Word of Faith, Principles and Formulas

Word of Faith teaching entices people with flashy looking prizes and appears to give people the means by which they can attain them. This is appealing to the flesh which not only wants to be blessed, but actually wants to do something in order to merit it. In this manner, Bible based teaching that was meant to encourage faith in believers, actually has the effect of stirring-up the flesh.

Through Word of Faith - Christians seemingly don’t have to keep rules they cannot keep; neither do they have to serve in church in a role they don’t want to perform. That’s why name-it-and-claim it is so popular: just confess that something is yours because of what the Bible says – and you will have it. But this approach can make a work, a rule, something the believer “must do” – in order to experience the manifest presence of God.

It seems that the “prize” of reading Word of Faith books, is that you believe they can yield you principles and formulas that will give you a sense of control over your life, and dare I say it, control over God.

I like what The Message Bible says about “formulas”:

¹³ "Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do.

Matthew 7:13 msg

⁵ "And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? ⁶ "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. ⁷ "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. ⁸ Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.

Matthew 6:5-8 msg

In Matthew 6:6 in The Message Bible, we see a vital clue as to how to how we should pray in order to experience the grace of God: The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. Isn’t that what the Christian life is all about?

Why Believers Fail to Experience All That God Has For Them

Being Told What to Do By Pastors

I believe that part of the problem as to why believers fail to experience all that God has for them, is is that many believers are told what they should do by a pastor. I cannot help but feel that due to spiritual stagnation, a pastor could try to implement his own plans and programmes in the church. Then, he will announce these things to the congregation, telling them that it is the will of God and that they should volunteer themselves to do them. But how do you know that these things are indeed the will of God – or simply the efforts of a frustrated pastor?

One of the reasons why the Lord does not stir up believers to do the things that the pastor says they should, is because they are simply not ready to serve Him. Many people come to church in a broken condition and in need of restoration. The common belief is that if, as a believer, you just turn up to church sing some songs and then listen to a sermon, then you should be restored after a period of time – as long as you make an effort of the will to do what the pastor tells you to do.

Renewal of the Mind

Restoration takes time, not because Jesus wants us to wait – it is because it takes time for us to renew our minds with what the Bible says we are in Christ (Romans 12:2). The renewal of the mind is typically the only time-factor when it comes to experiencing the fullness of God for your life.

Without a change of nature, you will find it difficult indeed to do those things the Bible says you should do. Just by listening to religious, rules-based sermons, you are not going to be transformed. You can only be transformed by renewing your mind with the Word of God (Romans 12:2 and Colossians 3:9-10).

It is only through the development of faith - faith of the heart - that will bring about an inner transformation. It is for this reason that you have to be really careful and selective as to the teaching that you expose yourself to. This faith is not something that we must do, like a rule we ought to keep, faith is something that happens to you when you listen to the Gospel being preached (Romans 10:17).

The Lure of Religious Pride

Some believers love the thought that they can purchase this grace through self-effort by means of works and rule-keeping. There are a lot of Christians who have suffered through life as a result of not being afforded this grace. It is not that God denies them that grace – they bring themselves into the same situation as the Galatian church who, once accepting grace, reverted back to keeping rules. (See Galatians 3:1-3).

The concept that they no longer need to struggle in life, seems incomprehensible to legalistic Christians. Yet this concept of grace as a free gift, which is asserted by many believers, is a concept which is backed-up by scripture.

Some people love to believe that they have earned their right to something; they love to believe that the reason they have received something good is because of what they have done. When it comes to grace, it is all about what Christ has done for us. To believe that righteousness comes as a result of self-effort is a boast on man and is a denial of the sacrifice of Christ. There is no room for boasting in the Gospel (Romans 3:27).

²⁶ And now in these days also he can receive sinners in this same way because Jesus took away their sins. But isn't this unfair for God to let criminals go free, and say that they are innocent? No, for he does it on the basis of their trust in Jesus who took away their sins. ²⁷ Then what can we boast about doing to earn our salvation? Nothing at all. Why? Because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds; it is based on what Christ has done and our faith in him. ²⁸ So it is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do.

Romans 3:26-28 TLB

If what we do for God is according to our own efforts, then any reward that comes to us as a result of that will be a wage – not a free gift (Romans 4:4). Let’s read this verse in the context of surrounding verses, in The Living Bible.

¹ Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What were his experiences concerning this question of being saved by faith? Was it because of his good deeds that God accepted him? ² If so, then he would have something to boast about. But from God's point of view Abraham had no basis at all for pride. ³ For the Scriptures tell us Abraham believed God, and that is why God canceled his sins and declared him "not guilty." ⁴ But didn't he earn his right to heaven by all the good things he did? No, for being saved is a gift; if a person could earn it by being good, then it wouldn't be free--but it is! ⁵ It is given to those who do not work for it. For God declares sinners to be good in his sight if they have faith in Christ to save them from God's wrath.

Romans 4:1-5 TLB

Apostle Paul was honest and he humbled himself enough to admit that he was not a good person. Paul knew that in terms of being righteous, it was only by the grace of God.

¹⁸ I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn I can't make myself do right. I want to but I can't.

Romans 7:18 TLB

The Bible is pretty clear about those people who choose to earn righteousness through their own efforts:

²⁰ Now do you see it? No one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what the law commands. For the more we know of God's laws, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying them; his laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners.

Romans 3:20 TLB

If the grace of God is something given to man freely, then why does man not experience the effects of this? Surely there should be some difference made to the nature of man? The nature of man being propensity or motivation to action. If this new nature that the Bible promises in the New Birth has been imputed to all who believe in Christ, why do so many believers struggle to do good and to resist the lure of the wretched flesh-nature?

It amazes me how so many people, myself included, have found it so difficult to do those things that the Bible says believers should do. Surely, if the nature of Jesus Christ was abiding in every believer of the Christian faith, then it should be the easiest thing in the world to do those things that the Bible says we ought to do?

Learn the Unforced Rhythms of Grace

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. ²⁹ Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. ³⁰ Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Matthew 11:28-30 MSG

If you say to someone in church, "I want to live freely and lightly; I want to learn the unforced rhythms of grace." I think many believers would look at you strangely. Yet this is what The Message Bible has to say about the grace of God that Jesus so graciously purchased for us with His own precious blood.

The soul still struggles with the concept of receiving grace so freely. The soul becomes convinced that there must be a price to pay for something so precious. Yet Jesus Christ Himself tells us in the Bible that the water of life is a free gift, to whoever desires and whoever thirsts: Revelation 22:17.

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' Let each one who hears them say the same, 'Come.' Let the thirsty one come--anyone who wants to; let him come and drink the Water of Life without charge.

Revelation 22:17 TLB

I think that this struggle to accept the gift of the water of life, is because we have been brought up in a culture that asserts that there is no such thing as something for nothing in this life. We are so used to working hard so that we can receive the basic necessities of life.

It is alright to work hard as the grace of God drives you, empowers you and compels you. But there are no rewards in life for people to try to get things done through an effort of their own. Jesus Christ offers us the free gift of the grace of God.

Salvation Through Works

Fairground Cranes

It can seem so tantalizingly simple, so easily attainable, to do good works in the church and to keep going with it. It reminds me of one of those little cranes that you see at the fairground. You put your money in the slot and use a little joystick to manoeuvre a little crane in order to grab a watch or something. Just as you think you’ve grabbed the prize and you are about to drop it down the chute – the little crane goes and drops it!

Money Falls

On a similar theme, it can also be like the money-falls, where you put coins into a machine that pushes the coins. If you can put a coin into the slot at the right time, you can cause the machine to push some coins into the chute and you win some money. Sometimes it looks as if you are so close, so you put more money in. Then, as you get close, but not close enough, you put some more money in. So it continues until you have inserted all your spare change into the machine – either without winning anything, or winning a fraction of what you put in.

The Struggle for Justification by Works

It seems like a desperate plight for many believers as they struggle like mad to substantiate their salvation through works. It can seem to be so easy to just commit to some simple duty in the church, such as shaking people by the hand and welcoming them as they walk through the church doors. However, God will often rain on your parade by finding some way to frustrate you in your efforts to please other people.

If you are relying on some simplistic church routine to substantiate your righteousness, apart from knowing and understanding the Word of God, then God is likely to throw a spanner in the works of your religious machine. You can praise God if He does! It might to frustrating, annoying and even a little bit scary – but at least God is steering you towards knowing Him! Rather that than just trundling merrily down a road of religion that gets you nowhere!

There Is Only One Way To Salvation

There is only one way to be saved, and fortunately, it is effortless: Romans 10:13.

God wants an intimate relationship with all of His children. God does not just want His children to give sacrifices on an altar – He wants us to really know Him. We know God through the Word of God – not through routines and duties.

If you have to force yourself to perform church routines and duties, then it is likely that you do not know God well enough. The Bible says that if we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour, then our nature has been changed (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). It is possible for a believer to receive a new nature in their spirit – but not be able to walk in the experience of it because of unbelief.

If you are in unbelief – you need to repent of some wrong mindsets. When I say “repent”, I mean have a change of mindset, a revelation – not repentance as if grovelling to God for forgiveness! Above all – you have to simply be honest with God.

Matthew 23:23 as a Basis for Tithing

23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Matthew 23:23 nkjv

It would appear from Matt. 23:23 that Jesus is saying that Christians should pay their tithes. But if we're not careful we can make a law out of tithing based on this verse. One point that we should consider is that Jesus knew who He was dealing with: Jesus was not dealing with someone like Simon-Peter the unstable, sinful fisherman who was willing to believe in Jesus and could not keep the Ten Commandments.

No, Jesus was dealing with the religious elite of the day who prided themselves on keeping rules. Jesus was, in effect, saying, “Good on you, you legalistic, religious people – you should do everything that the Law tells you to do.” The Pharisees could relate to keeping rules – but they absolutely could not tolerate Jesus when He told them that He was the Son of God.

Let's look at some other verses were Jesus told people to keep the law:

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" 17 So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 19 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' " 20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Matthew 19:16-22 nkjv

So, if we are going to make Matt. 23:23 into a rule, something that we must do - we should also make Matt. 19:17-19 into rules that we should keep. After all, Jesus did say in verse 17, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments".

While we're on the subject, let's not forget what James said in James 2:10.

Oh look - we're back to the Ten Commandments again! The moral of the story is that even if the New Testament tells us that we should keep rules, it doesn't mean we, as Christians should keep them. Sounds confusing doesn't it?

Thankfully, Joseph Prince teaches on Matthew 19:16-22 and brings it into a grace perspective. Jesus gave this man the law because he was looking for something that he "should do" in order to inherit eternal life. Jesus could have told him the truth, to believe in Him, but the man was looking for rules and probably was not open to the Gospel.

There is only one commandment in the Bible:

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

John 13:34 nkjv

Thankfully, God even gives us the means of keeping this one commandment:

5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:5 nkjv

Grace Reigns Through Righteousness

²¹ so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:21 nkjv

When we look unto Jesus and the free gift of righteousness that He wrought for us – it brings life to our mind, emotions and body – as we become reconciled to God. But when we put conditions on our righteousness that don’t really exist, such as when we look to our behaviour and actions, we get into unbelief (belief contrary to the Word). When we get into unbelief, we succumb to guilt, which is self-condemnation; this in turn prevents us from experiencing the fullness of what God has for us. As 2 Corinthians 3:6 says, “For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

When it comes to the subject of faith, our ultimate aim should be to lay hold on eternal life – that is the only battle that the Christian is called to fight. (See 1 Timothy 6:12).

So often we try to “believe” God for healing or prosperity or whatever. But we fail to understand that our fight of faith is for the purpose of laying hold of eternal life: the manifest presence of God living in us.

According to Ephesians 1:3, we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing. When we have eternal life, Christ in us, there is no need to believe God for this or that: we already have that which we have been seeking after – we have everything we will ever need.

If you have the Holy Spirit living in you – the accomplishment or attainment of a thing is only a matter of time. Why believe God for that which only eternal life can bring? When you have eternal life dwelling in you – you have truly been blessed with every spiritual blessing. When it comes to faith, believe God for whatever it is that will bring you eternal life.

Grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:21).