by Scott H. Northrup
What is the greatest human discovery of all time? In 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered America and inherited a new continent. In the late 1600's Isaac Newton discovered the Laws of Motion, launching the realm of modern physics to which we owe so much for our modern creature comforts. In the early 1800's men like James Joule and others confirmed the Law of Conservation of Energy that gave us the steam engine and the modern industrial revolution. And I sometimes wonder what it must have been like inside Albert Einstein's brain the night he had the revelation E=mc-squared; that is, that from a few grams of matter one could unleash enough nuclear energy to light a city for a year. It's no wonder his hair stood on end. All of these are examples of key discoveries in the timeline of human knowledge. All of these have shaped our world to some degree.
Still there is one human discovery that is so colossal in its power and scope, that we have hardly begun to fully realize it and harness it. That discovery is described in Romans 4:1, "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather...has discovered? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." The import of that is obscure to us. But essentially what he discovered is the right way to have a relationship with God. He discovered the highest law of all: the Law of Faith. It does not say believing IN God is the key. Many powerless, hopeless people believe in God. It says, he BELIEVED GOD. In other words, he radically took God at His word. When we do that, He declares us "righteous." Now, this Law of Faith not only saves, but Romans 4 declares that Abraham's discovery made him the INHERITOR OF THE WORLD!!!!
Now, what is the nature of this Law of Faith? Abraham best illustrated this himself when he changed his name from Abram to Abraham. (meaning "I'm the father of a multitude") Here was a 75 year-old man with a barren wife about as old, going around town telling people he is the father of a multitude. Not SOMEDAY going to be, but NOW. That was 25 years before he had a child. Crazy old lunatic, Abraham, they must have said. But they never said it to his face, because God had so blessed him for this lunacy that he owned everything in sight. But this really is what faith is, according to Jesus. It is believing that you have received something from God before it is ever manifested. It is declaring those things that do not exist yet in the physical realm as though they do, on the basis of God's promise. I know few who practice this. We all hope we'll get something from God someday. We hardly ever fit the faith definition of Jesus. We rarely ever believe we take possession of it when we pray. (Mark 11:24) We're like ol' Thomas, who had to see and touch stuff. That's not faith at all, its "faithless" (John 20:27), and it does not please God.
Jesus said that this Law of Faith is what God uses (Mark 11:22f), and that whoever puts it to use can move mountains. As I said, it is the most colossal, world-changing force ever to be put into the hands of man. And we haven't a clue! We're like ignorant brutes sitting on a pile of wood shivering in the cold, simply because we haven't learned how to unleash fire.
We need to take off our religious spectacles and read the New Testament. Find out about the Law of Faith and put it to use. Faith, radically acting on the Word of God, is the key to the supernatural realm that transcends all matter and enables human beings to possess all things.
@ copyright 2003 by Scott H. Northrup. All rights reserved.