We would like to share the most important Bible message*1 (see later note) you have ever considered. I beg you allow us to present the scriptures conveying that message, and to define how and why it is different from what you have heard before. Please let us also explain why it is not arrogant or fanciful*1 on our part to assert the importance of these scriptures. We make no attempt to hold ourselves up in your eyes as having special knowledge or insight beyond what the Bible gives; to us and to you. We simply believe this message is important in a new way, because we seek to understand the Bible's message as it applies very specifically to our day in time! Realize and understand: The Bible is a record of one long unfolding drama providing God's perfect solution to all our problems. We want everyone to understand as they study their Bible: Where we were born in the revelation of time matters! If you had lived 3000 years ago, for example, the only acceptable way to worship God would have been through the Jewish Law Code and priesthood: Either by being born a Jew, or by becoming a Jewish proselyte. (Exodus 19:25-20:3 ; Exodus 24:7 ; Matthew 23:15) If you lived 2000 years ago, you might have been witness to Christianity being born out of Judaism when Christ presented himself as the promised Jewish Messiah (Luke 19:36-40 ; John 4:22 & 25-26) and savior of all mankind; both Jews and Gentiles. (Gal 3:26-29; Col 3:9-11) To prove he had authority to abolish (and or fulfill) the Law (Ephesians 2:15) and to establish Christianity as God's newly approved form of worship, (Matthew 9:6-8; John 4:5-30) you might have witnessed the miracles performed by Christ Jesus as he healed all those who came to him in faith. (Matthew 12:15 ; Matthew 8:16 ; Luke 6:17-19) You might have been healed by him yourself! If you were a Jew, you could have had a measure of pride in your heritage (Romans 3:1-2 ; Romans 3:9-31) but would have also (at that time) needed to change and express faith in Christ Jesus to continue to be acceptable to God in your worship. (Galatians 5:1-6 ; Galatians 4:1-11 ; Matthew 23:1-12 ; Matthew 20:25-28 ; Mark 7:1-8) To understand how your personal faith can help you, you must recognize the form of worship acceptable to God very clearly depends on when we were born.
Please understand: This is not an effort to get anything from you. We don't want to put you on our membership rolls or to have you send us money. This is an effort as a gift to you. All we want to get from you is to convince you to just please take the time to consider the following scriptures illustrating why this is a more wonderful time to be alive than ever before.[The 6000 year Bible record was originally penned in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. About 4000 years of that record is before the birth of Jesus. We will use the English translation of "Jesus" to represent the Hebrew Yeshua, and Greek Iesous, forms of Jesus's name. We will respectfully call Jesus's Father and God (John 20:17) by the Hebrew Name He gave himself in the Old Testament Bible record (The Divine Name was used over 6000 times in the Hebrew Text from before Christ was born): God's Hebrew Name is יהוה . (Psalms 83:18 ; Exodus 6:3 ; Isa_12:2 ; Isa_26:4) The Hebrew Name יהוה sounds like YeaVah. (That's Yea as in "Yea go team" followed by the sound of the first two letters of "vault," ) When Jesus quotes from the Hebrew scriptures where the Divine Name was used, we will include
in that translated quote to refer to Jesus's Father there as well. (Luke 2:49 & 52 ; John 17:3 ; Matthew 22:41-46) As to what we call ourselves: Those who support this website follow the Bible pattern of calling themselves only by the name of Christian (Acts 11:26) and like to be referred to (as a group) as "Christian Bible Students." We believe understanding the theme of the Bible requires we know both God's personal name, as well as that of his son. - (Proverbs 30:4 ; John 17:3) Take special note: Being a follower of Christ is not tied to this website or to any man or group. The site exists to help you realize your only need is the teachings of Christ from the four short Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John].
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How, then, can Faith help YOU?
That is a question most people interested in the Bible struggle to understand. Can faith save your life? Can faith heal you? Can your faith help others? Does what faith can do for you change based on when you have lived in the Bible's record of history? If faith provides you protection, why you and not someone else? Are there things faith can not do?
The Bible records different ways faith helped individuals in past times. Considering their experiences can, in turn, help us understand how faith can benefit us! The Bible accounts, for example, that a woman who lived during the days of Christ's preaching (33 to 36 CE [Christian Era]) suffered with a bleeding problem: (Mark 5:25-26) Now there was a woman subject to a flow of blood twelve years, 26 and she had been put to many pains by many physicians and had spent all her resources and had not been benefited but, rather, had got worse. How might faith help such a woman, and what might have contributed to her having faith?
This woman was a Jew (a Hebrew living about 2000 years ago), and so grew up studying the Old Testament (the portion of the Bible as it existed in her day - including its inspired account of Hebrew history). She would have been aware of the examples therein set down of the power of God's spirit, such as one of the miracles connected with God's prophet Elisha (nearly 3000 years ago, or around 857 BCE [Before the Christian Era]): (2 Kings 13:20-21) "After that Elisha died and they buried him. And there were marauding bands of the Moabites that regularly came into the land at the coming in of the year. 21 And it came about that as they were burying a man, why, here they saw the marauding band. At once they threw the man into Elisha's burial place and went off. When the man touched the bones of Elisha, he immediately came to life and stood upon his feet." In that Bible example no faith was required, of course, as both Elisha and the unnamed resurrected man were already dead. That and similar accounts did "help build faith" in the Hebrews, like this woman with the flow of blood. The scripture helped build faith great things could be accomplished through the power of God's spirit. She would also have been taught the Jewish Bible prophecies about the coming Messiah (Isaiah 7:14 ; Isaiah 9:6-7), and, she no doubt heard (John 4:45) about the powerful works Jesus was doing in her day in time. (Mark 3:7-10 ; Luke 3:15 ; Matthew 2:1-6 ; John 7:31 ; John 8:30-32 ; John 11:41-45) The woman started to believe (to have faith) God would use his spirit to help her based on her faith in this savior He had promised. (Isaiah 9:6-7) She then formed a plan that put her faith into action: (Mark 5:27-29) "When she heard the things about Jesus, she came behind in the crowd and touched his outer garment; 28 for she kept saying: 'If I touch just his outer garments I shall get well.' 29 And immediately her fountain of blood dried up, and she sensed in her body that she had been healed of the grievous sickness." We today are favored to have both the record of Elisha and others in the Old Testament; as well as the record of this woman (and other faithful Christians) in the New Testament. That depth of knowledge can help us build our own faith. In this Bible account, the woman was apparently able to draw יהוה 's spirit by means of her faith in Christ, without Jesus even being aware what she was about to do. Jesus noticed her only after he perceived spirit go out of him: (Luke 8:42-48) . . ."As he was going the crowds thronged him. 43 And a woman, subject to a flow of blood for twelve years, who had not been able to get a cure from anyone, 44 approached from behind and touched the fringe of his outer garment, and instantly her flow of blood stopped. 45 So Jesus said: 'Who was it that touched me?' When they were all denying it, Peter said: 'Instructor, the crowds are hemming you in and closely pressing you.' 46 Yet Jesus said: 'Someone touched me, for I perceived that power went out of me.' 47 Seeing that she had not escaped notice, the woman came trembling and fell down before him and disclosed before all the people the cause for which she touched him and how she was healed instantly. 48 But he said to her: 'Daughter, your faith has made you well; go your way in peace.'" It seems unlikely this would have been a ruse by Jesus to pretend he did not know what the woman was doing until he felt God's spirit pass through him. His sincere effort to ascertain who touched him was to help us understand the arrangement Jesus was in the process of establishing: An arrangement for his followers to have a direct relationship with his Father. Jesus said at John 16:23-24: "And in that day you will ask me no question at all. Most truly I say to you, If you ask the Father for anything he will give it to you in my name. 24 Until this present time you have not asked a single thing in my name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be made full." Jesus also said at John 15:7-10: "If you remain in union with me and my sayings remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will take place for you. 8 My Father is glorified in this, that you keep bearing much fruit and prove yourselves my disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved me and I have loved you, remain in my love. 10 If you observe my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have observed the commandments of the Father and remain in his love."
Matthew recorded Jesus also saying: (Matthew 4:4) ...It is written, 'Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through יהוה 's mouth.' Reference study Bibles (footnotes by the Bible scholars who produced the various translations) tell us that when Jesus there said "it is written," he was quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3: (from the 1889 Darby Bible translation)
"And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with the manna, which thou hadst not known, and which thy fathers knew not; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by everything that goeth out of the mouth of Jehovah
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doth man live." Jesus was the perfect son of God, and spoke only what he learned from his Father. (John 8:28-30 ; John 12:48-50 ; John 5:19 ; John 5:30) We can therefore consider everything Jesus said as absolute truth. The truth Jesus spoke can be considered "law," just as surely as gravity is law.
When Jesus said there is more happiness in giving than in receiving (Acts 20:35), for example, you can know being selfish will never make you happy. What Jesus teaches us about building faith is real, and that faith then becomes our God given and only hope! In the account about the woman with the flow of blood, that woman surely believed every word from God was true. She put complete faith in the words of God recorded in the Bible, and so, was positive she could be healed from her illness if she could just touch the outer garment of the one she believed to be God's son. She literally healed herself (using God's spirit) by means of her own faith. Jesus appreciated that and commended her faith. As Mark's parallel account recorded this event for us: (Mark 5:30-34) 'Immediately, also, Jesus recognized in himself that power had gone out of him, and he turned about in the crowd and began to say: "Who touched my outer garments?" 31 But his disciples began to say to him: "You see the crowd pressing in upon you, and do you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32 However, he was looking around to see her that had done this. 33 But the woman, frightened and trembling,*2 knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her: "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be in good health from your grievous sickness."' Jesus there told the woman it was her faith that made her well. She was very literally living by the words (Hebrew Scriptures) that came forth from יהוה 's mouth; living by her faith in his words! (Matthew 4:4)
*2(The woman of this account was no doubt "frightened and trembling" because her illness made her unclean under Jewish Law, and by Law she was to remain isolated. She could have been in peril of life by the judgment of her religious leaders; and even more so because she expressed faith in Christ. [John 12:10-11])
In another example of faith, a man came to Jesus because his servant was ill: (Matthew 8:5-10 & 13) 'When he entered into Capernaum, an army officer came to him, entreating him 6 and saying: "Sir, my manservant is laid up in the house with paralysis, being terribly tormented." 7 He said to him: "When I get there I will cure him." 8 In reply the army officer said: "Sir, I am not a fit man for you to enter under my roof, but just say the word and my manservant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one, 'Be on your way!' and he is on his way, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." 10 Hearing that, Jesus became amazed and said to those following him: "I tell you the truth, With no one in Israel have I found so great a faith. 11... 13 Then Jesus said to the army officer: "Go. Just as it has been your faith, so let it come to pass for you." And the manservant was healed in that hour.'
Please take special note of what Jesus told this army officer: That it would come to pass for him just as he (in his faith) had imagined it to happen. This was a man with a military command such that he told people what to do and they did it. He thus rightly reasoned the son of God would not have to make the journey to his home to heal his servant. (He also showed humility in stating he was not a fit man for Jesus to enter his home.) This account demonstrates how this man's faith helped him, and his servant as well. His faith helped him to reason out what was to happen for him, and then it happened according to his own faith, even though it was not what Jesus had intended to do for him. Jesus had intended to go the man's home and heal his servant. The man had faith, however, that Jesus could just say the word and it would be so. The power of faith is not to be underestimated. It seems limited only by - well - "our" faith. (Matthew 21:21-22 ; Luke 17:5-6)
Make no mistake, faith is a powerful tool as a gift from our Creator. As Jesus said at Mark 11:24: ..."All the things you pray and ask for have faith that you have practically received, and you will have them." That means, of course, you must know from the Bible what you should have faith in, so your request will be in harmony with God's purposes. (1 John 5:14) (We do not here assert you will be able to use God's spirit to calm the raging sea or raise the dead. We do not, on the other hand, assert our judgment over holy spirit, so as to proclaim what faithful Christians will or will not be able to do. [Matthew 21:21-22]) Jesus was clear about one thing the gift of holy spirit would accomplish in his followers during these last days. He said he would send us a helper, the spirit of truth. (John 14:15-17 ; John 16:7) Jesus further said that helper would call to mind and help us understand the things he taught is teaching us. (John 16:13-15 ; Matthew 10:19-20) Those promises by Jesus indicate we can ask our Father for what we know from the Bible to be in harmony with his will, and it will simply come to pass. It thus becomes important to know our being happy is God's will! (John 15:11) Our living forever is God's will. (Genesis 1:26-31 ; John 4:14) Among the things the spirit can do, according to Jesus then, is keep us alive forever: As it can bring to mind all the promises of Jah Jehovah! (Isaiah 12:2) We can, in turn, stay alive forever through our faith in those Bible promises!!! (Job 33:24-25 ; John 11:26 ; Matthew 8:13) (The promises of God are the light of life. [Job 33:28-30 ; Psalms 36:9])To further clarify scriptural support for teaching some will never die, we herein consider one last and very important Bible example: We note the conversation Jesus had with Martha just before he resurrected Lazarus.(John 11:1-45) In this account we find two sisters with a brother who was sick. The sisters had faith, and so they sent for Jesus to heal their brother: John 11:1-6 (Good News Bible) (1) 'A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, became sick. Bethany was the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived.
(2) [This Mary was the one who poured the perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.]
(3) The sisters sent Jesus a message: "Lord, your dear friend is sick."
(4) When Jesus heard it, he said, "The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God, and it will be the means by which the Son of God will receive glory."
(5) Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
(6) Yet when he received the news that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.'
Note Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, so... Why would he stay two additional days before going to help them? Jesus also said the purpose of Lazarus' sickness was not death, but for the glory of he and his Father. We find, however, Lazarus did die! Reading from John 11:20-22: 'Therefore Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, met him; but Mary kept sitting at home. 21 Martha therefore said to Jesus: "Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died. 22 And yet at present I know that as many things as you ask God for, God will give you."' Jesus told Martha her brother would rise from the dead and she acknowledge a future day when the dead would be resurrected: (John 11:23-24) 'Jesus said to her: "Your brother will rise." 24 Martha said to him: "I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day."' Jesus then made the statement to Martha which should be of great interest to each of us trying to build faith. Jesus said the resurrection would be through him, and that the faithful alive at the time of the resurrection would never die at all, but would receive eternal life without having to die. Following, then, in John 11:25-27: 'Jesus said to her: "I am the resurrection and the life. He that exercises faith in me, even though he dies, will come to life; 26 and everyone that is living and exercises faith in me will never die at all. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him: "Yes, Lord; I have believed that you are the Christ the Son of God, the One coming into the world."' Jesus there told Martha those living at the time of his second coming (and who manifest faith) would never die at all. Do YOU have faith that is truth? (John 8:51) Do you grasp what your faith can do for you if you do?
Jesus next shows what he had meant when he said Lazarus' sickness had not been for the purpose of death, but to bring glory to he and his Father. Jesus publicly demonstrated what the then future "final day" resurrection would be like, as he brought to life a man who had been dead four days: (John 11:38-45) 'Hence Jesus, after groaning again within himself, came to the memorial tomb. It was, in fact, a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said: "Take the stone away." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to him: "Lord, by now he must smell, for it is four days." 40 Jesus said to her: "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" 41 Therefore they took the stone away. Now Jesus raised his eyes heavenward and said: "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 True, I knew that you always hear me; but on account of the crowd standing around I spoke, in order that they might believe that you sent me forth." 43 And when he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice: "Lazarus, come on out!" 44 The [man] that had been dead came out with his feet and hands bound with wrappings, and his countenance was bound about with a cloth (a cloth was around his face). Jesus said to them: "Loose him and let him go." 45 Therefore many of the Jews that had come to Mary and that beheld what he did put faith in him;' Jesus spending additional time before going to resurrect Lazarus seems to have been for the purpose of making the resurrection hope clear to all. After being dead four days, no one could doubt Lazarus was really dead. Also, it makes clear exactly what the resurrection is: Because everyone recognized Lazarus to be resurrected as the same man who had died. As Jesus had said was its purpose in John 11:4, then, this very public resurrection brought glory to both Jesus and his Father.
By means of the scriptures we have considered, Jesus teaches something wonderful we can build faith in: A chance to be among those who will never die at all. Some will point to Hebrews 9:27 or Ecclesiastes 3:2 and assert we all must die. That is true, of course, unless Christ intervenes to stop us having to do so. The Book of Job promised a day when that would happen: (Job 33:21-30) GNB Their bodies waste away to nothing; you can see all their bones; (22) they are about to go to the world of the dead. (23) Perhaps an angel may come to their aid--- one of God's thousands of angels, who remind us of our duty. (24) In mercy the angel will say, "Release them! They are not to go down to the world of the dead. Here is the ransom to set them free." (25) Their bodies will grow young and strong again; (26) when they pray, God will answer; they will worship God with joy; God will set things right for them again. (27) Each one will say in public, "I have sinned. I have not done right, but God spared me. (28) He kept me from going to the world of the dead, and I am still alive." (29) God does all this again and again; (30) each one saves a person's life, and gives him the joy of living.
Those verses promise an escape from death and a renewal of our youthful vitality. (Also, in a sense, we have been dead already. We have all been dead in our sins. [Ephesians 2:1-9] Being baptized into Christ [baptized by our exercising faith in his resurrection - 1 Corinthians 12:13] figuratively resurrects us from the dead. [John 5:24]) As Jesus told Martha in John 11:26 then: A day has arrived (or is approaching) when those who express faith will never have to die at all. Do YOU believe this? Just as in the Bible examples we considered above, for you to receive the benefit of Jesus's promises, you must have faith what he said is true... Bible prophecy and world events suggest we have arrived at the time when those who are righteously inclined will receive the reward of everlasting life. (Luke 21:25-28) Those with eyes of faith will be witness to salvation standing up for every single meek and righteous person in the earth. Just as Jesus said: (Matthew 24:37 & 39) "For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. . . and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away." Peter further clarified this for us at [1 Peter 3:20 KJV]: . . ."the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. It appears the figurative ark of salvation for our day is our faith in the words of Christ. (Job 33:24-25 ; Mark_10:52) By means of our faith, the teachings of Christ Jesus provide us life, just as the God given manna provided life for the Jews during their forty years in the wilderness: The same forty years during which they made the transition from slavery in Egypt into the promised land. (John 6:48-51; John 4:10-14)
Remember, it is God's desire to help us all: Those who have already died as well as those of us who live today. His plan of salvation has been gradually (from our perspective) unfolding and revealing itself over the Bible record of mankind's six thousand years from Adam until today. God's previous actions to help individuals (by healing their infirmities or by a temporary resurrection) have been in some measure so others we who read about them could have hope: a hope based in faith God is establishing the Kingdom of Christ. (Acts 1:6 ; Romans 5:20-21 ; Revelation 11:15) For our day, we should recognize the kingdom has been established. That kingdom is helping, and will help all who love Christ; forever. (Matthew 6:10 ; Daniel 2:44) The man resurrected when he was thrown into Elisha's grave was largely for the purpose of building faith in those who lived in his day, and in us who read the account today. There is no record of a stream of the dead being thrown into the grave of Elisha and being resurrected. (It is quite likely some did try to bring their dead loved ones into contact with Elisha's bones.) God's purpose to help us have faith had been fulfilled in the one resurrection we today read about. The resurrected man was fortunate to be where he was, when he was. He eventually died again. (He still needs the same resurrection to eternal life through Christ, [John 6:45-58] as he needed when he was temporarily resurrected by God through his contact with Elisha's bones.) Those alive in the days of Christ's preaching found themselves in a better situation. All who came to Jesus could be helped, just as they manifest faith. (Luke 6:19; Mat 9:27‑30; Mat 9:22; Eph 2:8; Mark 10:52; Luke 7:50; Luke 17:19; Luke 18:42; Acts 14:9; Luke 8:48 of 42‑48; John 7:37‑39; John 19:34) Still, even with being helped by Christ, they all eventually died as well. What happened to them can, in turn, build faith in us. We have arrived at (or are approaching) the day when each person can again be helped by means of their faith in Christ's words; and this time, those with true faith will never die at all. Those who have already died will be resurrected and given that same opportunity. (John 11:23-24 ; John 11:25-27 ; Isaiah 11:6-10) From these scriptures it would seem we must come to know יהוה so intimately, by having unwavering faith in the teachings of his son, (Mat 11:27) that as we reason from the scriptures how God will help us, it will happen for us just as we believe it will. That is how the Bible teaches it happened for the woman with the flow of blood, and for the army officer with the servant who was ill. Jesus said over and over to those he helped, "your faith has made you well." That exact phrase was recorded 12 times in the book of Luke alone. Are YOU building faith for the preservation of YOUR life? Hebrews 10:38 & 39 tells us to do so: "For you have need of endurance, in order that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the {fulfillment of the} promise. 37 For yet "a very little while," and "he who is coming will arrive and will not delay." 38 "But my righteous one will live by reason of faith," and, "if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." 39 Now we are not the sort that shrink back to destruction, but the sort that have faith to the preserving alive of the soul."(Is that scripture one you will use to reason out in your faith how 's spirit will help you?) We all face problems that can seem overwhelming. (They can "be" overwhelming without God's help.) Build faith in Christ and have your part in the day when each person can be set free of the problems we face! If you suffer any of the terrible problems common to mankind (1 Corinthians 10:12-13), the following are some scriptures you might wisely choose to meditate on. (Psalms 27:12-14 ; 1 Corinthians 4:3 ; Psalms 31:23-24) Whether you are young and vigorous, or older (and hopefully wiser, but) with failing health, what ever trials you personally face, YOU must see God's salvation for YOU in the scriptures: Just like the army officer and the woman with the flow of blood did! (Matthew 8:5-10 & 13; Mark 5:25-26; Matthew 15:22-28; Matthew 9:27-29)
Some will assert there is no need for you to make the effort, and take the time, to learn what the Bible teaches. They will put forth some subset of the scriptures and claim faith in those few scriptures is enough. They might, as the simplest example, tell you to "Believe on the name of the lord Jesus and be saved," from Acts 16:31. That scripture is truth of course! Such individuals believe that is the only Bible verse you need to learn. If they can be acceptable to our Father with such logic, it is certainly fine with us. (Matthew 7:23 ; Luke 13:27 ; Matthew 22:29) We would be left wondering why God inspired the balance of the Bible to be recorded. The Bible itself answers that question: "This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you the only true God, and the one you sent forth Christ Jesus" (John 17:3; see also Pro 30:4; Joel 2:32). Those scriptures clearly state we must know Jesus and his Father. (God is likely making provision for those who have not had the opportunity to learn.) It seems questionable whether one or even several scriptures could grant knowledge for real faith. "All scripture is inspired by God and beneficial..." as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16. You should become familiar with the "scarlet cord" theme of the Bible (Joshua 2:12-21 & 6:20-24) that runs right through the Bible from beginning to end. Learning what Jesus taught in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John provides the knowledge necessary to make that theme clear.
*1As to our opening assertion that our message is both important and different from what you have previously heard: This paragraph summarizes how and why that is so. Building and then possessing faith in the Bible is the most important opportunity of life. (Matthew 13:44-46 ; John 17:3) You can't buy it, steal it, coerce it, or be granted it by powerful groups or individuals. It is a gift from our Father, freely and equally offered to all. All we need do is accept it by acting in faith that is built on familiarity with Jesus's teachings. (Heb 11:32-12:3) Personal Bible knowledge is the only tool available to help you recognize and expose the religious lies vainglorious men hide within beautiful rhetoric. (2 Cor 10:4-5 ; Ecc 12:11-12) Our message is different, then, because while many among even non Christians will tell you Jesus is the most important man to have lived, and that his message is important as well, very few help you recognize the warning Christ provided which would expose has exposed the "Man Of Lawlessness." (2 Thes 2:3) Most organizational religious teachers are not trying to make clear the message of Jesus. They are instead trying to use his teachings to manipulate others. The reason it is not arrogant on our part to say our Bible message is very important for you, is because we do our best to teach only what Jesus taught, including his warning about the danger of being misled by the teachings of men. (Mat 7:15) Most professed Christians are not providing that warning. They are trying to have glory among their own sectarian group of men and women. (Luke 16:14-15) They simply can't seek glory among men and the glory of God at the same time! (Mat 6:24) Please consider the example of William Tyndale as to how this world feels about truth seekers: In the 1500's, William was responsible for the translation of the Bible into the common language of English. His translation helping bring the prophetic decline of the dark ages. Tyndale grew up entwined in the "holy" Roman [apostate] church. In his younger day, William told one of the powerful members of the clergy of that false church: "In a short time I will cause a boy who walks behind a plow to know more of the scriptures than you do." William was not arrogant to make such a statement. He simply realized the clergy members were not trying to teach the truth (they were not directing people to listen to Christ). That false "church" hid the Bible in an obscure language and misapplied it's teachings to manipulate people. They tried to convince common people, like William, they were too ignorant or stupid to understand the Bible, and required the Clergy to "interpret" the Bible for them. The Church did their best to keep people ignorant and dependant. England had grown from the ruins of Rome to become the world power, but the remnants of the apostate Roman Dark Ages Church still held much authority. In 1536 CE, just before leaders of the church burned William Tyndale for his Bible translation, he uttered his last public prayer: That God would open the eyes of the King of England (open his eyes to the damage being done he and his nation by the church). Within two years, by 1538, King Henry the VIII had placed copies of Tyndale's Bible in every church in England. For the first time since the dark ages was brought about by the apostate church, common men and women had access to the Bible in their own language. If you are an English speaker who understands the Bible today, you owe your knowledge in part to the sacrifice of William Tyndale, and you know more of the scriptures than that hypocritical religious leader Mr. Tyndale was speaking with when he mentioned the boy following the plow. William Tyndale was not haughty in saying he could do better than those clergyman in teaching truth. Tyndale simply loved God's word. We highlight that as the huge difference between this website effort and other "preaching" you have heard. Other individuals and groups want to bring you into their fold, and assert your salvation depends upon their approval. We warn you that can never work! Rather, you must realize you are master of your own future; in building faith in your personal knowledge of what Jesus Christ actually taught us. (John 15:11-15 ; Luke 10:25-28 ; John 8:26-29) This site exists solely to help you do that. We can't pat you on the head and assure that you are righteous. We warn, however, neither can anyone else! Your own Bible trained conscience must approve you (Rom 2:13-16 ; Acts 17:11), and "that" will grant you faith for eternal life. (Mat 8:13)
We recommend one additional way faith might help all those who love righteousness: Through their offering a united prayer! The Bible teaches a righteous person's prayer has great power before our Father. (James 5:16) Imagine a united prayer being offered up to the true God by every righteous person throughout the whole earth! There is an obvious problem though: This old world system smacks of disunity and chaos. The Bible teaches we are not judges of hearts, and therefore, we can not know who among us is righteous.(We can judge and avoid wicked actions, of course. We can avoid those acts defined as disapproved by the Bible.) (1 Cor 6:9-11; Eph 5:3-5) While some individuals are righteous, others are wicked but feign righteousness. (Mat_7:15) Yet other persons remain ignorant, but also try to appear righteous: Ignorant people usually imagine they are righteous. An example would be Saul of Tarsus (also known as the apostle Paul) when he persecuted and even killed the followers of Christ in the name of his religion. (Acts 22:3-16) Even though Paul's actions were wicked, his heart was upright and he acted in ignorance. (1 Timothy 1:13) Knowing Paul's heart, in spite of his wicked actions, God loved Paul and reached out to help him change to become useful to spread Jesus's teachings. Paul was then used to write more books of the Bible than any other man. Any who knew him before his conversion would have rightly judged Paul's actions wicked, and by human standards, judged him a wicked man as well. (Acts_9:13-16) Having humility to understand we are not judges of who is wicked or who is righteous, we must be cautious about who we join with in prayer, and cautious about who we pray for as well - lest we pray in support of someone fighting against God: Whether such "fighters against God" do so in their ignorance, or in their wickedness. (Acts 5:38-39)
In light of the history of disunity and hatred among religions, how can we know who we can join with in prayer, or what common prayer we might offer? (Catholics and Protestants, for example, have killed each other for centuries. Which should you pray for?)In complete unity, then, all righteously inclined persons can pray for the true God
to bless and help the righteous - who ever they may prove to be. We can also pray that God strike down the wicked - without presuming to judge who they are, or setting a timetable for his doing so. (Mat_6:9-13) We can be patient because we know יהוה is arranging things so as to save as many as possible! (Luke 3:17 ; 2 Peter 3:9) Quoting or paraphrasing any prayer taught us by the Christ (meaning "anointed one") is always acceptable. (Matthew 6:9-13) By uttering such harmonious prayers through our faith in Christ Jesus, we can be found among the large group of the faithful who are uttering those very same prayers. (Matthew 6:9-13 ; John 16:23-24) Those united prayers, in the variety of heartfelt utterances by each individual, rise as incense before from all around the earth, both by day and by night. (Psalms 141:1-2 ; Matthew 13:24-30) In the unity of such prayers, we place ourselves in harmony with יהוה God, as he is working to make all things better. All righteous persons must realize the wicked have be destroyed for things to get better, and we must believe and trust knows who the wicked are! (2 Chronicles 16:9) It is only reasonable that we pray for the wicked to be destroyed, while the righteous are preserved, just as in the days of Noah! Jesus taught us to pray for it to be made so! (Matthew 6:9-10 ; Matthew 11:25-30 ; Daniel 2:44)
In light of these scriptures, we then say: As at no previous time in mankind's history, it is your faith that can preserve you alive in the face of all the terrible things happening in this world. (Hebrews 10:39) Each of us should consider whether we have built faith for salvation; and whether we are expending our life's energy in continuing to do so. (Romans 1:16-17 ; Hebrews 10:39) The "Truth" has been gradually revealed (Romans 16:25-27 ; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10) over six thousand years of Bible history.
What follows is my personal belief, and is not presented as Bible truth. It represents my ongoing study as I attempt to understand the scriptural process by which faith is built. The scriptures seem to suggest the following sequence in the realization of truth: 1. Seek a calm heart. A mind at peace is the source of life. (Pro 14:30) 2. This world is a hurtful place which tends to rob away peace: To upset and unbalance our mind. (Satan's system [1 John 5:19] tries to make a joke of God, and/or, to keep us from thinking about Him altogether. [1 Corinthians 1:18-21] The books and movies, and all we see in this old system, including the lives of the people, underscore suffering and death. Even if we are favored to have the best this system has to offer, we have 70 or 80 years while we watch ourselves and those we care for grow old and die. [Psalms 90:10] The pressures people are under drive them toward doing things some would not otherwise do. [Hebrews 2:15]
A mind at peace, through our faith in God's promises, can protect us.) 3. As we make any attempt to be righteous in the midst of the chaos of this world, יהוה God is taking note of our effort. (2 Chronicles 16:9) 4. God then directs all righteously inclined individuals to the teachings of his Son Christ Jesus, who willingly gave his life to bring the message granting life. (John 6:44; John 6:65; Hebrews 9:28; Hebrews 9:14) (God did, of course, resurrect Jesus back to life. That doesn't alter the fact Jesus freely suffered a horrible death to give his life for us... That also demonstrated his own certain faith his Father would resurrect him. - Matthew 17:22-23; Luke 24:6-7; Matthew 26:48-54; Matthew 12:40; Luke 23:44-48) 5. As we study to learn what Jesus taught, Christ sends us a helper, the spirit of truth. (John 14:15-17 ; John 16:8-11 ; John 7:38-39 ; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:12-13; John 20:21-22; John 4:23-24) 6. The helper (the Spirit of Truth) sent by Jesus, calls to mind and helps us make sense of his teachings (based, of course, on our effort to learn what he taught). (John 14:26-27; John 16:7 & 8-10) As the Spirit Helper grants us an understanding of Jesus's teachings, that understanding orders and organizes our mind - we put on the mind of Christ, as it were. (1 Corinthians 2:16) We become a new creation. (2 Cor 5:17-19) Bible knowledge is upbuilding and encouraging. It promises our return to youthful health and vigor, (Job 33:24-25) and our living forever, (John 11:26) while our Father cares for all our needs. (Isaiah 11:9) Choosing to immerse ourselves in knowledge of what the Bible teaches restores peace of mind. 7. Such an ordered mind, in turn, provides the perfect dwelling place for 's spirit (this seems to be a Spirit different from, or Spirit in addition to, the helper Spirit Jesus sent). (1 Cor 3:16; John 16:23) (We must be vigilant to remain faithful to the truth of the Bible [John 8:31], while we protect ourselves from being misled by the teachings of men, as we make our own personal effort to put on the mind of Christ. [Matthew 12:43-45; Matthew 7:15-23]) Our Father's spirit will then be present to aid all such friends of , in any of the many, many ways it has helped his friends of Bible record. And probably, in ways we can't even fathom (but always in answer to our prayers, prayers offered in harmony with Jesus's teachings). This all works to provide an arrangement wherein 's spirit can help, protect, and bless those who love Him - based on their faith in his Christ. (John 16:25-27; John 16:23) All such people have a righteous standing before God based on their faith. (Rom 5:1-2) We should immerse ourselves in the teachings of Jesus! - (Summed up in the four small books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.) Nothing is more important than an intimate familiarity with what Jesus taught! (John 17:3; John 12:50) By reading the four gospel accounts over and over, you can know by name many of the people Jesus loves, and understand why he loves them. You can also understand why he chastised those who needed it. This website exists to promote that you learn what is in your Bible... In doing so you will learn that God is good, (Hebrews 11:6) and that He is drawing you to him by means of the faith you build. (James 1:5-8; James 4:7-8)
What follows seems solidly supported in scripture: The playing field is leveled for these end times. It is not the approval of those who support this website, nor the approval of other imperfect men that can help you. Wealth and/or prominence have no meaning. It is not your membership (or even your lordship) among any group organized by men, religious or otherwise, that can protect you. It is only your own personal (Bible based) faith that can help! (Psalms 16:7-11; Acts 10:34-35) We hope considering these scriptures has helped you better understand why our day is a wonderful and most exciting time to be alive... (Luke 21:28) It is the day of the revelation of Bible truth, and the manifestation of the activity of the established kingdom of Christ: (Psalms 110:2) That Kingdom being seen presently by means of faith. (1 Corinthians 1:18-31; 2 Kings 6:15-17) Those who choose to ignore and sleep through the manifestation of the kingdom are making the choice not to build faith, and by that choice to miss out on life. (Luke 21:34-36; Mark 13:35-37) Read your Bible daily! It is the one thing in life that if you sincerely immerse yourself in, you will never get bored. The truth will fill you with wonder and we can go on learning forever! (John 5:20; Ecclesiastes 3:11) Expend your life's energy to learn, and to help others know, the truth of the Bible as it applies to our day. For 6000 years the teachings recorded in the Bible have amounted to "the truth that leads to eternal life." In our day, those same teachings have become "the truth that provides eternal life" (by means of faith). (2 Peter 1:19) The Bible is one consecutive record of the provision for life as revealed over 6000 years of time. No men could have created or even imagined this solution. Praise you people! (Psa 104:35)
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That is a question most people interested in the Bible struggle to understand. Can faith save your life? Can faith heal you? Can your faith help others? Does what faith can do for you change based on when you have lived in the Bible's record of history? If faith provides you protection, why you and not someone else? Are there things faith can not do?
The Bible records different ways faith helped individuals in past times. Considering their experiences can, in turn, help us understand how faith can benefit us! The Bible accounts, for example, that a woman who lived during the days of Christ's preaching (33 to 36 CE [Christian Era]) suffered with a bleeding problem: (Mark 5:25-26) Now there was a woman subject to a flow of blood twelve years, 26 and she had been put to many pains by many physicians and had spent all her resources and had not been benefited but, rather, had got worse. How might faith help such a woman, and what might have contributed to her having faith?
This woman was a Jew (a Hebrew living about 2000 years ago), and so grew up studying the Old Testament (the portion of the Bible as it existed in her day - including its inspired account of Hebrew history). She would have been aware of the examples therein set down of the power of God's spirit, such as one of the miracles connected with God's prophet Elisha (nearly 3000 years ago, or around 857 BCE [Before the Christian Era]): (2 Kings 13:20-21) "After that Elisha died and they buried him. And there were marauding bands of the Moabites that regularly came into the land at the coming in of the year. 21 And it came about that as they were burying a man, why, here they saw the marauding band. At once they threw the man into Elisha's burial place and went off. When the man touched the bones of Elisha, he immediately came to life and stood upon his feet." In that Bible example no faith was required, of course, as both Elisha and the unnamed resurrected man were already dead. That and similar accounts did "help build faith" in the Hebrews, like this woman with the flow of blood. The scripture helped build faith great things could be accomplished through the power of God's spirit. She would also have been taught the Jewish Bible prophecies about the coming Messiah (Isaiah 7:14 ; Isaiah 9:6-7), and, she no doubt heard (John 4:45) about the powerful works Jesus was doing in her day in time. (Mark 3:7-10 ; Luke 3:15 ; Matthew 2:1-6 ; John 7:31 ; John 8:30-32 ; John 11:41-45) The woman started to believe (to have faith) God would use his spirit to help her based on her faith in this savior He had promised. (Isaiah 9:6-7) She then formed a plan that put her faith into action: (Mark 5:27-29) "When she heard the things about Jesus, she came behind in the crowd and touched his outer garment; 28 for she kept saying: 'If I touch just his outer garments I shall get well.' 29 And immediately her fountain of blood dried up, and she sensed in her body that she had been healed of the grievous sickness." We today are favored to have both the record of Elisha and others in the Old Testament; as well as the record of this woman (and other faithful Christians) in the New Testament. That depth of knowledge can help us build our own faith. In this Bible account, the woman was apparently able to draw יהוה 's spirit by means of her faith in Christ, without Jesus even being aware what she was about to do. Jesus noticed her only after he perceived spirit go out of him: (Luke 8:42-48) . . ."As he was going the crowds thronged him. 43 And a woman, subject to a flow of blood for twelve years, who had not been able to get a cure from anyone, 44 approached from behind and touched the fringe of his outer garment, and instantly her flow of blood stopped. 45 So Jesus said: 'Who was it that touched me?' When they were all denying it, Peter said: 'Instructor, the crowds are hemming you in and closely pressing you.' 46 Yet Jesus said: 'Someone touched me, for I perceived that power went out of me.' 47 Seeing that she had not escaped notice, the woman came trembling and fell down before him and disclosed before all the people the cause for which she touched him and how she was healed instantly. 48 But he said to her: 'Daughter, your faith has made you well; go your way in peace.'" It seems unlikely this would have been a ruse by Jesus to pretend he did not know what the woman was doing until he felt God's spirit pass through him. His sincere effort to ascertain who touched him was to help us understand the arrangement Jesus was in the process of establishing: An arrangement for his followers to have a direct relationship with his Father. Jesus said at John 16:23-24: "And in that day you will ask me no question at all. Most truly I say to you, If you ask the Father for anything he will give it to you in my name. 24 Until this present time you have not asked a single thing in my name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be made full." Jesus also said at John 15:7-10: "If you remain in union with me and my sayings remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will take place for you. 8 My Father is glorified in this, that you keep bearing much fruit and prove yourselves my disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved me and I have loved you, remain in my love. 10 If you observe my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have observed the commandments of the Father and remain in his love."
Matthew recorded Jesus also saying: (Matthew 4:4) ...It is written, 'Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through יהוה 's mouth.' Reference study Bibles (footnotes by the Bible scholars who produced the various translations) tell us that when Jesus there said "it is written," he was quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3: (from the 1889 Darby Bible translation)
"And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with the manna, which thou hadst not known, and which thy fathers knew not; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by everything that goeth out of the mouth of Jehovah
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doth man live." Jesus was the perfect son of God, and spoke only what he learned from his Father. (John 8:28-30 ; John 12:48-50 ; John 5:19 ; John 5:30) We can therefore consider everything Jesus said as absolute truth. The truth Jesus spoke can be considered "law," just as surely as gravity is law.
When Jesus said there is more happiness in giving than in receiving (Acts 20:35), for example, you can know being selfish will never make you happy. What Jesus teaches us about building faith is real, and that faith then becomes our God given and only hope! In the account about the woman with the flow of blood, that woman surely believed every word from God was true. She put complete faith in the words of God recorded in the Bible, and so, was positive she could be healed from her illness if she could just touch the outer garment of the one she believed to be God's son. She literally healed herself (using God's spirit) by means of her own faith. Jesus appreciated that and commended her faith. As Mark's parallel account recorded this event for us: (Mark 5:30-34) 'Immediately, also, Jesus recognized in himself that power had gone out of him, and he turned about in the crowd and began to say: "Who touched my outer garments?" 31 But his disciples began to say to him: "You see the crowd pressing in upon you, and do you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32 However, he was looking around to see her that had done this. 33 But the woman, frightened and trembling,*2 knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her: "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be in good health from your grievous sickness."' Jesus there told the woman it was her faith that made her well. She was very literally living by the words (Hebrew Scriptures) that came forth from יהוה 's mouth; living by her faith in his words! (Matthew 4:4)