Over the years I have, in a number of ways, written and spoken about the fact that the those who claim allegiance to the Holy Bible are at war with themselves. This conundrum has been ongoing for hundreds of years. The Apostle Peter wrote to the churches scattered throughout the Middle East during his day about this problem, stating that judgment for those within the scope of professing Christendom were required to JUDGE THEMSELVES in order to determine if they were indeed God’s true saints–His “chosen generation,” His “holy nation,” His peculiar people” who had been “CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS AND INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT” (1 Pet. 2:9). He noted in First Peter 4:17 that JUDGMENT WAS ONGOING IN THE CHURCH, and that ONLY THOSE JUDGED TO BE RIGHTEOUS WOULD BE SAVED, AND THEY JUST BARELY. But who were (are) the righteous who will receive salvation at the return of Jesus Christ? What is righteousness? How does one know if he/she is meeting the standard set by the Lord? Why do billions of people not know the answers to those questions?

To answer that question I will repeat a statement spoken by a popular t.v. preacher to his local and t.v. audience. What he said is, in one form or another, regularly spoken by every preacher on earth, with a few exceptions, myself being one of them. As I “just happened” to be walking by the room where a t.v. was on I heard this false prophet say: “Don’t even try to be righteous; you’ll just make yourself sick. You’re nothing but a society of sinners.” His words stopped me in my tracks–literally. I could not believe what I had just heard. With that statement, thousands of trusting people heard words coming straight from the heart of Satan. I am reminded of what Jesus told Satan who was at that moment speaking through the Apostle Peter: “Get behind Me, Satan, for you care not for the things of God, but only for the things of man” (Mat. 16:23). Through that reprobate t.v preacher, Satan was telling his audience what they wanted to hear: “It’s all good, baby. The fix is in. Just stay the course and your next stop will be heaven.” As the camera panned his local audience it became clear that the people liked what they were hearing.

By comparing that bit of church “truth” to what Peter wrote under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, one can understand why there is a war going on within professing Christendom. The war involves two groups of people. The cause of the war involves the two groups’ approach to the Holy Bible. As I have noted several times, the Scriptural contention involves the Lord’s “headlines” and His “fine print.” I must admit I hesitated to write this series because I have so often written about this subject. However, the Lord made it clear that I was to write about it again, and to do so now. Last evening as He was telling me what He wanted me to teach He gave me a Scripture that highlighted how He sometimes places both Truths in the same sentence and how Satan so smoothly hides the “fine print” found in the sentence so that the “headline” cannot come to fruition. His goal is to destroy the believer’s faith. The passage God pointed out to me was Exodus 15:26 where He said: “I am the Lord Who heals you.”

One can only wonder how many millions of times people who are wrestling with physical or mental problems have reminded themselves that God, Who they admit cannot lie, made that promise to His people. But when their prayers failed to produce the promised healing, which is normally the case, they must come up with a reason why He failed to fulfill that specific promise. Normally, the conclusion is that God decided to use a doctor who, with the help of drugs, needles, scalpels, etc., should perform the healing. I once saw a painting which showed two doctors operating on a patient with Jesus standing between them directing their actions. So the problem for the healing seeker revolves around the question: Did He tell the Truth in Exodus 15:26, did He lie? or is the medical profession His instrument through which He heals His people in 99% of the cases.

To answer the “Why did God not do for me what He promised to do” question, let us return to the focal passage and examine it the Biblical way–Word for Word with a heart open to God’s voice. “I am the Lord Who heals you.” Seems straight forward enough. But as the Lord pointed out to me earlier, there is an unrecognized element to the statement that identifies the key to receiving the requested healing. Admittedly, I had never noticed what God showed me His statement last evening. Having read or quoted it numerous times, how did I miss the dual message that now stood out like black on white. The unfortunate Truth is that 99% of the time the only part of the statement noticed by the reader is the “headline” consisting of five words: “… the Lord Who heals you.” What is left out is the key to receiving the promised healing–the first two words: “I am.” In this instance the two middle Words–“the Lord” are part of both the “fine print” (first part) and the “headline” (last part). He is both the Lord (‘fine print”) and the Healer (“headline”).

We need to break the statement down into two totally separate, but inter-dependent, entities. First, “I am the (your) Lord.” Then “the Lord Who heals you.” The Almighty is telling us that IF he is our Lord He will heal us. A person’s Lord must be obeyed. Otherwise, He is that person’s Lord IN NAME ONLY. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord” will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER IN HEAVEN.” Referring to the Day of Judgment, though those calling Him their Lord would remind Him of the wonderful works they had done in His name, He would say to them: “I NEVER KNEW YOU. Depart from Me you who work iniquity (Lawlessness).” In Luke 6:46 He says to those who followed Him: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not what I tell you to do?” which was to obey His Words (the Law). By this time the picture should be coming clear: UNLESS HE IS OUR LORD WHO MUST BE OBEYED, HE IS NOT OBLIGATED TO FULFILL HIS PROMISES. For full clarity relative to this Truth, read Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Notice the many promises God makes to His people. Then notice what they must do to receive those promises. The promises are His “headlines.” The conditions found in the first 13 and 14 verses respectively are His “fine print” rules for receiving what is promised. Then read the rest of the two chapters.

This Bible Truth involves not only God’s Words concerning physical and mental health, but also salvation itself. This Truth was emphasized by Jesus in a conversation He had with His disciples as recorded in John 15:13,14. Here He is telling them that He would die for His friends. He then said to His hand-picked disciples who would take His Gospel to the world: “YOU ARE MY FRIENDS, IF YOU DO WHATSOEVER I TELL YOU TO DO.” The “headline” promise was that He would die for them. The “fine print” condition was that they had to obey His Word/Law/Truth/Gospel in order for the promise to come to fruition. If they failed to obey Him, His death would not benefit them. His death has no value for sinners, including so-called “sinners saved by grace.” His death was to save men FROM sin, not IN sin–a fact billions have failed to embrace to their peril.

The Holy Bible is filled with the above-stated Truth. The problem is that people are so focused on the promises that they do not seek out the conditions that must be met in order for the promises to materialize. I might promise to give a man $1000.00 (“headline”) to paint my house according to my explicit instructions (“fine print”). If he paints my house, but does not do the job exactly as I specified, I am not obligated to pay him one cent. In the Lord’s system it is ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL, HIS WAY OR THE HIGHWAY–another fact billions have failed to embrace at their peril.

God is not obligated to fulfill His promises, even one of them, if His conditions are not met. Jesus did exactly as He was told by His Father and therefore qualified to be His Messiah–the Savior of mankind. In the same way, we must follow in His spiritual footsteps in order to receive what He has promised us. God’s children obey Him and become one with Him and Christ. Read The True Trinity. Key word–True.

When I tell and show people what God expects of them I get very negative feedback. Faced with the printed Truth, they admit that He said what He said. They simply do not believe that He meant what He said. This was how Satan deceived Eve. After acknowledging that God said what she said that He said regarding the forbidden fruit (eat it and die), he told her that God did not really mean what He said (“You will not surely die”). He told her what she wanted to hear. She believed what she heard and convinced Adam to do the same. Together they committed spiritual suicide. They believed God’s “headline”–the promise of eternal life in paradise–but ignored His “fine print”–not to eat of the forbidden tree. Their sin made God’s Words irrelevant. Their first son, Cain, followed in their spiritual footsteps. Abel, however, believed and obeyed God. Because of this, Jesus called him “righteous Abel” (Mat. 23:35). Abel will be in the first resurrection. The other three will not. Read The Three Resurrections. Key word–Three.

If, as is believed, Adam’s sin transferal miracle makes sin inevitable, why did it not work on Abel? L.J.