Chapter 28
HEALING
Part III - Sin
(Matthew 9:18-31)
Before we begin this study let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father as we explore the theme of this last section on healing we ask You to please open our eyes, our ears and our hearts. Father, please enable us to see, hear, understand and acknowledge that the greatest healing of all is the healing from sin. Holy Father please cause us to also realize that it was for this main purpose that You sent to this earth your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
In the previous two chapters, that is chapters 26 and 27, we found that Jesus Christ is our Physician. We read that it is He, Jesus Christ, who heals our physical infirmities. We also found that by the power and authority of His Name the people who are possessed and/or oppressed by unclean spirits are set free.
In this third and final chapter with respect to the topic of healing we will explore the greatest and most important healing of all, that is the healing from our sins. To do this we will,
For us to realize and accept the fact that every human being who was born into this world needs healed from the disease of sin, we begin this study by refreshing our memories that,
WE ARE ALL SINNERS
In reading the Bible we can not help but come to the realization that each and every human being, with the one exception of Jesus Christ, is born with a deadly disease. This disease is called sin or the sin nature. To see this we will,
To read about the sinful state of mankind let us go to,
Romans 3:9(b)-18
"[9] Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. [10] As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; [11] there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. [12] All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." [13] "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." [14] "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." [15] "Their feet are swift to shed blood; [16] ruin and misery mark their ways, [17] and the way of peace they do not know." [18] "There is no fear of God before their eyes.""
In other words, as the following Scriptures states, we have all sinned and fall short of God's glory,
Romans 3:23
"[23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
The Bible also clearly states that the resulting consequence for sinning against God is death. To see this let us read from,
Romans 6:23(a)
"[23] For the wages of sin is death,..."
Some may ask "What does the Scripture mean when it states that the consequence of sin is death?" To find out let us read what will happen to those who have not been healed of their sin. It is recorded in,
Revelation 20:11-15
"[11] Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. [12] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. [13] The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. [14] Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. [15] If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Let us notice the following verses,
14 The first death is the physical death we will all experience. This is the result of Adam and Eve's sin (see Genesis 3:16-19). The second death is the Lake of Fire, which is commonly identified as "Hell."
15 The second death is the one that will be reaped by those who die in their sins, that is without receiving or accepting God's forgiveness for their disobedience to Him.
To illustrate the fact that we are all sinners and are guilty of committing sin against God we will look at three examples of those whom we tend to think are holy and righteous in themselves.
The first example comes from the Old Testament and his name is,
David
In reading the Old Testament account of David's life we discover that he was a man after God's own heart. We discover this when we read what God said, through Samuel, to King Saul as to why He was going to give the Kingdom of Israel to David. This conversation is recorded in,
1 Samuel 13:13-14
""[13] You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. [14] But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command.""
Furthermore as one reads the Psalms of King David one can not help but come to the conclusion that David loved the Lord.
Unfortunately, as we read more about King David's life we also discover that he had a sin nature. This nature came to life when he lusted after Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. This is recorded in,
2 Samuel 11:1-4
"[1] In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. [2] One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, [3] and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" [4] Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home."
Later in the Scriptures we find that as a consequence of King David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba, she became pregnant. To cover up his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the resultant pregnancy, King David murdered her husband Uriah. To see how King David accomplished this let us read from,
2 Samuel 11:14-15
"[14] In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. [15] In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.""
The second example to illustrate the fact that all of us are inflicted with the sin disease is,
Paul
In reading the New Testament one can not help but come to the unquestionable conclusion that the Apostle Paul, who was also known as Saul, faithfully loved and served our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not only expressed through his writings but also by the observation that God used him to pen the majority of the New Testament epistles. However, we become aware of Paul's sinful nature when we read in the Book of Acts that he grievously persecuted the Christians. To see this let us read the following excerpt concerning the martyrdom of Stephen.
Acts 7:59-8:3
"[59] While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." [60] Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep."
"[1] And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. [2] Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. [3] But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison."
Let us notice the following verses,
59 Stephen was one of the first deacons of the church (see Acts 6:3-6).
60 Even while being stoned to death Stephen was so filled with God the Holy Spirit that he asked God to forgive those who were killing him.
1 Even though Saul may not have thrown a stone at Stephen, he did consent to Stephen's death.
3 Paul did his best to persecute and abolish the body of Christ.
Even after Paul received God's forgiveness for his sins and was filled with the Holy Spirit Paul was always acutely aware of his sin nature. In his letter to the Romans Paul gives us a good description of how his sin nature was always ready to lead him astray. To see this let us read from,
Romans 7:22-8:2
"[22] For in my inner being I delight in God's law; [23] but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. [24] What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? [25] Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin."
"[8:1] Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [2] because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
Let us notice the following verses,
22 Paul delighted in God's Word, that is he delighted in God's commands and statutes.
23 However, Paul was also well aware that within his members there was a power that wanted to bring him into sin.
24 How often have we all lamented about that fact the even though we delight in God and want to follow His ways there is always the temptation to be disobedient and go our own way?
25(a) The remedy for our plight is Jesus Christ!
25(b) -8:2 As we will see later in this study, the key to our successful and fruitful Christian life is for us to learn to live under the control and influence of the Holy Spirit.
For the third and last example to illustrate our need for the healing of our sins, we go to the example of,
Mary - Jesus' earthly mother
In the Gospel according to Luke we read that Mary found great favor with God. She was given the privilege to conceive and bring forth into this world the one and only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. To refresh our memories let us read from,
Luke 1:26-33
"[26] God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, [27] to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. [28] The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." [29] Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. [30] But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. [31] You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.""
Let us notice the following verses,
28 The angel Gabriel told Mary she was highly favored by God.
30 Again the angel Gabriel reassures Mary that she found favor with God.
31-33 The angel Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive and bring forth a son who will be called the Son of the Most High, that is the Son of God.
Even with all these blessings Mary still recognized she was completely human and needed a Savior. To see this let us read the following excerpt of what Mary said to Elizabeth while she was still carrying Jesus in her womb.
Luke 1:46-48(a)
"[46] And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord [47] and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, [48] for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant "
Notice in verses 47 and 48 we read that Mary acknowledged that God was her Savior and was mindful of her humbled state. In other words, Mary acknowledged and accepted the fact that she was in need of God to save her from her sinful nature.
Now that we clearly see that each and every one of us has been born with the sin disease and that God is our Savior from this disease, "What are we to do?" How can we be healed from this plight?" The answer to this question is for us to go to,
JESUS - OUR ONE AND ONLY PHYSICIAN
The fact that Jesus Christ is the one and only person who can heal or save us from our sins is clearly stated in,
Acts 4:12
"[12] Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.""
With this in mind let us examine the Bible to see how the healing from our sins takes place. In doing this we will find that when we go to Jesus and ask Him to heal us from our sin, (1) He will heal us from the penalty or consequence of sin, that is He will deliver us from the second death, the Lake of Fire and (2) He will heal us from the dominion of sin, that is He will grant us, through the Holy Spirit, to effectively overcome the power of sin.
With this short introduction we begin by reviewing the fact that when Jesus died on the cross and rose again to return to Heaven,
JESUS HEALED OR SAVED US FROM THE PENALTY OF OUR SINS
To understand what Jesus did to accomplish this deliverance let us explore a bit,
The work Jesus did on our behalf
For us to receive forgiveness for our sins and hence be healed from their penalty, Jesus made atonement for you and I. In other words, when Jesus went to the cross, died, was buried and rose again He made amends, on our behalf, with God the Father. To see this let us read from,
Hebrews 10:1-10
"[1] The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. [2] If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. [3] But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, [4] because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. [5] Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; [6] with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. [7] Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'" [8] First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). [9] Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. [10] And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [11] Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. [12] But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. [13] Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, [14] because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. [15] The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: [16] "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." [17] Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." [18] And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin."
Let us reflect upon the following verses,
1(a) The Old Testament sacrifices were only shadows of what was coming. In other words, they were instituted in the Old Testament days to teach the people of Israel and us about what was to come in the New Testament or New Covenant. These laws and sacrifices were not the reality in themselves.
1(b) These Old Testament sacrifices could never make a person perfect.
2 Note, that if these Old Testament sacrifices were able to make one perfect, that is cleansed from their sins, then they would not have had to be constantly performed. In other words, if an animal sacrifice could make the person offering it perfect or clean; then, once a sacrifice was performed there would be no need to do it again.
4 The Bible teaches us that it is impossible for the blood of animals to take away sins.
5-7 These passages record for us what our Lord Jesus Christ said to God the Father. Namely, You Father have given Me, Jesus, a body to be offered unto You, the Father.
9(b) In other words, by making the perfect sacrifice for our sins, Jesus fulfilled and hence abolished, that is set aside, the whole sacrificial system and established a new covenant between God and man. Namely, it is by our faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross that our sins are forgiven and we are cleansed.
10(a) We have been made holy, that is sanctified or set apart, through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ! Just stop for a moment or two and reflect upon what we have just read. Namely, we have been made holy and set apart for Him!!!!
10(b) Once and for all! In other words there is no longer a reason for any other sacrifice. Jesus did it all. He was the fulfillment of all what the Old Testament was pointing us to. He was the perfect sacrifice.
12 Let us also notice that with the change of covenant, that is Jesus Christ is now our priest. In fact we actually find that Jesus Christ is now our High Priest (see Hebrews 8:1-2).
13 After His crucifixion and death, Jesus rose from the dead and returned to Heaven. He is now there making intercession for you and I (Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:23-25) and waiting for the time of His second coming.
14 By one offering, that is Himself, He (Jesus) did what all the animal sacrifices could not do; namely, He has perfected us who are now being set apart for Him.
16 God put His laws into our hearts and wrote them in our minds. More specifically, when we repent and truly believe and place our faith in Jesus, we become born again, that is we are forgiven and God the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside us. Thus, it is He, God the Holy Spirit living inside us, who will constantly remind us of His ways, laws and statutes.
17 All our sins and lawless deeds He will no longer remember! WE ARE FORGIVEN!! Thank You Jesus!
18 Since our sins are completely forgiven or atoned for, there is no longer a need for an offering or sacrifice for sin! Just as Jesus said on the cross, as recorded in John 19:30, "It is finished."
What we must do
Now that we read what Jesus did for us, the question arises as to: "What are we to do?" By faith we must pray to God for help. We must confess to Jesus Christ that we are a sinner. We must confess to Him that we have transgressed against His commands and laws. We must be so sorry for this condition that we not only ask Jesus Christ to forgive us but also save us from the power that sin has over us. In other words, we are to be so fed up and horrified with our unrighteousness that we submit to Jesus Christ's lordship and ask Him for forgiveness and to save us from our sins.
The Message
When we recognize who Jesus Christ really is and what He did for us and then confess and repent of our sins, we receive God's forgiveness and then Jesus Christ will send the Holy Spirit to live and dwell inside us. This is the new birth, that is born again of the Holy Spirit. When this happens, we become a child of God and by His Grace and Mercy are saved. In fact, this is exactly what Jesus was telling the Jews during the great Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.
John 7:37-39
"[37] On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." [39] By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive "
Let us notice the following verses,
37(a) "If anyone is thirsty". This is not the thirst for physical water but is the thirst for righteousness, holiness and for God.
If you thirst for these things, that is repented or sincerely want to live a life away from your sins, then
37(b) Go to Jesus and drink! Cry out to Him for this spiritual water.
38 If we believe and have faith in Him and go to Him to quench our thirst for righteousness and holiness, Jesus will provide us streams of living water to flow from within us.
39 This living water is not physical water but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that is the new birth!
SUMMARY
Before we move on to the next section let us quickly summarize what happened to those who became born again believers in Jesus Christ. To do this let us read from,
Ephesians 2:1-10
"[1] As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, [2] in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. [3] All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. [4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast. [10] For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Let us notice the following verses,
1 We were dead in our transgressions and sins. In other words we were headed for the Lake of Fire.
2 Prior to our new birth we followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air (who is Satan).
3 Consequently, all (both Jew and Gentile) were objects of God's wrath.
4-5 Because of God's great love for you and I He made us alive in Jesus Christ. This new life was or is not the result of any good work or works we may have done. No, it is only because God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, has extended His favor to you and I.
6 We are now seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realms. Notice, this is not future but present tense. This means we are now citizens of Heaven (see Philippians 3:20)!
8-9 It is by His Grace, that is unmerited favor, we have been saved, that is forgiven and given the power over sin. It was nothing we earned, it is God's free gift to you and I.
10 We are now God's workmanship and have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
This now brings us to the second portion of what Jesus has done for us. Specifically,
JESUS HEALED OR DELIVERED US FROM THE POWER OF SIN
To understand what Jesus did to accomplish this portion of our healing from the deadly disease of sin, let us explore a bit more,
The work Jesus did on our behalf
In the previous section we found that because Jesus made amends between us and God the Father we are now not only able to receive God's forgiveness for our sins but are also able to receive the precious gift of the Holy Spirit.
To amplify upon the fact that the gift of the Holy Spirit is now available to you and I, let us read what the Apostle Peter told the people who witnessed the Holy Spirit descend upon the disciples. As you may recall this occurred during the Feast of Pentecost, which was fifty days after Jesus ascended into Heaven. The portion of Peter's address that is of interest for this study is recorded in,
Acts 2:38-39
"[38] Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call.""
Let us notice the following verse,
You those at the time of Pentecost.
Their children, that is their descendents.
Those far off, that is those in other places and in other generations.
All whom the Lord will call.
What we must do
Since the Holy Spirit lives and dwells within us, the born again believer in Jesus Christ, the question arises as to, "What are we to do?" The answer to this question goes back to what we read in the letter to the Ephesians. Specifically, it is found in,
Ephesians 2:10
"[10] For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
This brings us to the question of, "How?" How are we to bring forth the good works that we have been created in Christ Jesus to do? To answer this question we must first understand and accept the fact that only God is good (see Matthew 19:17) and hence only God can produce good works. With this in mind along with Paul's observation we read in Romans 8:2, the only way we can perform the good works that God has called us to do is by God the Holy Spirit. Specifically, we are to yield ourselves to God the Holy Spirit for Him to control and influence our lives. When we do this, it will then be His fruits that emanate from within us and not the fruits from our sinful nature. In other words, we are to live and walk in the Holy Spirit. To see this let us prayerfully read the following instructions that were written in the letter to the churches in Galatia.
Galatians 5: 16-17
"[16] So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. [17] For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."
Let us notice the following verses,
16 If we yield to or give God the Holy Spirit control of our lives His love will flow from within us. This in turn will prevent us from gratifying our sinful nature. As a result, we will be fulfilling all the requirements of the Law.
These are the good works that each and every one of us has been called to do. To see this, let us begin by reading a parable that Jesus once gave relative to a tree and its fruit. Since I think that the New King James Version of the Bible provides a better translation of this parable than the New International Version, it is the one I am quoting from below.
Matthew 7:15-23
""[15] Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. [16] You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? [17] Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. [18] A good tree can not bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Therefore by their fruits you will know them. [21] Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. [22] "Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" [23] "And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"
Let us notice the following verses,
15-20 A good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit. In other words, Jesus is teaching us that we can determine our state by examining the fruit of our lives.
21 Here Jesus is telling us that by just calling Him Lord does not save us or guarantee us a place in Heaven. We must submit to Him and bring forth good fruit. In other words, we must do the will of God.
22-23 Jesus now teaches us that activities such as the exercise of spiritual gifts or ones that relate to external religious activities, such as choir, ministries, etc., are not the good fruits or works that determine whether or not we are His.
If my performance of spiritual or religious activities is not the true measure or product of my faith and belief in Jesus Christ, then one is left with the question, "What are the fruits or works that I am to do?" The answer to this question lies within the following instruction that the Holy Spirit gave to the very spiritually gifted church in Corinth,
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
"[1] If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. [3] If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
Let us notice the following verses,
1-2 If I exercise spiritual gifts or am active in various religious or church activities, but I do not have love I am nothing.
3(a) If I give away all my material things, do all kinds of charitable activities but do not have love, I gain nothing.
3(b) Even if I am martyred for my faith but do not have love, I gained nothing.
In other words, what the Holy Spirit is teaching us is that even though the external religious or church activities that I do are good and important, the issue is, "Why did I do them?" "Was it His love flowing through me?" Or, "Was it for some other reason; like it is my duty or to look good to others or to justify myself to God?" We must remember it is only God who good and can do good works.
With the above in mind let us return to fifth chapter of Galatians and notice verse,
17 Our sinful nature wants to do things that are contrary to the desires of the Holy Spirit, that is gratify self. Whereas, the Holy Spirit wants to do things that are contrary to the desires of our sinful nature. This is the Christian conflict.
To help us determine whether or not we are walking or living by the Spirit, God provided us with some examples of the various kinds of fruits. Thus, when we examine the fruit of our lives with those that follow we will be able to determine when we are yielding to our sinful nature and when we are yielding to the Holy Spirit.
First, there are the fruits of our sinful nature. These are described in part in,
Galatians 5:19-21
"[19] The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
Let us pay particular attention to the stern warning in verse 21. Specifically, if a person continues to live their life under the control of their sinful nature, they will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In contrast to the sinful nature, let us now read about of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Some of His fruits are provided for us in,
Galatians 5:22-23
"[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
Let us notice the following verses,
22 One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is love. Thus, it is through His love that we are to be motivated to do whatever works He calls us to perform.
23 Here we discover that if a person lives their life under the control of the Holy Spirit, they will be fulfilling God's righteous laws. Just as Jesus said, He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. In our case He is fulfilling it for us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Hence when we yield our lives to the Holy Spirit we will find the following to be true,
Galatians 5:24
"[24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
The message
When we live our lives under the power and control of the Holy Spirit we will discover in our everyday life experience the truth of the following Scripture,
Romans 6:14
"[14] For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
In the previous studies with respect to the subject of healing we found that God allows His people to participate in this ministry. In other words we found that through His people God has and will bring about physical and spiritual healing. The New Testament also teaches us that with the healing or the saving of people from their sins,
GOD ALSO WORKS THROUGH HIS PEOPLE
To see this we begin by reading what Jesus once said to His disciples concerning all the miracles He was doing. The passage of interest is in,
John 14:11-12
"[11] Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. [12] I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
Let us pay particular attention to verses 12. Notice Jesus said that those who believe in Him would not only do the things He was doing but will also do greater things than these.
This raises the question as to, "What did Jesus mean by greater works or things?" I believe the answer to this question is found in considering the following question: "What can be a greater work than to be used by God to bring a person from eternal damnation to eternal life with Him?" Since I can not conceive of any work greater than this, the next question that arises is, "How?" How does or will God use us in His plan of saving souls from their deadly disease of sin? In reading the Scripture I believe there are at least three ways God will use His people to bring the needy soul to saving faith in Jesus Christ. These are,
The above ways are not listed in any order of priority. The Bible teaches us that each and every method is as important as the other.
First on the list is,
THROUGH THE PREACHING OF HIS WORD
To see this let us read from,
Romans 10:13-14
"[13] Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." [14] How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"
Let us notice the following verses,
13 Whoever will call upon Jesus Christ will be saved. In other words, as we previously saw, whoever will repent, confess their sins and ask Jesus with all their heart to forgive and grant them a new life in the Holy Spirit, will be healed from their disease of sin.
14 In other words for a person to call upon Jesus Christ to save them, they must first hear about their condition, hear about Jesus and hear about all that He did for them. Thus, it is through the preaching, teaching or the reading of His word that God the Father brings us to His Son Jesus for salvation.
With the above in mind let us now read the next verse. Specifically,
Romans 10:15(a)
"[15] And how can they preach unless they are sent? ""
This now brings us to the question of, "How or by what means does God send His servants to gather the lost?" As you would imagine God can and will use many and varied means to accomplish this task. However, in the Bible, Jesus instructs us to ask God the Father to send His servants to the lost. Thus, the second way God will us His people to accomplish His plan of salvation is,
THROUGH PRAYER
To see this let us read what Jesus said to His disciples after He appointed seventy two to go and preach about the Kingdom of God. His instruction to them can be found in,
Luke 10:2
"[2] He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
In addition to asking God the Father to send His workers into the highways and byways to search for His lost children, we are also encouraged to ask God to give His workers the courage and boldness to preach and teach as they should. To see this let us read where the Apostle Paul asks the church in Ephesus to pray for him. His request is recorded in,
Ephesians 6:19-20
"[19] Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Third on our list of ways God will use us to bring people to Him is,
THROUGH OUR LIGHT, THAT IS THE LIGHT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM WITHIN US
To see this let us reflect upon that following words of our Lord and Savior,
Matthew 5:14-16
""[14] You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Let us notice the following verses,
14 We, that is the born again believers in Jesus Christ, are the light of the world. In other words it is through us that God's light shines forth in this dark world.
15-16 We are instructed not to hide God's light, that is remove ourselves from the people of this world. No, instead we are to let His light shine through us with the hope that in seeing His light the unbeliever will go to Jesus for healing. Also notice that God's light will be seen through good deeds, that is the works we do motivated by God the Holy Spirit living within us.
CONCLUSION
What is the message? What is the point of this study? Perhaps it is best summed up by the following two thoughts.
First and foremost,
JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONE AND ONLY PHYSICIAN WHO HAS THE CURE TO HEAL US FROM THE DEADLY DISEASE CALLED "SIN"
To refresh our memories, let us read from,
1 Peter 2:24
"[24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
Secondly, once we have received God's forgiveness for our sins and received the Holy Spirit, that is we have been born again,
WE ARE TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN A MANNER WORTHY OF HIS CALL
To see this let us read from,
Romans 8:11-14
"[11 if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. [12] Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. [13] For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, [14] because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."
Shall We Pray?