God exists on His own. There is nothing or no one greater than God – He is
the Supreme Being. Faith originates with God. That is the whole of truth of
the measure of faith given to all. Receive it or forfeit it. But know that all
relationship with God is dependent upon it. It brings the things that God
provides for us in the spiritual realm into the physical realm. It is how we
overcome the world. Everything we do must be accessed through faith. And
that faith is not of our own…it is the gift of God. That is why the height of our
expression of faith is in God. Have you seen immortality, incorruption? Its
mystery is “faith”. Do you believe your sins are forgiven? Its mystery is "faith".
How so, because the word of God says it. The Holy Spirit empowers the word
of God as the truth to enter us. God had to give us faith so that we could
believe in Him and receive His salvation. This is how we receive His grace.
When faith becomes that permanent part of us we grow in truth. God brought
forth only one measure of faith…the measure. With that measure and the
word of God we grow in the truth that grows faith to faith. It is by this that we
live…by the faith of the Son of God. Now consider what measure of faith is
of Jesus. This is how he can say, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” Never doubt that you do
not have enough faith…that is sin. Our faith may become effectual by the
acknowledging of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus. We are to
abide by the law that governs the operation of God’s purposes. God must be
the object of our faith and for that we need a God-kind of faith. And that is
the faith of Jesus as every word of God is that by which we are to live.
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new." A person may not be able to tell the exact
time or place, or trace all the chain of circumstances in the process of
conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. Christ said to
Nicodemus, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is
everyone that is born of the Spirit." Like the wind, which is invisible, yet the
effects of which are plainly seen and felt, is the Spirit of God in its work upon
the human heart. That regenerating power, which no human eye can see,
begets a new life in the soul; it creates a new being in the image of God.
While the work of the Spirit is silent and imperceptible, its effects are
manifest. If the heart has been renewed by the Spirit of God, the life will bear
witness to the fact. While we cannot do anything to change our hearts or to
bring ourselves into harmony with God; while we must not trust at all to
ourselves or our good works, our lives will reveal whether the grace of God
is dwelling within us. A change will be seen in the character, the habits, the
pursuits. The contrast will be clear and decided between what they have
been and what they are. The character is revealed, not by occasional good
deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words
and acts.
It is true that there may be an outward correctness of deportment without the
renewing power of Christ. The love of influence and the desire for the esteem
of others may produce a well-ordered life. Self-respect may lead us to avoid
the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may perform generous actions. By
what means, then, shall we determine whose side we are on? Who has the
heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse? Who
has our warmest affections and our best energies? If we are Christ's, our
thoughts are with Him, and our sweetest thoughts are of Him. All we have
and are is consecrated to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe His spirit,
do His will, and please Him in all things.
Those who become new creatures in Christ Jesus will bring forth the fruits of
the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance." They will no longer fashion themselves according
to the former lusts, but by the faith of the Son of God they will follow in His
steps, reflect His character, and purify themselves even as He is pure. The
things they once hated they now love, and the things they once loved they
hate. The proud and self-assertive become meek and lowly in heart. The vain
and supercilious become serious and unobtrusive. The drunken become
sober, and the profligate pure. The vain customs and fashions of the world
are laid aside. Christians will seek not the "outward adorning," but "the
hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament
of a meek and quiet spirit."
There is no evidence of genuine repentance unless it works reformation. If
he restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, confess his sins, and
love God and his fellow men, the sinner may be sure that he has passed
from death unto life. When, as erring, sinful beings, we come to Christ and
become partakers of His pardoning grace, love springs up in the heart. Every
burden is light, for the yoke that Christ imposes is easy. Duty becomes a
delight, and sacrifice a pleasure. The path that before seemed shrouded in
darkness, becomes bright with beams from the Sun of Righteousness.
The loveliness of the character of Christ will be seen in His followers. It was
His delight to do the will of God. Love to God, zeal for His glory, was the
controlling power in our Saviour's life. Love beautified and ennobled all His
actions. Love is of God. The unconsecrated heart cannot originate or
produce it. It is found only in the heart where Jesus reigns. "We love,
because He first loved us." In the heart renewed by divine grace, love is the
principle of action. It modifies the character, governs the impulses, controls
the passions, subdues enmity, and ennobles the affections. This love,
cherished in the soul, sweetens the life and sheds a refining influence on all
around. There are two errors against which the children of God--particularly
those who have just come to trust in His grace--especially need to guard.
The first, already dwelt upon, is that of looking to their own works, trusting to
anything they can do, to bring themselves into harmony with God. He who is
trying to become holy by his own works in keeping the law, is attempting an
impossibility. All that man can do without Christ is polluted with selfishness
and sin. It is the grace of Christ alone, through faith, that can make us holy.
The opposite and no less dangerous error is that belief in Christ releases
men from keeping the law of God; that since by faith alone we become
partakers of the grace of Christ, our works have nothing to do with our
redemption. But notice here that obedience is not a mere outward
compliance, but the service of love. The law of God is an expression of His
very nature; it is an embodiment of the great principle of love, and hence is
the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. If our hearts are
renewed in the likeness of God, if the divine love is implanted in the soul, will
not the law of God be carried out in the life? When the principle of love is
implanted in the heart, when man is renewed after the image of Him that
created him, the new-covenant promise is fulfilled, "I will put My laws into
their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." And if the law is written in
the heart, will it not shape the life? Obedience--the service and allegiance of
love--is the true sign of discipleship. Thus the Scripture says, "This is the
love of God, that we keep His commandments." "He that saith, I know Him,
and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes
us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience.
We do not earn salvation by our obedience; for salvation is the free gift of
God, to be received by faith. But obedience is the fruit of faith. "Ye know that
He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin. Whosoever
abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither
known Him." Here is the true test. If we abide in Christ, if the love of God
dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts, our purposes, our actions, will be in
harmony with the will of God as expressed in the precepts of His holy law.
"Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is
righteous, even as He is righteous." Righteousness is defined by the
standard of God's holy law, as expressed in the ten precepts given on Sinai.
That so-called faith in Christ which professes to release men from the
obligation of obedience to God, is not faith, but presumption. "By grace are
ye saved through faith." But "faith, if it hath not works, is dead." Jesus said
of Himself before He came to earth, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea,
Thy law is within My heart." And just before He ascended again to heaven
He declared, "I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His
love." The Scripture says, "Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep
His commandments. . . . He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also
so to walk even as He walked." "Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an example, that ye should follow His steps."
The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,--just what it
was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,--perfect obedience to the
law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any
condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be
imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery,
to be immortalized.
It was possible for Adam, before the fall, to form a righteous character by
obedience to God's law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our
natures are fallen and we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are
sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law. We have no
righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God.
But Christ has made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials
and temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for
us, and now He offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness. If you
give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life
may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ's character
stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as
if you had not sinned. More than this, Christ changes the heart. He abides in
your heart by faith. You are to maintain this connection with Christ by faith
and the continual surrender of your will to Him; and so long as you do this,
He will work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. So you
may say, "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." So Jesus said to His disciples,
"It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
Then with Christ working in you, you will manifest the same spirit and do the
same good works --works of righteousness, obedience. So we have nothing
in ourselves of which to boast. We have no ground for self-exaltation. Our
only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that wrought by His Spirit working in and through us. When we speak of faith,
there is a distinction that should be borne in mind. There is a kind of belief
that is wholly distinct from faith. The existence and power of God, the truth
of His word, are facts that even Satan and his hosts cannot at heart deny.
The Bible says that "the devils also believe, and tremble;" but this is not faith.
Where there is not only a belief in God's word, but a submission of the will to
Him; where the heart is yielded to Him, the affections fixed upon Him, there
is faith--faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Through this faith the
heart is renewed in the image of God. And the heart that in its unrenewed
state is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, now delights in
its holy precepts, exclaiming with the psalmist, "O how love I Thy law! it is
my meditation all the day." And the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us,
"who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." There are those who have
known the pardoning love of Christ and who really desire to be children of
God, yet they realize that their character is imperfect, their life faulty, and
they are ready to doubt whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy
Spirit. To such I would say, Do not draw back in despair. We shall often have
to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and
mistakes, but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome by the
enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God. No; Christ is
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Said the
beloved John, "These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." And
do not forget the words of Christ, "The Father Himself loveth you." He desires
to restore you to Himself, to see His own purity and holiness reflected in you.
And if you will but yield yourself to Him, He that hath begun a good work in
you will carry it forward to the day of Jesus Christ. Pray more fervently;
believe more fully. As we come to distrust our own power, let us trust the
power of our Redeemer, and we shall praise Him who is the health of our
countenance. The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear
in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will
be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature. This is evidence
that Satan's delusions have lost their power; that the vivifying influence of
the Spirit of God is arousing you.
No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in the heart that does not realize its
own sinfulness. The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ will admire
His divine character; but if we do not see our own moral deformity, it is
unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view of the beauty and
excellence of Christ. The less we see to esteem in ourselves, the more we
shall see to esteem in the infinite purity and loveliness of our Saviour. A view
of our sinfulness drives us to Him who can pardon; and when the soul,
realizing its helplessness, reaches out after Christ, He will reveal Himself in
power. The more our sense of need drives us to Him and to the word of God,
the more exalted views we shall have of His character, and the more fully we
shall reflect His image.
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