The Word of God Part 5

0:00Welcome to the Radical Truth Podcast. I am your host, Glenn Meldram, and this podcast is brought to you by in his Presence Ministries. Visit us on the web at www.ihpmianisdri.com. In this series on the Word of God, we have been looking at some of the ways that the Word is active in the life of believers. There are many expressions of this in Scripture, and we have already looked at a few. There are also many others, some of which we will be digging into over the next few lessons. So far, we have seen how the Word of God reveals to us the person and character of God. This is certainly the most important truth that we can glean from the Scriptures, for it's what we need to come to true salvation. By understanding who God is, we are then able to comprehend who we are as humans, and this, in turn, will reveal to us that we are sinners and desperate need of a Savior. Our need of a Savior is due to the fact that we can't save ourselves no matter how hard

1:03we try. As we learn from the Word of God, we will see the truth that Jesus is the wonderful loving Savior that wants to save all those who will turn to Him in repentance and surrender. This is a glorious truth that should fill our hearts with hope and Christ and love for Him as our precious Savior. Since we've already studied this in this series on the Word of God, we won't go over it again. Now, let's look at how the Word of God is a source for spiritual growth that can help develop a strong and vibrant life of faith. The only way we can develop a faith that's defined by God and pleasing to Him is to make sure our faith is built upon the truth of God's Word, which is the only faithful revelation of true truth that reveals who God is and how we can be saved. Until the Scriptures are established in our heart and mind is truth that comes from God, we won't have a right source to teach us what proper, saving, sanctifying, miracle-working faith looks like. Without the Word of God, our faith will be perverted. This will surely lead us away from God instead of to Him, and it's irrelevant how religious or supposedly spiritual some

2:07people may think that they are. When we believe errors about God and salvation, those errors will take us away from Him, even if we are sincere in our beliefs. People aren't saying because they're sincere, but because they have placed their faith in Christ and received by faith His salvation. Of course, sincerity does play a part in it. Everyone with a thinking mind has faith, and they use it all the time in a host of ways, whether they comprehend this fact or not. Even those who claim to be atheists are forced to live by faith, they just refuse to put their faith in the living God, and instead place their faith upon changeable people, cruel devils, and accreations suffering under decay. Every time you drive down the street you have faith that the person in the car on the other side of the road won't enter your lane and kill you in a head-on collision. We trust perfect strangers all the time, and we have no idea who they are, what they have done in the past, what they are doing right now, or even if they're competent to drive. Let's say that you're planning on taking a vacation to your favorite destination, and you book a

3:11flight there on a jet. Do you realize that faith is part of your vacation trip? You must have faith in the pilots that you don't even know, in the aircraft mechanics that worked on the plane the night before, and even in the jet itself. You may not think that you are actively putting your faith in all this, but it's true nonetheless. You have faith and hope that you will arrive safe and sound at your destination, have an enjoyable time, and then return home when your vacation comes to an end. Yet with all this you don't have one single guarantee that all your plans will work out as expected. Your entire vacation revolves around faith, because as finite creatures you don't know what the future holds, whether it will go well with you or whether it will go bad. All your labors are built upon expressions of faith in what you hope will happen to you in the future, but you don't have a single guarantee of any of them. This is the condition of every person because we are finite creatures. We don't know the future, so we are forced to have faith and hope that the future will

4:15be good and not disastrous. Only God is above and outside of the need of faith because He is infinite knowledge, and only God can give promises that will not fail because He is unchangeable in and who He is, and as a result is faithful in all that He says and does. When our life is built upon Christ and His unchangeable Word, we can know that the expectations of our faith will certainly be accomplished. Faith is an integral part of finite creatures, and this includes both people and angels. I personally believe that in heaven we will still be operating in faith, since faith is the need of finite creatures. When we get to heaven, everything though radically changes. Our sin nature will be totally eradicated, and will never bother us again. Unbelief will be eliminated from who we are, so it will no longer hinder any expression of living out a life of pure faith. Most of all, we will see with our own eyes the object of our faith, which is the glorified Savior, and our faith

5:16and expectation will be fully satisfied in Him. Only God doesn't have faith because He doesn't need faith. As the Almighty Creator, He knows everything that there is to know and is everywhere present. Therefore, faith isn't part of who He is or how He operates. Faith is a necessary component for all those who don't know everything. It's an integral part of being finite rational beings. Right faith is expressed through trusting in the timeless one who knows everything. In this life, faith in God is a choice of the will since the Lord won't force anyone to trust in Him. Like I just said, God doesn't have faith. For if God operated in faith, then the object of His faith would be the true God, and Jehovah wouldn't be Almighty God, but merely some lesser deity. I'm really glad to say that the Word of God clearly teaches that there is no other God but the Lord God. There's none higher than Him, for He alone is the highest. If God doesn't operate in

6:18faith, then how does His power work through Him? The answer is that God operates through divine fiat, which is the divine command. When He speaks, it happens every time and without fail. Divine fiat isn't faith in action, but the infinite speaking power of Almighty God. Whether we understand this or not doesn't change what God has revealed to us about who He is and how He operates in His creation, He infinitely and perfectly knows everything, does whatever He desires, and has the power on Himself to bring all of His desires and will to pass, therefore, faith has no part of God. As we look at the nature of faith, we will see that it must always have an object on which to believe. To a child, it's the parents, to the husband, it's His wife, and to the wife, it's her husband. But what happens when the parents fail the child, whether in reality you're only perceived? And what happens when the husband or wife is unfaithful to the spouse that once trusted Him or her explicitly? Then think about how people

7:23put their faith in pets with the desire that they will meet their deepest needs. They will satisfy their loneliness, and then what happens when that animal dies, runs away. How do people cope with such a loss when they have such great expectations in that which is finite, frail, and will perish? Psychiatrists and psychologists make a fortune exploiting this human dilemma, and people are quick to throw money at them because they are looking for answers in all the wrong places. This desire to put faith in people, pets, possessions, or philosophies is intense in us. There are only two options here, though. Either we put our faith in what's changeable, or in the one who will not change, who cannot change. As we put our faith in changeable people, dying creatures, lifeless things, and empty religion, then we are bound to be disappointed, and in many cases crushed and devastated. None of these things can support our faith, for none of these things are infallibly

8:24faithful. Only a changes being who is always faithful is worthy of our unconditional faith, trust, and love. Now we need to ask, how does faith and God come to people? In Ecclesiastes 3.11, we are told that God has also said eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. In other words, God has placed inside of mankind a desire to know our Creator and place our faith in Him. Yet in our sinful condition we can't fathom who the Infinite God is, unless, of course, He chooses to reveal Himself to us. God created us with an integral need to place our faith in Him, and for this reason we have a deep longing to have faith in God. Until this desire to know God is satisfied, we will put our faith and trust in all the wrong places. This innate desire to put our faith in God causes people to seek after God, and this is why the human race are worshipers, for this is what they were created for. This longing to worship

9:29doesn't mean that people will worship the One True God, it just means that this desire is interwoven within the human nature. This inherent yearning after God is a starting point for all of mankind, and it's from this desire that the Holy Spirit can draw them to the Word of God that reveals the Savior. Paul addressed this fact in Romans chapter 1 verses 19 and 20, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them, for since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. These verses are talking about general revelation, which is what creation reveals about God, and how the Holy Spirit uses our conscience to comprehend we are sinners. We need the special revelation of God's Word to lead us to the Savior. In Romans chapter 10 verse 13, we are told that everyone who calls

10:29on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is an important revelation of who God is, what he will do in our responsibility. Because the changeless God spoke this truth of who he is, and what he will do, we can trust that he will fulfill this promise. God does the calling and the saving. We are the ones who must respond to God's call to salvation by our calling out to him for salvation. He is always the first cause. Paul lays out a spiritual fact that plainly declares that everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved. We must understand that when the Apostle said everyone, he literally meant everyone, not some people or certain people, but everyone. God promised in his Word that he would save people. He established a condition which clearly states that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. According to what Paul said in some common sense logic, we know that everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved. That's pretty simple, isn't it? If people call upon other gods,

11:33which are no gods at all, but demons, they will not be saved. And if they call upon people which make terrible gods, they will not be saved. Or if they call upon pets or possessions or titles or positions, then they will be terribly disappointed because none of these can save them in their time of need. These haven't met God's conditions for salvation, which is to call upon Him. The only ones God will save are those who by faith call upon the Lord with a desire for Him to save them. This is clearly what the Word teaches. J. Zeraro's simple truth and his epistle in the first chapter in the 18th verse, he chose to give us birth through the Word of Truth. Of God's own good pleasure, he desires that everyone calls upon the name of the Lord to be saved, and so this is according to his choosing, but mankind has willfully rebelled against God in his will. The thought behind that he gave us birth through the Word of Truth is a reference in that the Word is instrumental in

12:35leading us to Christ. As I've already said before, the Bible doesn't save. Jesus saves, but it's the Word of God that leads us to the Savior. It reveals who He is. Peter expounded on the new birth in 1 Peter 1 verse 3. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are born again through the mercy of God, not by any supposedly good work that we've done. This new birth gives us a living hope that includes eternal life that comes through Christ's resurrection from the dead. Then in the 23rd verse, he wrote, for you have been born again not a perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God. We haven't been born again through human ingenuity or wisdom, not through religious rights and prayers, not through water baptism or any good work, and certainly it didn't come through anything

13:35that's perishable. People are born again because they put their faith in Christ in his atonement. This truth comes to us through the power of the Holy Spirit and the imperishable Word of God. Nobody can be born again without faith in Christ and his work of the atonement. And nobody can be born again who hasn't been born of the Spirit as Jesus taught Nicodemus. These truths came to us through the enduring Word of God that lives forever because the God who spoke them into existence is timeless and eternal. Paul continues with his argument in Romans chapter 10 in verses 14 and 15. How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news? Here we see a simple yet profound flow of logic. God has said eternity in the hearts of people, and if they would long for the truth

14:38and call out to Jesus, then he would save them. God has already stated what His will is that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This leaves us with the fact that people must choose whom they will serve, either the Lord Jesus or themselves, which would be then the same thing as demons. Salvation comes through Christ alone. For God won't force a salvation on anyone. For people to have the opportunity to put their faith in God, they must hear the Word of truth that God has spoken, first through the Word of God itself, and then through Christ's disciples. This reveals a tremendous privilege and responsibility that falls upon the shoulders of everyone who calls himself a true follower of Jesus, and there's no exceptions to this. It's our responsibility to take the truth of God's Word to a perishing world. We must never forget God's pursuit of us, how He rescued us from our sin and rebellion. Now He commands us to go and make disciples so that others can know the joy of this full salvation. This is God's design

15:40in how the message of the gospel is as spread throughout the world, and from generation to generation until the Lord's return. The climax of this portion of Paul's argument is seen in verse 17 where he wrote, so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. First, there's strong evidence that the verse should actually read the Word of Christ rather than the Word of God. I'm not going to take the time to go into all that, but there's something really interesting with this. Though the Word of God and the Word of Christ are the same, the title Word of Christ wonderfully reveals the divinity of Christ. The main point I want to stress from verse 17 is that right faith comes to hearing the Word of Truth, which is God's Word. Without hearing the Word of God, our God-given faith will be grossly perverted. It's a spiritual fact that we are sinners and desperate need of a Savior. Without the Word of God, we won't understand the guilt that we have over our sin or why and how we have violated our conscience. Jesus came to earth to be our Savior through his substitutionary work on the cross,

16:43the knowledge of this truth comes through the Word of God, and without it no one can be saved. For people to come to saving faith, they must know the truth of God's Word that reveals there's only one who can save them from their sin. They must also come to understand how to obtain that salvation, and this is why it's so vitally important that we share God's Word with them. Though people have faith, it will always be wrongly directed until they learn who Jesus is and that only He can save them. The Lord will not force people to put their faith in him. Our responsibility is to tell others about the Savior so that they have the opportunity to be saved and to know the wonder of God's love and forgiveness. This thought powerfully comes out in verse 16, which I just happened to skip. But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message, the King James read, who has believed our report. The gospel message came to Israel through God incarnate, yet this was prophesied about in Isaiah 53,

17:48which is what was just quoted. In Isaiah 53 is all about our suffering Messiah. The invitation to be saved was offered to all of Israel, but not many believe God's report or his testimony. Here is the very sad reality, though the Word of God is preached, only a few will be saved. In Luke 13, verse 23, Jesus was asked, Lord, are only a few people going to be saved? He answered in verse 24, make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many I tell you will try to enter and will not be able to. Our obligation as followers of Messiah is to tell others the good news that Jesus will save them from their sins, if they will believe the report the Lord has given about himself and how we can be saved. Once we have given people the Word of God, they must deal with the Lord Jesus on a very personal basis, either by rejecting Him or bowing to Him in repentance and surrender. This thought can be expanded to include all those who are genuine disciples. Our faith grows by hearing the Word of God,

18:54then by believing it, and finally by putting it in the practice. Saving, keeping faith always includes action. When people neglect the study of God's Word, they are severely hurting themselves by weakening their faith, and this could cause them to stray far from Jesus. We need a constant diet of the Word of God not only to spiritually grow, but to keep our faith strong to the very end. Paul declared in Romans chapter 1 verse 16, I am not ashamed of the gospel because of the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. When you look at the subject of salvation in the New Testament, you will see that God has saved us, is saving us, and will save us in the end. His saving is past, present, and future, and this further reveals the need for the Word of God to thoroughly influence and define our lives. First, the Word of God led us to the Savior so that we could be saved. Second, we need the Word active in our life right now to remain saved. Finally, we need the Word of God living and working

19:58in our lives to stay saved until our salvation is complete when we see Jesus face to face. There will never be a time in our life on earth when we don't need the Word of God actively working in our lives. This is why we must constantly devour the Word and be consumed as well by it. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 13, Paul stated, and we also thank God continually because when you receive the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the Word of men, but as it actually is the Word of God, which is at work in you who believe. The apostle is speaking about those who heard the Word of God preached, received it by faith, and then believed it as it is the Word of God by putting it in the practice. We see here that faith is an action that responds to what the Word of God declares. Those who heard Paul preach accepted his message because he preached the Word under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and this led people to the Savior. The Word of God is not just something that was

21:00done in the past, but it's about what God is presently doing in those who by faith put the Word in the practice. Those who walk with Jesus have the Word of God at work in their lives, both as the written Word and as the living Word, the logos of God who is Jesus. Then in Colossians chapter 1 verses 4 through 6 we are told, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all the saints, the faith and love that spring from hope that is stored up for you in heaven, and that you have already heard about in the Word of truth the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. There's a tremendous amount of truth in these verses, but I only want to touch on a couple of points that relate to this lesson. According to these verses, what does the word of truth, which is the gospel, producing people? It produces faith in Christ, love for the saints,

22:02faith and love that spring from the hope of heaven, spiritual fruit that's known all over the world and the understanding of divine grace. When the Word of God is believed and put into practice, produces a rich harvest that's only a little taste of what we will experience in the glories of eternal life. The word of God is the foundation for true faith as Jesus taught in His closing statements on the sermon on the mount. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them in the practice is like a wise man who built this house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had foundations on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them in the practice is like a foolish man who built this house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash. All of mankind is reduced into only

23:03two classes of people, those who build their life on Christ in His words and those who build upon anything else. The Bible is the anchor of truth that roots believers to Christ who is our rock and His salvation is sure. The Bible provides us with an unshakable foundation in which we can build our life so that it can endure through all of life's troubles. Then, when we come out on the other side of death, we will be with Jesus in His glorious heaven. The Word of God anchors those who are true disciples into God's truth that can never be shaken no matter how much hell may rage and men may fight against us. Everyone that builds their life upon anything other than Christ in His Word has built their life upon unstable idols and false beliefs that will crumble under them. The devastation of the collapse of their life will be thorough and eternal and after death there is no redemption. The finality of people's end is determined by what they built their life upon, either Jesus Christ in His Word or the sinking sands of everything else. What people

24:06decide the Lord will honor, but there are eternal consequences for our decision. The only ways we can stand against the challenges of life that will shipwreck the soul is to build our life upon what's immovable, what cannot be destroyed or even altered, and that's Christ our rock. Faith that's grounded upon the Word of God helps believers remain steadfast through the trials and challenges of life. By trusting God's promises, we will overcome as we are taught in Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. As Christ's followers build their faith upon the Word of God, they will learn through experience with Paul taught in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for He who promised His faithful. Faith in Christ in His Word not only lets us reap the wonderful benefits of salvation in this life, but it builds a hope in eternal life. This is stated in such a beautiful way in

25:09Hebrews chapter 3 verse 14. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first. The Word builds our faith so that our heart begins to long for eternal life. The heavenly then eclipse the temporal and our heart begins to ache to be with Jesus, for we have tasted the heavenly gift and long for its fullness in our life. Living with an eternal mindset can only be correctly lived out when it's based upon the sure word of God as we are told in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 23 and 24. May God himself the God of peace sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who calls you as faithful and He will do it. This is God's promise to us and He is faithful to His Word, and so our hope of eternal life can be built upon the truth. But woe to those who think that they can make heaven their home while

26:09living contrary to what the Word of God teaches. His promises are sure in this matter as well. Eternity is too long to gamble with personal opinions and religious sedimentalities about God in heaven. If your life isn't built upon the sure word of God, then you are unsinking sand. When your room comes, it will be absolute and it will be eternal. Your only hope is to repent and turn to Christ and follow Him wholeheartedly, and then base your life upon what the Word of God clearly teaches. I had earlier quoted first Peter chapter 3 verse 1, praise be to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His great mercy has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now let me read the next two verses that declares a resurrection hope which is an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. No matter what goes on in this world,

27:09those who belong to Christ are shielded by God's power because they have placed their faith in God and His unshakeable Word. Our eternal inheritance is as real as this world, and we could even say that it's more real because it's eternal and indestructible. Jesus made an important point in Matthew chapter 24 verse 35. I have an earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Trust in Christ's words will produce exactly what He said they would, every single time without fail. Paul boldly declared in Romans chapter 1 verses 16 and 17, I am not ashamed of the gospel because of the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel righteous is whom God has revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. Why should we be ashamed of speaking the truth? Why should we cover before the lies of this world? The righteous are to live by faith, and this should touch every part of our

28:14life. Paul further wrote in Romans chapter 10 verses 8 through 10, but what does it say? The word is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart that is the word of faith we are proclaiming, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. The word of God has spoken. Will you believe in Christ and so be saved or will you reject him? Thank you for listening to the radical truth with your host Glenn Meljum. We add in his presence of ministries pray that this weekly podcast will be a blessing to you. Please tell others about it and subscribe yourself to this free podcast. Don't forget to visit our website at www.ihpmianistri.com. See you again next time, and may God richly bless you as you seek him in spirit and in truth.

29:31Thank you for listening to the radical truth with your host Glenn Meljum. To the river, come to the river with me.