By Bob Vaughn - uca@uncommonanswers.com
"Contending for the faith once delivered to the saints"
Uncommon Answers Home Page
CLAIM JUMPING
There is much being said in the church world today about "claiming"
various things. These things being claimed range from NEEDS to WEALTH to
HEALTH to SOULS. But is all of this scriptural? IS any of this scriptural?
To "claim" means to ask for on the basis of right or authority. To
claim without the right or authority is extortion and in the realm of God's
rule will get you nothing. The question, then, is, "Do we have the right
or authority to claim anything? For the truth, let's go to the scriptures.
"Claiming" is an outgrowth of "faith". When we have
faith, we then claim. The scriptures say, "Faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Therefore, when God speaks a
promise and we have faith in what He says (simply believe Him), we can then
claim that thing which He says we can have. If God has not promised and we
still have what we call "faith", it is not believing God at all for
He has not promised, but it is believing what someone else has said or what
we feel, and it will not give us the right or authority to claim anything. It
is God's promising and our believing Him that gives us the right or authority
to "claim".
All claims, when based in faith on the Word of God, get the results God has
promised. If a claim gets no results then either the person claiming doesn't
believe God--calling Him a liar, or God has not promised that claimed thing.
God's Word promises us food, clothing and shelter if we seek His rule first
(Matthew 6:25-34); therefore, if we believe God we can claim these things and
receive them. We cannot claim wealth, for God's Word doesn't promise that;
and it doesn't promise healing in every instance, therefore we can't always
claim healing. Anything that God says we can have (joy, peace, victory over
sin, needs met, etc.) we can claim by faith; but if God hasn't said it, we
have no right or authority to claim.
Souls of others are never promised to us; therefore, we can't claim souls
(their salvation). The only supposedly scriptural basis for the idea of
"claiming" souls is found in Acts 16:30-34, when Paul, in answer to
the jailer's question, "What must I do to be saved?" said,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house
(household). Let's see what these verses really teach. Some suppose that
these verses teach the salvation of a whole household if the head of the
household is saved, but this is contrary to other scriptures, taking away the
individual's freedom to Chose who he will serve. Rather, these verses say
that the jailer would be saved if he would believe, and HIS HOUSE would be
saved IF THEY BELIEVED. The jailer's believing would not save his house.
Verse 32 says that Paul and Silas preached the word to the jailer and to ALL
HIS HOUSE. Verses 33 and 34 say that the jailer and ALL HIS HOUSE were
baptized because the jailer BELIEVED WITH ALL HIS HOUSE. The jailer believed,
and all his house believed. Therefore, they were all saved. But if any of his
house had rejected the word that was preached to them and NOT believed, they
would NOT have been saved even though the jailer DID believe and WAS saved.
This rendering brings these verses into harmony with the rest of the
scriptures without twisting their meaning but simply reading them closely.
The Word of God clearly teaches that each man's destiny is determined by his
own choice. Romans 6:16 says, "to whom YE YIELD
YOURSELVES servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey: whether of sin
unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness." If one person could
"claim" the salvation of another's soul this would remove that
person's right to choose for himself who he would serve. This freedom of
choice is God's unrevokable gift to man. Because of this freedom of choice
which God has given to man, even GOD cannot claim souls. The Bible says in II
Peter 3:9 that God, "IS NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that all
should come to repentance". But all will not come to repentance, for the
Word also says in Matthew 7:13: "wide is the gate and broad is the way
that leads to destruction and MANY ENTER THROUGH IT." We can see by
comparing these two verses that God does not have His way in every situation
because of man's freedom of choice. Therefore, when people try to
"claim" a soul they are trying to do what even God cannot do.
Bob Vaughn