GRACE ANSWERS 41

These are questions sent to GraceLife Ministries by Internet E-Mail. We appreciate each person who sent the questions and hope our answers will be a help to many. If you would like to have a question answered for Grace Answers, please e-mail Mark McGee.

Faith in Christ

QUESTION: Since ... I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior from Hell, the best way I knew how by faith. I did not understand the Gospel Clearly then but since then I have understood it better. My trouble is that I get confused by what seems to be TWO different forms of FAITH in JESUS CHRIST. What I mean by this is:

Trusting in the FINISHED WORK of the Cross is one that is a past or accomplished thing that was done for me. I have no problem accepting this fact that was done on my behalf and many Commentators and Paul's Letters back this up.
Trusting that Jesus Christ will give you Eternal Life when you ask him too, and believing that He gave it to you after you asked. NOW I have a problem with this. I seem to be putting my faith in my faith with this. And it is not like an accomplished fact of History like the Gospel Facts which I find easier to trust in for my salvation. Many Commentators ... will say this one. They will say you have to have 100% asurance that Jesus gave you eternal life when you BELIEVED him for it.

This for lack of a better word METHOD is harder for me cause then the EMPHISIS is put on my abilty to have a perfect or flawless faith in order to be saved....Now I have heard the rebuttal for this and it goes like this......"it's not your faith that counts, it's HIS (JESUS) faithfulness to do it that counts or "little faith in Jesus is better than LOT of faith in something else, etc.

Even though these are good arguments and I have accepted both before, I still find myself SHAKEN UP when I hear a preacher say one or both of these METHODS in the same sermon.

Please clarify this.

ANSWER: The KEY is God's Method, not man's. If you and I were to visit 50 religious institutions together in the next month, it's possible we would hear 50 methods of having faith in God. Interpretations run wild now, even as they did in Paul's time. Paul is the ONLY AUTHORITY on Salvation in this present Dispensation of Grace, so it is to Paul we go.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 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. 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."
Ephesians 2:1-3

"There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 3:22-23

The Apostle Paul makes it CLEAR that every person born to woman is born a sinner. Every human being lives as a dead person. They are dead in their transgressions and sins. Look at a little baby. They are so cute and loving. They are also spiritually dead. As innocent as young children appear, they are dead in transgressions and sins. Time and growth will bring out the sinfulness in a child for everyone to see. It's natural. It's the way of human life.

However, it's not a sad thing because God has made a WAY for children and adults to come alive. That WAY is Christ!

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved."
Ephesians 2:4-5

God loves people! If He didn't, He wouldn't have sent the world His Precious and Only Son, Jesus Christ. God would have just let everybody die in their sins and He'd punish everyone in Hell forever. Fortunately, God loves us with a Great Love. God is Rich in Mercy. He made us Alive with Christ "even when we were dead in transgressions."

How does this happen? How does a person who is "dead" come alive? "It is by grace you have been saved! God's Grace is the First Key. Without it nobody has access to God's Forgiveness. God is Gracious toward the human race. Because of His Great Love and Grace for us, God made a Way for us to be saved. What's the Way? Faith in Christ.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith."
Ephesians 2:8

Faith in what or who?

"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe ... and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
Romans 3:22, 24

Faith means to have a "firm persuasion" that something is true. How does someone who is spiritually dead in transgressions and sins have a firm persuasion in anything? How can someone who can only follow the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air be persuaded of something that is beyond their ability to know or understand? How can someone who lives only to gratify the cravings of their sinful nature change into someone who lives to glorify God?

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9

God is CLEAR in His Word that saving faith is His Gift to humanity. It's not something anyone can work up internally or externally. It's God's Gift. And why is that? "so that no one can boast." The credit for saving faith goes to God, not to us.

Since that is true about saving faith, what about sustaining faith? Saving faith is a Gift of God. It's not of human works. Does sustaining faith change to human works? Once God saves us from our spiritual death, does He sit back and see what we can do to keep ourselves saved? I don't think so.

"I would like to learn just one thing from you: did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing? Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?"
Galatians 3:2-5

Paul wrote members of the churches in Galatia as brothers and sisters in Christ. He did not address them as unsaved people. He implored them to see the error of their ways and follow the True Path of the Christian Life: faith. Paul asked the same basic question twice: "did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?" and "Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" The answer is obvious. Christians received God's Spirit by believing what they heard. You and I received God's Spirit because we believed what we heard. We believed. We had faith. Where does that faith come from? It is the Gift of God, not of works.

Some of the Galatian Christians had become confused about what they had to do to live for God. Someone had confused them through false teaching."

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ."
Galatians 1:6-7

This same thing happens today. People who claim to be messengers from God are confusing Christians and perverting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What was the perversion? Works. The confusers preached a gospel of works.

"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."
Galatians 2:15-16

God gave the world His Law and the obligation to obey the law to teach us about the need for faith; not so we could please God with our ability to work our way to Him.

"Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law."
Galatians 3:23-25

Much of the gospel we hear preached today (and in Paul's time) is a works gospel. Even if "salvation by grace through faith" is the title of the sermon, the underlying conviction is "get in by faith, get out by works." That's a two-headed message that doesn't work in the reality of Christ's Gospel of Grace. Anything that has "works" attached to it is a slave-gospel. Many a new Christian has rejoiced at the sound of "Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound," only to hear the sour note of law and works on the other side.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery ... You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope."
Galatians 5:1, 4-5

Notice a few very important truths here:

Christ set us free for freedom.
Christians should not allow themselves to burdened again by a yoke of slavery
Christians who try to be justified by law are alienated from Christ. They've fallen away from grace.
It was by faith that Paul eagerly waited through the Spirit the righteousness for which he hoped.

You are free to be free! You were saved by faith. You are sustained by faith. It is by faith through the Spirit of God that you wait for the righteousness that is your hope. You once were lost, but now you're found, blind, but now you see.

There are many voices in our world calling to us to follow them and their way of works salvation. Don't listen to them. There is One Voice we should follow. That's the Voice we heard when we first believed. It is the same Voice that will sustain us and take us into His Glory and Grace. Don't be confused by the many voices. Listen to the One Voice: the Voice of Almighty God. His Way is the Grace Way, the Faith Way: "by grace...through faith...not of works, so that no one can boast."

"For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
Galatians 2:19-21

The Spirit's Tugging

QUESTION: I attend a _______ Church. The Pastor conducts an alter call at the end of each service. All Saved are asked to raise their hands, heads bowed and eyes closed, if they are sure they're saved. He often goes on to say that the "tugging" felt in the unsaved's heart is the Holy Spirit and that they should come forward for salvation.

My concern is that I feel like he is potentially causing confusion. What if someone is not saved, but they feel no "tugging" in their heart. Does this mean, from their perspective, that they are not ready, waited too long, etc.

Also, what if they feel that "tugging", and do not go forward. Let's say that this continues for several months, then the unsaved person no longer "feels" that "tugging". Will he think that he missed his opportunity?

This is a confusing issue for me, and probably others. Please give me your thoughts.

ANSWER: The work of the Holy Spirit in an unbeliever's life is very personal. Paul is clear about how a person is saved. It is by Grace through Faith. That is true for everyone. What is personal is the specific methods the Spirit of God uses to convince someone of their need for salvation. The more people I hear share their personal testimony, the more ways I hear how the Holy Spirit works in a life.

I don't believe Christians should present the Gospel in a way that narrows God's Working in the human heart. Our Mission is to present the Gospel clearly and accurately. The Holy Spirit does the rest. We work in concert with Him. As Paul wrote:

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building."
1 Corinthians 3:6-9

I understand what your pastor is doing because I used to do it. I was taught that method of altar calls as a way to get people to make decisions for Christ and join the church. That was before I understood Grace, the Work of God in Salvation and the Body of Christ. Human instruments can say things in ways that are confusing to believers and unbelievers. We must be careful to speak only what God is saying in this Dispensation of Grace in the way He wants us to say it.

Christians should present the Gospel in a hopeful manner. Salvation is not based on what someone "feels" or doesn't feel. It's based on the Eternal Truth of God's Word. Paul didn't charge preachers to use "methods" or "techniques" to get people saved. He gave them this charge: "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction." (2 Timothy 4:2) That's what preachers should do: preach the Word of God with love and patience. The Holy Spirit will do His Work. We need to do ours. When we do that, there is no confusion.

Adam's Choice

QUESTION: Did Adam have a choice to sin or not sin? Since Adam's sin put everybody in sin, First Adam, did not Jesus's blood make a way for everyone to get out of sin if they choose the blood of Jesus for the propriation for that sin? The Second Adam...... Do we have a choice to believe in the precious blood of Jesus for our way out from Adam's choice? And, are you saying that we are puppets and the decision has already been made?

ANSWER: Yes, Adam had a choice. God created Adam in His Image. God explained the choices to Adam.

"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Genesis 2:16-17

That's not how a puppet master speaks to his puppet. The puppet master gives the puppet no choice in what it will do, say or believe. The puppet has no life of its own. It does not have a brain, a conscience or soul.

God created man and woman with volition. He created humanity with a brain, a conscience and a soul. Adam had the choice to obey or disobey. He chose to disobey. He had all the information he needed and he chose for Eve and against God. Adam preferred to live with Eve in sin rather than live without her in perfection.

"And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner."
1 Timothy 2:14

We still have a choice today. Christ's Blood opened the Way to reconciliation with God. We have a brain, a conscience and a soul. We have a choice. The Way of Salvation is clear. It is by Grace through Faith. Anyone who wants to come may come.

Age of Accountability

QUESTION: I have heard many say that there is an age of accountability but have never seen anyone give biblical text to verfy it. I believe most people who hold to the age of accountability do so because they do not want to say that children go to hell. The struggle I see is that we are all born with the sin nature of Adam, and therefore we are condemned already. Please tell me how one can justify children not going to hell without violating proper biblical interpretation.

ANSWER: The answer is in the Grace of God. After you do a complete study of children in the Bible, you will be filled with the knowledge of how much God loves children. Look at how the Lord Jesus treated children while He ministered on Earth. He loved them, called them to His side, spoke kindly to them, and blessed them. God's actions toward small children are Kind and Merciful.

The "Age of Accountability" is a human term. I've heard Christians preach that the "Age" is anywhere from two to 21-years old. I've heard sermons and read books and articles on the importance of the "Age" to when a child should be prompted to receive Christ as their Savior.

I don't believe declaring an "Age of Accountability" is necessary or even wise. If it was important, God would have inspired Paul to write parents and churches about it. He didn't. It's not important. What is important is loving children and serving their physical, spiritual, emotional, mental and social needs. Christian parents and teachers don't need to worry about whether a young child would go to heaven or hell if they died. Our love leads us to share the Most Precious Friend a child or adult can ever have: Jesus Christ. We share His Love with children because it is the natural outflowing of a "loved heart" to do that.

I led both my sons to Christ when they were interested in doing that. It was the natural step within a Christian family. Jesus was part of our everyday conversation. I recommend that to all Christian parents.

As for children who do not come from Christian homes, don't worry about them. Plant the seed of Christ's Love in their minds. You and others will water the seed with your Love. God will give the increase and cause the seed to grow. The "Age" of a child is not an issue. God knew each of us from before the creation of the world.

Did Paul disobey the Lord?

QUESTION: In view of the fact that Paul baptized the Corinthians in Acts 18:8, Lydia and her household in Acts 16:15 and the jailer and his household in Acts 16:33, how do you interpret 1 Corinthians 1:17? From these verses its obvious to me that Paul preached and practiced water baptism, therefore it cannot mean that Christ forbad or told Paul not to baptise anyone. If that is what it means, Paul disobeyed the Lord over and over again when he baptised. I am interested in what you have to say about this verse.

ANSWER: The context of the verses you mentioned demonstrates Paul's "obedience" to the Lord. He did what he knew to be true at that time. Paul was the instrument God used to "transition" from one dispensation to another (Kingdom to Grace). Paul was baptized because he was saved during the Kingdom Dispensation. God used Paul to slowly make a change in the way He administered His Household of Faith. Paul continued to baptize as he had been taught during the early years of his ministry. He stopped baptizing in the middle years of his ministry because God showed him what changes to make. Paul made it clear in 1 Corinthians that Christ did not send him to baptize, "but to preach the gospel." The Gospel of the Kingdom included baptism because it was part of the heritage of Israel and Law. Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize in water. Christ also commanded Paul not to baptize in water. God determines the Rules of each Faith Household and one of the Rules of the Household of Grace is no water baptism. The Gospel of Grace has One Baptism and that is the Spirit Baptism of believers into the Body of Christ. That is not the baptism of the Kingdom Dispensation. Their heritage was an earthly Kingdom and King. Our heritage is being co-heirs with Christ in his Body and Heavenly blessings.

Intercessory Prayer

QUESTION: I would like to ask you if you could explain about intercessory prayer. I was reading in a book called "Don't just stand there, pray something" and the author said not to get discouraged if someone you are praying for gets worse during that time because sometimes things get worse before they get better ... Could you maybe give me some more insight on this and if there are any biblical references to this idea of things may get worse before they get better?

ANSWER: Prayer is central to the relationship believers have with God. Here are the earliest mentions of prayer in the Bible. Notice the important issues of relationship.

The first mention of prayer is when God spoke to Abimelech king of Gerar. Abimelech had taken Sarah, Abraham's wife, to be one of his wives.

"Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die."
Genesis 20:7-8

The issue was sin and how God would deal with the sinner. God told the sinner that His prophet would "pray" for him and he would live. What was the outcome? Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham untouched. He gave Abraham and Sarah sheep, cattle, slaves and silver to cover the offense. "Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, for the Lord had closed up every womb in Abimelech's household because of Abraham's wife Sarah." (Genesis 20:17) The Bible is filled with examples of God's people praying for the unsaved.

The next mention of prayer is when Abraham sent one of his servants back to Nahor to find a wife for Isaac. The servant went to Nahor and prayed.

"Then he prayed, 'O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham'...Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder."
Genesis 24:12, 15

Praying for the success of someone you love is certainly a correct thing to do. The history of God's people is filled with instances of prayer for good things to happen to members of God's family.

The next mention of prayer is an example of believers asking for what seems impossible in their lives. Issac married Rebekah. She was barren. No medical procedures were known at that time to cause a barren woman to become fertile. Issac asked God for a miracle in their lives.

"Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant."
Genesis 25:21

These are also examples of Intercessory Prayer. The Bible has hundreds of examples of believers praying for that which was important to them, others and God. Prayer is the primary way we communicate with God. Prayer is how we tell Him what we think, what we feel, what we need, what we want. Prayer is how we intercede with God on the behalf of others. God hears our prayers and answers. His answer may be "no" or "not now." It may be "wait." It may be "yes." It may be "I have a better way." The point is, God hears and He responds in the best way. God is God. He knows best. His timing in doing what's best is perfect.

Some of the greatest examples of Intercessory Prayer are found in the Prophets. Abraham was a prophet of God and he interceded for many. Moses was a prophet of God and interceded time and again for Israel. Joshua, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, David, Solomon, Ezra, Nehemiah, Job, Isiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are examples of believers interceding with God for the good of others. Their Intercessory Prayers were usually about Israel, God's Chosen People. The prayers were often made during dark times in the life of Israel. Things often went bad for Israel because of their continual sinning against God. Even in the darkest moments of the life of Israel, God always held out the Hope of Eternal Peace and Prosperity. The long-term answer to the Intercessory Prayers of the Prophets is a resounding YES for Israel!

The Greatest Example of Intercessory Prayer is the Lord Jesus Christ.

"I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours."
John 17:9

This is a phenomenal insight to Intercessory Prayer. We pray for other believers because they "belong to God!" What a precious responsibility and opportunity we have to pray for God's Children of Grace. We are asking God to do what's best for those who belong to Him. There is no better prayer than that. God will certainly Protect and Preserve those who are His.

"I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. "
John 17:14-16

Jesus did not ask God to make things easy for believers. He didn't ask God to remove them from trouble, pain, or persecution. He asked God to protect them from Satan. Christians will suffer in this world because we belong to the One Who is from Another World. Christ is from Heaven. He is Pure and Holy. We are also Pure and Holy in Christ. That is opposite of this world, which is impure and unholy. Christ has set us apart for Holy Service. The world hates us for that. Christians will suffer persecution. Christians will suffer misunderstanding. Christians will suffer because of Christ.

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
John 17:20-23

Intercessory Prayer also includes those who are not yet believers. We pray for friends, loved ones, classmates, workmates, neighbors, strangers and even enemies. We want the world to know that God sent Jesus to the world with Love and Forgiveness in His Outstretched Arms. We want all people to be saved and to know God's Love and the Glory of His Son.

"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
John 17:25-26

Things may get better for someone after you pray for them. Things may get worse. Things may stay the same. The important thing to know is that God Loves you and God Loves the person for whom you are praying. Don't worry about the short-term effects of your prayer. What's important is the end result. The old saying "It is darkest before dawn" is often true in life. Night comes before day, but day will come. Pray for your friend. Stay with your friend. God knows best and will do what's best at the perfect time.

Taking God's Grace to the World!