For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
—Romans 5:17
Sometimes we can become overwhelmed and discouraged by our circumstances in life and the evil in this world. In Romans 5:17 Paul says those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness can reign in life through Jesus Christ. This is true for us no matter what we have experienced in the past, what we are experiencing at this moment, or what we experience in the future.
Things are never as they seem. There is a way over and through things that come against you. There is victory waiting for you. If you can get the Word in your heart and encourage yourself with its promises, things can change. But you have to go to the Word and refresh yourself in the goodness and the promises of God.
Look at Mark 9:23. This is the occasion of the disciples bringing a young man to Jesus because they could not heal him. Jesus is in conversation with the father, and he says these words:
“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
This is a powerful promise. Jesus doesn’t say “Watch me, I can do this. Don’t try to do this.” Jesus is saying to this man that all things are possible if you believe. This is an astonishing statement on Jesus’ part. This father was not even born-again because Jesus had not yet gone to the cross. However, Jesus was telling him if he believed all things were possible for him. If Jesus said this to this man, it is certainly true for us who are born-again. All things are possible to us who believe.
“All things” that fall inside the nature of God and His purposes for us, are those things that are possible for us who believe. This is in contrast to the enemy who is coming to steal, kill, and destroy. The destruction in life that is the result of sin is not the will of God. God sent His Word and healed us and delivered us from our destruction (Psalm 107:20). Jesus is giving us a remedy to evil’s destruction. It is called faith.
Look at Matthew 18:18. Jesus is speaking to His disciples.
“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Synonyms for “whatever” in Matthew 18:18 are “anything, everything, or all.” Remember the promise in Mark 9:23. All things are possible to him who believes. Matthew 18:18 is saying “anything everything, or all” you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. It says, “anything, everything, or all” you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. With “all things are possible to those who believe,” Jesus is giving us the privilege and the authority to take control of our lives and to bring His power through faith into our circumstances. He gives us the responsibility.
Sadly, a lot of Christians don’t really believe what the Word says. What they have experienced and what they have always believed make some Christians dilute the truth of God’s Word. We may have been told God causes bad things in our lives to make us learn a lesson. We can certainly learn good lessons from bad things that come against us, but God is not the author of the evil that tries to steal, kill, and destroy. Bad things come forth as a result of personal sin or Adam’s offense, or the enemy’s attempt to kill, steal, and destroy us. God is love. He is good. He cannot go against the truth of His nature. He is the author of good things in our lives. Jesus proved God’s goodness and love in the gift of His life. The Father yearns for His children to receive His goodness and love freely poured out on the cross for their sins and the results of those sins.
God’s Word is unchanging, unadulterated, untouched, unmodified, all-powerful, invincible truth. Either we agree with its promises or we weaken its power by not believing it.
Do we agree with Romans 5:17? God says we are to reign in life. The Word doesn’t put a time stamp on this promise. The same Spirit of God that was in Jesus—the same Spirit of God that was in Paul, is also in anyone who is saved. Jesus has given us authority “over all demons and to cure diseases” ((Luke 9:1). He has given us authority “over all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19). These biblical truths certainly challenge our experience and our perspective.
Can we bind our fears and release peace? Can we bind our unforgiveness and release forgiveness? Can we bind sickness and release healing? Can we bind the works of the enemy and release truth that changes us and overcomes our circumstances? If the Word says these things, why does what we experience not line up with God’s truth? Jesus answered this question when two blind men came to him for healing. He answered it when the woman who had been bleeding for years was healed.
“According to your faith, let it be done to you,” Jesus told the blind men (Matthew 9:23). “Your faith has made you well,” He told the woman (Matthew 9:22).
Faith comes by hearing God's Word in your heart (Romans 10:17). It is complete trust and confidence in God. Faith believes in what is not seen. Believing is the action that accompanies faith. Believing gives life to the confidence we have in God. Faith appropriates what God has promised. It makes no difference in our lives without believing God’s Word. When you believe God’s Word in your heart, all things are possible to you who believe.
God gives us truth in every area of our lives and the power for it to work in and through us. But for God’s truth to make a difference in our lives, we have to believe what His truth says and take ownership of it in our hearts.
Where once Adam’s sin and all its destruction reigned, that is no longer true for those who believe by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus reigns so we also can reign in life. This Word challenges what we experience and the things we believe that are not true. Sometimes His truth anchors itself quickly in our hearts, and other times it is harder to hold on to. But it is still God’s truth. It changes us. We don’t change it.
The only way I will reign in this life is by believing in God’s promises. And they are yes, and amen to the glory of God demonstrated through us (2 Corinthians 1:20). Believing God’s Word is how we harvest the abundant life Jesus has imparted in the gift of His precious blood.
Dare we to believe His Word?
© 2024 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2024/03/dare-we-to-believe-his-word.html
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