Joseph Prince

If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

Romans 8:31 contains a powerful rhetorical question and I encourage you to memorize it. Unfortunately, there are still some believers today wondering, “Is God really for me?”

Well, my friend, the Word of God does NOT say “maybe God is for us” or “hopefully, God is for us.” It simply says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Indeed, when God is for you, what opposition can succeed against you? When God Himself fights for you, defends you, and vindicates you, what adversity or adversary can stand against you? There are none! Hallelujah!

“But Pastor Prince, how did God come to be on our side? Even though I am a Christian today, I still fail and fall short of God's holy standards. I still lose my temper on the road now and then, and from time to time, I still get angry with my wife and kids. Why should God be on my side when I fail? Don’t you know that God’s holy?”

All great questions. Let me tell you why God is on our side. The answer is found at the cross. The blood that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shed on the cross put God on your side. Today, God can be for you even when you fail because Jesus’ blood has washed you whiter than snow!

Have you seen Cecil DeMille’s movie, The Ten Commandments, or the animation, The Prince Of Egypt? Do you remember what happened on the night of the Passover? The children of Israel put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts.

What did the blood do? The blood put God on their side! None of the families who had applied blood on their doorposts had to fear the death of their firstborn children.

Now, think about this for a moment. Were the firstborn children of Israel spared that night because of their perfect behavior and conduct, or were they spared because of the blood of the lamb? Of course, it was because of the blood of the lamb!

In the same way, God does not bless you, as a new covenant believer, based on your perfect behavior and conduct. He is for you today because of the blood of the perfect Lamb—Jesus Christ.

That is why as believers today, we don’t have to fight for ourselves. I like to say it this way: “If God is for us, who can come successfully against us?”

Always remember that God is on your side today because of Jesus’ blood. His holiness and righteousness that men are afraid of are now on your side because of Jesus’ blood. His unmerited favor is on your side and all of heaven’s resources are yours because of Jesus’ blood!

Now, who can come successfully against you? No sickness, no disease, no creditor, no evil accusation, no gossip—no weapon formed against you, can come successfully against you (Isa. 54:17)!

Joseph Prince

The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. Proverbs 19:12

Today, we are beneficiaries of God’s favor because His wrath against our sins has already been completely satisfied at Calvary. In Hebrew, the word used for “favor” is ratsown, which means His pleasure, delight, goodwill, and acceptance.

Our place of protection was purchased with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, we have been made righteous, and all the blessings of the righteous, including protection, provision, and length of days, are our inheritance. That’s the place we are in today. Isn’t that beautiful?

No wonder the Scriptures tell us, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Prov. 28:1). It also tells us, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). A righteous man (or woman) is who you are in Christ, and when you pray the prayer of protection in Psalm 91, your prayers avail much for God answers your prayers!

I received a testimony of God’s divine protection from Sally, who lives in South Africa. Be encouraged as you read how she prayed for protection knowing that she is righteous in Christ:

I was driving a rented car when I heard a loud bang. Within moments, the car was on fire. I immediately switched off the engine to get out. But to my horror, I could not remove the seat belt or open the door! I was stuck.

Finally, I managed to get the door opened. By then, the flames were threatening to come inside the car, and I had to close the door again because I was trapped by the seat belt.

I called out to Abba Father and just declared, “I am Your righteousness. You are the only One who can save me!” As those words were echoing in my ears and heart, I heard a click as the seat belt was released. I dashed out of the car.

When the fire department arrived, they were able to stop the blaze. I praise the Lord for delivering me safely out of this dangerous situation! I realized that the devil has long been defeated and we don’t have to fear anything anymore.

Praise the Lord for His deliverance and protection. I rejoice that we are shielded from danger because of the righteousness we have in Christ!

Joseph Prince

“Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Luke 7:47

Her story is heartrending. In the Bible’s account, this woman in Luke 7 was described as “a sinner.” Many believe that she was a prostitute. When she came to Jesus, He did not chase her away, humiliate her, or condemn her for her sins. He knew how guilt had been eating her up on the inside and had compassion for her.

As she neared Jesus, she began weeping. Then, she washed His feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them with the precious ointment that would have cost her an entire year’s wages. Without hesitation, she lavished it on Jesus’ feet and worshiped Him.

In response, Jesus said that those who know and believe how abundantly God truly loves and has forgiven them will end up loving God very much. Simply put, those who have been forgiven much, love much. Those who have been forgiven little, love little. That’s why the emphasis of the new covenant is not about your love for God; it is about God’s love for you.

Do you see that your love for God in the new covenant is birthed out of a genuine and authentic relationship with Him? It is not a groveling display that is birthed out of the fear of punishment or religious obligation. Under grace, we are able to love God because He first loved us.

That is why people under grace become the holiest people you will ever meet. Their holiness flows out of their love relationship with Jesus! They have experienced His unconditional love in an intimate and personal way that transforms them. They just want to live lives that glorify and honor the name of Jesus.

Friend, we have all been forgiven much, but many don’t know and don’t believe this. Give up on trying to overcome your own failings, mistakes, addictions, and bondages, imagining that God requires this of you before you can come before Him.

When you fail, come to Jesus with boldness and confidence as this woman did. Feel free to weep in His sweet presence and simply worship Him. Pour out everything that is on your heart to Him.

Don’t worry, He will not heap more guilt and condemnation upon you. He will remind you of the cross and say, “Your sins are already forgiven. I have already paid the price for your sins at Calvary. Rest in My forgiveness and love for you.”

Joseph Prince

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. Psalm 103:2–3

Let me share with you a testimony of how believing in God’s love, grace, and goodness brought healing to one precious lady in Singapore. Connie was diagnosed with a tumor on the pituitary gland in her brain. The MRI scan showed that the tumor was a macro-growth of about 1.5cm.

She was presented with two options: immediate surgery to remove the tumor (the risk of surgery being a 20 percent failure rate and the possibility of going blind in one eye) or medication. She was told that if she decided on medication, it would take a long time to work, with most tumors shrinking only after a year or so. This is Connie’s story:

Pastor Prince, what the doctors said about the tumor was devastating news to me and my family. I remember telling myself that if I were to lose my eyesight, I would not want to live anymore.

It was during this time that my family resolved to commit the whole thing to God, to trust and rely on Him entirely and pray for healing. We opted to go with taking medication.

Despite wanting to believe in God’s love and goodness toward me, I was constantly plagued with questions such as, “Does God love me anymore? Does He even care? Is He punishing me for something wrong that I’ve done? Should I just grit my teeth and accept the situation?”

It was only when a colleague and friend at my workplace started passing me your sermon CDs to listen to that I was reminded once again of my Savior’s love, grace, and goodness toward me. I believe that as I listened to the Word preached via the CDs, my body began healing.

Within a month of the medication, the level of prolactin in my blood decreased and the balance of chemicals in my body became stable. After two more months, the MRI scan showed that the tumor had shrunk to half its original size. I was very encouraged and, most importantly, I felt confident and secure that my God was doing His work of healing in my body, that He loves and cares for me enough to know that I was hurting and to do something about it.

The best news came when the MRI scan showed that the macro-tumor was GONE! The doctor was amazed and kept saying that in most cases, even when a tumor had shrunk by so much, there would still be remnants of tumor cells. But in my case, the tumor was completely GONE, with no trace of any tumor cells at all!

No words can describe how grateful and thankful I am to God. I know that it is God who has healed me. But what’s more important is the fact that I stand tall as a child of God, and I know that I am the righteousness of God because of what Jesus has done on the cross for me. Knowing that I am deeply loved and cared for by God makes me so secure in my relationship with God.

I want to give all the glory and praise to God. I am what I am today—healed, whole, and at peace—only because of the preaching of the gospel of grace!

My friend, if Connie had believed that God was punishing her for some sin, she would have just gritted her teeth, accepted her sickness as punishment, and never sought God for healing. But praise God that He brought light into Connie’s situation and showed her how much He loved her!

If you want to see the power of God’s grace operating in every dimension of your life, I challenge you to believe in His love, His gift of righteousness, and His forgiveness. There is power to heal now if you would turn to and rest in His finished work and in His love for you. His love never fails!