Pastor John Collins: Do all.
“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our
fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the
presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” Acts 3:13-16 (NKJV).
But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” Acts 3:13-16 (NKJV).
Peter spoke these words to the witnesses of the miracle of a lame man becoming whole. He spoke to clarify where the miracle came from; not from himself or John but from Jesus Christ and the faith in Him. This was just one of many miracles that took place in the name of Christ among the apostles and those whom they encountered in order to spread the truth of the gospel and the power of Jesus as the Son of God. Miracles sometimes go unnoticed today and too often they are invented in order to gain influence and wealth among those who would believe in Jesus.
Jesus always said that your faith has made you whole. It is our faith that can bring healing if it is the will of God, our faith that will fill us with the strength of Christ and our faith that will lead us to righteousness if we allow our faith to be our main priority in our lives. I believe that faith in general has diminished among people. I believe that those that have strong faith today would be considered among those of weak faith in the time of Jesus and the preaching of the apostles.
People just don’t fear God as they should anymore. Back then people were more conscious of God and His power. People were more aware of the impact that their actions had on their lives because they knew that God was paying attention to them. We no longer believe that God is paying attention nor do we believe whole-heartedly that He will intervene in our lives directly. Oh, we say we do, but it is obvious in our lack of obedience that we do not fear any real repercussions from God. We have Jesus, right? He has paid the price for all of our sins, past, present and future, right? That is an arrogant way to believe.
Jesus does offer salvation to us for free. Yet, He Himself has demanded that we repent, sin no more and that we obey His commandments. He also said for us to fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Do we take Him seriously and adjust our behavior accordingly or are we just banking on that price being paid and going about our lives with evil hearts and evil minds acting in evil ways and speaking evil words? Think about the standard that is set by Jesus? Think about the requirements of our faith. We cannot just say that we believe. We must believe so strongly that we are moved to change our ways. Remember the young man who was obedient to the law and yet was told by Jesus to sell all and give to the poor and follow when asked what he must do to have eternal life. We cannot do some. We must do all. If you are not doing all that the Lord has commanded you cannot be assured of claiming the salvation He offers.
Begin again by coming to truly fear God. Renew your faith by refocusing your priorities in life. Claim your salvation by a belief that is so strong you know that nothing else in your life matters in comparison. That is saving faith. Know that no matter what amount of faith and obedience you have today, you can always and should always seek more.
“If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’” Acts 4:9-11 (NKJV).
Love That Cross, Pastor John, BELIEVE THAT
