Bible Answerman, Hank Hanegraaff’s, Faith and Belief
Hank Hanegraaff, President of the Christian Research Institute who calls himself the Bible Answerman, on his national radio call-in broadcast Monday, May 7, 2012 stated that his belief in God and belief that the Bible is God’s Word “comes from his logical examination of the historical evidence.” Then since Romans 10:17 states, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God,” Hank’s faith would be based on the confidence in his logical examination of the evidence also. This is a very dangerous position to be in, for he is putting his logical reasoning as the foundation for all his acceptance of God, His Word, and all of the works, death, burial, resurrection and the work of Grace which saves us. Ephesians 2:8 states, “For by grace are ye saved through faith;…” and his faith is based on his logical examination of historical evidence; therefore, his saving Grace would be a result of his logical reasoning that God’s Word the Bible was true which developed his faith.
The reason for bringing this up is that Hank is very smart, and probably knows as much or more about the different religions of the world, beliefs of all the denominations and “cults” as anyone on earth. He can answer your questions about any of them, and he can explain all the different viewpoints of controversial beliefs, but when he starts telling his own personal beliefs it seems he is standing on intellectual “logical knowledge” instead of the personal inspirational relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
A logical choice to accept researched evidence and start “being” a Christian is no more a spiritual act than after much discussion and analysis a person decides they will be an engineer instead of a farmer. The act of becoming a Christian, getting saved, or becoming a child of God, however you want to call it, is a total result of responding by faith to God’s revelation through His Spirit to each one of us personally. Let’s look at what the Bible says.
When Jesus asked the disciples in Matthew 16:13 – 17 ‘Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?’and the disciples mentioned several possibilities, He then in verse 15 asked, “…But whom say ye that I am?” (16) And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (17) And Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Peter’s knowledge came by personal revelation from God, not Peter’s logical deduction from all he had heard and learned from others or even Jesus. Jesus states in John 6:45 that Peter is not the only one who would receive the personal teaching from God, for Jesus says, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” We all must be taught by God. God has promised to bring all men/women to knowledge of the truth, and each person on earth must then assume personal responsibility for accepting or rejecting the truth into their hearts when God deals with them. The Apostle Paul states in 2 Thessalonians 2:10, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” They heard the truth(God’s Word) as God was teaching them, but for some reason they rejected and would not receive the love (Spirit) of the Words (truth) into their hearts for salvation. Receiving God’s Words of instruction is the response of faith, and rejection of His Word is the response of unbelief. Hebrews 4:2 states, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Here again the Scripture states that when God sends His Word to us we must choose to receive the Word into our hearts, or it will not profit us. Just hearing does not result in faith, our positive response by accepting the Word into our hearts is “mixing it with faith.” When God reveals a knowledgeable message to us, it is not a text or letter, it is God Himself because Jesus says in John 6:63, “…the Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” God’s spoken Words regardless how they come to us are Christ, the Living Word, that created the universe, that Moses responded to in Hebrews 11:26 and that creates the new heart and live in us at salvation. If we reject His Words of Life, Christ, as above in Hebrews 4:2, we are rejecting the Living God, Christ, and the Love of His Words from our hearts.
Jesus said in John 6:45 that we must all be taught of God and that means we must receive His teaching into our hearts. If we reject we are a sinner when He tells us we are, then we have rejected His teaching and we will not go to Christ. If we receive His Words that we are a sinner, He will then teach us that the only solution for our sins it to turn to Him through Jesus. If we reject God’s teaching that Jesus is the solution for our sins, then we will have to pay for our sins in the eternal Lake of Fire - John 8:24, “…Ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” So, if we accept God’s Words that we are sinners, and then reject His answer for us the Jesus is our solution, we still cannot receive salvation, or be saved from our sin debt because we are not continuing in God’s teaching. Jesus said “that all who learned of the Father would come to Him.” If we accept we are a sinner and that Jesus is our answer, just knowing that is not salvation, so what do we do now? God will teach us with His Word that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” Romans 10:13. We must then humble our hearts and mind to God’s Word desiring to turn or repent from our sin; pray, ask forgiveness, and invite the Spirit of Christ into our hearts to create in us the new heart and life as a Child of God. God spoke through the Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36:26-27, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit within you…” His Living Word, Christ, comes into our hearts and recreates our hearts and we become children of God, Galatians 4:6-7, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (7) Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” We are changed! We are a child of God! We are not just one of God’s creatures! We have Christ the Living God in our hearts just like Jesus did, and we have been born of the Spirit into the family of God as joint heirs with Jesus! He doesn’t love us more because He loves everyone with a perfect love even as sinners; in fact, He died for us as sinners, not as good people. That is what our nation needs to hear, the great changed heart we receive when we become a child of God. That is not just a decision based on an intellectual logical conclusion. We had to relate back and forth with God to learn the Spiritual Truth about our sin, Jesus and what we had to do to be reconciled to God. Faith comes from receiving the love or Spirit of the Words into our hearts that God manifests to us when He communicates a message to us. Any Word of God that we reject, we are rejecting His Living Spirit, even if it is Him just asking us to teach a class, lead a devotional, help a neighbor down the street, or forgive someone who has hurt us, etc. Many Christians are living in unbelief because they have rejected so much of God’s simple Word to them to serve Him in different ways.
When God manifests a message, His Living Word, to us and we open our hearts and receive His message or Word into our heart, the Word, Spirit, begins to work in our hearts to perform or strengthen us to fulfill the Word we received and we call that the work of Grace. Faith is the word we use to explain that someone has heard from God and received God’s Word into their heart. The power and strength is just the power of Christ the Living Word which comes into us. Grace is the word we use to explain the work of the Spirit of Christ in our hearts that we have just received into our hearts by faith. Grace is always the automatic response of the Spirit of the Words working in our hearts that we invited in through faith. Therefore, Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith…” shows that when we humble ourselves and receive God’s Words of the Gospel, Christ, into our hearts through faith, the Living Words then perform the work of grace at salvation to create in us the new heart and adopt us into the family of God. Faith comes first, for we must accept His Words into our hearts. Grace automatically follows our accepting the Words into our heart, for the Words are Spirit and Life and they work in us to make us new creatures and create in us new hearts and give us Life.
When a person receives the Spirit of the Living God in their heart to cleanse it from sin, hate, filthiness, evil thoughts and desires, the person should be able to recognize the great change from hate to love, ungodly thoughts and desires to loving God’s Word and the new desire to be with God’s people and wanting to share with everyone the great change that has taken place in them. How can a person not know when so many great changes have been made? They asked for the changes, so how can they not know when the changes take place; can a butterfly not recognize they have changed? Does a frog still think it is a tadpole? Would a pickle not know it has been pickled? No person’s heart could be so good before the Spirit of the Living God comes in that they would not know the difference! Read about the great, good man in Acts 10:1-2, “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band. (2) A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.” As great as he was God gave him a vision and told him to send for the Apostle Peter to tell him what was missing or what he needed. Peter came and told Cornelius about Jesus and there was a mighty change in him and his family and friends that they would never forget. Peter later said what happened to them was the same as what had happened to the disciples, good people, on the day of Pentecost when they were waiting for Christ, the Power of God (1 Cor 1:24), to come in their hearts.
If you have read this blog and do not know for sure that you have received the changed heart, start praying and seeking until you can know for sure. Don’t be mad and try to analyze what you did years ago, and how good you are like Cornelius in all the works you have done in church—WHAT makes the child of God is the changed heart!! Keep seeking until God reveals to you personally that you have the new heart and are a child of God, not just a good person going to church and hell! Jesus will say to many good church people, Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” All of your good works will be in vain. If there are any tears in heaven, it will be Jesus crying when He that loves you so much will have to send you off into the Lake of Fire because you worked so hard, you missed receiving Him into your heart to become a child of God, a joint-heir with Jesus. He loves you more than you love your cattiest granddaughter, or how you love your wife, husband, kids, wouldn’t you cry or even go crazy if you had to knowingly stand there and send them off to the eternal lake of fire. Get the new heart now while there is time!!
Discuss the changed heart with your husband, wife, children, friends and all your relatives, don’t let them die without you knowing from hearing their personal testimony. When they saw themselves as sinners, cried out to God for forgiveness and He answered and changed their hearts.
Watch some of my videos, or just listen to the ones that show me.. I have a radio face, not for TV or videos. Read my other blogs and if you want one of my books, I will send you one free. Make sure and email me and INCLUDE your mailing address.
God Bless You
www.rahardin.com
