| 2. Fundamentals vs. New Age -> Faith vs New Age Faith -> Leading by Faith |
(3) Leading Since faith, by which we are accounted as saved, is a gift of God (not from God, faith is the presence of God Himself in us by His Spirit), no man can boast of works.
Believing is simply the continual committing of ourselves to His Lordship leading within us. It is not a work. It is something we do in our heads. Faith is the leading or knowing within our spirits by the Holy Spirit what His will is in our daily individual behaviors and lives, not only giving assurance and teaching and fruit and gifts of the Spirit.
"By grace we are now being (present active indicative)1 saved (perfect passive participle--pariphrastic) through (dia) faith," the gift of God (Himself, indwelling), not of ourselves, lest any man boast. For we are being (present active indicative) His workmanship created (aorist passive participle) in (ev) Christ Jesus unto (epi,dative, "in the way of") good (agathos-"God-good") works, which God hath before ordained (aorist active indicative) that we might walk (aorist active subjunctive) in them" (Eph. 2:8-10).
Faith is indwelling for our obedience to good works of God, not of ourselves, that we might (aorist middle subjunctive) not boast. The aorist tense means any time or kind of action; middle voice means on our own behalf: subjunctive means a possibility. See article, Greek, on Middle voice and Subjunctive mood .
Our " unto (eis, for the purpose or result of) obedience of faith (genitive, "OF," not dative, in or to)" is what Paul significantly places at the beginning and end of Romans, that great exposition of faith. See Rom 1:5 and Rom 16:26. It is by this "the purpose of faith obedience" that God's Will is done on this earth through man. All else is a work of man, originating in a man's mind, and done with a man's purpose, however sincere. Just as faith without works is dead, so work without faith (of indwelling Christ) is also dead, regardless of whether the person is born-again or not.
Faith is NOT "our response to His offer." Faith is NOT "our response to His grace;" NOR "grace initiates, faith responds..." NOR "our faith derived through His Word"... NOR can "we exercise faith," NOR does "faith originate and grow within us," NOR do we "have faith to believe," NOR has "a measure of faith been given to all men," NOR is faith "trusting Christ for everlasting Life,"2 NOR is "faith is nothing more than a response to a divine initiative"......NOR.is "faith is believing"...NOR is it "the means by which the gift of Life is received"3 .......NOR is it "faith is an intelligent trust"......NOR is it "faith is an act of obedience"........NOR do "we receive Him by faith".....NOR etc, etc. These statements are borne of pure ignorance of the scriptures and spoken by numerous Bible teachers, as you can see.
Faith is not of us, nor our response, nor anything originating with us. Faith comes from God as His indwelling Presence. It is God's faith. Christ said to His disciples "have God's faith." (genitive), Mrk 11:22. Our part is obedience to His faith, His Presence, in our spirit, discerned by our mind. Faith IS the gift of Life of Christ received in us at the new-birth.
Faith is the life of Christ made manifest through us, through our obedience to His indwelling mind. For by grace (feminine singular dative) we are being (present active indicative) saved (perfect passive participle) through faith (feminine singular genitive), and that (singular neuter nominative demonstrative pronoun, by grace being saved through faith, expressing whole concept) is the gift of God (literally Himself in us), not of works lest any man might boast. Ephes 2:8-9
Paul said, "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to (eis-for the result or purpose of) all the nations for (eis-for the result or purpose of) obedience of faith. Rom 16:25-26
For this reason, Paul said, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin" (Rom 7:25). Four times for all mankind, the scriptures say, "The just (justified) shall live by faith." Hab 2:4, Rom1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38, We are to be obedient to the faith, knowing God's will as revealed to our minds from our Indwelled spirits, and live or walk thereby, not by sight. 2 Cor 5:7
There are 24 statements in KJV referring to "our faith." In each of these to my knowledge, the Greek says,"the faith of us." The specification of "the faith" does not come out in the translation, but it is referring to the specific faith of God or Christ in us. "The faith of Christ" is that which indwells us, and is then peculiarly "the faith of us."
Our personal obedience to this personal and individual faith within our spirits is the Lord's administration toward the world and toward the other members of His Body, the church, each member supplying to the other their needs within His body and outwardly to the world. His indwelling Presence imparting to our spirits, His Mind is faith.
Our obedience to this indwelling dynamic living ever guiding faith is the New Covenant Life of Christ in us. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col 1:27 Not of ourselves, lest any man may boast. By grace you are being saved through faith. Ephes 2:8,9. It is to this indwelling, His faith, that Paul speaks in Romans of "faith's obedience," or "obedience of faith" (Rom 1:5 and Rom 16:26, Greek is identical in both places at beginning and end of Romans on faith, "for the purpose or result of obedience of faith").
"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." 1 Sam 15:22 God never changes and His salvation has never changed, despite what the New Age dispensationalists say. Mal 3:6 Hebr 13:8 Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Rom 14:23 For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7) , "into obedience of faith" (Rom 1:5 and also 16:26).
As we exercise our mind to discern, from the Holy Spirit within us, between good (God's will) and evil; part of faith is the communication of knowing to our soul of this mind of Christ within our spirit. Faith is the concrete evidence of things hoped for, the proof evidence of things not seen. Heb. 11:1.
Faith is the dynamic Living guidance within us of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Life of God, Christ Himself, living in our spirits, "for it is (present active indicative) God who is working (present active participle) in (ev) you both to will (present active infinitive) and to do (present active infinitive) of His good pleasure. Phil 2:13 Faith is a present tense Life of Christ in you. Our place is to die daily, and let Him live through us daily.
Faith is not some cheap trust that any unregenerate man exercises toward his bank or toward some historical event or promise, about which these New Age theologians boast. And they take great offense when they are told that their so-called faith is cheap or easy or non-existent. How blind they are to believe that an unregenerate man my "exercise" this so-called faith one-time as an insurance policy from Hell. This is absurdity gone insane.
Beyond all consideration, faith is not a static, wrapped and bowed free gift, to keep for the day of judgment. Faith is not a cheap easy believe trust of man to God to bless his good intentions, or in a one time trust of man in the promises of God. Faith comes from God indwelling man, talking and walking within man.
As in the first Adam all die, even so in the second Adam (Christ) shall all be made alive. And that life starts with the new birth, that we may walk with God thereafter. A life of faith. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col 1:27 "Ye are (present active indicative) the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in (ev) them, and walk in (ev) them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2 Cor 6:16
This so-called faith of the Dispensational "grace" preachers which they say is any unregenerate man just exercising his faith, intellectually believing or trusting a promise of Christ as a one time event guaranteeing Heaven regardless, is pure absolute unscriptural foolishness.
This Dispensational "grace" message is such a spiritually and intellectually bankrupt teaching that it only merits our greatest disdain and hatred. It is totally unscriptural and entirely false. It has no relationship to spiritual understanding at all. These professors and preachers of this "grace" regardless message preach an indescribably foolish message, to say the least. And their enthusiasts are the blind being led by the totally blind.
Faith is not a forensic certificate that we may wave in the face of God or our fellow earthlings as a one way guaranteed trip to Heaven. The self described New Age "grace" preachers say, "I believe and accept what the Bible says about Christ's finished work and promises to me because I have objective evidence of it here in His scriptures, so I take His promises in the scriptures that I'm saved. This is my objective faith."
These statements are contemptible foolishness. They are delusional in three ways:
First, they are delusional in substance: A written promise of eternal life is objective evidence to any man who would trust it. The fact that I know I once believed the promise of Christ is my assurance that I had obtained the promise. "I believe in my believing. This is my assurance."
Secondly, they are delusional in their origins: These assertions about salvation (as: "The Bible says, that affirming Christ's promise is saying, I believe this evidence, a one time event to me," and many others) are derived from delusional assumptions of the scriptures. They are totally humanist assertions.
Thirdly, they are delusional in their operations: these assertions of the New Age fundamentalists have no relationship to the saving faith of God, nor what His Word tells us; none whatsoever, and certainly nothing of the "grace" of God which is manifest in us through obedience of faith, as taught in the Bible (Rom 1:5 and 16:26).
Man does not possess faith, nor does he "exercise" faith. Faith, the presence of the Mind of Christ in man's spirit, the mind of Love in him, possesses him for the purpose of exercising him in obedience, if man, in His free choice, will count himself as dead in His Lord, to serve with his mind, the Living Word of Love and Life in his spirit.
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