Hypocrites

Drumming Out the Gays Part 4





When the church picks this hill to die on against “the gays” all that it does is isolate a particular sin they dislike and make sure they (the gays) are aware it is sin… Give me a break. Do we honestly think they somehow missed that message? The reason they perceive the church as their enemy is because the church has made themselves their enemy. They feel hated because they have been hated. So Satan uses this intolerance to blockade them from their only source of freedom; the life in body of Christ. To preach intolerance is to isolate starving people from their only nourishment.


I "tolerate" all sin and all sinners. I’m not trying to get sin out of people’s life I’m trying to get Jesus in. A person has no hope of changing their heart without the source of life inside them. As “the church” speaks against tolerance and the “Gay Agenda” it may simply be stating that fact that God did not create perversion and that homosexuality is contrary to perfection; and I would agree. But what the world hears is “don’t accept them they are the enemy.”


Is homosexuality Godly or good? No, it is perversion and against perfection, but so is anything that is not the perfection of Christ. Anything used against its created purpose is perversion. Such as food and obesity. Should we be intolerant of that as well? Yes, if you are consistent in your intolerance.


In fact you should use the law and go on a campaign to show “the fats” the error of their ways. You should hold up the warning signs for them as well. They are going down a road of destruction. And you should do it with the exact same passion for intolerance that you burn with toward the gays. Instead we allow them to preach in our churches. They stand in the presence of the assembly openly obese and we tolerate it. Hypocrites.



PART 5

Born Again

Drumming Out the Gays Part 3


Does God make people gay? No, but what you are when you come out of the womb is not simply the creation of God. If it were then we would have to explain deformities and handicaps as the sovereign creation of God. I wholeheartedly reject the common understanding of God’s Sovereignty. (but that is another teaching) God forms corrupted flesh with Adam’s dead nature toward His best plan. That is not to say that what God has formed will respond to the corrupted world well.

The question for me is not why people are gay but rather, why aren’t you? In the end it is because it’s not in your heart. Every action you perform is based on the desire of your heart; everything from hugging your child to punching someone in the face. The desire of your heart will constantly dialog with your logic to produce physical action. It is why we overeat, get out of bed in the morning, or go to the gym. Either your logic will convince your heart toward or against an action, your heart will convince your logic, or they will agree. In the end it is often the heart that will produce action in your body. Passion and desire in the heart will corrupt logic and dominate it more often than not.

Those who don't act out in homosexuality have no (or not enough) desire creating action in them toward that particular sin. Why? Nurture: maybe you never had a homosexual experience release Dopamine in your body creating the desire to repeat the action. Maybe there have been enough external motivators to prevent your heart’s desire from manifesting.
Nature: the same reason you naturally gravitate toward things like music or sports. I never had to train my son to draw; Caleb just sees a piece of paper and follows the desire in his heart to create art. Why are people drawn by the desire of their heart to sin?

Because we were born that way.

Homosexuality is no better or worse than heterosexual perversion. Anything that is not the perfection of God's created purpose is perversion. We were all born with the singular desire for self gratification and sin because of Adam not God. What's wrong with stating that a person is born sinful, perverted, or even gay? Isn’t that why we must be born again?

PART 4

Does God make people gay?

Drumming Out the Gays Part 2



Sexuality is only the gratification of flesh not soul for those who aren’t born again. To truly make love and allow sexuality to be the expression of Godly desire in the heart one must be born again and have the fruit of love in their soul to manifest in Godly sex. Sex in the soulish and spiritual sense becomes a work of faith and spiritual fruit. Only after one is born again can a person experience godly sexuality. Any form of sex that is not this Godly sexual fruit is carnal (even if you are married). We are not intrinsically motivated toward Godly sex at birth. We are motivated toward perversion and self.

Am I saying that God made people gay? No, I’m saying every human is born evil. Depending on your nature and nurture that evil and carnal selfishness will manifest itself in a variety of ways. Why do some boys like music and others like baseball? Did God make them that way? To some degree yes, but it is more about an inclination rather than a specific desire. God does not put desire in a baby he establishes an ego-structure (internal wiring) in a corrupt human.

It would seem that some people are more prone to different sins than others. If I look at the difference between siblings this is clear. Two siblings can have a relatively similar, possibly controlling, nurture experience but respond very differently. Some might disobey their parents by hiding, manipulating, and lying. Wanting to be perceived as good while doing the things they truly want to do.

In my life I rebelled to my parents face. I fought and disobeyed openly. Why? Because, it is who I am. I was formed differently in the womb than my sisters, and my genes combined in ways that were unique. Did God make me rebellious? No, he may have made me strong willed and confrontational for the good purpose of my calling but through the perversion of life, flesh, and the world I gravitated toward rebellion.

PART 3

Born Gay

Drumming Out the Gays: Part 1
"Are People Born Gay"
The basic position of the evangelical church is that no one is born gay. Homosexuals are created heterosexual by God and then over the course of their life they desire then choose the same sex.

The first problem with this statement is the assumption that God made them heterosexual. The fact remains that people are born of the nature of Adam. Use the example of a two year old; humans are born selfish and carnal. We are born with no life in our spirit and no inherent Godly desires just propensity to gratify self. Any Godly desire that forms in a child is developed through nurture. Through the Jews and Christianity, God injected a corrupt humanity with His effectual kingdom.

I believe God forms a child in the womb with the intention of what role they would fulfill in His kingdom. Until the time comes when that child is born again (and even beyond that point of regeneration) the child’s flesh living in the world is in a constant state of corrupting that child’s heart.

Gen 6:1
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.”

Gen 8:21
“I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart [is] evil from his youth;”

Prov. 4:23
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.”

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?’

For the unregenerate the issues of life flow from their continually evil and desperately wicked heart; from the point in their life were they are self aware until they have the capacity to change that heart.

PART 2

Jesus' Ministry of Condemnation

Quit Quoting Jesus, He Was a Legalist Part 5

Understanding the two-part ministry of Jesus is critical to understanding his words. Everything he taught either falls into law (the Mosaic Law - Jew's covenant) or kingdom (the kingdom of God - new covenant). The law was taught for the Jews to understand the full condemnation that was in their law that would soon end; kingdom was taught for the Jews to understand the Church Age that was soon to come.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus nearly always taught kingdom in parables, unless it was taught to the “inner twelve” disciples; then it was explained. Chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the Gospel of John give us great understanding about the things of the kingdom. They looked forward to having the Holy Spirit dwell within them in their dispensation; today we acknowledge that it is a present reality. Everything in Jesus’ ministry is past tense for us; he was always promising things to come that are now here.
For example, the Lord’s prayer is not for us; it was for the Jews. “Let your kingdom come”; “forgive us”; “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us” – none of these things apply to us today because Jesus accomplished his ministry.

Everything Jesus said must be looked at through the lens of understanding his ministry and how the Holy Spirit functioned in his dispensation. Just because Jesus said it, it does not mean it is for you. The only way to understand the teachings of Jesus is to first understand the gospel. The gospel is revealed by the Holy Spirit and declared by participants in the Church Age. They revealed our present reality. With that lens, we can go back and observe what Jesus said to the Jews and glean truth from it once we have interpreted it through grace.

Jesus’ ministry was to draw out the full condemnation from the law and then draw that condemnation into his body. He used the law to bring every ounce of sin to life in the Jews, to bring it to their flesh and contain it with fear. The law was the cage for sin in the flesh of the Jews. Jesus used the law to capture sin so that he could put it in his own flesh. He bore the being of sin in his body. He became sin; then the Father judged sin in his body with a violent death.

This was one purpose of the law – to be a mechanism to revive sin and bring him into the flesh (the physical realm) in order to deal with him in the flesh. The other purpose of the law was to show humanity its inability to be holy and in right standing with God. It exposed our condition and need for a savior.

It was a violent pressing for the Jews to transition with Jesus and enter the kingdom. For us, now we simply believe – rest.

BORN GAY

The Dispensation of the Olive Branch

Quit Quoting Jesus, He Was a Legalist Part 4:

All of the canonical Gospels account of Jesus’ baptism and collectively state that the Holy Spirit of God descended upon Jesus in the bodily form of a dove and remained. The dove is a very specific symbol of the Holy Spirit. Not only is this a personal revelation from reading scripture, but God gave us this symbolism of the dove in the Old Testament for the very purpose of showing us its three dispensations.

“Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters [were] on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth [was] an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.” [Gen. 8:8-12]

First, the dove was sent out and found no rest on earth because of the judgment and returned. Second, the dove was sent out and came back with an olive branch. The olive branch is considered throughout history – and was specifically for the Jews – a symbol of peace. Even today we use the phrase, “Extend the olive branch of peace.” Finally, the dove was sent out and did not return.

God wanted us to see these distinct dispensations so that we would understand Jesus’ ministry of the olive branch. His ministry was specific and transitional. It was the ministry of bringing peace between God and man and setting aside the judgment on the earth. It was the ending of the old and the birthing of the new.

PART 5

The 3 Dispensations of the Holy Spirit

Quit Quoting Jesus, He Was a Legalist Part 3



I believe there are three distinct dispensations of the Holy Spirit on earth. Prior to Jesus, the Holy Spirit would come upon a person for a specific purpose and then leave. It could not remain [1 Sam. 16:13-14; Psa. 51:11; Exodus – building the tabernacle]. The Holy Spirit was not able to rest on or with men. He was constantly moving; coming and going.

Jesus was the first man on which the Holy Spirit remained. The Spirit rested with Jesus for his entire ministry [Jhn. 1:33; Mat. 27:46; Psa. 22:1] and worked through him to bring about the reconciliation (peace on earth). After the ministry of Jesus was completed, the Spirit returned to the Father and was sent one final time on the day of Pentecost. Now in the Church Age, the Holy Spirit remains with us and in us until the end of this age. [Jhn. 14:16]

It wasn’t God that changed; the thing that changed was who was participating in the dispensation. The Holy Spirit was able to work differently with Jesus and now with us than he could with unregenerate men. The Holy Spirit could not rest and remain on men before Jesus. Jesus was the Holy Spirit’s rest.

“And it came to pass when the Lord was come up out of the water, the whole fount of the Holy Spirit descended upon him and rested on him and said to him: My son, in all the prophets was I waiting for you that you should come and I might rest in you. For you are my rest; you are my first begotten son that reigns forever.”
The Gospel of the Hebrews

PART 4

Dispensationalism

Quit Quoting Jesus, He Was a Legalist Part 2

Technically none of Jesus’ teaching is for us. Let me explain.
We have to understand the dispensation of his ministry to understand his words. Jesus’ ministry was not a ministry to the church; it was to the Jews. In fact, Jesus would not minister to the Gentiles except for a few rare occasions. Some people don’t know what “dispensational theology” is, and even some have been taught to reject it.

Dispensation: a system of revealed commands and promises regulating human affairs.
Some of the church has taught against dispensationalism based on the premise that “God does not change.” If God does not change, He cannot act distinctly different with humanity over time and be true to his word. This is one of the fundamental premises in theology that cause Christians to mix the Old and New Covenants into one hot mess. So, how does dispensational theology correct this error?

Let’s look at the American dispensation. The American government relates to the people through a constitution, bill of rights, congress, judicial system, etc. These dispensational elements do not apply in the same way to illegal immigrants or foreign visa holding visitors, as they do to American citizens because they are not part of our dispensation. We generally send them back where they came from –back to their dispensation. So what changed? The government did not change; the thing that changed was who was participating in the dispensation.

PART 3

“And if your right hand causes you to sin, use the left"

Quit Quoting Jesus, He Was a Legalist Part 1

For most of my life in church, sermons consisted of something Jesus said about living better and holy, followed by a proof-texting of some obscure or misunderstood teachings from the apostle Paul. The thinking was that if Jesus said it, then we should do it. While this may sound good on the surface, I’m afraid it is not correct.

The problem with the Red Letters: Matthew 5-6
How do we deal with the teachings of Jesus in light of grace? After all, many of his teachings sound harsh: “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.” [Mat. 5:30] Some believers of the true gospel want to argue the context of those scriptures and try to find a way to harmonize them with the teachings of Paul. If you don’t see the apparent conflict between Jesus and Paul it is because you don’t understand grace.

However, the problem with relying strictly on context is that you must approach every verse on a case by case basis. For example, if your argument is that Jesus was talking to Pharisees, then that is not completely accurate. Most of his teachings were given to a mixed crowd. Disciples and Pharisees were generally both there at his sermons.

Some would argue that Jesus was teaching the law to the unregenerate Jews. The problem with this is that everyone who participated in Jesus’ ministry was an unregenerate Jew. So then, how do you distinguish what teaching was for the Jews and what is for us today?

PART 2

Jack Studs, Headers, & Blood

Faith is Not a Substance: Part 8

After hearing my co-worker’s statement about faith, I explained that I didn’t think it was right. I then took him to a doorway we were framing and correlated the jack studs and header to faith. I explained how this is the Hebrew definition of faith. The header is resting in the support of the jack stud. It is doing no work of its own and that is the only way it can function properly, in rest.

"faith in his blood"
Romans 3:24-25
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”


It is specifically the position of faith in his blood given to us as a free gift. Faith – the post holding up the header of a doorway in the blood of the lamb. This is a picture of the atonement and how we are justified; how we escape death. Faith in the blood of the perfect lamb.

I'm not sure why I didn't make the connection right away but it took a good friend of mine, Rafe Young, and the Holy Spirit to make all of this come togethor. I believe everything in the Old Testament (specifically regarding Israel) is designed to show us different aspects of Jesus. This is called Typology or Types and Shadows. Generaly in a word picture or story we see an example of Jesus character or form of deliverance.

Sitting in a Sunday morning church service in Franklin TN Rafe started speaking about the Passover event of Israel's exodus. As he was talking about putting the blood of the lamb on the post and lintel the Holy Spirit hit me like a ton of bricks. Something that I thought was weird for most of my life became crystal clear. This was one of the few times I was brought to tears.

Exodus 12:5-13
“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take [it] out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike [it] on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; [and] with bitter [herbs] they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast [with] fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. thus shall ye eat it; [with] your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it [is] the LORD'S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I [am] the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye [are]: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy [you], when I smite the land of Egypt.”

JESUS THE LEGALIST

"i find your lack of faith disturbing"

Faith is Not a Substance: Part 7

I used to work in residential construction and remodeling. One day as I was talking with a co-worker about revelation, the kingdom of God and theology, he made a statement like, “I guess I just need more faith.” I realized that he believed that he didn’t have enough substance to experience what I was talking about. He felt that it would take a lot of time to gain that much substance if it were even possible.


The problem, then, becomes your focus. If you believe that you need to read the Bible more and start doing more things to “get more substance,” it is extremely counterproductive to faith. Some people think that they just have to will themselves to believe more. If they try to make themselves believe really hard, then something good will work, or a person will be healed, etc. In the end, these methods require a person to perform better in order to see results. Unfortunately this only strengthens the problem. It causes you to focus on and put effort toward the main hindrance of your faith. You


The purpose of the consuming nature of the kingdom and faith is to diminish you in its process. You are the obstacle in the way of faith working. The doctrine of faith as substance is not only wrong; it is demonic and destructive to the kingdom of God. It forces you to focus on your ability to gain substance and not the source of power. This is why in Mark 9:23 Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth,” then in vs. 29 said, “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” Prayer and fasting does not make demons respond; it changes you. It takes your focus off of yourself, your flesh, and your environment. The purpose of prayer and fasting is to shift your focus to your spirit and feed from it. It is to position your mind and heart.

PART 8

The Substance of Things Hoped For

Faith is Not a Substance: Part 6

At this point, many of you may have a lingering scripture in the back of your mind that is seemingly gnawing at this perspective of faith being a position. Obviously, I chose the title Faith Is Not a Substance specifically to counter the common interpretation behind this scripture –

Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

So let’s look at this verse. The first word we see in the verse is “now”, which tells us that the first sentence is connecting an idea to the previous one. So we will start in Hebrews 10:38.

“Now the just (dikaios – righteous) shall live by (ek – out from, directional) faith: but if [any man] draw back (hypostellō - to withdraw one's self, i.e. to be timid, to cover, shrink), my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto (eis - towards) perdition (apōleia - a perishing, ruin, destruction); but [of them that] (the phrase “of them that” is added for understanding and not in the Greek per se; the phrase can stay or go) believe (pistis – faith, in the noun form) to the saving (peripoiēsis - a preserving, a preservation) of the soul.”

Heb 10:38-39 Properly understood, this text lines up exactly with what I have already taught. Those who are righteous experience the life in their spirit flowing out from the position of faith toward their soul (the combination of one’s heart and mind). If you withdraw from that position, you are no longer going to experience the source of life in your righteous position, but will instead experience the source of ruin and destruction (the flesh).

We are not of those who draw away from the position of faith, but remain and draw toward and from the position, of faith. This is how we deliver (save) our soul with the life that flows from our righteous spirit. We get that life to flow toward our soul by setting our mind in the spirit and not the flesh. “For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace.” Romans 8:6 Hebrews 11:1 (in Greek order)

Ἔ¦στιν δὲ πί¦στις ἐλ¦πι¦ζο¦μέ¦νων
is and faith to expect, to hope

ὑ¦πό¦στα¦σις,
that which is set or stands under, a foundation

πραγ¦μά¦των ἔ¦λεγ¦χος οὐ βλε¦πο¦μέ¦νων.
a thing done proof not seen

Obviously, when we translate this into English we have to add words to fill in the content. But here is the basic idea: And faith is to expect that which is set underneath, that is the foundation [to produce] a thing that proves the unseen. If you continue on with Hebrews 11, what do you find? You find a list of men who did not waver, but rested in God to produce mighty acts. This is commonly called the “Hebrews Hall of Faith.”

It is not about the amount of substance they had; it is about the way they trusted God and his word. They rested in what he said to do regardless of what they saw. They didn’t waver from that position. Even Abraham was willing to kill his son because he knew God could raise him. He trusted God to do everything for him and to keep his word that he would be the father of a great nation through Isaac. They rested on God and his word.

Faith is like the root system set underneath (established in the unseen). It is the foundation that will produce leaves and fruit. Leaves and fruit are then the evidence of the things unseen. You know that a trees root system is well established if it has life in its' branches. You know that the roots are established in their position to bring the nutrients and life in the soil (source) to the trees body. Faith is a position in the source.

PART 7

Faith is Rest

Faith is Not a Substance: Part 5

My goal is to change the way we read and understand faith in the Bible and life. When I read the word faith, I translate it in my head and call it rest. I understand that this is resting in the source. In our case as believers, we rest inside of Jesus who is resting in the Father.

Our position is in him and his is in the Father. This is how we partake of the righteousness of God. “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Rom. 1:17). From his position in the Father to our position in him, righteousness is revealed (exposed or uncovered).

For this very reason, the disciples did not access the power of God directly, but had to access it through the name of Jesus.

Acts 3:6
“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

Acts 3:12
“And when Peter saw [it], he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?”

Again, it is only through the name of Jesus that we can access the power. We rest in his spiritual body (I don't mean the church) and are therefore resting in his authority and position. We are in him!

Ephesians 2:5-6

“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:”

If we are born again, our spirits are one with his spirit and seated IN him in heavenly places. This isn't saying that we are seated in chairs next to him. The reason we are in heavenly places is because we are literally resting inside of him. Our spirits (his and ours) are ONE spirit. They are the same spirit shared. This unified/collective spirit is also in our bodies and experienced both individually and universally. Therefore, he is in us. We share the same common singular spirit of Christ.

It is the spirit of Christ to which we are all connected. We are all connected to each other as one body in spirit. Water Baptism is how we are all connected as one body in flesh. (See also: 1 Cor 6:17, 1 Cor 12:13, Eph 2:18, Eph 4:4, Phl 1:27, John 14:23).

PART 6

“little faith”

Faith is Not a Substance: Part 4

But wait a minute – Jesus said “little faith.” Wouldn’t that imply size, not position?

Let’s look into that phrase:

The single Greek word for “little faith” is oligopistos. Pistos is the noun form of peithō, which means faith or faithfulness. Faith and faithfulness, as we saw in the Hebrew, means to lean on or rest upon someone or something else that is supporting you. Oligos is the Greek word for little, small, or few. It also means of degree or intensity: light, slight. So to be of oligopistos – or “little faith” – is to be leaning on your support in a weak manner. It is to be of light weight upon your support. It is to not let the source hold you up well, or to not trust your position upon the pillar or in the arms of the one holding you.

Another word to consider is doubt. One Greek word translated into the English “doubt” is the word diakrinō, which literally means with or because of judgment: to separate, make a distinction, discriminate, to prefer, to withdraw from one, desert, to separate one's self in a hostile spirit, to oppose, strive with dispute, or contend. It is understood to imply making a discerning judgment and in doing so separating yourself from that which you have judged.

If faith is being persuaded to rest in the source, then doubt is discerning and considering things other than the source and, in turn, separating yourself from that position of faith. In addition to doubt, the word is also translated waver. You can find this Greek word used 24 times in the New Testament. (Some text to note would be: Matthew 21:21, Mark 11:23, Romans 4:20, James 1:6).

One other Greek word worth noting is distazō. It is only used twice in the New Testament and each time is translated doubt. It is derived from the Greek word dis which means twice. For example, Jesus asks Peter why he doubted when waking on water. Distazō is the word used for doubt in that reference. Jesus is essentially saying, “Why did you think twice? Why wasn’t your focus singular rather than divided? Therefore, the reason Peter began to sink was that he took his eyes off of Jesus and considered his environment instead of his source.

PART 5

The Position of Power

Faith is Not a Substance: Part 3



The position of faith is one of authority. You must be under (or completely relying on) a source of power. When you recognize your position resting in this power, you command things to change. Your ability to command things to obey you is based on your position in the source. Jesus marveled at the analogy given by the centurion who explains this position:

Matthew 8:8-10
“The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this [man], Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does [it]. When Jesus heard [it], he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”


After Jesus spends time commanding healing in the beginning of Matthew 8, he meets the centurion. The centurion paints a word picture of how faith functions by explaining how his position allows him to command things. Because he is under authority, his position in regard to the source of authority and power forces people to obey him. It is not the internal power of the centurion that the soldiers fear; it is who he represents that they fear. For example, if the centurion was a farmer and tried to command soldiers, they would not obey him. This is because of his position.

Jesus marveled at this because it was a beautiful explanation of spiritual authority and faith. Jesus commanded demons, sickness, and nature to obey him because of his position with the Father (the source of power). Later in Matthew 8, Jesus is sleeping on the boat with his disciples and a storm comes. When they wake him up for fear they will die he rebukes them, saying, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” Matthew 8:26-27

Why was Jesus able to do this? The centurion already explained it. Jesus was able to command the winds and the sea to obey him because of his position with the source of power. Jesus called it faith with the centurion, and then he rebuked the disciples for being “of little faith” when they didn’t command from a position of power.

PART 4

The Size of a Mustard Seed?

Faith is Not a Substance: Part 2

If you look up Matthew 17:20 or Luke 17:6 in the NIV (which I don’t recommend), the translators insert words to fit their theology. They write, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this…” The words or even the concept of “as small as” is nowhere to be found in the Greek. Rather, in the Greek it reads, “faith as a mustard seed.” This is referring to the manner in which faith operates, not the size of its substance.

The translators, however, have a theology that is being imposed upon their selection of English words. Other translations are translated, “faith the size of a mustard seed.” This also is incorrect theological translation. The implication of size is not in the Greek. Rather, it is often inferred from the context surrounding it speaking of growth.

Every time Jesus uses concepts and wording of faith or unbelief, he is talking about the degree in which you are positioned in rest. How well or to what intensity are you trusting, relying, or being supported? Are you resting in the source to do the work for you? I believe the conclusion here is that if you rest in the source, its power will flow through you.

Matthew 17:20
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

Mustard was understood very well by farmers in that culture as an invasive plant. They knew that if a mustard plant and its seed were found in a crop, it could be very deadly to that crop. The mustard seed germinates extremely fast. It grows out of control and consumes all of the vegetation around it. It attracts birds that destroy crops, eating seed and grain. Mustard was the dread of agriculture because it consumes and cannot be controlled.

Jesus is comparing this to faith. He is saying that when you rest in the source and begin to see that power work in your life it will consume you. It will press you deeper and deeper into that source until the power of God has consumed all of your fear and desires. If you have rest in the source that works, it consumes you like a mustard seed you will come to the place where nothing is impossible. You will be in a position to say to this mountain “move” and it will obey you.

In Matthew 13:33, Jesus also compares the way a mustard seed works to the way that yeast works. Leaven will affect and consume the whole dough when it is introduced. It is referring to the way that faith (or the kingdom) affects your heart and mind (that is your soul); it leavens and consumes you. Faith takes YOU over. Therefore, it is not talking about a substance that begins in a small amount and then grows into more substance. It is talking about consumption.

PART 3

You Stand Corrected

Faith is Not a Substance: Part 1

Common Teaching:
Faith is a substance that manifests in greater quantity in proportion to how much of the Word that one hears.

Faith:
Every word in the KJV that includes “faith” or “believe” derives its translation from the Greek root verb peithō (these words include: believe not, unbelieving, faithless, unbeliever, infidel, thing incredible, which believe not, hope, faith, of little faith, faith, assurance, believe, belief, them that believe, fidelity, faithful, believe, believing, true, faithfully, believer, unbelief). The word peithō means to persuade, to suffer one's self to be persuaded, to listen to, obey, yield to, comply with, or to trust, have confidence, and be confident.

To sum up the root concept of faith in the Greek, I believe, is: to have confidence and trust, as well as the implication of persuasion. That is, to put someone or to be put into a position of trust that you formerly were not.

In the Hebrew, the word for faith is 'aman. It means to support, as pillars hold up the header above a doorway; or as a mother or nurse holds a baby in her arms. ‘Aman in the Hebrew is a word to describe a position of rest that the direct object receives. Therefore, in the Hebrew, to be faithful is to lean on or rest upon someone or something else that is supporting you.

Jesus was a Hebrew. The early church used the Greek word peithō to describe a Hebrew concept found in ‘aman. Jesus and the writers of the New Testament did not change or reinterpret the understanding of faith. Rather, this was done through church history and bible translators.

Part 2: