The Faith Of A Little Child : Part Two

THE FAITH OF A LITTLE CHILD : PART TWO

Copyright 1994 - 2008 Endtime Prophecy Net

Last Updated : July 23, 2006

Knowledge Can Keep Us From The Truth, Jews Ignored The Signs
No Righteousness By Keeping The Law, Misguided Knowledge And
Religious Zeal, Paul's Deception, Right Foundation, Modern Day
Sauls, Herd Mentality And Political Correctness, The Endtime
Apostasy, God Rewards The Hungry, The Truth Is In The Word,
Importance Of God's Word, Cleansed By The Word, Ask In Faith
The Spirit Of Truth, Knowledge And Wisdom By The Holy Spirit
Liberated Through The Word, Destroy The Old To Build The New

Returning to our main topic, the Lord had to use a mechanism
in order to cause this obstinate rejection by the Jews; and
that mechanism, or catalyst, was sin and rebellion in their
own hearts. Exactly what was the nature of their sin? As the
previous verses from Paul's Epistle to the Romans indicate,
in its simplest form, the sin was that they were so filled
with their own wisdom, and knowledge of the Law, and what
they felt was necessary for Salvation, that they no longer
had the faith of a little child; and ultimately, this kept
them from the truth. In other words, instead of having the
simple faith to believe that the Messianic Prophecies of the
Old Testament were being fulfilled in their very sight, and
that the Messiah and Sacrificial Lamb had finally arrived,
they purposely ignored the clear signs, and went about to
establish their own form of righteousness, through their
self-righteous works, as they pretended to adhere to the
unbending and merciless mandates of the Mosaic Law. Jesus
Himself chided them for ignoring the signs, as we see here:

"The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting
desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He
answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It
will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the
morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red
and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the
sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked
and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there
shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet
Jonas. And he left them, and departed."
Matthew 16:1-4, KJV

Because of their pride, it was impossible for the Jews to
accept God's simple Plan of Salvation through faith in Jesus
Christ. In other words, they didn't want Jesus to save them.
They were so deceived, that they thought that they could
actually save themselves; but as Paul also makes very clear,
that is totally impossible to do, because righteousness only
comes through Jesus Christ, and not through anything which
we might try to do. Consider the following verses:

"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going
about to establish their own righteousness, have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one
that believeth." Romans 10:3-4, KJV

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is
manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is
no difference:" Romans 3:21,22, KJV

"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus
Christ our Lord." Romans 5:21, KJV

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness
come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
Galatians 2:21, KJV

"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"
Philippians 3:9, KJV

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any
man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
Titus 3:5, KJV

It should be quite clear then, that our own righteousness,
or better said, our vain attempts to attain to some state of
righteousness and sinless perfection through our own works,
absolutely stinks. In fact, the Prophet Isaiah wrote:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a
leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away." Isaiah 64:6, KJV

One of the reasons why the Apostle Paul was able to write so
eloquently regarding faith and the Law, is because he knew
well the heart and mind of his Jewish brethren. Prior to his
conversion, he was living the very same delusion as the rest
of them. In fact, as we all know, Paul was so convinced that
he knew the truth, and that his knowledge of, and obedience
to the Law would save him, that in his zeal, he even went
about persecuting and killing those who opposed him; which
of course were the First Century Christians. As I point out
in other articles, Jesus warned His first followers that
this would happen; just as they persecuted, and would
eventually killed Him; all the while thinking that their
religious zeal was pleasing to God:

"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time
cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth
God service." John 16:2, KJV

"And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high
priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the
synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they
were men or women, he might bring them bound unto
Jerusalem." Acts 9:1,2, KJV

Through an abundance of Scriptural evidence, we have now
seen that some knowledge, whether we're discussing worldly
wisdom, philosophy and science, or spiritual knowledge, such
as certain religious doctrines and preconceived ideas, can
be deceiving and harmful both to ourselves, as well as to
others, and it can even keep us away from the real truth of
God's Word. In fact, as I point out in another article
called 'Science And Technology: The Forbidden Knowledge?',
knowledge wrongfully applied can be downright evil.

In the case of the Apostle Paul, it wasn't until the Lord
humbled him on that road to Damascus, so that he was finally
willing to forsake his pride, and his erroneous teachings,
and become a born-again child of God, that Paul was able to
take the Lord's Hand, and with childlike faith say, 'Okay,
Lord; you lead, and I will follow. You teach me your ways,
and the things which I need to know, in order to be used by
you.' Up until that point, Paul's knowledge stood in the way
of his faith, and thus in the way of his spiritual growth.
He couldn't become a child, as Jesus had taught, because in
a spiritual sense, he had deceived himself into thinking
that he was already a man. The truth of the matter is that
he was spiritually stagnant; just like his Jewish brethren;
but one powerful jolt from the Spirit of God put him on the
right track.

Once Paul humbled himself and became a child who quietly
listened at the Lord's feet, he began to grow. Once he
rejected, and discarded, the false foundation upon which he
had built his life as a dedicated Pharisee and keeper of the
Law, the Lord could set him upon the one true Foundation,
that is, the Rock of Jesus Christ, and begin to teach him
anew; but this required childlike faith. It is for this
reason that Paul would later write the following in his
first Epistle to the Corinthian church:

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this
foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the
day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire;
and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he
shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned,
he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so
as by fire." 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, KJV

Today, there are still many Pauls in the world, or perhaps
better said, Sauls. Some of these people are filled with
worldly wisdom and the cherished teachings of men. Others
are trapped by religious indoctrination and traditions which
have been passed down in some cases for many generations.
After a while, something is passed along for so long, that
it is automatically assumed to be true without question. No
one, or at least very few, pause to really investigate what
they believe, and why they believe it. They have become a
part of the vast crowd which follows the herd mentality of
political correctness. If certain community or government
leaders say that something is true, then it must be true. If
the local priest, pastor, minister or preacher asserts that
something is no longer true, or that we have simply mis-
understood it, or that we are living in modern times and
must therefore 'adjust' our religious beliefs a little in
order to remain acceptable to society, then most people
simply nod in assent; after all, just like the Scribes and
Pharisees of old, if anyone ought to know the truth, they
should; right? Not necessarily.

What about you? Have your head and heart become so stuffed
with vain worldly knowledge and wisdom, or with misguided
religious indoctrination, that your faith has died? In your
confused, darkened mind and alienated state, has God merely
become something in which foolish, ignorant and backward
people believe? If this is how you truly feel, then be it
known to you that Jesus Himself, and even the Apostles Peter
and Paul, saw this sad day coming; for they indeed said of
the Endtime:

"...Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find
faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8b, KJV

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [Christ's
Second Coming] shall not come, except there come a falling
away first..." 2 Thessalonians 2:3a, KJV

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days
scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where
is the promise of his coming?..." 2 Peter 3:3-4a, KJV

On the other hand, if you recognize your sad, dismal state;
if you realize that your pursuit of worldly knowledge and
wisdom has left you feeling spiritually dry and empty; and
if are willing to abandon your preconceived ideas and false
erroneous beliefs; if you are willing to tear down the false
idols of anti-God education and modern wisdom which you have
foolishly constructed in your life; and if you sincerely
desire to learn and know the truth, God will certainly not
disappoint you. He will reward you if you seek after it with
your whole heart with childlike faith. He will surely reward
you if you dedicate yourself to a serious and open-minded
study of His Word, because that is where the truth is to be
found. As Jesus said, and as the Apostle Paul wrote:

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."
John 17:17, KJV

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth." 2 Timothy 2:15, KJV

Notice that while King Solomon advises us to abandon our
vain study of the many books written by worldly men, Jesus
and Paul instruct us to delve into the wonders of God's
written Word. Thus, we have the problem revealed to us, as
well as the simple solution. Solomon's father, King David,
was definitely in love with God's Word. This is why his
Psalms are filled with such verses as the following:

"BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by
taking heed thereto according to thy word."
Psalms 119:9, KJV

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin
against thee." Psalms 119:11, KJV

"More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine
gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."
Psalms 19:10, KJV

The Old Testament Patriarchs Moses and Job also realized how
important it was to maintain God's Word as a central part of
one's life. In fact, Jesus was repeating something which He
had instructed Moses to tell the children of Israel, when He
responded to Satan in Matthew chapter four:

"And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed
thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy
fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not
live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of
the mouth of the LORD doth man live." Deuteronomy 8:3, KJV

"Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my
necessary food." Job 23:12, KJV

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God." Matthew 4:4, KJV

So from these few verses, we can see that the Word of God
should be a very important part of our lives. Sadly, it is
because many people have cast God aside, and because they
have rejected the truth of His Word, that the world is in
such a terrible state today, filled with fear, confusion,
widespread violence, unbridled passions, selfishness, etc.
Many people have swallowed Satan's lies, and accepted his
pleasures of sin for a season, instead of accepting God's
truth. When we neglect God's Word, we are no longer clean.
We became filthy from sin, and from the ways and spirit of
the world. This is why the Bible teaches us that when we
believe in Jesus, and accept the truth of His Word, we
become spiritually cleansed:

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool." Isaiah 1:18, KJV

"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto
you." John 15:3, KJV

Throughout the New Testament, we are repeatedly told that
receiving things from God is simply a matter of exercising
our faith, and believing that we receive them; knowing that,
as King David was inspired to write, God will not withhold
any good thing from them who walk uprightly. In fact, Jesus
said that our Heavenly Father already knows our needs even
before we ask. Of course, as John writes below, we must ask
according to His Will; and it is in this context that we
must understand the words 'good thing'. Consider the verses
which follow:

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that
asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of
you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or
if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him?" Matthew 7:7-11, KJV

"(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things." Matthew 6:32, KJV

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive." Matthew 21:22, KJV

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we
ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if
we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we
have the petitions that we desired of him."
1 John 5:14-15, KJV

"...no good thing will he withhold from them that walk
uprightly." Psalms 84:11c, KJV

If there is one thing which God certainly desires to give
us, it is the truth. In order to know the truth, the Bible
teaches us that we must be filled with the Spirit of Truth;
that is, with the Holy Spirit. As with other things, Jesus
taught that the Holy Spirit is freely available to those who
ask for it:

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Luke 11:13, KJV

Both Jesus and Paul explain to us that the Holy Spirit acts
as a type of Guide and Teacher. It is like the Voice of God
quietly speaking within our hearts. In fact, Paul informs us
that two of the various Gifts of the Spirit are Wisdom and
Knowledge; and in his Epistle, James also tells us that we
must simply ask in faith in order to receive these Gifts:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and
bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said
unto you." John 14:26, KJV

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will
guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself;
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he
will shew you things to come." John 16:13, KJV

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man
to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word
of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same
Spirit;" 1 Corinthians 12:7-8, KJV

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be
given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For
he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the
wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall
receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is
unstable in all his ways." James 1:5-8, KJV

So as you can see, in order to receive the Holy Spirit, and
the Wisdom and Spiritual Guidance which accompany it, all
you have to do is to sincerely ask for it, and the Lord will
indeed fill you up; and as He does, and as you continue to
read and study His Word, He will begin to open the eyes of
your spirit, so that you will begin to understand things,
not just with your mind, but with your heart as well. Many
doubts and questions which have lingered in your mind will
finally be answered. You will begin to learn the Wisdom of
God, and not just the wisdom of the world; and it will be
a truly liberating experience for you; for as Jesus said
to those Jews who did accept His message:

"...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples
indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free...If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye
shall be free indeed." John 8:31b-32, 36, KJV

So what about you? Are you ready to accept the spiritual
freedom which God offers you through the truth of His Word?
Are you ready and willing to be liberated from the false
ideas, erroneous misconceptions, and vain wisdom of men
which have enslaved you? Are you willing to pay the price in
order to gain such freedom? Are you willing to admit to God
and to yourself, that you have been wrong in some ways? Are
you willing to allow God's Word to tear down and destroy the
idols in your life, in order that He might build you back up
upon His foundation of truth? When God sent the Prophet
Jeremiah to expose the lies and the deception of his day,
this is basically what He told him as well:

"See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the
kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and
to throw down, to build, and to plant." Jeremiah 1:10, KJV

As we have seen throughout this article, sometimes God has
to destroy what we think is true, before He can show us what
is really true; and this is not always an easy process. Our
pride and rebellious heart do not like to be exposed. For
most people, it is simply easier and more comfortable to
live in a state of delusion, than to receive the truth. This
is why the Apostle Paul also wrote concerning the deceived
Jews of the Endtime who will accept their false messiah:

"...because they received not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them
strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11, KJV

In conclusion then, are you willing to accept the New Wine
of the Spirit with the faith of a little child? That is what
it will take. The choice is really up to you. I pray that
you will do the right thing. And remember; the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom.