Confession of Faith: What it really means | Let's Talk Biblical | Episode 15

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If you love talking about the Bible as
much as I do, then I think you'll really
enjoy this show. Welcome to Let's Talk
Biblical, the podcast where we dig deep
into the heart of scripture, explore
timeless truths, and have real
conversations about what the Bible says
and how it applies to us. My name is Lex
and I want to thank you for joining me
on today's episode. So grab your Bible,
get comfortable, and let's talk
biblical. Hey, welcome to Let's Talk
Biblical. I am your host, Lex Meyer, and
today we're tackling one of the most
crucial yet often misunderstood aspects
of our walk with God, our confession of
faith.
Is confessing your faith just about
saying a prayer one time at the altar?
Or is it something deeper? Something
that defines your identity, your
obedience, and your eternal
destiny? What does it really mean to
have believing faith? Is it simply
acknowledging that God exists? Is it
repeating a sinner's prayer? Or is it
biblical faith? or is biblical faith
something much
deeper? Something that transforms your
life and aligns your heart with God's
commands. I want to start today with a
verse in Romans chapter
10 and it's uh Romans
10:9. It says, "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."
And some translations say if you confess
your with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
or that Yeshua is
Lord. And so
um what we want to talk about is what is
this verse actually
saying? This verse is often quoted but
rarely understood in its full context.
Paul isn't teaching easy belieism and
he's he's pointing to a
lifedefining allegiance to the risen
Messiah. There are three parts to this
type of faith. The first is the
confession. The second is calling Yeshua
Lord. And the third is believing with
your whole heart. And so I want to break
down these three things so that we can
get a better idea of what what he's
talking about, what this verse means.
And so first I want to talk about
confession. What does he mean by confess
with your
mouth? So uh the Greek word confess is
homo logo which means to agree with to
say the same thing as or to acknowledge
openly and
publicly. So when we confess that Yeshua
is Lord uh we're not simply repeating
our word. We're not simply repeating
words. We are publicly aligning
ourselves with him in our heart, our
mind, and our
life. In the first century, to confess
that Yeshua is Lord was dangerous. It
was a radical statement that defied the
Roman claim that Caesar is Lord. It
could cost you your life. Confession
wasn't a private decision. It was a
public declaration of
loyalty. And now, next, I want to look
at the word Lord. And so
um the word Lord here in in u in Romans
is
uh it's the word um
uh curios. It's a Greek word. It means
Lord. But he's quoting in a little bit.
He quotes from the Old Testament. and uh
within this context in in chapter 10 and
he quotes from the Old Testament and the
word used in the Old Testament is very
significant. Um and he tells us what it
means by saying that Yeshua is Lord. And
so um Romans 10:9 is the one we just
read. If you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord or confess with mouth
the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead,
you'll be saved. But then we skip down
to verse 13.
And it says, "Whoever calls on the name
of the Lord shall be saved." Well, this
is a quote from um Joel chapter 2 in
verse
32. And when we look at the the verse in
Joel where it says Lord in English, it
says Yahweh in Hebrew. And so Paul is
quoting from the Hebrew and quoting from
the Old Testament in Joel. And it says,
"Whoever calls on the name of Yahweh
shall be saved." Whoever calls on the
name of the Lord shall be saved. So to
say Yeshua is Lord and whoever calls on
the name of the Lord shall be saved is
uh the equivalent of saying Yeshua is
Yahweh. So whoever calls who whoever
confesses with their mouth that Yeshua
is Yahweh and believes in his heart
shall be
saved. Um that's that's the context of
what's going on here. And this is not
unique to Paul's writings. In fact, all
of the New Testament writers do the same
thing. Anytime they quote the Old
Testament in reference to Yeshua being
Lord, it's a reference to the word
Yahweh in Hebrew. And so, if you look up
the word uh look up the verse that
they're quoting. So, the New Testament
quotes a verse. Go look up the Old
Testament verse and where the New
Testament calls Yeshua Lord and quoting
the Old Testament. Go look up the Old
Testament verse. And it's it's Yahweh.
Every time it's Yahweh. And so the idea
that Yeshua is Lord is presented over
and over and over again in the New
Testament when the New Testament quotes
the Old Testament in reference to
Yeshua. Not only that, but the Gospel of
John begins by telling us that Yeshua is
the word of God and the word is also
God. And the word created all things.
And so in the beginning was the word,
the word was with God and the word was
God. All things were created by him and
for him and in him was life and that
life was light of the world. And then it
goes on, you know, in verse 14 it says
um and the word became flesh and dwelt
among us. And so this word of God that
created all things is the creator God
and he became flesh and dwelt among us.
And that is that is the gospel that John
is presenting to us is that Yeshua is
God incarnate.
And this is confirmed in Colossians
chapter 1 uh where it says that Yeshua
is described as the creator and that he
created all things. All things are
sustained by him. They're they're
created for him and through him and and
by him and he holds all things together
and and everything that exists exists
because of him. That's that's what
Colossians presents. And the same thing
again in Hebrews chapter 1. And so uh we
see that he is the creator over and over
again in the New Testament.
And so if Yeshua is the creator as the
Bible says, then he is God because God
is the creator. Likewise, when Thomas
touched the hands and sight of Yeshua
after the resurrection, Thomas responded
by calling him my Lord and my God. This
is found in John chapter 20. Let me go
and pull that up for
you. And uh we'll start in verse 28.
And Thomas answered and said to him, "My
Lord and my God." Okay. Now, listen to
what Yeshua says in response. Yeshua
doesn't uh he doesn't correct him. He
doesn't rebuke him. He
uh he actually affirms what he says and
he says, "Blessed are those who have the
same kind of faith even though they
don't touch and don't see."
So Yeshua said to him, "Thomas, because
you have have seen me, you have
believed. Blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have believed." And so
Yeshua is describing the kind of faith
that Thomas
has. Thomas's
faith is that Yeshua is Lord and God.
Thomas confessed, "My Lord and my God."
And that's the kind of faith that Thomas
is confessing. And Yeshua said, "Blessed
are you, but even more blessed are those
who who believe the same way you do, but
they don't uh they're not able to see or
touch the way you have." And so he says,
"Thomas, because you have seen me, you
have believed. Blessed are those who
have not seen and yet they still believe
in the same way he does, believing that
he is Lord and God."
Okay. So, um we to to have the same kind
of confession of faith that Thomas had,
we need to also confess that Yeshua is
Lord and God. And so, the confession
that Yeshua is both Lord and God is
described here as the kind of belief we
should all have. And it and that's what
Yeshua said. That's how he describes it.
That is the confession of faith that
Yeshua says we need to have. And blessed
are we who have not seen who have that
kind of confession of faith.
And so to confess means we agree with uh
and we say the same thing as the
scriptures say and that we acknowledge
openly and publicly that he is Lord and
God. And
so Yeshua is Lord meaning that Yeshua is
Yahweh the creator God
incarnate. And then the third part of
this is to believe with your heart. So
what does that mean? What does it mean
to believe uh with your whole heart? So
let's look at the word belief. And most
people think that belief is simply a
mental agreeing that something is true.
But biblical faith is not merely
intellectual. Listen to what James says
about belief. And this is in James
chapter 2. Let me go and pull that up on
the screen for
you. And we're going to go to verse
19. You believe that there is one God.
you do well. Even demons believe and
tremble. Okay, so he's saying you do you
you do good believe that there's one
God, but that's not enough because even
the demons believe that. Demons believe
in God. They they know he exists. They
even tremble before him. But their
belief doesn't save them. They don't
have saving faith. Why? Because they
don't trust, obey, or submit to him.
Okay? Demons are in rebellion against
God. They have walked away from God.
They've turned against him. They've
rebelled against him. Okay? They He They
know who he is. They They've met him.
They've talked to him. They've seen him.
They've stood before
him, but they reject him. They believe
he exists, but they don't obey
him. They don't trust him. They don't
submit to him. They have rejected his
rule, and they've gone a different
direction. And so that's why the Bible
says that the carnal mind is immity
against God because it does not submit
to God. Okay? And and so we need to be
people who submit to God. That's that's
part of what this believing faith is.
This trusting faith is that we believe
and obey. We trust and obey. And the
word in Greek there is
piss. And it means to trust and obey.
That's that's literally what the word
means is to believe and obey. To trust
and obey. It is you you're putting
action behind your belief. It's not just
a mental thing. It's not just mental
ascent. It is faith and action. It's
trusting him, having loyalty to him,
having obedience to him. Um and so let's
look at the Hebrew word. Uh the Greek
word already says pistace.
Um the the Hebrew word is imuna and it
means steadfastness, faithfulness,
loyalty and trust put to
action. And so this this is the kind of
faith that Abraham had. And the Bible
says that he believed in God and it was
counted to him for
righteousness. Um and so Abraham didn't
just say, "I believe God exists."
Abraham o Abraham obeyed God. So, for
example, um when God told Abraham to
leave his homeland, leave his family,
and go on a journey to the place where
God would tell him to stop,
Abraham didn't just say, "Okay, yeah, I
believe you exist, but I think I'm going
to stay here." He said, "I believe you
exist. I believe uh what you're saying
is true. I trust you, and I'm going to
obey you and walk this out."
That's the kind of faith the Bible is
describing is faith that trusts God
enough that we we say, "Okay, I'm going
to obey. I'm going to do what you say
and see where it leads me and just
follow you, trusting that you uh you are
leading me in the right the right
direction." Abraham also God told
Abraham, "Take your son, your only son,
Isaac, the one who you love, and offer
him up as a sacrifice on the altar." And
Abraham grabbed the wood, grabbed his
son, and they started walking. And he
said, "And we're going to go up on this
mountain, and we're going to have a
sacrifice." And he he didn't just
believe God exists. He believed what God
said. And not only did he believe what
God said, he obeyed what God said. He
trusted God enough to do what God asked
him to do. And he trusted that whatever
happens, God's in control. God is going
to take care of it.
God has my best interest in mind. And so
when God told Abraham to take Isaac and
sacrifice him, Isaac took a took Abraham
took Isaac and he started walking up the
mountain to sacrifice him. And he he
said everything uh set the wood out and
got the the altar ready. And um he was
he even lifted the knife. He was about
to plunge the knife into Isaac and God
stopped him and God told him, "Take the
ram instead." And Abraham was, you know,
he had the knife ready to go and he was
just about to to kill his son in
obedience to God, the only son that God
promised him, the son that that would be
the the the heir of his lineage, the
fulfillment of the promise. And he was
willing to lay that down on the altar.
Um, that's the kind of faith that
Abraham had. And it says that it was
counted to him for
righteousness. And so we go to uh
Genesis chapter
15 and we're going to go to verse
six. It says, "And he believed the Lord
and he accounted it to him for
righteousness." Now the Hebrew word used
here for belief is the word amman which
means to support to trust or to rely on.
Okay. So here Abraham is trusting God.
He's relying on God. He's depending on
God. And that's where we get the word
amen also. And so a amen is truly truly
or or you know I agree. I agree with
what was said. So if somebody prays and
you say amen, you're saying I agree to
what was prayed. I trust what was
prayed. I depend on what was prayed. Um
it's an affirmation of trust, not just
an intellectual ascent. Okay? It's not
an intellectual
acknowledgement. It it could also be
translated, this verse could also be
translated, Abraham trusted
God. So how did Abraham trust God? His
faith was put into action. He left his
homeland to go to the place God told
him. And he offered Isaac on the altar,
believing and obeying God's
instructions, trusting God, trusting
that God knew what he was doing. And his
actions, his ob actions of obedience was
an action of trust, was an action of
faith, was an action of obedience, of of
belief. And so he was putting his faith
in action. That's the kind of faith we
are told to have. We're supposed to have
faith like Abraham.
And Yeshua warns us about people who
claim to follow him, even doing things
in his name. They call him Lord, but
they don't obey his
commandments. And so, first I want to
look at Matthew
7. And most of you are probably familiar
with this. And we're going to start at
verse
21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of my father in
heaven. So we see here that they are
calling him Lord. So it's not just lip
service. It's not just saying he's Lord.
They're calling Yeshua Lord, but he says
they they don't do the will of my
father. Okay? So just because you call
him Lord doesn't mean you're going to
get in the kingdom. You have to do the
will of the father. And he goes on, he
says, "Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
your name and cast out demons in your
name and done many wonders in your
name?" And so they say, "Man, we've been
we've been working miracles in your
name. We have prophesied in your name.
We have cast out demons. We've done all
kinds of things in your name." Okay?
They're calling him Lord. And they're
doing works. They're doing good works in
his name. Now, listen what he
says. And then I will declare to them, I
never knew you. Depart from me, you who
practice
lawlessness. And so calling him Lord and
doing miracles in his name is not
enough. You you have to
uh obey him. You have to to walk in his
commandments. He describes these people
as practicing
lawlessness. He says, "I don't know them
because they're practicing lawlessness.
They're they're walking outside the law.
They're walking outside the Torah."
uh calling him
Lord, calling him Lord means we're
submitting to his authority and our
loyalty and our obedience is to him.
Okay? So if you call him Lord and you
don't obey him, then you're you're
you're just giving him lip service. And
so let's look at Luke chapter 6 now and
listen to what Yeshua said
here. Luke chapter 6 and verse 46.
He says, ' But why do you call me Lord,
Lord, and do not and and not do the
things which I say? Why do you call me
Lord, Lord, and not do the things which
I
say? To call him Lord requires that we
obey his commandments and we obey his
instructions. We are we are required to
obey him. If we call him Lord, we're
saying we are submitting to his
authority. We're submitting to his con
commandments. We're submitting to his
instructions. We are walking in
obedience to whatever he says. To call
him Lord means I'm your servant. I'm
going to obey you. You're my Lord. I'm
your servant. That's what you're saying.
And and that's the description all of
the apostles gave of themselves. When
you look at their letters, they'll say
Paul, an apostle and a bondervant of
Jesus Christ. Uh Peter, a bondervant of
Jesus Christ. James, a bondervant of
Jesus Christ. They're all saying, "We
are serving him. We are his servants. We
are following his lead. He is our lord.
He is our master. We are his servants.
We are here to obey him. That's why we
exist is to obey him. So to call him
Lord requires that we obey his
instructions. Um if we call him Lord and
we don't obey him, we are simply paying
him lip service. And Matthew 15 uh has
something to say about that too.
Matthew
15:8 and it
says, "These people draw near to me with
their mouth and they honor me with their
lips, but their heart is far from me."
Okay, so they are they're honoring him
with their lips. They're giving him lip
service. They're saying he's Lord.
They're saying he's God. They they
praise him. They worship him. But their
heart is far from them. Their heart is
far from him. And so, and remember,
we're supposed to believe with our whole
heart. And so, we confess with our mouth
that Yeshua is Lord, and we believe with
our
heart. And Yeshua says this this type of
lip service where they confess with
their mouth, but they don't believe with
their heart. That's that's the problem.
They're just giving him lip service.
They're not really honoring him the way
they're supposed to. And to honor him
the way they're supposed to is is
through their obedience. to say he's
Lord and then to obey him, to trust him,
to be loyal to him, to be committed to
him. That's the kind of faith he wants.
Not ju not just lip service, not just
saying, "Hey, I believe." It's not just
about saying, "I believe he exists."
It's not just about saying, "I believe
he was a good man. I believe he walked
the earth." Um, it's it's not just
believing with our mind, but it's
believing with our heart, which means
believing with our actions.
and we're supposed to believe with our
with our heart. And Yeshua says this
type of lip service where they just
honor him with their mouth but their
heart is far from him is not what he
wants. Uh the Apostle John said it this
way in in 1 John chapter 2 verse
4. Let me pull that up for you.
He who says I know him and does not keep
his commandments is a liar and the truth
is not in
him. But whoever keeps his word truly
the love of God is perfected in him. And
by this we know that we are in
him. Okay. So
it's we we have to obey
him. Um and and actually let me start
back in verse three. Uh 1 John 2:3 says,
"Now by this we know that we know him if
we keep his
commandments." And so it's it's by
obeying him. It's by keeping his
commandments that we we are showing that
we know him, showing that we follow him,
showing that we believe in him, showing
that he is our master, we are his
disciples. This this is crucial. Our
confession of faith must be backed by a
life of obedience. You can't confess
Yeshua as Lord and continue to live in
rebellion against his word. That's the
same thing the demons did. Remember,
James says the demons believe and and
they tremble, but the demons don't obey
and that's why the demons are saved. The
demons rebelled against him. That's why
they're demons. They're not angels. They
they were angels that left their
heavenly abode and rebelled against God
and that's why they're called demons.
Okay? They they have turned away from
God. And so for us to say we believe he
exists, we believe he is Lord, but then
not to obey him, we're acting like the
demons. We're making a confession with
our mouth. We're we're saying we
mentally agree and and and believe that
he exists, but we're deciding to
disobey. We're deciding to live in
rebellion against his word. That's no
different than the demons. And so we
can't just be people who confess with
our mouth that he's Lord, but then live
contrary to what his word says. We have
to be people who live according to what
his word says. By calling him Lord, we
are pledging our obedience and our
loyalty to him. How can you call him
Lord and not do the things that he
says? A biblical
confession is about covenant loyalty.
It's agreeing with God and demonstrating
that agreement through the way we live.
A true confession of faith means you're
saying amen to everything God says and
being obedient to everything he asks you
to
do. Okay? So again, a amen is is closely
associated with the Hebrew word for
faith. And to say amen means to say I
agree with this. And so when somebody
says a prayer and you say amen at the
end, you're saying I agree with the
prayer that was just prayed. I support
the prayer that was just prayed. And so
to to have faith in God is to say amen
to everything he says. You are obeying
what he says. You're agreeing with what
he says. You're agreeing with his word
and you're saying, "I'm going to live
according to that." That's what faith
is. So let's put it all together. Let's
go back to Romans.
Romans
10. Okay. It says, "If you confess with
your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the
dead, you'll be saved." If you confess
with your mouth Jesus is Lord and
believe with your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you'll be saved.
Okay? So, we must confess, meaning that
we must acknowledge openly and publicly
that Yeshua is Lord. meaning that Yeshua
is God
incarnate. And believe, meaning
steadfast, faithful loyalty and trust
with your whole heart, not merely lip
service, but but following him on
obedience, living in obedience, walking
in obedience, trusting what he says, and
saying amen to what he says, saying, "I
agree with his word. I agree with his
con instructions. I agree with his
commandments."
and saying that you believe that God
raised him from the dead. So you believe
in his resurrection and and you believe
that he died for your sins and he rose
from the dead and that that you are
basing your faith on that that you're
walking in obedience to him based on
that faith based on that confession that
he is Lord. He is God incarnate. He died
for your sins and he rose from the dead.
And you're going to walk in obedience to
him. You're going to walk in uh full
assurance of what he says, making him
your Lord. confessing that he is the one
you are submitting to, confessing that
he is the one that you owe your
allegiance to, the one that you are
loyal to, the one that you um will be
steadfast to no matter what. And this is
important because the confession of
faith is tested in
persecution. Okay? Your confession of
faith is tested when persecution comes.
this confession um is going to be put to
the test and how you respond during
those trials reveals the true nature of
your faith. And so let's turn to Matthew
chapter
10 and we're going to go to verse 32.
He says, "Therefore, whoever confesses
me before men, him I will also confess
before my father who is in
heaven. But whoever denies me before
men, him I will also deny before my
father who is in heaven." And we see
this kind of
scenario frequently with
persecution is persecution comes in and
they want you to deny Yeshua. And that's
that's something we saw in early
Christianity. the first two or 30 hund
years of Christianity um when the Roman
Empire came in and they persecuted the
church and they they had them um you
know go to the uh gladiator arena and
fight gladiators, fight lions, fight
bears. Um they were mauled. They were uh
basically crucified in those arenas.
They were tortured to death. Some of
them were tied to uh stakes and and
crucifi crucified on crosses. Uh some of
them were burnt uh dipped in tar and and
lit on fire and and burnt and and killed
that
way. Um many cruel, awful, horrible
things were done to them trying to get
them to deny their faith in Yeshua.
Okay? But they they were steadfast in
their faith. They believed who he was.
They believed what the Bible said about
him. They believed what the apostles
taught about him. The even the apostles
themselves were were become martyrs
because of their faith. They died
because of their faith in Yeshua and who
he was and what he did and believing and
obeying what he said. And so it's it
wasn't lip service. They weren't just
saying, "Oh yeah, I believe him." And
then when persecution came, they say,
"Oh, no, no, no. I I don't believe that
was that was foolish of me to say that."
They they were willing to die for their
faith. And that's that's the kind of
faith he wants is people who say, you
know what, no matter what comes my way,
I am willing to die for this faith. I
believe who he is. I believe what the
Bible says about him and I'm willing to
obey him and go uh even to the same
extent that he did. He died for us. Um
I'm willing to drink the same cup that
he did, the same confession the
disciples made, right? Uh you know, he
says, "You're not going to be able to
drink of this cup." And he's they said,
"We'll we'll drink of the same cup you
will." And he says, "Well, yeah, you're
going to drink of this cup, but not the
same time I am. It'll be
later." And what that means is they're
going to die for their faith. They're
going to die um for believing in him.
And it it may come to that with us, too.
We may at some point face that type of
persecution again where we have to die
for our faith or watch a loved one die.
Um, we've seen throughout history, um,
one things they that they do to torture,
uh, Christians is is to say, "I'm going
to torture your children. I'm going to
torture your wife. I'm going to torture
your loved ones until you confess, until
you um deny
Yeshua. And if you deny him, the the
torture stops and you guys can go free.
But if you continue to make this
confession of faith, we're going to
torture them until they're all dead. And
they take them one by one and and
torture and kill them right in front of
you, trying to get you to deny Yeshua.
And the kind of faith that he's looking
for is people who say, "No matter what,
I'm not going to deny who he is." That's
the kind of faith we're supposed to
have. It's not about lip service. It's
about standing firm when it costs you
something or when it cost you
everything. Okay? when your confession
might result in persecution or rejection
or even martyrdom. That's the kind of
faith we need to have. And in the days
ahead, this is the kind of bold,
uncompromising confession that's going
to separate us, separate the wheat from
the tears. Okay? U those who confess
Yeshua with their lips but deny him with
their lives, they're not going to stand
when when the the persecution comes.
We we
must confess him with our mouth, but
also confess him with our life and and
our obedience and our allegiance and our
loyalty. That's the kind of of public
confession that we're supposed to have.
And so we we're confessing our loyalty
to Yeshua no matter what. Our confession
is not simply believing that he's the
Messiah. It's a declaration that we are
his disciples and we're committed to
walk as he walked, obeying his
instructions and modeling our life after
his. Confession is not a one-time event.
It's a lifestyle of alle of of
allegiance and
obedience. Hebrews chapter 4, let's
let's jump over there.
Hebrews chapter
4:14 it says, "Seeing then that we have
a great high priest who has passed
through the heavens, Jesus the son of
God, let us hold fast to our
confession." Okay? We we need to hold on
to our confession like a soldier
clinging to his banner in the heat of
battle. This is not a passive religion.
It's active. It's enduring. is faith
that that perseveres no matter what. So
what does it mean to live by believing
faith? It means trusting God's word even
when it's
unpopular. Walking in obedience when
it's hard. Surrendering your will
because you know his way is better than
your way. Remaining loyal to Yeshua no
matter what the culture says or what it
costs you. And living a life that
reflects your confession. living a life
of obedience to him. When you say he is
Lord, you live as if he is Lord. You
serve him. You obey him. You walk in uh
you walk in faith. You walk in obedience
to his instructions. Okay. Now, let's
jump over to Hebrews 11 because Hebrews
11, you know, it's known as the faith
chapter and and it it describes faith
and it says, "Now this now now faith is
the substance of things hoped for and
the evidence of things not
seen." Okay, it faith is the
substance. It's the foundation of your
walk with God. It's not about feelings.
It's about confidence in the unseen
promises of God expressed through
obedience in how we walk it out. Okay,
but let's go on and see what Hebrews
says. Faith is the substance of things
for the evidence of things not seen. For
by it the elders obtained a good
testimony. By faith we understand that
the word the worlds were formed by the
word of God. And again, Yeshua is the
word of
God. So that the things which are seen
were not made by things which are
visible. By faith, Abel offered to God a
more excellent
sacrifice. Offered a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain through which he
obtained witness that he was righteous.
God testifying of his gifts and through
it he being dead still speaks. Okay. So
Abel offered a better sacrifice than
Isaac than Cain. This is action. By
faith he offered By faith he took
action. By faith he did something. By
faith he offered a better sacrifice.
Okay? It's his faith. Faith is described
by his actions that he took by faith.
Enoch was taken away so that he did not
see death and was not found because God
had taken away. For before he was taken,
he had this testimony that he pleased
God. So, well, how did he please God? He
did what was pleasing to God. He did
what obey what was uh he obeyed God's
will. He walked in accordance to God's
instructions. He he walked in a way that
pleased
God. Uh but without faith, it is
impossible to please him. For he who
comes to God must believe that he is and
that he's a rewarder of those who
diligently seek him. And so by faith,
faith is described as not only believing
that exists, but believing that he
rewards those who seek him, that he
rewards those who who obey him, those
who walk according to his ways. Um,
faith does the things that please him.
By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of
things not yet seen, moved with godly
fear, prepared an ark for the saving of
his household, by which he condemned the
world and became heir of righteousness,
which is according to faith. Okay? So
Noah, God told him, "Build an ark." And
Noah obeyed. Noah built the ark. He'd
never seen rain before. He didn't know
what God was talking about. He was going
to flood the earth. What does that mean?
But he obeyed. He walked in obedience.
That's what faith is described as. Noah
obeyed
God. He was warned about the flood that
was coming and he prepared. He obeyed.
He did what God asked him to do. He
built an ark. His faith was put into
action by his his
obedience.
Um verse 6, I'm sorry, verse 8. By faith
Abraham obeyed when he was called out to
go to the place which he would receive
as an inheritance. And he went out not
knowing where he was going. And this, we
talked about this earlier. He left his
homeland. He went to a place he'd never
been before in faith. It was faith put
into action. That's what that's what
belief is. That's what faith is. Is is
that you trust God enough to do what he
says. Um verse 9, by faith he dwelt in a
land in the land of promise as a foreign
as in a foreign country dwelling in
tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs
with him of the same promise. So he took
his family and lived in a wilderness,
lived in tents, waiting for God to
fulfill the promise, trusting
God. For he waited for the city which
has foundations, whose builder and maker
is
God. Verse 11, by faith Sarah herself
also received strength to conceive seed,
and bore a child when she was past the
age because she judged him faithful who
had promised. Okay. So, Sarah in her old
age bore a son. She had a child, Isaac.
She was well past the the age where she
could carry a child, but she believed
God. God promised them a son. God said
it was going to be through Sarah.
Abraham and Sarah believed God, and God
gave them a son because they believed
him, because they trusted him, because
they obeyed
him.
Okay. Verse 12. Therefore from man one
man and him as good as dead were born as
many as the stars in the of the sky in
multitude innumerable as the sand which
is by the seashore. Abraham was he was
100 years old when Isaac was born. He
was an old man and I mean he was he was
on he was on his deathbed. He was near
the end of his life and he had a son and
but it was because of his faith and
obedience to God, trusting God and
believing what God said, believing the
word of God, believing the promises of
God. 13 These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having
seen them a far off, were assured of
them, embraced them, and confessed that
they were strangers and pilgrims on the
earth. Okay? They they believed God
enough that they were willing to die for
their faith even not having received the
fulfillment of the the promise that God
gave them. God told Abraham he would
have of children numbering the stars in
the sky and the sand and the sea.
Abraham died with one
son. But he believed God that God was
going to give him an inheritance. And
that son Isaac had Jacob. And Jacob had
the 12 sons of Israel. of the 12 tribes
of
Israel. And those 12 sons formed the
nation. And then that nation was what
what planted the seed for Yeshua. And
that seed of Yeshua planted the faith of
Abraham in all of us. And we are the
fulfillment of the promise that God gave
Abraham thousands of years ago. But
Abraham died not having seen all of
this. He hadn't experienced it yet, but
he trusted God and believed that that's
what God was going to do.
Verse 14, for those who say such things
declare plainly that they seek a
homeland. And that's that's what Abraham
said. He was seeking the homeland that
God had provided for him. He was going
left his left his home and walked went
through the wilderness towards the place
that God would provide for him trusting
that God was going to do it. And truly
verse 14 15 and truly if they had called
to mind that country from which they had
come out they would have opportunity to
return. Okay but they they could have
returned but they didn't because of
their faith. Same thing when they left
Israel right or when they left Egypt
they left Israel left Egypt and they
went out into the wilderness seeking the
promised land. And some of them wanted
to return. They wanted to they wanted to
bail. They they gave up hope and they
said, "Let's go back to Egypt." We had
it good there. That's not the kind of
faith God wants. He wants faith that
endures and says, you know, I'm going to
go through this desert. I'm going to go
through this wilderness and I'm going to
get to the promised land that God has
promised me, believing what God has
said. when they got to the the uh the
land of of Canaan and they saw the
giants, many most of them, almost all of
them, all but but Joshua and Caleb, the
only two uh of the of the spies that
were sent, Joshua and Caleb were the
only ones who came back and said, "Hey,
we can take these guys because God's on
our side." The rest of them said, "Man,
these guys are giants. We're going to be
squashed." Joshua and Caleb had faith to
say, "You know what? God's on our side.
We can we can do whatever God says we're
going to do. God says we can take this
land. We're going to take this land.
Doesn't matter how big they are. That's
faith.
Um but now verse 16, but now they desire
a better that is a heavenly country.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God, for he has prepared a
city for them. Verse 17.
Um by faith Abraham when he was tested
offered up Isaac, and he who had
received the promises offered up his
only begotten son. We talked about this,
right? That he by faith he offered his
son. It was an act of faith to obey God.
To walk out his faith to to obey is an
act of faith. To obey God is an act of
faith. That's that's over and over what
the Bible is teaching
us. And um it says, "Of whom it was
called, in Isaac your seed shall be
called." Of whom it was said, "In Isaac,
your seed shall be called." So he
offered up his son. knowing that the
promise would come through his
son. Verse 19, concluding that God was
able to raise him up even from the dead
from which he also received him in a
figurative sense. So Abraham believed
even if he killed Isaac, God could raise
Isaac from the dead and still fulfill
his promise. And so he wasn't afraid to
kill Isaac because he believed he had
faith that God could raise the dead.
That's the kind of faith we're supposed
to have. is is believing that God raised
Yeshua from the dead is the same faith
that says God can raise us from the
dead. And so it's about the resurrection
and about God's ability to bring forth
life from the
dead. For by faith a Isaac blessed Jacob
and Esau concerning things to come. By
faith Jacob when he was dying blessed
each of his sons each of the sons of
Joseph and worshiped leaning on the top
of his staff. By faith, Joseph, when he
was dying, made mention of the departure
of the children of Israel and gave
instructions concerning his bones. Okay?
So, he he believed that they would leave
Egypt. And he told him what to do with
it, his bones when they left. He said,
"I'm not going to be around to see it.
I'm going to be dead and gone, but take
my bones with you and here's what you're
supposed to do with them." Because he
believed the promises of
God. By faith, Moses when he was born
was hidden three months by his parents.
Okay? His parents his parents had faith
and that's why they hid Moses in a
basket. They took action. Okay? They
didn't just say, "Well, God's going to
do it. Let's wait and see what happens."
They took action. They believed. They
trusted. They obeyed. They they put him
in in the basket and they said, "God is
in control. We're going to trust what he
tells us to do." Um because they saw he
was a beautiful child and we're not
afraid of the king's command. Okay? So
their faith in God made them not afraid
of Pharaoh. That's something important.
We we need to have faith in God that
makes us not afraid of governments and
and rulers and leaders to say, "I don't
care what they think they're going to
do. I believe in God. I trust in God and
I'm going to obey him no matter what
they
say." Faith that says, "I'm going to
walk in obedience to God no matter what.
no matter what the consequences, no
matter what anyone else tells me that my
faith is I'm going to obey God. And so
if they come along and they they try to
force you uh to break one of God's
commandments, you you have to have the
faith that says I'm going to obey God
and you know do to me what you will. Uh
that's the kind of thing that happened
in the past when Antiochus Epiphanies
desecrated the temple. He tried to force
the Jews to eat pork. Some of the Jews
went along with it. They said, "You know
what? We're going to eat this pork.
We're going to eat this pig in order to
appease Antiochus and to please him so
that he doesn't kill us." But other Jews
said, "You know what? We're not going to
do that. We're going to obey God. And I
don't care what Antichus says. I don't
care what he does. He can kill us. He
can tort us. He can kill our children.
He can torture them. I'm not going to
disobey God. I'm going to be faithful to
God no matter what." That's the kind of
faith we're supposed to
have. And so they had faith in God and
were not afraid of the king's
command. Uh by faith, Moses, when he
became of age, refused to be called the
son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing to
rather to suffer affliction with the
people of God than to enjoy the passing
pleasure of
sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ
greater riches than the treasure of
Egypt.
for he looked to the
reward. Okay? And that's the kind of
faith we need to have as we say, I don't
care what this world has to
offer. I don't care about the the
pleasures of sin. I don't care about the
pleasures of this life. I don't care
about the riches of this
world. I I want an an an eternal
inheritance. I want um I want to be
pleasing to God. I want to please him
and to come into his kingdom because his
kingdom is way better than anything this
world has to offer. That's the kind of
faith we need to
have. By faith he forsook Egypt, not
fearing the wrath of the king, for he
endured as seeing him who is invisible.
Okay, so he forsook Egypt. The Bible
says we're to to have nothing to do with
the world, to forsake the world. Um to
be in the world but not of the world.
and to walk with our allegiance to the
kingdom of God, not to the kings of this
world. And so he he wasn't afraid of the
king. He wasn't afraid of the wrath of
the king. He feared God, not not earthly
rulers. And we need to be the same way.
We need to fear God only and not what
man can do to us. Um as as Yeshua said,
fear him who is able to destroy both
body and soul in Gehenna. Don't don't
fear those who can just destroy your
body.
That's the kind of faith we need to
have. Faith that says, "You know what?
You can destroy my body, but you can't
destroy my soul. Uh my soul belongs to
God, and he can raise me up in the last
day. He can resurrect my body. He can
resurrect my soul. He can give me a new
body, and I will walk with him in his
kingdom." That's the kind of faith we
need to
have. By faith, he kept the Passover and
the sprinkling of blood, lest he who
destroyed the firstborn should touch
them. Okay? By faith they obeyed by
keeping Passover. By faith they took the
blood of the lamb. They slaughtered a
lamb and they took the blood and they
painted on the durpost. That was an act
of faith. That was an act of
obedience. And that
obedience showed their faith. That
obedience showed that they trusted God
by obeying him. And it was because of
their act that they were saved. Okay? It
wasn't just those who
um mentally acknowledge God would be
saved. It's those who took action and
painted their doorposts with the blood.
Those are the ones who were saved. They
had to put their faith to action. They
had to obey. They had to do what he
asked them to do. Okay? That's how they
were saved. And so those who had the
blood on the doorpost were saved from
the the death plague. Those who did not
have the blood on the doorpost were
killed. The firstborn was was killed.
whether they were Egyptian or Israelite.
If they didn't put blood on the doors,
they were killed. And so it was the act
of faith by by obeying God and putting
the blood on the doorpost that saved
them. Okay? But they had to put their
faith to action. By faith, they passed
through the Red Sea on by dry land.
Whereas the Egyptians attempting to do
so were drowned.
They had to believe and trust that God
was going to uh keep the waters held
back while they crossed over because you
know they they crossing they see these
walls of water on both sides. They could
have been afraid and they they they
might have been afraid but they had to
trust God that God is going to hold the
waters back until they got to the other
side. And it's because they had faith to
trust God to cross over that they were
able to get to the other side. They
could have said, "No, no, no. That's
that's too risky. What if that water
crashes? What if that water comes down?
Just because it's it's being held back
right now doesn't mean it's going to be
held back forever. They had to have
faith to cross and to say, "God is going
to God is going to keep that water held
back until I get to the other side
safely." That's why they were able to
cross because they trusted and they
walked in obedience. They walked it out.
They stepped into that dry river that
that dry river
bank, seeing the walls of of water on
both sides.
and they walked across trusting that God
was going to keep that water held back.
They had to put their faith to the
test by faith. Verse 30, the walls of
Jericho fell down after they were
encircled for seven days. They had to
obey. God said to walk around the city
seven times, you know, one time every
day for seven days and then seven times
the seventh day and then blow trumpets
and
shout and they did it. It didn't make
sense. Why is, you know, they they could
have said, you know, that doesn't make
sense. Why why why are we going to walk
around this city? Why not just attack
the gates? Why walk around it? Why walk
around it for seven days? They walk
around the first day. Nothing happens.
They could have said, "You know what?
That that seems silly. Why did we do
that?" But no, they they said, "You know
what? God told us to do this. Let's do
it." So, they walked around the second
day. Well, nothing happened. They could
have again said, "Well, that was silly.
Why' we do that? But they they trusted
God and they said, "God told us to do
this. Let's keep doing it." They walked
around the third day and the fourth day,
the fifth day, the sixth day, seventh
day, and seven day seven, they're
supposed to walk around seven
times. So they walked around seven
times. And the last time he says, "Blow
the trumpets and shout." So they walk
around the seventh time blowing the
trumpets and shouting. And then the
walls fell down. But it's because they
obeyed. Because they trusted God enough
to obey him. That's why the walls fell.
It wasn't because they said, "Okay,
yeah, we believe in God, but we're not
going to do what he
says." If they If they'd have said that,
the walls wouldn't have fall. They said,
"Yeah, we trust God. We believe in God.
We acknowledge he's God, but we're not
we're not going to walk around that
city. That's silly." They're going to
laugh at us. They're going to they're
going to call us names. They're going to
think something's wrong with us. What is
walking around a city going to do for us
anyway? How is that going to accomplish
anything? What we need to do is take up
our swords and
attack that. That's not faith. That's
doing things your way. Faith is doing
things God's way. Faith is obeying God
and doing what he says to do, how he
says to do it, when he says to do it, in
the way he says to do it. That is that
is faith. That is the way the Bible is
describing faith. Okay?
By faith, the harlot Rahab did not
perish with those who did not believe
when she had received the spies with
peace. So this this harlot, the
prostitute, right? She she trusted God
and she walked in obedience to God and
his instructions that came through God's
people. Because she had faith, she was
saved. And what more shall I say? For
the time would fail me to tell of Gideon
and Barack and Samson and Jeffna and
David and Samuel and the
prophets who through faith subdued
kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained
promises, and stopped the mouths of
lions. Okay, again, these are actions.
They subdued kingdoms by faith. They
subdued kingdoms by faith. They took
action and obeyed God. They did what he
asked them to
do. Um, they worked righteousness. It's
about doing what is right. They worked
righteousness. They obeyed. Their faith
was put into action by obedience. They
obtained promises. Okay? They they
obtained what God had said they were
going to do because they obeyed, because
they believed, because they trusted him.
They stopped the mouths of lions. Think
about D uh Daniel in the lion's den,
right? Uh he trusted that God was not
going to let those lions eat him. And
so, he allowed himself to be cast in the
lion's den. He defied the commands of
the
king and that's what put him in the
lion's den. And he knew that was that
was the destination. He knew if he
defied the king, he was going to be
thrown in with lions. But he trusted God
and he obeyed God and ended up in the
lion's den because he obeyed God. But he
knew that God would would take care of
it. He trusted that God would do uh that
God would keep him safe, that God would
protect him. And even, you know, if you
look in in Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abedneo, same thing, right? They
would not bow down to the idol. They
would not worship the idol. And they and
what they said was, "Even if our God
does not save us, we still won't
bow." And so, they said, "We're going to
obey God no matter what. Even if he
doesn't save us, we're still not going
to bow to you. We're still not going to
bow to your your idol." And the same
kind of scenario is going to be set in
in the last days that the the Antichrist
and the beast is going to set up an
idol, some sort of an image of worship,
and they're going to force everyone to
worship that image. They're going to
tell everyone, you you're supposed to
bow down. You're supposed to worship
this. We need to have the same kind of
faith that Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego had. They say, "You know what?
No matter what happens, whatever you do
to us, it doesn't matter because our God
uh is more important to us than than
obeying you. We're going to obey our
God, not you. We're going to walk in
obedience to our God, not in obedience
to you and your image. Okay? So, it's
who who has your allegiance? That's what
faith is about is where is your
allegiance? Is your allegiance to God or
is your allegiance to something else,
someone else?
Um they quenched the violence of fire,
escaped the edge of the sword, out of
weakness were made strong, became valu
valiant in battle, turned to flight the
armies of the aliens. Okay, again, this
is action. They're this is they're
describing faith. Says they had faith
and they're giving all these
actions, all these um things they did,
their obedience, the way they walked it
out. Women received their dead raised to
life. Others were tortured, not
accepting deliverance, that they might
obtain a better resurrection. Still
others had trial of mockings and
scourgings, yes, of chains and
imprisonment. They were stoned,
sawn, were tempted, were slain by the
sword, were uh they wandered about in
sheep skins and goat skins, being
destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom
the world was not
worthy. They wandered in deserts and
mountains and dens and caves of the
earth. Okay? The world was not worthy of
them because the world doesn't know the
faith that they had. They had faith in
God to endure no matter whatever the
world threw at them. They were able to
endure that because they had faith in
God. They trusted God. They obeyed
God. And these having obtained a good
testimony through faith did not receive
the
promise. God having provided something
better for us that they should not be
made perfect apart from us. Now, this is
talking about the future resurrection
that together we're going to be made
perfect with them. If if we have the
same faith that Abraham had, if we have
the same faith that David and Daniel
had, we have the same faith that the
prophets had, if we have the same faith
that Moses had, same faith that Abel
had, we had the same faith that Noah
had, we have their kind of faith that
obeys God no matter what,
uh we're going to receive that promise
with them. They will not be paid made
perfect apart from us and we will not be
made perfect apart from them. We will be
part of the resurrection with Abraham.
We will be part of the same resurrection
with Noah. We will be part of the same
resurrection with Abel. We'll be made
part of the same resurrection with
Daniel and David and all the prophets.
Okay? But we have to have the same kind
of faith they had. And their faith was
put into action. Their faith trusted God
and obeyed him. And that's the kind of
faith we're supposed to have. Okay? So,
in closing and and then we'll get some
uh a few questions. Do you truly confess
Yeshua as Lord? Okay, it's not just lip
service. Do you confess him with your
life, with your actions, with your
obedience, with your
allegiance? Are you a bondervant of
Yeshua? Can you say, "He is my Lord and
I am his
servant?" Because if you're his servant,
you will do what he says. You will obey
him. You will live a life in obedience
to him. Okay? It's not just with your
lips. It's not just saying calling him
Lord, but it's doing what he asked you
to do. Remember, many will call call him
Lord that many will say to him, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in your
name and done many works in your name
and cast out demons in your name? He
says, I don't know you because you don't
do the will of my father. I don't know
you because you're workers of
lawlessness. Okay? We we don't want to
be those kind of people. We don't want
to just give him lip service. We we
don't want to say Lord, call him Lord
and not do what he says. We want to call
him Lord and be obedient to him. Be be
faithful servants to him. That's what
we're supposed to be by calling him
Lord. We're saying, "I am your faithful
servant. I will obey you. I will do what
you say and no matter what the cost to
me, even if it cost me my life, my life,
even if it cost me everything I have, I
will obey you." That's the kind of faith
we're supposed to have. It's not just at
church.
But it's in your workplace. It's in your
home. And it's in everyday decisions
that you make. Our confession of faith
is not just something you
say. It's something you live out. It's
your allegiance to the King of
Kings. A confession of faith is the
covenant
identity. Okay? It it's it's about who
we are. It's where our allegiance is. is
is our loyalty is to him. He is our
king. He is our ruler. He is our god. He
is our savior. He is our messiah. And we
are faithful to him. We are loyal to
him. We are going to obey him no matter
what the cost. Every aspect of our life.
That's the kind of faith that we're
supposed to
have. And Yeshua said, "When the son of
man returns, will he find faith on the
earth?" He's he's worried that he's not
going to find this kind of faith. He's
worried that we won't have that kind of
faith when he returns. And that's the
kind of faith we have to have when he
returns because we're going to be faced
by all kinds of trials and persecutions
and tribulations. We have to have faith
that will endure those things. And so,
let's be people who our confession is
real and is rooted in scripture and is
lived out in our obedience and
unwavering no matter what the cost.
That's the kind of faith that we're
supposed to have. Okay. Now, uh let's go
ahead and jump into some of the
questions. Hey friends, if you've been
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Now that we've explored the depths of
today's topic, it's time to hear from
you. Welcome to the Q&A portion of the
show where you can ask questions about
today's topic. So, post your questions
in the chat and let's talk
biblical. All right, I'm looking through
the chat here and I'm actually trying to
find a
question. I don't see any.
Um, here's a good comment. Those who
attempt to save their lives will lose
it, but those who give their lives for
the gospel and God's kingdom will save
their life. Absolutely true.
Um let's see.
When Christ returns on a cloud and says,
"Come up here to the two witnesses,"
then you will want to be part of that
ministry of the summer
harvest.
Uh, okay. I I don't that's not a
question. Um,
uh, let's see. Okay, here's a question.
Tracy uh thinking kingdom thoughts says,
"How can you explain to those who would
say that this is legalism?" Great
question. Um so legalism is trying to
earn salvation. Legalism is saying I've
got to do certain things in order to um
appease God's wrath.
And so, um, legalism is saying,
uh, we must do these things so that God
will give us favor and grace. We must do
these things so that God will um, save
us. It's it's it's the idea that our
righteousness somehow earns us favor
from God. That's what legalism is, is
saying, "I've I've earned this. I
deserve this. Um, I've done all the I've
done all these good things, so I deserve
your salvation. Um, that's the opposite
of what I'm saying. The opposite of what
the Bible's saying. What the Bible's
saying is God has freely given us the
gift of salvation and we freely give our
allegiance to him in loving
response. And so, he laid down his life
for us and we lay down our life for him.
um we say, you know, we we love you. We
appreciate what what you've done for us.
And our loving response to him is we
want to obey and and to do what pleases
him, not to earn our salvation. Uh but
to say, you know, we don't deserve
salvation. We didn't we can't do
anything to deserve it. Our our
righteousness is a filthy rag. Our
righteousness is
worthless. And no matter how good we
are, no matter how much good we do, no
matter how obedient we are, we're still
not good enough.
And we're still worthless and we still
deserve death. We still uh don't deserve
salvation. Even in at our best, we don't
deserve
salvation. And acknowledging and
understanding that, but saying, "I'm
going to obey anyway." And and saying,
"He is good to us, and we obey because
we love him. We obey because uh he is
good to us. We obey because he first
loved us. We love him because he first
loved us. And the way we show love to
him is through our our obedience. Um
that's that's kind of the
difference.
Um so I'm not I'm not seeing any other
questions. I'm going to give just a
minute more to see if any other pop
up.
Um but
uh let's see. Is there anything else I
can say about legalism? Legal legalism
also is looking for legal loopholes. And
so like the Pharisees, for example, um
they would look for loopholes. And they
would say things like, "Well, I know the
Bible says not to to um commit adultery,
but I'm not committing adultery. I'm
just looking lustfully at this woman."
Well, Yeshua came in behind them and
said, "If you look lustfully at a woman,
you've already committed adultery with
her in your heart." The legal loophole
is saying, "Well, I haven't technically
committed adultery. I I haven't slept
with a woman. All I'm doing is is
looking at her and lusting after her."
Okay, that that's the legal loophole,
right? That's what they're looking for.
Some kind of legal loophole to say,
"Technically, I haven't broken the
commandment. The commandment is not to
commit adultery. I haven't technically
committed adultery.
uh your said, "Well, if you lusted after
in your heart, you have
um and so that legal loophole is legal
legalism as well." Um and so legalism
has to do with u being very strict with
uh your
observance and understanding of the
commandments as well. So, um, you know,
again, you've heard it said, "Do not
murder." But I tell you, do not be angry
with your brother in your heart. And
that that anger in your heart towards
your brother is murderous. You're you're
committing murder in your heart. You're
you're wanting evil for him. You're
wanting death for him. You're wanting
him to suffer. That's you're murdering
him in your heart. Even if you don't
take the action, even if you do nothing
to him, you have murdered him in your
heart. He says, "I don't want that from
my people. I want me my people to um to
have pure
hearts." And so, um, we've got to be
people
who not only walk in obedience to the
commandments, but also walk in obedience
to the spirit of the law. Okay? And so
when Yeshua was saying uh the letter
kills but the spirit gives life. You
know when the Bible says letter kills,
the spirit gives life. It's it's it's
this idea that the spirit of the laws
need to be upheld. And so the letter of
the law is do not commit adultery. The
spirit of the law is don't even lust.
The letter of the law is do not murder.
The spirit of the law is don't even be
angry. Um and so you know we've got to
be people who uphold not just the letter
of the law but also the spirit of the
law.
and and be willing to
um to walk in obedience to that. And
walking in obedience to the spirit of
the law is is a step further beyond just
the letter. Um being legalistic is just
walking according to the letter. Just
saying, "Okay, this is what it says. I'm
going to do exactly this. Nothing more,
nothing less." That's being legalistic.
The spirit of the law has more grace,
but the spirit of law also has more
um stringency. It has more lenience, but
also has more
stringency. And so um the the spirit of
the law fluctuates a little bit more
than the letter. The letter of the
letter is rigid. The spirit of the law
has a little more fluctuation to it.
And so, um, you know, some of the things
Yeshua criticized the Pharisees about,
uh, was he says, you know, you you tithe
of mint and, uh, herbs and and cumin and
things like that, but you ignore justice
and righteousness. He says, you should
have done both. do do the the tithing of
the the the herbs in your herb garden,
but also do the the righteousness and
the justice and and things like that and
helping the the poor and the needy. And
so he says, you you did the letter. You
tithed of your your mint and your your
your anis and your cumin and and your
rue and and the things in your garden
and that was good and you're supposed to
do that. But you got to do more than
that. You also need to seek out
righteousness and justice and and
helping those who are um in need and
those who are weak. And that's why he
says
um you know when I was uh poor uh and
hungry you gave me food. When I was
naked you clothed me. When I was in
prison you visited me. When I was sick
uh you you cared for me. And they said
when did we do these things? He said
when you did it to the least of these
you did it to me. And so we have to have
that same mindset that helping others in
need and and going the extra mile and
doing the the things that are um
necessary for life and helping others,
that's the spirit of the
law. Okay? And so we've got to be
willing to to walk in obedience to them.
Walk in obedience to the spirit of the
law and not just the
letter.
Um, okay. This one says, "What advice do
you give to someone who's been through a
lot of spiritual abuse and is dealing
with a lot of confusion about what is
true?"
Um, my advice to you is um be
cautious that
um that you're obeying the word of God
and
not not what men tell you. And that's
easier said than done. U because people
people twist the word. And so you've got
to you've got to be careful that you're
not being led astray.
Um and I
understand that um there's a lot of
people in in this world both people in
in leadership and and people lay people
who
um they have said and done things that
are hurtful and they've damaged
relationships and they have uh hurt
people's walk with the Lord. But your
walk is not based on that person.
your walk is based on your relationship
with the
Lord and um you need to seek him and
seek seek him through his word and the
through the truth of his word and
um not let what other people have said
and done stop you from uh hinder you in
your walk with the Lord. Don't let them
separate you from the Lord. Um, and so
be faithful to to
him and knowing that men will let you
down. Every all we're we're human. We
are all prone to make mistakes. And so
some of the church hurt you felt may not
be intentional.
It may have been people uh who who had
good meaning, good intentions, and meant
well, but they they messed up. They made
a mistake. They they're flawed. We are
all flawed humans. And we can't trust
each other that we're going to be
perfect because we're not. None of us
are perfect. Even the best of us is not
perfect. And they're going to make
mistakes and they're they're going to
let you down. They're going to
disappoint you. Um they're going to fail
you.
But God is faithful. And so even when
man fails you, trust that God is
faithful. Even when when man hurts you,
trust that God does not. Even when man
disappoints you, trust that God does
not. Um we have to be willing to
uh
endure
the failings of each other and knowing
that we're we're all going to fall short
at some point. We're all going to make
mistakes and be willing to forgive each
other. That's important, too. You have
to be willing to forgive your brothers
when they hurt you and when they wrong
you. Um, you know, Yeshua was hanging on
the cross and he said, "Father, forgive
them. They do not know what they do." We
need to have the same kind of
um grace that he had that we're willing
to forgive each other when we are
wronged. And so, if if someone in church
hurts you, forgive them. and be willing
to say, you know what, they they messed
up. Whether it was intentional or
whether it was a mistake, it doesn't
even matter. They messed up, but I
forgive them. And I'm willing I'm
willing to forgive them because Yeshua
is willing to forgive me when I mess up,
and I need to follow his example. And
his example was to forgive
um to forgive others. And you know,
Peter asked him, "How many times should
I forgive my brother when he sins
against me?" He says, you know, should I
forgive him seven times? And Yeshua
said, "No, 70 * 7." And you know, it's
not it's not a strict 49, right? 7* I'm
sorry, uh four was 70 *
7. What is 70 * 7? I just went
blank. I should know
that. 70 * 7 490, not 49. 490.
So, is it a strict 490 times that we
forgive somebody? No. It's not like,
well, I got to
491. Too late. I can't forgive you
anymore. That's not what he's talking
about. He's saying, you know, it should
be a number that you you're not going to
be able to track. Um, you you shouldn't
even try to track it. It's not, you
know, well, I I forgive you seven times.
Seven is my limit. I'm done. It's 70 *
7, meaning it's it's some large number
you're not even supposed to be able to
track try to track. You can't Well,
let's see. There's
uh there's 10 times. Let me see. Uh 20
uh you know, you lose track at some
point. How many times should I forgive
you? So many times that you can't even
track it. That's that's really what he's
saying. How could you track 490 times?
You can't.
That's that's that's that's exhaustive.
That's that's it's beyond our ability to
keep track of that record. Um even if
you you document
it, put it made made a word document and
you document every single time, you
know, you're going to eventually be
exhausted by trying to track it. It's
going to wear you out trying to track
how many times you've forgiven that
person. The idea is you just keep
forgiving. However many times you want
God to forgive you, that's how many
times you got to forgive each other. And
that's what you should have said. He
said, "If you want to be forgiven by
God, you need to forgive your
brother." And so, we've got to have that
kind of forgiveness for each other. Even
when they hurt you, even when they do
you wrong, even when they really, really
mess up. Um whether it was intentional
or accidental, whether they meant to
hurt you or not, you've got to be
willing to forgive them. And until you
can forgive them, you're going to deal
with that hurt. And so that hurt is is
going to be there until you forgive. And
so you may be feeling spiritual abuse,
spiritual hurt. And you may have good
reason. It may be justified. Maybe they
really did something
bad. But you're not going to you're not
going to escape that until you learn to
forgive. You've got to forgive that. And
remember that God has forgiven you for
way worse. You deserve death.
You deserve the same kind of punishment
Yeshua received on the cross. You
deserve to be whipped and beaten and
sped on and a crown of thorns shoved on
your head and stabbed in the side and
and pierced through the hands and feet
and hung on a cross. You deserve a
brutal death for for your sins and so
does everyone. We all deserve that kind
of brutal death for our sin because sin
is awful. And sin is why people hurt
you. Sin is why you have church hurt in
your life because they
sinned. But you have to forgive their
sin the same way that God forgives your
sin. You have to be willing to forgive.
If you can't forgive, you're going to be
held captive. You're going to be a
prisoner to that hurt. And so, you have
to forgive if you want freedom from that
hurt. Um and if you want to be able to
to move on and and to um live a life
that God wants you to live, you have to
be able to forgive. And so whether they
intentionally hurt you or whether they
accidentally hurt you, they they sinned,
they messed up, they fell
short, but you need to forgive them, and
you need to move on and get past that
hurt and let God heal that hurt and walk
in newness of life, walk in freedom. And
that freedom comes from
forgiveness. So you've got to you've got
to do that.
Um, okay. Does God listen to your prayer
to our prayers? I've been told that only
God listens to the prayers of the actual
saved. Okay. So, um, there are a couple
different ways to look at this.
Um,
so the Bible says that the prayers of
the unrighteous, the prayers of the
wicked are not heard by God.
Um and it says that those who uh
Proverbs says that those who um will not
listen to the Torah, those who will not
listen to the the commandments of God,
their prayer is an abomination to God.
And so God doesn't listen to their
prayers because they're not listening to
his word. They're not obeying his word.
Um
and uh John in the gospel in the I'm
sorry the epistle first John he says
that God hears our prayer because we
walk in obedience to
him and we do what is pleasing in his
sight and that's why he hears our
prayer. And so our obedience our faith
our faith put in action is our
obedience. Right? and by walking in
righteousness, by walking in faith, by
walking in obedience to God, that is why
he why he is uh listens to our
prayers. But when we're walking in
rebellion against him, he has no reason
to listen to our prayers. Uh we are not
listening to him, we're not obeying him,
we're not doing what he asks. So why
should he listen to us and do what we
ask? But when we walk in obedience to
him, then he is more inclined to say,
you know what, this this person listens
to me. this person obeys. This person
follows my instructions. And so I'm
willing to listen to him and and to to
see what he has to say, to see what she
has to say and to listen to them and and
answer their prayers because we are
walking in obedience to
him. And so that's
um that's kind of the the model that the
Bible presents. If we don't listen to
God, why should he listen to us? Same
thing if if we don't forgive each other,
why should he forgive us? It's it's this
uh you reap what you sow kind of
mentality. If you are um sowing
rebellion and disobedience and sin,
you're not going to you're not going to
reap
um God's answer to prayer. Why would he
answer your prayers if you're walking in
obedience in disobedience and rebellion?
He has no reason to listen to you. U but
if you are walking in obedience to God
and listening to him and following him
and and walking in his will,
um why would he why would he not listen
to your prayers? Why would he not answer
your
prayers? And so that's kind of the idea
that the Bible presents
u is that God hears our prayers when we
listen to him and we obey his word and
walk according to his
word. All right. Um let me go ahead and
tell you about next week. So next week
we're going to be talking about
disciplehip. So join us next week as we
dive into a topic that is absolutely
essential to every believer and that's
the topic of disciplehip.
What does it really mean to be a
disciple of Yeshua? Is it just attending
church? Or is there something deeper?
Something that requires total
commitment, radical obedience, and a
transformed life? Next week, we're going
to we're going to strip away the
religious traditions and get back to the
biblical model of disciplehip, the kind
that turns the world upside down. If
we're not making disciples, we're not
doing what Yeshua commanded. So, join us
next week as we talk about the topic of
disciplehip. Thanks. Thank you for
joining me on Let's Talk Biblical. If
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forward to chatting with you again next
week. Until next time, keep talking
biblical. Shalom.