True, God-demanded faith comes from only one source: HIS WORD. Faith is taking Him at His Word and obeying it. Without obedience to God’s Word our faith is dead (Jam. 2:14,17,18,20). And in that we  must live by faith, we are as dead as our faith. Faith obeyed is living faith. Therefore, we are as spiritually alive as our faith.

This series has proven that true, God-commanded faith does not originate within the believer, but is a gift from God based on His Word. And in that God gives faith, He can also take it away. A prime example of this is His gift of the Holy Land to the Israelites. They refused to obey Him, causing Him to take it away from them. He gave Saul and his family kingship over Israel. Saul disobeyed Him and the monarchy ended with his and his sons’ deaths on the battlefield. Time and again the Holy Scriptures highlight the Lord’s “Use it or lose it” faith system. Not only do the Scriptures proclaim this, but I read about a man who had a widely known healing ministry. Though not a minister, his faith from God was such that he could pronounce healing on the sick. One day God sent a man to him and his pastor with His Truth about His true Sabbath–the 7th day of the week, commonly known as Saturday. Both men rejected God’s plainly stated command relative to His day of rest. A few days later the healer returned to the man and freely admitted that the Lord had taken away his faith. His healing days were over. Incredibly, neither the ex-healer nor his pastor repented of their rejection of God’s Word. As far as is known, both men went to their graves unconverted. As I wrote in a previous posting, God has killed three people with whom I shared the same information about the same subject. He told me beforehand that if they did not believe what I told them He would kill them. They denied His Truth and died shortly thereafter. Not one of them died from a physical cause. They each died because they did not believe and obey God’s Word. If God gives a gift such as faith and the recipient refuses to believe His Truth when it is presented to him, God removes the gift (Mat. 13:12). He sometimes removes the person himself, Saul and my three friends being prime examples. In some cases the Lord’s gift comes in the form of a blessing. However, if one refuses to study His Word, believe and obey it, He promised to “… curse your blessings” (Mal. 2:2). The Lord tells us that every curse has a cause (Prov. 26:2).

It is stated in Romans 12:3 that each of God’s people is given “a measure of faith” that enables them to perform his/her job within the Body of Christ as described in verses six through eight. Here we are told that our faith, whether great or small, is given to us by the Almighty. What we do with that faith determines our relationship with Him. As noted above, in some cases one’s present existence depends on his approach to faith. Many a believer has died before his time because of the Truth/faith/obedience issue.

Let it be known and believed that Jesus of Nazareth operated under God’s Truth/faith/obedience system. Jesus made it clear that He could do nothing on His own power, that everything He thought, said and did came from the Father. He qualified to be the Messiah by believing and obeying the Father’s Word. We are no better than the Son of God. We must “walk as He walked” if we are to join Him in His Father’s kingdom. L.J.