In my last post I talked about how Christ has fulfilled the requirements for the promises. This teaching is carried on throughout the New Testament. It’s not just a verse pulled out of context, but a scriptural theme that has been all but ignored by the church.
For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring – not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
Romans 4:14-16
This is a foundational passage in our knowledge of how the promises are obtained in Christ. The blessing is received, not by my working to do the requirements, but by faith in the One who has already fulfilled them.
This truth is not only given to us by Paul, but also by Peter as well.
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
2 Peter 1:3-4
The phrase through these obviously refers to the glory and goodness of God, not our works of righteousness. As a matter of fact the implications of this go deeper than we have yet discussed. According to this verse, the reason God blesses us is so that we might actually be participants, sharers, in His divine nature. You will not find the call for us to fulfill the requirements of the promises anywhere in the New Covenant.
If that’s true, then what are the promises for? We can look at it this way; each promise has two halves. There are the requirements and the blessing. According to the New Testament, Jesus came to fulfill the requirements of the promises. Because of His finished work on the cross, we receive the blessing of the promise because we’re in Him.
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Galatians 4:4-5
What really began to set me free was when I realized that the promises are the rights of sons. For instance, this means that the promise associated with tithing has been fulfilled. God rebukes the devourer because I’m a son. We need the revelation that we now receive the promises based upon sonship.
As I’ve said before, you need the whole truth to be effective. In my next post I will deal with the most important part of this series.
Question: Why is it so hard for us to accept that Christ has finished this work on the cross?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: all you need is Christ, blessing, Christ, divine nature, faith, faith in Christ, fulfilled in Christ, glory of God, goodness of God, in Christ, Jesus, requirements for the promises, sharers, sonship
I’ve posted in the past about the power of God and the power of sin. How do I know which power I’m using? When I understood the answer to this, I was shocked. I always thought that I was as far from legalistic as you could get. Be prepared, I think that the answer might change your whole outlook as well.
My goal is to answer two questions over the next few posts. Why does the church seem to have no power? And what do we need to do to get it back?
When I say this, I’m comparing us to what I read in the book of Acts. I’m also thinking about the stories I heard from my grandparent’s generation. They came to the Lord in the wake of the Azuza Street revival. When they were saved they saw miracles, healings, signs, and wonders. What has happened to us since then?
You may think as I did, “I’m not legalistic.” But do we even know what legalism looks like? Let’s find out what the New Testament has to say about it.
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
Galatians 3:1-2
The word translated foolish in the above verse literally means not thinking. Paul is asking these Galatian Christians why they are not thinking about what they’re doing.
The next line he writes literally means, who has fascinated you by false representations? It’s obvious from the way he writes that these believers were not being convinced by the truth, but rather a clever counterfeit. Paul reminds them of the fact that they first believed Jesus Christ was crucified for them.
He then asks a simple question – how did you receive the Spirit? The implied answer is that the Spirit was received by faith, trusting in God to do the work.
Paul was re-emphasizing to them that the law can’t save anyone. The law only condemns. Paul, however, continues along this line with another question and we have all but ignored its implications.
Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
Galatians 3:5
What most people don’t realize is that the word translated miracles in the New Testament is the Greek word dunamis – POWER. Usually it is just the context that the translators use to decide whether to use miracle or power as the English word.
The question Paul asks is fundamental to our understanding of the power of God. How does God give His Spirit and work power in the church? Obviously, the answer is by faith.
Question: Why does following the law never lead to the power of God?
© Nick Zaccardi
Tags: Azuza street, book of Acts, church, dunamis, faith, healings, Holy Spirit, law, law and the power of God, legalism, legalistic, miracles, power, power of God, power of the spirit, powerless church, signs, Spirit of God, truth, wonders
The past week has been very challenging to us as a community and a nation. I live and minister in Watertown, Massachusetts. It’s a tiny area where not much seems to happen – until now.
I have a friend who was at the Boston Marathon. Upon looking at the pictures they took, they saw the terrorists standing right next to them in the crowd.
My daughter works in the Watertown Mall. She arrived at 10 pm for an overnight inventory shift. At 2 am they were informed by FBI agents that the store (and the town) was in lockdown – no one in or out.
I have a member of our church who lived in the area of town where she witnessed explosions and gunfire that evening. She spent the rest of the night comforting her children and grandchildren as she saw Swat Teams sweeping her neighborhood.
What’s happening in our nation? Where are the days when this only happened in other parts of the world and we only watched the events on TV?
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
Psalms 33:12
I believe that the protections we enjoyed in the past were due to the heritage of faith laid down by our godly forefathers. That was then, this is now. We have become a nation where any public reference to Jesus Christ is considered an abuse against society.
We have effectively told God that we don’t want Him interfering in our schools, courts, or politics. Then, in times of crisis, we ask where He went to. We have become so enamored by our own prowess that we think we have the answer to all our problems.
I do not believe this is the judgment of God on America. He is a God of grace. Instead, the Lord is respecting our wishes for Him to keep His hands out of our business.
No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
Psalms 33:16-17
America needs a change of heart and not a change of politics. We desperately hunger for revival. God’s people must awaken from slumber and turn the tide upon their knees. That is where true restoration will come from.
I believe that the recent events will be a part of the call to us. The pressure is on. Are we willing to pray the price required to save our nation? It is time for us to rise to our feet and be true men and women of God.
Question: How have these events affected your faith? How will you respond?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: America, America terrorists and the Lord, awakening, Boston, Boston Marathon, change of heart, Christ, explosions, faith, FBI, forefathers, godly, heritage of faith, Jesus, MA, Massachusetts, public, restoration, revival, swat team, terrorists, the Lord, United States, USA, Watertown
I’ve been posting about the discussion Jesus had with the crowd in John chapter 6. Having told them that He understood their motives; Jesus goes on to explain further.
“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
John 6:27
The Lord is about to tell them that He’s the Bread of Life and He has the Words of truth. He goes on to explain that if they’ll come to Him in faith, they’ll never lack for life. The point is that you can’t spend all your time and energy chasing the things of this world. There’s a more important issue at stake here.
Too many believers spend their prayer time with the Lord running through their lists of needs and wants. While there is a place for petitioning the Lord in prayer, that should not be the major part. Prayer is where we get to know Christ in relationship. It’s give and take.
Yes, it is talking, but it’s also listening. If we’re going to be prepared for the last days, then we must get past this mentality that chases God around simply for what we think we can get from Him.
The crowd made their motives very plain to Jesus. Even in their answer, they show Him that His assessment of their true character was correct.
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
John 6:34
Their thoughts are, “You’ve got the bread from heaven. Give us this bread.” Again, they’re thinking in a material way. If His earthly bread was good, the heavenly must be even better tasting!
It reminds me of the woman at the well. Jesus said that He could give her living water so that she would never thirst again. Her reply was, “Great, then I won’t have to come to this well every day to draw water.”
Why are we all so foolish? Jesus longs to give us eternal, abundant life, yet we are content to simply ask Him for things. I know that in His Word He’s promised to take care of our needs. The problem is that we seem to major on the physical.
My true needs are so much deeper than that. He wants to satisfy the longing of our souls, but this will require that we spend time in His presence. We fail to enter the abundance that He has for us because we’d rather have the “quick fix” of more money or more stuff so that we can then get on with our plans. The better solution would be for us to bow our knee to the Lord and take up His plan for our lives.
Question: Why do the temporary issues of life seem so important sometimes?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: abundant life, bread of life, Christ, eternal, faith, Jesus, listening, needs, petition, prayer, relationship, temporary, temporary versus eternal, the Lord, things, things of this world, wants, word of truth
Do you serve God superstitiously? How do you know whether or not you do? You may be surprised at the answers.
We’re told in Scripture that we’re to serve God by our faith. We’re told that it’s impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). As a matter of fact, anything not coming from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
But, just as important as faith is, it’s just as important to know where this faith comes from. The Bible is clear on this issue, even if we are a little fuzzy sometimes.
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17
This verse literally says that faith springs out of hearing, but hearing through the Word of Christ. There are a few key concepts that are important in this verse. The first is that, of all the different kinds of faith that we can have; only the faith that has its birth in the Word of God is valuable.
The next is one you may not want to hear. But, this faith comes by hearing the Word and not reading the Word. That’s because it’s the Greek word rhema that’s translated word in this verse. The Greek word rhema always refers to the revealed Word of God to us.
This isn’t talking about reading the Bible and drumming up faith in ourselves. It’s about listening to the Holy Spirit speaking to us. It might take place while we’re reading the Scripture, praying, or listening to a sermon.
Jesus got upset at the Pharisees for this same type of superstition.
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
John 5:39-40
Here’s what takes place sometimes. It may be that there’s a believer in need of healing – for example. As they’re reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit uses it to grab their attention. The Lord takes the Word that they’re reading and makes it rhema to them.
In a moment of divine faith and obedience, they declare that Word with their voice. Immediately they’re healed.
What does he do next? He starts teaching that if you confess this verse, you will be healed. That is superstition.
It’s not reciting the verse that healed this person. Christ our Healer was the one who made them whole.
This is how easy it can be, to turn faith into superstition. Instead of bringing people to a deeper relationship with Christ, it’s easier to recite Scripture over and over.
Please understand – I didn’t say to stop memorizing and confessing the Scripture. What I am saying is to seek to hear from Christ. He’s the One our life flows from and not our “works of righteousness.”
Question: Why is it so much easier for us to recite the Bible than to seek to hear from God?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, Christ the Healer, faith, foolishness, hearing the word, Holy Spirit, Jesus, life in Christ, listening, prayer, presumption, reading the word, revealed, revealed word of God, rhema, Scripture, serve God, superstition, turn faith into superstition, Word of Christ, word of God, works of righteousness
Who is the Gospel for? Is it only the unsaved that need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ? I think that we’ve short changed ourselves by not continuing in the whole truth of the Gospel.
This is my second post in a series about the true, life-changing Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to look at what it is and its effect upon our lives. In this post I want to explain how the Good News is also for believers.
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.
Hebrews 4:2
According to this passage of Scripture, without faith, the Gospel is of no value or of no benefit to those who hear it. It starts there – you must believe the Gospel in order to enter into salvation. What most Christians don’t realize is that the Good News doesn’t end there. It’s not something that’s only for those in need of the saving power of God.
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him…
Romans 16:25-26
In the first line of this section of the Word the phrase is able is the Greek word dunamis – power. This literally says that He has the power to establish you. How can the Lord accomplish this? It’s through the Gospel that we are established. Not only does the Good News save you, but it gives you a foundation. It sets you firmly in place by the power of the Lord.
I think one of our fundamental mistakes is to think of the word salvation as a one-time thing. It is actually an ongoing process. According to Scripture, I received salvation when I accepted Christ as my Lord. Now, for the rest of my life, I am being saved by His work in me. One day, when He returns, I will receive my final salvation – my resurrected body. The Gospel is a part of God’s continuing work in my life.
Of course, if you read the above verse carefully you’ll find that it’s not just the Good News. It’s also the proclamation of Jesus the Anointed One and His anointing that brings about this stability in your life. That’s why we can’t neglect the gathering together of the church. We need what happens when we meet together for worship if we’re going to progress in that anointing.
This is Good News, But as great as our lives being established is, the Gospel doesn’t stop there. In my next post I will talk about another aspect of the Gospel we don’t normally consider.
Question: What is a result of failing to see the Gospel as an ongoing work in your life?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: believe, believer, Christ, do I need the Gospel, establish, faith, foundation, good news, gospel, Gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus, ongoing process, salvation, save, saved, stability, unbeliever, unsaved, whole truth
Do you find yourself hesitant to share your faith with the people around you? Do you get flustered when asked about what you believe or your opinion on religious matters? Many Christians find themselves in this condition. I believe that the answer is found in Scripture.
In the past I posted about the power of God. I defined it as the ability to produce change in the life of the believer. This access to the life-changing power of God is vital to see the move of the Spirit in our lives and churches.
There is, however, an important ingredient that we very often trip over. I am talking about the Gospel. This is something that’s very misunderstood among Christians. It’s extremely important to see the Gospel for what it is because it directly relates to the power of God. I want to take a few posts to look at these factors.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Romans 1:16
We probably all know by now that the word Gospel in the Bible is a Greek word that literally means the Good News. What is this Good News? According to the verse above, it’s the power of God to save everyone. That’s the Good News in a nutshell. God is powerful enough to save all who come to Him.
Because of this truth, Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed” of this Good News. But that statement leads us to a thought provoking question. If I am ashamed of it, is it really the Gospel?
Think about this illustration for a moment. You were just promoted to Vice President of your company and your salary was doubled. Would you be too ashamed to tell anyone about that good news? If you had just won a new car, would you be too ashamed to speak about that?
When it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I have to ask, what is it that we’re ashamed of and why? Is it even the Good News that we’re talking about? These are the issues I want to deal with over the next few posts.
My goal is to make you hungry for the true Gospel. It really is the power of God to save those who believe it. It carries with it the life-changing ability of God. If we could only understand the truth about this Good News it would change the way we approach the world.
Question: Why do you think we get uneasy sharing our faith with others?
Tags: afraid, ashamed, bashful, faith, good news, gospel, life changing, power of God, salvation, save, share, share your faith, true gospel, why are we ashamed of the gospel
In my last post I talked about the work it took to love others. Faith is the fuel, so as we love, our faith is used up.
That’s the hindrance that we face. We’ve noticed, the more we try to love others, the more of our spiritual reserves are used up. Anyone in ministry can tell you about this phenomenon. The more we minister to the needs of others, the more we need to be built up ourselves.
But, instead of more time in the Word to refuel, since faith comes by hearing the Word of God, we decide to love less. We spend less time truly fellowshipping with other believers. Less time going to church, prayer meetings, and other events that could possible tap into our faith-fuel reserves. That’s the condition of many Christians these days.
There is a fallacy with this kind of thinking. You can’t just decide not to use the car because the gas gauge goes down when you drive it. That’s simply foolish.
We wouldn’t do that in the natural. We’d never think of telling our boss, “I’m only coming to work one day a week because my car would use too much gas if I came to work more often.” Yet, many believers treat God this way all the time.
Jesus warned us that this would be a sign of the last days.
“However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:8b
Jesus was asking if anyone would fuel up in the last days. That’s a valid question based upon what we see taking place in the church today.
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 24:12-13
Jesus warns us that in the last days the love-generators will start shutting down for lack of fuel. Engines begin to grow cold once they’re turned off. In the same way, love begins to grow cold without the addition of faith.
Heed the warning of the Lord. Don’t become a victim of this age. Keep your spiritual engine running. Keep your tank filled with the fuel of faith. Use it to energize your love walk so that your spiritual voltage is always high.
This is the generation when the church needs to shine the brightest. The world is getting darker and darker. This makes the light of the Lord that much more powerful.
Remember, it’s the power of God that draws men to Himself. But that power is only energized in us by our faith working through love. It’s not faith all by itself. Stay fueled up, and keep your love flowing.
Question: How do you keep your “faith tank” filled?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, faith, faith working through love, fellowship, heat, Jesus, lacking love, last days, light, love, love faith connection, ministry, power of God, prayer, prayer meetings, sign of the times, spiritual reserves, the word, time in the word
Before the New Year, I was talking about the faith-love connection in my posts. I want to continue along those lines. Do you know why it’s so hard to walk in love sometimes? The answer will become clear as we move forward.
If you remember, I was using the illustration of faith as the fuel and love as the generator for the power of God. These are the two things that must be in place for us to see the blessing of God in our lives. I want to go a little further with this concept.
One of the ways we run into problems is using the right fuel in the right device. For instance, a candle produces light and heat. But, I wouldn’t try to cook a steak with a candle.
Love is the key to using the power of God. So we need to understand how it works. This kind of love (Agape in Greek) that the Bible speaks about is not an emotion. You have probably already heard many teachings on the subject. It is taught that love is a decision.
That’s good as far as it goes, but love is much more than that. To truly use the power of God, love must be a decision TO ACT. Remember, love is the spiritual pressure, but what is also needed is a saved mind that acts in faith. Without action there is no love and there is no power. If I have truly decided to love you, then I will pray for you, encourage you, and bless you.
This is probably the biggest hindrance to power production in our lives. We like holding on to the fuel to show everyone, “Look how much I have.” We don’t want to actually use the generator. We only want to impress people by our abundance of fuel. What we really need is to learn the truth that faith by itself is not power.
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Thessalonians 1:3
This verse gets right to the heart of the matter. Work in this verse is the power that produces change. This work is produced by faith operating through love.
But this verse also says that there is a labor associated with love. This word labor in Greek means that which reduces strength. To put it simply, the lamp burns oil to produce light. The engine burns gasoline to move the car. In the same way, love burns faith to produce spiritual power.
Why is it so hard to love others? The reason is that love requires a constant supply of faith to fuel it. Unless we’re willing to work at it, it’s easier to just ignore it.
Question: Do you notice the labor involved in loving someone?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: action, agape, faith, faith and love, hard, labor, labor of love, love, love is a decision, love walk, power of God, spiritual power, tough, why the love walk is tough, work
In the natural world, you must always have fuel to use power. No matter if it’s electricity, cooking, heating, or driving. Even something as simple as a candle requires wax as a fuel. The same is true for power in the spiritual realm.
What we commonly mean when we use the term fuel is combustible matter. But there’s also a general definition of fuel. According to this definition, fuel is whatever feeds or sustains any expenditure, outlay, passion, or excitement. What, then, is the fuel for our spiritual power?
It doesn’t take much study of the Bible to realize that faith is the fuel – that which feeds and sustains our spiritual passion – for the Christian life. Without faith it’s impossible to please God. Without faith we would have no access to the grace of God. Faith is the requirement for God to do anything at all in our lives.
Having the fuel is important. But we must also know how to utilize it. Just holding a can of gasoline doesn’t automatically make me travel 60 mph. I need to put it in the gas tank of a working automobile.
Unfortunately, there are many in the body of Christ who haven’t learned this simple concept. We hold on to the fuel of faith and expect the light and heat of God to start working. When nothing happens, we conclude that the Scripture is wrong, or that maybe God doesn’t do miracles anymore. The Bible has the answer to this dilemma.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6
In the above verse the word value literally means force in the Greek. It’s not how you look on the outside that gives spiritual force, or power, to your walk. It’s the fuel, faith, expressing itself through love. What that verse says in the Greek is that faith must energize or activate itself through love.
If I put this in natural terms I could say that faith is the fuel and love is the generator producing the voltage needed to maintain the power of God in us. The Bible clarifies this truth.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:2
If I have all the faith-fuel in the world, but don’t have the love-generator to use it in, I am nothing. This is where most of the church finds itself in this generation. We seem to be so full of faith, yet accomplishing nothing for God.
According to this verse it sounds like a love problem to me. If we are not using our faith correctly, then there will be no manifestation of power. I must use my faith to power my love-walk.
Question: Have you ever experienced the failure of faith without love?
© Nick Zaccardi 2012
Tags: excitement, faith, faith love connection, force, grace of God, love, love walk, miracles, nature of the faith love connection, passion, power, power of God, spiritual force, spiritual fuel, spiritual passion, spiritual power
In my last post I talked about how Christ has fulfilled the requirements for the promises. This teaching is carried on throughout the New Testament. It’s not just a verse pulled out of context, but a scriptural theme that has been all but ignored by the church.
The Spirit and the Word 