I Can, I Will, I Do Believe

I Can, I Will, I Do Believe

Revelation 22:17

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Whosoever will MAY come!

That statement made by Jesus, in conjunction with All the accompanying words throughout the gospels answers the question once and for all of “who can be saved, who may inherit eternal life?”

The word can notates ability, possibility, innate potential to accomplish a goal.

It does NOT assure the accomplishment of the goal, but establishes the FACT that the goal may be accomplished!

The word will is more constraining, more definitive the intent to use that ability to accomplish that goal, a commitment to the goal that recognizes the necessity of what is involved in that accomplishment.

The next to final verb in the title is do.

In this case it recognizes the accomplishment of the first two, not only that the ability is held, but has been used to assure the accomplish the goal of the final verb, believe.

This old hymn used for today’s title comes down to us through the years, unspecified as to author, or original date of having been written, but found in hymnals since around 1875.

Simplistic, yet powerful, repetitive both in words and in accompanying music it relays both the promise given by Christ, through his life, ministry, teaching during that ministry, the sacrifice of that life on a cross, and His ability to overcome the death that was that sacrifice through His resurrection, and the delivery of the promise that was made through that resurrection for “whosoever”, while reminding us that there is a requirement to be met, without which that assurance of His promise cannot be validated.

“I can, I will, I do Believe

“I’m kneeling at the mercy seat, I’m kneeling at the mercy seat.

I’m kneeling at the mercy seat, Where Jesus answers prayer.

(chorus)

Refining fire, go through my heart, Refining fire, go through my heart,

Refining fire, go through my heart, Illuminate my soul.

(chorus)

O that it now from heaven might fall, O that it now from heaven might fall,

O that it now from heaven might fall, and all my sins consume.

(chorus)

I can, I will I do believe, I can I will, I do believe,

I can I will, I do believe, That Jesus saves me now.

That final word in the title is the only means of attaining the goal of the final statement contained within the song, and the only statement that contains an eternal finality of attaining the goal for which every soul, man, woman and child was created from the creation of Adam and all his progeny!

To attain that belief, as I have so often stated before and will continue to reiterate as often as I can has the requirement of FAITH.

That FAITH cannot be automatically passed through genetics alone, nor may it be taught in the normal sense of teaching alone, but must come for each by the efforts of each, who must for themselves come to the recognition of the TRUTH, given by Jesus, amplified through the words of the scriptures given through the ages by the prophets and disciples for the edification of each soul willing to accept that TRUTH.

Luke 18King James Version (KJV)

18 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

² Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

³ And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

⁴ And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

⁵ Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

⁶ And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

⁷ And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

⁸ I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

⁹ And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

¹⁰ Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

¹² I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

¹³ And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

¹⁵ And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

¹⁶ But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

¹⁷ Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

¹⁸ And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

¹⁹ And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

²⁰ Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

²¹ And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

²² Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

²³ And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

²⁴ And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

²⁶ And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

²⁷ And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

²⁸ Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.

²⁹ And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,

³⁰ Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

All verbs are action words. This means that action must be taken!

That action becomes the only means of being one of the specified “whosoever” contained within the opening verse of scripture.

That action is, simply put, belief, a small, seemingly easily definable word that becomes complex only when faced with daily decisions of what is and is not acceptable, if that belief, if that faith is to exist.

Ephesians 2:8-10 King James Version (KJV)

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Belief requires the acceptance of the grace delivered us by Christ Jesus, works alone are insufficient when Faith is place in any other than Him, any teaching other than His, any other deliverance, any other redemption but that which was given us by the Father through HIM.

Belief either is or is not. There are no grey areas involved, no parallels, no additions nor subtractions involved.

The goal is either reached, or rejected by each by conscious decision of acceptance or rejection of the totality of both the promise and the requirements of that promise.

None may make any choice for others, but each must make the choice for themselves. Once having received the knowledge of the TRUTH, that knowledge is, in and of itself also inadequate without the acceptance of that TRUTH.

The Truth remains, and may never be changed from that which it is.

John 3:13-21

¹³ And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

¹⁵ That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

²⁰ For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

²¹ But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Decision must be made as to what is believed.  Belief is a verb. Verbs are action words.

Without action the validity of that action is negated.

All can. Few will. Fewer still do.

 2 Timothy 1:12King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen

CMc