We Can Overcome Satan Only by True Faith
Sermons on important subjectsby Rev. Paul C. Jong
We Can Overcome Satan Only by True Faith
Genesis 3:1-7
“Nowthe serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD Godhad made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eatof every tree of the garden’?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eatthe fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which isin the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall youtouch it, lest you die.’’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will notsurely die.’ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will beopened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the womansaw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and atree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gaveto her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them wereopened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leavestogether and made themselves coverings.”
Throughtoday’s Scripture passage, God is telling us that for us to fight andovercome Satan, we must use the weapon of ourfaith in God’s Word.
Theserpent, more cunning than any beast, asked the woman, “Has God indeed said,‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” The woman then answered theserpent by saying, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but ofthe fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘Youshall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
We’veread this passage countless times. Here in this passage we can see that itwas the weak woman whom Satan first tempted. Andwe see how the Devil brought down Adamthrough Eve. However, when theserpent, symbolizing Satan, came to Eve and tempted her, Evecould have overcome him had she responded to his attack by placing her faithin the Word of God. This event, of course, was permitted in God’s providence.Nonetheless, even though the serpent asked such a simple question, Eve failed to believe in the most elementary truth,and as a consequence, she became the fallen forebear of mankind.
We Can Overcome Satan Only If We Have Faith
We mustbelieve in God’s Word. If you have faith in the Word of God, you will bestrong and at peace. However, those who have no faith in God’s Word have norest in their hearts, and their thoughts are all too cluttered, so much sothat even when they read the Word of God, they cannot take it by faith, butthey keep analyzing it over and over again.
Eve stumbled over such a simplequestion raised by Satan. When Satansaid, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”what more did she really have to say? If Eve was someone who really believedin the Word of God, all that she had to do when tempted by Satan was justsay, “No, God only told us not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of goodand evil in the middle of the garden. He said that we would die for sure ifwe ate it. Since God said so, that’s the end of the story. So get away fromme, Satan.”
Whentempted by Satan, however, the woman utteredfaithless words, saying instead, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of thegarden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, Godhas said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”Faithless people have so much to say. We see how those without faith say somuch nonsense, have all kinds of excuses for their disbelief, and are so fullof their own thoughts, all because they do not believe in God’s Word.
Myfellow believers, it is my sincerest hope and desire that you and I wouldreally have faith in the Word of God. When we ask Christians about God’sWord, all too often we find out that many of them have no faith at all. Evenamong those who have met the Lord in the true gospel, there are so manypeople who stumble along the way so feebly, for they have no faith in theWord of God.
Satan mocks the faithless in times like this. Whenmocked by the Devil, the faithless end up losing their way and wanderingaround here and there. However, if we know the Word of God, then we canattain the victory of faith, and we are also made into the people of faithbefore God. By believing in the Word, we can become the people of faith. Whatwould happen to us, my fellow believers, if we had no faith in the Word ofGod? Without faith in God’s Word, we would not only be unable to please God,but we would also be defeated by Satan.
Myfellow believers, if you feel stifled and suffocating while living in thisworld, then you should pray to God. Look for what the Word says about prayer,confirm it for yourselves, and believe in it. Faith in God will then springforth in your hearts, and peace will then come to your hearts. And the carnalthoughts that are in your hearts will begin to disappear.
How canfaith in the Word of God find its place in our hearts? This faith isattainable only when you deny your carnal thoughts. This is extremelyimportant. Do you realize that faith in God comes from denying your carnalthoughts? You can believe in God’s Word only if you actually have faith inGod; you can receive the remission of your sins by faith only if you know thegospel Truth of the water and the Spirit; and it is when only you believethat you can become God’s children and be blessed for your faith.
Incontrast, if you are bound by your carnal thoughts, then you cannot believein God’s Word either. It is just like what happened to Eve,who could not believe in God’s Word because of her carnal thoughts. So, ifyou do not lay down your carnal thoughts, you would not only fall into agreat temptation, but you would even end up leading others to temptation aswell. This happens all because of the lack of any real faith in God and inHis Word.
Adam and Evewere driven out of the Garden of Eve preciselybecause they could not believe in God’s Word. It was because of this singledeficiency, the lack of faith in God’s Word, that their fate was thus sealed.If we lose our faith in God’s Word, then we would also lose the right to livein His Kingdom.
Myfellow believers, just how important is faith in God’s Word? There is nothingbut only faith in the Word of God that enables us to overcome Satan.If one wants to live a spiritual life, then he must have faith in God’s Word.It is when we believe in the Word of God that we become the people of faith.
TheTruth is simple, isn’t it? What will happen to us if we believe in God’sWord? We will become the people of faith. We can then please God, as we aremade into the people of faith. But what will happen if we do not believe inGod’s Word? We will then become faithless people, not even believing in God’sWord, and consequently, we will live all our lives under the curse only toreach our own destruction in the end.
As Icontinue with my ministry, I realize even more profoundly just how importantit is to have faith in the Word of God. So, I am fully convinced that my lifedepends on my faith in God’s Word. Without such faith, I am nothing. But whenI have faith in the God’s Word, I am so much bolder and so much more blessed.I can only thank God for giving me such faith. Because of my faith in God’sWord, and only because of this one thing, I am blessed by God and I livehappily, but without this faith, I can only live a wretched and miserablelife.
Myfellow believers, even though I have nothing, I still believe in God and HisWord. The more I ruminate on the Word of God, the more I believe in it.Whenever my heart begins to drift away from faith, I try to edify my faith inGod by praying to Him earnestly. But even though I pray, this does not meanthat I somehow feel some supernatural phenomena coming from Heaven, nor is mysensation all tingled with some sort of a mystical presence. What is clear isthat when I pray, God will answer me in my times of need—this is what Ibelieve. When I pray, I don’t pray out loud, shouting out on top of my lungs.Since I believe that God hears all my prayers, I quietly ask for His helpstep by step for my needs.
When Ipray to God, what God looks at is whether or not I believe in Him. Therefore,the success and failure of God’s Work is determined depending on our faith.If you really believe in this Word of God and hold onto it in your prayers,then you can find peace, and what you asked for will be eventually answered.In contrast, if you pray without believing in God’s Word, then nothing isever done, no matter how you might have lost your voice from all thatshouting and screaming in your prayers. A prayer without faith will only hurtyour throat and tire your lips.
TrueFaith Is Indispensable to Our Lives
Faithis so important. When we work for the salvation of souls, we don’t alwaysknow what to do, because our eyes cannot see everything. Therefore, faith isabsolutely essential to our spiritual lives. The Bible says that like Abraham, all the servants of God followed the Wordeven though they did not know where they were going (Genesis 12:4; Hebrews11:8). In fact, it’s not because they saw something in their eyes that theyfollowed the Word. Rather, they followed the Word trusting that God wouldreveal His will and lead them through His Word.
Wesometimes go to university campuses to preach the gospel, for we believe thatit is God’s will to preach the gospel to today’s young generation. Beforepreaching the gospel, we first sit down on the lawn and pray: “Dear Father,we are here now. Help us to meet the lost sheep here on this campus. Havecompassion for them, and save them. In Jesus’name we pray. Amen.”
Afterthus praying, we then go out to bear witness. With the Bible tucked at ourside, we walk around the campus and do a little sightseeing. And when we seeyoung people gathered around, there we meet souls. Young people generallytend to react rather coolly at first. However, because we have the beliefthat God would lead these souls to us and save them, we still triumph. Whenwe have this faith, then God does in fact lead souls to us. Some studentseven approach us first and greet us, saying that they are also Christians,even when we are standing idle. We then say to them, “Oh, is that so? Nice tomeet you! Are you then a good Christian?” With these words, we begin toengage them in fellowship.
Thereeven was a student who showed a very keen interest in us, saying, “I’ve heardyour sermons on tape before.” So I told him a little about the gospel of thewater and the Spirit, and he opened his ears to the Truth of the remission ofsin. I then invited him to come to God’s Church sometime. So he came to theChurch, and listened to the gospel of the water and the Spirit. After sharingGod’s Word of Truth, he told me that he had been a Christian for the pastfive years, and yet he had no joy in his heart. But now, because of thisgospel of the water and the Spirit, there was joy in his heart, and he wasglad and happy. He was so delighted to be told that God had already blottedall our sins beyond any doubts with the gospel of the water and the Spirit.Even now, he still attends our Church every evening, sharing God’s Word withus.
Myfellow believers, none other than this is faith in God’s Word. It is thisvery faith in God that is so indispensable to our lives like water. When wehave faith in God, we are completely at peace, but when we do not have faithin God, it’s nothing but an endless struggle. If we have no faith, then wewould have to harvest fig leaves and make garments out of them everyday tocover ourselves, a burden that none of us can bear.
What wetruly need, in other words, is faith in God. It is far more important to havefaith in God’s Word than to know some theory. We must have this faith firstof all to know Jesus Christ, believe in the gospelof the water and the Spirit, and receive the remission of our sins. And afterreceiving the remission of our sins, we need to have faith in the blessingsthat are found in God.
Faithis akin to the heart in our spiritual lives. Just as it is the heart thatcirculates blood, what is absolutely necessary to us is faith in God and inHis Word. This faith is so important to us that if only we have it, our liveswill be completed in a triumph. My fellow believers, if we believe in God,then this faith will lead us to God’s blessings and victory.
Butwhat would happen if we do not have faith? We will fall down without faith,just as Eve fell when Satancame to her and tempted her. In other words, unless we have faith in God, wewill be deceived by a few words of Satan and endup ruining the rest of our lives. That is why Adamand Eve were disgraced and drivenout of the Garden of Eden. As a consequence, all their descendents werecursed to be bound under sin.
If Eve had believed in God, she would have neverfallen. It’s because she did not believe that she fell. Had Adam and Evereally believed in God, there would have been absolutely no reason for themto fall. From where did sin begin? It’s because Adamand Eve did not believe in God’sWord that sin was introduced to mankind. Even before Adamand Eve actually ate from the treeof the knowledge of good and evil, they had already stopped believing in God.It was from there that mankind’s sins began.
Thesins of mankind began from the moment Adamand Eve did not believe in God’sWord, not after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Bythe time they did not believe in God’s Word, they had already sinned againstGod. Likewise, whether or not we can receive the remission of our sins, andwhether we are blessed or not, all depend firstly on whether or not we havefaith in God and in His Word.
Indeed,mankind’s sins began from the moment human beings did not believe in God’sWord. In contrast, God’s blessings on us begin when we believe in His Word.You must take to your hearts that it is from faith in God’s Word that Hisblessings begin. You should realize that your blessings and curses all dependon your faith that’s in your hearts. The success and failure of our lives offaith depend on whether we believe in God’s Word or not. We will be blessedif we believe in God’s Word, but we will be cursed if we do not believe.Could there be any simpler and more elegant truth than this?
Mybeloved saints, true faith comes when you deny your carnal thoughts. Let’sconsider mankind’s sins here. Both you and I have flesh. What does this fleshthink about? It thinks about carnal lusts. Carnal desires arise endlessly inthe flesh of man. Sometimes it reminds us of our mistakes and blemishes.Because everyone has flesh, it’s inevitable that carnal thoughts would arisein everyone.
However,what does the Word of God say about this issue? Put differently, how can webe freed from the sins we commit in this flesh of ours? The way to be freedfrom sin begins from confirming the remission of our sins that is revealed inthe Word of God. God says, “He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawlessdeeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is remission of these, thereis no longer an offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:17-18). Like this,only when we confirm the remission of our sins with the Word of God can wethen be freed from our sins.
It IsAlso by Faith That We Can Be Freed Sin
It isfrom knowing the Word of God that our lives are freed from sin. In otherwords, the faith of the remission of sin begins from denying one’s carnalthoughts, knowing the Word of God, and believing in it.
Mankind’ssins do not actually disappear just by giving many prayers of repentance. TheBible says in Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore and be converted, thatyour sins may be blotted out,” but this passage does not mean thatone should give prayers of repentance, but it means that those who are notborn again should turn around from their wrong ways along which they haveleft God.
To whomdid Jesus say to turn around andrepent? It is to sinners that He said to turn around from the sinful ways oftheir carnal thoughts. Where then should they return to? They should returnto Jesus Christ. What is the way to return to Jesus Christ then? It is to believe in the Word of God,that Jesus Christ came to this earth in the fleshof man, and blotted out all the sins of mankind once for all with the gospelof the water and the Spirit.
In thisage and time, we must live by faith, confirming the washing of our sins withthe Word of God. If we return to Jesus Christ, wecan be made sinless. By admitting our sins and believing in the gospel of thewater and the Spirit, all of us can be freed from all the sins of the world.
I saidthat your sins will never disappear just by giving prayers of repentance. TheBible speaks about repentance countless times, but we must first realize whatthe proper repentance is all about. Repentance means turning around from thewrong way and returning to the right path. The proper repentance is forsinners to turn their hearts to God to be made sinless.
Therefore,to just give prayers of repentance everyday, without even being made sinless,is something that is done only by those who do not believe in the gospel ofthe water and the Spirit. Because these people do not know the Word of God,and instead they are beholden to what they know by instinct (Jude 1:10), they just keep giving prayers ofrepentance time after time, only to be destroyed in the end.
Throughwhat does Satan work? He works on us humansthrough our carnal thoughts. It’s because Satanworks through man’s carnal thoughts that the Bible says that to be carnallyminded is death. It’s none other than Satan whotries time after time to make us think carnally, and to obstruct us fromholding onto the Word of Truth.
Thoseof us who have received the remission of our sins by believing in the gospelof the water and the Spirit must also remember this clearly. After all, don’twe remember the weaknesses and carnal mistakes that we have had even afterreceiving the remission our sins? Of course we do! Anyone who doesn’t rememberthis can only be dim-witted. That various carnal thoughts arise in you is theevidence of the fact that you are alive, and that your brain is fullyfunctional.
Althoughwe still remember our flaws even after receiving the remission of our sins,if we confirm once again with the gospel of the water and the Spirit how theWord of God says our sins were solved away, then we can easily be freed fromthis burden. On the other hand, however, if we are still seized by our ownthoughts even after receiving the remission of our sins, then we will onlyturn into Satan’s toys. While carnal thoughts willcontinue to arise in your heads and hearts, if you are seized by thesethoughts, you will be destroyed.
Youhave carnal thoughts, but at the same time, you also have faith in the Wordof God. Which of the two should we believe—our own thoughts or the Word ofGod? Complete blessings come not when we believe in mankind’s thoughts, butwhen we believe in God’s Word. For those of us who have been born againthrough the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is when we read the Wordof God that we are led by the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Bible says, “Forif you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you putto death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by theSpirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14).
Thewise believe in God’s Word. When we read the Word of God, we can believebeyond any doubts that all our sins have indeed been blotted out, but inspite of this, we still see carnal thoughts continuing to arise. Even afterreceiving the remission of our sins, we still lust after sin time after time.My fellow believers, although you have received the remission of your sins,your flesh is still alive, and that is why your minds still continue to bebeset by carnal lusts.
It’sprecisely because such thoughts come to your minds that you can actuallyrealize who you really are, and that you cannot live even a moment withoutbelieving in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. In other words, it isbecause our flesh is so insufficient that we need the Savior Jesus Christ,who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and the Word of salvationis so indispensable to us. How, then, did Jesus Christblot out our sins? This is all written in the very Word of the Scriptures.
When Jesus was tempted by Satan,He said to him, “Away with you, Satan! Forit is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shallserve’” (Matthew 4:10). Whydid Jesus say this to defeat Satan? It’s because Jesusalso did the Father’s work by believing in the Word, not according to His ownthoughts. Since Jesus also hadflesh, after fasting for 40 years, carnal thoughts yearning for food mightcome to His mind as well. Knowing this, the Devil appealed to the weak fleshof Jesus, saying, “If you are theSon of God, turn these stones into bread and eat them.” But Jesus Christ invoked the Word of God and said to Satan, “Itis written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word thatproceeds from the mouth of God.’” Like this, when it comes to ourlives of faith also, it is the Word of God that protects our faith and leadsus to faith.
Myfellow believers, even as we carry on with our lives of faith, we are stillinundated with so many man-made thoughts. However, when we read the Word ofGod, spiritual thoughts come to our minds also. The key issue here is whereour hearts lean toward when these two thoughts arise, whether it is towardcarnal thoughts or spiritual thoughts.
I havetold you already that faith comes from denying your carnal thoughts. TheBible says that those who live according to the flesh set their minds on thethings of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set theirminds on the things of the Spirit; and that to be carnally minded is death,but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. To be spiritually minded isto contemplate on the Word of God, who is Spirit, and to know the meaning ofthis Word and believe accordingly. Denying your own thoughts is the firststep to faith. It is from then on that your faith takes its first stride.
Countlesspeople now ministering in Christian communities do not even understand theWord of God, yet they all still claim to believe in it. Church leaders wouldstand on the pulpit and shout out, “Receive the fire!” and the congregationwould go all crazy, screaming, “Come, the Holy Spirit, come, come!” But do wego to church just to satisfy our emotional needs? No, we go to church to hearthe Word of God. If you happen to be at a church where the Word of God isnowhere to be heard but only rituals abound, then this church is not God’sChurch.
Now inthis age, countless people purport to preach the Word. Yet despite this, thewater of life is drying out. Shouldn’t God’s Church be a place where God’sWord is preached? And shouldn’t God’s servants want to preach God’s Word, andspread the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the real Word of God? If apreacher has the Word of God open, shouldn’t he talk about this Word of God,rather than boasting himself? God’s servants must preach God’s Word, andbelievers in God must at least yearn to hear His Word and know what God issaying.
Did youcome to your church to learn about literature? To learn about philosophy? Orto learn about ethics? Do philosophers come to church to listen tophilosophical discussions, as if they knew less about the subject thanpastors? If it’s such secular matters that we would like to learn, it wouldbe far more accurate and sounder to learn from the experts. As far aspreachers are concerned, however, we need to examine carefully whether theyare spreading the righteousness of God or their own righteousness.
Myfellow believers, why do you attend church? Do you not go to church to learnabout God’s Word? People look for church because they want to listen to whatGod is saying, as opposed to what our philosophy is and what our values andethics are. It is by hearing the Word of God in His Church that peoplereceive the remission of their sins. And when the Holy Spirit comes intotheir hearts after receiving the remission of their sins, they believe in Godand follow Him.
When Ipreach the Word, I don’t think about whether people would attend our churchor go elsewhere after hearing my sermons. This has no bearing whatsoever onhow I give my sermons. However, I do know that certain souls would believewhen they hear the gospel of the water and the Spirit, while others, if nottaken care of, would invariably go elsewhere even after hearing this truegospel. It is indeed a sheer evil to accept anyone as a member of the Churchjust to increase the number of the congregation. The saints might be few andfar between, but this is not what is important. What matters is that theyhave faith; without faith, they are completely useless. That is why,regardless of whom I come across, I always preach the gospel of the water andthe Spirit. And as the gospel is preached, all who believe in it do receivethe remission of their sins.
Tothose who have received the remission of their sins, I ask them to attendchurch faithfully. I admonish all the born-again to come to God’s Church, forthose who have been born again by hearing and believing in the gospel of thewater and the Spirit must be with their fellow born-again saints. To thosewho do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, on the otherhand, there is no need to insist that they should attend only our church.Instead of just telling them to come to our church, I first tell them thatthey must be born again through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Andthen I tell them about what the Word of God says is God’s Church, and whatkind of faith is the right faith.
SinceGod’s servants are entrusted to preach His Word, we cannot, as God’sservants, fail to spread His Word. Only when we faithfully preach the Word ofGod can we turn those who do not know God and the gospel of the water and theSpirit back to God, and make it possible for them to receive the remission ofsin into their hearts.
When wethink about the sins of our flesh, we see that all human beings, regardlessof whether some of them have received the remission of sin or not, are thesame brood of evildoers alike. So all human beings commit sin just likeeveryone else, but why is it that only those who have not received theremission of sin suffer because of sin? It’s because their sins are writtenin the tablets of their hearts, and they keep thinking about these sins allthe time, that they are tormented by their sins. Where there are such sins, thereare suffering, judgment, and curses. As they continue on with their lives,they are constantly reminded of their sins, and their hearts then get worriedso sick that their bones are dried up.
Life isnot worth living if one has sin. He may eat, but there is no taste; he mayplay, but there is no fun; he may work, but there is no reward. Life iscompletely devoid of any joy at all. For those who truly fear God, if theyhave sin, what is beautiful does not seem beautiful in their eyes. Sin killsthe sinner. Sin is the poison of death.
That iswhy Satan bounds human beings all tangled up insin. He keeps inciting them to commit sin, and once they fall into sin, hethen accuses them of sin. The Devil charges them, saying, “You’ve sinned,right? Sure you have!” This is what the Devil does. Haven’t you experiencedthis before?
Accordingto the Word of God, it is by denying our thoughts, and by affirming andbelieving in God’s Word, that our spirits are freed from our sins. This isthe first step to enter into faith, and the secret to a life that walks withthe Lord. The Bible says Abrahamfollowed the Word of God. Although those who have received the remission oftheir sins still make mistakes, there is a way for them to be freed fromtheir faults. When they deny their carnal thoughts, and when they once againcontemplate on what the Word of God actually says, they can be freed fromtheir carnal minds and their sufferings.
TheBible declares, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It isGod who justifies” (Romans 8:33). When the Word of God says that allour sins have been blotted out with the gospel of the water and the Spirit,who can ever condemn us? Isn’t this so patently true? None other than thiswas the very faith of the Apostle Paul.And this faith is absolutely indispensable to all of us as well.
Nowthat we have received the remission of our sins, does this then mean that weno longer need the Word? No! On the contrary, we need this Word all the time,precisely because it is through the Word of God that we have received theremission of our sins, and it is indeed according to this Word of God that wewalk. God’s Word is the Word of life and the bread of life.
Eventhough our carnal minds keep uncovering our flaws, God told us that He doesnot remember our sins and our faults. My fellow believers, do you believe inthis Word, that God does not remember our sins and our faults? If you believein this, then do you still have your sins, or have they all disappeared? Theyhave all disappeared! This, my fellow believers, is something truly amazing.When a certain truth comes into the realm of the mind, this truth becomeslight in no time and our hearts are instantly illuminated. The realm of themind is so amazing.
Theheart is not seen by our eyes, but it is far more intricate than this bodythat is actually seen by the eye. It is something truly marvelous. Our heartsare so delicate that if we embrace something wrong in our hearts, we feelexcruciating pain. Heartache is far more painful than a bodily wound.Nonetheless, our hearts are restored when we hold onto the Word of God,saying, “Satan is trying to deceive me again. Hefooled Adam and Eve before, and now he is trying to fool me also.You, Devil! What nerve you’ve got! Go away, Satan!”
What isthe gospel of Truth? It’s ‘euaggelion’ or the good news. The Greekword for “gospel” is “euaggelion,” and it was said to have the “dunamis”of God—the Greek word “dunamis” here means strength, power or ability,from which we get the word “dynamite” (Romans 1:16). Indeed, the gospel ofthe water and the Spirit can eradicate all our sins from the tablets of ourhearts in a single swoop. No sin can ever exist before the gospel of thewater and the Spirit, no matter how deeply it may be hidden in our hearts. Ifyou believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then all your sinswill be demolished away once for all, whether they are hidden behind rocks,under the ground, or in the forest of your hearts.
Do youknow just how powerful the gospel of the water and the Spirit is? Have youseen the true gospel power of the water and the Spirit? My fellow believers,it is the gospel of the water and the Spirit that has the real power. Withthis gospel of power, then, let us defeat all those who deceive and defraudcountless souls with their lies just to gather more people into their fold.
HowAmazing the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Is!
Icannot help but talk about just how blessed the gospel of the water and theSpirit is. From time to time, we are reminded of our sins and our heartssuffer as a result, but Jesus Christ said, “Theirsins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Whenever we arereminded of our flaws and our carnal faults, we should ruminate on what ourLord said here, that He would never again raise the issue of our sins and ourlawless deeds. Do you believe in this, my fellow believers?
God issaying, “Didn’t I pass all the sins of your flesh onto My Son, and didn’t MySon die on the Cross for you? Weren’t all your sins passed onto the body ofMy sinless Son? Must My Son die again? Isn’t it enough that He already diedonce like this? Never again should you say that you have sin. I will strikedown anyone who challenges Me again on this issue.” What is most abominablebefore God is to pray to once again blot out the sins that Jesus has already blotted out.
Yetdespite this, countless Christians still kneel before the Cross and pray likethis: “Lord, I’ve sinned again today. I sinned yesterday too. Lord, pleaseforgive my sins and wash them away.” None other than this is the fallacy ofprayers of repentance. But sitting on His throne, God would only say to them,“Are you suggesting that I failed to blot out all your sins with the gospelof the water and the Spirit by sending My Son? It’s because you do notbelieve in this gospel of the water and the Spirit that your sins remainstill intact.”
Evenso, when Christians come to church, they still pray, “Lord, please forgiveme. I’ve sinned this much. I’ll never sin again.” Does our Lord then say,“Sure, I’ll wait and see, since I am so full of mercy and grace. I’ll waitfor you just a bit more”? Surely not! Yet in spite of this, they still comethe next day only to give the same prayers of repentance again, begging,“Lord, please forgive my sins!” These people do not know the gospel power ofthe water and the Spirit. Without the gospel of the water and the Spirit,there is absolutely no way for them to receive the remission of their sins.
Myfellow believers, the greatest heartache for God is when He sees human beingspraying to Him to blot out their sins, for they do not believe in the gospelof the water and the Spirit given by Jesus Christ, and therefore their sinsstill remain intact. To affirm from the Word of God that Jesus Christ blottedout all the sins of mankind once and for all by being baptized and sheddingHis blood when He came to this earth over 2,000 years ago, to believe in thiswith the heart, and to thereby receive the remission of sin—this is the wayto the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet despite this, countless Christians stillcontinue to ignore this true way of salvation, and even now, they still keepsaying, “Father, this wicked sinner is praying in the name of Jesus Christ, and I ask You and beg You, please forgive my sins.”
Tothis, the Book of Isaiah says,
“When you come to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
Bring no more futile sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting” (Isaiah 1:12-13).
Inother words, it is intolerable to God to watch people who have not evenreceived the remission of their sins to gather together and say to Him, “OurGod, who is holy, merciful, omnipotent and omnipresent, please save thesewicked sinners.”
If Iwere God, I would have just slapped their faces. If I had saved my creaturesby sacrificing my son, and yet these creatures came to me and said, “I am asinner,” I would at first say to them, “You don’t know any better, and so Iunderstand why you’re saying this. So go to church today, meet the brothersand sisters who have heard the gospel, and listen to the gospel of the waterand the Spirit.” But if they still insisted, “I declare myself a sinnerbefore God and before man,” then I would have just trampled on themmercilessly. God, however, still endures and patiently waits for even suchpeople.
WhenGod says that He has blotted out all sins, then He has indeed eradicated allsins. Where is the need to insist on our own thoughts, saying, “How could Ibe sinless, when I am constantly reminded of my sins? How could I have nosin, when I keep committing one sin after another?”? What is most abominablebefore God is to ignore what He has already finished and keep asking Himeveryday to forgive our sins. Knowing beforehand that you would commit sin, Jesus remitted away all the sins of the world withthe gospel of the water and the Spirit. So all that you need to do now isjust know so and believe accordingly with thanksgiving. It is completelyimpertinent for you to instead say that this is not plausible, or that youfind it hard to believe.
Myfellow believers, you may be able to recite the Word of God verse by verse,but this does not mean that your faith is sound. What you must know is thereal meaning hidden in the Word of God. In other words, you have tounderstand what this Word of God means.
Wehumans are troubled by the memory of our sins. What delivers us from thissuffering is none other than the Word God, and what saves us from all oursins is faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is God’s Word.We should remember that it is faith that makes us triumph.
Thesame principle also applies when it comes to getting our prayers answered. Itis by faith that we get our prayers answered by the Lord. God is your Father,right? And Jesus Christ is our Head, and we aremembers of His body, right? Wouldn’t the parents provide for their children’sneeds, and wouldn’t the head provide for what its body needs?
Weshould think about faith in connection to God the Father and learn about itproperly; and to learn about faith, we must listen to the Word of God. Andwhat is in the leaders’ minds must be transmitted and received into ourhearts through faith. It is then that we learn about faith. It’s all in vainto say just by oneself, “I believe; yes, I believe!”
Myfellow believers, what is it that detracts you from your conviction that youhave received the remission of sin? It is your own thoughts that obstructyour faith. Do you believe in the written Word of God? Do you believe in whatthe Word says, that Jesus has savedyou from the sins of the world through the gospel of the water and theSpirit?
Somepeople, even when they hear the Word saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God whotakes away the sin of the world!” (John1:29), still think, “Jesus only tookaway original sin, not my personal sins.” None other than this is to becarnally minded. They say, “Think about it. How could Jesushave taken away all my sins, when I still continue to sin now. Isn’t this abit too strange? I just can’t understand it with my head. Oh, so Jesus took away my original sin, but I have torepent from my personal sins everyday. So this is how I receive the remissionof my sins. I see it now.”
Likethis, people try to interpret the everlasting Word of God by fitting it intotheir own carnal thoughts, and that is precisely why they keep making onemistake after another. My fellow believers, did Jesusreally take away only original sin, but not personal sins? So do peoplereceive the remission of their sins by giving prayers of repentance everyday?
TheBible says, “To be carnally minded is death, but to be spirituallyminded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). We must believe in God’sWord exactly according to how it is written, not by mixing it up with our ownthoughts. If the Bible says that Jesustook away all the sins of the world, then Jesusdid indeed take them all away. If the Bible says that all our sins werepassed onto Jesus, then they wereall passed onto Jesus. And if theBible says that Jesus Christ rose from the deadagain, then He did really rise from the dead again. The average I.Q. of mankind is barely three-digit. When humanbeings make a fuss and raise objections to God’s Word with this limited levelof intelligence, He who is in Heaven can only laugh.
Jesus is the Lamb of God who tookaway the sins of the world. Jesus Himself said that it was fitting for Him tofulfill all righteousness through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, andHe actually fulfilled it all. The Bible says, “For the wages of sinis death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesusour Lord” (Romans 6:23). We shouldn’t guess about the meaning of theWord of God, nor should we understand this Word by adding to it orsubtracting from it, but we should look at its biblical meaning, seeking tofind out what God intended when He said His Word.
We cantruly comprehend and believe in God’s Word only if we understand the Biblethrough the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Bible is believed only ifwe understand it according to God’s Word. We are now looking at chapter threeof Genesis, and this chapter is also understood only if we know the wholepicture of the Bible. Anyone who preaches about today’s Scripture passagewithout knowing the whole Bible is completely mistaken. Such preachers wouldno doubt tell their congregation to receive the remission of their sins bygiving prayers of repentance everyday, claming that incremental sanctificationis the only way to salvation, and that there are different levels of faithaccording to their sanctification. But such teachings have come out of theircarnal minds.
Satan continued to whisper deceptive words to Eve. As a result, Evefell into the Devil’s trap. That’s because Evedid not have faith in God’s Word. Evehad no conviction precisely because she did not know the Word of God exactly;what’s more, she even added her own thoughts to the Word. That is why she washooked by Satan.
Showingthe tree of the knowledge of good and evil to Eve,Satan said to her, “If you eat from this tree,your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God.” So tempted by Satan, Eve tookand ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but whathappened next? Did she really become like God? No, of course not. Did thedeeds of Adam and Eve then make them holier? No, they did not becomeany holier. On the contrary, they became far worse off after eating theforbidden fruit. When human beings’ own efforts are added to what God hasdone, it only ruins God’s work completely.
Godsaid that He made man on the sixth day and rested on the seventh day. Godalso said that He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. By blotting allour sins and blessing us, God has given us rest.
Why didGod make man on the last day after making everything else, instead of makingman first and then everything else? Since man is so full of his own thoughtsand his intelligence is so low, had God made him on the first day, he mighthave interfered with God’s work from the second day and on. If God were tolisten to every meddlesome word of man, He would not have been able to createthe heavens and the earth. This is why God made man on the very last day ofcreation.
So isour salvation like this. The Bible says, “Just as He chose us in Himbefore the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blamebefore Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of theglory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians1:4-5). Before the foundation of the world, before God even made us,He knew that we would fall and be born as sinners, and so in His plan, Jesus Christ blotted out all our sins once for all, thusmaking us holy and turning us into God’s own people.
It’safter God completely fulfilled our salvation that He told us to believe; Hedid not just leave the problem of our sins unsolved, and then say, “I shouldprobably consult with you over this problem. What do you think about this?”Had God asked such a question to human beings, and had God taken all theirwords into consideration, then our planet would have turned into a garbagedump. The realm of faith is not of a democracy. It may seem as if a churchwould prosper if it were to take everyone’s words into account, but truefaith would disappear from the church sooner or later.
I lovethe Truth of Jesus Christ so much. Why? Because it is the only Truth ofsalvation in this world. God said of Himself, “I am Jehovah.”The name Jehovah means “He who exists by Himself.”Before Him, we have nothing more to say. He is the Creator who exists byHimself, and we are all His creatures. Absolutely no one can say anything toGod. The name Jesus means theSavior. Jesus is God Himself, but Hecame to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man to save us humans. It’sbecause He is God Himself that this salvation has been made possible, andwhoever believes in it will receive the true remission of his sins and becomeGod’s own child.
Nonetheless,Satan still continues to try to deceive us. Hewhispers to us, as he had whispered to Evebefore, “In the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will belike God, knowing good and evil.” Yet it is not by doing something on our ownwith our deeds of the flesh that our eyes are opened, but it is by believingin God’s Word that our eyes are opened, we receive the remission of our sins,and we know the Truth. It is by believing in His Word that we can reachunshakable faith.
Myfellow believers, to believe in God’s Word is what faith is all about. It isthis faith in the Word of God that makes us stand upright before God. It isby knowing the Word of God, affirming it, and believing in it that we arefreed from Satan’s deceptions. Someone said thatknowledge is power. The knowledge of the Word of God is the greatest power.
Howdoes Satan deceive us? He tempts us to go astrayfrom our faith in the Word of God, and then he encourages us to feel as if wemust do something on our own. Telling us to do something, Satanlied to us, claiming that our eyes would then be opened more, we would becomelike God, and we would be better off than now. Like this, Satanmade us fall and be accursed. This is what the passage from Genesis 3:1-7describes.
Myfellow believers, there is absolutely nothing that human beings can do ontheir own to receive God’s blessings and keep them. Before God, there isnothing to do but only believe. Once one believes in the Word, he will havethe strength to walk by this Word. We must have the proper knowledge of howfaith finds its place in our hearts. Once we know and believe in the Word ofGod, this Word comes into our hearts, transforms our minds, and finds itsplace in us. Our deeds then also proceed from the living Word of God thatdwells in us.
Youshould never be ahead of God, planning on your own and saying to yourselves,“Let’s live like this.” Instead, read the Bible first from the beginning tothe end. And if you still can’t understand, then learn. If anyone insists tous that we should do something spiritual with our own strength, then he isspeaking the Devil’s words.
We areholding a revival meeting now. My fellow believers, let us pray for thismeeting. Let us ask God to oversee this meeting. Let us pray to God to sendus souls that would receive the remission of their sins. Since this is thework that God Himself does, we pray to Him to pity these souls and to havemercy on them.
When Godsends souls to us, we have fellowship with them in His Word with thebrotherly love. Rather than just speaking to them one-sidedly, we preachGod’s Word to them with all due respect. We ask them if they would like tohear what this Word means, and if they say they would like to hear, then weexplain God’s Word to them step by step. When you preach the gospel Word ofthe water and the Spirit with faith, the souls who listen to it will receivethe remission of their sins. When you believe in God, His work will arise.It’s so simple.
Myfellow believers, no matter how we might try every carnal means in ourdisposal to achieve something spiritual, as human beings, there is nothingspiritual we can accomplish by our own strength. Satan’sstrategy is to deceive us into busying ourselves. It’s the Devil’s strategyto make us all disoriented and confused, so that we would find ourselves in agreat predicament. What we should do is keep our guards up, read and believein the Word, and unite with God’s Church.
Even now,so many people are still walking on the broad way of destruction. Althoughmany claim to believe in Jesus astheir Savior, they do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. DoChristians really know all about the gospel Truth of the water and theSpirit? Have they truly been made sinless? The answer is no. Only theborn-again who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have no sin.
Everyonein this world must come to God’s Church and hear the Word to become sinless. When we hold revival meetings like this one, where people can receive theremission of their sins, they should come to us and listen to the Word, but,regrettably, so many souls are instead walking on the broad way ofdestruction now. I pray to God to have mercy on such souls.