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Your Word for Today

Your Word for Today

"I do not frustrate the Grace of God: for if Righteousness come by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain (Gal. 2:21).

Many Believers think that because we are now living in the Dispensation of Grace, then Grace is an automatic thing. It isn’t! As the Holy Spirit through the Apostle here boldly proclaims, it is most definitely possible to “frustrate (throw away) the Grace of God,” which means to stop its action in our life.

The Grace of God is simply the Goodness of God extended to undeserving Believers. Christ is its Source, and the Cross is its means. It is superintended, totally and completely, by the Holy Spirit.

The word “frustrate” is from the Greek word “athetio,” which means “to do away with something laid down, presented, or established; to act towards anything as though it were annulled, to thwart the efficacy of anything, to nullify, to make void.”

The idea is this:

When a Believer attempts to live for the Lord by means of works, of adhering to law, indeed of any form, which means he is not living by Faith, Faith in Christ and the Cross, then such a Believer is “frustrating the Grace of God.” In other words, he stops its flow, without which no Believer can successfully live for the Lord.

The Holy Spirit bluntly says through the Apostle that “Righteousness” cannot come by the Law. In other words, it is impossible.

What did the Apostle mean by that?

Most modern Christians dismiss this Passage, thinking that because we are now living in the Dispensation of Grace, then Law is no longer a problem. But I would remind the Reader that Paul was living in the Day of Grace, and yet the Holy Spirit knew it was necessary to give this admonition.

Why?

When Paul spoke of “Law,” he was either speaking of the Law of Moses or else any type of law devised by anyone, which purports to help one live for God. And that is the problem of the modern Church! It is not so much the Law of Moses that is presently the problem, but rather laws made up by Churches or individuals. If it’s not Faith in Christ and the Cross, and that alone, then, in some way, it’s Law. That being the case, all Righteousness is stopped, because no Righteousness can come by law, whether God-devised or man-devised. If it can, then Jesus didn’t need to come down here and die on a Cross.

So, we are told in this one Verse of Scripture that it is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” or it is nothing!"

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you? (Gal. 3:1).

The phrase, “O foolish Galatians,” is an expression of surprise mingled with indignation. The word “foolish” is from the Greek word “anoetos,” which means “stupidity that arises from deadness and impotence of intellect.” In other words, he was telling them, “You know better than to throw over the Gospel of Grace, which you have been taught and which you received, for this perverted gospel.”

The word “bewitched” is from the Greek “baskaino,” and refers, in a sense, to being hypnotized. It’s the same as a snake transfixing a rodent with its eyes, and the rodent looking into the snake’s eyes, unable to move. It refers to a “power of evil.” In other words, the unscriptural message being preached by the Judaizers, which repudiated the Cross, had a bewitching effect to it, because of the power of the Devil.

That is the reason that Believers accept the false messages of the “Word of Faith” doctrine, the “Government of Twelve” doctrine, the “Purpose Driven Life” doctrine, etc.

There is, however, one difference, in then and now:

The Galatians had had Paul as their teacher originally; therefore, they had most definitely been brought incorrectly. So they were leaving, or at least some of them were, the Message of the Cross for a perverted message, which causes the Apostle to refer to them as “fools.” Presently, most modern Believers have absolutely no knowledge regarding the Cross and Sanctification. They have heard messages only on the Cross as it regards Salvation.

In fact, one of the favorite sayings among Believers who are truly Born-Again, and rightly so, is, “Jesus died for me.” Beyond that, however, they have no idea how the Cross plays into their daily living. As a result, they are perfect targets for false doctrine, i.e., “the bewitched eye.” Continuing to speak of the modern Church, even when the Cross is preached to them, it is little received by most, hence, Jesus saying, “Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be who find it” (Mat. 7:14).

Just the other day over the SonLife Radio Network, a dear Brother who is a member of Family Worship Center gave his testimony. He had been brought out of the “Government of Twelve” doctrine. He mentioned that he and his wife had recently listened to some of the tapes of the things demanded of them while they were in that particular doctrine. He exclaimed how ridiculous some of the demands were that were placed on them — demands which were totally unscriptural. His summation was, “How stupid we were to have put up with that for even one hour!”

Is the Holy Spirit through Paul also saying too many today, “O foolish Believers. . . .”

To the Galatians, Paul preached Christ and Him Crucified so powerfully, so strongly, under such an anointing, that it was like Jesus had been “crucified among you.”

Over the SonLife Radio Network, owned by Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, the Lord has strongly demanded that I teach the Cross until He tells me to do otherwise. And that we shall do!”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

"This only would I learn of you, did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of Faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh? (Gal. 3:2-3).

There are two methods proposed here: One is man’s way; the other, God’s Way. Man’s way is the activity of law and works; God’s Way is the hearing of the Gospel and believing it. These two methods are opposed; and the answer to the question of Galatians 3:2 is that the Spirit is not received by legal works of any nature, but by listening faith, so to speak. In fact, “works” and “faith” are the keywords of Galatians 3:1-14. These two words set forth the opposing principles of Salvation by merit and Salvation by Grace.

In Galatians 3:3, the Apostle asks the question, “Are you to such a degree rational? Having begun your Christian life in dependence upon the indwelling Spirit, are you now being brought on to the state of spiritual maturity by means of self-effort?”

The words, “made perfect,” are from the Greek “epiteleo,” which means “to bring something to the place where it is complete.”

In preaching a message of law-obedience, the Judaizers caused the Galatian Christians to abandon the position of Grace and to put themselves in the sphere of law, both of the Judaizers’ system of legalism and that of the Old Testament economy. Regrettably, this is the type of message, i.e., law-obedience that is mostly being preached today.

In the Old Testament Mosaic Law, there was no provision for an indwelling Spirit Who would sanctify the Believer as that Believer trusted Christ and what He did at the Cross. As a result, the Galatians were turning away from the teaching and the reality of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Believer in this dispensation of Grace, Who works exclusively within the parameters of the Finished Work of Christ; instead, they were starting to depend upon self-effort in an attempt to obey an outward legalistic system of works.

Thus, these Christians who had begun their Christian lives in dependence upon the Holy Spirit now were depending upon self-effort to continue in them the work of Sanctification which the Holy Spirit had begun. In answer to that, Paul says, “How foolish to think that you can bring yourselves by this manner to a state of spiritual maturity in your Christian lives. That is the work of the Spirit, which He carries out in your life solely by your Faith evidenced in Christ and the Cross. Only He can do that for you.”

To make the idea, hopefully, simpler, consider this:

Believers are saved by Faith, which refers to Faith in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross. That alone is the basis of one’s Salvation. Nothing else must be interjected into that Finished Work. Further, Believers are sanctified, which refers to living a Godly, Holy life, solely by maintaining their Faith in Christ and the Cross, which then allows the Holy Spirit to perform His Work of Christlikeness and His Fruit within our lives (Gal. 5:22-23).

The Apostle asks, “Are you so foolish? You began in the Spirit, which came to you simply by Faith in Christ, and now do you think that you can come to maturity by ‘the flesh’?” The answer is a resounding “No!”'

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree: That the Blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the Promise of the Spirit through Faith (Gal. 3:13-14).

The Law assured Righteousness to all who perfectly obeyed it (Gal. 3:10), but condemned to death all who failed to give it that perfect obedience. Such an obedience was impossible to man, for he is morally imperfect, and moral imperfection cannot possibly render moral perfection. Christ redeemed the Believer from that doom because He suffered it Himself on the Believer’s behalf, and thus at Calvary affirmed the authority of that Law and vindicated its justice and goodness.

The Law has nothing to do with Faith (Gal. 3:12), for it teaches that he who practices its requirements lives by doing them. Christ in His Life perfectly obeyed all its commands, and in His Death discharged all its claims, and the merits of both His Life and Death are credited to the Believer in Him as though the Believer himself had performed them.

The word “redeemed” in the Greek is “exagorazo,” which means “to redeem from slavery, to purchase from off the auction block.” It carries the idea that such deliverance involves cost of some kind, effort, suffering, or loss to the one who effects the deliverance. It conveys the figure of a ransom. Men needed a ransom, for the law had left them prisoners under sentence of death. In fact, there are three Greek words for “redeemed” or “redemption.” They are:

1. “Agorazo”: This word means “to purchase from the slave market” (I Cor. 6:20).

2. “Exagorazo”: This word means “to purchase out of the slave market, never to be put up for sale again in any slave market,” which is the word of our present Text.

3. “Lutroo”: This root means “ransom money used to liberate a slave.” The idea is, “such a price has been paid that demons, devils, angels, Heaven, or Hell will never be able to say in eternity future that the price was insufficient” (I Pet. 1:18; Tit. 2:14).

The “curse of the law” is that which the legalistic passages of the Mosaic Law pronounced upon those who did not perfectly obey its demands. The Law pronounced a blessing and a curse. But the blessing proved barren, for the Law made no allowance for human sin and frailty. The curse, which involved the wrath of a righteous God, brought condemnation upon the offender. From this hopeless state of condemnation in which the sinner was not only helpless to redeem himself but helpless to satisfy the just demands of the law and thus find acceptance with God, Christ redeemed us by satisfying the just demands of the law which we broke, paying the penalty in our stead, leaving a Holy God free to bestow mercy on the basis of justice satisfied (Wuest).

Christ was “made a curse,” which means that He was not actually cursed by God.

The phrase, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,” is taken from Deuteronomy 21:23. Any Jew who committed a heinous crime was first stoned to death and then hung upon a tree as a sign that he was cursed by God. When Jesus died on the Cross, He had to atone for the worst sins that could be imagined — in fact, all sin, and even the cause of sin. Inasmuch as He Himself had never sinned, and He, therefore, could not be cursed by God in that capacity, He had to be made a curse, which He was, as a Substitute on our part. It was the curse of the Mosaic Law that descended on Christ, subjecting Him to the death of a malefactor. The death of Jesus satisfied the legal demands of the Law, and, as our Substitute, when we identify with Him in His Death, in which He paid our penalty, the curse of the Law is likewise removed from us; consequently, the Cross of Christ is where our Redemption took place, and did so in totality (Col. 2:14-15).

Due to the curse being lifted on all Believers, the “Blessing of Abraham,” which is “Justification by Faith,” is given to all who believe, which includes the reception of the Holy Spirit, all through Faith — Faith in the Cross of Christ.”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how do you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? (Gal. 4:9).

The Galatians, who had been saved by Grace, were in the act of turning away from Grace to Law, which occasioned Paul to write this letter. Judaizers (Jews who accepted Christ as the Messiah, but claimed that it was still necessary to keep the Law of Moses, which denied the Cross) were making headway in corrupting the Gospel.

The question, “How is it possible that you are turning back again to the weak and beggarly rudimentary things to which you desire to be in bondage again?”. is a rhetorical question, the purpose of which is to show the absurdity of their actions. It also calls the attention of the Galatians to the ineffectiveness and poverty of their old religion system, which actually was paganism, contrasted to the power and richness of the Gospel. Paul is, in effect, dealing with two situations: a perverted form of Judaism to which they were turning, and also to pagan religions. Both were legalistic in character, and were without a dynamic to make actual the realization of ethical principles in the life.

The Apostle puts Judaism and paganism into the same category, even though Judaism was lightyears ahead of paganism. Although the Mosaic Law was originally given by God, still, it was totally and completely fulfilled in Christ. To go to that now, by either Gentiles or Jews, is, in Paul’s thinking, no different than going back into unconverted heathenism.

In fact, in Verses 8 and 10, idolatry (paganism) and ritualism (Judaism) are united and presented as having the same source and operating upon the same principle. Man misuses God’s Gifts and corrupts His Truths. The Law, which taught man that he was a sinner and needed Righteousness, was used by man as an instrument to establish his own righteousness through a carnal observance of its outward requirements. On the other hand, the idolater (Gentile) similarly debased conscience and became the willing slave to gods who only existed in his imagination.

The time of the Law consisted of symbols and examples, i.e., “shadows” used by God to teach His ancient People of the realities which they would find only in Christ, and only thus did these things have any value. He knew how to employ these figures in connection with a Law that tested man in the flesh and that demonstrated man’s inability to serve God. To go back, therefore, to these shadows made for man in the flesh, now that God had proved the impossibility of man by them acquiring merit before Him, and now that the substance of the shadow was come, was to go back to the position of men in the flesh, and, as men in the flesh, to seek a carnal righteousness, which, of course, was, and is, impossible. In fact, it was actually going back to the principles of idolatry. As a result, it greatly perplexed the Apostle that the Galatian Believers should wish to go back to paganism; for that, in effect, would be the import of their action if they went into Judaism under the guidance of these false teachers.

Let the Reader Understand:

The problem presently is identical as that then. Any Believer who tries to live for God by any means other than by simple Faith in Christ and the Cross is doing exactly what some of the Galatians were doing. Such a Believer is accepting something that not only will not bring freedom, but which will thrust one into bondage. There is no “freedom” in anything except Christ and Him Crucified. Let it also be understood:

The “bondage” addressed here refers to bondage to the Sin Nature. That’s the reason we speak so strongly against the “Purpose Driven Life” doctrine, the “Government of Twelve” doctrine, the “Word of Faith” doctrine, etc. These systems do not look exclusively to Christ and the Cross, but rather to legalistic demands formulated by men. The only answer is the Cross of Christ!”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“But as then he who was born after the flesh persecuted him who was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what says the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman (Gal. 4:29-30).

The Law and the Gospel cannot coexist. The Law must disappear before the Gospel. When Paul mentions “Law,” he is speaking not only of the Law of Moses, but any type of law which is conjured up by man, supposedly to help one live for God.

Concerning these things, Lightfoot says, “It is scarcely possible to estimate the strength of conviction and depth of prophetic insight which this declaration given by Paul implies. The Apostle thus confidently sounds the death-knell of Judaism at a time when approximately one-half of Christendom clung to the Mosaic Law with a jealous affection little short of frenzy, and while the Judaic party seemed to be growing in influence, and was strong enough even in the Gentile Churches of Paul’s own founding to undermine his influence and endanger his life.”

What Paul gave was, nevertheless, the Word of God, and ultimately it overcame the Judaism problem; however, the problem of “law” did not abate but, in fact, continued to weaken the true Gospel, even as it does presently. Virtually the entirety of the modern Church, sadly, has presently opted for law instead of Grace; the latter can come only by and through the Cross. Of course, they do not think of such as law, but that’s what it is. As a result, those who are law-followers will persecute those who are of true Faith.

Paul’s statement, “He who was born after the flesh persecuted him who was born after the Spirit” refers back to Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael was a work of the flesh, in other words, the product of Abraham’s and Sarah’s scheming. Isaac was totally a work of the Holy Spirit. He was born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, which proclaims the fact that his birth was miraculous.

The effect of the birth of Isaac was to make manifest the character of Ishmael. Ishmael hated Isaac, and so did Ishmael’s mother Hagar. Prompted by her, he sought to murder Isaac, which is what the word “persecuted” (Vs. 29) means. He and his mother were justly expelled. Both merited the severer sentence of death. Thus, the birth of Isaac, which filled Sarah’s heart with joy, filled Hagar’s with murder.

Isaac and Ishmael symbolize the new and the old nature in the Believer. Hagar and Sarah typify the two Covenants of works and Grace, of bondage and Liberty. The birth of the new nature demands the expulsion of the old. It is impossible to improve the old nature. The “bondwoman and her son” must go!

In the Eighth Chapter of Romans, the Holy Spirit says that “it is enmity against God, that is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be.” If, therefore, it (we continue to speak of the old nature) cannot be subject to the Law of God, how can it be improved? How foolish, therefore, appears the doctrine of moral evolution! The Divine way of Holiness is to “put off the old man,” just as Abraham “put off Ishmael.” Man’s way of holiness is to improve the “old man,” that is, to improve Ishmael. The effort is both foolish and hopeless. Of course, the casting out of Ishmael was “very grievous in Abraham’s sight,” because it always foments a struggle to cast out these elements of bondage, that is, salvation by works. For legalism is dear to the heart, just as Ishmael was to Abraham the fair fruit of his own energy and planning.

Paul states to the Galatians that Hagar, the bondwoman, represents the Covenant of the Law, and that her son represents all who are of “works of law,” that is, all who seek Righteousness on the principle of works of righteousness. But the bondwoman cannot bring forth the free man!

The Son Alone makes free, and He makes free indeed! Sarah, the free woman, symbolizes the Covenant of Grace and Liberty. And so the Apostle says, “We are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free” (Gal. 4:31).

This means that no vestige of law can be left in the heart and life of the Believer. Everything must be in Christ and His Cross. The object of faith must be transferred from all works of the law, from all efforts of the law, even from everything which only hints toward law, and placed exclusively in Christ and what He did at the Cross (Gal. 6:14).”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1).

The teaching that Paul gives in this Verse is that Christ died on the Cross to give us the advantage of having Spiritual Liberty and freedom. This Liberty consists of freedom from law of any type. Under law (law of any type), the individual who subscribes to such has no more liberty than a child under a guardian. The child has no freedom of action, no right of self-determination. He must move within a set of rules prescribed by his guardian. He is not old enough to act alone. He must always act under the restrictions of his guardian.

So it is with a person under the Law.

Here were these Galatian Christians, free from the Law, having been placed in the family of God as adult sons, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, Who would enable them to act out in their experience that maturity of Christian Life in which they were now placed, now putting on the straightjacket of the Law, cramping their experience, stultifying their actions, therefore, depriving themselves of the Power of the Holy Spirit. They were like adults putting themselves under rules made for children.

The word “liberty,” as used here by Paul, does not refer to the kind of life a person lives, neither does it have reference to his words and actions, but it has to do with the method by which he lives that life. The subscribers to law must live their lives by dependence upon self effort in an attempt to obey the law. As such, they come under bondage.

The word “entangled” is from the Greek “enecho,” which means “to be held within, to be ensnared.” It is like a net thrown over someone, and them unable to free themselves. The Galatian Christians, having escaped from the slavery of heathenism, were in danger of becoming entangled in the meshes of legalistic Judaism. And so it is with modern Believers who have been brought out of the system of the world, which definitely imprisons an individual, who are trading the liberty they have in Christ for laws of religion. Such will never lead to victory, as such cannot lead to victory. Freedom is found only in Christ and what He did at the Cross. Tragically, most modern Believers don’t know that, so they formulate laws in their efforts to live for God, which are works of the flesh, which can never be accepted by the Lord (Rom. 8:8).”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if you be Circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing (Gal. 5:2).

When Paul uses here the term, “Christ shall profit you nothing,” he is speaking to Believers. He is not speaking here of their “standing in Grace” as justified Believers. He is speaking of the method of living the Christian Life and of growth in that Life. Thus, if the Galatians submit to Circumcision (this word “circumcision” is a catch-all phrase for any type of law), they are putting themselves under law, and are depriving themselves of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit, which Christ made possible through His Death and Resurrection, a Ministry which was not provided for under Law.

In the Old Testament dispensation, the Spirit came upon Believers, sometimes even in Believers, in order that they might perform a certain service for God, and then left them when that service was accomplished. He did not indwell them for purposes of Sanctification. Because of the Cross and what was effected there by Christ, the Holy Spirit now lives permanently in the hearts and lives of all Believers; however, for the Holy Spirit to accomplish in us His desired Purpose, which is to bring us to Christlikeness and victory over all dominion of sin, He requires of us that our Faith be placed in Christ and the Cross, and maintained in Christ and the Cross (Rom. 8:1-2, 11; I Cor. 1:17-18, 23; 2:2).

The statement given here by the Apostle is blunt and to the point. He minces no words. If the Believer subscribes to laws in any capacity, whether the laws are made up by his Church, his Denomination, Preachers, or even himself, what Christ did at the Cross will be of no profit for such an individual. Although the Holy Spirit continues to reside in the Believer, He simply will not help him.

The reason?

Such a Believer is committing “spiritual adultery” (Rom. 7:1-4). The Holy Spirit is certainly not going to help a person commit spiritual adultery. So such a Believer, which characterizes almost all of the modern Church, simply cannot successfully live for the Lord. He can be saved, but the joy of serving Christ is lost on such a person, and for all the obvious, Scriptural reasons.

Tragically, most modern Believers do not think of what they are doing as “law,” because it is all so very religious. However, I remind the Reader that everything Satan does in this capacity is religious, just as it was in Paul’s day.

The only way that one can successfully live the Christian Life, with all of its attendant joy, i.e., “more abundant life,” is by placing his Faith absolutely and completely in Christ and the Finished Work of Christ, which, of course, is the Cross. Then the Holy Spirit will work mightily on behalf of such a one, bringing about His desired effect of Sanctification.”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
iLOVE said:
“now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the Earth, a perfect and an upright man, one who fears God, and hates evil? (Job 1:6, 8)

From the experience of Job we find many truths given to us. Some of them are as follows:

1. Satan is a created being, originally created by God as a righteous Angel, who, sometime in eternity past, fell, and who, in fact, led a revolution against God — a conflict which continues even unto this hour (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:13-19).

2. We learn that Satan must appear before the Lord periodically to give account of himself.

3. We learn from Chapters 2 and 3 of Job that Satan can do only what the Lord allows him to do, and no more! In other words, Satan has to ask permission for whatever he desires to do, and then minutely must follow directions laid down by the Lord.

4. We learn from Job’s three friends the impotence of man and his efforts. With Eliphaz it was “human experience”; with Bildad, “human tradition”; and with Zophar, “human merit.”

5. We learn from all of this that everything that happens to a Believer, irrespective as to what it might be, is either “caused” by the Lord or “allowed” by the Lord. Of course, the Lord never causes any Believer to sin, but He does allow such, that is, if such a Believer is so inclined; however, the penalty is always posted.

6. We learn that the discovery of the deep corruption of the heart is the most painful and humbling that a Believer can make. So the Patriarch had to crucify all his goodness as truly as all his badness, and sit in wood ashes as a public confession that he merited death because of his sin-defiled nature. This moral principle governs the Salvation of the sinner as well as the Sanctification of the Saint.

7. We learn from the narrative of Job that everyone had to change except God! Job had to humble himself, and to pray for God to bless these three “friends” who had so despitefully used him and persecuted him. The three “friends” had to confess themselves worthy of death, and to seek forgiveness from God through the Precious Blood of Christ, as foreshadowed in the Sacrifices of Chapter 42.

8. We also learn that Job’s latter end was better than his beginning. God gave him twice as much as he had before; and such is ever the result in the spiritual life. Increased spiritual wealth results from the death of self, i.e.,the death of bad self and also of good self. So, the subject of this book is not how God justifies a sinner, but how He sanctifies a Saint. Consequently, none but a good man could have been chosen for the process, or have profited by it. It is plain to all that a wicked man should die to self, but that a perfect man should also need to die to self is not so clear. And yet, this is the offense of the Cross. All of the goodness and beauty which men recognize in themselves and in others must be nailed in death to the Cross; and the only Man Who is to live must be the Risen Man, Christ Jesus. True self-abhorrence comes not from self-examination, but in looking away from self to Jesus, the Perfecter and Author of Faith (Williams).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)

Donnie Swaggart
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I was just going to post a like, and I do like your discourse on the book of Job one of the best and most thourgh I have heard. But it reminded me of something that occurred in my personal life, as every mention or even passing thought of that book does. I would like to share it but caution all readers to recognize it as an experience, one between God and myself. Experiences should never replace doctrine or be looked for as validation or as necessary. They in fact may be very rare and always, always are God stooping down so to speak for a particular need of comfort or teaching.
So that being said. This happened when I was a new believer and full of the exuberant enthusiasm that often accompanies conversion. I lived in a farm house with access to a large garden space. As I planted this garden, laid the seeds and plants in the soil, I prayed over it and dedicated all the first fruits to the Lord, (that being in my plan to give them to the needy.) The garden grew and prospered and I kept my "end of the bargain." And then came a drought and the well was not adequate for watering and I had great distress over God not sending rain. After all I had prayed for Him to take care of my garden. I'd do the manual labor, no problem, but only God can make it rain.

It didn't help that there was rain all around me. Night after night there would be lightning on the horizons and the distant rumble of thunder but all the rain went around me and my garden. It was no different the night I sat reading the book Job because that's where I happened be in my read through. The thunder spoke from far away, and even though I was reading THE WORD OF GOD inside was an arrogant demanding kind of anger of not getting my way.

And wouldn't you know it, I came to the passage where God begins to ask Job those questions, "were you there?" "Was it you who?" And as I am reading this I am sort of thinking, "So where is my rain?" Then I came to chapter 42 and verse 5. "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." I was overwhelmed in sincerity and to the quick as Job was.

And it began rain. I cry even as I tell this. Even though it was over 40 years ago it is still as fresh powerful and meaningful as when it happened.
 
Reformed05 said:
I was just going to post a like, and I do like your discourse on the book of Job one of the best and most thourgh I have heard. But it reminded me of something that occurred in my personal life, as every mention or even passing thought of that book does. I would like to share it but caution all readers to recognize it as an experience, one between God and myself. Experiences should never replace doctrine or be looked for as validation or as necessary. They in fact may be very rare and always, always are God stooping down so to speak for a particular need of comfort or teaching.
So that being said. This happened when I was a new believer and full of the exuberant enthusiasm that often accompanies conversion. I lived in a farm house with access to a large garden space. As I planted this garden, laid the seeds and plants in the soil, I prayed over it and dedicated all the first fruits to the Lord, (that being in my plan to give them to the needy.) The garden grew and prospered and I kept my "end of the bargain." And then came a drought and the well was not adequate for watering and I had great distress over God not sending rain. After all I had prayed for Him to take care of my garden. I'd do the manual labor, no problem, but only God can make it rain.

It didn't help that there was rain all around me. Night after night there would be lightning on the horizons and the distant rumble of thunder but all the rain went around me and my garden. It was no different the night I sat reading the book Job because that's where I happened be in my read through. The thunder spoke from far away, and even though I was reading THE WORD OF GOD inside was an arrogant demanding kind of anger of not getting my way.

And wouldn't you know it, I came to the passage where God begins to ask Job those questions, "were you there?" "Was it you who?" And as I am reading this I am sort of thinking, "So where is my rain?" Then I came to chapter 42 and verse 5. "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." I was overwhelmed in sincerity and to the quick as Job was.

And it began rain. I cry even as I tell this. Even though it was over 40 years ago it is still as fresh powerful and meaningful as when it happened.
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“1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,

2 I know that You can do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from You (from the Lord’s questions to Job, he knows that God is Omnipotent [all-powerful], as well as Omniscient [all-knowing]).

3 Who is he who hides counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not (even though it seems that God did not directly accuse Job of such, still, after Job saw and heard the Lord, he realized how woeful that his knowledge of God actually was).”

JSM
 
Your Word for Today

“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law; you are fallen from Grace (Gal. 5:4).

The idea of this Verse is that the Galatian Christians, by putting themselves under Law, have put themselves in a place where they have ceased to be in that relation to Christ where they could derive the spiritual benefits from Him which would enable them to live a life pleasing to Him, namely, through the Ministry of the Holy Spirit. In depriving themselves of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the living of the Christian Life, they have “fallen from Grace.”

To “fall from Grace” refers to the Believer placing his faith in something other than Christ and the Cross. It really doesn’t matter what the “other” is. The person has placed himself in a position where the Holy Spirit cannot work satisfactorily in their life; therefore, the flow of Grace stops.

Grace is the Goodness of God extended to undeserving Believers. It is superintended by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who makes all of these good things possible in our hearts and lives, but the Source is Christ and the means is the Cross.

Most Christians think that “falling from Grace” refers to one committing a great sin. That is correct, but not as they think! It is a great sin for any Believer to forsake Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross, thereby placing his faith in something else. Considering the price that Jesus paid at the Cross, one certainly can realize what an insult such action is.

I once heard two Preachers on Television discussing another person who had grievously failed the Lord by committing an appalling sin of the flesh. They concluded that the commission of this grievous sin constituted “falling from Grace.”

No! It didn’t. No! It doesn’t.

While sin is a most horrible and terrible thing, and will always have dire consequences, the person who does such is the one who desperately needs the Grace of God, and, if proper Faith in Christ and the Cross is evidenced, he will always be the beneficiary of such Grace (I Jn. 1:9). Those two Preachers, actually, were the ones who had “fallen from Grace,” because neither one of them pointed to the Cross of Christ as the Object of Faith, but rather to works of many and varied kinds. Tragically, due to the fact that the Cross has been so little preached in the last several decades, most in the modern Church belong to the same category.

Every single Believer on the face of the Earth must have a continued, uninterrupted flow of the Grace of God, i.e., “the Goodness of God,” in order to live a victorious life. Without it, it simply cannot be done. To have that uninterrupted flow, all one has to do is to simply place his Faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross (Rom. 6:1-14). This will not guarantee that such a Believer will never again fail, but it does guarantee that such a Believer is on the right path, and will ultimately come out to a total and complete place and position in Christ to where sin no longer has dominion over such a person (Rom. 6:14).”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. Psalm 84:5-6

THE WORD BACA means both "a garbage dump," and a "place of tears; a valley of weeping."

We have to admit that the world in which we live has become a garbage dump. The more that we grow in the Lord, the more we see how reprobate this world is-where truth becomes a lie, and a lie becomes truth; where immorality reigns, and morality is constantly called into question. And it's not getting any better.

As for the weeping, I think I can say without fear of contradiction that every child of God has gone through, or is going through, a valley of weeping. Situations such as a financial failure, a broken relationship, or a loved one dying can leave us stranded in the valley of Baca-a place of weeping.

When we find ourselves in the valley, surrounded by garbage and weeping from life's hurts, we have a choice: we can either blame God for our trials, or we can make it a well.

Many choose to blame God, become bitter, and damage their faith. They question why He would allow such things to happen and when their accusatory prayers go unanswered, they grow angrier at God. Bitterness creeps in, and they lash out-not only at those who offer help, but also to God.

But those who choose to make Baca a well, know who they are in Christ. They realize that though they hurt now, soon those who have been bought with the shed blood of the Lamp will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). The Lord Jesus Christ is going to come back, change this present world system, and restore the earth to what God intended it to be from the beginning.

As children of God, we are not immune to the forces of darkness. The fiery darts of the enemy will come our way. In fact, Peter said, "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13). If we are truly following the Lord Jesus Christ, attacks will come our way. However, it is not the intention of the Holy Spirit that we remain in that place.

Since we are only passing through the valley of weeping, we don't have to grow bitter and angry. We can make it a well!

Pastor Gabriel Swaggart
 
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And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. Luke 11:5-8

SITUATIONS WILL TAKE place in our lives where we find ourselves unable to cope. The man in theses verses could not provide for his friend and had to venture outside his home for help. He approached the door of his friend's house. It was midnight-not the best time to bother people. But what choice did the man have? he had a need.

He lifted a hand to knock on his neighbor's door, hoping for his need to be met. He knocked once, and his friend who was already in bed yelled, "Troble me not!"

The first refusal.

But the man in need was determined, so he knocked again. "This time he heard, "The door is now shut!"

The second refusal.

The man, still determined, knocked on the locked door again. The answer this time was, "I cannot rise and give thee."

Denial number three.

The neighbor's responses were not encouraging, but the response of the man in need was absolutely correct- he kept knocking.

Had he given up, he would have left empty handed. (God never answers doubt and unbelief). But because of his persistence, his friend got up out of bed, unlocked the door, and gave the man all that he needed.

So, if this man's persistence moved his friend to provide for him even when he didn't want to, how much more can we expect from a God who is very willing to provide for His children?

Yes, there will be times when we ask the Lord for things and find ourselves facing a shut door.

And it may seem that He is ignoring our pleas for help. But that's when we need to keep asking Him, keep seeking Him, and keep knocking. Don't quit. Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Keep knocking on that door. God will eventually answer because He always answers faith.

Pastor Gabriel Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

"And I, Brethren, if I yet preach Circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the Cross ceased (Gal. 5:11).

The doctrine of the Atonement is offensive to the self-righteous mind, for it declares that man is morally lost, wicked and hopeless, helpless and dead and that he can only be recovered by being re-created. This re-creation takes place when he believes upon Christ as an atoning Saviour. Man denies that he is altogether lost, and he claims that he can add something to the Sacrifice that Christ infinitely accomplished for him at Calvary. Such an addition destroys the Gospel, for it denies the infinite perfection of Christ’s Sacrifice. If that Sacrifice is infinite, then there is no room for human additions to it in order to add to its perfection.

To preach Christ and good works — proudly named “the ethical gospel,” or some such like — does not involve persecution; but to preach the true Gospel always involves persecution.

What is the offense of the Cross?

Why is the Cross an offense?

The “offense of the Cross” is the fact that God demands that there is only one way to Justification and Sanctification, and that is the Cross. That puts to death every effort of man — above all, his religious efforts. This is offensive to the flesh, offensive to the carnal nature, and it arouses enmity against those who place their Faith totally and completely in Christ and the Cross. As we have previously stated, Abraham did not want to give up Ishmael, but the Cross demands it.

The answers to both questions, i.e., “What is the offense of the Cross?” and “Why is the Cross an offense?” are very similar.

The Cross of Christ, and one’s total Faith placed in that Finished Work, must, of necessity, eliminate all self-righteousness. As Ishmael was dear to the heart of Abraham, our self-efforts are also dear to us. The Cross of Christ offends all religion, all self-effort, all works, and all self-righteousness. These things must be cast out, even as the bondwoman and her son were cast out by Abraham (Gal. 4:29-30).

There is no room for both the “Cross” and the “flesh.” One or the other must go! The Cross is always an offense to self-righteousness because it exposes it for what it really is — the flesh, which God can never accept. The Lord can only accept the Righteousness of Christ."

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“For, Brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, for by love serve one another (Gal. 5:13).

The Gospel does not liberate a man to a life of laziness and self-indulgence, but to an unceasing Ministry of loving service to humanity.

By the use of the word “liberty,” Paul here reaches back to all that has preceded it, summing up the whole preceding argument for Christian liberty, and looking ahead to what follows in that it introduces a wholly new aspect of the matter of Christian liberty, namely, the danger of abusing it.

To those who have been accustomed to regard law as the only controlling factor that stands in the way of self-indulgence and a free reign in sin, and to those who have not been accustomed to a high standard of ethics, the teaching of Christian liberty might easily mean that there is nothing to stand in the way of the unrestrained indulgence of one’s own impulses. During his Ministry, Paul often had his hearers react in this way to his teaching of Grace.

The questions in Romans 6:1 and 6:15, “Shall we continue in sin, that Grace may abound?” and “Shall we sin because we are not under the Law, but under Grace?” were asked by someone who did not understand Grace. Paul answers these questions in the Sixth Chapter of Romans. He shows that the control of the sinful nature over the individual is broken the moment he believes, and the Divine Nature is then imparted; the Believer, therefore, hates sin and loves the right, and he has both the desire and the power to keep from sinning and to do God’s Will.

In the Epistle to the Galatians, Paul shows that the Believer has come out from under whatever control Divine Law had over him, and in Salvation has been placed under a superior control, that of the indwelling Holy Spirit, Who exercises a stricter supervision over the Believer than Law ever did over the unbeliever, Whose restraining power is far more effective than the Law’s restraining power ever was, and Who gives the Believer both the desire and power to choose the right, a thing which Law never was able to do.

The Believer has, therefore, passed out of one control into another, from the control of a mere system of legal enactments into the control of a person, God the Holy Spirit. When God abrogated the Law at the Cross, He knew what He was doing. He did not leave the world without a restraining hand.

He ran this world for 2,500 years before the Mosaic Law was enacted. He can run it again without the Mosaic Law. He does not need the help of legalistic Teachers and Preachers in the Church who think they are helping Him control this world, who control Believers by imposing Law on Grace. Indeed, it is the general ignorance and lack of recognition of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit that is responsible for the tendency in the Church to add Law to Grace.

There is a recognition of the fact that the flesh is still with the Christian even though its power over him is broken, and consequently, a feeling that even the Child of God stills needs a restraint put upon him. This is as it should be. But the mistake that so often is made is that the Mosaic Law, or laws devised by men, are substituted for the restraint of the Holy Spirit, always with disastrous results.

Not only does the Law (whatever kind) not restrain evil, but, on the other hand, it brings out evil in the life, because the fallen nature rebels against it (Rom. 7:7-13), and the latter is thus incited to evil. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is the Great Restrainer of evil, and He most definitely will do so if the Believer will properly place his Faith in Christ and the Cross and keep his Faith in that Finished Work.

No Preacher ever enables Christians to whom he ministers to live a better Christian Life by putting them under the Ten Words from Sinai and by letting them smell the brimstone of the Lake of Fire. A policeman on the street corner is a far more efficient deterrent of lawbreaking than any number of city ordinances placarded for public notice. To acquaint the Saint with the Ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit, telling the Saint how He works, is far more productive of victory over sin than the imposition of the Law. The controlling Ministry of the Holy Spirit is the secret of Holy Living and the only secret for Holy Living. This is the Power of which Paul spoke, and the Power we must have to live a victorious life, which is invested in the preaching of the Cross (I Cor. 1:18).

(Most of the above material on “liberty” was derived from the teaching of Kenneth Wuest.)”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would. But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the Law (Gal. 5:16-18).

The word “Walk,” as used here, refers to the act of conducting one’s self, or ordering one’s manner of life or behavior.

The word “lust” refers to a strong desire, impulse, or passion, the context indicating whether it is a good or an evil one.

The word “flesh” refers here to the totally depraved nature of the person, the power of which is broken when the Believer is saved.

Therefore, the “lust of the flesh” refers to the evil desires, impulses, and passions that are constantly arising from the Sin Nature, as smoke rises from a chimney. The Sin Nature is not eradicated, as some teach! However, its power over the Believer was broken when the Believer was saved, and the Believer need not obey it, at least if the Believer understands God’s Prescribed Order of Victory. But the Sin Nature remains in the Believer, constantly attempting to control the Believer, as it did before Salvation wrought its work in his being.

In these statements made by Paul, we notice that he puts upon the “Believer” the responsibility of refusing to obey the behests of the evil nature by conducting himself in the Power of the Holy Spirit and under His control. The will of the person has been liberated from enslavement to sin, which was his experience before Salvation, and is free now to choose to do the right thing. The Holy Spirit has been given to the Believer as the Agent to counteract the evil nature.

So how does the Holy Spirit work?

Is His Work in our lives automatic?

Is there any responsibility on the part of the Believer toward what the Spirit does?

These are just a few of the questions that characterize this subject.

The Holy Spirit, Who resides in the heart and life of every Believer (I Cor. 3:16), doesn’t require much of us, but He does require one thing. He requires Faith! However, the Faith which He requires must be placed in the correct object. That correct Object is always Christ and the Cross. It was at the Cross where the Lord Jesus atoned for all sin; consequently, the power of sin was broken, which means that Satan there lost his right to hold man in captivity and bondage.

If Satan holds man in bondage (and, regrettably, he does so with most of the world, and even most of the Church), it is simply because that man does not take advantage of what the Lord did for him at the Cross. The sinner can come out from under the bondage of Satan, if the sinner will only accept Christ.

The Believer can stay free of bondage, never allowing the Sin Nature to rule in his life, providing he maintains Faith in Christ and the Cross, which then gives the Holy Spirit liberty to work (Rom. 8:1-2, 11). Only then can the Believer successfully “walk in the Spirit.” Only then is he in a position where he will no longer “fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21).

The manner and way that one can tell if one is truly following Christ, and, by that, we refer to placing one’s Faith in Christ and the Cross, and maintaining his Faith in that manner, is that the “works of the flesh” are no longer in our life. The only way, and we mean the only way, that the Believer is going to be free from the “works of the flesh” is by the method which we have just mentioned: Faith in Christ and the Cross. If one resorts to Law in any measure, to self-effort regarding rules and regulations, etc., such a Believer is going to fail the Lord. The Holy Spirit simply will not help such a Believer. As we have previously stated, the reason the Holy Spirit will not help is that such a person is committing “spiritual adultery,” and the Holy Spirit will have no part of that, as should be obvious.

Let us say it in another way:

There is only one way for victory over “works of the flesh,” and that is by the Power of the Holy Spirit, Who performs His Work exclusively within the parameters of the Finished Work of Christ. In other words, what the Holy Spirit does in our lives constitutes a legal work. That’s why Paul said, “For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2).

As we have also previously stated, victory over the “Law of sin and death,” which characterizes “works of the flesh,” can only be brought about through “the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus,” which is the most powerful Law on the face of the Earth, but yet the only Law that is more powerful than the “Law of sin and death.”

We should look very thoughtfully at this list of “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21). While all of us might concur to the wickedness of the first four, we very little think of “idolatry,” “witchcraft,” “hatred,” “heresies,” etc.

Please, however, note carefully:

Every single Preacher in the world who is preaching something other than Christ and the Cross is preaching “heresy,” which is a “work of the flesh.” Furthermore, anything that we place as a substitute for Christ and the Cross is judged by God as “idolatry.”

Paul tells us here that if we refuse God’s Way, which is the Way of the Cross, which means that these “works of the flesh” are going to run unchecked within our lives, even growing steadily worse, the end result can most definitely be the loss of the soul. So God’s Way of the Cross is not one option among several. It is the only option!”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, Faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no Law (Gal. 5:22-23).

Paul places the “Fruit of the Spirit” in juxtaposition to the “works of the flesh.”

The word “Fruit” is singular, a fact which serves to show that all of the elements of character spoken of in these Verses are a unity, making for a well-rounded and complete Christian Life. All the “Fruit” grows uniformly, which means that the growth rate is the same for all, i.e., whatever growth there is of the “Fruit” in one’s life, it is the same across the board. One cannot have more “love” than one has “faith,” etc.

Also, this is the “Fruit of the Spirit,” which means it’s not the fruit of someone else or even one’s self. This means that development and growth rate are brought about exclusively by the Holy Spirit. So, how is the development and the growth rate of the “Fruit of the Spirit” brought about in the heart and life of the Believer?

Only one way, which refers, once again, to our Faith in Christ and what He did at the Cross! As I have been continually saying, this gives the Holy Spirit latitude to work within our lives. This alone gives Him such latitude. He will work in no other manner!

In 1997, the Lord began to open up to me the Revelation of the Cross. He first showed me the cause of problems, which is the fact of the Sin Nature and it not being properly addressed by the Believer. The Lord then told me the solution for the Sin Nature, which is the Cross of Christ, and the Cross of Christ alone. Then He showed me the manner in which the Holy Spirit works in all of this, which I had never seen anywhere else until the Lord revealed it to me from Paul’s writings. I speak of Romans 8:2.

Unfortunately, all types of schemes, programs, self-efforts, and unscriptural doctrines are being projected as a means of Spiritual Growth.

Let us say it again:

If it’s not Christ and the Cross, the Holy Spirit simply will not work, which means there is no development or growth of the Fruit of the Spirit. The Cross is the means by which everything comes to us from the Lord, and Christ is always the Source (Jn. 14:6).”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Your Word for Today

“And they who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:24-25).

How does one crucify the flesh?

We should notice that Paul uses the term “crucified,” which is in the past tense. The Apostle does this because every single Believer crucified the flesh when he came to Christ. That’s what Romans 6:3-5 means. When the believing sinner comes to Christ, he is first of all baptized into the death of Christ, then buried with Him by Baptism into death, and then raised with Him in newness of life. This is what Paul is referring to.

At that time, every single sin in the heart and live of the Christian is defeated, and the Sin Nature is made ineffective (Rom. 6:6). But if the new Believer then transfers his Faith from the Cross of Christ, which is the way he came into Redemption, to other things, then the Sin Nature comes to life, and the person is once again ruled by that evil nature (Rom. 6:13), all because his faith has been transferred to something other than the Cross.

The Believer must understand that the only way “the flesh with the affections and lusts” can be overcome is by trusting Christ and what Christ did at the Cross. This is what Paul means by the word “crucified.” Now that the believing sinner has come to Christ, he “lives in the Spirit,” meaning that everything he has from the Lord is imparted to him by the Holy Spirit, Who — as we have been saying over and over again — works exclusively within the parameters of the Christ and the Cross (Rom. 8:2). In view of the fact that every one of us who is a Believer has this Divine Life operating within us, we then should “walk in the Spirit,” which refers to the manner in which we conduct our life or our lifestyle.

The word “walk” is from the Greek “stoicheo,” which means “to walk in a straight line, to conduct one’s self rightly.”

Thus, the exhortation to the Galatian Believers, who have Divine Life resident in their beings, is to conduct themselves under the guidance, impulses, and energy of that life. Here we have the possibility of a total victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Consequently, the responsibility of the Saint is to desire to live a Christlike life, and to depend upon the Holy Spirit for the power to live that life, which we obtain by registering our Faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross. Fulfilling this will bring all the infinite resources of Grace to the aid of the Saint and put in operation all the activities of the Holy Spirit, all on our behalf.

Without one’s Faith registered and anchored in Christ and the Cross, and remaining in Christ and the Cross, it is literally impossible to “walk in the Spirit.” As a result, the Sin Nature will begin to rear its ugly head, with unholy “affections and lusts” becoming predominant in the life of the Believer. It doesn’t really matter who the Believer is, whether the Pastor of the largest Church in the country, or the Evangelist drawing the largest crowds. The Lord has one way of victory, and one way alone, because that is all that is needed.

As we have said in Devotion after Devotion, that one way is “Christ and the Cross.” That’s why Paul also said, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ be made of none effect” (I Cor. 1:17). Paul wasn’t demeaning Water Baptism, only that the theme of our Faith must be “Christ and Him Crucified.”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
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