Supplement 19 — For Lessons 37 & 38

Supplement Nineteen

For Lessons Thirty-seven and Thirty-eight

In these last two lessons we have seen that man is an immortal soul and spirit and that his body will be resurrected to immortality. Man is the greatest of all of God’s earthly creations, and is the only creature made in the image and likeness of God. This fact alone is sufficient to prove that God naturally loves man and makes abundant provision for him in this life as well as in the next life. This is especially true since He provides for the lesser creations, as can be seen on every hand.

Man and Evil Spirits Are Responsible

Of all the earthly creatures, man is the only one responsible for his present state of sin and bondage, poverty and want, and pain and disease. Man has voluntarily submitted his domain to the devil and evil spirit forces and he and they are responsible for these conditions. God is not responsible for them in any sense and such conditions would not curse the human race today if God could get every man to obey Him. These conditions should not be in the life of any child of God, and they will not be, when believers come to know the truth that will make them free. Why would God will such conditions in the lives of His own children whom He has so dearly purchased by the death of His own Son?

Sin and Demons Hinder Man’s Blessings

The Bible is very clear that sin and demon powers are the hindrances to man in getting the blessings of God: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” John 10:10. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God Romans 10:17, but faith is many times hindered because the devil takes the word of faith out of the heart and mind lest it should germinate and bring forth fruit Matthew 13:192 Corinthians 4:3-4. The Bible is also clear that man himself permits the devil to do this, for otherwise it could not be done Matthew 13:15James 4:71 Peter 5:8-92 Corinthians 4:3-4.

God’s Abundant Promises and Provision

There is no reasonable excuse for the unbelief in Christendom concerning this truth. Paul said, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32. The Psalmist said, “They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing” and “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” Psalms 34:10Psalms 84:11. Jesus said, “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. Many other promises plainly state that the believer can ask what he will and it shall be done Mark 9:23Mark 11:22-24John 14:12-15John 15:7, 16John 16:23-26.

God is Always True to His Word

It would seem that every Christian would have faith enough in God because of His promises, to tackle their own problems and resist the devil and get from God the many benefits that they need so much in life. But many times instead of believing God they will believe the devil, and instead of holding to the fact that God’s promises are true they argue against them and seek every excuse under the sun to disbelieve them. Instead of fighting the demons who seek to rob them of the many blessings of God, they cooperate with them in destroying faith in God. Meanwhile, they claim they love God with their whole heart and that the devil has nothing to do with their failures in life. They generally lay any blame on God should they fail to get what is promised in the gospel. They are quick to accept the idea that it is not the will of God to give them these blessings if there is the least delay or hindrance in getting them. It never seems to dawn on them that such opposition could be of the devil and not of God. Even if they mentally acknowledge this opposition as satanic they do not put forth the least effort to defeat the powers of darkness. They seem satisfied to do without these things. They had rather do without them than to fight a little for them. On the other hand, they will fight a good fight of unbelief and maintain a consistent faith that such blessings may not be the will of God and thus hinder the answer to their prayers. And even when they hear many plain, simple, scriptural statements from the Word of God stating that they can have the benefits of the promises, many of them are still hard to convince that these things are true.

One Thing God Requires of Everyone

Every person professing to believe in God will agree that everyone should lay aside all arguments of unbelief and have faith that God will do what He has promised and that He will answer prayer. Yet in spite of the mental acknowledgement of this fact it seems so hard to get many of the same people to put forth the necessary effort to believe what God has promised. It is a fact that God will always do what He has promised and it is also a fact that He requires every person to have faith that He will do what they ask of Him. God demands the same act of unwavering faith from everyone alike. He is no respecter of persons and He has made it very clear what each one must do in order to get what he desires. The one thing that God requires is faith—unwavering faith Hebrews 11:5James 1:4-8.

No Efficacy in Human Works or Good Deeds

There is a prevailing idea among people in general, even among the best of Christians, that one must become good enough for God to hear, or that long service to God merits an answer to prayer. Many pride themselves in the fact that they have been Christians many years and that they have to their credit numerous Christian accomplishments and they seem to think that God owes them answers to prayer because of this. Many times an old Christian is puzzled because God answers the cry of sinners and heals them or otherwise answers their prayers when they come to God, whereas his own prayers go unanswered.

The reason is simple. The sinner knows he has no human merits or goodness to offer as a basis for claiming the benefits of the gospel. He comes to God as a sinner, unworthy, undone and helpless and in simple, child-like faith surrenders himself to God and throws himself upon the mercy of God and asks for those things for which Jesus died to give him. He is immediately heard by God and he goes away with what he has asked for. On the other hand, some believer who has served God for years comes to God asking and pleading for some answer to prayer and he goes away unanswered. This seems unfair to him and to others who know how good such people have lived. But in such cases it must be remembered that God does not and will not answer because of human merit, good works, clean living, a perfect character, or a wonderful reputation. God will answer solely upon the basis of a man realizing his human nothingness and unworthiness, and because he expresses simple, child-like faith in God through Jesus Christ.

Man Must Learn His Lesson

Man must learn the lesson sooner or later that he is unworthy of God’s blessings, that he cannot possibly merit any favor with God in himself, and that only by repentance and absolute dependence upon the merits of the work of Christ for man is he blessed. This is the sum total of the Christian religion as far as getting things from God is concerned. Men, Christian men, can pray and beg and ask and seek God for something on any other basis and they will never be heard. Do not fail to get this truth. This is the cornerstone of prayer and its answer.

When the Pharisee prayed and bragged on himself he was not heard by God, but when the publican smote upon his breast and said, “God be merciful to me a sinner” he went down to his house justified Luke 18:9-14. Long Christian service, winning souls, godly living, a good character, a perfect reputation, or the most wonderful stave of human living will never be the basis of answered prayer. Let this lesson be learned once and forever and it will save many heartaches and anxieties in Christian life. No man will ever get good enough for God to answer any prayer and no man will ever get bad enough for God to turn him down if he comes to God in faith and repentance through the gospel.

It is Simple to Believe God

So many say that it is hard to believe God, or that it is hard to have enough faith to get an answer to prayer, but this is a lie and a slander against God and His character. Why should it be hard to believe a God that has always been faithful to every man that has ever lived? Why would it be hard to trust in a God that has never failed anyone? Why should anyone tolerate such theories and express them in words and acts when there is no foundation for such lies?

We take the word of each other without proof. Children believe their parents. Most men will believe the word of those over them in any realm except in religion. Many will not believe the preacher who declares that God will answer prayer, that God is true, that He never will fail anyone, and that He is under obligation to meet every need of man according to His promises. Children will not doubt their parents, and men will seldom doubt those that are over them, but when it comes to believing the preacher concerning the gospel that is another question.

It is Always God’s Will to Help Men

How could God be hindered except by unbelief? How could He fail to do as He has promised and still keep the respect of His own creation? How could He fail those for whom Christ died? How could He will to see them suffer defeat, poverty, want, pain, sickness, sin, and unhappiness? No normal earthly father would lower himself to get pleasure out of seeing his own children suffer these things if he could help them. How much more will God help His own children whom He sent Jesus to die for? How much more is it the will of God for His children to be happy in life, to be victorious over sin and evil, to have freedom from sickness and pain, and from poverty and want? God can help His children out of such conditions. He is not helpless like human parents. God has promised to help His children, but only upon the one condition of faith, so it is up to each person to get from God those things that belong to him by virtue of being partakers of the gospel redemption through Jesus Christ.

There is No Excuse for Children of God to be Defeated

This is as true as can be. God is stronger than the devil, fallen angels, men, and all demon forces. The devil is already a defeated foe. Demons have no power over Christians if they will use the means of grace God has provided for them. Speaking of saved men, the Bible says, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” and if Christians would believe and use the power of God that comes through the Holy Spirit there could not possibly be any defeat 1 John 4:4. The promises of God are so abundant and all-inclusive that every believer can get what he wants in life, not only what he needs, so there cannot possibly be an excuse for one person to be sick, sinful, helpless, and defeated in life if he will cooperate with God and fight against the devil Mark 9:23Mark 11:22-24.

The Proper Action to Take

If men could only realize that these facts are true, then they would become stirred up to attain to the benefits for which Christ died. But as long as they are in ignorance and unbelief they will not become concerned enough to get rid of sins and sicknesses through Christ. The thing to do is to quit complaining if there is any defeat in life. If these benefits promised by God are not desired sincerely, then quit laying the blame on God for such defeats. Lay the blame on the devil and the enemies of God who seek to hinder man from getting what God wants him to have. If men want the devil to get glory and have right of way in their lives, then this is what will happen, but if they want God to receive glory from their lives and have the right of way in them, then let them accept the truth that will make them free.

Men not only do not need to be sick and sinful, but they do not need to be in want all their days, for God has made full provision for them to get what they want in material things and all other blessings of life that are good. This we have seen in Lesson Ten and other lessons.

All you need to do in order to get what you want and need in life is to follow the instructions we have repeatedly given in past supplements and in the lessons themselves. Do not fail to follow instructions to the letter. Above all, never doubt that you are on the right track and that you are going to receive what God has promised. It matters not what your needs are, or how impossible it seems to you. God is true to you and will fulfill His will in you if you will fulfill His will by having faith and humility.

God is Not Responsible

God is responsible for providing all good things for you. He is responsible for making so many unlimited promises concerning every known need of the human race, here and now. He will meet His part of the responsibility, in giving you all the benefits of the promises, but He is not responsible for your attitude toward these blessings. He is not responsible for your reception of these wonderful truths. You are the only one that is robbing yourself of these fortunes of grace. You are the one that is holding back the flood-gates of blessing in your life. God has done His part and you must do your part if you want the good things which you are freely promised. God cannot remain just and righteous to you if He broke His laws to give you these good things of life contrary to the conditions He has given in connection with the promises.

The conditions are clear. God’s Word has gone out of His mouth. He cannot and will not lie. He will do for every man what He has promised all believers. He cannot fail to do His part, so if there is any failure of any man getting what is promised and what others are receiving, the responsibility is on the individual and not on God. Let the people who want what God has promised do as He requires, that is, have faith in God, nothing wavering, as is plainly stated in Mt. 21:21-22; Mk. 11:22-24; Heb. 11:6; Jas. 1:5-8.

If this is the hindrance, then let it be corrected by a definite refusal to question the will of God, the promises of God, the love of God, and the faithfulness of God. Let there be a dogged faith maintained. Let the stubbornness that can be and perhaps is manifested in other things be used in connection with faith. Simply reject unbelief and doubts and believe God and the answer will materialize.

Ten Questions For Supplement Nineteen. Do You Know:

• That one-third of God’s own angels rebelled against Him when Lucifer rebelled? This is clearly taught in Rev. 12:1-12. In this passage the great red dragon (the devil, as explained in verse 9) is seen drawing one-third of the stars of the heavens down to the Earth. These stars are called “his angels” in the same passage. Since God originally created them they were His angels. So if they are now the angels of the devil then they rebelled with him in the original rebellion, as we have seen in Lesson Seven.

• That there are other kingdoms on other planets? It is plainly stated in Col. 1:15-18 that God through Christ created thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, both visible and invisible, that are in Heaven and in Earth. These dominions and principalities are not all located on Earth for it is stated that some are in Heaven. The word “Heaven” should be understood as the whole of the heavens, which are inhabited as proven in Supplement One, Question 7. There must be life on all the habitable worlds and if this be true then they are organized into dominions and kingdoms as we understand it on this planet.

• That a day never means a year and a year never means a day in prophecy? This theory is purely of human origin based upon the fact that God punished men forty years according to the number of days the spies searched Canaan Numbers 13:25Numbers 14:34 and according to the number of days Ezekiel lay upon his side Ezekiel 4:1-13. Men have used this as a basis of changing a day to a year or a year to a day in Scripture as their fancy led them. This has led to innumerable fallacies concerning Bible dates and prophetic truths. There is no basis for such a theory, for in the above cases a day always means a day and a year always means a year. And so it is in all Scripture. Forty days will always be forty days and not forty years, and forty years will always be forty years and not forty days. To deviate from these facts is to follow foolish reasoning concerning Bible interpretation.

• That this age cannot end any day as some teach? There are many prophecies to be fulfilled yet and a number of years to come to pass before this age ends. There will be at least seven years that Antichrist will be here before the age ends Daniel 9:27Revelation 13:5. How many more years there will be before he comes is not clear, so it is impossible for this age to end any day, as taught by many Bible teachers. Many Scriptures will be given to prove this in the next two lessons.

• That the Church does not have to go through the Tribulation to be purified? There is no such statement in Scripture. If there was, then it would be necessary for all the dead saints to be resurrected and live in the Tribulation in order to go through the same process of cleansing and this no one teaches. It is the blood that cleanses from sin and not a period of tribulation and this will always be the case Ephesians 1:71 John 1:7Revelation 1:5. The Church is ready and always has been ready, for all the true believers in Christ are new creatures in Christ and as long as they stay in Christ they are ready. Those out of Christ are never ready and there is no statement in Scripture that Christ cannot come back for those that are ready until certain ones who are not saved get ready. On the contrary, all in Christ are ready at all times and will be raptured together at the proper time 1 Thessalonians 4:13-171 Corinthians 15:23Ephesians 5:27.

• That a literal earthly kingdom will continue on this planet forever? This is proven from the following Scriptures Daniel 2:44-45Daniel 7:9-14, 18Isaiah 9:6-7Luke 1:32-33Revelation 1:5Revelation 5:10Revelation 11:15Revelation 22:5-6.

• That the Earth will not be desolate during the Millennium? There is not one statement in Scripture to support such a theory. On the contrary, Rev. 20 speaks of the saints reigning on the Earth over natural men and at the end of the Millennium many people will rebel against the government and will be destroyed by fire. At the second coming of Christ, before the Millennium, the kingdom will be set up and it will continue forever Matthew 13:42-43Matthew 25:31-46Revelation 19:11-21Revelation 20:1-15Daniel 2:44-45Daniel 7:9-14, 18Hebrews 12:25-28. People will go up to Jerusalem to worship year by year in the Millennium Isaiah 2:1-4Zechariah 14:16-21, so there will be plenty of people on Earth during that time.

• That the next form of government on Earth will be a theocracy? This means government by God through Jesus Christ and the saints as taught in Dan. 2:44-45; 7:13-14, 18; Zech. 14; Mt. 25:31-46; Lk. 1:32-33; Rev. 11:15; 20:1-10; 22:5-6.

• That Jerusalem will soon be the world’s center of law and religion? This will be in the Millennium and eternal ages when Christ reigns in Jerusalem. Then the law and the Word of the Lord shall go out from Jerusalem to the ends of the Earth Isaiah 2:1-4Ezekiel 43:7Jeremiah 17:25.

• That over one billion people who have never heard of Jesus Christ will be evangelized in less than one hundred years? There is no question but what we are in the very last days of this age and we will be in the Millennium in less than one hundred years. It will be then that the knowledge of the Lord will fill the Earth as the waters cover the sea Isaiah 2:1-4Isaiah 11:9. This means that when Jesus comes the billion or more people who have never heard the gospel will hear and be evangelized.