Let me emphatically emphasize the tone set in this writing. The faith we must
have is purposed for the elimination of the enemy. It must be of a holy
expectancy; it must be deaf to doubt; it must be deaf to discouragment; it
must be blind to impossibility; it knows nothing, but triumph in God. The
power of faith can make something completely impossible, possible. Faith is
the spiritual weapon God gives the violent to display spiritual agressiveness
in bringing down every stronghold of unbelief and every demonic obstacle in
its path. As the Lord is our strength, and as the Lord is a man of war, as His
election, we are to be always in a readiness to revenge all disobedience. God
is preparing a people for the kingdom of heaven. Overcoming sin will not be
a peaceful venture. The faithful who obtained a good report strove for a place
in the kingdom. It is not a breach of truth that we will bring many to holiness.
But we must have strength, and vigor, and earnestness of desire and
endeavor, as those who follow Christ’s ministry. By faith we must strive to
deny self, to frame our temper, to alter our mind…there are hard sufferings
to be undergone. We must run, and wrestle, and fight, and be in an agony to
make our calling and election sure. Our faith must be of such a holy claim
that it thrust us into the purposes of God. It is going to take a spiritual force
to stand against the enemy and advance the truths of God into the darkness
of this world to reach the ones desiring to know Jesus. We cannot relent,
else souls will be lost. It takes strong and faithful ones to forcefully push past
their flesh, to forcefully push into the darkness with the light of God, to
forcefully push into the spirit realm through prayer and fasting, worship, and
the Word of God. We must pray more, love greater, and be wiser. We are to
speak faith words, show prophetic actions under the influence of the Holy
Spirit. We are fighting for the kingdom of God. We need the discernment of
the Holy Spirit.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but that is what it will look like on
the surface. Let us not fall into the trap of seeing it through natural eyes. We
know how to see through our spiritual eyes and fight a spiritual battle with
spiritual weapons. We win, because, as Jesus said, “the kingdom of heaven
suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” God gives us the faith
to withstand the world’s violence. Our faith is not some religious theory. It is
a dominant force and not a dormant force.
Faith is the bond of a living union with Jesus Christ, and so the obedience of
faith arises out of union with Him. The life that we live is by faith in the Son
of God. Unquestioning obedience to the principles and commandments of
God is a matter of trust. Our faith must be more than a moment, even more
than just a decision…our faith must be life. We have some tight places to go
before the Lord is through with this last day people and the world in this final
moment of time. Whatever God requires is right, though we may not know
the reason until His determined time. The obedience of faith is very different
from the obedience of works. The obedience of works is an effort that we find
within ourselves. If we treat obedience as something we do first and then all
joy in Jesus follows, we will have turned obedience into a work of the law, or
a legal external performance that has in it no Christ-exalting worth and
therefore will not result in true enjoyment of Jesus. But the obedience of faith
arises from our living bond with Christ. Obedience of faith is about pursuing
in the power of Christ now; its an obedience that will be complete by the
grace of Christ. Obedience comes from faith, and faith is a seeing and
savoring of the truth and worth of Jesus. For the child of God, obedience is
not an option. It is a command, and when we are confronted with a
command, we have two choices: to obey, or to disobey. There is no third
choice. Faith is that conquering force by which we overcome. Our faith is to
be authoritative and assertive. Reasoning in truth is with authority, having no
fear because we speak knowing that we are backed by the power in Jesus
Christ.
Faith is the factor of our life. Faith believes that God exists and that He is a
rewarder. Now ponder this for a moment as we come to know our God more
deeply. There is something about the nature of God’s existence and how He
rewards us with manifestations of His presence that makes this obvious. It
does not need an argument. It belongs to the very essence of what it means
to be God that God should be pleased by these two things. God exists
absolutely. He did not come into being and will never go out of being. He
absolutely is. Therefore, He is pleased when this absolute existence is
known and embraced. He is pleased when what He is, is reflected in our
lives. We were created for God’s pleasure, and without faith it is impossible
to please God. Only with faith will our obedience be pleasing to God.
The nature of faith and the vitality of faith is rooted in what God is like. The
more we know what God is like, the more conformed to His greatness will be
our faith. We will be more and more assured of things hoped for and more
and more convinced of things unseen. And God's existence and fullness will
be wonderfully displayed in our life. Faith can be measured through
obedience. Obedience is the visible expression of invisible faith. Obedient
faith is necessary to keep God’s commandments fully. Doing God’s will is
obedience. No matter how long Sunday has been observed, it is a distorted
doctrine which is not found in the bible. Obedient faith rejects this and keeps
the Sabbath. This is the duty of those who obey God’s word. Faith and
obedience are inseparable, and faith can be proven through obedience. If a
man is confident in his faith, he obeys God’s word. Obedience…what a
blessing it would be if we were all exercised to it by the Holy Spirit!
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. {James 2:18}
How fully should we be restored if we were perfect in it! If all the world would obey the
Lord, what a heaven on earth there would be! Perfect obedience to God
would mean love among men, justice to all classes, and peace in every land.
Our will brings disbelief, envy, malice, war; but the Lord's will would bring us
love, joy, rest, harmony. Obedience…let us pray for it for ourselves and
others! God’s people mourn disobedience with many tears and sighs. Faith
is the fountain, the foundation, and the fosterer of obedience. Men obey not
God till they believe him. We teach faith in order that men may be brought to
obedience. To disbelieve is to disobey. One of the first signs of practical
obedience is found in the obedience of the mind, the reasoning, the
understanding, and the heart; and this is expressed in believing the word of
Christ, trusting to his work, and resting in his salvation. Faith is the morning
star of obedience. If we would work the work of God, we must believe on
Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. The attainment of perfect obedience would
mean salvation. We regard sanctification, or perfect obedience, as the great
design for which the Savior died. It is for this that we are chosen: we are
"elect unto holiness." We know nothing of election to continue in sin. It is for
this that we have been called. Obedience is the grand object of the work of
grace in the hearts of the chosen and called: being conformed to the likeness
of the Son of God, with whom the Father is well pleased.
The obedience of faith springs from a principle within, and not from
compulsion without. It is sustained by the mind's soberest reasoning and the
heart's warmest passion. We reason with ourself that we ought to obey our
Redeemer, our Father, our God; and, at the same time, the love of Christ
constrains us so to do, and so what argument suggests, affection performs.
A sense of great obligation, an apprehension of the fitness of
obedience, and spiritual renewal of heart, work an obedience which becomes essential to the sanctified soul. Hence, it is not relaxed in the time
of temptation, nor destroyed in the hour of sufferings. Life has no trial which
can turn the gracious soul from its passion for obedience; and death itself
cannot but enable it to render an obedience which shall be as peaceful as it
will be complete. We must seek after stronger faith that we may render true
obedience. That is the product of our faith. Obedience, such as God can
accept, is wrought in us by the Spirit of the Lord, through our believing in the
truth, and love, and grace of our God in Christ Jesus. The greater the faith,
the greater the manifestation of obedience. There is the kind of faith which
produces obedience; and there is the kind of obedience which faith
produces; and then there is the kind of life which comes out of this faith and
performs. obedience. When we have faith in God then our belief in His sovereignty
establishes His right to command obedience. This loyalty of our mind is
based on faith, and is a chief prompter to obedience. Cultivate always this
sentiment. God is not such a one as ourselves. So, it is by faith that we are
allowed to accommodate a holy familiarity with the rightness of all that God
says and do. This, to us, is the kind of faith which shows obedience is lord of
the understanding. We believe in God beyond all our belief in anything else,
and everything else. Let truth be tinctured with the glory of God, and we
value it beyond worth; but if God and eternity be not there, we will leave these
trifles to those who choose them. We must have a paramount faith in God,
or else the will of God will not be a paramount law to us. Obedience is for the
present tense: it must be prompt, or it is nothing. Providence is God's
business, obedience is ours. What comes out of our life's course must
remain with the Lord; to obey is our sole concern. Obedient faith is the way
to eternal life…it is eternal life revealing itself.
There is no salvation, no eternal life, without obedience! Life was brought
to light through obedience to the faith. Understand what obedience to the faith is.
The faith of Christ is the law of trusting fully in what he has done. He is
the end of the law. Obedience to the law prepares us to receive the
promises by faith in Jesus Christ. Without it, no sanctification can take place,
for we, through the Spirit, eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
Righteousness brings hope, but it is impossible to be righteous in any other
way than through obedience to the faith, because the righteous shall live by
faith. In Christ we receive both grace and truth, which God is able to
give because by faith, we are crucified with Christ and we live as Christ lives in
us. The faith of Christ is revealed to us in our human spirit and
consciousness. The faith of Christ has its roots in God Himself. It is in perfect
harmony with God’s reasoning, purpose, and His plans. And it is according
to this faith that we are confident of God’s performance of work in us. We
must believe and obey what the Spirit speaks to us and convicts us of in our
inner being and in our conscience. This is what the bible calls obedience to
the faith.
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