Basically all of humanity can be placed in one of two mind sets; 1) those who view life from a physical/scientific perspective and 2) those who view life from a spiritual/religious perspective.

      The scientific position is that if something can't be physically proven it should not be accepted as fact until it can be demonstrated to exist. This is why most of science denies or disputes the existence of a singular, all powerful being called "God."

      Science says if you can't prove it (at least in theory), then don't "believe" it. Because science is void of "faith" it is a literal dead end. It can not offer hope for science says, "At the grave you stop."

      For the spiritual and religious, things are very different. Whether an Aborigine priest believing a tree is god, a Hindu believing a cow is his grandmother, a Satanist believing the devil will defeat Christ, or a Christian believing that Jesus is the incarnation of Almighty God, it is all based on faith!

      To the religious, life is not based on circumstances or that which is seen, but upon the unseen by faith. Faith says, "At the grave you begin again or continue."

      The following definition of faith from Hebrews could be taken as the definition of faith for not only Christianity but all religions. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1).

      "Faith is" is a factual statement. "Faith is the substance" is a physical statement. Thus, Christianity places the factual and physical together with the spiritual by faith.

      But while Christianity places importance on both the physical and spiritual, it does not see them as equal. The physical is to agree with the spiritual, not vice versa, for it is a basic premise of religion that the spiritual is "higher" more "real" and "perfect" than the physical.

      They are not equal because the physical realm was made after and through the spiritual. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. 11:3). "And God said, let there be....and there was..." (Gen. 1:3). Also by spiritual faith, the substance is still "hoped for" by evidence which is "not seen."

      Christian faith is then a balance between the physical and the spiritual by faith. The balance point is the premise that all things physical have their being and validity only as they remain dependent upon the truly spiritual.

      This premise is the cornerstone of understanding what true faith is all about, where true faith comes from, what a true faith ministry is, what a false faith ministry is, and where false faith teachers and doctrines come from.

      Ephesians 2:20 tells us that Jesus Christ is the ultimate reality, the "cornerstone." Col. 1: 27 tells us "For by him [Jesus] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

      In Acts 26:18 Jesus tells the Apostle Paul the Gentiles would be saved by faith in Jesus. In Mark 11:22 Jesus tells us to have faith in God. These two verses are not talking about two different objects of our faith. Rather, they are telling us that Jesus is God!

      This is the Christian's faith, that Jesus is God Almighty, the everlasting Father. Read in order Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:13 17; John 1:1 3; Isaiah 45:18 & 22; Acts 4:12; Isaiah 12:2, 43:10-11, 44:6; Revelation 1:8, 11 18, 21:3 7; Isaiah 9:6; John 14:9, 10:30 33 and Zechariah 12:10 in the King James Version. All these scriptures refer to Jesus in either precarnate, incarnate, or post carnate form. See Isaiah 43:10 and Philippians 2:6.

      Jesus is Jehovah God, the creator of heaven (invisible spiritual reality) and earth (physical reality), The Holy One, the light of the Gentiles and the Redeemer of His people Israel.

      At this point we can understand several things. 1) There is a physical realm and a spiritual realm. 2) The physical realm and the spiritual realm were both created by God who is Jesus Christ. 3) The spiritual realm was created first and the physical from the spiritual. Because the physical was created from the spiritual, its existence is dependent upon the spiritual; "by him all things consist" (Col. 1:17) and "Upholding all things by the word of his power" (Hebrews 1:3). 5) Jesus Christ is the living Word of God (Rev. 19:13) who created and is now upholding and keeping the universe from literally flying apart.

      Let me repeat. All things physical have their being and validity only as they remain dependent upon the truly spiritual.

      This means the physical operates in response to the spiritual making the physical world, or realm, passive by nature and the spiritual realm active by nature. All true power is in the spiritual realm and is centered in Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18).

      We must understand the true nature of the spiritual if we are to successfully live in the physical universe and hope to have an inheritance in the new heaven and earth to come (Rev. 21:1).

      The first thing we need to understand is that all true spiritual power belongs to Jesus Christ and that "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb. 11:6).

      The second thing to grasp is that, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12).

      From this we see that in the spiritual realm there are two spiritual powers God and Satan.

      Everything in the physical universe has a spiritual force behind it--either the Spirit of God or the spirit of the powers of darkness. Even in things done by the spirit or will of man there is present the influence of either the power of God or the power of Satan. Therefore, even things we will to do have their source either in God's will or the devil's will. There is no middle ground (Phil. 2:13, Eph. 2:2). Our free will is only free to consent to the desires of God or of Satan.

      Due to the absolutely awesome powers of the spiritual realm that influence virtually everything we do, it is mandatory that humanity understand the nature of these two spiritual powers, learn to distinguish between them, and plug into the power of God!

      On the road to Damascus, Jesus told Paul to go to the Gentiles and turn them "from the power of Satan unto God." Jesus said this would be accomplished through faith in Him. Faith in Jesus sets us free from the power of Satan and gives us victory over the world (I John 5:4 5).

      Now, after all this talk of the power of Satan, I want to point out that Satan has no absolute or valid power at all! That's right, for the Bible says Jesus has all power (Matt. 28:18). Yes, even the powers of darkness we wrestle against are subject to Christ's power for Jesus is "the head of all principality and power" (Col. 2:10). This simply means that Jesus can stop the devil anytime He wants to.

      One will ask, "Why do the scriptures say the devil has power?" The answer is in Ephesians 6: 12, and is found in one word DARKNESS. Satan's "power" is but spiritual deception.

      His kingdom is the kingdom of darkness, the unknown, fear, and lies. He is the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), the prince of this world (John 12:31), the father of lies and liars (John 8:44). Satan plays upon superstitions, fears, and human weakness to try and get us to lose faith in Christ's total power and "run scared." It has been said that the devil can't get a victory over a Christian unless the Christian lets him, and that is very true!

      God's power is true active spiritual power. Satan's power is spiritual deception. Satan is a counterfeit king and a liar. His power lies in the deadly, candy coated temptations he is able to bring us. He is a beautiful liar for his lies are full of earthly beauty wooing the carnal mind his way. Those who would seek the here and now rather that the eternal are his targets, and that is everyone. We were all born in Sin, seeking our own way rather than God's (Isaiah 53:6).

      We were all born deceived and plugged into the deceptive power of Satan through the fall of Adam. We were born with the gospel of self interest in control of our mind and will.

      Here is another review. 1) There are two realms, the physical and the spiritual. 2) Jesus is the creator of both realms, with the physical having its origin from and subsequent reliance upon the spiritual and Jesus Christ, who is God. 3) The physical realm is passive and the spiritual active by nature. 4) The spiritual realm has two powers which work upon and direct the physical. 5) Of these two powers, one is true power by God through Christ. The other is spiritual deception and darkness fathered by Satan. 6) True faith believes that Jesus is in control, period no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Which is to say that Jesus is Lord! 7) People are either plugged into God's power or Satan's lies. Which ever of these spiritual sources they are plugged into will determine the physical way in which they live out their lives.

      Let me repeat two other principles mentioned earlier. 1) The cornerstone of faith is realizing that ALL THINGS PHYSICAL HAVE THEIR BEING AND VALIDITY ONLY AS THEY REMAIN DEPENDENT UPON THE TRULY SPIRITUAL. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone. We place our faith in Him alone for He alone is true spiritual power. 2) Due to the absolutely awesome powers of the spiritual realm that influence virtually everything we do, it is mandatory that humanity understand the nature of these two spiritual powers, learn to distinguish between them, and plug into the power of God.

      Let's apply all this in a practical way. We spoke at the beginning about the Aborigine believing a tree was god, a Hindu believing a cow was his grand mother, a Satanist believing the devil will defeat Christ, and a Christian believing Jesus is Almighty God and stated that these were all examples of FAITH. We said this because all these "ideas" are spiritual in nature.

      However, now that we know that the spiritual has two "sources of power or influence" we can see that only the Christian has true faith. The others have been deceived by Satanic lies, superstition, and fear into having FALSE FAITH. For the tree is not God, the cow is not someone's grandmother, nor will Satan defeat Christ!

      However, it can be said that these non Christians are walking in faith and not by sight (II Cor. 5:7), yet their faith is false and but a devil's lie! Real faith is only valid where fixed upon spiritual truth which is Jesus Christ.

      We can see from the multitude of religions around the world that they are full of faith, but their faith is false because its spiritual source is the father of lies, Satan! We can also see, and this is important to our study of the Gospel of Self interest, that the physical result of false faith is manifest through the things people do or don't do (Eph. 2:10; Rom. 1:19 25).

      Zeal without knowledge is not only worthless but dangerous (Rom. 10:2 3). This is why the scriptures tell us to study to show ourselves approved unto God as workmen who need not be ashamed (II Tim. 2:15). God does not want His people ignorant! (I Cor. 10:1 & II Pet. 3:5) The world will tell us "ignorance is bliss," but God's word tells us that to be ignorant of spiritual things is DEATH! God wants us to be wise to Satan's schemes "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (II Cor. 2:11).

      Matthew 6 contains an interesting parable about how people live their lives according to what they perceive as truth. Our spirit is the "eye" which perceives for us and every man's spirit is either under the influence of Christ or Satan. The "light" is the knowledge and beliefs the spirit of man perceives as truth and subsequently bases his physical life style on.

      "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matt. 6:22 23)

      If the Spirit of God is guiding us, it will result in true "light" being brought into our life. If we are accepting Satan's lies as truth, it will cause the whole body (person) to be full of death. No wonder this parable ends with an exclamation mark.

      The Hindu who believes a cow might be his grandmother is in total commitment to his error. But his faith, no matter how strong, is false being founded upon Satan's darkness. Similarly, if what we believe to be truth is in reality error then we are also headed for death rather than life.

      The spiritual world has two sources of influence. One brings true faith, the other false faith. It is easy for a Christian to see how an Aborigine or Satanist has false faith. But we Christians need to see that there is a rapidly growing cult based also upon false faith that is infiltrating, with great success, "mainline Christianity."

      This new wave of false faith now operating within Christianity was foretold by Christ in Mark 13:22 and is part of Satan's Gospel of Self interest.

      True Christian faith stands upon nothing but Christ and His righteousness. Scripture teaches that true faith operates only through Jesus and in accord with the will of God (I John. 5:14).

      Satan's Christianized false faith tries to get a Christian to place faith in faith itself and operates not only upon God's will but also upon the carnal human will. This is leading many away from true faith in Christ and causing them to place their faith in their own words to get their own desires.

      To recognize this Christianized false faith we need the correct Biblical understanding of the nature of Sin and God's Grace. Then we can begin to tell the sheep from the goats, the saints from the charlatans.