June 1996
Vol IV
To spread the true Gospel Light to all men
by Dr Stanley R. Farrar
From the very beginning of the Christian era Divine healing has been practiced, taught, and has been a central theme of doctrine for the Church. The church of God reformation movement used to teach Divine healing and depended upon God for the healing of the physical body, rather than to depend on doctors for their physical needs. The Bible gives to us a directive on what to do if we have an affliction or if we are sick. James puts it very clearly in his writings in the book of James. Consider James 5:13-15 "13. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."
This gives to us very simple instructions on what to do in the case of illness in our physical body. There is no place in these instructions that tells us to seek any other help than that of God. You have but to open the medicine cabinets in homes today and you will see where their faith lies. If a person makes the comment that one is ill, the first suggestion you hear is, "you better go to the doctor". In times past, in the church of God, you would have heard, "let's pray about it". Can God still heal or is the day of miracles past? Where has the faith for healing gone? As for these questions, we can know that God can still heal and the day of miracles has not passed, for we serve an immutable God, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let's take a look at Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."
Mal. 3:6 tells us that God is an unchanging God, "I am the Lord, I change not;..." therefore we can continue to stand upon the promises of God. It says in James that if the prayer of faith is prayed for someone then God is going to give the healing that is necessary. There are conditions that have to be met to receive that healing. First of all, that person should pray for himself and if there is no results then he is to call upon the elders of the church. This calling upon the elders of the church is an act of faith. We are required to show an act of faith, before we will receive the help that is needed. The lady with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25-34 said if I could only touch the hem of Jesus' garment that she would be healed, an act of faith. She was healed. The centurion said in Matt. 8:8 if Jesus would only speak the words, his servant would be healed, and he was healed. Again it was faith that brought about the healing. Another instance is found in John 4:49-53 where the nobleman came to Jesus. Asking that Jesus would come down to his house and heal his son. Jesus said for him to go his way that the child was healed. The man believed and went back home to find his child healed. There are many times in the New Testament accounting for the healings that took place. The Bible says He healed them all. If He was able to perform the healings as accounted within the Bible, He can still do it today. He is unchanging and the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The question may be asked, "if healing is for today, then why don't we see more healings take place. Many are prayed for but yet do not receive healing?" There can be many answers to this question. People that are praying may not have the faith or the person needing healing may not have the faith. In James it says "the prayer of faith shall save the sick...". We experience the fact that there are those who are doing the praying that do not have the faith and then other times the individual needing the healing does not have the faith. They may say they do, but people can say anything. Often times those needing the prayer have already said to themselves, if I do not get the healing by a certain date I will go to the doctor. This is not faith. Those who are the elders of the church may be using doctors or proclaim that God uses doctors to heal. Let me tell you, if you are relying on doctors, that is not faith, and at no time does God need the help of man to meet His promises. He does not need doctors nor does he use doctors in His miracles. Doctors and modern medicine does a lot of good in alleviating suffering. But, anyone relying on doctors and medicine to heal their sickness is living far below their privileges. As God has said He would meet all of our needs according to His riches by Christ Jesus. Therefore, healing may not come because of lack of faith. Mark 11:22 "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God."
Another reason for the lack of healing is that the person may have an unconfessed sin in his life. When a person is not in the proper relationship with God he can not truly have faith that God is going to answer his prayer, for the only prayer God hears from a sinner is the request for forgiveness. So, when a sinner prays for healing, unless it is for forgiveness first, then the prayer for healing will not be answered. A person needs to be careful not to have an unconfessed sin, a condemning heart, an unforgiving spirit, a wrong attitude, selfishness, or wavering faith. All of these can be a hindrance to Divine healing. One may need to repent and let God make things right between Him and the person.
Also we need to consider the will of God in the matter of Divine healing. God has a will for each and every one of us. There are times when we have to be willing to accept the will of God, as He may see fit to give the person "perfect healing". When God does this, He has already decided to take that person on to his final rewards. Thus, when a person prays for Divine healing it may mean that person may be taken out of this life by means of death. We have to be prepared to accept that God knows what is best for each of us.
We, as Christians, need to get back to fully trusting in God for all of our needs to be met. God wants us to come to Him with all of our problems and situations of life. For as we see Him meet those difficulties, then we will trust Him more and more. Divine healing is a promise of God and we can trust Him for the healing of our physical bodies. "...have faith in God." Let God extend to you all of the blessings He would have you to receive.
Good or Evil, what is our Capacity
by Pastor Stanley R. Farrar II
We live in a time where people seek to make good and evil a gray area. Can we make it a gray area or is it a black and white subject in which we cannot vary one way or the other? Can we sin and be a Christian? Can an evil person do good? These are a few of the questions that I hope to answer in this article.
We live in a society that has been invaded by so called "New Age" ideas, now these ideas are not as new as they might appear. They have been around for centuries in various pagan religions such as Buddhism, and Hinduism, etc... So there is no way that they could be new in any shape, size or form. One of these teachings states that man has an equal capacity for both good and evil. This sounds good at first, but is it true or do we lean one way or the other?
Matt 7:16-20 "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." We can see that the word of God say's otherwise. If we do evil things than we are evil. Many people now are saying "I am a good moral person, God won't turn me away." But if you have one sin in your life no matter how moral of a person you may be, you are still a sinner. A lost soul adrift on a sea of despair.
When God created man he created them perfect in his eyes. Which means they were without sin. They had an unlimited capacity for good, for they walked and communed with God. But God had warned them that if they eat of the fruit of good and evil that they would die, see Gen. chapt 3. But they did sin and eat of the fruit. At that point they died spiritually and lost the capacity for absolute good, for they had become evil. No matter what they did they could not make themselves good again. For the Devil now ruled in there lives. This separated them from God, for God cannot look upon sin. Hab 1:13 "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?" So they could not commune with God any longer.
Rom 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" Due to Adam and Eve sinning we have inherited a carnal nature. Which makes evil inherent in us, and due to this we all have sinned sometime in our lives. This sin in our lives eliminates the ability to do good for good's sake, instead what we do for others is to gain opinion, to make amends, or simply an act of pity. But not to help someone simply because they have a need. You can have all sorts of people think that you are the greatest person on Earth, but if there is a sin in you life you won't make it to Heaven. God is not a respecter of persons, see Rom. 2:11-12. Also, if you try to do good works it will not get you to heaven, for good works will not save you, see Eph. 2:8-9. A man cannot save himself. Does this mean that we are without hope? No, though it is true that no matter what we do as long as we have sin in our lives we are servants of sin, see Rom. 6:16. This does not leave us without hope.
What we need is an outside force to transform us into a new creature. Not physically but spiritually. We need the sin removed so that we can once more be a good person. John 1:29 "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." So we see that Jesus came for the purpose of taking away sin. What do we need to do to receive this gift of having our sins removed? Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Repentance is to have a repulsion for the things you have done and the strong desire to change. We then confess our sins, not to a man, but unto God. The baptism above mentioned does not itself save you but is an outward show of an inward work. Once we ask God to save us from our sins then the Holy Spirit comes and applies the blood of Jesus to our lives and we are washed clean from sin (see Rom. 5:9, Eph 1:7, and Heb 9:14). Jesus came and died on the cross that we could be made right. When Jesus cleanses us we become spiritually pure and without sin. We then once more are in communion with God and our capacity for good is restored. Does this mean that after God has forgiven us that we can then live anyway we want? Definitely not, for sin will still spiritually kill us and make us evil once more. Rom. 6:12-15 "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." Sin should have no part in the life of a Christian. The Bible says that we are to be holy as the Father in heaven is holy (see 1 Pet. 1:15-16).
The Lord has never wanted us to be evil and bound for an eternal Hell. He gives us a choice of whether we will serve Him or the devil, and if we are living in sin we are living for the devil (see 1 John 3:8). But we don't have to wander through this world on a wave of sin and destruction. It is the Lord's will to come into our lives and change us, transform us into a new creature without sin, and the ability to live above sin. We don't have to be slaves to sin. We can live victorious lives and reign throughout our lives with Jesus. Why be a slave when you can be a joint heir with Jesus, a kingly priest in the kingdom of Heaven. Not in the future but now!
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Are You in the Flesh?
by Rev. Stephen J. Dickinson
The word "flesh" is found in the New Testament 150 times, and it does carry with it a few different meanings. In general, the term flesh means the natural life of man in its earthly sense. Then there are other examples such as Jesus (the Word), became flesh (John 1:14), and "Jesus was made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (Romans 1:3). Admittedly, there are other meanings to the word flesh, but that is not what we will concentrate upon in this commentary.
The word "flesh" has a serious meaning that is purposely overlooked today, for people do not want to change their lives and live in accordance to God's moral laws, commandments, statutes, and precepts. Sinful man will seemingly find every excuse that he can find, to excuse his carnal nature. Such a one will take a particular verse from the Bible and twist it around so that it will meet their standards, therefore justifying their sins. The sad thing here is, these people fill our churches today and parade under the pretense of Christianity, blaspheming our Christ and the Father in Heaven.
So what does all this have to do with the word "flesh"? Just recently, I had someone tell me that the carnal nature, (sins of the flesh) were not sin. If we do believe in the Word of God, then we must accept that all acts of the carnal heart and mind is sin. We must also accept that those who practice such sin is an enemy to God (Romans 8:7). Those who would live this way are dead in sin and cannot please God (Romans 8:6, 8). The carnal heart and mind comes from the inherited sins of Adam, and if allowed, will infect our souls today. In knowing this, we must realize that there is only one cure for it, and that is the second work of God's grace called Sanctification. The carnal nature is not something that man can do away with, or quit like a bad habit. Only God can purge the heart and cleanse it from the inherited or carnal sin, and He will not do that until a person is walking in complete obedience to Him in the saved or converted experience.
So we might ask, what is this carnality or works of the flesh? In Galatians 5:19-21, they are listed as adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath (anger), selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, rivalries, and anything that would resemble these things. Now, let's look at the words lewdness, outbursts of wrath (anger), selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, hate, and rivalries. These are behaviors that we are seeing throughout our churches today. Many people within the gospel churches are proclaiming the saved and sanctified experience, yet are practicing these behaviors, while believing they are ready for heaven. This is not what God says! Galatians 5:21 says that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who do these things either have never known Christ or they have backslidden. In either case, no one who practices these things should ever believe that they are a true Christian, nor should they intend to see the Kingdom of Heaven, unless they truly become saved, and experience a true heart cleansing.
Now, let us look at a few more behaviors of the carnal flesh, in which we can add to the previous list. Romans 1:29-31 gives us some new behaviors that represent the spiritually dead which are unrighteousness, covetousness, maliciousness, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God. Those who are proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient children, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, and the unmerciful. God says that those who do such things or approve of others doing these things are deserving of death. in Ephesians 4:17-31, we see the words greediness (v.19), lying (v. 25) corrupt words (v. 29), bitterness, anger, and malice (v. 31).
Now that we have established that these things are sin, let me ask you, can we sin? Does God understand? Many people think that we can, but God has a special word for those who would believe satan's lies. To sin willfully, knowing that these things are wrong, there is no longer a sacrifice for your sins (Hebrews 10:26). Christ died that we would be free from all previous sin that was committed before our saved experience (Romans 3:25). If we refuse His blood sacrifice which frees us from all sin, there is no other sacrifice that can get us to heaven, and there will be no sin in heaven. Christ died once for all sin, and if you choose to die in your sin, you can expect nothing but "a certain fearful expectation of Judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:27).
There may be some who would still argue against this issue, and now I must ask, is there one who would say that these things (sins of the flesh), are of the holy nature? We must be careful with our answer, for if we say that these things are of the holy nature, we would be declaring our Heavenly Father a carnal God, not a holy God. If these things are acceptable human behavior, then what are we going to do with the scripture that says: "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Mat. 5:48 NKJ), or "but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, `Be holy, for I am holy'" (I Peter 1:15-16 NKJ). Holiness leaves no room for the sinful nature of man. All sin separates us from God while here on earth, and it will keep us out of Heaven. Hebrews 12:14 tells us that we must pursue peace and holiness, for without holiness, no one will see the Father in Heaven. We find another interesting passage in I Thessalonians 4:7-8, which tells us that God did not call us to uncleanness but into holiness. If we reject holiness, we are not rejecting the man who would preach or teach holiness, but we would be rejecting God Himself. Now I know that if we reject God in all of His loving kindness while here on earth, surely God would not accept us into the beautiful place that He has prepared for His holy remnant!
Those who practice these sins of the flesh (the carnal nature), do not have the Spirit of Christ within them, for these things come from satan. Those who share in, or practice even one of these behaviors, are in sin. Such a one does not know Christ, nor can such a one belong to Him (Romans 8:6-11a). However, there is a solution to this problem and to see heaven, we must accept it. First we must be saved and put away the old man (satan), and then walk hand in hand with our Savior in perfect obedience. Then we must accept what I Thessalonians 4:3a says: "For this is the will of God, your Sanctification." Without sanctification, we will not see the Father in heaven, and there is no partiality (Romans 2:11). Are you walking in holiness, or are you walking in the flesh?
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From the Editor's Desk!
by Stanley R. Farrar II
We live in a time today when many would compromise the teachings of the Bible. But what does
this truly gain them? Yes, people like easy soft-toned teachings that permit them to live their
worldly lives and all the time claim to be something they're not, a Christian. Mark 8:36-37 "For
what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a
man give in exchange for his soul?"
There is no benifit to such false teachings as eternal security for God states the only security is a
Holy life. 1 Tim. 5:12 "Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith" Heb. 12:14
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." We can not
live any way that we want, if we want to make it to heaven. We must live according to the ways of
God. Any pastor or teacher that teaches things that are contrary to the word of God are sending
millians of people into the hands of Satan, and those people are being lead off blindly unto their
eternal destruction. They are also condemning their own souls. Luke 17:1-2 "Then said he unto
the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they
come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea,
than that he should offend one of these little ones." We are accountable to God for everything that
we preach and teach, and we will answer to God for any deviation from His word. We are to
also keep a look out for false teachers and teachings. Who would decceive the very elect of God.
Matt 7:15-20 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they
are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil
fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by
their fruits ye shall know them."
We must always strive to hold to the entire word of God. In this way and in this way alone will
we lead others to Christ and to heaven. If we vary, not only will we be responsible for the
destruction of others, but we will also condenm ourselves. If you teach, teach the entire truth for
your own souls sake, if not for the sake of those you teach. God wants us to teach the entire word,
whether people like what you have to say or not. For in many cases people don't want to hear the
truth for because the truth forces change. Let us always hold to the truth.
This is a publication by the First Church of God, 818 4th St, Fairbury, Nebraska 68352. The Chief
Editor is Pastor Stanley Farrar II, and the Editor is Michelle Farrar.
The Gospel Light is published to spread the true light of God's word to all men. We are dedicated
to the truths of the word of God, such as salvation, holiness, sanctification, the unity of all
believers, etc... May God bless those that read this paper!
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