Welcome to Shining the Light Ministries Bible Study. This week we will be studying about how that faith itself is the evidence for the existence of God.
Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Last week God answered an almost 50 year old prayer for America with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Much more still needs to be done to outlaw abortion in all 50 States. A law by Congress would accomplish that the fastest.
I believe that if we keep praying then that law will be passed as soon as Conservatives take over Congress and the Presidency again. The next 2 elections are extremely important in accomplishing this.
All things are possible if we believe.
Matthew 17:20 “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Persistent prayer of righteous people prevails!
James 5:16b “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Therefore, lets just keep praying, believing, and doing our duty to vote in Pro-Life leaders and pushing for legislation banning abortion Nationwide. We will see it happen.
Even if the Devil throws us a curve by this evil Congress passing legislation to legalize abortion, do not get discouraged. The next Congress can just as easily ban abortion. Legislation is much easier to change than Supreme Court decisions. When the pro-death crowd lost Roe v. Wade their days of legalized murder in this Country became numbered.And not only for abortion, but also for infanticide, euthanasia embryonic stem cell research, etc.
Our Country is in some troubled times, and maybe it is beginning to affect you adversely. As Christians we must remember God’s faithfulness and know that He is able to take care of us no matter what is happening in the world around us.
God will supply your needs.
Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Now if you read the few verses above Philippians 4:19 it shows that God would supply their needs because they gave to the Apostle Paul. So giving to God’s work and others in need is a prerequisite to God supplying our needs.
Philippians 4:15-18 “Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”
The Bible also says that we will not receive blessings from God if we are covetous.
James 4:3 “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
God will work everything together for your good.
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Now, this “good” here does not necessarily mean that God will work everything out the way we want Him too. but that He will work everything out to make us more like Him.
Read Romans 8:28 and 29 together:
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Jesus said to pray that God has mercy on us and does not test us through calamity.
Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
The word “temptation” in this verse means to try and roots back to a Greek word meaning to test (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Greek and Hrebrew Dictionaries # 3986 and then #3985 both in the Greek.)
The word “evil” in this verse can mean bad, hurtful, or even “figuratively calamitous; also (passively) ill, that is, diseased.” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Greek and Hrebrew Dictionaries #4190 in the Greek.)
Therefore, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus showed us that we should always pray that the Father has mercy on us and does not test or try our faith by sending us calamity or disease.
Jesus also said to pray we are counted worthy to escape the bad times coming on the earth.
Luke 21:36 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
If we judge ourselves God will not judge us.
Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
1 Corinthians 11:32 “But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”
1 Corinthians 11:31 “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”
Trust in God not in yourself.
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Proverbs 28:26 “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”
Be forward looking and prepare for trouble before it hits if it has not hit you yet.
Proverbs 22:3 “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
God will give you wisdom if you ask for it.
James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
If you are facing financial problems, ask God for wisdom and He will lead you to the right financial advice.
If you are facing health problems, ask God for wisdom, don’t just believe the doctors, and God will lead you to the health answers you need. You may have to go searching for those answers, like I did. God always lead me to the right treatments and to a doctor that helped, until He finally answered my prayers for healing last October.
If you are facing relationship problems ask God for wisdom and He will lead you to the right solutions.
No problem is too big or too small for God. Whatever problem you are facing ask God for wisdom, and He will lead you to the right solutions.
Another good post to read is “Shelter in the Storm.” It expounds more on some things touched on in this post.
17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
We are not saved by works, but if our faith does not cause us to obey God, then we are not saved.
Ephesians 2:8-10:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
See we are not saved by works, but once we are saved we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
So, if we are truly saved, we will obey God and live a life of good works.
You cannot be saved just by believing the facts about Jesus.
The Bible says that even the devils believe the facts about Jesus, but yet they are not saved.
James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
So, What is the Proper belief need for salvation?
The word “believe” in Romans 10:9 in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance roots backwards twice to a word, which means “obey” (the word believe is Strong’s # 4100 in the Greek, which comes from # 4102, which comes from # 3982, which means obey and also yield).
This shows that true faith is rooted in obedience.
Therefore, in order to fulfill the requirements of salvation in Romans 10:9 you must be fully persuaded in your mind of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done, and your heart must change from wanting to sin to wanting to obey God. This is an immediate change of your heart (meaning desire and will).
It means that you yield (submit) your will to God’s will.
When a person truly gets saved, they no longer have a complete free will to sin. The Holy Spirit will not allow them to fall into really evil sins like murder, bullying, adultery, racisism, homosexuality, any kind of theft, etc.
1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
Jesus said in Matthew 7:18 “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”
The word evil in Matthew 7:18 means hurtful, grievous, mischief, and malicious (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries # G4190). Therefore, a saved person is not capable of falling into any hurtful, grievous, mischief, and malicious sins like murder, rape, bullying, falsely accusing, stealing, alcoholism, drug addiction etc. A saved person cannot do any of those kinds of sins. The Holy Spirit will not allow them too!
If a person wants to hold onto their ability to commit any sin, then they are not saved!
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
To diligently seek God includes surrendering your whole will to Him.
Also, Philip told the Ethiopian Eunuch that he had to believe in Jesus with all his heart. The word believe means to yield (Acts 8:37).
In order for a person to get saved they must yield their whole heart to Christ!
Therefore, God is not going to save someone who does not surrender their free will to Him!
That is repentance of sins, and it is required for you to receive forgiveness of your sins.
Luke 13:5 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Ezekiel 18:23 “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?”
Ezekiel 18:23 agrees with 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
In addition, Matthew 9:13 says “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
You may still struggle with some sins like a short temper or saying bad words for awhile after you get saved, but you are going to be so convicted over your sin, when you mess up, that you are going to cry out to God to help you to change.
However, a saved person cannot be overtaken by any sin either.
They cannot live any kind of a sinful lifestyle. A saved person can fall into some sins, and they can struggle with some sins, but they cannot become addicted to any sin, or live a sinful lifestyle. And there are some evil sins like the ones mentioned before that they cannot even fall into.
In addition, I am not saying that a person has to work for their salvation, nor do they have to stop doing their sins on their own before they get saved. I am not saying that they have to be afraid of doing any of those kinds of evil sins.
That is what Grace is for! Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit to keep us from falling that bad.
You don’t have to work at not doing those sins. When a person truly repents and makes a true commitment to Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit just comes in and makes it impossible for them to fall that bad.Therefore if they are a drug addict or an alcoholic, God will take the drug addiction or alcoholism away from them, when they truly get saved. They will never be able to do drugs or get drunk ever again. God will not let them!
This is the only way you can go to heaven.
If you have never done this please do it now. Here is a prayer that you can pray word for word or use as a guide to tell God that you believe the gospel, repent of your sins and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. You will not get saved just by praying this prayer, you must truly believe and repent with your heart.
The prayer does not save you. The decision to believe in Jesus and repent of your sins (submit your whole free will to God) is what saves you. The prayer just helps you tell God that you have made these decisions.
Here is the prayer:
“Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and bodily arose from the dead 3 days later to pay for my sins. I repent of my sins, and I yield my whole free will to you. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to obey you and live for you for now on. Please take me to heaven when my life on this earth is over. Thank you for saving me. In Christ Jesus name, Amen.”
Also, just because a Christian is capable of falling into certain lesser sins, does not mean that they get away with doing those sins either! Christians will not get away with any sin! They cannot lose their salvation and go to hell, but they can receive a harsh judgment. To learn more about this please go to http://shiningthelightministries.com/2021/01/05/christians-will-not-get-away-with-sin/
The Bible says that Faith is the evidence for there being a God.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faithis the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Natural processes cannot explain the existence of faith, only God can.
Just think about it for a moment. If life originated from any kind of natural process, and not from a Supernatural act by a Supernatural Being (God), then how do you explain the existence of faith?
Why do most humans feel the need to believe in something supernatural, if everything is just natural?
What about transformed lives?
Furthermore, if there is no God, if the Bible is not true, if Jesus is not real, then why are so many people’s lives dramatically transformed, when they just simply believe in Jesus and start obeying the Bible?
How do you explain all the testimonies of people whose lives were a mess until they believed in Jesus and started obeying the Bible? They were drug addicts, drunkards, prostitutes, criminals, etc. Some of them tried everything (like counseling, discipline, even other religions) to turn over a new leaf and get their lives straitened out. Some of them had their family and the law try to straighten them out, but nothing worked!
Until they committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and started obeying His Word, then suddenly they never drank, did drugs, committed crimes, or prostituted ever again.
You can find a lot of testimonies like these by going to churches and talking to Christians, and there are a lot of them on Youtube as well.
Jesus Christ is the only explanation for these transformed lives!
These transformations are not caused by any natural process, but by a Supernatural act by a Supernatural Being (Jesus Christ).
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
If you have never had any of your own experiences with God, you can know that He is real based upon the testimonies of other people’s experiences. The truth is, you may not have your own experience with God until you do believe in Jesus.
The Bible says that faith is the evidence for the existence of God, the truth of the Bible, the reality of Jesus being God, and all other things supernatural.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the… evidence of things not seen.”
So science and history can be debated all day long, but the fact is there is a God that created everything! And the existence of faith itself, is the evidence that proves that fact! And since there is a God, you are accountable to Him!
What does God require of you?
To repent of your sins and believe in Jesus.
The Bible says:
Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Jesus is both God and the Son of God.
John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.”
1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
If you do not believe in Jesus, and repent of your sins before you die then you will be tormented in flames of fire for all eternity.
Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (This death is not physical, but spiritual. It means that you will be separated from God and tormented in the Lake of fire for all eternity.)
Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Revelation 20:14-15 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 14:11a “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night” (You will never burn up and stop existing in Hell, you will be tormented in flames forever.)
Mark 9:43 “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:”
Matthew 16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
How to Be Saved:
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
You must believe that Jesus arose from the dead in a flesh and bone body, not just in Spirit form.
Luke 24:36-40 “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.”
To believe in Jesus does not mean to only be fully persuaded in your mind of who Jesus is and what He did.
The word “believe” in Romans 10:9 in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance roots backwards twice to a word, which means “obey” (the word believe is Strong’s # 4100 in the Greek, which comes from # 4102, which comes from # 3982, which means obey and also yield).
This shows that true faith is rooted in obedience.
Therefore, in order to fulfill the requirements of salvation in Romans 10:9 you must be fully persuaded in your mind of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done, and your heart must change from wanting to sin to wanting to obey God. This is an immediate change of your heart (meaning desire and will).
It means that you yield (submit) your will to God’s will. That is repentance of sins, and it is required for you to receive forgiveness of your sins.
All of your actions may not change immediately after you get saved, but you are going to be so convicted over your sin, when you mess up, that you are going to cry out to God to help you to change. This is the only way you can go to heaven.
If you have never done this, please do it now. Here is a prayer that you can pray word for word or use as a guide to tell God that you believe the gospel, repent of your sins and ask Him to forgive you of your sins.
The prayer does not save you.
The decision to believe in Jesus and repent of your sins is what saves you.
The prayer just helps you tell God that you have made these decisions.
Here is the prayer you can pray, if you have made the decisions written above:
“Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross and bodily arose from the dead 3 days later to pay for my sins. I repent of my sins. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to obey you and live for you for now on. Please take me to heaven when my life on this earth is over. Thank you for saving me. In Christ Jesus name, Amen.”
