Bank of Faith

"Remember the word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope." --Psalm 119:49

Whatever your especial need may be, you may readily find some promise in the Bible suited to it. Are you faint and feeble because your way is rough and you are weary? Here is the promise--"He giveth power to the faint." When you read such a promise, take it back to the great Promiser, and ask Him to fulfil His own word.

Are you seeking after Christ, and thirsting for closer communion with Him? This promise shines like a star upon you--"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Take that promise to the throne continually; do not plead anything else, but go to God over and over again with this--"Lord, Thou hast said it, do as Thou hast said."

Are you distressed because of sin, and burdened with the heavy load of your iniquities? Listen to these words--"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions, and will no more remember thy sins." You have no merit of your own to plead why He should pardon you, but plead His written engagements and He will perform them.

Are you afraid lest you should not be able to hold on to the end, lest, after having thought yourself a child of God, you should prove a castaway? If that is your state, take this word of grace to the throne and plead it: "The mountains may depart, and the hills may be removed, but the covenant of My love shall not depart from thee."

If you have lost the sweet sense of the Saviour's presence, and are seeking Him with a sorrowful heart, remember the promises: "Return unto Me, and I will return unto you;" "For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee."

Reinforce your faith upon God's own word, and whatever your fears or wants, return to the Bank of Faith with your Father's promise, saying, "Remember the word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope."

Charles Spurgeon

The Mark of the Beast

When I think about the Saints of old, the Patriarchs, the Prophets of God, and those who walked by faith in God and I compare them to modern man and how he walks by faith in himself, I can see what John was referring to when he wrote in Revelation about the Mark of the Beast 666 being the number of man.


I believe this symbolizes the worship of self. This is the “Age of Self.” Self has replaced God on the Throne. Self sits on the throne in the hearts of men and women. You can see it in the world and you can see it in the church.

The Beast of Revelation 13:18 is in the churches, sitting in the pews, standing in the pulpits. He sits on the thrones of their hearts. They have already taken his number and they are sealed.

This is what Jesus said in Luke 18:8. Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said, And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Jesus’ question here is whether upon His return believers will still be looking for Him. In asking this question, Jesus is exhorting believers not to lose heart.

And men and women all throughout history have had to choose whether to worship the Beast (system) or to worship God. And those who serve the system and are having their “best lives now” have already taken the mark and are sealed and are worshiping the Beast. And those who are born from above and are following Christ are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Temptation: The Two Adams Contrasted

Both Adam and Christ faced three aspects of temptation, Adam yielded, bringing upon humankind sin and death.  Christ resisted, resulting in justification and life.

"The lust of the flesh" -- 1 John 2:16 "The tree was good for food -- Genesis 3:6 First Adam
"Command this stone to become bread" Luke 4:1 - 13 Second Adam Christ

"The lust of the eyes" -- "It was pleasant to the eyes" -- "the devil showed him all the kingdoms"

"The pride of life" -- "A tree desirable to make one wise" -- "throw yourself down from here"

The Source of Apostasy - Seducing Spirits

All false religion propagate doctrine energized by seducing spirits.  False religion is the playground of demons.  Second Corinthians tells us that Satan and his angels disguise themselves as angels of light and become the purveyors of various religions (2 Cor. 11:14).

Leviticus 17:7 The Lord Himself says that whatever men sacrifice to idols is in fact being sacrificed to demons (Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalm 96:5; Psalm 106:36 and 37).

1 Cor. 10:20 and 21 Paul said that those who come to the Lord's Table and then go worship at some pagan religious shrine, are fellow shipping with both the Lord and demons.  False religious systems and the various idols that accompany them are simply focal points for demonic activity.  We should not naively think that a false religion is simply a collection of misguided ideas.  Realize that energizing it behind the scenes are fallen angels who are seducing people from the truth into an eternal hell.

Seducing Spirits

The Great Apostasy -

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

To be an excellent servant of Christ, it is important that we have a good understanding of apostasy.

One example of apostasy would be the account of Amazia, king of Judah.  He was king during the time of Isaiah the prophet.  2 Chron. 25:2 says, "he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart."  On the outside he did everything in that was required in accord with the religion of Israel.  He understood it and he behaved by its ethics, but "not with a willing heart."  On the outside he looked good, but he did not have a personal relationship with the living God.  He was soon lured away into idolatry and began to worship the gods of Edom, to which he bowed down and burned incense (2 Chron. 25:14).  He was murdered by his own people after turning away from the Lord 2 Chron. 25:27).

Apostasy happens today just as it did in the Old Testament and in the church at Ephesus, where Timothy was when Paul wrote this letter.  There are always people who understand the faith intellectually according to the revelation of God, but have no heart for living to please God.  Hebrews 3:12 says that those who depart from God demonstrate an unbelieving heart.

Paul states in 1 Timothy 4:1 that some - like Judas, Demas, or the disciples of John 6 who walked no more with Christ - " shall depart from the faith" (Greek, aphistemi, "to remove yourself from the position you originally occupied").  Apostasy isn't an unintentional departure or someone struggling with doubt.  It characterizes someone who deliberately abandons truth once affirmed for erroneous teaching.  "The faith" refers specifically to the body of Christian doctrine, not the act of believing.  Some will depart from "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).  People who understand and outwardly affirm Christian doctrine but don't have a heart for God are prime candidates for being seduced by demons to depart from the faith.

An apostate is not someone who never knew the truth but someone who knew it and rejected it.  He may have even been involved in various religious activities.  But because he never truly knew God, he was lured away by the siren voices of the demons behind idols and false religious systems.

(Understanding the Seducing Spirit by John MacArthur)

Why is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Important?

The resurrection of Jesus is important for several reasons. First, it witnesses to the immense power of God Himself. To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, He has power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not a God worthy of our faith and worship. Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the hideousness that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting that is death and the victory that is the grave’s (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.

Second, the resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike all other religions, Christianity alone possesses a founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same. All other religions were founded by men and prophets whose end was the grave. As Christians, we take comfort in the fact that our God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected the third day. The grave could not hold Him. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul explains in detail the importance of the resurrection of Christ. Some in Corinth did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and in this chapter Paul gives six disastrous consequences if there were no resurrection: 1) preaching Christ would be senseless (v. 14); 2) faith in Christ would be useless (v. 14); 3) all the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars (v. 15); 4) no one would be redeemed from sin (v. 17); 5) all former believers would have perished (v.18); and 6) Christians would be the most pitiable people on the earth (v. 19). But Christ indeed has risen from the dead and “has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v. 20), assuring that we will follow Him in resurrection.

The inspired Word of God guarantees the believer's resurrection at the coming of Jesus Christ for His Body (the Church) at the Rapture. Such hope and assurance results in a great song of triumph as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

How do these concluding verses relate to the importance of the resurrection? Paul answers, “...you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (v. 58). He reminds us that because we know we will be resurrected to new life, we can suffer persecution and danger for Christ’s sake (vv. 29-31), just as He did. We can follow the example of the thousands of martyrs through history who gladly traded their earthly lives for everlasting life via the resurrection.

The resurrection is the triumphant and glorious victory for every believer. Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scripture. And, He is coming again! The dead in Christ will be raised up, and those who remain and are alive at His coming will be changed and receive new, glorified bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important to salvation? It demonstrated that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. It proves that God has the power to raise us from the dead. It guarantees that those who believe in Christ will not remain dead, but will be resurrected unto eternal life. That is our blessed hope!

Recommended Resource: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas.