As noted in part one, faith is simply taking God at His Word. True, salvation-producing faith requires us to obey the Words we believe. Read James 2:10,14,17,18,20,24,26. The Holy Scriptures are filled with instances in which people deliberately chose to either obey God’s Words or disobey God’s Words. Read Sin is a Choice. Key word–Choice. Those in both groups believed that they were in good standing with Him. For a more realistic (Biblical) view of being one with the Lord (walking in agreement with Him–Amos 3:3), read the series concerning Christ’s Friends and Christ’s Brethren using Friends and Brethren as key words. In this posting we will examine a number of Biblical instances that highlight religious man’s use of both true faith and selective faith and the outcomes of his choices. Both positive and negative outcomes of man’s choices are well-represented in the Holy Scriptures.

The first example of selective faith (belief in SOME of God’s Words) took place in the Garden of Eden and was discussed in part one. Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, obviously did not learn from his parents’ error. On a brighter side, Noah chose to believe what God said to him and built an ark which enabled him and his family to survive the flood that destroyed the rest of humanity. They died because they chose not to believe the words of Noah whom Jesus described as “a preacher of righteousness.” Noah’s peers chose to believe what they themselves put forth as truth.

Then came the man named Abram (Abraham) who became the father of the Israelite nation anciently the true church today. Why did the Lord choose Abram for such an honor? He tells us in Genesis 25:5: “… because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My commandments, My charge, My statutes and My Laws.” But what if He had balked when the Lord told him to leave his family, his friends, etc. and go to an unknown location? or when he was told to sacrifice his son, Isaac? Would he have been chosen by God to be “the father of the faithful” if he had chosen not to obey those very troublesome commands? The answer is obvious. His right standing with God was based on his choice to obey ALL of God’s Words, not just the ones he felt good about.

When God commanded the Israelites to enter Canaan to take over the land, they chose to disobey His command. The result was to wander in the Sinai Desert for 40 years until the older generation died off. Conversely, the next generation chose to obey God’s command to enter Canaan and was given the land as a reward. What would have been the outcome of Israel’s war with Goliath and company if David had chosen to disobey God by obeying his brothers who had told him to return home? What if Gideon had chosen to disobey God when told to send most of his army home and to go against a much bigger army with only 300 soldiers? The outcome would have been defeat for God’s people in both cases.

What would have been the outcome if the Israelites had believed and obeyed Isaiah’s warnings from God concerning their sins? What would have happened if the Jews had obeyed Jeremiah’s warnings? Neither would have suffered military defeat, the slaughter of many of their friends and family members, enslavement of the survivors and the destruction of Jerusalem and God’s Temple. Amos 3:1-3 explains why those two catastrophes took place. Remember that unto whom the Lord gives much, He requires much. Take it from one who learned the hard way THAT GOD MEANS WHAT HE SAYS.

What would have been the outcome if the rich man had chosen to obey Christ’s Words relative to receiving salvation” (Mk. 10:17-22)? Would he have gone away sad? What would have been the outcome if the Samaritan woman at the well had not believed Christ’s Words? Would the city have experienced God’s blessings? If the Israelite midwives had chosen to obey the Egyptian Pharoah who told them to kill all Jewish male babies at birth, there would not have been a Moses.

What would the modern-day church be like if her ancestors had not obeyed the dictates of Pope Sylvester I relative to the changing of God’s Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? What would be the results if the modern-day church chose to believe those who tell them the Truth about God’s Word and to reject the words of their false prophets? Would she match the spiritual wreck Jesus prophesied she would be in Revelation 3:14-18?

Would the world’s “Christian nations,” specifically America, be in their current religious, social, economic, political and military condition if they had chosen to believe and obey all of God’s Words found in His Holy Bible? For those who believe that holy tome, the answer is obvious. Selective faith has placed those nations in the quagmire in which they now find themselves.

Selective faith has been the downfall of those known as God’s people since the earth’s re-creation. Read the series using the key word–Re-creation. Historically, God’s people have risen and fallen in all areas of life according to the Words they have chosen to believe and obey and those they have chosen to reject and disobey. Incredibly, that lesson, though taught numerous times in the Holy Scriptures, has been rejected in favor of Satan’s religious “truths” which are much more to mankind’s liking. The result of such Scriptural cherry picking is the turmoil, destruction, hatred, crime, wars, “natural” disasters, disease pandemics, etc. that have plagued mankind in the past, are plaguing mankind now and will continue to plague mankind until Christ returns to bring this man-made mess to an end. Why does God continue to pour out His wrath on His people? Read Amos 3:1-3. RELIGIOUS MAN CHOOSES TO BELIEVE ONLY SOME OF GOD’S WORDS AND TO REJECT THOSE THAT ARE NOT TO HIS LIKING. A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE REJECTED PASSAGES IS MATTHEW 4:4: “MAN MUST LIVE BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEDES FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.” What God commands, man declares to be impossible. L.J.