Is faith a work ?

[missmuffet]

Faith is not a work.

[ReneeIW]

It’s a gift that you have to take care of. The taking care of involves A LOT of work. 

2 Peter 1:5-7

King James Version

⁵ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

⁶ And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

⁷ And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

 

[ravindran]

17 hours ago, Wayne222 said:

Jesus said this is the work of God that you believe in The one he sent. If only we would accept that Jesus did all the work for salvation. Our part is to trust him.

Faith is not work. Work is an action. Faith is not an action. Works are outcome of faith. Works cannot be an outcome of work itself. Interestingly faith is both a spiritual gift and fruit of the spirit. Meaning, it is God who gives faith as a gift and then through the work of Holy Spirit, we continue to produce faith as a fruit. There is no question it is God who gives everyone saving faith. I think people differ in opinion on whether we have a part in accepting vs rejecting it. Arminians claim we can reject saving faith because we have free will. Calvinism teaches we are spiritually dead and incapable of making any choice. Hence, there is no such thing as rejecting saving faith.

[Faithwilldo]

2 hours ago, Josheb said:

They are not His works alone. Our salvation is for works we must perform (Eph. 2:10). It is not solely for God to perform. We are not robots or puppets. We are intelligent, thinkinig, feeling, volitional creatures created in God's image and those created in Christ bear the additional image of God found in His Son, Jesus ------ who had a mind of his own, emotions of his own, a volition of his own and acts of his own doing that were all wholly submitted and in unity with the thoughts, affect, will, purpose, and conduct of his Father.... through the Spirit of God that was at work in him. Jesus was not a robot or puppet and neither are we. It is a false dichotomy to say God is the only one working in us. We work in us and we do so in a redeemed, regenerate, and Spirit-indwelt state that does not preclude the self and its God-given faculties. One of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Hard to do that if we don't have a self to control. 

This is a common misperception because some selectively emphasize the verses about crucifying the self and self-denial to the exclusion of all the many verse affirming the self. There are seven billion people on the planet right now and no two of them are alike. That happened by God's design. God likes diversity. He knit each individual in their mother's womb and appointed the time and place in which they would live and numbered their days. He gave each a name. He could have made us all look, think, feel, and act alike but He did not do this. He made us diversely; His image born uniquely and diversely in every single one of the seven billion people living today (and the seven billion that preceded us!). 

For those of us whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life our identity remains unique for all eternity. We do not lose our individual identity once we beomce identified in Christ. The two are not mutually exclusive conditions. Humans cannot do this but God can. Not only do we find this asserted in the fruit of the Spirit but in places like the second greatest commandment because we cannot love others as we love ourselves if we do not have a self. 

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Nothing that verse you mentioned says that we are the cause of our good works, in fact, it says the opposite.   We are ordained by God to walk in good works. 

The verse I quoted earlier says who is the source of our good works.  

Isa 26:12  O Jehovah, Thou appointest peace to us, For, all our works also Thou hast wrought for us.

Yes, we DO the good works but God is the cause of them.  We have no choice in the matter.   Don't confuse the "choices" we make with us also being the cause of those choices.  God is the cause of them as He is the cause behind all things in His creation.

Prov 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

You said:

Jesus was not a robot or puppet and neither are we.

Here is what scripture says:

John 10:32  Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

John 10:37  If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

John 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Christ plainly says "He (His Father) doeth the works".  God the Father is the cause behind all things, even the works that Christ performed.  To believe otherwise, Christ would become "self righteous".   When we claim to be the source of "good works", we too are self righteous".  

One of the principle things mankind must and will learn is that God is the source of all that happens.  We have no right to claim anything from within ourselves.  It is God  who works within us to "will and do of His good pleasure".

Phil 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Our carnal nature hates not having control or the ability to act independently from God.  We prefer the "Old Wine". 

You said:

God likes diversity.

There are no scriptures that say that God likes diversity.  In fact, scripture says just he opposite.

John 17:21   That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

By the end of the final age, all mankind will be like Christ who is like the Father.  This is accomplished by God's Holy Spirit.  There is no diversity there.

Joe

 

 

[Faithwilldo]

3 hours ago, theElect777 said:

What is the Doctrine of Hell?

It varies by church denomination but mostly the doctrine says that if you reject Christ and die, you will spend eternity in a place called hell where there will be torment and suffering.  Most say that you will be literally burned with fire.  This doctrine is void of love & mercy and has no redeeming purpose.  Christ would never do anything so horrific.  It is a lie from Satan who masquerades as an angel of light (Christ).

Joe  

[Guest theElect777]

4 minutes ago, Faithwilldo said:

It varies by church denomination but mostly the doctrine says that if you reject Christ and die, you will spend eternity in a place called hell where there will be torment and suffering.  Most say that you will be literally burned with fire.  This doctrine is void of love & mercy and has no redeeming purpose.  Christ would never do anything so horrific.  It is a lie from Satan who masquerades as an angel of light (Christ).

Joe  

 

 

Let's say I agree with you for a moment.   Why would a loving Yeshua give us a parable about Lazarus/rich man, how Lazarus was in the comforts of Abraham's bosom and the rich man was in extreme torment begging mercy for his family and for Lazarus to dip his finger in some water to cool his tongue.   It seems illogical for Christ to say something that was not true or did not exist.   

 

In Revelation's at the Great White Throne Judgement, we see where Christ is denying people from the Book of Judgement.   He is clearly sending them to a Lake of fire for all Eternity.

 

How can we have such distinct examples of Christ doing just the opposite of what you claim found easily in the truest formats, and you believe otherwise?

[Faithwilldo]

Just now, theElect777 said:

 

 

Let's say I agree with you for a moment.   Why would a loving Yeshua give us a parable about Lazarus/rich man, how Lazarus was in the comforts of Abraham's bosom and the rich man was in extreme torment begging mercy for his family and for Lazarus to dip his finger in some water to cool his tongue.   It seems illogical for Christ to say something that was not true or did not exist.   

 

In Revelation's at the Great White Throne Judgement, we see where Christ is denying people from the Book of Judgement.   He is clearly sending them to a Lake of fire for all Eternity.

 

How can we have such distinct examples of Christ doing just the opposite of what you claim found easily in the truest formats, and you believe otherwise?

You should go to my profile and read a few of my posts.  Scripture is written in "another language" which is spiritual language.  This language of Christ's utilizes Hebrew and Greek but the meaning of the key words carry a different meaning than what man teaches:

1Cor 2:13  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

John 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The truth of Christ is hidden in spiritual language.  The verses you quoted are not literal.  That is why carnal mankind cannot understand the truth of Christ.  Christ also spoke in parables to keep His truth hidden.  By doing it this way, Christ has the ability to reveal it to whom He will and He only reveals it to His Elect.  

Below is a clip from one of my earlier posts that explains in more detail what I just said above.  I hope it helps. 

Prov 2:1-5  My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;  yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 

A person cannot find and receive the truth by walking into any "church" and reading their doctrinal statements.  Christ keeps His Truth hidden from all but whom He has given spiritual "eyes and ears".  

Matt 13:16  But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear;

1Cor 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Has Christ given you the ability to spiritually understand the parables?  Their meanings are well hidden in spiritual language.

Matt 13:10-11  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Matt 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

If you can understand this short parable below, it may open up the spiritual door to receiving Christ's hidden truth.  If you can understand, it will only be because Christ has darkened the sun and turned the moon to blood for you.

Matt 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

To understand this parable, you will need to understand the four spiritual symbols used in this verse. 

Those symbols are:  

1.  Woman

2. Leaven

3. Three

4. meal

If Christ is willing, you will find the Truth.

Here is how scripture says to understand the symbols:

1Cor 2:13  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Paul tells us to compare spiritual words with the same spiritual words used elsewhere in scripture.  

Also, in that verse, Paul tells us something very, very important.  Scripture is written in another language.  It is Christ's spiritual language.  In that language, the words have meanings different from what man's wisdom teaches. 

Here is a very simple example using the word sword:

Mat 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Does Christ really mean that if you use a sword to kill others, then you must likewise be killed with a sword?   Literally, that is what He is saying.  So if we are to understand it literally, then that statement can easily be proven to be false.  There are countless examples of people who have used violence to kill others but then do not die from that same type of violence - it almost goes without saying.   So is Christ mistaken or is His message something else? 

Since His “words are spirit”, His message must be spiritually understood. 

John 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Christ’s spiritual message is quite different from what He is literally saying. 

In Matt 26:52, Christ is using a “symbol” to give us His spiritual message.  Here Christ uses the symbol of a Sword.  To understand what that symbol means, we must look at how it is used elsewhere in scripture. 

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword...

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword...

From these examples, it is easy to understand that a Sword represents the Word of God.  So Christ’s hidden spiritual point He is making in Mat 26:52 is that all who take up (those called to follow Christ) the Word of God, must perish (death of the carnal nature/Old Man) by the Word of God.  

Spiritual language is used everywhere in scripture when Christ is teaching us His Truth.   Don't think that scripture was written in Hebrew and Greek, it was not.  It is written in Christ's spiritual language utilizing Hebrew and Greek.  Scripture was written in this manner to keep the Truth hidden from all but those whom Christ has chosen to reveal it.   

Can you find the treasure of the parable in Matt 13:33?

[Guest theElect777]

3 minutes ago, Faithwilldo said:

You should go to my profile and read a few of my posts.  Scripture is written in "another language" which is spiritual language.  This language of Christ's utilizes Hebrew and Greek but the meaning of the key words carry a different meaning than what man teaches:

1Cor 2:13  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

John 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The truth of Christ is hidden in spiritual language.  The verses you quoted are not literal.  That is why carnal mankind cannot understand the truth of Christ.  Christ also spoke in parables to keep His truth hidden.  By doing it this way, Christ has the ability to reveal it to whom He will and He only reveals it to His Elect.  

Below is a clip from one of my earlier posts that explains in more detail what I just said above.  I hope it helps. 

Prov 2:1-5  My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;  yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 

A person cannot find and receive the truth by walking into any "church" and reading their doctrinal statements.  Christ keeps His Truth hidden from all but whom He has given spiritual "eyes and ears".  

Matt 13:16  But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear;

1Cor 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Has Christ given you the ability to spiritually understand the parables?  Their meanings are well hidden in spiritual language.

Matt 13:10-11  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Matt 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

If you can understand this short parable below, it may open up the spiritual door to receiving Christ's hidden truth.  If you can understand, it will only be because Christ has darkened the sun and turned the moon to blood for you.

Matt 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

To understand this parable, you will need to understand the four spiritual symbols used in this verse. 

Those symbols are:  

1.  Woman

2. Leaven

3. Three

4. meal

If Christ is willing, you will find the Truth.

Here is how scripture says to understand the symbols:

1Cor 2:13  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Paul tells us to compare spiritual words with the same spiritual words used elsewhere in scripture.  

Also, in that verse, Paul tells us something very, very important.  Scripture is written in another language.  It is Christ's spiritual language.  In that language, the words have meanings different from what man's wisdom teaches. 

Here is a very simple example using the word sword:

Mat 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Does Christ really mean that if you use a sword to kill others, then you must likewise be killed with a sword?   Literally, that is what He is saying.  So if we are to understand it literally, then that statement can easily be proven to be false.  There are countless examples of people who have used violence to kill others but then do not die from that same type of violence - it almost goes without saying.   So is Christ mistaken or is His message something else? 

Since His “words are spirit”, His message must be spiritually understood. 

John 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Christ’s spiritual message is quite different from what He is literally saying. 

In Matt 26:52, Christ is using a “symbol” to give us His spiritual message.  Here Christ uses the symbol of a Sword.  To understand what that symbol means, we must look at how it is used elsewhere in scripture. 

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword...

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword...

From these examples, it is easy to understand that a Sword represents the Word of God.  So Christ’s hidden spiritual point He is making in Mat 26:52 is that all who take up (those called to follow Christ) the Word of God, must perish (death of the carnal nature/Old Man) by the Word of God.  

Spiritual language is used everywhere in scripture when Christ is teaching us His Truth.   Don't think that scripture was written in Hebrew and Greek, it was not.  It is written in Christ's spiritual language utilizing Hebrew and Greek.  Scripture was written in this manner to keep the Truth hidden from all but those whom Christ has chosen to reveal it.   

Can you find the treasure of the parable in Matt 13:33?

Are you suggesting there might be a translation issue from more authentic materials to the English Language?    Let's say you are correct.   What should the parable of Lazarus/rich man and the Final Judgement setting in Revelation's translate to in your opinion?

[Faithwilldo]

3 minutes ago, theElect777 said:

Are you suggesting there might be a translation issue from more authentic materials to the English Language?    Let's say you are correct.   What should the parable of Lazarus/rich man and the Final Judgement setting in Revelation's translate to in your opinion?

There are no perfect translations but that is not what I am talking about here.  

As for the symbol "Lake of Fire".  It is a place of Christ's judgment upon the lost.  There He will teach them righteousness and use the Elect (the Bride) to take them to the narrow path that leads to Christ:

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Also, the translation of "forever and ever" is incorrect.  The Greek word used is "aion" which means age.  It should say "for the age of the ages".  At the end of the final age, all will be saved.  The Elect "to whom the end of the ages has come" are saved now in this age. 

1Cor 10:11  Now all these things happened to them as types, and have been written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.

The rest of mankind must wait upon the final age to be saved.  I call this final age the Lake of Fire age.

I have not yet written a paper detailing the meaning of Lazarus and the Rich man but a brother in Christ wrote one which I will copy below.  It is written by Ernie Kroeger and is quite detailed.

Here it is:

LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN

THE SETTING

The beginning of this discourse is found in Luke 15:3.  "So He told them this parable." The Greek word for parable is clearly a singular noun. This statement is followed by five stories, namely, the lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son, the unrighteous steward, and the rich man and Lazarus. We have no problem in identifying the first four stories as parables, but many claim that the story of the rich man and Lazarus is not a parable, because it says, "a certain rich man." (KJV)  But the parable of the prodigal son also begins with " a certain man." (KJV), but "certain" is omitted in both cases in the 1995 NASB edition.)  Since these five stories begin with the caption, "He spoke this parable to them", it clearly shows that these five stories are five aspects of one parable.  The rainbow needs seven colors to complete the whole, and this parable needs five stories to complete the parable. 

If this were a real story, there would be some serious implications involved.  If it is describing real conditions after death, then those in heaven will be able to talk to their friends and relatives in hell.  They will be able to see their torment and hear their screaming pleas for help.  Wouldn't that bring discord to the heavenly choirs?  How could there be joy for parents if they could see their unsaved children being tortured in the flaming fires of hell! Also, have you ever found a verse in the scriptures that says we can go to heaven just because we have been poor, and suffered on earth?  And where does it say you go to hell just because you were rich?  If that were the case, then we should all become poor beggars.  Also, how can a single drop of water alleviate the sufferings from the intense heat of the flaming inferno of hell (if you believe that hell is a flaming inferno)? If Abraham's bosom is heaven, then where did the righteous go after death before Abraham's time?

Many claim that the doctrine of eternal damnation is confirmed by this story.  But is it?  How do those who believe it to be a literal story explain why the rich man was clothed in purple and fine linen, and why he had five brothers?  What significance is there in the "dogs" licking the man's sores?  We can only conclude that Jesus spoke this parable to convey a spiritual truth that would be fulfilled in the future.

THE RICH MAN

Whom did the rich man represent? The particulars of this story show that it was addressed to those who enjoyed the greatest privileges at that time. The rich man was from Abraham's seed.  He was clothed in purple, the raiment of royalty and rulers, and fine linen, the clothing of the priesthood.  Jesus was speaking to the Jews, specifically to the tribe of Judah.  Initially the whole nation was to be a kingdom of priests. (Exodus 19:6).

The rich man lived in splendor, and feasted sumptuously every day.  Symbolically he was feasting on the rich mercies and blessings that the Lord had bestowed on the highly favored house of Judah. Judah had the glorious temple in Jerusalem. They had the scriptures, the law and the covenant and the prophets.  They were rich in ritual and pomp and ceremony. "Who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen."  (Rom. 9:4-5)

The final factor for identifying the rich man was that he had five brothers. (v. 28)  The rich man is the son of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, and it is only Jacob and Leah who had six sons, namely, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulon.  Jacob's other six sons were the sons of Rachel, and Bilhah (Rachel's handmaid), and of Zilpah (Leah's handmaid).  Judah had five full-blooded brothers.  This establishes the fact that the rich man is Judah.  He had the southern kingdom of the Jews.

Judah had been blessed with spiritual and material blessings, but instead of becoming a kingdom of priests, and blessing all the nations of the earth as God had spoken to Abraham, they despised and hated all who were not part of their nation. They felt they were rich and had need of nothing.  They thanked God that they were not like other men, and did not realize that they were blind and poor and miserable in their self-sufficiency.

The scribes and Pharisees realized that this parable was spoken against them - against their hypocritical religious tyranny.  In this parable Jesus was tearing the mask off their depravity.

LAZARUS

Who is this poor neglected beggar full of sores to whom the dogs show more pity and kindness than the rich man did?  The Jews looked upon the heathen nations as barbarians and dogs.  In this parable, Lazarus represents the people who are lying at Judah's gate.  While Judah was the recipient of many spiritual blessings, the heathen world, in contrast, was full of sores - which denotes its cast out and spiritually deficient condition.

"Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores." A more accurate translation would be "the other dogs". (Thayer's Lexicon gives this definition: "Alla... neuter of the adjective `allos, meaning OTHER THINGS."  Strong's Exhaustive Concordance also gives this same definition of ALLA.  Primarily it is saying that Lazarus is just as much a dog as those who are licking his sores.  Dogs on occasion do lick the sores of humans and other animals, but most often they are found licking the sores of their own kind. This serves as a figure of the heathen nations surrounding Judah, having to soothe one another the best way they could, except, of course, when they are fighting.  So Lazarus represents the Gentiles, and they were considered as dogs in the eyes of the Jews.

Palestine is wonderfully situated to bless all nations; it is situated at the junction of Asia and Africa, and almost in sight of Europe.  From the dawn of human history, God not only designed where each nation was to live; He also planned and purposed to bless each one of them.

Without doubt Lazarus represented the neighboring kingdoms which were without promise, without covenant, without hope, without Christ and without God in the world.  It is interesting to note that Lazarus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name, Eleazar, meaning "he whom God helps" or "whom God aids." The Greek word for "name" is ONOMA, and not only means "a name," but it also carries the thought of ONE POSSESSING A CERTAIN CHARACTER.  Putting this all together, the passage could well be translated, "There was a certain begging one who possessed the character of needing God's aid."  And the name Lazarus means, "Whom God helps."

The incident that took place when Jesus visited Tyre and Sidon, as recorded in Matt. 15:21-28, illustrates how the Gentiles were looked down upon as dogs.  It also shows us their need for help.  A Canaanite or Syrophoenecian woman came to Jesus because she needed her daughter to be freed from demon possession.   In her first request she came as a Jewish woman and addressed Jesus as, "Lord, Son of David."  Jesus didn't answer her, for she was wearing a mask.  Jesus recognized this, and told the disciples that He had only come for the lost sheep of the house of David.   But this woman needed help so badly that she would not be dissuaded.  She came again, bowed down before Him and simply said, "Lord help me." Then Jesus answered her in a way that sounds harsh and very unlike our compassionate Lord.  Actually He was testing her honesty and humility.  He said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."  Now wouldn't that get your dander up to be called a dog!  But this woman's need was so great that she was willing to humble herself and to see herself as the Lord saw her - a little dog that needed a crumb from the Master's table!   Jesus always responds to those who come to Him in humility and faith. "`O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.'  And her daughter was healed at once."

Now notice the parallels between this story and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.  In both are found the expressions, "the dogs" and "the crumbs that fall from the master's table".  This beautifully confirms our understanding of Lazarus' identity with the Gentile dogs.  The pagan nations didn't have any knowledge of the true God; they had no covenant, they were without Christ, they were without God, and they had no hope. They only got a few crumbs from their rich neighbor, the Jews.  Lazarus cannot possibly represent the 10 lost tribes of Israel, because they would not be called dogs, neither could the rich man then have 5 brothers.  Lazarus has to represent the pagan nations.

THE DEATHS OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

In the deaths of these two men, Jesus brought a prophetic message in symbolism.   The beggar, Lazarus, died and was carried into Abraham's bosom; the rich man also died and was buried.  These deaths represent a fundamental change.  Lazarus was not buried; he was carried into the bosom of Abraham; but the rich man was buried, that is, he would never be the favored nation of God in his own right again.  Never again would the kingdom of Judah become the chosen nation from among the Gentile nations. Not until Judah is joined to the Lord in Christ Jesus will it again be recognized as the people of God.

The rich man "lifted up his eyes in Hades".  The KJV says "hell" but that is not correct.  The word "Hades" comes from the Greek A(I)0 DES.  The "a" is a prefix which is equivalent to our "un", and the stem "-id" means "perceive".  Thus we have UN-PERCEIVE or imperceptible; the unseen.  That is Hades - the unseen world, the unknown realm.  Our English word hell is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word "hillan" or "helan", meaning a cavern, anciently denoting a concealed or UNSEEN place.  In parts of England men still say, "I plan to hell my potatoes," meaning to bury them in a hole or pit, that is, a covered place, out of sight. And in the old days a young couple seeking to be alone, sought a hell, a place where they could make love without being seen by prying eyes.

The rich man went to Hades, into the unseen - a new condition that he had never anticipated.  The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ established a new covenant.  The Jewish nation preferred to remain in the old covenant that was voided by the new covenant, but the Gentiles embraced it. This brought the Gentile dogs into the favored position of Abraham's bosom, and the Jewish nation into Hades where they have been wretched, hunted, haunted, excluded, rejected, outcast, despised, hated and dispersed among the nations of the earth for the past two millenniums. The miserable recent Ghettos of Europe are certainly vivid examples of the torment which the rich man is enduring..

ABRAHAM'S BOSOM

The institutionalized church traditionally teaches that Abraham's bosom represents heaven.  But this idea has no scriptural basis.  If Abraham's bosom represents heaven, did heaven only come into existence in Abraham's time?  What happened to the righteous dead before Abraham's time?  Where did they wait for heaven to open up for them?

The expression, "in Abraham's bosom" signifies having honor with Abraham.  The word bosom is used 41 times in the Bible, and it always refers to the same thing - the area of the chest or breast of the human being.  Isaiah tells us that the Savior will carry the lambs in His bosom, indicating a close personal relationship.  The close relationship between the Father and Jesus Christ is also emphasized in John 1:18 where it says, that Jesus is in the bosom of the Father.  In the time of Christ the honored guest would recline nearest to the host at dinner.  This was called "lying in his bosom".   John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, had that place of honor at "the last supper'".  The expression "bosom friends" is often used to denote a close friendship.

The fact that Lazarus was carried into Abraham's bosom has deep spiritual implications.  Instead of natural Israel enjoying the blessings promised to Abraham, an exchange had taken place:  Lazarus, symbolic of the Gentile nations, was now inheriting them.  Paul wrote, "In order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith...Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.  He does not say, `And to seeds', as to many, but rather to one, `and to your seed,' that is, Christ." (Gal. 3:14,16)  We're quite familiar with the promised blessings of lands and posterity, but we wonder when this promise of the Spirit was given to Abraham.

The promise of the Spirit comes to us in Abraham's seed, that is, in Christ!  The fathers did not receive the fulfillment of the promises in their lifetime, but they were persuaded of them, and embraced them by faith. (Heb. 11:8-9)  Jesus Christ is the life.  For this reason He could say that all who came before Him were thieves and robbers.  None of the great heroes in the Old Testament had life.  Any message, philosophy, or valuable laws that come to us but do not bring life, are thieves and robbers!  The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Only life can destroy death.

Jesus Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those "who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." (Heb. 9:15)  An eternal inheritance demands eternal life, and eternal life necessitates the effective work of the eternal Spirit.  It is exciting to realize that this eternal Spirit resides in us!  We have been raised from the death in Adam to live eternally.

The divine plan of redemption is first revealed to us in the life of Abraham.  Before that God worked with individuals.  Abraham received the promise that he would be the father of many nations, and that in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed.  Jesus took upon Himself the seed of Abraham, and in Christ the promises are fulfilled.

To be in Abraham's bosom one has to embrace the promises given to Abraham. This brings us into a close personal relationship with Abraham as a recipient of the promises. This makes us true Israelites - children of the promise through faith.

LAZARUS IN ABRAHAM'S BOSOM

This story contains an astonishing prophecy, namely, that the rich man and Lazarus were to change places.  The rich man had enjoyed the favor and blessing of God, but now he was now in a place of estrangement from God, while Lazarus, who had been in the "dog" class before, was now in Abraham's bosom.  He had become the possessor of favor and blessing and close personal relationship.  This prophecy came into fulfillment after the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost.

Abraham's righteousness depended entirely upon his faith. "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  For what does the Scripture say?  Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness...Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also?  For we say,` Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.'  How then was it credited?  While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?  Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham...For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, `A father of many nations have I made you') in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist."(Rom  4:2-3;9-12;16-17)

Abraham is declared to be the father of all who believe.  That means that the Jews have lost their distinctiveness.  There is no longer a distinction between Jews and Gentiles - the word "Gentile" includes all races and nationalities, regardless of color, except the Jews.  Those who believe can claim Abraham as their father.  Believing God makes them true Israelites.  Abraham did not become the father of many nations through his natural lineage, but through his spiritual children.  These are the people of faith who have been gathered out of every tongue, tribe, people and nation.

"Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness…The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, `All the nations will be blessed in you.'  So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer." Gal. 3:6,8-9)

Notice that the Lord is called the seed of Abraham.  After Adam and Eve sinned, God told the serpent that the seed of the woman would bruise his head.  Why did He not say that the man who would come from the woman would bruise the serpent's head?  We need to understand that the "seed" is not only the product of some other life before it, but it is also that which keeps reproducing itself and its kind from generation to generation!  In John 12:24 Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

In this statement Jesus likened Himself to a seed, a grain of wheat, which was to fall into the ground and die.  He would be sown as a seed into the earth and be raised again.  Not only would He be raised in glory, but in centuries yet to come, this seed, which was Jesus Christ, would produce a vast harvest of many sons of God in His exact image and likeness. The multitude that will appear in the time of harvest will be the seed of the seed, the increase, everyone bearing the image and likeness of that Christ seed which was planted in death.

The natural descendants of Abraham no longer qualify as the seed of Abraham.  In John 8:33-34,39, Jesus told the Jews that if they were Abraham's children they would do the works of Abraham. Instead, they were trying to kill him.  Jesus bluntly told them that they were of their father the devil. (v.44)  They did not realize that their position in Abraham and in God depended on their position in Christ, who was both the son of Abraham and the Son of God.  So it is our faith in Christ that determines whether or not we are sons of Abraham.

The fact that Lazarus was in Abraham's bosom told the Jews that the Gentiles, who had the faith of Abraham, would inherit the promises.  This was prophetic of what God would accomplish in Christ - a very revolutionary thought for the traditional Jewish population!  

THE RICH MAN'S TORMENT

What a surprise awaited the rich man!  Instead of being in an imagined lavish mansion, he found himself in Hades - a place of darkness and unperception, so he was not a happy camper.   In fact, he was in torment! The Greek word translated as "torment" is BASANOS.  The English word for BASANOS is touchstone - a stone used for testing metals to determine their purity.  Pure gold rubbed on this stone would leave a peculiar mark, and by the color of this mark they could determine its value.  The rich man was having his quality and genuineness tested by the consuming fire that God is!

What was bothering him?  His eyes were seeing something that he could not understand.  He saw Lazarus in Abraham's bosom!  Lazarus, the dog, was in the Jew's coveted place of honor!  Because Lazarus was in Abraham's bosom, more than likely they were enjoying a sumptuous meal together.  The rich man still considered Lazarus inferior to him, even in the exchanged place that he found himself in. "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger iin water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame," he pleaded.  His wrong ideas had no power in this realm.  Lazarus could not bring him even a drop of living water!

If the rich man had been in a literal burning hell, how much good would a drop of water do?  If you were engulfed in literal flames, would you carry on a calm conversation with others?  An eternal, literal hell paints God as a living monster, worse than Stalin, Hitler or anyone we have ever read about.  It is so sad that Christians do not understand the symbolism used in the Bible.  God has to open our eyes to spiritual realities.

The rich man saw Abraham and Lazarus as being far away, and Lazarus occupying the place he thought he should have. The Jews are in that position at present. They see the Gentiles embracing Christ and enjoying God's blessings while they are suffering and being despised by the nations.  They have indeed suffered greatly, but they still cannot believe that Christ came for them - for the sinner Gentiles, yes, but not for the righteous Jew.

Those who are not living in the truth are tormented by the truth.  Jesus Christ is the truth and the life.  Embracing the truth is life-giving!  But to those who will not believe, it brings torment.  Truth does not change, but its effect on people depends on their acceptance or rejection of it.  We either receive truth and life, or remain in our laws and traditions that bring guilt, punishment and torment.  The rejection of truth blinds us to our true needs. 

Ever since the Jewish nation as a whole rejected Christ, it has wandered in darkness and difficulties.  The gruesome history of the capture of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when there were not enough trees to crucify the Jews, down to the not so distant holocaust, tells the grim story of the hell they are in at present.  Their moans, sobs and pathetic shrieks at the Wailing Wall express the grief that tears at their hearts.  The successive waves of anti-Semitism keep crashing down, even as the ocean waves in a mighty storm. 

God has not forsaken His favored people of the old covenant, just as He has not forgotten those who reject Him at the present time.  But their eyes have to be opened to their need.  After Jesus opened the eyes of the disciples on their way to Emmaus, they recognized Him.  He has to open the eyes of the Jews as well.  In due time God will open their eyes, and they too will be saved.  he rich man's first concern was for himself, so he asked father Abraham to help him.  His tongue was so dry and parched because of the fire it was in.  His thoughts and words were all in the death realm, and he needed the water of life to douse the flames produced by the living word of God.  He realized that he needed help, but he pleaded with Abraham instead of asking the Savior.  He wanted the promises, but in order to get the promises he had to go to the Giver of the promises.  Jesus said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." (Jn. 7:37)  He also said, "But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (Jn. 4:14)  Eternal life is not in Abraham, but in Christ.  Abraham could not give what was not his to give. His life too was in Christ!  

THE GREAT GULF

It was very obvious that there was a father-son relationship between the rich man and Abraham.  The rich man called Abraham father, and Abraham called the rich man son.  But this relationship could not help the rich man span the gulf that separated them.  What is this great gulf that separates the Jews from their father Abraham?

In Gen. 15:6 it says that Abraham, "believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness."  It was Abraham's faith and his obedience of faith that set him apart from others.  God gave Abraham a wonderful promise in Gen. 22:17-18.  He said, "Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.  In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

A beautiful spiritual truth is contained in the two different examples God used to illustrate the increase of Abraham's descendants!  The stars in the heavens symbolize his spiritual children of faith, while the sand on the seashore symbolizes his natural descendants. There is a big difference between the natural descendants and the spiritual descendants.  The natural descendants are symbolized by the rich man. As a nation, the Jews have refused to leave the law covenant.  The spiritual descendants are all the people of faith in Jesus Christ, and are symbolized by Lazarus; they have embraced the new covenant.   The great gulf symbolizes the fact that there is no connection between the two covenants. 

The natural descendants still cling to the old covenant, and therefore believe that they are God's favored people.  They cannot understand that the old covenant has been nullified by the new.  Their pride is in their ancestry, their history, their Law, their prophets and the old covenant.  They are looking forward to the time when God's promises will be fulfilled in the natural realm.  Their righteousness depends upon their self-effort and ability to keep the law.  Many Christians have the same idea.  The Law was given to show us our need of a Savior - not to give us righteousness.  The Law was not faultless.  If it had been faultless, "there would have been no occasion sought for a second."  (Heb. 8:7)

The blessings of the old covenant depended on Israel's performance.  God said that if they would keep His laws He would bless them.  God knew that they would not be able to keep the law, but He needed to convince them and us that self could not attain to the righteousness God has in store for humanity.  The best, and only wise thing, is to drop the idea that our righteousness can perform the will of God, and let the One who came to perform it, even Christ, do the performing in us. 

The promised blessing to all nations comes in Abraham's seed (singular) which is Christ - not in the law.  Abraham had faith in God and acted in the assurance that God would keep His promises.  His righteousness did not depend on what he had done, but on the faith that God would keep His promises.  There is a big difference between faith in God and faith in our good works for righteousness.

The new covenant is a completely new covenant.  It is not a remodeled version of the old covenant.  It is a better covenant in every respect, and there is no opportunity for it to fail since God covenanted this covenant with Himself!  The great gulf between the rich man in Hades and Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, pictures the fact that the two covenants are completely separate, and that the new covenant is not in Abraham but in Christ, for Abraham could not help the rich man.

Let's briefly look at some of the differences between these covenants, and observe that self-effort has no part in the new covenant.  The new covenant gives a promise and a guarantee that it will be fulfilled without our help!

The new covenant has a better priesthood.   The priesthood of Melchizedek is vastly superior to the Levitical priesthood represented by Aaron.  Aaron was important because he represented the priesthood, but that priesthood needed many priests because death disrupted or ended the ministry of each successive priest.   The order of Melchizedek is greater because it represents an endless priesthood that would come in Christ.

Melchizedek was both priest and king.  The priesthood and the kingship were separate entities until Jesus came and united them.  Melchizedek didn't have any genealogy, for there is no record of his parenthood, his birth or his death.  This symbolizes that he abides a priest continually, proving that his priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood.  "Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?"  (Heb. 7:11)  The law covenant could not give life; it demanded a penalty for every infraction of the law.  It was a law of sin and death for it does not know the meaning of forgiveness.  The new covenant, on the other hand, is a life-giving covenant.  Christ has become our high priest according to the power of an indestructible, that is, an endless life!  (Heb. 7:16)

The new covenant also has a better law.  The old law of sin and death does not exist in the new covenant.  In Romans 8:2 we read, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death."   We have been freed from the first law, the law of sin and death, and can now experience life and peace because of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.  The law of life does not refer to natural or physical life.  Instead, it causes us to function in spiritual life, and brings about our death to sin.  Eternal life cannot exist in the flesh, for the flesh contains nothing good.  Eternal life is only in Christ, and His life in us will affect the way we live our physical life. 

The new covenant has better promises.  "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises." (Heb. 8:6)  The new covenant is based on better promises!  It promises a better priesthood (a permanent one); a better inheritance (eternal in the heavens); a better sacrifice (sacrifices don't need to be repeated, because Christ died once for all); a better guarantee (Christ); a better salvation (even the greatest sinner  can be made a new creation in Christ); a better intercessor (Christ Himself); a better mediator (Christ - not Moses); and the promise of an indestructible life! (Heb. 7:22-28:16)

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.  And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. For all will know Me from the least to the greatest of them.  For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." (Heb. 8:10--12)  What wonderful promises!  What a great salvation!  The differences between the two covenants are so great that it is no wonder Jesus called it a great gulf or chasm! 

In Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham, this gulf was bridged. There is no gulf that is too wide for Him to bridge.  Our righteousness does not depend on any achievement of our own; it depends entirely on the righteousness of Christ that has become ours through faith.  So this great gulf is the difference between trying to achieve righteousness by our own merits, or by receiving the righteousness of Christ by faith.  This parable is a very vivid picture of the uselessness of trying to obtain merit with God by ancestry, self-effort, power, riches or office.  Since Israel has rejected the new covenant, natural Israel is still in Hades - in suffering and darkness.

FAITH ACHIEVES WHAT SIGNS CANNOT ACCOMPLISH

The rich man still wanted Lazarus to serve him.  He asked Abraham to send him to his five brothers and warn them so they would not come to this place of torment.  He figured that his brothers would really believe a man who had been raised from the dead. Abraham disagreed with that presumption, and told the rich man that his brothers should listen to Moses and the prophets.  It was the Jews who had the Law and the Prophets.  Abraham was right, because Jesus rose from the dead and the Jews did not hear Him! 

"They have Moses and the Prophets."  After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He appeared to two disciples on their way to Emmaus.  They were so sad because of the crucifixion and death of Jesus!  So often our sorrow stems from the fact that we do not understand the scriptures and therefore do not know God's ways.  Jesus brought comfort to the disciples by explaining the scriptures!  "Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures." (Luke 24:27)  The Old Testament is full of prophecies concerning Christ's coming and the sorrows He would have to endure.  Jesus opened the eyes of their understanding, and the disciples saw that the scriptures had been fulfilled by Jesus.  . 

Paul said that the Jews ask for signs, and the Greeks search for wisdom, but signs and wisdom cannot bring anyone into a relationship with the Father.   This relationship only comes to us by faith in Christ.  We are to believe the scriptures, for they testify of Him.  They are a testimony of Jesus Christ!  Believing the witness (the scriptures) will bring us to Christ!  We can only get to know Him by coming to Him in faith.  If we don't come to Him, we will only know something about Him.  I have seen the Queen of England and know things about her, but I don't know her.  I have never had a relationship with her.  God wants a relationship with us, for He wants to reveal Himself to us.  In Christ we get to know the Father! 

Without faith it is impossible to please God and to have a relationship with Him.  So often we crave for signs because we want an easy way out of our dilemma and want God to prove His power to us.  We're so excited when we see signs and wonders!  But signs only point us to a thing or place.  They do not bring us into a relationship.  Believing God is the greatest thing we can do, for "whatever is not from faith is sin." (Rom. 14:23) 

Christ has given us the great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel!  He has bridged the gulf, and we can now bring the gospel to those who are living in the darkness of their carnality!  They can cross the gulf by faith in Jesus Christ, and by embracing the new covenant that God has made with Himself and given to us.

 

 

[angels4u]

Faith is a gift..

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God ,not by works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9