I want to help people. I do. I explain the principle of faith to them — you have what you say — but sometimes I wonder if they just don’t get it or they’re too hardheaded to understand it?
Or maybe they don’t believe it applies to them, “That may work for them faith preachers, but it’s not for me.”
Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you understand it), the law of faith works for everyone, regardless of what you believe.
Why do I call it “the law of faith” some may wonder? Because the Apostle Paul called it that in his writings, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith” (Romans 3:27 (MEV]).
Faith isn’t a law like the speed limit; it’s like the law of gravity. Anyone can violate the speed limit with little or no consequences (Actually, most speed limits are imposed with no consideration of a vehicle’s ability to navigate the road. They are imposed for other reasons, such as residential areas, school zones, blind curves, etc.). If you want to violate the law of gravity, good luck.
Gravity cannot be violated. No matter how many times you throw a rock in the air, it’s going to come back down to earth. You say you don’t believe in the law of gravity? That’s irrelevant. Gravity doesn’t need you to believe in it to hold you to the ground. What you think or feel about gravity has no bearing on its impact to your life.
In the same fashion, faith cannot be violated. Whatever you say and believe is going to come to pass (reference Mark 11:23). You say you don’t believe in the law of faith? That’s irrelevant. Faith doesn’t need you to believe in it to bring to pass what you say. What you think or feel about faith has no bearing on its impact to your life.
Jesus warned the Pharisees, “But I say to you that for every idle word that men speak, they will give an account on the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37 (MEV]).
Our words reveal what we truly believe. Not just the words we say when we’re in church, supposedly on good behavior. It’s the words we speak when we’re behind closed doors, when we think no one can hear us. However, the most important person can hear your words!
Who, you may ask, Jesus? No, you! You are the most important person to you. No one will take care of you like you will. What you say about you has more impact on you than whatever anyone else says or has said.
“But you don’t know what my (insert relationship name here) said about me!”
What do you hold as truth? What they said about you? Or what the Bible says about you?
And which do you repeat more often? What they said about you? Or what the Bible says about you?
If you’re going to believe what the Bible says about you, you’re going to have to put it in your heart and let it come out of your mouth.
If we go back and read more of Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in Matthew 12, we can see he explained more of this idea.
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt. For the tree is known by its fruit. O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:33-35 (MEV]).
If you want good things (i.e., the promises of God) to come out of your mouth, then you have to first put them into your heart. Your words reveal whatever you have stored in your heart.
Years ago, I heard a preacher say, “If all you have been doing is feeding yourself on soap operas, don’t be surprised that when trouble comes, all that comes out of your mouth is Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.” I’m not trying to say that you have to watch every word that comes out of your mouth. Jesus said it. I’ll just say this, I’ll be listening.
Tim Hughes is a lay minister and elder at Ascension Life Church in Athens. He can be reached at tim@thramb.com
Tim Hughes is a lay minister and elder at Ascension Life Church in Athens. He can be reached at tim@thramb.com
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