Author: Daryl Pint

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6

Jesus “marveled” twice when it came to faith. The first was when a Roman soldier said that a simple word from Jesus could heal the soldier’s servant. Jesus “marveled” at this, saying, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Luke 7:9) The second was when Jesus found little faith in Nazareth: “And He marveled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:6).

Hebrews 11:6 says that faith is required to please God—faith in His existence and His rewarding of faith. Seeking God diligently is not easy—Solomon compared it to digging for hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1-5). And Jesus said it begins with our will: “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know…whether [My teaching] is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (John 7:17). Building faith begins with our desire to know God, which leads to seeking Him and results in trusting Him.

God rewards the faith of those who seek Him; Jesus’ ministry of healing and compassion is evidence of that. Seek Him today, knowing your faith pleases Him.

Nothing but faith can comprehend the truth.

There are two sides to faith. One is completely opposite of the other. One is faithful and one is faithless.  Walking by faith, waiting by faith, understanding by faith, looking forward by faith, relying by faith, trusting by faith, following by faith, obeying by faith, praying by faith, forgiven by faith, soft hearts and minds to things of God by faith, Kind by faith, humble by faith, patient by faith, joyful by faith, rejoicing by faith, hopeful by faith, generous by faith, etc….. are all on one side.

On the other side: self-reliance, self-worth, denying God, unbelief, disobedience, following cultural norms, deaf and blind to things of God, trust in self or anything other than God, unforgiven, prideful, boastful, greed, seeking worldly pleasures, no concern for eternal life, denying God’s coming judgment, …….etc

Our faith will continue to grow as we continue in His Word and seek His presence and leading.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Psalm 66:18-19

Why are witnesses in a courtroom required to swear to tell “the whole truth” when they testify? So that what they say is true matches up with what they know to be true. If they are found to be lying—saying one thing but knowing another—they can be convicted of perjury and suffer serious penalties.

A judge and jury cannot see into a witness’ heart or mind to tell whether or not the truth is being presented. But God can. In the Old Testament, there were clear warnings about coming before God in prayer while hiding sin in one’s heart. That is, attempting to act holy in prayer while being unholy in practice. In such cases, God turns a deaf ear to the prayers (Proverbs 15:29; 28:9; Isaiah 1:15; 59:1-2). And the same is said in the New Testament (1 Peter 3:12). The first step in prayer is confession leading to cleansing.

When you pray, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything that would hinder your prayers.

Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.

There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

–1 Timothy 2:5

According to the false teaching of mysticism, faith in Jesus Christ is not enough to be a spiritual Christian–you also need some kind of supernatural experience. Paul battled mystical teachings in the church at Colossae. In Colossians 2:18, he wrote, “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.”

One component of mysticism in Colossae was “self-abasement and the worship of angels.” In the New International Version, the phrase “self-abasement” is translated as “false humility.” My predecessor at First Dallas, Dr. W. A. Criswell, kept a beautiful, leather-bound book in his office titled My Humility and How I Achieved It. When you opened the book, all the pages were blank. That book could have easily been written by the Colossian mystics. They prided themselves on their humility.

How does that relate to the worship of angels? These mystics were saying, “God is so great that we could never come to Him. So instead of worshiping God, we will worship the angels.” That tendency continues even today. There are people who say, “We can’t approach God on our own; we need a go-between.” So they try to come to God through angels, saints, or spiritual leaders.

The fact is, God is too holy for us to approach Him. We do need a go-between. But that go-between is not a priest, a saint, or an angel; it is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

The Bible talks about the reality of angels, but they are no substitute for Jesus. Hebrews 1:5 says, “To which of the angels did [God] ever say, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You’?” God never said that to an angel–only to Jesus. The writer continued, “Are [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (v. 14). Angels are like God’s AAA service: He dispatches them to render service for those of us who belong to Jesus Christ. But as wonderful as angels are, God never meant for us to worship them. We are to worship only God.

The world, in the last few years, has reverted to a sort of barbarism. As practical Christianity has declined, rudeness and violence have increased. Neighbors quarrel with neighbors. Fighting is a major problem in our schools and the “gang wars” of the teenagers have come to present a serious menace in our cities. Fathers and mothers wrangle and bicker. Homes are disintegrating. High government officials in Washington engage in name-calling and in heated disputes not at all in keeping with the dignity of their office. Why and how has all this savagery crept into our social life? It is because we have forgotten Jesus’ words, “Happy are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” I have seen tough, rough, hardened men open their hearts by faith, receive Christ as Savior, and become gentle, patient, merciful gentlemen.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

We will occasionally hear of a tragic event perpetrated by one person against another, whether intentionally or accidentally. The harm is so deep that the hurt party will say, “I don’t think I can ever forgive that person!” Humanly speaking, we can understand how pain can motivate such a reaction, but there is no biblical justification for it. The Bible clearly teaches that there are to be no limits—no exceptions—to our forgiveness of others (Matthew 18:21-22).

Because of a statement Jesus made to religious leaders in His day, some people think there is a sin so grievous that God will not forgive them. That is, they wonder if there is an unpardonable sin in God’s eyes. Yes, Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven (Matthew 12:31-32). But He was referring to people whose hearts were so hardened against God’s revelations of Himself that there was no coming back. There is no unforgivable sin for those who want to be forgiven. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

The standard for our forgiveness of others is the way God forgives us—without exceptions (Ephesians 4:32).

Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.

–Colossians 2:18

Twelve years ago, Jefferson Bethke released a spoken-word poetry performance entitled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” Within two weeks, the video had more than 16 million views on YouTube. Bethke’s poem clearly struck a nerve with modern audiences, even though his message was at least two thousand years old. Though there’s no record that the apostle Paul ever performed spoken-word poetry, in his letter to the Colossians, Paul explained why he hated man-made religion but loved the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

In our study of Colossians, we’re in the heart of Paul’s letter to a church that was being infiltrated by false teachers. These false teachers weren’t Satanists or occultists; they were professing Christians who said the gospel of Jesus Christ is essential but not enough.

One group of false teachers was trying to add human philosophy to the gospel. They said, “You need Christ, but you also need human wisdom.”

A second group, the legalists, was trying to add rituals and regulations to the gospel. They said, “You need Christ, but you also need to adhere to the Old Testament laws and festivals.”

A third group of false teachers was trying to add mysticism to the gospel. They said, “You need Christ, but you also need a mystical, supernatural experience with God to be a truly spiritual Christian.”

In Colossians 2:18, Paul issued this warning against mysticism: “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.”

The Greek word translated as “defrauding” in this verse is an athletic term. It means to give a judgment against, the way a referee or an umpire makes a judgment in a sporting event. You probably know what it feels like when a team you support is on the wrong end of one of those calls. If a call by the referee ends up costing your team the game, you feel like you were cheated out of a victory.

Similarly, Paul was saying to the Colossian Christians, “Let no one rob you of the prize that belongs to you.” The prize is knowing that all is right between you and God and that you have everything you need to live the Christian life. Don’t let anybody rob you of that prize by saying you need an additional mystical experience. In Christ, you have everything you need.