the keeping of His commandments. “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3, 4).

But I Say Unto You

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). Many have taken Christ to be talking about imputed righteousness in this statement. In other words, that since Christ’s own righteousness, which of course far exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, is imputed to us by faith therefore our righteousness now exceeds theirs. But the context makes it clear that He was really teaching about practical righteousness; the remainder of His sermon bears this out.

In chapter five, several times He says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old…” (vv. 21, 27, 33, 38, 43), “But I say to you…” (vv. 22, 28, 34, 39, 44). Christ was reminding His listeners of what the scribes and Pharisees, “those of old,” had said. Then when He said “But I say to you…” He was stating how His standard of righteousness exceeds theirs. They taught, “You shall not commit adultery” (v.27) which by their standard meant not committing the act of adultery. But the true interpretation of the seventh Commandment is that we don’t even lust in our hearts. This is the standard of righteousness Christ expects of us. So, if we’re committing adultery in our hearts we are not exceeding the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and we will “by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” regardless of our confession of faith in Him.

The Sermon on the Mount is a sermon for believers to live by. In fact, if we don’t live by it we are not saved. Our practical righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. But, as you may be objecting, it sounds like you are teaching salvation by works. Not so. Christ and His apostles taught holiness “without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). There is no such thing as “no-Lordship salvation” or “easy believism.” A person cannot receive Christ as Savior only and not serve Him as Lord for the very requirement of salvation is that we confess Him as Lord (see Rom. 10:9).

Christ’s parting words to His apostles was: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matt. 28:19, 20). To be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be obedient to His commandments. Christ had also taught, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” (John 14:21), “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word” (v. 23). A person can say they love Jesus but the true test is whether or not they are keeping His commandments. Obedience is the essence of true saving faith.

It’s truly a sobering thought that if we’re not consistently keeping the supreme commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39; Rom. 13:9; Jam. 2:8), then we are not saved. Many of us don’t even love our own spouse as ourselves. Who are we kidding? If we don’t express love to our spouse in servitude then we are certainly not serving others in the body of Christ as we should.

Christ taught that there will be a judgment before Him of the sheep and the goats (see Matt. 25:31-46). It will be based on the amount, or lack thereof, of good works a person has done. But please keep in mind that these are works of love toward fellow brothers and sisters in Christ which validates true saving faith, not moral works toward earning salvation. James also taught about the works that accompany faith and the example he used is: “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food” (Jam. 2:15). To clothe and feed our brethren is to express true saving faith: “I will show you my faith by my works” (v. 18). This is also what the apostle John taught (see 1 John 3:16-18).

Paul revealed “the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath” (Rom. 2:5-8). Eternal life is to those who patiently continue to do good but indignation and wrath awaits the disobedient. In other letters, Paul listed multitudes of sins and said that the people who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (see 1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5). He taught practical righteousness in order to enter heaven.

Peter taught the same thing: “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:14-16). In his second letter he expressed, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” (1:5-7). He said that if we diligently do these things “for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 11). In other words, the entrance into His kingdom is open to those who diligently “add” these virtues to their faith. This entrance is the “narrow gate” which few find (Matt. 7:13, 14) because few live-out what they say they believe.

Toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ foretold of many who call Him “Lord” which will someday hear Him say “depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (7:23). Luke records Him saying, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (6:46). Calling Him Lord without obedience to Him as Lord is not salvation.

Finally, at the end of His sermon Christ taught: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (7: 24), “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (v. 26). What determines whether we are building on the rock or on the sand is whether or not we are keeping Christ’s sayings in His sermon. “But I say unto you” is the standard of righteousness which exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. And if we don’t exceed their righteousness, we won’t enter the kingdom of heaven.

Faith Without Works is Dead

James 2:14-26 is a favorite passage used by Roman Catholics to teach that we are not saved by faith alone but by a combination of faith and works. They say that James’ statement, “faith without works is dead” (v. 20) means that it is not enough to believe on Christ as the sufficient sacrifice for our sins but that we must also earn salvation by our own works. But James was teaching nothing of the sort.

Three reasons why

First of all, the context makes it clear that it was not our own works of righteousness that he had in mind when he spoke about “faith without works.” He had just instructed his readers to keep the “royal law” or supreme commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 8). He then explained the expectations of the Law of Moses: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law” (vv. 10, 11). He understood the Law’s requirements; that it demanded absolute perfection. Therefore, he was not teaching that we are saved by our own works of righteousness.

Secondly, James, like the apostle Paul, used Abraham as an example of imputed righteousness by faith, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (v. 23). It is obvious he understood that righteousness is not earned by any works of our own but is accounted, imputed or reckoned to us. James was not at odds with Paul on the subject of righteousness as some accuse.

And finally, James was not teaching the works of the Law for righteousness because he even gave an example of the type of “works” he was speaking about: “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” (Jam. 2:15, 16). So, it is clear from this example that he was not speaking about working for our salvation but rather showing works of love toward our brothers and sisters in Christ after we are saved.

Works of love

James was not at all saying that a combination of faith and our own works of righteousness is what saves a person but rather that true saving faith is revealed by works of love. He was speaking about the validity of genuine saving faith. The key statement is, “someone says he has faith but does not have works” (v. 14). Not everyone who says they have faith really do. There is nominal faith and real faith.

He goes on to explain how that our works of love show our faith, “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (v. 18). True saving faith is not revealed by what someone says but by what they do. Works of love toward our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is the natural outflow of genuine faith. Therefore, if there are no “works,” according to James, there is no faith.

The apostle John made a similar statement about faith without works: “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 Jo. 3:17, 18). True believers have God’s love abiding in their hearts and it manifests itself in good works toward the brethren. It is not enough to just “say” we love them but our love must be revealed in “deed and in truth.”

Abraham justified by works?

What did James mean when he asked the question, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?” (v. 21). We must recognize that the word “justify” has more than one meaning which must be determined by the context. As a theological term it means “to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit.” But it can also mean “to defend or uphold as warranted or well-grounded.” This is the way James was using it.

“And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God” (v. 23). God had already accounted righteousness to Abraham in Genesis 15:6 and this Scripture was “fulfilled” or satisfied many years later when he offered Isaac his son in Genesis 22:1-19. In other words, Abraham’s obedience to God in offering his son “justified” (defended, upheld) his relationship with God. His “works” satisfied the position of righteousness previously declared. This is what is meant by “faith without works is dead” (v. 20).

Conclusion

This passage in James does not support the Roman Catholic doctrine that works cooperate with a person’s faith in order to save them. Scripture specifically states that it is not by our own works that we are saved (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:9; Titus 3:5). Works are antithetical to faith. James was not even talking about works of righteousness—earning salvation—but works of love. Our “works” substantiate and verify the fact that we truly are saved.

Why I Believe Christianity is the One True Religion

Since Jesus Christ made the claim that He is the only way to God (John 14:6), it follows that either Christianity is true and all other religions are false or that Christianity is false and that one or more other religions may in fact be true. But as the result of Christ’s exclusive claim to the truth, Christianity cannot coexist with other religions. I saw a bumper sticker one time that made each letter of the word “coexist” into a symbol of the major world religions. I don’t remember all of the symbols used but just that the “X” was the Star of David which represented Judaism while the “T” of course stood for the Cross of Christianity. That’s the message of the world; that all religions lead to God and we must learn to coexist by respecting each other’s beliefs.

Why can’t God use many different religions? The simple answer is that God is Sovereign and can do anything He wants. Maybe He could very well have chosen to use other religions but the fact is He did not. He ordained that His Son would receive all the glory and be the only access to Him. God sent His Son and only sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Therefore, since God ordained that His Son would be the only Savior then no invented religion of man can substitute. How could we possibly override God’s will and invent some other way to get to Him?

There are several reasons why I believe Christ is the only way to God and that Christianity is the only true religion. Mine is not a “blind” faith. Many people accuse God of not giving enough evidence to believe. But, as I believe we will learn, this is not the case. Other religions demand their followers to just take them at their word in spite of lack of substance. In other words, there is no evidence to what they claim to be true yet they expect loyalty from their disciples. This is the essence of “blind” faith.

The unity of Scripture

One of the most incredible evidences for the truth of Christianity is the unity of Scripture. The Bible consists of 66 books written by more than 40 authors over a 1500 year time span. And the running theme of the entire work is Jesus Christ. There is no explanation other than God is the overseer and author of it. How could dozens of men from different occupations, in different locations, and at different times in history write a unified book?

The Bible was not written in a vacuum; it is true history. In other words, it is not a volume of “wise” sayings or teachings from some sage or religious leader. It is God intervening into actual world history. The men who wrote it did not just live in a cave somewhere and record their philosophical thoughts. They were prophets, priests and kings called out by God who changed the history of Israel which in turn affected the surrounding world. The entire history of the world has been shaped by these men.

Christianity is not an offshoot of Judaism. Many believe that the Old Testament is the foundation for Judaism and that the New Testament church is a branch from it. But Judaism, like all other religions, tries to earn its way to heaven. It is just another manmade religion which was invented by the nation of Israel. Christ is the theme of the entire Bible and His church is the end result of the work He started in the beginning. God has always saved His people by their faith, not by the works of the Law of Moses or any other religious works.

Fulfilled prophecy

No religion other than Christianity has genuinely fulfilled prophecies as their basis. Some religions claim to have prophecies but miserably fall short of substantiating them. Even the most famous of the false prophets in the world, Nostradomus, gave predictions that are entirely too vague. Not only are his predictions vague but they have nothing to do with the redemption of man. They are just empty sayings that are supposedly fulfilled in modern events.

Now the enemies of Christ have made up reasons to try and explain away the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible. One of these is that the Scriptures were altered to make it look like they were truly fulfilled. But the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1949 proved otherwise. These Old Testament documents actually pre-date Christ proving the authenticity of the prophecies they contain.

Another excuse they promote is that the prophecies of the Bible are too vague. But this simply is not true. The events surrounding the birth, life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ foretold in the Old Testament were a mystery and were “hidden.” Therefore, the prophecies flow within the narration of Scirpture. But this was all in God’s plan. It may be that the reason God “hid” the prophecies until after their fulfillment was so that there would never be a doubt that the events came to pass by God alone without the help of any man. Plus, we are told, if man had understood ahead of time what was supposed to take place then it may very well not have happened at all, “Which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8).

Miracles

A miracle is supernatural intervention into this natural world. It is God doing something only God can do. Christianity was confirmed to be true by multitudes of miracles performed by Christ. Just to name a few of Christ’s miracles: changed water into wine (John 2:6-10); healed diseases (Matt. 4:23, 24; Luke 6:17-19); cast out devils (Mark 1:34); raised the dead (Matt. 9:25; John 11:43, 44); restored sight to the blind (John 9:1-7); fed the multitudes (Matt. 14:15-21, 15:32-38); walked on water (Matt. 8:26, 27); calmed a storm (Mark 4:39).

Christ not only claimed to be the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) but backed up His claim by the miracles He performed. He does not expect us to simply take Him at His word without any proof. In fact, speaking of His miraculous works, He said, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” (John 14:11). He was stating that His miracles give us the evidence we need to believe.

The resurrection

Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the basis for our faith (1 Cor. 15:14). To somehow disprove the resurrection would destroy the entire foundation of Christianity. On the other hand, proving it as an actual historical event establishes the Christian faith throughout all ages.

There are several legitimate evidences for Christ’s resurrection: the empty tomb; multitudes of eyewitnesses; the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost; miracles performed by the apostles; the silence of critics. Without going into detail about each of these, it is sufficient to say that these provide ample evidence for Christ’s resurrection as an historical event. And His resurrection proves that He is the only way to God because He is the only man to win the victory over death.

The most reasonable world view

It just makes sense that for a religion to be true then it must answer the crux of life’s spiritual questions such as the creation, death, sin, righteousness, and love. But not only should it address the spiritual but also the issues of daily life like family, marriage, divorce, money, work, politics and ministry. No other religion touches on so many areas of life than the Bible.

I know a lady who is diligently seeking the one true religion among many. Along with my wife witnessing to her about Christ, she is also being pursued by a Muslim who gave her a Koran. One day she read in it that it is acceptable for a man to beat his wife. This really turned her off to that religion and rightly so. We need to recognize that the Bible portrays men and women in their proper roles and gives dignity to both.

Conclusion

Some people try to test God by stating that if He is real then why does He not just show Himself or else give us overwhelming evidence of His existence and His will. Actually, God is not obligated to give us anything at all. It is His own prerogative to do as He pleases. But He did choose to show Himself to us in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ. He said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). And in order that we would have strong faith, He gave us not only sufficient evidence but also overwhelming evidence of Him. All the evidence we need is right there in Scripture and mankind is left without excuse.

A Little Leaven

In the old days, when people made bread, they included an ingredient called leaven. Leaven is a yeast that makes bread rise. It creates air pockets in the dough, which end up being the tiny holes of air in finished bread. Have you ever had bread that had air pockets in one end of the loaf, and none in the other? No. Bread that has these air pockets has them evenly distributed throughout the bread. That's because when you put leaven in dough, it affects the whole loaf.1

The symbolism of leaven is used many places in the New Testament. Jesus was the first to teach about it in the form of a parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened” (Matt. 13:33). The obvious point is that leaven characterizes something that starts out small but permeates the entire thing in which it is introduced. Now we just need to learn what leaven symbolizes.

What does leaven symbolize?

Leaven was used by Christ and His apostles to symbolize a few different things. On one occasion Jesus warned His disciples to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matt. 16:11), and they understood it to be false doctrine (v. 12). Therefore, false doctrine, like leaven, can spread and permeate wherever it is present.

On another occasion, Christ explicitly stated that leaven is hypocrisy, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known” (Luke 12:1, 2). In a similar way that leaven is “hidden” in dough until all of it is leavened, hypocrisy is a trait that hides the heart and true intents of a man. The Pharisees were hypocrites; they appeared righteous before men but hidden inside was rottenness.

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Cor. 5:6). Paul used leaven to refer to sin. This passage is about a Christian in the Corinthian church who was living with his father’s wife. Paul was having to rebuke the church for not dealing with this man’s sin by way of proper discipline prescribed by Christ (Matt. 18:15-19). His point seems to be that when a church doesn’t discipline its sinning members, the sins of those individuals becomes a reproach upon the entire body of believers. Thus, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

Leaven in Galatia

There are a few possible interpretations of Paul’s statement to the Galtians, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Gal. 5:9). The leaven could be sin in the life of the Galatian believers and the warning is that a little bit of it will affect their whole life. On a sub point, it might be speaking about the keeping of the whole law for righteousness. In other words, to seek righteousness by the law requires perfect righteousness and a little bit of sin corrupts the entire effort, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (Jam. 2:10).

The leaven could also be the false teachers who are few in number but infiltrated the whole church. On the other hand, it may be speaking more about the characteristics of these false teachers: that the leaven is their false doctrine which eventually infects the whole church or that it is their hypocrisy which hides their true motives.

The context seems to bear out that the leaven is false doctrine. Just prior to his analogy of leaven, Paul indicated that someone had “hindered you from obeying the truth” (v. 7) and referred to it as “persuasion” (v. 8). Earlier in the letter he had warned the Galatians about heeding “a different gospel” or “any other gospel” (1:6-9) than what they had received.

Conclusion

Christ taught us: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven.” The Passover was celebrated by eating the flesh of the sacrificial lamb and eating unleavened bread. This was a type of the true sacrifice of Christ and the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:8). In other words, Christ took away the penalty for our sins and we are now to live sincerely without hypocrisy or sin. We are to keep the true Passover feast.


1 http://www.ebibleteacher.com/children/lessons/leaven.htm

The False Teaching of Faith Healing

Many Christians today are deceived by the false doctrine that they can have faith to be divinely healed of bodily sickness and disease. Alot of them are new believers who lack a solid foundation of sound Biblical teaching and therefore are easy prey for false teaching. Instead of extracting the intended meaning of Scripture by expository preaching verse by verse through a passage, false teachers will select various verses out of unrelated contexts and then combine them to build a convincing case for their doctrine.

One example we will examine comes from the popular verse, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). These teachers reason that if faith comes by hearing God’s word and the whole Bible is His word then faith comes when we hear whatever God says in the Bible. Next, they will quote two key verses from the Bible to supposedly prove that healing belongs to us.

"When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses" (Matt. 8:16, 17).

"Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Pet. 2:24).

All they need to do now is simply build upon the premise they already established earlier. They will claim that since faith comes by hearing the word and the word says we are healed then we can now have faith to be healed. Because in their own estimation, Isaiah clearly revealed that Christ redeemed us from sickness by bearing it on the Cross and that the stripes He received purchased our healing. It appears to be a closed case for them.

Another one of their tricks begins with reminding us of what the writer of Hebrews declared, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). They reason that since Christ always remains the same then whatever He has done in the past He still does today; including miraculous healing.

Next, they will point out that many people in Christ’s day were healed by their own faith, “Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.’ And his servant was healed that same hour” (Matt. 8:13), “Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’ And their eyes were opened” (Matt. 9:29, 30), “Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour” (Matt. 15:28), “And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction’” (Mark 5:34). Therefore, they conclude that if people back then were healed by their faith in Him then people today can still be healed by their faith in Him because He is still the same. And just so nobody can argue that faith healing only works for some, they put the final touch on their case by quoting, “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34), “For there is no partiality with God” (Rom. 2:11).

What we have seen are just two examples of how false teachers use the Bible to build a seemingly convincing case for divine healing by faith. Their usual strategy is to lift a verse or two out of context to construct a simple premise. Then it is an easy task for them to reason toward a final conclusion with one or more verses that satisfy the premise.

Faulty premises

When Paul said, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17), was he revealing to us that faith for anything and everything comes by hearing what God said in the Bible? Was he telling us to find the promise in the Bible and then you can believe God for it? Actually, he had already clarified earlier that he was speaking about his desire for Israel to be saved, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved” (Rom. 10:1). The faith Paul is talking about concerns faith for salvation.

Israel was seeking righteousness through the Law of Moses rather than through faith in Christ (Rom. 10:3-5). Paul then lists a chain of events that must happen if they are to be saved (Rom. 10:13-15). Since they can’t be saved without calling on the name of the Lord, and they can’t call on Him if they do not believe, and they can’t believe in Him without hearing, and they can’t hear without a preacher, and the preacher can’t preach unless he is sent, then the faith Israel needs to be saved comes by hearing, and this hearing comes by the preacher declaring the word of God to them. Paul’s point is that he along with the other apostles had been sent to them so that they would hear and be saved. But they were proving to be the disobedient and gainsaying people Isaiah had prophesied them to be (Rom. 10:21).

Reading Romans 10:17 in the passage where it belongs yields its intended meaning. But none of us has the right to lift it out and make it say that we can get faith for healing by hearing Scriptures on that subject. Paul was simply speaking of the faith Israel needs for salvation that can only come by hearing the gospel preached.

And what the writer of Hebrews meant by his statement, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8), can only be learned by reading it in its proper context.

"Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them" (Heb. 13:7-9).

He is urging his subjects to continue following those who preach sound doctrine that never changes because it originated with the One who never changes. Pharisaical teachers of the law abounded and were trying to turn Christians from dependence upon grace to the dietary doctrines of men. But the writer wanted them to keep following those whose faith is in Christ; whose teaching is consistent with and whose conduct reflects what He taught. Jesus Christ has not changed, therefore His doctrine has not changed either. So then when someone brings a strange doctrine, it is not to be followed. This was the writer’s point.

But false teachers lift this verse from the passage where it belongs and make it refer to the miracles Christ worked rather than to the doctrine He taught. They will say that if He ever healed then He is still healing because He is still the same.

Satisfying the premises

In the first example, the two Scriptures—Matthew 8:16, 17 and First Peter 2:24—were used to claim that bodily healing belongs to us. But, as we will see, these Scriptures declare nothing of the sort.

When Matthew quoted Isaiah who said that Jesus “bore our sicknesses,” he used the Greek word “bastazo” for “bore” which means to “carry in the hands,” “bear what is burdensome,” “sustain, uphold, support.” It occurs 29 times in the New Testament but never once for bearing in a substitutionary manner as Christ bore our sins on the Cross.

Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would take and bear the sicknesses of the people through His healing ministry in the role of a Servant, not in the role as a Substitute. The message is not that Jesus bore our sicknesses on the Cross, but that although He surely showed Himself to be the Messiah by bearing and taking away the sicknesses of the multitudes through His healing ministry, yet that generation hung Him on the Cross and esteemed Him stricken and smitten of God. They never would have put Him there if they truly believed He was their Messiah that He proved Himself to be.

Other passages in Matthew such as 4:12-16 and 12:14-21 begin with the same statement, “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,” and clearly refer to events in the life and earthly ministry of Jesus that fulfilled the quoted prophecy. Bearing sicknesses was also a prophecy He fulfilled during His earthly ministry, not as our Substitute for sickness on the Cross.

When Peter quotes from this same prophecy of Isaiah, he uses the word “anaphero” for “bore” when he said that Jesus “bore our sins.” It means “to carry up or bring up to a higher place,” “to put upon the altar,” “to take upon one’s self.” This word is in fact used in the New Testament for Christ’s substitutionary work in bearing our sins as a sacrificial offering, “so Christ was offered once to bear [anaphero] the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Heb. 9:28).

Peter, therefore, makes it clear that Isaiah’s prophecy of Christ’s substitutionary work on the Cross concerned His bearing of our sins, not our sicknesses. And when he says, “by whose stripes you were healed” (v. 24), his next statement clarifies exactly what he meant, “For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (v. 25). It was our relationship with God that was healed, “The chastisement for our peace was upon Him” (Is. 53:5). We were as lost sheep who were enemies of God, but Christ took the punishment necessary to reconcile us back.

In our second example, several verses were cited (Matt.8:13, 9:29, 30, 15:28; Mark 5:34), which supposedly proved that people in Christ’s day used their faith to get the healing they wanted. False teachers represent faith almost as a magic wand used to get whatever is desired.

But these healings that involved the subject’s faith are easily explainable; Jesus healed believers. He primarily healed those who had faith in Him as the Messiah. It is not that these people generated some kind of healing faith that cooperated with Christ in order to get them healed. Their belief was in His identity as the Messiah of Israel and they were saved and healed because of it. And it was because they believed on Him that they knew He was their only hope of being healed.

Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them. Matthew 13:14, 15

Jesus Himself quoted this prophecy of Isaiah who predicted that the people of Israel would not recognize Him as their Messiah. Since they would not see or hear Him for who He was, He would not heal them. Right after this He went to His hometown of Nazareth and did not heal many because they did not believe on Him, “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58).

And concerning these statements, “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34), “For there is no partiality with God” (Rom. 2:11), the contexts deal with ethnic and national issues. Peter was finally convinced that Gentiles could get saved as well as Jews and so concluded that God is impartial with people in regards to nationality. In fact, the very next thing he said was, “But in every nation” (Acts 10:35). And Paul was making a similar point to the Romans. Just before he declared God’s impartiality, he stated his subjects as, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 2:10). Therefore, God is impartial with people when it comes to salvation, meaning that He saves from out of every tribe, people, tongue, and nation. But it is unfounded to say that He shows no partiality with regards to faith healing; whether or not it will work for everyone. Peter and Paul meant nothing of the sort.

Cleaning up the mess

What we have seen is how a few verses can be isolated from the passages where they belong to build an entire doctrine that is utterly false. And because of these corrupt techniques, many Christians today are deceived about faith healing.

It is faith for salvation that comes by hearing the word of God preached, not faith for healing. And Scripture never declares that healing belongs to anyone, therefore nobody can have faith to be healed. Yet many are convinced otherwise because of false teaching based on faulty premises reached by lifting verses out of their contexts.

Another quick example is when Christ once said to a leper, “I am willing; be cleansed” (Matt. 8:3). False teachers will then claim that it was Christ’s will to heal this man but since He is no respecter of persons then it’s His will to heal all. And of course He is the same forever (Heb. 13:8) so it’s His will to heal all today. But it’s because Christ Himself is the same and never changes that sound doctrine never changes. We simply cannot use this truth for a pretext to claim that Christ still heals the same way today. God most certainly can heal anyone at anytime if He so chooses but this fact alone gives none of us a basis for having a kind of healing faith. We must pray for our healing and put ourselves at His mercy, not make demands based upon supposed promises.

The only reliable safeguard against false doctrine is the knowledge of sound doctrine. I am convinced that any of us who will not consistently study Scripture for ourselves are going to be deceived to some degree. We must work hard at correctly understanding God’s word or we can be caught in the deceivings of false teachers.

The Exclusivity of Christianity

People from other religions are offended by the truth claim of Christians that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. They say that we are being narrow minded, unloving, intolerant, and politically incorrect. But the reason we make this claim is because Christ made it of Himsef, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). We simply state what He said.

In one sense we are being narrow minded because Christ taught us that the enterance to the way which leads to life is a narrow gate (Matt. 7:13, 14). And this life is found only in the Son, “And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11, 12).

Many claim to have God. Judaism and Islam both even claim to worship the same God as Christians but if they don’t have the Son then they don’t have the Father, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).

Right before His death, Jesus prayed, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matt. 26:42). Christ was acknowledging that there was no other way to save sinful mankind than for Him to go to the cross. If there had been some other way then God wouldn’t have needed to send His Son, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Christians aren’t being unloving in their exclusivity. On the contrary, the most loving thing we can do is share the truth to our own hurt. We are willing to suffer and even die for our faith in order to bring others to Christ. The unloving but easy way is to be tolerant of other religions and have harmony with them. But we must stand for the truth and be exclusive, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

How do we know for a fact that Christ is the only way to God? We know because of His resurrection from the dead. Only God has power over death and Jesus Christ proved His divinity by doing what no man has ever done; gaining the victory over it. The empty tomb and eyewitness appearances are enough evidence to establish it as an historical event. It’s not just a story or legend it’s the grandest chapter in world history. By His resurrection we know He is the only way to God.

Why Do Christians Suffer?

We suffer because we live in a fallen, cursed world

Because of Adam’s sin, the earth was cursed by God (Gen. 3:17; Rom. 8:20). The simple fact is that suffering comes upon everyone—sinner and saint alike—because we all live in the same fallen world. Many times there just is no reasonable explanation why we are suffering.

Sometimes God allows the devil to bring suffering upon us (Job 2:6; Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38). The devil, Peter told us “walks about like a lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). John said, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 Jo. 5:19). But Christ prayed on our behalf, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15). We must remember that we live in a world in which the devil has much influence (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:12).

We suffer because of our own foolishness

It’s a true saying that we generally reap what we sow. If we are kind to people then they will usually treat us the same in return. Likewise if we are harsh with them we will end up suffering what comes back around. Suffering in relationships many times comes from our own sinful actions (Jam. 4:1).

The Bible has much to say about poverty coming upon the lazy (Prov. 10:4, 19:15, 24, 21:25; Eccl. 10:18). Sometimes we suffer lack of provision because of our own slacking off from hard work or discipline in our spending habits. Paul reiterated the blessing of working with our hands (Acts 20:34; Eph. 4: 28; 1 Thes. 4:11, 12).

“But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters” (1 Pet. 4:15). Peter taught that we must suffer the consequences for our actions. If we foolishly drive over the speed limit then we shouldn’t expect God to keep us from getting a ticket or worse yet being involved in an accident. The thief crucified next to Christ was saved yet still had to pay the penalty for his crime which was death. Most certainly God forgave him of his sin but still held him responsible under the law for his crime. We all must suffer for our own wrong doing.

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Prov. 13:20). Who we associate with and where we go has much to do with our well being or lack thereof. Of course the argument can be made that Christ ate with publicans and sinners (Matt. 9:10; Mark 2:15). But this was in order to reach them with the gospel. Paul instructed the Corinthians not to company with any brother who was living in sin yet made the provision that they still needed to be around the world to reach them (1 Cor. 5:9-11). The point is that we must have a certain amount of association with the ungodly in the world but we are not to be their companions.

We suffer because it is God’s way of disciplining us

“For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:30-32). There are many who deny that God uses sickness and disease to teach His children but they are speaking in conflict with Scripture. Paul made it clear in this passage that sickness comes to us sometimes as God’s discipline. Not only does He use disease but also even death, “and many sleep.” When we are stubborn and unwilling to judge the sin in our own lives God will chasten us not because He wants us to suffer but because He doesn’t want us to be condemned with the world. He uses suffering to lead us to repentance.

“For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Heb. 12:5-8), “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten” (Rev. 3:19). God disciplines us because He loves us. What human father who says he loves his children would not discipline their disobedience? We should rejoice when we are chastened of God because it lends assurance that we are one of His.

Eliphaz the Temanite attributed Job’s suffering to God’s chastening, “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole” (Job. 5:17, 18). Now some might argue that this statement was probably not correct because Job’s friends were supposedly not speaking very accurately. But I would simply point out that even the apostle Paul quoted a verse just shortly before this, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness” (Job 5:13; 1 Cor. 3:19). He apparently had confindence in at least some of the things Eliphaz said.

We suffer because of our faith

Christ and His apostles declared that Christians will suffer for their faith (Matt. 5:11, 13:21; Phil. 1:29; Jam. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:6, 7). Peter taught us to not think of trials as being out of the ordinary, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you” (1 Pet. 4:12). Christian suffering is normal. If we are believers we should think it’s unusual to not have suffering in our lives.

Paul suffered far more compared to any of us yet he always lived with a good conscience (Acts 24:16; 2 Cor. 1:12; 2 Tim. 1:3). In other words, he hadn’t done anything worthy of what he endured yet it still came upon him anyway. If we are living uprightly, we are going to suffer, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).

Evidences for the Resurrection of Christ

The entire Christian faith either stands or falls based on the historical event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Cor. 15:14). His resurrection proves several facts about Christianity: Christ truly is the Son of God; His word is truth; His death paid in full for our sins; His resurrection guarantees ours.

Either prove or disprove the historical event of the resurrection and you have proven or disproven everything about the Christian faith. This writing consists of a simple list of evidences for Christ’s resurrection with a hope that it will stimulate your own personal faith. According to Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. John Weldon:

Indeed, other religions in the world are believed in despite the lack of genuine evidence for their truth claims; only Christianity can claim credibility because of such evidence. Regrettably, what is often overlooked in the field of comparative religion today is that no genuinely historical/objective evidence exists for the foundational religious claims of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, or any religion other than Christianity.2 As scientist, Christian apologist and biblical commentator Dr. Henry Morris observes, "As a matter of fact, the entire subject of evidences is almost exclusively the domain of Christian evidences. Other religions depend on subjective experience and blind faith, tradition and opinion. Christianity stands or falls upon the objective reality of gigantic supernatural events in history and the evidences therefore. This fact in itself is an evidence of its truth."3

http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/ATRJ/truth/ATRJ1203-EV-1.htm


The empty tomb

The first and still unanswerable evidence for the resurrection is that of the empty tomb. Those who question the resurrection cannot deny the fact that the tomb is empty. In fact, so formidable is this proof that because of it many false theories have been proposed to explain it away. An empty tomb, of course, means that no body has ever been produced.

The grave clothes

The tomb, actually, was not quite empty; the body was gone but the graveclothes remained behind. What is so remarkable about these linen wrappings is that they had not been distirbed as if someone had unwrapped the body (John 20:5-7). Not only this, the napkin that had covered His face was folded neatly and placed by itself. It goes without saying that grave robbers never would have taken the time to unwrap the body and then neatly fold some of the cloths. The clothes were left behind in such a way that it caused John to believe the Lord had risen (John 20:8).

The stone

The great stone that was moved from the opening of the tomb is a testimony of the resurrection. Not only was the stone in place but it was sealed and guarded (Matt. 27:66). Unwittingly, by securing the tomb to this degree the Romans lent even more evidence to the resurrection once it happened. The Pharisees understood that Christ said He would rise from the dead on the third day (Matt. 27:63). Therefore, they convinced the Roman leadership to take every precaution to prevent His disciples from stealing the body and staging a hoax (v. 64).

The seal over the stone is very important because it declares the full power and force of the Roman Empire. Anyone disturbing those seals would be put to death. Is it likely that the fearful disciples would risk such a feat as stealing the body, knowing the consequences for doing so?

The stone, seal, and guards made it nearly impossible for anyone to tamper with the tomb. Consequently, the only explanation for the stone being moved is the power of God displayed in raising Christ from the dead. It has been said that the stone was moved not so Christ could get out but so that the people could get in and see that He was not there.

Appearances of Christ

Around ten different appearances of the resurrected Lord are recorded in the New Testament. There can be no greater proof that He is alive than to have many witnesses to this fact. Even if there had been only two or three witnesses it still would have been established as an historical event. But actuallly there were more than 500 witnesses on just one occasion (1 Cor. 15:6).

Thomas often gets a bad rap because he doubted that the other disciples had seen the Lord (John 20:24-29). But on the contrary, he is one of the strongest witnesses we have. Here was a man who was anything but gullible because for over a week the other ten disciples could not convince him of what they had seen. He would have been the last one of the bunch to hallucinate and be deceived. He demanded proof and he got it.

The boldness of the disciples

During Christ’s trial, Peter denied that he even knew Him and after His death the disciples cowered in fear of the Jews (John 20:19). These men were anything but bold after the loss of their Lord. The only explanation for their changed behavior throughout the book of Acts is that they knew He was alive. They boldly proclaimed the resurrection and testified as His witnesses on several occasions (Acts 2:32, 3:15, 4:33, 5:32, 10:41). They risked their lives and many of them were martyred because of it.

But, you might ask, is there any difference between the apostles giving their lives and Muslims today who have done the same thing? There is a big difference. Muslims and people from other religions give their lives for something they believe to be true but are actually deceived. The apostles and other Christians in the early church such as Stephen (Acts 7), gave their lives for what they knew to be true. They were eye-witnesses of the resurrected Lord. They didn’t just believe what someone had told them they saw Him with their own eyes and were willing to stake their lives on it.

Old Testament prophecies

The Old Testament includes several prophecies concerning Christ’s resurrection (Psalm 2:7, 16:8-11, 68:18, 110:1). Besides direct prophecies predicting the resurrection there are also legitimate types in the Old Testament such as the offering up of Isaac (Gen. 22:3-14), and Jonah in the belly of the fish (Jon. 1:17; Matt. 12:40).

The prophecies of Christ Himself

On several occasions Christ predicted He would rise again (Matt. 12:40, 17:23, 20:19, 26:32; Mark 9:31, 10:34; Luke 18:33; John 2:19). But His disciples simply did not understand what He was saying (Mark 9:32). This indicates that they were not expecting a resurrection so they certainly would not have been plotting a hoax to fool the world.

The event of Pentecost

We shouldn’t neglect the day of Pentecost as further evidence for Christ’s resurrection. He had to be alive in order to send the Holy Spirit down from Heaven as He had said He would (John 16:7). This monumental event happened in public and was accompanied by the sign of speaking with tongues. The point is that these miraculous events would never have taken place had Christ still been in the grave.

The conversion of Paul

Saul of Tarsus was certainly not trying to become a Christian. In fact, he was doing everything he could to eliminate Christianity and establish Judaism. When Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus, he was not on his way to church but headed to persecute Christians. There can be no other explanation for his miraculous conversion than a genuine appearance of the resurrected Christ.

Miracles by the apostles

The first miracle of the apostles recorded was the healing of the impotent man at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:1-11). It is notable that the Jewish leaders could do nothing but threaten them not to preach any more (Acts 4:14-18). Certainly they would have destroyed the entire Christian faith right then and there if they had only produced Christ’s body for all to see. The fact that they had to resort to violence showed their own impotence.

Miracles throughout the book of Acts attest to the resurrection of Christ. Because why would God keep sending signs, miracles, and wonders to confirm the eye-witness testimony of the apostles’ preaching if no resurrection had ever happened? They kept declaring that they were witnesses of Him and the signs following proved it.

The existence of the church

The very fact that the church even exists is tremendous testimony to the resurrection because Christ said that He would build His church (Matt. 16:18). How could He build anything if He is still dead? As we said at the beginning, the Christian faith either stands or falls based on the resurrection. Therefore, the continuation of the church unto today testifies to it.

The observance of the first day of the week

What accounts for the fact that the day of worship changed from the last day to the first day of the week (Acts 20:7)? No church council met to decide this. Only an event so miraculous as the resurrection on that day can explain it (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).

The silence of critics

The silence of history in opposition to the resurrection speaks almost as loudly as all of the evidences. If there ever was an opportunity to disprove this event it would have been near the time when it took place. Not only was no history written otherwise but also false theories were developed to explain it away. This further indicates the helplessness of the critics.

False theories

The fact that false theories about His resurrection have been proposed through the years is indirect proof of the actual event. We won’t go into detail about each theory but simply list the most prominent ones: the swoon theory; the Hallucination theory; the impersonation theory; the spiritual resurrection theory; the wrong tomb theory; the legend theory; the stolen body theory. Of all these, the one that is even halfway plausible is the stolen body theory. Since this theory was even proposed by the Jewish leaders shortly after the event (Matt. 28:13) indicates this was the best idea they could come up with at the time. It seems to be the most reasonable of the theories but still has its share of problems. One major question that arises is how could His disciples preach and die for a gospel they knew was not true if in fact they had stolen the body.

Conclusion

As we quoted at the beginning, “Indeed, other religions in the world are believed in despite the lack of genuine evidence for their truth claims; only Christianity can claim credibility because of such evidence.” Truly, other religions are not grounded in miraculous events that are proven historically. They expect “blind faith” from their followers. Only Christianity has been proven once and for all by the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Are We Redeemed From Sickness?

"When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses." Matthew 8:16, 17

"Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed." 1 Peter 2:24

These two passages of Scripture are foundational for the Charismatic’s doctrine of divine healing today. They believe that Jesus Christ, on the Cross, not only bore our sins but that He also bore our sicknesses at the same time. Their reasoning is that since Matthew and Peter both speak about healing and also quote from the same passage of Isaiah—who prophesied of the atoning death of Jesus Christ for our sins—therefore healing, as well as forgiveness of sins, was included in the atoning death of Christ.

But we should make it clear from the onset that the real issue is not about whether or not God still heals today. God is Sovereign and can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants. He always has healed throughout history and all of us should maintain that He does still heal today when He chooses to do so. The real issue is about whether or not Jesus bore our sicknesses as our Substitute and if we can actually have faith in Him as our Healer in the same way that we have faith in Him as our Savior.

Just what was the intended meaning of Isaiah’s prophecy? We will see that Matthew and Peter clarified that he was prophesying about the healing ministry of Christ on earth and not about Him supposedly bearing our sicknesses on the Cross.


What did Isaiah really mean?

We will start first with a phrase from Matthew; “bore our sicknesses” (8:17b). The Greek word used for “bore” is “bastazo” and it means to “carry in the hands,” “bear what is burdensome,” “sustain, uphold, support.” It appears 29 times in the New Testament but never once in the context of bearing in a substitutionary manner.

It is used frequently to portray the carrying or picking up of something tangible, “Carry [bastazo] neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals” (Luke 10:4a), “Then the Jews took up [bastazo] stones again to stone Him” (John 10:31).

It is also used for the way Christians are to bear the intangible burdens of fellow brothers and sisters, “We then who are strong ought to bear [bastazo] with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Rom.15:1), “Bear [bastazo] one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal.6:2a).

Based on how this word is used in these and other passages, it is plausible that Christ took and bore the sicknesses of individual people in His healing ministry in the role of a Servant and not as our Substitute actually bearing the sicknesses of mankind on the Cross.

Matthew could not have stated more plainly that Isaiah’s prophecy was about Christ’s healing ministry. His casting out of spirits and healing of all who were sick was the fulfillment of what Isaiah prophesied, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa.53:4). But it is only because Isaiah immediately begins to speak of Christ’s substitution on the Cross for our sins that some want to believe that He also substituted for our sicknesses. But what did Isaiah really mean?

But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? John 12:37, 38

John quoted from the first verse of Isaiah 53, “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (v. 1), revealing that Isaiah was speaking of the signs and miracles performed by Christ in His ministry. It was His healings, signs, and miracles that proved who He was—the anticipated Messiah of the Jews. But they did not believe in Him.

The next verse in Isaiah, “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” (v. 2). The next verse in Isaiah is speaking about Christ’s growth to adulthood and common appearance among the Jews. They did not see in Him what they were looking for in the Messiah. In their eyes, there was nothing about Him that stood out.

In the next verse, “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him” (v. 3), Isaiah depicts the Jews’ rejection of Him. They did not esteem who He really was but, instead, despised Him.

Now Isaiah finally says, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted” (v. 4). He was saying that although in His ministry, Christ surely bore the sicknesses of hurting people to authenticate who He was, yet when He went to the Cross, the Jews only saw Him as a man being stricken, smitten and punished by God. Surely, without denial, He miraculously healed the multitudes before their very eyes, yet they still did not accept Him as their Messiah but crucified Him instead.

Matthew began other passages (4:12-16; 12:14-21) with the same statement, “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying” which clearly refer to life events in the earthly ministry of Jesus that fulfilled the quoted prophecy. Pentecostals and Charismatics hardly would argue that these prophecies were actually fulfilled on the Cross rather than during His ministry. Therefore, why do they insist that
Matthew’s quote from Isaiah in chapter eight was a substitutionary healing on the Cross?


We are still waiting

When Matthew said, “He Himself took our infirmities” (8:17a), he used the words “lambano” for “took” and “astheneia” for “infirmities.” The word “lambano” is used over 200 times in the New Testament and is accurately translated as “took” to describe Jesus actually taking infirmities away from individual people in His earthly ministry.

The word “astheneia” appears 24 times in the New Testament and is primarily used for bodily sickness and disease, weakness, feebleness, and frailty. A few of the most notable occurrences are: Jesus healed the multitudes (Luke 5:15); the evil spirits Jesus cast out of Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2); the impotent man Jesus healed at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:5); the sickness that Lazarus died from (John 11:4); Paul healing the barbaric people on the Island of Malta (Acts 28:9); Paul’s own weaknesses and infirmities (1Cor.2:3; 2Cor.11:30,12:5-10; Gal.4:13); Timothy’s recurring stomach problems (1Tim.5:23).

The significance of this is what Paul revealed in Romans chapter eight about the curse God pronounced upon the earth on account of Adam’s sin (Gen.3:16-19). He reveals that we, along with the whole created world, are groaning in pain together under this curse (v. 22). But in the meantime, we “have the firstfruits of the Spirit” (v. 23), and are eagerly waiting for “the revealing of the sons of God” (v. 19), which is the “adoption, the redemption of our body” (v. 23). We are the sons of God right now because of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, but that fact will not be revealed and made obvious to the world until the redemption of our bodies.

Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses [astheneia]. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26

Paul now explains that the indwelling Spirit of Christ “helps in our weaknesses [astheneia].” And this help is in present tense. In other words, we are still eagerly waiting for the redemption of our bodies which includes our weaknesses, “astheneia.” We have yet to be redeemed from the sicknesses and infirmities that Jesus and the apostles healed when they were here on the earth. We are groaning together with the Spirit as we cope with these bodily infirmities.

Paul gives us further confirmation as to our future redemption from bodily infirmities, “It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness [astheneia], it is raised in power” (1 Cor. 15:43). The simple truth revealed from Scripture is that our bodies will go to the grave in sickness, disease, weakness, and frailty. We will not be redeemed from the curse that came upon the whole creation until our bodies are resurrected.

Are we healed by the stripes of Jesus?

Now we will look at Peter’s statement “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). Those who say that Christ bore our sicknesses in a substitutionary manner on the Cross also say that our physical bodies were healed by the flogging and beating that Christ endured prior to His crucifixion.

Now, please remember, Matthew used the word “bastazo” for the word “bore” when he said that Jesus “bore our sicknesses.” It means to “carry in the hands,” “bear what is burdensome,” “sustain, uphold, support.” It is never once used in the context of Christ’s substitutionary atoning work on the Cross. Matthew stated that Christ was taking away and healing the sicknesses of the multitudes as a suffering Servant during His earthly ministry.

But Peter, on the other hand, used the word “anaphero” for “bore” when he said that Jesus “bore our sins.” It means “to carry up or bring up to a higher place,” “to put upon the altar,” “to take upon one’s self.” This word is in fact used elsewhere in the New Testament for Christ’s substitutionary work in bearing our sins as a sacrificial offering. It appears 12 times and most prominently in this verse, “so Christ was offered once to bear [anaphero] the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Heb. 9:28). This word plainly speaks of sacrificial and substitutionary work.

What all of this means is that Jesus bore “bastazo” the sicknesses of the multitudes of individuals when He healed in His ministry, and He bore “anaphero” the sins of the world when He hung on the Cross. In the one case He is the suffering Servant, in the other He is the substituting Savior.

But then what is meant by the phrase “by whose stripes you were healed” which Peter quoted from Isaiah? Please look again at Isaiah’s prophecy.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:5, 6

The entire context is the atoning work of Christ on the Cross for our sins and our reconciliation to God. When he said, “the chastisement of our peace was upon Him” he was referring to the punishment that came upon Jesus Christ necessary to bring us back into peace with God. The statement, “by His stripes we are healed” is speaking of the healing of our broken relationship. We were like lost sheep gone astray. We were not at peace with God but were His enemies and Christ reconciled us back to God as sheep returning to their shepherd. This, of course, is exactly what Peter went on to say, “For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1Pet.2:25).

Although this is not a reference to the healing of bodily sickness, the objection will be raised that the word used by Peter for “healed” is “iaomai” which is used in the New Testament for physical and bodily healing of sickness and disease. This is true that it is used this way many times, but it is not true that it is only used this way.

And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal [iaomai] them. Matthew 13:14, 15

And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.” Mark 4:11, 12

When reviewing Matthew and Mark’s parallel accounts of the parable of the sower we see that they both recorded Jesus as quoting the same prophecy of Isaiah. But the last part of the prophecy is phrased a little differently between the two. Matthew says “lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal [iaomai] them,” while Mark says, “lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.” Mark does not use the word “iaomai” at all but seems to give an equivalient meaning of what Isaiah said. Christ Himself said in another place, “For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?” (Matt. 9:5).

But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal [iaomai] them.” John 12:37-40

We looked at this passage earlier when discussing Matthew’s writing. Please notice how all of it begins to fit together. Israel would not believe the report that Christ gave them even in spite of His divine arm being revealed through His healing ministry. Isaiah was speaking of the blindness and deafness of Israel’s heart that kept them from recognizing their Messiah. They did not know His voice and did not see His Light. They had gone astray like lost sheep. As Paul said, “Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom.11:25).

Conclusion

The Charismatic doctrine of divine healing is founded almost entirely upon the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 53 and the passages that Matthew and Peter wrote. But these two apostles plainly clarified what Isaiah meant. Jesus Christ bore the sicknesses of the multitudes in His earthly ministry as a Servant when He healed them, and He bore the sins of the world on the Cross as our Savior when He redeemed us. His wounds healed our estranged relationship from God and also our spiritual blindness and deafness.

In the greater sense though, we actually were healed of physical sickness and disease on the Cross, but that redemption will come only at the resurrection of our bodies (Rom.8:23). Although all of our enemies, including physical death and sickness, were conquered and put under Christ’s feet at His resurrection, we do not yet see them under our feet (Heb.2:8). The curse that came upon the earth is still here (Gen.3:16-19). We are still bearing the image of Adam in our bodies in its cursed state until the day when we are glorified into the image of Christ (1Cor.15: 45-49). It will only be then that we are free from death, pain, and sickness (Rev.21:4).