Author: Jonathan

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What we can’t do

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We are saved by grace through faith, and is not by works, and that salvation is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8). By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified (Gal 2:16).  All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  The works of the law cannot make us righteous (Rom 9:32) or save us (Gal 2:16).

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his (Heb 4:9-10).

For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain (Gal 2:19-21).  In Gal 2:20 the correct translation is “faith of the Son of God” not “faith in the Son of God”. The faith comes from God, and does not originate from ourselves. How is that faith received? Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom 10:17).

We need to repent of dead works (Heb. 6:1) – i.e. works of the law in self effort to try to earn salvation.

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Receiving and Believing in Jesus

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We are saved and justified when we receive and believe in Jesus Christ, and we are saved by grace through faith (which is the faith of Jesus Christ, a gift of God). This can be seen from the following scriptures:

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Heb 10:39  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Gal 2:16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Phil 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Rom 3:26 To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Yes Jesus died for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2, John 1:29), but this does not mean and the Bible nowehere says that everyone was saved when Jesus died on the cross. The true Biblical gospel is that we need to receive and believe in Jesus Christ  to be saved, but the idea that everyone was saved when Jesus died on the cross leads to the false gospel that we just need to believe that we are already saved.  If you believe this you will believe that no repentance from sin is needed – it is pointless to repent and turn from sin if you are already saved and not a sinner.

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The blood

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Jesus is the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14) and that He died on the cross for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). This simply means salvation is available to everyone, not that everyone is saved. Only by the shedding of blood is remission, cleansing or forgiveness of sin (Heb 9:22, Mt 26:28, 1 John 1:7). Romans 3 states that righteousness (v.21) and remission of sin (v.25) are “by faith in Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all those who believe” (v.22) and “through faith in His blood” (v.25).

More to be written, come back later.

In the meantime please see this excellent article: http://www.biblebelievers.com/the_blood.html

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Rewards according to works

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Salvation is by grace through faith, and is a gift of God, not by works (Eph 2:8). However, there is a reward for believers doing good works. Good works are not just disciplines for our benefit, by which we enjoy God, as some people claim.  Paul does not say it is God building something, it is us building something, it is man doing the works (1 Cor 3:12-15), and that is what is rewarded. The very important thing here, though, is that the foundation on which these works are built must be Christ (1 Cor 3:11) and that it is the right sort of work (v.13). So let’s not stop at the foundation, when we have to build on this foundation if we are to be rewarded.  See also Romans 2:6-10, Luke 6:35, Eph 6:8, Rev 22:12 for more on rewards for works. So in a sense it is our choice whether we do good works. You are still saved by faith, without works, but the degree of your reward is according to your good works.

Neglecting to say that good works are needed for a reward is unbiblical and can create lazy, disobedient Christians who God can do nothing with. Reward according to works needs to be taught, along with the importance of building on the foundation of Jesus Christ, building the right sort of work, hearing God, doing what he is doing, and obedience to Him.

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Fruit

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The Bible says that we are salvation is by grace through faith and not by works (Eph 2:9). For more about this see http://word.spiritbodysoul.com/what-we-cant-do/. There is an eternal Sabbath rest for the people of God, in which we cease from our own works (Heb 4:1-10), although according to Heb 4:11 entering into this rest is a work or labour. However, what happens after we are born again? Do the finished works of Christ on the cross mean we are not expected to do any kind of good works, and it is only Jesus that did any works?

The first thing we would say to this is that it’s really all about love and the state of your heart. If you have truly been born again, your heart will have been changed by the Lord and made pure. Hence any good works you do will be out of that purity anyway and because He lives inside you.

  • 1Ti 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned (sincere, without hypocrisy).
  • Pr 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
  • 2Ti 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
  • Mt 12:34-35  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

So does the Bible say we are to do anything as Christians? Are we instructed to do good works, or just sit back and do nothing because “Jesus has done it all”?

It is a command in Rom 6:12 to “Let not sin reign”. It is a command to do this, so we are being told to do something.

In Mt 28:19 we are told to go and teach all nations. That is a command to do something. As we go, Jesus is with us (verse 20) and that’s the only way we can obey the great commission. Only being part of the vine, and by abiding in Him can we bear fruit (John 15).

Jesus lives in us and has given us authority. For example, according to Mark 11:22-26, “whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”

In Scripture, we are told to do many other things too. These works are not in order to be saved and notbecauseof someone telling you what to do through control and manipulation or for a religious ritual. No, the works are to be done out of love and obedience and because Jesus lives in us, empowers us (Acts 1:8) and has made us pure and holy. God has created us for good works (Eph 2:10). Many other scriptures very clearly call us to do good works: Mt 5:16, 1 Tim 2:10, 5:10, 25, 6:18, 2 Tim 3:17, Heb 10:24, 1 Peter 2:12.

The book of Titus is a wonderful letter, in which Paul discusses how we are justified by the grace and mercy of God (2:11, 3:4, 7), the sacrifice of Christ (2:14) and not our own righteousness (3:5).  He opposes Jewish fables and the commandments of men (1:14), reprobates to good works (3:16) and strivings about the law (3:9). Yet all the way through the letter, Paul exhorts us to live righteously and godly (2:1-12), be zealous of good works (2:14), be ready to every good work (3:1) and be careful to maintain good works (3:8 and 14). So we are to maintain good works, not, as some people claim, repent from good works.  Just to make it clear again, the only negative things the Bible says about works are that

1. We are not saved by works (Eph 2:8) or works OF THE LAW (Gal 2:16)

2. We are to rest from our OWN works (Heb 4:9)

3. We are to repent from DEAD works (Heb 6:1)

4. We are to put off the works of the FLESH (Col 3:9)

The Bible continually encourages us to do good works e.g. Mt 5:16, 1 Tim 2:10, 5:10, 25, 6:18, 2 Tim 3:17, Titus 2:14, 3:1, 8, 14, Heb 10:24, 1 Peter 2:12. Paul says to be careful to maintain good works in Titus 3:8 and 14 NOT repent of good works. Yes, repent of dead works (Heb. 6:1 – i.e. works of the law in self effort to try to earn salvation), but not repent of good works you do after you are saved. When you are saved you are made righteous and holy and your works will be good works because you are made righteous and freed from sin. It is then Jesus doing the works in you.

Some people also neglect the fact that there is a reward for man doing good works. See http://word.spiritbodysoul.com/rewards-according-to-works

The Bible also clearly says that faith without works is dead (James 2:20 and 26). Faith is made perfect by works (James 2:22). But as we have already seen, these works are not to be of the law. Furthermore, Jesus only spoke what he heard from the Father (John 12:50) and did only what he saw the Father doing (John 5:19, 30), and that’s what we are to do (1 Cor 2:13, 1 Peter 4:11).  Neglecting to say that good works are needed for a reward is unbiblical and can create lazy, disobedient Christians who God can do nothing with. Reward according to works needs to be taught, along with the importance of building on the foundation of Jesus Christ, building the right sort of work, hearing God, doing what he is doing, and obedience to Him.

Some people claim that faith does not save you, it only causes you to realise you are saved. This is incorrect; the truth according to Eph 2:8 is that we are saved by grace through faith, hence faith saves you. But note it is the faith of God, as we have already stated – see Eph 2:8, faith is the gift of God. In Gal 2:20 the correct translation is “faith of the Son of God” not “faith in the Son of God. The faith comes from God, and does not originate from ourselves. We are saved by grace through faith (faith being a gift of God), not by works.

Some people believe that all striving is self-effort and futile. Of course if we are striving in anger and violence (Mt 12:19) (Strong’s number 2051), or arguing over trivial matters of the law (2 Tim 2:14, 24, Titus 3:9) (3054, 3164, 3163) that is not right.  We intend to add other scriptures here on strife (2052, 2054) and how it relates to striving.  But the Bible in fact encourages striving, except in the above cases. We just need to change the way we think about the word striving to line up with the Word of God.  Have a look at these scriptures:

  • Lu 13:24 Strive (75) to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
  • Ro 15:20 Yea, so have I strived (5389) to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:
  • Ro 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together (4865) with me in your prayers to God for me;
  • Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together (4866) for the faith of the gospel;
  • Col 1:29 Whereunto I also labour, striving (75) according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
  • Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving (464) against sin.

Thanks to Mike Bickle for inspiration on this subject of striving. For more, helpful information, see Part 1 Notes of his excellent series on grace.

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Dry seasons/sacrifice

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Christians are freed from sin and made righteous, holy and pure through the blood of Jesus. But the Bible also says that we sometimes get tempted (1 Cor 10:13) and go through difficult or apparently dry times. Even Paul said that we would suffer with Christ (Rom 8:17, 2 Cor 1:6, Phil 1:29, 2 Tim 2:12, Heb 13:3) and Peter says this too in 1 Pet 3:14 & 16. Jesus is obviously still with us and in us, but it can still feel like a dry time sometimes. Thankfully, as Paul says in 1 Cor 10:13, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Clearly stemming from their views on perfection, some people have said that they don’t believe in going through dry seasons or deserts any more; you are to be happy all the time.  Some have heard this teaching and when they end up going through such a dry season they start to doubt their faith, which is the logical conclusion of this teaching.  But in the end, the dry seasons make us stronger and build character in us. James 1:3 puts this very well: Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

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Sanctification process

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The following verses imply a future or process of sanctification: 2Ti 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. So being sanctified is conditional on us purging ourselves. Then in these scriptures we are sanctified by the Word of God, which is clearly an ongoing process: John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So Paul is praying that we would be wholly sanctified, clearly meaning that sanctification is an ongoing process. For more about this see http://www.biblebb.com/files/ryle/are_we_sanctified.htm and http://bible.org/article/regeneration-justification-and-sanctification.

So we can see that there is an ongoing and conditional sanctification are taught in Scripture. There is also a past sanctification – see http://word.spiritbodysoul.com/sanctification.

Scriptures which we can find that imply a process of becoming holy include the following: Ro 6:19, 2Co 7:1, 1Th 3:13, 4:7, 1 Tim 2:15, Heb 12:14 and 1Pe 1:15.  None of these verses state that we are not yet holy already, but they state that we are to yield our members to holiness (Ro 6:19), be holy (1 Pe 1:15-16), follow holiness (Heb 12:14), perfect (mature) holiness (2 Cor 7:1), be established in holiness (1 Thess 3:13), God has called us to holiness (1 Thess 4:7) and about the need to continue in holiness (1 Tim 2:15).

Its interesting that the issue of whether sanctification was accomplished through what Jesus did on the cross and was available to the believer as soon as they believe or was a subsequent experience to salvation (a “second work of grace”) caused a huge split in the Azusa Street Revival. See for example http://www.revival-library.org/pensketches/am_pentecostals/durham.html ‘William Durham… began a preaching mission at the Upper Room Mission in Los Angeles but, despite his brilliant oratory and pulpit presence, the congregation ejected him over sanctification teaching of the “Finished Work.” This teaching repudiated the holiness doctrine of sanctification as a second work of grace and instead declared that everything a believer would ever need was included in the finished work of Christ on the cross. This repudiation of the Holiness doctrine of sanctification as a “second work of grace,” argued that the “finished work” of Christ on Calvary becomes available to the believer at the time of justification. The benefits of Calvary are therefore appropriated for sanctification over the entire period of the Christian’s life, rather than at a single subsequent moment, as was believed by most Pentecostals in Durham’s day. ‘

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Repentance process

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Can repentance mean turning away from sin and do Christians ever need to repent from sin? The Greek word for “repent” generally used in the New Testament (NT) is metanoeo (Strong’s no 3340) and means changing of the mind or purpose for the better. This can clearly mean changing your mind to the belief that you are righteous and not a sinner any more, and that you are forgiven by Jesus because of His shed blood on the cross.   Although after the cross (Acts to Revelation in the NT) there is little mention of repentance, the following scriptures show that repentance can also mean a changing of the mind or purpose away from sin, and repentance from sin is sometimes required for Christians.

  • 2 Cor 12:21 “And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.”
  • Revelation 2:20-23: “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”

These two Scriptures are addressed to Christians, and it is very clear from these verses that Christians must repent if they sin. Repentance can only be because of our understanding that Jesus has already paid the price for our sin on the cross, and we can only repent because Jesus gives us the desire to repent. Repentance is also not just about saying sorry, it is not self-pity and is not about trying to change yourself, as only Jesus can change you.

Consider also the following Scriptures:

  • In Rom 13:12 Paul tells his readers to “cast off the works of      darkness” and in 1 Cor 6:18 to “flee fornication” and in 1 Cor 10:14, to “flee from idolatry”. Clearly the Corinthians had lapsed into sin and needed to flee from it. Fleeing from or casting off something to me means changing your mind about it and therefore means the same as repentance. If this is not repentance from sin, I am not sure what it is. As believers, we are freed from sin and should not be sinning and need not sin any more, but if we do sin we need to repent/flee/cast off those sins. Of course we are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, by His grace, there is no other way to have sins forgiven at all, but sins are      removed from us when we cast them off, let go of them, turn away from them      (repent). It really is very simple.
  • A number of scriptures command us to forgive one another, as Christ forgave us (Eph 4:32 and Col 3:13). It seems to me that forgiveness is a form of repentance from unforgiveness and bitterness.
  • James 5:14-16 says “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:  And the      prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  So the forgiveness of sins is related to the prayer of faith for the sick. We are also told to confess our faults to one another, which implies repentance. (Note that we are not told to confess “sins” to one another, although some corrupted Greek manuscripts incorrectly use the word for “sins” instead of “faults” in this verse – for more information refer to http://word.spiritbodysoul.com/bible-versions.

The above shows that, after true repentance and conversion, although you are righteous and not a sinner any more, if you do lapse into committing sin, repentance from this sin is required. This of course is only possible as a result of being saved and the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. And of course it is because of the shed blood of Jesus on the cross that sin is forgiven – see http://word.spiritbodysoul.com/forgiven-free.

There is what some would call a “spirit of repentance” that can come from the Lord, which often includes a godly sorrow (2 Cor 7:9), resulting in deep repentance from sins. In scripture, one term for this is the Lord searching the thoughts and hearts (Rev 2:23). Very often we have treated those who sin with punishment, as a kind of a deterrence not to repeat the sin. But does this really stop people sinning or deter others from sinning?  As Danny Silk explains in his excellent book, Culture of Honour, dealing with a Christian who sins requires not punishment but honouring that person and understanding the problem that causes the sin and dealing with that underlying issue. This results in a godly sorrow to repentance (2 Cor 7:9).

In the following Scriptures, Jesus Himself commands Christians to repent, and although it is not explicitly stated that this means repentance from sin, this is implied:

  • Revelation 2:4-5: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
  • Revelation 2:16: “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
  • Revelations 3:3 “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
  • Revelations 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

Someone may say, “Well, repentance is all about changing your mind about Jesus it is all about turning to a new way, to Jesus, not about turning from sin”.  But if you turn to something you also must have turned away from something else. What is the something else? Sin, evil, satan etc. Turning from death to life. Turning from sin to righteousness. It is very simple really. There is no contradiction at all. Repentance is both, it is turning to Jesus and it is very clear from Scripture that repentance is also turning away from sin.

Some people also believe we should repent from good works, but that is not Biblical; for further discussion on this, refer to http://word.spiritbodysoul.com/fruit.

Some people quote Martin Luther as a good source of teaching on repentance. Here is a summary of what he taught about it: http://www.newreformationpress.com/freebies/Luther_on_Repentance.pdf. Although Luther rightly moved away from the Roman Catholic ideas of penance (our suffering to somehow pay for sin) and confession to a priest to a Biblical belief in forgiveness of sin by grace through faith, it seems he also believed in “absolution” by man, and so did not fully break from the traditions of men.

Since many of the above scriptures are telling believers to repent from sin, we therefore need to repent if we sin.  We think it is legalism for anyone to tell people they should not repent, when the Bible says we do need to repent when we sin. If God is leading you to repent, and as it is already in His Word, how can any person to tell you not to repent?

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Humility

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We sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6), but Jesus, Paul and other NT writers also commanded us to humble ourselves, consider others better than ourselves, and to prefer and honour one another.

Here are some examples of what it means to humble yourself:

1. Serving others (Phil 2:7, Gal 5:13)
2. Making yourself of no reputation (Phil 2:7)
3. Esteeming others better than yourself / preferring one another (Phil 2:3, Rom 12:10)
4. Not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think (Rom 12:3, Gal 6:3)
5. Loving your neighbour as yourself & not biting and devouring one another, and being kind to others (Rom 12:10, Col 3:14, Gal 5:14-15)
6. We are dead to the law and Christ lives in us and we live by the faith of the Son of God (Gal 2:20) and we do not try to be made pefect by the flesh (Gal 3:3)
7. Doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus and with all your heart as unto the Lord and not unto men (Col 3:17, 23)
8. Not glorying in the flesh or in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal 6:13-14)
9. Being longsuffering (patient) and forbearing (enduring or putting up with things) and keeping unity of the Spirit and forgiving others (Eph 4:2-3, Col 3:12-13)
10. Restoring other people who are overtaken in faults, in the spirit of meekness (Gal 6:1)
11. Bearing one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2)
12. Not provoking or envying others (Gal 5:26)
13. Doing good to everyone, especially those of the household of faith (Gal 6:10)
14. Honouring fathers and obeying masters with fear and trembling, doing the will of God from the heart and with good will (Eph 6:2,5-7, Col 3:22).
15. Not being threatening to those who serve you (Eph 6:9)

There are many warnings throughout scripture warning against pride and boasting (e.g. Pr 28:26, Mt 26:33, Luke 18:9, Jn 9:41, 1 Cor 10:12). It is right to gently point out error and to judge all things (1 Cor 2:15), but we also need to honour and love our brothers and sisters and be prepared to listen to them. We are not to judge other people (Rom 14:13). Let’s also not idolise someone who preaches some great truths, and think they never make mistakes, however good we think those people are, as I have seen some people do. Let’s honour and love people. We highly recommend Danny Silk’s awesome book, “Culture of Honour”, see http://www.lovingonpurpose.com/cultureofhonor/#/home/. Divisions are not caused by people questioning things and seeking truth and differentiating truth from error, but divisions are caused by lack of love and honour.  My intention is only to love and honour everyone, including those I don’t always agree with.  Rom 12:10 sums this up very well: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.” Rom 13:8 then says “Owe no man anything, but to love one another, for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”

We recommend Andrew Murray’s book Humility. See http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/murray/5f00.0565/5f00.0565.c.htm or http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780883681787?redirected=true&gclid=CKHOl5Xls7QCFaTKtAodDWAAgQ

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Seeking God

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It would seem that we automatically receive the fullness of God in us and that we are given everything freely when we get saved. It would therefore appear that we should stop “seeking God”, “pressing in” for God or “hungering for God” after we get saved. Surely only only non-Christians seek God, and when someone gets saved they have “found” God? John 6:35 would seem to indicate that we should not be hungry for God, and hunger seems to indicate a lack of something.  But is this true? Acts 17:27 does say that people can seek and find the Lord. Is it true that seeking God and hunger for Him is only in the Old Testament?  Yes, seeking God and hunger for God is mentioned throughout the Old Testament, but it is also in the New Testament. Let’s see what the New Testament actually says this. Note carefully that these verses of Scripture are all written to believers, not to non-believers:

Mt 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.   If you read Mt 5:1, you will see that Jesus was speaking to his disciples. Then read the rest of the beatitudes in Mt 6 and you will see clearly that they are addressed to believers, not to those who are not yet believers. The rest of the beatitudes are also speaking of ongoing actions such as being meek, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers etc, and are not one time actions which take place only at salvation.  The wonderful thing is, Jesus says we shall be filled.  The promise is given to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, not to those who refuse to do this.

In the following two verses, Jesus was clearly speaking to his disciples – believers, not unbelievers. Again Jesus says “you shall find” and “all these things will be added.” What wonderful promises, but these promises are to those who seek, not to those who refuse to seek! There is always more of God and His Kingdom to seek and find.

  • Mt 6:33, Lk 12:31  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
  • Mt 7:7, Lk 11:9  Seek, and ye shall find.

Okay, you might say these words were spoken before Jesus was crucified and before the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, so they don’t apply after that. But just read the context and you will see that they do apply to us now. If you throw out these words of Jesus and say they don’t apply any more, then you should throw out the rest of the words of Jesus, a large proportion of the New Testament. Let’s not just read certain selected passages of Scripture and ignore others, but consider the whole balance of Scripture.

In fact, Paul clearly shows in Rom 3:11 and 11:7 that unbelievers cannot seek after God.

Now let’s consider some other relevant verses in the New Testament, which some people seem to totally ignore.

  • Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.   Paul is very clearly telling believers to seek the things of heaven! Often the word heaven is used interchangeably for God in the Bible. So this means we are to seek the things of God, and so we should definitely seek God himself.
  • In 2 Tim 2:22, Paul spoke of “following righteousness, faith, love and peace.” This again amounts to seeking God, as that is what He is.  Again the same people who claim to preach what Paul preached are ignoring some things that Paul taught.
  • Heb 10: 21-22  And having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
  • Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
  • James 4:8 Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.

So we can see that the New Testament writers clearly encourage us to draw near to God and come to him, and even to “diligently seek Him”. If that is not encouraging believers to seek and press in for God I don’t know what it is. If we do this we will be rewarded and God will “draw near” to us. Of course God is already in us if we are believers and God is omnipresent, but there is still a realisation of the presence of God when we can tangibly feel him as we “draw near” to him.

There are no scriptures we can find anywhere in the Bible that instruct us not to seek God and not to press in for God. It seems to us that the idea that we should not seek God or press in for God is unbiblical, legalistic and can cause people to be lazy and turn away from God, and so is not helpful. Only those who seek him, hunger for him and draw near to him can claim these promises that we find him, we will be filled, rewarded, he draws near to us, all these things shall be added to us.

The main issue here is that we need to understand what “seeking God” means; it does not mean you have not found God or do not know him – that is just a misunderstanding of the meaning of the word “seeking”.  Seeking is also not laborious self-effort as some people seem to think. Let’s stick to the Bible and understand the word “seek” in the way it is used in the Bible. Look at no. 2212 in Strong’s Greek dictionary and you will see that the Greek word for “seek” can mean worship, desire, or enquire.  That is only one word for “seek” in the Bible, and only one Lexicon’s interpretation, there are others too. Once a person is saved, the seeking and pursuing God and His purposes comes out of knowing Him and abiding in Him, from a love relationship, based on His grace and the finished work of Christ on the cross. It is the Spirit of God dwelling in us that causes us to seek God and hunger after Him, it is nothing of our own making. A good book we recommend on this subject is “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence.  Also, we recommend this article about seeking God, written by John Piper, I don’t think I could put it better than he does.

Some people think we were given everything as a gift at salvation because of the finished work of Christ and anything we do such as seeking God, be hungry or even pray to try to obtain anything else would be works.  Clearly according to Rom 9:32 God freely gives us all things, but that scripture does not say we don’t need to ask. Otherwise this would contradict so many other Scripture which tell us clearly to ask God for things and believe (Mark 11:23) – refer to http://word.spiritbodysoul.com/prayer-intimacy/. Salvation was purchased on the cross through the shed blood of Jesus and given freely to us but there is usually something we need to do to receive it (John 1:12) – e.g. repent (Acts 2:38), confess our sin (1 John 1:9), confess the Lord Jesus and believe in His resurrection (Rom 10:9-11). By the stripes of Jesus (when he was whipped before he was crucified) we were healed (1 Peter 2:24), but God does not often automatically heal someone, we usually need to pray for healing and believe in Him in order to receive it. However these are not hard and fast rules or conditions for healing (which would be law) – some people have no faith and yet God sovereignly heals them, and some people receive healing when worshipping, and are not even praying for healing. Also the faith we have is only a gift of God anyway.  The fact that we do something to receive any of these things means some works are needed. The simple thing is God wants us to be humble and trust in Him for everything.  Prayer, repentance and seeking God are nothing to do with law, but are to do with humility and love for God, and dependence on Him.  In fact, by telling us not to do these things, some people are in danger of bringing us back under law! Refer to http://word.spiritbodysoul.com/fruit/ for more information on that subject and why not all works are bad.

It is God Himself that gives us hunger for Him, it is not some religious self-effort to be hungry for him; what an impossible task that would be. Just like with prayer, we realise God lives in us and has freely given us all things, but we are still to ask Him for things in prayer, so the same with hunger; God is in us, but we are still to hunger for Him. Hunger is not a one off experience, you need to eat again when you get hungry. Some people have even become legalistic about not hungering for God, but the point about John 6:35 is that you need never stay hungry, that Jesus keeps feeding you with His living bread. According to this verse, if we always keep coming to Jesus and believing in Him (this is not a one-time thing, we need to keep on believing) and as we do that He satisfies our hunger.  We recommend the book “A Hunger for God – Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer” by John Piper: http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/books_hfg/hfg_all.pdf.