Bearing Good Fruit in Every Good Work

In my article called Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit -- What's the Difference, I explained that the fruit of the Spirit includes the conduct, actions, words, attitudes, and demeanor that are produced in our lives by the indwelling Holy Spirit, as we remain connected to Christ the true grapevine. In other words, to put it more simply, our fruit and our works are very closely related.

Revealing the Nature of Good Works
When we take this into consideration, it opens up a whole new realm of understanding for us about the nature of our works. We know the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22,23). You may not have thought of these as works before, but that is the figurative meaning of the word "fruit" here in this verse. The Greek word for fruit is karpos, which literally means the produce of a tree, plant; or animal (i.e., offspring or young). In a figurative sense it also means production or that which is produced, as in conduct or actions. That is the sense in which the word karpos is used by the apostle Paul in Galatians 5. In other words, the fruit of the Spirit are the qualities that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, which may be observed in our conduct, actions, words, attitudes, and demeanor.

The Reason We Were Created
Consider the way that many people choose to emphasize the fact that we are saved by grace and not by works, which is true, but they neglect to see the importance of our being created to do good works. They focus on the verses in which Paul the apostle said, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph 2:8-9). But they neglect to teach on the importance of the next verse, in which he states, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." (Eph 2:10). While we may not be saved as a result of our works, the very purpose for which we are created is to do good works, so let's not lose sight of that.

It is possible to do good works without bearing fruit. For example, you could help an elderly lady across the street without love. You could give all you have to the poor without love, and you could surrender your body to be burned without love, but it would be of no profit to you at all (1 Cor 13:3).

Instead, we should bear fruit in every good work that we were created to do, which means we should do them with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It is the will of God "that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Col 1:10). Those who teach in such a way as to de-emphasize works are actually downplaying the importance of these fruit that are indispensable in our lives. Allow me to explain.

No Fruit? No Heaven!
If you don't have all of these fruit in your life, you will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. As I wrote in my article about brother Ezekiel Moses' testimony of heaven and hell, the Lord revealed to him the essential nature of the fruit of the Spirit. Brother Ezekiel said that if the fruit of the Spirit is not complete in your life – all nine fruit – forget about heaven.  They are completed in holiness, since they are the fruit of the HOLY Spirit.  He said, “You must have complete holiness!”  

You see, the only way we can produce these is by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives when we have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:22-24). If we are not producing the fruit of the Spirit, then we will be carrying out the acts of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21), and Paul said that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. You are either walking in the Spirit or walking in the flesh; there is no other way to be living. Therefore, it is imperative that we crucify the flesh and walk by the Spirit if we hope to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

There are many Scriptures to support this, including Christ's own words that if anyone wishes to come after Jesus, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Jesus (Lk 9:23). Likewise, the apostle Paul taught that our new life and resurrection with Christ depends on our being united with Him in His death, so our eternal life with Him is contingent upon our having died with Him. Paul said, "For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection...Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him..." (Rom 6:5,8). The word "if" in these verses means that our resurrection life is conditional, based on whether we have been united with Christ in His death.

No Fruit Unless We Abide in Christ
The fruit of the Spirit is the result of a godly life that remains connected to Christ, abiding in Him. Our Lord said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (Joh 15:4-5). Therefore, we can only produce the fruit of the Spirit as we abide in Him, and we cannot produce any fruit apart from Him.

Abiding in Christ is not optional for salvation. We must remain in Him, and stay connected to Him. If you cut off a branch from a tree, it will not be able to produce any fruit by itself. Likewise, we cannot produce any fruit if we are separated from Christ. One can become unfruitful, if they do not remain in Christ (Jn 15:5). If you walk by the flesh, fulfilling its desires, you will reap destruction. If you walk by the Spirit, setting your mind on what He desires, you will reap eternal life.

The Flesh vs. The Spirit

The Spirit and the flesh are set in battle opposition to each other. "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." (Gal 5:16-17). As long as you walk in the flesh, you cannot produce the fruit the Spirit desires, and as long as you walk in the Spirit, you cannot satisfy the desire of the flesh, since they are diametrically opposed to each other and mutually exclusive. Therefore, if one is not producing all nine fruit of the Spirit, then he is not continually walking in the Spirit, but walking in the flesh at least part of the time. For more on this please see The Flesh vs the Spirit.

Let Those Fruit Shine!

We can learn so many things about the kind of walk that the Lord is expecting of us once we realize that these fruit of the Spirit are closely related to the works we were created to do. It sheds light on other passages about works. For example, Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Mat 5:16; cf. 1 Pe 2:12). At least part of what He meant here was to let those deeds characterized by the fruit of the Spirit shine before men like light, so that they may see your good works and glorify God.

The Fruit is the Essence of Love
We know that love is a fruit of the Spirit, and Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (Joh 13:35). Jesus also said, "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." (Joh 15:8). These verses taken together mean that our love, as well as the other fruit of the Spirit, are evidence to all men that we are Christ's disciples. Therefore, fruit prove that we are His disciples and glorify God.

If we don't have love, then we are not Christ's disciples and will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. If we don't have love, then we are nothing (1 Cor 13:1-3). Love is not an option, but a commandment (Jn 15:12). Just as all the Law and the Prophets are summed up in love (Mt 22:40), all of the fruit of the Spirit are summed up in love, so all the other fruit roll up under love and are an extension of love. For example, love is patient, love is kind, and love always perseveres (1 Cor 13:4-7). The fruit is the essence of love. Put differently, the fruit are all aspects of love, so what is true of love is also true of all the fruit of the Spirit.

The Anti-works Teachings are False
Let me show you how those who falsely teach against works are essentially teaching against bearing fruit. Keeping in mind that our good works must be characterized by the fruit of the Spirit, consider the fact that James said, "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." (Jas 2:24). This proves that those who teach against works are not teaching correctly according to the Scriptures.

Our works, which include the fruit of the Spirit, are evidence of our genuine saving faith in Christ. In other words, works characterized by the fruit of the Spirit will follow true, saving faith. If the evidence of those fruit is absent, then it shows we are not truly His, and we do not have eternal life. If we lack the fruit of the Spirit, then either we were never justified in Christ in the first place, or we have fallen away from Him and disconnected from the Vine.

Words of Warning
The words of John the Baptist serve to warn us, even as the Holy Spirit said through him, "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Mat 3:10)

Likewise, the apostle John had a lot to say to warn us about those who fail to produce the fruit. Bear with me while I share a few of those passages with you here.

That One Does Not Know Him
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (1Jn 4:7-8)

He Abides in Death

"We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death." (1Jn 3:14)

If these verses make you feel uncomfortable, then you may need to repent. Then keep His commandments, keep His Word, walk in the same manner as Jesus walked, and produce the fruit of the Spirit. Produce the fruit of repentance (Mt 3:8). Then you will be comforted by those same verses that say you will know that you have passed out of death into life. You will know that you have come to know Him and that you are in Him.

Intentional Fruit Bearing
One could assume that trees do not need to make any effort to bear fruit, and simply bear fruit because they are a fruit tree. Based on this assumption, some teach incorrectly that since fruit trees and fruit bearing plants make no effort to bear fruit, then we as disciples of Christ should make no effort to bear the fruit of the Spirit. This is patently false.

First of all, a tree is not a human, and therefore we cannot speak of it as making an effort or not making an effort to bear fruit. Secondly, the fact is that not all fruit trees actually bear fruit. One example is the fig tree that Jesus once went to when He was hungry, looking for fruit on it. Because it had no fruit when He came looking for it, He cursed the tree so that it would never bear fruit again, and it immediately withered (Mk 11:12-25). The fig tree was a picture of Israel at that time, when the Lord came looking for good fruit and didn't find it (Jer 8:13). Since not all trees bear fruit, we should not assume that fruit bearing is completely "effortless" on the part of the tree.

Likewise, we should not assume that fruit bearing is effortless for the believer. It is not effortless. We cannot take a passive approach to fruit bearing and say that all we have to do is be in Christ and we will automatically bear fruit. If that were so, then there would be no need for the Lord to give us a commandment to love, since we would always love by default. There would be no need to command us to be patient or to be kind, since we would always be patient and kind. We would not need to be told to rejoice, since we would always be joyful just because we are in Christ. But that is not the case. We do need to make an effort (Mt 3:8). That's why self-control has the word "self" in it, because we do have an active part in bearing that fruit. For more on this, please see my article, Spiritual Do-It-Yourself.

Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, every believer has been enabled to bear fruit. We are no longer slaves to sin (Ro 6:6), but are slaves to righteousness (Ro 6:18).  "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Pe 1:4, NIV). Since we have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires, we may now participate in the divine nature (2 Pe 1:5).

We are free now to bear good fruit for God at all times (Gal 5:1). But rather than take a passive approach to it and wait for fruit to simply happen in our lives, we must take a proactive approach. We must intentionally bear fruit, applying all diligence to do so. We can decide at any moment to love, to be kind, to be patient, to be faithful. In fact, we are taught in Scripture to make this our way of life, continually doing all things this way, and not just randomly doing this part of the time. For more on this, see Fruit in Every Season and Whatever You Do, Do All Like This.

Inspired Summary
The point that I am making in this article could not be summarized more aptly than the Holy Spirit did when He inspired these words written by the apostle Peter about the fruit:

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins."

"Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Pe 1:5-11, NIV).

Peter could not have been more clear. You must make every effort to add the fruit to your life, so that you possess these qualities in increasing measure, because in doing so, you will keep from being ineffective and unproductive, you will confirm your calling and election, and you will receive a rich welcome into the kingdom of heaven. If you lack these qualities, then you are short-sighted and blind. As Matthew Henry said of the latter such people, "...how wretched is their condition who are thus blind as to the awfully great things of the other world, who cannot see any thing of the reality and certainty, the greatness and nearness, of the glorious rewards God will bestow on the righteous, and the dreadful punishment he will inflict on the ungodly!"

Closing Words
Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit is evidence that we are in Christ, that we have come to know Him, that we are disciples of His, that we have passed from death to life, that we have been born of God, that we know God, that we love God, that we belong to the truth. and that the Spirit of God is within us (Jn 13:35; 1 Cor 12:3; 1 Jn 2:2-5; 3:6, 14, 19; 4:7; 5:2-3). We must produce these qualities by living in the light, walking by the Spirit, and being led by the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 18; 1 Jn 2:10). We also produce them by keeping His commandments, keeping His Word, and walking in the same manner as Jesus walked.

We should bear fruit in every good work (Col 1:10). For we were created to do good works that are characterized by the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22,23). These were prepared beforehand by God so that we would walk in them (Eph 2:10).Without the fruit, one cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, but will be cut off and thrown into the fire (Mt 7:21; Jn 15:2, 6; 1 Cor 13:1-3; 1 Jn 1:6; 2:4-6, 9; 3:7-10; 4:7-8, 21).

I hope this has helped you to see the importance of the fruit of the Spirit and how it is part of the works we were created by God to do. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit is essential. So if we aren't bearing the fruit of the Spirit, but have been walking in the flesh, producing the deeds of the flesh, then our response should be to repent and ask His forgiveness, turn to Jesus, and be restored to the purpose for which we were created, so that we may have eternal life with Him.

Image credit: Culinary fruit. Picture by Bill Ebbesen. Courtesy Wikimedia.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, all rights reserved, used by permission. Other Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV (where noted), copyright Zondervan, all rights reserved, used by permission.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit -- What's the Difference, Fruit in Every Season, Partaking of the Divine Nature, The Wardrobe of the Saints, The Conditional Security of the Believer, Obedience by the Spirit, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Drifting Away, Is Obedience Optional?, The Apostasy Parables, Faith Works, Ezekiel Moses' Testimony of Heaven and Hell, Whatever You Do, Do All Like This, Pleasing the Lord, Led by the Spirit, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, Multiplying Your Talents, No Flesh Will Be Justified by Works, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page. My daughter has written a poem called Fruit in Every Season, which is worth reading. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Walking by Faith

While I was reading the gospel of Matthew, I observed the recurring theme of faith, and would like to share these passages with you in the hopes that it would encourage your faith.

The Faith of the Centurion 
The first passage is found in Matthew's eighth chapter, where he wrote of the Roman centurion's faith:

"And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, 'Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.' Jesus said to him, 'I will come and heal him.' But the centurion said, 'Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, "Go!" and he goes, and to another, "Come!" and he comes, and to my slave, "Do this!" and he does it.' Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, 'Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' And Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.' And the servant was healed that very moment." (Mat 8:5-13)

The centurion brought his need to Jesus saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." (Mat 8:6). He trusted in the power of Jesus’ Word saying, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed." (Mat 8:8). He believed in Jesus’ authority over sickness saying, "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." (Mat 8:9). 

Consequently Jesus was astonished by his great faith. "Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, 'Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.'" (Mat 8:10). Although this man was a Roman, he had greater faith than anyone Jesus had ever met in Israel.

One lesson we learn from this man's faith is that it will be done just as you believe it will. That's what Jesus taught when He said to the centurion, "'Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.' And the servant was healed that very moment." (Mat 8:13).

The centurion demonstrated his faith when he said to the Lord, "Just say the word and my servant will be healed." To that the Lord replied, “Go, it will be done for you as you have believed. And his servant was healed at that very moment.” This is our take away to practice on our own.

The Little Faith of the Disciples 
In contrast to the great faith of the centurion, observe the little faith of the disciples in the same eighth chapter of Matthew:

"When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing!' He said to them, 'Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?' Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, 'What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'" (Mat 8:23-27)

Just as the centurion did, the disciples brought their need to Jesus by waking Him and saying, "Save us, Lord" (Mat 8:25). Yet they still believed they were going to drown, saying, "We are perishing!"

Jesus reproved them for lack of faith, saying, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" (Mat 8:26a). At Jesus’ rebuke the wind and waves were calmed. "Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm."  (v. 26b).

Although the disciples expressed a little faith, it was quite weak compared to that of the centurion. The disciples should have either told Jesus to say the word and the storm would cease or spoken to the storm themselves and commanded it to cease in Jesus’ name.

The Faith of the Paralytic’s Friends 
In the very next chapter there is another testimony of faith, which is the faith of the paralytic's friends:

"Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 'Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.' And some of the scribes said to themselves, 'This fellow blasphemes.' And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, 'Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Get up, and walk"? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins'—then He said to the paralytic, 'Get up, pick up your bed and go home.' And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men." (Mat 9:1-8)

Jesus saw their faith when they brought to him the paralytic. The Scripture says, "Seeing their faith..." (v. 2). Jesus commanded him to get up and walk, saying to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home." (Mat 9:6). At that the man got up and walked home (v. 7).

The Faith of the Bleeding Woman and the Ruler
In the same ninth chapter of Matthew we read of the faith of the ruler and of the woman with the issue of blood:

"While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, 'My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.' Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples. And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, 'If I only touch His garment, I will get well.' But Jesus turning and seeing her said, 'Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.' At once the woman was made well." (Mat 9:18-22)

We need to look at Mark's account also to get the full story:

"When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. One of the synagogue officials named Jairus *came up, and on seeing Him, *fell at His feet and *implored Him earnestly, saying, 'My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.'" (Mar 5:21-23)

Here we observe that just as the centurion, the disciples in the boat, and the friends of the paralytic all brought their need to Jesus, so did the ruler. The ruler came to Jesus and bowed down before Him, and said, "My daughter has just died." (Mat 9:18). He demonstrated his faith by his confession, when he said, "come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live." (v. 18). That took a lot of faith to say that about his dead daughter, but he truly believed she would live if Jesus would lay his hand on her.

As the ruler had requested, Jesus took the girl by the hand and she got up. "When the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up." (Mat 9:25)

Likewise the woman with the issue of blood who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years had faith and confessed to herself that she’d be healed if she touched His cloak. "For she was saying to herself, 'If I only touch His garment, I will get well.'" (Mat 9:21). She brought her need to Jesus, acting upon her faith. "And a woman...came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak." (Mat 9:20). Her faith was the evidence of things not seen, but once she exercised it openly by her action, she was healed from that moment. "But Jesus turning and seeing her said, 'Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well.'" (Mat 9:22)

Peter’s Lack of Faith 
The next example of faith in Matthew's gospel is in the fourteenth chapter, and this time it is Peter's lack of faith.

"Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.' Peter said to Him, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.' And He said, 'Come!' And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?' When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, 'You are certainly God's Son!'" (Mat 14:22-33)

In this passage, I observed that initially Peter did believe, and at the Lord’s command he walked on water. "Peter said to Him, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.' And He said, 'Come!' And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus." (Mat 14:28-29). If he didn't have faith, he wouldn't have gotten out of the boat and walked on the water. This proves that all things are possible to those who believe.

But he became afraid when he saw the wind, and as a result he began to sink.  He did not become afraid because he was starting to sink. Rather he started to sink, because he became afraid. "But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!'" (Mat 14:30).

Jesus caught him when he cried out, “Lord, save me,” (v. 31). He stretched forth His hand and took hold of Peter and pulled him up. Amazingly the Lord was also standing on nothing more than water, but was also able to uphold Peter, too.

Jesus reproved him for his little faith and for doubting, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Mat 14:31). Doubt and fear are the enemies of faith. Had he not doubted, he wouldn't have started to sink. Likewise, we should not give way to doubts and fears, but have faith in the Lord and nothing will be impossible for us.

Keys of the Kingdom 
We see another example of this theme of faith in Matthew's sixteenth chapter, although it does not contain the word "faith" in it. Jesus said, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." (Mat 16:19)

In the original, it reads more like this: "Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." That's amazing isn't it! It demonstrates the power of the word spoken in faith.

I recall one time in Ploiesti, Romania, after the service was over, I was praying for the pastor named Marian. I was led to pray fervently that the Lord would send a mighty band of warring angels to help him in his ministry. Afterward he said he felt refreshed. And Stefan, the young man that was standing next to me as I prayed for his pastor, described what happened in the spirit. He said the Lord allows him to see things in the spirit, such as angels and demons. And he said that even before I started to make that request to God, he actually saw a band of angels coming quickly, fully armed for war standing behind the pastor, and beside him. The two beside him were bigger and had spears and swords -- fully equipped. They were ready to do whatever he said; he was their commander. There were also smaller angels; they were fiercely determined to do their job and protect him. He was in good hands. In the background, there were many warrior angels inside the church, standing around the perimeter of the room. They were fiercely determined to do their job to defend. Praise the Lord! Before I could even get the words out of my mouth, they were entering onto the scene! What I loosed on earth had already been loosed in heaven.

The Disciples’ Lack of Faith
Once again in the seventeenth chapter, we find this theme of faith recurring, and once again it is the disciples' lack of it.

When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. "I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him." And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" And He *said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. (Mat 17:14-20)

The problem here is that the disciples could not heal the epileptic boy. For the man told Jesus "I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him." (Mat 17:16). The disciples wondered why He could do it but they couldn’t, asking Him, "Why could we not drive it out?" (Mat 17:19)

The answer was because they had so little faith. Jesus said, "Because of the littleness of your faith." They didn’t even have faith the size of a tiny mustard seed. Faith as small as a seed moves mountains. He taught them: "For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." (Mat 17:20). Had their faith been at least as the size of a mustard seed, they could have cured the epileptic boy, but their faith was even smaller than that. In fact, it was probably mixed with doubt and unbelief.

Jesus taught us here about the power of the word spoken in faith. He didn't tell them that they would pray, "Oh Lord, if it is your will, please move this mountain." He said, "You will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move." The power of a word spoken in faith is such that we can speak directly to mountains, problems, sickness, disease, or demons and command them by faith to move out of the way, come out, be healed, be loosed in Jesus' name, and it will happen. I am not saying this from a theoretical point of view, but from the perspective of one having had the privilege of experiencing it myself first hand. This is also recorded in Mark's gospel:

And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." (Mar 11:22-24)

The Royal Official’s Faith 
Having covered the theme of faith in Matthew's gospel, I would like to touch on two more examples found in John's gospel, beginning with the royal official's faith.

"Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." The royal official *said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Jesus *said to him, "Go; your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives"; and he himself believed and his whole household." (Joh 4:46-53)

I observed that the royal official brought his need to Jesus. "When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death...The royal official *said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." (Joh 4:47,49)

Jesus responded and spoke the word. He said to him, "Go; your son lives." (v. 50). The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. (Joh 4:50) Consequently his son was healed. "So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, 'Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.' So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, 'Your son lives'; and he himself believed and his whole household." (Joh 4:52-53). Only believe!

The Work of Faith 
I would like to conclude with one final example from John's gospel.

"Therefore they said to Him, 'What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'" (Joh 6:28-29)

The people asked what they must do to do the work God requires, and Jesus told them that the work of God is to believe in Jesus! If you want to do the work that God requires, then believe in Jesus.

Putting it All Together
As we have observed in Matthew's gospel, there is a definite, recurring theme of faith. We learn many wonderful lessons from the faith of the centurion, the paralytic's friends, the bleeding woman, the ruler, and the royal official. We even learn some lessons from Peter's lack of faith and that of the rest of the disciples. We learned how to use the keys of the kingdom to loose and bind things on earth, and how they have already been loosed or bound in heaven when we do so.

Finally we learned that the work of God is to believe on Jesus Christ. Just as all the heroes of faith described in Hebrews 11, we must live by faith, and one day we will enter into the kingdom of heaven as they did with many wonderful testimonies of God's power to His eternal glory. God is no respecter of persons. He does not show favoritism. What He did for them He will do for you, if you only believe.

Attribution notice: Scriptures taken from The New American Standard Version, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Faith in Action, By Faith Alone - Part I, By Faith Alone - Part II, By Faith Alone - Part III, Personal Proclamations of Faith, The Obedience of Faith, Following in His Steps, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page.  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Ways of Life

"Walking on the Narrow Way" by C.V. Lacroix

In his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter quoted Ps 16, in which David said, “You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with Your presence.” (Act 2:28)

Peter attributed David's words to Christ. For the Lord’s ways are the ways of life! So today I would like to talk about what it means to walk in the ways of life, and what that means for us as disciples of Christ.

Walk in His Ways
All throughout Scripture we are commanded to walk in His ways. Let’s look at those passages:

"Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. (Deu 8:6)

"Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, (Deu 10:12)

It's important to understand that God made His ways known to Moses.  The psalmist said, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.” (Psa 103:7). That means that the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) teaches us the ways of God that He revealed to Moses.  

"For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him, (Deu 11:22)

“If you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways always--then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three.” (Deu 19:9)

"You have today declared the LORD to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.” (Deu 26:17)

Walking in His ways is a key to being established as a holy people to the Lord.

"The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.” (Deu 28:9)

“In that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. (Deu 30:16)

"Keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn,” (1Ki 2:3)

“That He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.” (1Ki 8:58)

“That they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.” (2Ch 6:31)

"My steps have held fast to Your paths. My feet have not slipped." (Psa 17:5)

“How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart. They also do no unrighteousness; They walk in His ways.”  (Psa 119:2-3)

“How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.” (Psa 128:1)

That's working God's way!

His Ways Are Higher Than Our Ways
"’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isa 55:8-9)

Knowing His Ways
Therefore, since His ways are higher than our ways, we must seek the Lord and ask Him to make us know His ways. 

Moses prayed, "Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people." (Exo 33:13). If you want to know the Lord and find favor in His sight, you need to know His ways.

David prayed, “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.” (Psa 25:4). He will teach us His paths, so that we might walk in them.

The psalmist prayed, "Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways." (Psa 119:37)

Considering His Ways
We must remember His ways and regard them. The psalmist said, “I will meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways.” (Psa 119:15, NIV)

"You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?"  (Isa 64:5, NIV).

This applies to New Testament living. If a person does not walk in His ways, but continues to sin against them, God is not going to save them (1 Jn 1:6; 2:4; 2:11; 3:6-10). It's important to walk in His ways, and when your life comes to an end, He will deliver you from hell.

Teaching His Ways
David prayed, “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.” (Psa 51:13)

Although Apollos had been instructed in the way of the Lord, Priscilla and Aquila explained the way of God to him more accurately. "Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately." (Act 18:24-26)

Paul instructed the Thessalonians how to walk. He wrote: "Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more." (1Th 4:1)

The Narrow Path of Life Leads Upward
The Scripture teaches us that God's ways are the paths of life.  This is the way that leads to eternal life. As David said, which Peter quoted in our opening verse, “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Psa 16:11). 

“He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, But he who ignores reproof goes astray.” (Pro 10:17). You have to heed instruction of you want to remain on the path of life.

“The path of life leads upward for the wise That he may keep away from Sheol [Hell] below.” (Pro 15:24)

“For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life.” (Pro 6:23)

"You shall also say to this people, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.” (Jer 21:8)

The Lord Jesus also spoke about the way of life when He said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Mt 7:13-14)

You must strive to enter this way, because many have tried to do so and failed. The Lord said, "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." (Luk 13:24). Therefore, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus.

When He said He is THE Way, it carried with it the connotations of all the passages I have just cited, as well as all the ones I am about to cite. Jesus said to him, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (Joh 14:6).  There is no other way to the Father, except through Jesus, Who is the Way. That does not negate the fact that it is a narrow way!

Walking as Jesus Did
We must walk in the same way in which Jesus walked. John wrote: "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." (1Jn 2:6). The NIV says "walk as Jesus did."

Peter taught that Jesus, who committed no sin, left us an example to follow in His steps and do what is right: "But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;" (1Pe 2:20b-23)

Walking in Him in the Light
Paul taught that we must walk in Him. "Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." (Col 2:6)

John taught us to walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light. "But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1Jn 1:7). 

The Way of Holiness
His way is the way of holiness for those who follow Him and walk on it.

“And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.” (Is 35:8, NIV)

"Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Jos 22:5)

The Way of Righteousness
The Scripture says that all His ways are just and true. "And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,  'Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!'" (Rev 15:3; cf. Deu 32:4)

Zacharias the priest prophesied over his son, John the Baptist, "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;" (Luk 1:76).  Now think about the ministry of John the Baptist, and how he preached against sin and called people to repent.   He proclaimed God's righteous ways.

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders regarding John the Baptist, "For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him." (Mat 21:32)

“The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.” (Psa 145:17)

Wisdom says, "I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice." (Pro 8:20)

"He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake." (Psa 23:3) 

“In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality.” (Pr 28:10)  

In spite of all this, many people who start out on this path have turned aside from it by turning away from the holy commandment handed on to them. The apostle Peter said, "For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them." (2Pe 2:21)

The Way of Understanding
"Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding." (Pro 9:6)

"A man who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead." (Pro 21:16)

"Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding?" (Isa 40:13-14)

Paths of Justice
The Lord guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of His godly ones. "For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones." (Pro 2:6-8)

Paths of Lovingkindness and Truth
"All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies." (Psa 25:10)

The Path of Peace
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied about Christ saying, "...the Rising Sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luk 1:78b-79, NIV). The Lord's way is one of peace. He gives peace to those on whom His favor rests (Luk 2:14).

The Wicked Have No Regard for His Ways
The Scripture tells us that the wicked have no regard for the ways of the Lord. They do not care about righteousness, holiness, and truth. They don't care about the commandments of God. Job, who lived before Moses and before the Law was given said, “Because they turned aside from following Him, And had no regard for any of His ways;” (Job 34:27).

"They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.'” (Job 21:14)

"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not right.' Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?” (Eze 18:25)

“Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you. For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will know that I am the LORD!” (Eze 7:3-4) 

Jeremiah prophesied, "Thus says the LORD, 'Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls.' But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'” (Jer 6:16). It's time once again, Church, that we Ask for the Ancient Paths.

For the way of life we inherited from our forefathers was futile. “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers.” (1Pe 1:18).  The ways of the wicked are crooked. They leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness.

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Consider your ways!'" (Hag 1:7)
 
"Now therefore amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you.” (Jer 26:13)

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!" (Psa 1:1)

"For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish." (Psa 1:6) 

Also see Psa. 146:9; Pro. 4:4,19; 12:26; 15:9. 

Millennial Prophecies

"Prepare the Way" by C.V. Lacroix

Isaiah prophesied of a bright future day, saying, "And many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.' For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Isa 2:3)

Micah prophesied, "Many nations will come and say, 'Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths.' For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Mic 4:2).

These twin prophecies of Micah and Isaiah were speaking about the thousand year reign of Christ on earth, or Millennium, which is still future!!  It says that during that time He will teach us His way, so that we may walk in His paths, and the Law will go forth from Zion, even the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  Maybe that has you scratching your head and wondering how it could be yet future, but it's true! "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!" (Rom 11:33)

His Word, His Will, and His Ways
In order to help you understand how this could be possible, please allow me to explain to you what I call "the www of God's kingdom". We all know that here on earth in the kingdom of this world, the "www" is short for the "World Wide Web". But the "www" in the kingdom of God is His "Word, Will, and Ways." These three things are inextricably connected to each other, and they connect everything else in His kingdom.

There are both similarities and differences between the World Wide Web and the www of God's kingdom. The World Wide Web is called an information superhighway, and it contains both a mixture of holy things and profane things, good things and evil. But "the www of God's kingdom" is the "highway of holiness" and wicked fools will not go about on it! There is no mixture on His www, nor is there any profanity or impurity of any kind.

His Word
First of all, His Word was in the beginning, and it endures forever. The Word was with God in the beginning and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. His Word is eternal.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (Joh 1:1-2,14; cf. 1Jn 1:1-2)

"Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." (Ps 119:89, NIV)

"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." (Isa 40:8)

“For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the Word which was preached to you.” (1Pe 1:23-25)

His Will
The Lord made a direct connection between His Word and His will. His will is found in His Word. He said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." (Mat 7:21).  And He also said in that same context, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock." (Mat 7:24-25).  So the Lord tied together His Will with His Word, and since they are one and the same, the man who does His will by acting on His Word will inherit eternal life.

Likewise, the apostle John, who said we must keep His Word (1 Jn 2:5), makes a connection between His Word and His Will. He wrote, "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." (1Jn 2:17).  John seemed to be alluding to the passage in Isaiah 40 where it says the Word of God endures forever. Where Isaiah said the grass withers and the flower fades, John said this world and its lusts are passing away. And where Isaiah said the Word of God endures forever, John said that the one who does the will of God lives forever.

His Ways
In the same way, the ways of God are also eternal. Habakkuk said, "His ways are everlasting." (Hab 3:6b). David prayed, "Lead me in the everlasting way." (Psa 139:24b). The Lord is eternal and does not change (Heb 13:8). His ways are still the same today as they were in the past; they are still holy, righteous, and good. What was morally evil in His sight thousands of years ago is still evil today. It did not become good or right in His sight just because of the New Covenant.  Likewise, what was morally right then is still right today. His ways never change.

Just as the will of God is found in the Word of God, so are the ways of God. And as I have shown you from the Scriptures throughout this article, the ways of God are the ways of life, which lead to immortality. We are commanded to walk in them, regardless of what part of God's Word they are found in. Since God made His ways known to Moses, you will find the ways of God in the books Moses wrote, as well as the rest of the Bible. Those who walk in the ways of God ascend upward, away from hell, until they reach the Father's throne in heaven, where they enjoy eternal pleasures in His presence forever.

The www of God's kingdom
As I have already said, the Word of God, the will of God, and the ways of God are completely harmonious and connected together as one, in a similar way that the worldwide web is one vast network made up of many parts.  This is why I use the expression "the www of God's kingdom".

In this world we have various domains like ".com" for commercial content, ".edu" for educational, ".org" for organization, etc.  There are also country specific ones like ".us" for United States, ".ca" for Canada, ".hu" for Hungary, ".nz" for New Zealand, and ".eu" for European Union. For the sake of this analogy, we could say that the kingdom of God is the ".kog" domain.

And if we take further liberty to expand this analogy, we could define what corresponds to the URL, which is that address you type into the bar at the top of your web browser. URL stands for Universal Resource Locator.  For example, the URLs for some of my websites are www.eternaldestinations.info, www.Jesus-Reigns.org, www.dmiworld.org, and this site you are on is www.len-seekingthelord.blogspot.com.

So to complete the picture for you, some of the universal resources locators (URLs) you might use to locate resources on the www of God's kingdom could be www.holiness.kog or www.righteousness.kog or www.truth.kog or www.commandments.kog.  We could also have www.genesis.kog, www.law.kog, www.prophets.kog, and www.gospels.kog. But they are all tied together on the same ".kog" domain, which is the kingdom of God. There are no web filters on the www of God's kingdom that allow you to filter content you don't like or don't wish to see.  You cannot separate His Word, His Will, and His Ways (www) from each other.

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2Ti 3:16-17)

Putting it All Together
The Lord’s ways are just. All God's ways are righteous and true (Rev 15:3). His ways are unfathomable. They are the ways of life. The path of life leads upward. His ways and His will are one and the same, and “the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 Jn 2:17b). If you want to inherit eternal life, you need to repent and follow Jesus.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except by Him (Jn 14:6).

His ways are not only found in the pages of the New Testament, but in all Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. He has revealed to us His ways in the whole Bible, the Word of God.  We are commanded to walk in His ways always. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable. (2Ti 3:16-17). So don’t compartmentalize the Bible and refuse to listen to certain verses simply because they are found in the Old Testament, or because they are found in the Pentateuch.

The Lord is eternal and does not change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Heb 13:8). His ways are still the same. What was morally evil in His sight thousands of years ago is still evil today. It did not become good or right in His sight just because of the New Covenant.

Let’s be careful not be like those who say, “The way of the Lord is not right” (Ez 33:20).  They have turned aside from following Him and have no regard for His ways. If you have done that, then repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord (Ac 3:19).  He wants to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways (Ac 3:26). For the way of life handed down from our forefathers is futile.  But all the Lord’s ways are profitable. The way is broad that leads to destruction, but the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Mt 7:14). His way is the way of the cross.  It's the way of righteousness and holiness!

Therefore, I exhort you to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Then He will fill you with joy in His presence, with eternal pleasures at His right hand forevermore (Ps 16:11).

Disclaimer: As we walk in His ways, we are not to concern ourselves with ceremonial law like circumcision, rituals, dietary laws, or animal sacrifices. We are not endeavoring to keep up the law of Moses in conjunction with the gospel of Christ. We are not justified by doing the works of the Law.  It is only when we put our faith in Christ that He justifies us, so that we have true righteousness, the righteousness of God, and this is the intent or “end goal” of the law. Once we are justified, we will be led by the Spirit to be a doer of the Law (James 1:25; 4:11). Keeping God’s commands in what counts! (1 Cor 7:19b). Just remember that we can do nothing apart from the Lord Jesus (Jn 15:5), and if you keep His commandments, you will abide in His love (Jn 15:10). It's not something you have to force, or do legalistically, but it happens as you open up and receive the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to flow through you.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, unless otherwise noted. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, where noted. The "Walking on the Narrow Way" and the "Prepare the Way" illustrations, as well as the "Holiness" calligraphy are by my seventeen-year old daughter, C.V. Lacroix. You can find more of her lovely artwork on A Brush with Life.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this article, I also recommend James Agboola Revelation of Heaven and Hell, Followers of the Way, The Straight and Narrow Path, The Way, Will, and Word of God, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God, Michael Shigaba's Encounter with Jesus, Righteous Deeds and White Robes, Practicing Your Righteousness, Holy Living in a Perverted World, Doing What is Right, Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice, Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?, Faith Works!, The Judgment Seat of Christ, The Obedience of Faith, Holding Fast the Faithful Word, The Difference Between a Disciple and a Believer, Led by the Spirit, Remember the Eternal Law of God, Purge the Evil from Among You, The Spirit's Law of Life, The Book of Life, Pleasing the Lord, and The Righteous Will Shine Forth as the Sun. Other related articles are available on the Home page. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.