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  JESUS, AUTHOR OF OUR FAITH
  by A. W. Tozer
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A devotional work emphasizing that saving faith is a divine gift and miracle
with Jesus as its source and author. The book addresses believers about the
nature of faith as God-given and the importance of recognizing Christ's role in
granting the ability to trust and obey.

  Chapters: 13

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
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    1. - Foreword
    2. - Jesus, Author of Our Faith
    3. - Enoch: Faith Takes Us to the Rapture
    4. - Noah: Faith Does What God Asks
    5. - Faith Answers When God Calls
    6. - Faith Values the Pilgrim Journey
    7. - Faith Is Finding God for Ourselves
    8. - Faith Has Eyes Only for Jesus
    9. - Faith and Discipline Ready Us for Heaven
   10. - Faith Is Not Given Us to Fail
   11. - Faith’s Manifesto: We Claim God Now!
   12. - Faith Will Endure the Final Shaking
   13. - Faith Rests on an Unchanging Jesus

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  CHAPTER 1: - FOREWORD
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FOREWORD Tozer once warned Christian believers not to read the Bible as they
would another piece of literature or a textbook. “I have always felt that when
we read and study the Word of God, we should have great expectations,” he
explained. “We should ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the person, the glory and
the eternal ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This book is centered on Jesus.
It is based on sermons Tozer preached from the final chapters of the Letter to
the Hebrews. The author’s intention, from chapter to chapter, is to underscore
the necessity of an active, abiding faith in Jesus Christ. Only in that way can
we please God. More than in most of his books, Tozer reaches into his personal
experience as he applies the rich truths of key texts. For that reason, it is
fitting that the publisher will release this volume in May 1988—exactly twenty
five years after Tozer’s death on May 13, 1963. For those who try to collect
Tozer titles as they become available, it should be pointed out that Jesus,
Author of Our Faith is a companion volume to Jesus, Our Man in Glory, which is
based on the earlier chapters of Hebrews. Together, the two books examine most
of the important emphases in that significant Letter. They do so in Tozer’s
inimitable style and with his incisive expression.

Gerald B. Smith


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  CHAPTER 2: - JESUS, AUTHOR OF OUR FAITH
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02 - Jesus, Author of Our Faith DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOUR FAITH is a gift from
God? You should look upon your faith as a miracle. It is the ability God gives
lost men and women to trust and obey our Savior and Lord. It is the ability God
gives regenerated men and women to continue to trust and obey. And Jesus is the
author of our faith. Are you satisfied, contented with your faith? Is it the
kind of faith that is pleasing to God? Does it rest solidly upon the very nature
and character of God? I raise these questions with the hope of finding some
ripple of concern among God’s people about this simple, straightforward
statement in the letter to the Hebrews: “Without faith, it is impossible to
please God.” In all of my ministry I have found comparatively few eager to
consider what the Bible teaches concerning genuine faith in God. It is
difficult, also, to find spiritual concern among Christians for trusting God and
living to please the One who created us and who redeemed us back to Himself. The
eleventh chapter of Hebrews is often called “The Faith Chapter.” Its opening
message is familiar: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of
what we do not see. … By faith we understand that the universe was formed at
God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. … And
without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
(Hebrews 11:1-6) “The Faith Chapter.” I doubt that most people recognize the
full meaning of that term, “the faith chapter.” I would like to amend the title
by calling Hebrews 11 the “Faith in-God Chapter.” Or, even better, the
“Faith-in-the-Character-of-God Chapter.” The word “faith” can mean a thousand
different things to as many people. It is especially so if in their thinking
there is no basic reference to God, no consideration of His eternal will and no
understanding of the lostness of mankind. I have discovered that professing
Christians can read about the great exploits of faith in the past—and then
immediately ask the age-old question, “But what is faith?” No actual definition
Although the writer to the Hebrews declares that faith is being sure of what we
hope for and being certain of what we do not see, he is not thereby actually
providing us with a definition. Definitions have to do with human reason, human
intellect, human philosophy. I think God had his own reasons for withholding a
specific definition of faith from the pages of our Bibles. God’s record and
appeal are spiritual messages, directed to the spirits of needy men and women.
If our Christian testimony is to be vital and effective, we must understand that
the Bible was not given to serve as a handbook of ethical considerations.
Rather, it is plainly a book of morals. Therefore, when we take God at His word
in committing ourselves to Jesus Christ, we discover that faith and morals are
two sides of the same coin! I repeat: The Bible is not a book of reason about
things that are good and things that are bad. Rather, it is an authoritative
book clearly demonstrating for us what is good and what is bad! On that basis,
then, what does the Bible tell us about genuine faith? Without dealing in
pinpoint definitions, we know that faith as demonstrated in the Word of God is
complete confidence and trust in God and in His plan of salvation through
Christ. Let us agree further that faith is a gift of God to every penitent,
trusting person. Beyond that, faith is a miracle, for God gives lost men and
women the blessed ability to trust and serve Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
The Bible assures us that faith in God is the plain gateway to forgiveness, to
cleansing, to regeneration, to restoration. The Bible declares that where there
is no faith there are no answers to fervent prayers. The Bible makes clear that
every spiritual benefit flowing from the atonement of Christ is given to faith
and is received by faith. All of this is common evangelical doctrine and is
accepted wherever the cross of Christ is rightly understood. Beware of faith in
“faith” I have often warned men in the ministry of their great responsibility
when they begin to preach and counsel about faith. It is quite possible to lead
people into the mistake of placing their faith in “faith” itself. I do not think
any of us believes that as Christians we can or should ever be satisfied by
emphasizing our faith in “faith.” To do so would result in our bragging about
the greatness of our faith and our trading mutual testimonies about the results
of our faith. I remember an old story, used more than once as sermon
illustration. It concerned an anonymous Christian believer who testified of
great faith and willing obedience with this rather amazing promise: “If the Lord
ever asks me to jump right through that brick wall, I am ready to jump!” My
point is that we should not be busy magnifying our own great faith. Rather, we
should be busy demonstrating the fragrance of God’s love and grace in our daily
walk. It is not proper to magnify faith if in doing so we forget that our
confidence as believers is not in the power of faith but in the person and work
of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I have heard ministers say that if the people in
their congregations would memorize more Bible promises, they would immediately
have more faith. Yes and no. Study the Scriptures and you will find that we are
not going to have more faith by counting the promises of God. Faith does not
rest upon promises. Faith rests upon character. Faith must rest in confidence
upon the One who makes the promises. Faith says, “God is God! He is a holy God
who cannot lie. He is the God who is infinitely honest—He has never cheated
anyone. He is the God who is faithful and true!” Yes, we must be concerned with
the person and character of God and not just with His promises. Through promises
we learn what God has willed to us, we learn what we may claim as our heritage,
we learn how we should pray. But faith itself must rest upon the character of
our God. When I think of the angels in heaven who veil their faces before the
holy God who is totally truthful, I wonder why every preacher does not begin
preaching about God—who He is, His attributes, His perfection, His being and why
we love Him and why we should trust Him! We must know God Himself It is not
enough just to know things about God. It is important that we declare to people
all round us that they must come to know God Himself. Our faith in God is more
than the provision of an eternal life insurance policy. Some Christians in their
testimonies seem to view God as a lifeboat always coming to their rescue. Or
perhaps they portray Him as a kind of ladder enabling them to get out of a
burning building. We dare not miss the point here. Our God takes pleasure in His
believing children coming to Him with genuine faith, knowing that He is the
rewarder of all who diligently seek Him. This kind of earnest, genuine faith—the
faith of the Scriptures—is taught and fully demonstrated in this book of
Hebrews. The lesson that comes to us through the many dramatic illustrations of
faith in Hebrews 11 brings us back to my earlier statement: Faith in God is to
be demonstrated, not defined. Justas God’s church demonstrates Christian love,
this demonstration of godly, humble faith is God’s ideal for His church. It is
not enough for preachers in their pulpits to try to define love. The love that
God has promised must be demonstrated in the lives of the believers in the pews.
It must be practiced as well by the man who occupies the pulpit. We should put
the matter of faith in that same category. God wants His people, including the
ministers, to demonstrate all of the outworking of faith in their daily lives
and practices. In His Word, God tells us again and again that as believing
children we are to live by faith and we are to walk by faith. This reference is
to God’s believing, trusting people and to the kind of faith that is saving
faith. There are many other brands of faith being displayed in our world today.
Saving faith—biblical faith—is on the highest level, for it is the life of trust
and obedience that our Lord requires of us. The Bible says faith is necessary to
please God. It is plain, then, that there are unbelievers—men and women without
faith who refuse to take God into consideration. It is my position that unbelief
is not merely a different attitude of the human mind. Unbelief is always sinful
because it presupposes an immoral condition of the heart. The unbeliever says in
effect to the Christian believer: “My gift of human reason tells me that you are
unreasonable in the matters of your faith.” Christians have an answer Christian
believers have an answer born from their scriptural perspective. They are not
afraid to declare that at the door of the kingdom of God man’s reason is
dethroned. For those who are living a life of faith and have found fellowship
with God, human reason is no longer king. Instead, reason becomes a servant. The
apostle Paul warned the Corinthian Christians long ago that God had made foolish
the wisdom of the world: But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame
the wise … so that no one may boast before him.… Therefore, as it is written:
“Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-31) Human reason has
always been in rivalry with God. Our human race took a great fall on the day
Satan persuaded Adam and Eve to disobey their Creator God. He told them it was
reasonable that they should have the same knowledge that God Himself has. Our
first parents bowed to reason, taking the bait like hungry fish. We are only too
well aware of the results of their failure—their disobedience. Instead of
becoming as gods in knowledge, they and their posterity fell to such a low level
that they lost their capacity to know anything that really matters! I am asked
sometimes for my opinion on certain matters. Perhaps you would like to ask my
opinion concerning the faculty of human reason, and I am ready to answer even
before you ask! I believe that most people are more proud of their ability to
reason than of any other faculty. They do not even suspect that nothing else
they possess is as small as their power to reason. Once those persons enter the
kingdom of God by faith, reason becomes a useful servant—no longer ruling them
as a false god. On the other hand, those who continue to live without Christ and
without God will unknowingly live out their lives in a very real kind of
sub-faith, strange as that may seem. The rationalists exercise faith I confess
that it is very intriguing to me to consider the habits of the so-called liberal
thinkers. They reject the validity of any kind of faith, declaring that they
choose to reject religion because it requires faith. Yet they do not discern
that they are going through many of the motions of faith every day. They get up
every morning fully expecting that the sun will be in its accustomed course when
they rise. They fully expect that the morning newspaper will be delivered as
promised. Although hey cannot entirely explain it, they have no doubt that
breakfast will satisfy their appetites—at least temporarily! They step out on
the sidewalk with full faith that it will not collapse under their weight. They
do not call the office where they work to inquire if they still have a job.
Something very much like faith tells them their job is secure and waiting.
Nearly every move they make is by a certain kind of faith and trust. Their boast
is that they lean only on reason, but from dawn until bedtime their lives fit
into a pattern of faith and trust, whether they admit it or not! Yet they will
argue and debate at every possible opportunity that faith is unreal and cannot
be accepted because it is not predicated on human reasoning. We who are
believing Christians refuse to agree with the unbelievers’ premise that we are
taking an unreasonable position. We simply accept our new realm of life and
faith where reason becomes a servant. We find a blessed fulfillment in a life of
trust. We discover in this relationship with God that faith actually becomes an
organ of knowledge. That is why it is completely ridiculous for religious
prattlers to insist that they can equate faith and reason. According to both
Matthew and Luke, Jesus prayed, saying: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and
revealed them to little children.” Yes, we do find that faith becomes an organ
of knowledge. In Hebrews we read, “By faith we understand that the universe was
formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was
visible” (Hebrews 11:3). The proud thinkers tell us they believe in the eternity
of matter. They are convinced in their own minds that there was never a time
when things were not. To them, matter is eternal. For them, there is no
invisible, eternal world back of the visible, temporal world we see and know.
The Bible tells us otherwise But we lean on the inspired Word from the Holy
Spirit of God, who gives us this truth: The visible came out of the invisible.
It was God who framed the worlds. The things that are seen came from the Unseen.
Thus we learn that matter came out of spirit, and before all things was God
Himself! It is by faith that we can understand these things. And that is another
way of saying, “By faith we know!” We know, too, that there is much imagination
in the world. For that reason we contend that our faith is not a substitute for
reality. Faith in God apprehends reality and spiritual things. True faith is not
a function of imagination. I disagree with the modern theories that peace and
happiness depend upon our ability to “project” ourselves out of subconscious
minds. The proponents of that philosophy would have us believe that the
subconscious mind sits around waiting for the conscious mind to talk to it.
Then, if the conscious mind is willing to say to the subconscious, “You are
going to feel good today!” you will really feel good all day. That is human
imagination. Faith in God is a function of knowledge, not of human imagination.
We do not by faith project out of ourselves an imaginary hope of heaven beyond
this life. Jesus Christ has promised that our place is being prepared; it is a
promise of our Heavenly Father. I tell you frankly that I would not want to
consider any kind of a heaven that was projected out of my subconscious mind. I
am looking forward to something far more substantial than a projection of my own
mind or imagination! What the Bible says Now, if we really have a desire for our
faith in God to increase and grow, do we have any New Testament direction or
encouragement? Yes! We can take a lesson from the conversation about faith
between Jesus and His disciples: The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our
faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say
to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey
you.” (Luke 17:5-6) The apostles apparently recognized their own need and
addressed a direct prayer to the Author of faith—their Lord and Master:
“Increase our faith!” Did Jesus reprove them for their earnest request, for
their desire to mature in the realm of faith? No. Jesus did not reprove nor did
He rebuke. Instead, He taught them and He encouraged them. Surely it should
strike us with conviction that our Lord was saying that even to the smallest
measure of sincere faith the mightiest works for God are possible. I ask: Do you
believe as earnestly as you should that faith can bring the conversion of the
human soul to God? Do you believe as deeply as you should that faith can unite
you forever to Jesus Christ, your risen Lord and now your great High Priest in
the heavens? Do you believe as you should that earnest and sincere faith in the
living God can remove mountains of difficulty out of your way, can cast your
burden of guilt into the deepest sea? The Author of our faith stands ready to
make it so. A concluding illustration Let me conclude with a contemporary
illustration of faith easily understood because it could happen in any family
household. A father and his nine-year-old son have a close and trusting
relationship. The father reminds his boy that in a month he will be observing
his tenth birthday. “Son,” he begins, “I know that you want a bicycle. I am
going to order a brand new red and white bicycle, and it will be herein time for
you to begin riding it on the morning of your birthday. It will be your very own
bicycle—you will be the owner!” Is that excited boy going to wait a month before
he tells his friends that he is the owner of a shining new bicycle? Oh, no! He
runs out immediately to give the great news to his friends. He is full of faith.
He is full of expectancy. He already knows within himself the pride of
ownership. His faith has given substance to his boyish hope. His faith has given
a reality to the bicycle he has not yet seen! He is not reporting to his friends
an imaginary projection of his mind. He has his father’s word. He is able to
speak with assurance: “Believe it or not, I own one of the most beautiful
bicycles in the whole world!” That boy knows he can trust the character of his
father. His faith is not in the factory that makes the bicycle. It rests in the
character and the ability of his father to keep the promise he has made. But, of
course, there is one little friend in the neighborhood who remains cynical and
unbelieving. “Don’t give me that dreamy line about having a bicycle,” the friend
insists with some belligerence. “Who is going to believe your story? I don’t see
any shiny new bicycle in your front yard.” For an answer, the boy with the
faith, the boy who already knows the delight of anticipation, simply smiles a
knowing smile. “Just give me till my birthday, and when you see me riding my
bike past your house, you will wish my father was your father, too!” We thank
our Heavenly Father that our sincere faith in Him becomes for us a function of
knowledge. It becomes substance and evidence! Jesus is the Author and the
Prefecture of our faith. With the apostle Paul we stand in faith and in
knowledge: “I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am
convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2
Timothy 1:12).


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  CHAPTER 3: - ENOCH: FAITH TAKES US TO THE RAPTURE
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03 - Enoch: Faith Takes Us to the Rapture THERE IS A GREAT COMPANY of believers
within the Christian church in our day willing to take God at His word when He
says our world is headed for judgment. On the other hand, t here are many who
scoff at the idea of judgment and contend that everything around us will
continue as it is forever and ever. Some segments within the Christian church
believe that God surely is a holy God and that it is possible for men and women
of faith to live in a way pleasing to Him. Others presume God expects men and
women to find happiness in their own devices. Thus they rule out the validity of
the many scriptural warnings as well as the Bible’s appeals for godly living.
These observations bring to mind the faith of one man—Enoch—who lived near the
beginning of our race. We can only wonder how he would have measured
Christianity as we know it in the twentieth century! One of the greatest Bible
commentaries on godly faith is the single sentence in Genesis telling us that
“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis
5:24). The New Testament assessment of Enoch’s faith is also brief—a single
paragraph in the Letter to the Hebrews: By faith Enoch was taken from this life,
so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had
taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased
God. (Hebrews 11:5) God has given us a faithful and trustworthy record. Any
person who refuses to believe the overriding wisdom and illumination of God’s
Holy Spirit will never have or hold a clear and proper estimate of the human
race. In Enoch God has given us an example of faith and a model of daily
fellowship with God. God tells us about His presence Anyone making even a quick
review of Genesis will discover that God has told us more about His presence in
creation and in history than about the details of human civilization. In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth. We believe that! That is our
starting place. We believe that eternity dwells in the person of God and that
the material universe came into being through God’s creation. The first man and
woman in the human race were created. They failed in their initial encounter
with Satan, our arch enemy. Following that, the Genesis record becomes a
narrative of human failure against the abiding backdrop of God’s faithfulness.
We are told of Cain and Abel, two sons of Adam and Eve, and of Cain’s refusal to
honor God’s plan for the redemption and acceptance of lost humanity. On the very
threshold of human culture and civilization, Cain murdered his brother, Abel.
Later, as Cain’s wife was giving birth to his first son—an earlier Enoch than
the one referred to in Hebrews 11—Cain was then building a city, and he named it
after his son (Genesis 4:17). The civilization founded by Cain was as evil as
he. It would ultimately terminate in the judgment of the Flood. But in giving us
the brief record of Cain’s oldest son, the Spirit of God, as Author of the
Bible, binds in one bundle of life all the yesterdays of the race and reveals
the organic oneness of all humans. The information in Genesis is a revelation to
our hearts. Through it we understand that all people born of Adam are of one
blood. This means that we are bound up in a natural brotherhood throughout the
earth. But that does not portray the full and final story. God Himself, through
the Holy Spirit, points out a universal human problem: the natural brotherhood
of human beings is a sinful brotherhood. It is the brotherhood of all who are
spiritually lost. But the Bible has good news from the Holy Spirit concerning
the human race. That good news is the revelation of a new brotherhood, the
brotherhood of the redeemed. We know it in our time as the believing church of
our Lord Jesus Christ in all nations. It is plain that the natural brotherhood
that dates back to Adam does not have a saving, redeeming bond. The record is
clear for those who will pursue it. God in His love and concern prolonged the
race after the Flood. Then in His own time, He called out of the race a chosen
people, Israel, in order to ensure the coming of the Messiah-Savior with His
gracious offer of salvation and renewal. The new brotherhood among men is based
on regeneration and restoration. Take away the coming of Jesus into the world,
take away His redeeming death and His victorious resurrection, and there remains
no basis for wholeness and oneness in the race. It is impossible to hold a
proper view of mankind’s brotherhood without recognizing all that God has done
to assure that the eternal brotherhood is the fellowship of redeemed men and
women comprising Jesus’ church, His Body on earth. Back to Enoch But now we have
met godly Enoch, seventh generation from Adam through Adam’s third son, Seth. We
are impressed that he could resist the devil and find fellowship with his
Creator-God, even in a worldly society headed for destruction. Enoch recognized
the failure of men and women trying to live their lives apart from God and His
will. By faith he walked with God on this earth at a time when sin and
corruption were wildly rampant all around him. Enoch’s daily walk was a walk of
faith, a walk of fellowship with God. What the Scriptures are trying to say to
us is this: If Enoch could live and walk with God by faith in the midst of his
sinful generation, we likewise should be able to follow his example because the
human race is the same and God is the same! Space does not permit us to cover
all the spiritual lessons we might learn from the life of godly Enoch. But I do
want to make an important emphasis here for every Christian believer: Enoch
reminds us that the quality and boldness of our faith will be the measure of our
preparation for the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. We Christian
believers, walking by faith nearly twentieth centuries after Christ’s sojourn on
earth, hold firmly to the New Testament promise that our risen Lord will return
to earth again. Our ever-living High Priest in the heavens intends to return for
His church—the brotherhood of the redeemed. We are neither ashamed nor afraid to
confess our anticipation of Christ’s return. Jesus promised His disciples He
would return: So, if anyone tells you, “There he is, out in the desert,” do not
go out; or, “Here he is, in the inner rooms,” do not believe it. For as the
lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of
the Son of Man.(Matthew 24:26-27) Jesus’ two appearings are contrasted in this
Letter to the Hebrews. First, the writer states the purpose of Jesus’ first
coming: Now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with
sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:27) Then, the writer promises that
Christ Jesus will return to bring ultimate salvation to the redeemed: So Christ
was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a
second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting
for him.(Hebrews 9:28) Enoch is a type I have taken time to point up the Bible
promise of Jesus’ return for a reason. It is my strong conviction that Enoch’s
experience of translation into the presence of God is a type, or preview, of the
coming rapture of the church, the bride of Christ, described in the Scriptures.
I can assure you that I have never been a preacher of obscure or curious texts.
My calling is to preach the entire Word of God and all of its basic doctrines as
revealed by the Holy Spirit of God. I confess that I have been shy about leaning
too hard on Bible types or “pictures” in the Word. I think some teachers have
overemphasized the importance of such analogies. Some teachers have mistakenly
tried to build doctrines on the types they discerned. It is my advice that we
continue to faithfully preach the plain Word of God. We can trust the Holy
Spirit to guide us. In this instance, however, the faith and deportment of the
man Enoch do compose a vivid picture—powerful object lesson—to encourage every
Christian believer in his or her faith. Enoch speaks to us of our own troubled
times—and that is the purpose of the Word of God. It should be our concern that
we hear—and that we obey! There is only one conclusion to be drawn here. Enoch
was translated into the presence of God because of his faith, and thus he
escaped death. It is very evident that there was no funeral for Enoch. Those who
knew him best surely had to answer many questions. “Where is Enoch?” “What
happened to Enoch?” “Why don’t we see Enoch around anymore?” Perhaps members of
his own family did not fully understand his walk with God, but they could answer
with the facts: “He is gone! God has called him home. God has taken him.” I
wonder if his contemporaries ever made the obvious comparison: “Enoch always
advised us to walk with God—to put our trust in God. We though the was a
fanatic. Now he is gone, he is at home with God, and we are still here in a
troubled world!” Our promised rapture is disparaged In our own generation, many
around us consider our hope in the promise of Christ’s return an extreme belief.
As the current chapter of church history is being written throughout the world,
the teaching of the return of Jesus Christ for His church is not popular. There
probably is no way that we can arrive at the number of believers throughout the
breadth and scope of Christianity who consider the prophetic Scriptures
seriously. We do know that those who believe and proclaim that Jesus is coming
again are in the minority. Personally, I do not worry or fret about being in the
minority where the will of God is concerned. I am firmly persuaded that our Lord
Jesus Christ is coming again for His believing people. Throughout my years of
ministry, I have held to this teaching found in the Bible. I have had no reason
to change my mind concerning it. This much we know and can say: The general
outlines of prophetic events as foretold in the Scriptures are accepted by
conservative, evangelical Christians. Evangelicals are regenerated Christian
believers who have experienced a life changing relationship with God through
faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. They are men and women who are
committed to the Bible as the revealed, inspired Word of God. That biblical
record describes the ascension of our risen Jesus and preserves the words of the
“two men dressed in white” who spoke to Jesus’ wonder-struck disciples: Men of
Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same
Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way
you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) We have also the revelation given
to the apostle Paul, and his inspired counsel to the Thessalonian church: We
believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring
with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own
word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of
the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord
himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord
forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians
4:14-18) Jesus could return soon When it comes to the many details of Christian
eschatology, we are not dogmatic and unbending. For instance, what I know about
our promised heavenly home must be only a small and insignificant part of all
that God has prepared for his children. God has His own timing, and all of His
plans are good plans for His children. There is an important point to make
concerning God’s timing in the case of Enoch. Enoch was a man of faith, a child
of God. We could call him one of God’s faithful few. God took him out of the
earth and out of his race when the judgment of the Flood was not far away. Jesus
taught very clearly during His ministry that the flood came on earth as a
judgment for sin and ungodliness. When he was asked about the signs of His
coming and the events of the future, Jesus said: As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood,
people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day
Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the
flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37-39) All of us surely have moments when we wonder if
we are seriously living in preparation for the coming of our Lord and for the
eternity when we will be at home with Him. In our faith and trust, we know that
God in His grace owns us and calls us His believing children, His saints. Yet,
we do have times of discouragement concerning our shortcomings and failures. The
faith of Enoch continues to be an encouragement to walk with the King of heaven
while we live down here. Then we know we will feel comfortable and at home when
we get to heaven! The facts are plainly spelled out. Enoch walked with God. He
faced up to the devil and patiently bore the scoffing of those who lived like
the devil. God honored his faith and took him into His divine presence forever.
I think we may draw the certain conclusion that when Enoch arrived in God’s
presence—raptured, translated, changed—he was completely at home, completely
satisfied. An important personal lesson Now, here is one of the great personal
lessons for us: Enoch was a spiritual rebuke to his own generation. He fought
off the wiles and the temptations of the devil. He purposed within himself: “I
will walk with God by faith even if that means that I must be detached from my
generation.” Are you really detached from your generation because you resist the
devil and walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit? Am I? That is a very personal
question, and we dare not try to answer it for each other. Our generation in
this world system claims that there is no personal devil, no enemy of our souls.
Yet, all the while, Satan is busy. He is using a successful, age-old tactic with
many people. He is assuring them in a variety of ways that there is no urgency
in the matters of faith. “Put off your decisions until a more favorable time,”
Satan says. “Do not make a decision until your situation eases!” The devil
gambles on the odds that men and women will never heed God’s warning that “Now
is the accepted time.” “Put off a decision until you feel you are ready.” That
is the devil’s urging to those who are lost. As a result, millions have waited.
And in waiting, they have never come to God in repentance and faith. A closing
warning In closing, I must add a warning. Enoch could have written a book on
human loneliness. We must make our choices even as Enoch did. Enoch refused to
walk in agreement with the ungodly multitude of his generation. There is nothing
as meaningless as a shout from a crowd. The crowd may give a big cheer, but no
one ever seems to quite know what the shout means. Believing Christians with
true faith in God know very well the meaning of loneliness. In most ways, they
are already detached from their generation. Yet, in spite of the devil and the
criticism of the crowd, they continue to serve their generation by doing the
will of God. I have heard stories of sheep in a flock blindly following leaders
over the edge of a steep cliff. It seems that it is in the nature of sheep to
follow the crowd. It is as though the word is passed along from one to another:
“Don’t be a dissenter! Don’t try to be different! Just continue along with the
crowd!” So they all go over the cliff, one after another—but they have stuck
with the crowd! Enoch determined that even if everyone in his generation was
blindly moving toward the judgment of God, he would be the one man who refused
to go over the cliff with the unbelievers. What did he do? In faith Enoch
detached himself from his generation. Then, by faith, he lived above all
generations, pleasing to God. The result? The life and testimony and victory of
Enoch have become a benediction to all generations. The warning? If we are
satisfied to settle down and become weak victims amid the sins of our
generation, we will die with our generation. There is an alternative. If we will
rise by faith above our generation, we, like Enoch, will prove to be a
benediction to those who are yet to come!


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  CHAPTER 4: - NOAH: FAITH DOES WHAT GOD ASKS
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04 - Noah: Faith Does What God Asks PEOPLE ALL AROUND US REMEMBER NOAH because
he built a mammoth boat on a dry hillside—and they are still laughing at him.
The Bible remembers Noah for his faith in God—and commends him for doing exactly
what God told him to do. If there were comics in Noah’s day, they surely worked
over the old man—building his big boat so far from water. While they were
getting their laughs, they refused to believe that God had said to Noah: “I am
going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because
of them” (Genesis 6:13).They refused to believe that God is sovereign. The
weight of the Bible is on the side of Noah’s faith. “Noah,” the Scriptures
declare, “did everything just as God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22). The New
Testament measurement of Noah’s faith is brief, but stirring and memorable: By
faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to
save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the
righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7) Noah was not a popular figure
in his day. But he was God’s man in history’s worst crisis, and he was faithful
in the prophetic ministry God gave him. Now, when we discuss Noah and the Flood,
we must discuss sin and judgment and alarm—and none of these are topics likely
to make any twentieth-century person popular. But nevertheless we will find out
where the Bible takes us as we review the faith and obedience of Noah. Unlocking
the lesson of Noah There are some teachers in our churches who are strong on
what they call “Bible analysis.” They are always searching for the “key” to the
book or the “key verse” of the chapter, or perhaps even the “key word” in a
Bible verse. Although it is helpful in Bible study to discern the variety in the
sections and segments that compose the Scriptures, a “key” is something else.
Personally, I do not think our Bible was formulated in that way. If you need to
find a key and do not find it, the message remains locked in. That is not the
way the Bible speaks to us and guides us. It is often remarked that the Bible is
really a love letter to us from God. Suppose a sailor is stationed somewhere in
the western Pacific. He writes a tender, loving letter to his wife, at home with
the children half a world away. When it arrives in the mail box, the sailor’s
wife quickly opens the envelope. What is that wife’s first thought as she begins
to read? Is it, “I wonder if I am going to be able to find the key to the
message in this letter”? Oh, no! That is not her thought at all. She reads with
joy and blessing and satisfaction. She senses the love that authored the letter.
She does not need a college degree to understand and absorb the message of every
paragraph. In considering Noah’s faith, we do not have to search very far for
understanding. The Bible gives us a straightforward message concerning Noah. It
is simply this: “Demonstrate your faith in God in your everyday life!” It is
evident that God did not say to Noah: “I am depending on you to hold the proper
orthodox doctrines. Everything will be just fine if you stand up for the right
doctrines!” No, that is not what God demanded of Noah. Yet we have many
religiously inclined people in our day who hold to an illusion that the learning
of doctrine is enough. They actually think that somehow they are better for
having learned the doctrines of religion. What actually did God ask Noah to do?
Just this: to believe, to trust, to obey—to carry out His word. In essence, God
said to Noah, “I want to demonstrate to the whole world that your faith is
genuine and that I am a rewarder of those who believe Me and trust Me!” Doctrine
must be enfleshed I have been impressed by a statement on Christian doctrine
made by Martin Lloyd-Jones, the English preacher and writer, in a published
article. The gist of his message was this: It is perilously close to being
sinful for any person to learn doctrine for doctrine’s sake. I agree with his
conclusion that doctrine is always best when it is incarnated—when it is seen
fleshed out in the lives of godly men and women. Doctrine merely stated has no
arms or legs, no tongue and no teeth. Standing alone, it has no purpose, no
intentions, and it certainly carries no moral imperative. Our God Himself
appeared at His very best in the Incarnation, when He came into our world and
lived in our flesh. What He had been trying to say to mortal man about Himself,
He was now able to demonstrate in the person and life of Jesus, the Son of Man.
How can we best explain faith? Read the Bible account of Abraham—you will see
faith in his life. How can we best explain courage? Read about Elijah and his
challenge to the 400 prophets of Baal—you will find courage incarnated in a man.
How can we best explain faithfulness? Turn to the life of Moses. Forgiveness?
Turn to Joseph. Now, what do we see in the life of Noah? Noah demonstrates many
aspects of faith, but the particular emphasis is this: Faith pays heed to the
warnings that come from God. In the kind of world in which we live, men and
women can easily come to the conclusion that so many alarms are false alarms
that there is really no need to be concerned. But when God sounds a loud and
commanding alarm, we should listen and exercise concern. When God said to Noah,
“I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth,” Noah
believed God and acted in the light of the serious nature of that alarm. When
God warns a nation or a city, a church or a person, it is a grievous sin to
ignore such warning. In conservative Christianity, we believe that the Christian
message does indeed contain an element of alarm. Not all Christians believe
this. Some have been taught that the Christian gospel is “good news”
exclusively. The only way some people try to explain the full meaning of the
Christian gospel is to quote one verse: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will
be saved” (Acts 16:31). That is it! That is all there is to it, they say. The
positive suggests the negative But I want to mention something here about the
use of language. It is impossible to make certain definite statements without
bringing to mind that which is exactly the opposite. If I should say, for
example, “I was introduced to one of the largest men I have ever met,” I am
making a comparison in my mind. I try to describe the man as large, and I cannot
do that without having also a small man in my mind. If a small man did not
exist, I could not be describing the other man as large. So when the Scriptures
admonish us to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, there comes to our
minds the fact of mankind’s lost condition. Why should I have to believe in
Christ to be saved? Because I am lost. Because I am a sinner. Because I have
believed the devil and all of his works unto near damnation! I am alienated from
God. Even in John 3:16, the most beautiful and rose-colored verse of all, there
is an element of alarm sounding continually for the lost: “For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.” Salvation is there, yes! But the word perish is
plainly there, too. And the alarming lost condition of the human race is there.
This is the basic reality of our faith—the reality of believing and trusting.
The Christian gospel always has been and must continue to be a gospel of alarm.
The Christian gospel cannot always be a gospel of honey and sweetness! It
follows that there is a kind of faith that responds, that believes in the
soundness of a warning that comes from God. The gospel message is a gospel of
hope and good news to those who respond and believe. But the gospel message is
starkly plain to those who do not believe. “Whoever does not believe stands
condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only
Son” (John 3:18). Noah accepted the reality of God’s warning of judgment to
come. He demonstrated his faith by acknowledging that God’s way is best and the
best of all courses of action. But why did Noah “fear”? Now, some voice a
negative reaction to the expression in Hebrews that declares Noah was moved by a
“holy fear” to do all God had commanded. The English language does not always
give us a proper perspective of the word fear. If we are familiar with the Bible
and the many godly men and women who have trusted the Lord, we know that holy
fear is a kind of faith closely associated with high moral wisdom. It can only
be the part of wisdom for a human being to fear irrecoverable spiritual loss. It
is a wise kind of fear that is willing to consider the meaning of permanent and
eternal separation from God, the source of all good. Noah demonstrated a high
quality of human wisdom as well as spiritual concern when he was moved to trust
God and His word. Noah did not argue about his rights. He did not argue about
God’s assessment of man’s nature and man’s violence. He did not argue about
God’s course of action. Noah’s high regard for God’s person was intermingled
with his own reverent faith and holy fear. His knowledge of God was firsthand
and personal. God had revealed Himself, and Noah said, “I will trust, I will
follow, I will believe!” Because Noah’s fear was a holy fear, he was moved to
prepare for the acts of God that were to follow. Noah’s fear moved him. It is
that simple and that significant. Nothing but the will of God was of any
consequence to him. I must note here a modern method of dealing with human fear,
human guilt, human sin. Psychology is somewhere at the center of it. I speak of
the expansion in our day of the old Greek idea that realistic drama could be
utilized as a moral catharsis. The Greek authors said they wrote all of the
harshness and terror, anguish and sorrow into their famed plays so those in the
audience could experience the complete sweep of human emotions. Men and women
were supposed to be able to live through it all by watching the portrayal by
someone else. I have never believed that the Greeks succeeded in bringing their
idea to any desired moral fruition. In our day, however, the concept is still
advocated. It is being carried out to a ridiculous extreme. Many persons who
make up our television and theater audiences, who may have never shed a real
tear for any real person, will actually weep over the emotional trials and
tribulations of the TV and movie actors. A moral catharsis, the Greeks said. Get
yourself so identified with some imaginary character that you can live out all
of your emotions. Then you will experience a kind of purification. You will
experience nothing of the kind! What will happen is that you will become an
artificial zombie! You will get so wrapped up in your feelings for what is
unreal and artificial that you will never have right feelings of concern for
what is real and true. Noah faced reality That may sound like it is far and
remote from Noah’s faith, but there is a connection. Noah was moved—but he was
on no emotional binge. He was not moved by depraved, guilty human fear. He was
moved by the personal knowledge of a revelation from a holy and sovereign God.
When something unusual happens to us, we exclaim, “That is unreal!” Noah had
word from the Lord. He said: “This is real! I know this is real! It is the
better part of wisdom for me to do just what God has commanded!” Many people
around us are moved by their emotions, but they are not moved enough to do
anything that matters. They are not happy until they have had “a good cry.” I
have met some of them. They can cry at the drop of a handkerchief. Then, just as
suddenly, the tears are gone, and they look pleased, saying they feel “so much
better.” I cannot keep up with that kind of temperament or personality. I must
confess it nearly kills me to cry in public. I am not one of the weepy kind. My
tears are very far down in the well. If anything is powerful enough to get them
to the surface, I am undergoing some deep and demanding experience within my
being. But we should be moved and we should be stirred about eternal realities.
Noah was moved—and he moved on to do that which was right and important. I once
heard a very fine speaker, an effective preacher, describe what he had found in
the emotional responses of an audience. He said he had told the story of a
faithful old sheep dog. In the midst of a great storm, the herder knew that
eleven young lambs were missing. Once, twice, three times he sent Old Shep, the
dog, out for the missing lambs. And again and again, until the weary but
faithful dog had returned with ten of the lambs. Once again the master took Old
Shep to the door. “One more, Shep, one more,” he said. “Bring him in!” The dog,
utterly exhausted, went out into the storm again. Much later he returned,
bearing the missing lamb. The old dog slowly placed the weak, wet lamb on the
floor, then slumped to the floor himself. As the shepherd finished caring for
the stray lamb, he turned to Old Shep to express his gratitude. But it was too
late. Shep was dead. The faithful dog had given his all to rescue the lambs. But
reality failed to stir them The preacher who was describing his telling of the
story said his audience was in tears as he finished. To that audience, then, he
made the gospel application, deliberately and intentionally. He told of the
faithfulness of the Son of Man as He was led to Calvary. He described the kind
of love that motivated Jesus to die on Calvary’s cross. “I painted the picture
of Jesus as vividly as I could,” said the preacher in recounting the experience.
“I let the Savior hang there for men and women to see.” And what was the result?
“An obvious look of stony indifference came over those people,” the preacher
concluded. “They had been moved by the story of the faithful dog. They had been
moved to tears. But the Savior’s dying on the cross? They had heard that
before—and they were no longer stirred by it.” Yes, Noah had feelings. Noah was
stirred. But he did not standstill, wondering and debating. He was moved to face
the consequences in the glare of an unbelieving and godless generation. Noah
went out to the hillside and began the long, weary task of building the ark. He
constructed it exactly to the pattern God had given him. He condemned the world
in its unbelief. He became heir to the righteousness that is by faith. What
would Noah say to you if he could come and counsel you today concerning your
faith? I know what he would say—and I think you know, too. “When you hear the
truth,” Noah would say, “whenever you hear God’s truth, God’s Word, you will go
either in the direction you are moved, or you will just wait. If you wait, you
will find that the next time you hear the truth, it will not move you quite as
much. The next time, it will move you less, and the time will come when that
truth will not move you at all!” Then Noah would probably finish his counsel,
saying, “If I had refused the very first time to go out and build the ark, God
might have spoken again. But each time it would have been a little easier to
say, `No, Lord, I don’t think I am going to do it.’ Soon I would be able to
disregard completely the alarm that God was sounding!” Do not disregard the
warning! We have to confess that there is a distressing kind of brazen unbelief
all around us. Because they are completely without fear of God, men and women in
our generation are paying little heed to any of God’s warning signals. As a
youngster I was a farm boy, and I came to recognize that birds and animals had
their own methods of communication particularly when danger or harm were near.
There were always some hungry crows flying around, and they communicated in
their own ways. But only one of their sharp cries was the cry of alarm, the
urgent warning of danger. Some of the crows were brave enough to land in the
field and pick away at the corn. But they had an advance and a rear guard—wily
old crows perched on the stubby branch of a nearby tree, or on a post. Their
instincts warned them of the farmers with their rifles who never gave up in
their contest with the greedy crows. One man on the edge of the field brought
that warning cry from the crow in the tree—and all of the crows took off as one,
escaping to their places of safety. Here is my point. It would have been a very
foolish crow that would have belittled the alarm, that would have lingered for
one more kernel of corn. He might have rejected his bird instinct and declared,
“I am staying! I am not going to be stampeded.” But you know what would happen.
The farmer with the rifle would blow out his poor little bird brain and that
would be the end of him. He had heard the warning—it was up to him to heed it. I
also learned the lesson of the little chicks—an easy prey for the hawks
overhead. Sometimes before we could even see the hawk we could hear its
high-pitched cry—a piercing whistle-like sound. Mother hen also heard it, and
she would use her own special cluck-cluck of warning. Her chicks would scamper
to her side and soon she had them all tucked away safely under her feathers.
Those chicks did not lose any time debating the value of an alarm. They
responded quickly and were safe from the danger overhead. There is such a thing
as faith that believes in the soundness of a warning. There is a faith that is
not ashamed to move in the direction of the ark of safety. Noah is an
everlasting example. May God give us ears to hear and hearts to obey!


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  CHAPTER 5: - FAITH ANSWERS WHEN GOD CALLS
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05 - Faith Answers When God Calls THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN outright, vocal critics
of the Bible. Among them are those who try to generate sympathy for Old
Testament Abraham. These insist that Abraham was comfortable and well adjusted
in Ur of the Chaldees, surrounded by relatives and friends. Probably he had his
own business. He may have been about eligible for Social Security. He had
stature in the community and status with his neighbors. Into that happy,
successful situation, a spoilsport God, with utter disdain for Abraham’s
personal feelings, called him to a nomadic, isolated existence. But the critics
have failed to see the most important element in God’s approach to Abraham. The
living God made an almost incredible offer to the patriarch: “I want to be your
Friend, and I want you to be My friend!” The man or woman who by faith is a
friend of God has lost nothing but sin and guilt. He or she has come into an
eternal kingdom that assures everything that is good, forever and ever! I want
to make here a case for faith. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews gives us
a summary look at Abraham and at the nature of his faith: By faith Abraham, when
called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and
went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home
in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as
did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was
looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is
God. (Hebrews 1:1-10) I have discovered that if I want to learn more about God
and faith and righteousness, it is profitable to think deeply about Abraham. I
have tried to decide which were the most critical moments and the most important
events in his life. The single most critical, most important time in Abraham’s
life was when he heard and answered God’s call. Life’s most important decision
Some people consider the hour of physical birth, when we begin to breathe and
live and function as unique people within the human race, as the most important
moment in life. Others mark their marriage as the most meaningful lifetime
decision. But many, many have testified to the great importance of their
spiritual decision—the act of faith whereby they committed themselves and their
entire futures to God. Undoubtedly (as I said) Abraham’s single, most important
moment was when God unexpectedly and dramatically revealed Himself to him and
called him to be a pilgrim. So it was that, when he was called, Abraham by faith
obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. We have all
wondered at times about the method or methods God may have used to get through
to Abraham. Do you suppose that Abraham had his own quiet times and considered
the possibility ofan unseen domain beyond the world he knew? Although Abraham
did not have the privileges in the grace of God that we have, I am sure he was
not afraid to think for himself—perhaps even about the mysteries of creation and
life. We do not know how much preparation Abraham had to make within his own
soul to be ready for a direct revelation from God. I for one am perfectly
satisfied to leave that theological question to the Calvinists and the
Arminians! In my own contemplation’s, though, I have found great comfort in the
doctrine of prevenient grace. Prevenient grace, simply stated, is the belief
that before a sinful man or woman can seek God, God must first have sought the
man or woman. God has told us in many ways that He is a person. In making
Himself known to us, He uses the familiar pattern of personality. He is able to
communicate with us through the channels of our minds, our wills and our
emotions. If we hold to our belief that men and women were originally created in
the image of God, we also must believe that therere sides within our beings a
capacity to know God. That is why Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about an invisible
but transforming new birth from above! The response must be ours We are humans,
and we confess that we do not know all of God’s ways. We do not know the steps
of searching and seeking that brought about the actual friendship between God
and Abraham. Perhaps we can glimpse a clue in the confession of Augustine: “Thou
madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee!” We
discern that a loving Personality dominates the Bible, walking among the trees
in the Garden of Eden and breathing fragrance over every scene. Always a living
Person is present, speaking, pleading, loving and manifesting Himself whenever
and wherever His people are responsive and receptive. If God had not in His own
way first moved toward Abraham, Abraham would never have moved toward God. I do
believe that! I also believe, however, that if Abraham had been insensitive, he
would never have heard God’s voice calling him. That was indeed the critical
moment in the life of Abraham. Abraham was a man. It is well known that many men
have set their jaws and stubbornly clenched their fists as they confidently
assured themselves, “I am self-sufficient! I will not bow to this business of
religion!” If Abraham had rejected God’s overtures, he would have returned to
making bigger and better idols for men and women intent on choosing their own
brand of deity. And you can mark this down, too: If Abraham had refused the
calling of God, the whole history of the world would have been vastly different,
and different for the worse. The Bible record of God’s calling people is varied,
yet always consistent. Moses was alone with his sheep in the desert when God
send, “I have heard the cry of my people. I want you to go to Pharaoh and say,
`Let my people go.’“ Moses tried to squirm out of that call. But the hand of God
had been laid on him and he could not escape. Jacob also was alone in the
wilderness. He was running away from a bad situation at home. He had a night
vision of heavenly angels ascending and descending, and there God spoke to him.
God called him. And through that call Jacob the cheat became Israel, a prince
with God. We need to get quiet The gospel invitation is offered to one and all,
but many are too preoccupied to hear or heed. They never allow God’s call to
become a reason for decision. Their relationship with God never becomes a
personal encounter. As a result, they live out their entire lives insisting that
they never heard any call from God. The answer to that is plain. God has been
trying to get through to them, but their line is always busy! They are engrossed
in a host of worldly pursuits. In our activistic, achievement-oriented era,
there is a prevailing notion that no person really amounts to anything if he or
she cannot be described as a “go-getter.” The go-getter is the person who never
allows himself or herself to be quiet or still-not even for a minute. He or she
is our ever-ready nominee to get things done. Given time, he or she will turn
the world up side down. But it is surely necessary for us to have times when we
stop what we are doing and think for a season. I try to practice the art of
quietness often, for there is not a person alive who can meditate while involved
in the non-stop, hundred-mile-an-hour pace of the ambitious go-getter. The
Quakers had many fine ideas about life, and there is astray from them that
illustrates the point I am trying to make. It concerns a conversation between
Samuel Taylor Coleridge and a Quaker woman he had met. Maybe Coleridge was
boasting a bit, but he told the woman how he had arranged the use of time so he
would have no wasted hours. He said he memorized Greek while dressing and during
breakfast. He went on with his list of other mental activities—making notes,
reading, writing, formulating thought sand ideas—until bedtime. The Quaker
listened unimpressed. When Coleridge was finished with his explanation, she
asked him a simple, searching question: “My friend, when dost thee think?” God
is having a difficult time getting through to us because we are a fast-paced
generation. We seem to have no time for contemplation. We have no time to answer
God when He calls. When the important matters of the soul are at stake, the most
useful thing we can do is to do nothing, even if only for a short time. There
are times when we can go the fastest by not going a tall. We can go farthest by
standing still for a while. Then, too, we can talk the loudest by not saying a
word. We will not be taking the Lord by surprise; He will speak His message.
Abraham was listening Abraham was listening. He was probably alone some where
when God spoke to him. In our day, we are so socially minded that we cannot
endure being alone. People say they are in misery if they are alone. I knew of a
young man who was hospitalized and forced to lie quietly for a time. He implored
his father, “Dad, bring my record player or something to keep me busy. Otherwise
I just have to lie here and think.” Then he added his own commentary on the
nature of his personal life, “And it is hell to think.” If we do not give God a
listening ear, we will miss His best for our lives. He wants to bring us into
the right place, the best place for His will in us to be accomplished. For
Abraham, Ur of the Chaldees was not the right place. The eternal God had plans
for something far better. In order for Abraham to be known as “the friend of
God” and “the father of the faithful,” he had to go out from the place that held
him. Either he would act in faith, going against the voice of reason, or he
would respond, “I can be satisfied to think that all gods and all religions and
all worship are pretty much alike and all lead to the same conclusion!” Abraham
made his choice, and by faith he demonstrated that there is a difference in
following a God and Creator who lives eternally. The world around us wants to
put us in the same restrictive strait jacket that would have kept Abraham in Ur
of the Chaldees. “We will talk to you about religion” is the seemingly kindly
offer people give us today. But then they add the disclaimer: “Just do not make
religion personal.” “Christianity is all right,” they assure us, “if you are
willing to be tolerant and not try to make something exclusive of your Christian
faith.” Most people seem to have come to terms with an acceptance of religion if
it does not have the cross of Christ within it. But as soon as you begin to
quote the words of Jesus and the Scriptures that declare there is only one
mediator between God and mankind, as soon as you insist that Christ has given us
the only way to God through His death and atonement, you are dead! “That is
bigoted, narrow dogmatism,” they shout. “No more dialogue with you! You have no
place on a panel where we are cooperatively interested in intellectual ferment!”
I lived on the farm long enough to know what happens when things are allowed to
ferment. If that is what the modern intellectuals are trying to achieve, I am
glad I have never had time to take part in their religious panel discussions!
They have predetermined to agree only upon religious tenets that bring no
offense to anyone. But when God calls out men and women, their faith will be an
offense to the world. It was so in Abraham’s day, and it is so in our day. God
calls us out and into But there is in Abraham’s life another profound truth
about the call of God. God does not just call us out, period. He is completely
faithful to call us into something better! I do not consider that Christian
believers are fully on the right track when they proclaim, “We are separated! We
have come out! We are paying the price! We are trying to endure! Pray for us
that we can stick it out to the end!” In his faith, Abraham was against idolatry
and idol-making, but that was not his crusade. Because of his faith, God led him
into a promised land, into possessions and into the lineage that brought forth
the Messiah. The call of God is always to something better. Keep that in mind.
God calls us into the joys and reality of eternal life. He calls us into purity
of life and spirit, so that we may acceptably walk with Him. He calls us into a
life of service and usefulness that brings glory to Himself as our God. He calls
us into the sweetest fellowship possible on this earth—the fellowship of the
family of God! I hope I never hear any Christian bragging even a little bit
about what he or she gave up and how much it cost him or her to answer the call
of God. Anything that we were or any abilities that we possessed were as nothing
compared to what God has called us into as His believing children. Why is it so
difficult in our churches for us to be honest about our lives and our condition
as sinners alienated from God? We did not give up anything when God in His love
and mercy called us unto Himself and into the blessings of grace and forgiveness
and peace. I have been asked more than once what I gave up when I was converted
and became a believing child of God. I was a young man, and I well remember that
I gave up the hot and smelly rubber factory. I was making tires for an hourly
wage, and I gave that up to follow Christ’s call into Christian ministry and
service. As a youth I was scared of life and I was scared of death—and I gave
that up. I was miserable and glum and unfulfilled—and I gave that up. I had
selfish earthly and material ambitions which I could never have achieved—and I
gave them up. That forms the outline of the worthless things that I gave up. And
I soon discovered that in Jesus Christ, God had given me everything that is
worthwhile. God gives us far more If God takes away from us the old, wrinkled,
beat-up dollar bill we have clutched so desperately, it is only because He wants
to exchange it for the whole Federal mint, the entire treasury! He is saying to
us, “I have in store for you all there sources of heaven. Help yourself!” If
Abraham had ever grumbled to the Lord about leaving the beggarly idols of Ur,
God would have let him go back. We are free to do the will of God, but God never
makes us His unwilling prisoners. God called Abraham out, God gave him the
promised land and God said, “Abraham, from among your posterity will come the
Messiah in the fullness of time!” This is the gracious reason why we should tell
people everywhere to hear and heed the call of God—so He can lead them into
everything that is good and blessed and worthwhile. We are called to share these
matters of truth and life with a wider circle than we sometimes care to admit.
On occasion someone has advised me not to accept preaching engagements with
non-fundamentalist groups. A so-called liberal church invited me to speak for
nearly a week at a Bible conference in Minnesota. They wanted to hear Bible
exposition on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When this was announced, I soon
had a letter from a Christian brother warning me against going. “Don’t you know
that they are just using you?” he asked. My reply was that I expected God to use
me, for I intended to glorify Him—Father, Son and Holy Spirit! I intended to
tell that conference of ministers and lay people what God the Holy Spirit can do
in the lives of those who will answer His call. Let me repeat: God wants to call
us out into a more abundant and fruitful Christian life than we have ever known!
The late evangelist “Uncle Bud” Robinson well summarized all I have said.
“Abraham went out not knowing where he was going, “Uncle Bud said, “but he knew
Who he was going with!” Abraham was interested in a dwelling place that would
never decay. He looked forward in faith to a city with eternal foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. It is important to us that our Lord Jesus Christ
confirmed Abraham’s choice when He told the Jews, “Abraham saw my day, and was
glad!” Abraham in faith dedicated himself to eternal things. No writer needs to
spend time making a case for that. The long, glory-studded history of faithful
Abraham is its own justification. In simplest terms, God blesses anyone and
everyone who will believe and trust and obey. And He speaks to everyone of us
with a heavenly call. If we are genuinely and irrevocably committed to our Lord
Jesus Christ, if we are willing to follow Him at any cost, we dare to pray, “Oh
God, make me like Abraham in faith and obedience, with spiritual vision of the
eternity to come!”


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  CHAPTER 6: - FAITH VALUES THE PILGRIM JOURNEY
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06 - Faith Values the Pilgrim Journey YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN. THAT you admit. You
go to church nearly every Sunday. “Just ask the minister; he will confirm it.”
You have been working and earning, getting and spending, and now you are
enjoying the creature comforts known to modern human beings in this land. You
bristle a little and ask, “Is there anything wrong with being comfortable?” Let
me answer in this way: If you are a Christian and you are comfortably “at home”
in Chicago or Toronto, in Iowa or Alberta—or any other address on planet
earth—the signs are evident that you are in spiritual trouble. The spiritual
equation reads like this: The greater your contentment with your daily
circumstances in this world, the greater your defection from the ranks of God’s
pilgrims en route to a city whose architect and builder is God Himself! The
writer of the Letter to the Hebrews centuries ago described the long-range faith
of the many victorious pilgrims who could never really feel at home in this
world: All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not
receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a
distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People
who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If
they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had
opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a
heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has
prepared a city for them.(Hebrews 11:13-16) One of the most telling indictments
against many of us who comprise our Christian churches today is the almost
complete acceptance of the contemporary scene as our permanent home. We say that
we are followers of Christ, but we have already settled down and we are
comfortably at home. We are satisfied to be natives and citizens of this world’s
society—we are no longer” aliens and strangers.” If we can feel that we have put
down our roots in this present world, if we have a true sense of belonging, then
our Lord still has much to teach us about faith and attachment to our Savior.
Our citizenship is in heaven The apostle Paul emphasized an important New
Testament teaching concerning our true citizenship as believing Christians when
he declared: Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from
there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring
everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will
be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21) Those are not just comforting
words to be recited at the graveside. They are words of truth and hope for
aliens and strangers, walking by faith on this earth, who know that their true
citizenship is in heaven. We are speaking of genuine, abiding faith in God. And
I want to note with you an interesting observation. In Hebrews 11 there are
three prepositions used with the word faith. Each has something to do with our
Christian pilgrimage. How did God’s heroes live? How did they meet temptations
and sufferings? How did they die? Everything was “by faith,” “through faith” or
“in faith.” Throughout the ages, this has been the pattern of God’s methodology
for His faithful men and women. We do certain things by faith. We accomplish
certain things through faith. Some things we do in faith, trusting and believing
even in dark times. I emphasize these prepositions here as a contrast to the
philosophies of the worldlings around us—those who tell us that they live and
operate “on faith.” All adult my life I have been a minister in The Christian
and Missionary Alliance. When I started out, many of the Alliance pastors did
not receive a regular weekly salary. Rather, they lived “by faith.” Members of
their congregations would contribute a part of their weekly tithes and offerings
direct to their minister’s support. Whatever they gave, that the pastor had as
his income. And so these ministers lived “by faith” without a fixed
remuneration. Living by faith versus living on faith Often members of the group
would comment that their pastor was “living on faith.” Some of the pastors were
sure their people knew only the one preposition—living “on” faith. It was
reported by one of the early evangelists that an Alliance woman was critical of
her pastor for buying a piece of beefsteak “when everyone knows that he is
living on faith.” Apparently they thought that because the pastor was willing to
live by faith he could exist on faith. A thousand times no! None of us should be
living on faith, for if we rest on faith we have a complete misunderstanding of
what faith is. The purpose of faith is to get us to rest completely on God—on
God Himself! It is only by faith that we can rest on God. It is through faith
that we can trust the promises of God. It is in faith that we can daily live our
lives in dependence upon God, His Word and His promises. These are the Christian
contrasts to the worldly philosophy of human activity and presumption on faith.
“Just go ahead bravely on faith. Never say die!”—that is the self-courageous
attitude of this world. “Never say die!” But then they die. “You can if you
will—it is all up to you,” is the world’s refrain. “He who thinks he can, can!”
Since I have been a Christian, I have had a negative reaction to that kind of
human psychology. I do not mind saying that my favorite hymns are not those that
exhort me to rise up, bare my chest to the elements, flex my biceps and tell the
world where to get off. That is not my philosophy because it would put my
confidence in the wrong place. If my faith, my belief, my confidence are in
myself, then they cannot at the same time be resting in God. The Bible tells us
to believe in God and to put our trust in Him. It warns us against having any
confidence in the flesh. So I do not want some voice exhorting me to “Rise up, O
man of God, go forth to face the foe”—and all of that. I would rather go to the
place of prayer, meet God there and then let Him face the world for me. To meet
the kinds of temptations and enemies confronting us, it is not enough for us to
stick out our chins, inflate our chests and mutter the old refrain, “Never say
die!” We do not operate on faith; rather, we rest our case completely on God.
Then our experiences proceed by faith, through faith and in faith. That is the
way victory comes, because our victory must be God’s victory first! Two kinds of
faith I see two kinds of faith in these verses from Hebrews 11. The more
important, by far, is the long-range, unchanging faith in God’s person and in
God’s plan no matter how long His plan takes. I call this long-range faith. It
is the quality of being able to trust God far into the future. The other kind of
faith is short-range. It is the faith of the beginner, the eager new believer
who wants everything to happen now! These new creations in Christ Jesus have
confessed their faith in Him Christ and have sensed the joy of being forgiven
for their sins. They are likely to be taken up with today’s blessings, today’s
provision, today’s expectations. As yet, they know little of persecution,
temptations, the wiles of the devil, the loneliness of the minority. So far,
their faith in God is short-range, immediate. They have not yet heard of all
those heroes of faith who believed, persevered, suffered, clung to all of God’s
promises and died in faith not having seen the fulfillment of God’s great plan.
Generally in our Christian circles when we talk about the promises of God, we
refer to God’s immediate provision and to blessings for our present needs. But
in effect, Christ has said to us, “I have a long-range plan for you! I am asking
you to forsake all for Me, transfer every allegiance to Me, trust completely in
Me. Then in the day of My triumph and vindication, you will triumph with Me.
When I come into My ultimate glory, you will share in that glory!” Pilgrims and
strangers Let me tell you something that is very evident in God’s dealings with
us. Anyone who truly knows the demands of faith, anyone who is genuinely
committed to the Christian life is both a pilgrim and a stranger in this world.
(I like that term pilgrim, used in some translations, better than alien, so I
will use it.) The words pilgrim and stranger are synonymous, yet they are not
identical. A pilgrim is generally a religious traveler who is determined to
visit some holy place. History tells us about people making pilgrimages. Many
individuals and many groups endured hardships and sufferings in order to reach
the places on earth that they considered sacred. Pilgrims are never pictured as
seeking some commercial gain. They are intent upon a higher motive, and they
keep traveling and seeking because they have not yet found that place they can
call home. Simply, pilgrims who are still pilgrims have not arrived at that
place to which they are going. They are still moving toward their objective.
What, then, is a stranger? A stranger is one who has found a place of residence
but who cannot truly consider himself or herself a part of the new culture. He
or she may be of another race and speak a different language. The culture that
surrounds him or her is completely different from that which he or she has
known. If we are genuine, committed Christians, intent upon walking by faith
with our Lord Jesus Christ, then we are continually confessing that we are
pilgrims and that we are strangers! The Holy Spirit, who is the real author of
this Letter to the Hebrews, uses the terms pilgrims and strangers to remind the
early Christians that they were not yet at their final home. The message still
reads the same today. Christian pilgrims are journeying by faith from an old
city that is cursed and under threat of judgment to a blessed and celestial city
where dwells Immanuel! As Christian pilgrims and strangers, we are never borne
along by force or compulsion. We remain free moral agents. We have not been
squeezed or coerced into a profession of faith. Christ has chosen us, and we
have followed Him gladly and freely. Why do I speak of that here? Because the
writer to the Hebrews has told us that the heroes of faith, the pilgrims and
strangers of old, could have turned back to their native city and home. Abraham
could have gone back. If he had found that he was longing for Ur of the Chaldees
and that his pilgrimage with God was no longer his soul’s desire, he could have
turned around and said, “I am going back!” Not everyone follows through In the
New Testament, that man described as a rich young ruler in the national and
religious life of Israel came to Jesus to inquire about faith and choice. Jesus
said to him, “Leave all; become a pilgrim and follow Me!” That young man was
free to choose, free to believe, free to follow the Son of Man. But he turned
back. He walked away. There is nothing in the New Testament record to indicate
that Jesus ever came in contact with him again. Demas was a Christian brother in
the company of the apostle Paul. With Luke, he was actually linked as a loyal
prison companion of Paul in Rome. Yet when Paul wrote his final letter from
prison, he regretfully reported to Timothy, “Demas, because he loved this world,
has deserted me.” That is the last we hear of Demas in the New Testament record.
In this life, we will never have a complete record of pilgrims who became weary
and discouraged and decided to turn back. I am not seeking to raise any
theological controversy here. I think there are those who may be described as
“borderline Christians.” We might well ask them, “Will you also go back? Do you
think your treasure is still lying back there in some of your old practices and
pleasures?” The truth is that none of us can ever really go back to yesterday.
It has crumbled and is gone! Some, perhaps like Demas, are tempted to turn back
for money or business or gain. But what good is money when the doctor announces,
“Your cancer is far advanced. You have only a short time to live”? Others are
tempted to turn back by their memories of pleasures and “good times” with
worldly and sinful friends. I remember a young man who was with us for a while
in our fellowship in Chicago. He was frank about it—he told me that he was not
really happy with us. He said he was looking for a church where dancing was
offered as a social attraction. Our Lord Jesus Christ asks us to believe, to
trust, to follow. My only judgment of those who turn back, those who no longer
are pilgrims in the way, is the sad knowledge that they will find that the enemy
of their souls has sold them out, deceived them, embittered them. Certainly Saul
of Tarsus became a pilgrim when he met the Lord on the road to Damascus. Saul
the persecutor became Paul the apostle. Later he wrote with confidence
concerning the exact location of his life’s lasting treasure: Of this gospel I
was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering
as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am
convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. (2
Timothy 1:11-12) Paul, the pilgrim, knew that the Lord had his treasure—and that
He would hold it for him. If Paul had gone back, what treasure would he claim
throughout eternity? We who are involved in the upward gaze of this long-range
faith identify ourselves with Jesus Christ forever! We are satisfied that God is
at work. We are satisfied to be misunderstood for Christ’s sake. We are willing
to be treated as the minority, for the people of God are always in the minority
in this earthly context. Our true identity is with Jesus Christ, our Savior and
Lord. We have taken His cause as our cause. We have taken His way as our way. We
have taken His place as our place. We have taken His future as our future. We
have taken His life as our life. We have taken the long look of faith to the day
of His triumph, and we know it will be our triumph as well. Let me remind you
again of the nature of our earthly pilgrimage in the example set by the saintly
Samuel Rutherford. His faith shone brightly in one of Scotland’s crisis times.
Rutherford had refused to bow to the demands and strictures of the powerful
leaders of the time. He was exiled by the state church, driven from his
pastorate and the flock of God. His religious and political enemies finally
dispatched a summons, setting the date for him to appear before their tribunal
and face the charges of opposing and ignoring the state church. Already advanced
in years and knowing the illness that was about to claim his mortal life,
Rutherford answered the summons with one of the most victorious letters ever
written: I have received your summons. However, I have received a higher
summons, which will be honored before yours. When the day set for me to appear
before you comes, I will already be in yonder land where few kings and great men
ever come. Men and women committed to long-range faith can die with blessing and
satisfaction even if they have not received the fulfillment of the promises.
They have confessed themselves to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Their
waiting is blessed because it is a waiting on God. The Bible tells us that one
of these days Jesus Christ, our Prince-Leader and Elder Brother, will return to
reign on earth. He whose name is the Word of God will appear. The nations of
this world will be called into account. The righteous Judge will separate the
sheep from the goats. By faith we have the assurance of God’s favor and welcome
in that wonderful hour when Jesus returns. It will be a glad day for the
pilgrims—the pilgrims of eternity—their eyes fixed on heaven above. That is the
long-range kind of faith. Let us humbly, confidently ask God for it!


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  CHAPTER 7: - FAITH IS FINDING GOD FOR OURSELVES
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07 - Faith Is Finding God for Ourselves GOD IS NOT LOOKING for carbon copies of
Abraham to believe Him and obey Him in this twentieth century. He is not looking
for carbon copies of Enoch, or Noah, or Moses, or David. God is looking for
persons exactly like you and me. The old heroes of faith named in the eleventh
chapter of Hebrews have long ago gone to their reward, as the writer has
reminded us: And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets. … They were stoned;
they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in
sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not
worthy of them. … These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them
received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that
only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:32, Hebrews
11:37-40) It is plain to see from this text that God had us in His heart and in
His thoughts. Even as the Old Testament saints were passing on to be forever
with the God they loved, God had us in mind, too. Those heroes of the faith
died, but God did not die with them. The eternal character of God has never
changed and it never will. God continues to be God. He continues to be in
control throughout His universe. He assures us He is the God of the living. He
is still yearning, loving, calling men and women everywhere. He is still gladly
responding to the prayers of His believing people. Best of all, He is still
seeking and wooing those of our day who are ready and willing to become His new
heroes in the faith! God has a design for each of us I wonder if we are
consistently holding to this assurance of God’s presence and God’s blessing in
our Christian churches today. God does want to speak to all of us who will
listen! I repeat: God is not looking for an exact replica of Abraham or Noah or
David. He wants to bless, equip and use our individuality—every one of us who by
faith make up His believing people in our own generation. You cannot study the
Book of Hebrews long without discovering that faith in God is neither an
ordinary nor an imaginary quality. Godly faith is dynamic and powerful! The
accomplishments of faith are rightfully attributed only to God, of course. But
it is satisfying to know that the people He blesses and uses may be as different
in personality as night is from day. This is an important lesson for us to
learn. God does not intend that we who believe and trust Him shall all be
alike—all poured into the same mold. No! It is actually one of the snares of
Christian experience to think that we must copy one another. Each one of us is
different God knew very well what He was doing when He created us to differ in
personality, temperament and disposition. It has been well demonstrated that
variety is the very hallmark of God’s creation throughout the universe. As
humans, we do not understand how it can be, but biologists tells us they can
examine thousands upon thousands of leaves in the forest and never find two
exactly alike! In the Chicago church where I ministered for many years, we had
identical twins—Irene and Ilene. We watched them grow and develop. Although they
were called identical, they exhibited traits and expressions that were
different. For that reason, most of us could tell them apart and call them by
their right names. We have come to realize and accept the fact that there are no
two people exactly, identically alike in our world. And the point I am making is
that God, the all-knowing divine artist, has formed each one of us out of His
inexhaustible variety. He works in His wisdom and love to bless and honor the
many differences—as well as the similarities—in men and women. God accepts us no
matter where we fall within the range of varying human personalities. He desires
to manifest Himself to us and through us, no matter how different we may be. May
I give you an illustration? When the time comes around for the annual decorating
of your Christmas tree, you get out the string or strings of lights that have
been carefully packed since the year before. You wrap those lights as
artistically as possible around your tree. You make sure you have a good mixture
of red, green, yellow, blue and maybe white lights. It is not likely you ever
stop to worry whether you need more than one kind of electricity to light the
bulbs of different colors. The same power, the same amount of power flows
through each. Only the glass or the coating on the glass differs. The power
flowing through the filaments creates the light. The same source of illumination
God makes all of us different from one another, but by His Spirit He will bring
divine illumination and power to our beings. That is something we understand.
That is why we are glad we are not all alike. We can read and talk about Wesley
and Moody and A. B. Simpson and Billy Sunday, about Holy Anne and Sophie the
scrubwoman. It is God’s planned variety and not similarity that makes beauty and
interest in our world. We should thank God for giving us our own individual
personalities and temperaments and abilities. We should never waste time and
energy trying to fashion ourselves after someone else, no matter how much we
admire that person. God does not expect us to become identical copies of our
spiritual heroes. Actually, I have learned something very important about our
efforts to become someone else. If I am tempted to copy someone whom I admire as
a Christian believer, I will probably succeed only in copying his or her
eccentricities and not that person’s spirituality at all. It is futile to try to
assume another person’s good characteristics. In only these respects should we
all try to be alike: We should love God more than anything or anyone else, we
should hate sin and iniquity even as Jesus hated them, and we should be willing
always to obey God through the leading of His Word and His Spirit. Apart from
that, it is perfectly natural for us to be ourselves, that is, different from
each other. God is the same today I see another lesson in this Hebrews text. God
has never in the past done anything good in response to faith that He is
unwilling to do again. Let me turn that around and say it this way: Everything
good that God has done in the past in response to faith, He is willing to do
again. We need only believe and obey. How subtle is unbelief! You read the
biography of one of God’s great saints and suddenly you are overcome with
discouragement. You find you are comparing yourself very unfavorably with the
one you have been reading about. Let me pass on some advice. Do not stop reading
about God’s great men and women. But keep in mind that faith and obedience, not
their abilities or temperaments or dispositions, are what matter. God knows how
best to use us for His glory and as His witnesses. Faith came like a dove to the
heart of Abraham—but not only to Abraham. Faith came to the rascal Jacob as
well. Faith came to Moses, it is true. But faith came also to Samson. Faith came
to Sarah. Faith came as well to Rahab. I think of a simple little song we used
to sing: Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream, All
the fitness here required Is to feel your need of Him. I feel good about that
advice! I am not to compare myself with Abraham or Luther or Billy Graham and
wonder how I can qualify as a good and useful Christian. If I truly feel my need
of God, I can approach Him and expect Him to work through my uniqueness. Be
careful! This problem of personal identity not infrequently troubles the
faithful minister. The congregation has called him as their pastor and teacher,
but the members have a hard time forgetting the saintly predecessor who died or
who was called to another ministry. They find it hard to make room for the new
minister—mainly because he is not enough like the former one. His voice is
different. So are his gestures. His hair is not gray. His wife is not as
friendly. Be careful! God blesses people for their faith and obedience, not
because they are old or young, bald or gray, pleasant voiced or raspy. God
expects each one of us to let Him use us in helping people to a walk of
spiritual blessing and victory. Not necessarily must we have had a long record
as heroes in the faith to qualify. A personal testimony I do not look upon
myself as especially notable. But I am invariably blessed when I discover God
has used me to help someone else in the Christian faith. I was addressing a
group of Lutherans on the life of fullness in the Holy Spirit. During a brief
time of testimony after one of my messages, a young man who said he was a pastor
told the group he carried in his Bible a copy of a small piece I once wrote:
“The Prayer of a Minor Prophet.” I remember writing that piece. I wrote it from
my heart, letting it express my own feelings about the responsibilities of a man
genuinely called into the ministry of God’s holy Word. In his words to the
group, the young man said, “When I get discouraged, when there is trouble facing
me, I open my Bible and read once more that prayer of one of God’s prophets.” He
then expressed gratitude that in God’s timing his path and mine had crossed. Do
you suppose that young man, as he read my “prayer,” thought of A. W. Tozer as
some kind of a hero of the faith? That would have been a very inflated idea—far
beyond the assessment held by Mrs. A. W. Tozer, for instance! Most of us are
inclined to quote other people, particularly those we consider to be good
examples. Probably it is a good thing that we do not know them as well as their
families do! Otherwise we would have to be more cautious about our quoting them
and holding them up for veneration. We can be today’s people of faith My
emphasis is this: Just as those who lived in the past had the privilege of being
God’s people of faith then, so do we in our own day. It is good to come to the
understanding that while God wants us to be holy and Spirit-filled, He does not
expect us to look like Abraham or to play the harp like David or to have the
same spiritual insight given to Paul. All of those former heroes of the faith
are dead. You are alive in your generation. A Bible proverb says that it is
better to be a living dog than a dead lion. You may wish to be Abraham or Isaac
or Jacob, but remember that they have been asleep for long centuries, and you
are still around! You can witness for your Lord today. You can still pray. You
can still give of your substance to help those in need. You can still encourage
the depressed. I hope you have not missed something good from God’s hand because
you felt you did not measure up to Gideon or Isaiah. In this your generation,
give God all of your attention! Give Him all of your love! Give Him all of your
devotion and faithful service! You do not know what holy, happy secret God may
want to whisper to your responsive heart. Three simple things Do you respond to
this great possibility by asking, “How can I know?” I answer with an emphasis
upon three simple things reinforced in the Word of God for those who will
discern God’s highest will. First, be willing to put away known sin. Next,
separate yourself from all of the attractions of the world, the flesh and the
devil. Finally, offer yourself to your God and Savior in believing faith. God
has never yet turned away an honest, sincere person who has come to know the
eternal value of the atonement and the peace that is promised through the death
and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The only person who is incurably sick
is the one who thinks he or she is well. The only person who will never be
cleansed and made whole is the one who insists he or she needs no remedy. The
person who comes in faith to God and confesses, “I am unclean, I am sin-sick, I
am blind,” will find mercy and forgiveness and life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The doubters are still asking, “How can that be?” It can be because our Lord
Jesus Christ is the Savior, the Cleanser. He is the Purifier, He is the Healer.
He is the Sight-giver and the Life-giver. He alone is the Way, the Truth and the
Life! God expects us to live in faith and victory so that we may leave our
Christian testimony to a new generation that undoubtedly will need it
desperately. “These all died in faith,” the writer to the Hebrews says. When it
is our time, will we be able to meet our God knowing that we pleased Him?
“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” A bright future God is the
Faithful One. We are to love Him and serve Him because He is God—not because of
the gracious things He does for us or for the rewards He promises us. Our
motives should be both right and genuine. But God does not expect us to forget
or ignore the gracious future promises He has made to us. It is a glorious truth
that if we believe God and honor His Word, if we walk by faith in love and
obedience, there will be eternal rewards for each of us in that great coming
day. The rewards will differ. Wisdom and knowledge and love reside in Him who is
our God. He will make the right judgments for His people. But I for one will not
be surprised if some of God’s faithful people serving Him today should rise as
high and shine as brightly as the heroes of faith listed in the Book of Hebrews.
I say that in all truthfulness because I do not think all of the heroes of faith
are dead and gone. If we will take God at His Word, if we will believe Him and
trust Him wholly in this ungodly and unfriendly world, if we will walk with Him
as those men and women of faith walked in the long-ago past, God Himself will
list us among His heroes of faith when the final records are opened.


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  CHAPTER 8: - FAITH HAS EYES ONLY FOR JESUS
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08 - Faith Has Eyes Only for Jesus IS SATAN GIVING YOU A HARD TIME in your life
of faith—in the Christian race you are running? Expect it if you are a believing
child of God! Satan hates your God. He hates Jesus Christ. He hates your faith.
You should be aware of the devil’s evil intentions. He wants you to lose the
victor’s crown in the race you have entered by faith through grace. The writer
of the Letter to the Hebrews gives us good New Testament counsel: Let us run
with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the
author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the
cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:1-2) The Holy Spirit, in giving us in the Bible a wide variety of
encouragement, uses many figures to portray the believing people of God. He lets
us think of ourselves as farmers, plowing and planting and reaping. He lets us
think of ourselves as carpenters, planning and constructing. Again, He lets us
think of ourselves as soldiers, bearing the strong armor of God and going forth
to stand against the enemy. But here, the Holy Spirit describes Christian
believers as runners on the track, participants in the race of life. He provides
both strong warning and loving encouragement: there is always the danger of
losing the race, but there is the victor’s reward awaiting those who run with
patience and endurance. There are important things each of us should know and
understand about our struggles as the faithful people of God. First, it is a
fact that the Christian race is a contest. But the race is in no sense a
competition between believers or between churches! As we live the life of faith,
we Christians are never to be in competition with other Christians. The Bible
makes this very plain. Christian churches are never told to carry on their
proclamation of the Savior in a spirit of competition with other churches. Our
contest is with Satan All of us Christians have a common enemy, that old devil,
Satan. As we stand together, pray together, worship together, we repudiate him
and his deceptions. He is our common foe, and he uses a variety of manipulations
to hinder us in our spiritual lives. When by faith we have entered this lifelong
spiritual course, the Holy Spirit whispers, “Do you truly want to be among the
victors in this discipline?” When we breathe our “Yes! Yes!” He whispers of ways
that will aid us and carry us to certain victory. The Spirit tells us to throw
off everything that would hinder us in the race. He tells us to be aware of the
little sins and errors that could divert us from the will of God as we run. But
here is the important thing: He tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus, because He
alone is our pace setter and victorious example. In a very real sense, faith is
fixing our eyes on Jesus, keeping Jesus in full view regardless of what others
may be doing all around us. This is excellent counsel, because as human beings
we know we are not sufficient in ourselves. It is in our nature to look out—to
look beyond ourselves for help. This world is big and deadly, and we are too
weak and not wise enough to deal with it! It is also a human trait to look
beyond ourselves for assurance. We hope to find someone worthy of trust. We want
someone who has made good, someone who has done what we would like to do. The
Hebrews writer points us to the perfect One, our eternal High Priest, seated now
at the right hand of God. He is Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith.
He has endured the cross and is now the eternal Victor and our Advocate in
heaven. Differences of opinion One of my not-too-secret enjoyments is having a
little fun with the human translators of the Scriptures. These have been good
men, I know. But as scholars and language experts, they sometimes seem confused.
In the King James Version of this text, for example, Jesus is called the Author
and the Finisher of our faith. Other translators have called Him the Pioneer.
One translator simply says “the Starter and the Finisher of our faith.” Scholars
in another version call Jesus” t he Leader and perfect Model of our faith.”
Still another translator suggests, “Jesus, the princely Leader and another
describes Jesus as “the Forerunner and Finisher of our faith.” Fortunately, we
can put all of these suggestions together and come up with a clear, simple,
forceful portrayal of Jesus. He is Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Author and the
Pioneer of our faith. He is the One upon whom the Christian faith rests. He is
the One who blazed the trail. He is the One who is leading us through life to a
successful consummation. In these studies from Hebrews, we have referred often
to faith. The faith we are considering is not that which you might regard as
your own personal faith. Jesus is more than the Author of just your faith. He is
the Author, the Pioneer, the Leader, the Perfecter of the faith subscribed to by
our fathers through out the long centuries. The faith of our fathers rests on
the biblical teachings and truths concerning God and the person of Jesus Christ.
It is truth that God made the heavens and the earth, that God subsists in three
persons, that God spoke to men through the prophets. It is truth that God sent
His one and only Son into the world in order that whoever believes in Him should
not perish. It is truth that to effect our salvation, Christ had to die and to
rise again. It is truth that He is now at the right hand of the Father, that He
is interceding for His believing people, that He is coming back to take His
people to be with Him forever. It is truth that God has promised a new heaven
and a new earth, that death will finally be put down, that the enemy of our
souls will be destroyed. This, in brief outline, is the faith of our fathers.
Christ Jesus is the Author and Finisher of that faith, regardless of our
personal attitudes or whether or not we demonstrate perfect confidence. But
Jesus helps us with that, too! It has been my experience that if we are fully
acquainted with and deeply moved by the truths on which our faith rests, our
personal faith will spring up joyously in confidence and delight. We have the
perfect Model Twenty centuries ago the Hebrew Christians were told to fix their
eyes on Jesus, who for the joy set before Him had endured the cross and scorned
the shame. The physical pain and suffering Jesus endured are well known. He was
beaten and scourged until His back was raw. Thorns from the mock crown pressed
into His brow. Nails were driven into His hands and feet. But we should remember
also the mental pain—the cruel psychological pain of shame and rejection. Jesus
endured it all; He suffered it out. He scorned the shame by looking down on it
as something not worthy to be mentioned when set over against the glory that was
to be revealed. Jesus’ death in our stead and His resurrection from the grave
are fundamental Christian doctrines on which all evangelicals agree. I can
preach these truths in any Bible conference anywhere and be assured that I will
be invited back. But what could happen at a Bible conference would be for some
fellow to whisper to another, “Tozer seems to be getting over on the legalistic
side!” This could easily happen when I insist that our Lord Jesus Christ not
only endured the cross and despised the shame, but He invites us to do the same
thing! After Jesus had rebuked Peter for saying that suffering and death could
never come to the Son of Man, Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come
after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever
wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find
it.” (Matthew 16:24-25) When Jesus told His disciples that the hour had come for
the Son of Man to be glorified, He added: I tell you the truth, unless a kernel
of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it
dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the
man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever
serves me must follow me. (John 12:24-26 a) Paul, after saying that some
believers had been circumcised to avoid the persecution of Christ’s cross,
continued: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians
6:14) To those same readers he also said: I have been crucified with Christ and
I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.(Galatians 2:20)
How can there be any question but that our Lord Jesus Christ identified us with
Himself? Instead of putting the cross son that hill outside Jerusalem, Jesus
puts the cross in our lives, where it belongs! We died with Christ Evil-minded
men hung Jesus on a wooden cross, just as Jesus had told His disciples they
would. The salvation of a lost world was at stake. When He died, His body was
taken down and laid in a tomb. When He arose from the dead and ascended to the
right hand of God the Father, that wooden cross had no further meaning in the
mind of God. None at all! Some Christian churches are very enamored with
splinters they say came from the wooden cross on which Jesus died. Apart from
such dubious claims, that old wooden cross is no longer in existence. I hope we
realize that when we sing “The Old Rugged Cross.” But there remains a very real
cross. It is the cross you take and the cross I take as we follow our Lord Jesus
who willingly took His cross. That is why I say that our Lord identifies us with
Himself. I find a deep, compelling message in the words of an old hymn no longer
sung. And I am concerned for the spiritual desire now seemingly lost with the
hymn: Oh, for that flame of living fire Which shone so bright in saints of old,
Which bade their souls to heaven aspire, Calm in distress, in danger bold. Where
is that Spirit, Lord, which dwelt In Abram’s breast and sealed him Thine, Which
made Paul’s heart with sorrow melt And glow with energy divine? That Spirit
which from age to age Proclaimed Thy love and taught Thy ways, Brightened
Isaiah’s vivid page And breathed in David’s hallowed lays. We have to ask, too,
“Where is that Spirit, Lord?” Why must we cry in pathetic and plaintive manner,
“Where is Thy Spirit, Lord?” I think it is because we differ from the saints of
old in our relation to the cross—our attitude toward the cross. Half right, all
wrong In our modern gospel churches, Christians have decided where to put the
cross. They have made the cross objective instead of subjective. They have made
the cross external instead of internal. They have made it institutional instead
of experiential. Now, the terrible thing is that they are so wrong because they
are half right. They are right in making the cross objective. It was something
that once stood on a hill with a man dying on it, the just for the unjust. They
are right that it was an external cross—for on that cross God performed a
judicial act that will last while the ages burn themselves out. So, they are
half right. But here is where they are wrong: They fail to see that there is a
very real cross for you and me. There is a cross for every one of us—a cross
that is subjective, internal, experiential. Our cross is an experience within.
It is a cross we voluntarily take, and it is hard, bitter, distasteful. But we
take our cross for Christ’s sake, and we are willing to suffer the consequences
and despise the shame. This is where people accuse Tozer of legalism, because I
charge much of evangelicalism with this modern attitude: “Let the cross kill
Jesus! Let Jesus do all the dying! We will live on in our faith and be happy and
have fun—and we will all get to heaven in the end!” But if we are serious about
the Christian faith and the demands of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will
acknowledge that the cross on the hill must become the cross in our hearts. When
that cross on the hill has been transformed by the miraculous grace of the Holy
Spirit into the cross in the heart, then we begin to know something of its true
meaning and it will become to us the cross of power. The world is already dead
Let me remind you of something. In Paul’s word to the Galatians already referred
to, Paul considers the world to be already dead. He does not plead for it. He
does not try to salvage anything out of it. Why was Paul willing to let the
world go? I am sure I know the answer. Paul’s love and interest and concern were
for people. That is where ours should be, also. When John wrote that God so
loved the world, he did not mean that God loved Hollywood or the ball park or
the music hall. God did not send Jesus to give us a legitimate interest in the
world’s organized society. He did not send Jesus so that we could participate in
the world’s variety of fun and games. God’s love and concern are for people. He
loves human beings made in His image, though now fallen and lost. When I say
that Paul followed Christ in reckoning the world dead, I only remind you that he
was turning his back on this organized and selfish world. He was not turning his
back on people and their needs and their sins. Paul cared and was concerned for
every individual for whom Christ died. I should say something else here about
this world and its selfish and often godless society. Why is there so much
attraction to the magazines, the radio, the television, the sports, the
concerts, the fun? We may be reluctant to admit it, but we have an enemy, and he
has many helpers. All of these things that surely add up to fun and
entertainment have an overall design of keeping people from taking God
seriously. There is some great master plan that is surely succeeding in keeping
men and women relatively happy in this world without ever a serious thought of
God and salvation and eternal life! Millions of men and women seem to be very
content with the arrangement as it is. They do not want to be reminded at all
that they are going to die and that after death comes the judgment of a holy and
righteous God. They would rather remain gullible and deceived than to learn the
truth about this world and the next. God spare us from gullibility When I was a
boy on the farm, we “butchered” every year in the early fall. It was my job to
coax the fattened hogs into the barn. I would throw them some corn, and they
were pleased as they came grunting in with that corn still grinding in their
mouths. But in minutes they were dead. My father would then bleed them and dress
them out. That is how we got our supply of pork for the winter. The gullible
pigs have never learned. Wherever they are, they are still being led to the
slaughter generation after generation. All it takes is a supply of shelled corn!
You may not like the illustration, but there are plenty of gullible people who
have never recognized why they are being kept so busy and so well entertained
with the things that are amusing and fun. Paul said that he had caught on—and he
reckoned himself dead to this world and this world dead to him. I wonder how
many of the saintly men and women who have lived for Christ throughout the
centuries were accused of narrowness and legalism and of being spoilers. I think
they knew and accepted the offense of the cross for what it is. I think they
allowed the cross to kill their self-love, their self-confidence, their
self-will, their self-pity, their self-righteousness. I think they were faithful
in keeping Jesus Christ in full view, looking away from themselves and following
Him all the way—even unto death. They took the promises of God at face value.
Their eyes were on the Lord and the city whose builder and maker is God. They
looked beyond the passing attractions of this world to see the lovely face of
Jesus Christ shining in wonderful glory.


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  CHAPTER 9: - FAITH AND DISCIPLINE READY US FOR HEAVEN
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09 - Faith and Discipline Ready Us for Heaven I HAVE FOUND THERE IS an entirely
new way to shock complacent Christians in our churches today. These twentieth
century Christians go into shock when I say that it is an error to assume that
being saved is to be automatically ready for heaven. Very few people in our
churches are willing to consider what the Bible actually teaches about
discipline and chastening in preparing us for our heavenly home. The writer of
the Letter to the Hebrews gave definite instruction to those who were children
of God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ: Endure hardship as discipline;
God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If
you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are
illegitimate children and not true sons. … God disciplines us for our good, that
we may share in his holiness. .. . Make every effort to live in peace with all
men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:8-14)
Now, I know I will have to explain what I mean about our daily Christian lives
being in preparation for an eternity in the heavenly realms. First, let us see
if we are in agreement about the most important proclamation we can make
concerning faith. There is no doubt about it. First in importance concerning
faith is the good news—the truth that every man and woman in our lost world may
have God’s gifts of forgiveness and eternal life through believing faith in
Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is not possible to overstate the importance
of this basic truth in the Christian gospel. It has been proclaimed often. Paul
gave this stark, simple instruction concerning salvation to the jailer at
Philippi: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your
household” (Acts 16:31). As Christian believers (I am assuming you are a
believer), you and I know how we have been changed and regenerated and assured
of eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning death. On the other
hand, where this good news of salvation by faith is not known, religion becomes
an actual bondage. If Christianity is known only as a religious institution, it
may well become merely a legalistic system of religion, and the hope of eternal
life becomes a delusion. God’s objective is our holiness I have said this much
about the reality and assurance of our salvation through Jesus Christ to counter
the shock you may feel when I add that God wants to fully prepare you in your
daily Christian life so that you will be ready indeed for heaven. Perhaps it is
a good thing for you if you are shocked. It is my observation that many
Christians are so cosmopolitan, so worldly-wise, so self-assured that they are
past being shocked by anything! Probably your first question as you come out of
shock will be, “Have you forgotten the dying thief? Did not our Lord tell him
his faith had made him ready for paradise?” Let me share something with you. No
one could love the Christian gospel and witness it to others without an
understanding that the God of all grace has surely made a necessary provision
for those who may trust Jesus in the final hours of life. We admit our
humanness. We do not have God’s wisdom and discernment. Only God is all-knowing
and all-powerful. He is full of grace and truth. We can trust Him to be faithful
and right in all of His dealings with us. Remember that most believers have been
found of the Lord and received His love and grace at an earlier time in their
lives. Many testify to faith extending back to their childhood. Thus, they have
been in God’s household for a long time, and He has been trying to do something
special within their beings day after day, year after year. His purpose has been
to bring many sons—and daughters, too—to glory (Hebrews 1:10). Now, if we are
truly sons and daughters by faith, we will respond to the wise discipline and
the necessary rebukes aimed at bringing us to the full measure of spiritual
stature. God’s motives are loving. Our heavenly Father disciplines us for our
own good, “that we may share in His holiness.” I have known people who seemed to
be terrified by God’s loving desire that we should reflect His own holiness and
goodness. As God’s faithful children, we should be attracted to holiness, for
holiness is God-likeness—likeness to God! God encourages every Christian
believer to follow after holiness. Holiness is to be our constant ambition—not
as holy as God is holy, but holy because God is holy. We know who we are and God
knows who He is. He does not ask us to be God, and He does not ask us to produce
the holiness that only He Himself knows. Only God is holy absolutely; all other
beings can be holy only in relative degrees. The angels in heaven do not possess
God’s holiness. They are created beings and they are contented to reflect the
glory of God. That is their holiness. Holiness is not terrifying. Actually, it
is amazing and wonderful that God should promise us the privilege of sharing in
His nature. It is impossible for any person to be as holy as God is holy. It is
encouraging that God “knows how we are formed”(Psalms 103:14). He remembers we
were made of dust. So He tells us what is in His being as He thinks of us: “Be
holy because I am your God and I am holy! It is My desire that you grow in grace
and in the knowledge of Me. I want you to be more like Jesus, My eternal Son,
every day you live!” Our Lord endeavors to prepare us for our eternal fellowship
with the saints, the martyrs, the heroes of the faith who suffered through fire
and flood and blood and tears when they were God’s pilgrims on this earth. Do
not try to short-circuit God’s plans for your discipleship and spiritual
maturing here. If you and I were already prepared for heaven in that moment of
our conversion, God would have taken us there instantly! As believers and
disciples, we are satisfied to know that the mysterious quality of God’s holy
person sets Him apart from all others and all else throughout His entire
universe. God exists in Himself. His holy nature is such that we cannot
comprehend Him with our minds. God’s holy nature is unique. He is of a substance
not shared by any other being. Hence, God can be known only as He reveals
Himself. There is absolutely no other way for us to know Him. Today we may enjoy
God’s presence In Old Testament times, whenever this utterly holy God revealed
Himself in some way to humankind, terror and amazement were the reaction. People
saw themselves as guilty and unclean by contrast. Early in the Revelation, the
final book of the Bible, the apostle John describes the overwhelming nature of
his encounter with the Lord of glory. He says, “When I saw him, I fell at his
feet as though dead” (Revelation 1:17). John was a man, a person born into a
sinful world. But he was a believer and an apostle. At the time, he was in exile
“because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9). But
when the risen, glorified Lord Jesus appeared to him on Patmos, John sank down
in abject humility and fear. Jesus at once reassured him, stooping to place a
nail-pierced hand on the prostrate apostle. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to
John. “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold
I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Then
Jesus proceeded to give His apostle a writing assignment: “Write, therefore,
what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later.” I notice
particularly that the Lord did not condemn John. He knew that John’s weakness
was the reaction to revealed divine strength. He knew that John’s sense of
unworthiness was the instant reaction to absolute holiness. Along with John,
every redeemed human being needs the humility of spirit that can only be brought
about by the manifest presence of God. This mysterious yet gracious Presence is
the air of life eternal. It is the music of existence, the poetry of the
Christian life. It is the beauty and wonder of being one of Christ’s own—a
sinner born again, regenerated, created anew to bring glory to God. To know this
Presence is the most desirable state imaginable for anyone. To live surrounded
by this sense of God is not only beautiful and desirable, but it is imperative!
Know that our living Lord is unspeakably pure. He is sinless, spotless,
immaculate, stainless. In His person is an absolute fullness of purity that our
words can never express. This fact alone changes our entire human and moral
situation and outlook. We can always be sure of the most important of all
positives: God is God and God is right. He is in control. Because He is God He
will never change! I repeat: God is right—always. That statement is the basis of
all we are thinking about God. Holiness takes time When the eternal God Himself
invites us to prepare ourselves to be with Him throughout the future ages, we
can only bow in delight and gratitude, murmuring, “Oh, Lord, may your will be
done in this poor, unworthy life!” I can only hope that you are wise enough,
desirous enough and spiritual enough to face up to the truth that everyday is
another day of spiritual preparation, another day of testing and discipline with
our heavenly destination in mind. For as I hope you have already seen, full
qualification for eternity is not instant or automatic or painless. I hope, too,
that you may begin to understand in this context why our evangelical churches
are in such a mess. It has become popular to preach a painless Christianity and
automatic saintliness. It has become a part of our “instant” culture. “Just pour
a little water on it, stir mildly, pick up a gospel tract, and you are on your
Christian way.” Lo, we are told, this is Bible Christianity. It is nothing of
the sort! To depend upon that kind of a formula is to experience only the outer
fringe, the edge of what Christianity really is. We must be committed to all
that it means to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. There must be a new birth
from above; otherwise we are in religious bondage and legalism and delusion—or
worse! But when the wonder of regeneration has taken place in our lives, then
comes the lifetime of preparation with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God has
told us that heaven and the glories of the heavenly kingdom are more than humans
can ever dream or imagine. It will be neither an exhibition of the commonplace
nor a democracy for the spiritually mediocre. Why should we try to be detractors
of God’s gracious and rewarding plan of discipleship? God has high plans for all
of His redeemed ones. It is inherent in His infinite being that His motives are
love and goodness. His plans for us come out of His eternal and creative wisdom
and power. Beyond that is His knowledge and regard for the astonishing potential
that lies resident in human nature, long asleep in sin but awakened by the Holy
Spirit in regeneration. Yes, God is preparing us by making us disciples of
Christ. A disciple is one who is in training. Being a disciple of Christ brings
us to the day-by-day realities of such terms as discipline, rebuke, correction,
hardship. Those are not pleasant words. To be admonished and instructed, to be
punished and reproved, to be trained and corrected—no one chooses these things
because they are neither pleasant nor entertaining. But they are in God’s plan
for our spiritual maturity. What will be our response? In times of testing and
hardship, I have heard Christians cry in their discouragement, “How can I
believe that God loves me?” The fact is, God loves us to such a degree that He
will use every necessary means to mature us until we reach “unity in the faith”
and attain “to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). A
critic may cringe and charge that God is breaking our spirits, that we will be
worth nothing as a result, that we will wear only a sad, hang-dog look for
eternity. Oh, no! That is not true. What God plans is to bring us into accord
with the wisdom and power and holiness that flow eternally from His throne.
God’s loving motive is to bring us into total harmony with Himself so that moral
power and holy use fullness become our sin this world and in the world to come.
This has been a message from my heart about down-to-earth preparation that will
result in readiness for heaven’s joys. Let me therefore conclude with a simple,
down-to-earth illustration—the example of a newborn baby brought suddenly into
the confusion of our noisy world. Is the little fellow “ready” for this world in
which he must live? When the time of his birth neared, the doctor told the
parents-to-be, “The baby is ready!” So, as the baby was born, it could have been
said in the biological sense that he was “ready.” But what do you really think?
You must know that the baby is not really ready at all! From the first little
whack he gets to make him cry and get his breath right on for the next
eighteenth or twenty years, that baby and child and young man will need to learn
much about his environment. He will need to mature day by day. In the broader
social and human sense, he is not ready for this world until years have passed
and he has completed his formal education. So it is with the Christian believer
who has confessed his or her faith in Jesus Christ. Oh, yes, he or she is
forgiven and “saved.” But is he, is she automatically prepared for heaven and
all of the eternal glories above? To say yes is to be ridiculous. You might as
well say that you can pick up a newborn baby, prop him up in the chair of the
nation’s President or Prime Minister, and whisper in his ear that he is ready to
govern. My mind returns frequently to some of the old Christian saints who often
prayed in their faith, “O God, we know this world is only a dressing room for
the heaven to come!” They were very close to the truth in their vision of what
God has planned for His children. In summary: Down here the orchestra merely
rehearses; over there we will give the concert. Here, we ready our garments of
righteousness; over there we will wear them at the wedding of the Lamb.


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  CHAPTER 10: - FAITH IS NOT GIVEN US TO FAIL
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10 - Faith Is Not Given Us to Fail COMING INTO THE CHRISTIAN LIFE by faith does
not release us from the cautions God has given us in His Word. Study the Bible
seriously, and you will find that God desires His church to be watchful and
alert, diligent in the humble life of faith and trust. In the Letter to the
Hebrews, we come to a sobering caution and a spiritual responsibility: See to it
that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause
trouble and defile many.(Hebrews 12:15) In the King James Version, this verse
carries an even stronger warning: “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the
grace of God …” We know our human natures, and we do not deny our human
weaknesses. We confess that we need both the cautions and the encouragements God
has provided. We know very well our need to lean on the divine promises for the
better kind of life—the life of faith and trust that is pleasing to God. This
Letter to the Hebrews was written in the first place to provide caution and
encouragement. And it still speaks plainly to us today. Its message and appeal
come to us with urgency: “There are decisions to be made. You must dare to
believe! You must dare to obey God! Go on over to the victory side where there
is forgiveness and blessing from the eternal Son, who is now your great High
Priest in the heavenlies!” The cautions may be negative, but our Lord’s emphasis
is positive: “Each of you must press forward in your Christian faith and
experience! Be diligent and be wise, and you will not be among those who delay
and question and hold back!” Now, what warning was the writer trying to give us
when he said that some people might miss the grace of God—might fail of the
grace of God? And what warning should we take from the writer’s reference to
some who would actually fall away? It is impossible for those who have once been
enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy
Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the
coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to
their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him
to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6) Controversial statements The interpretation
of these statements has always produced differences of opinion among Christians.
My purpose is not to engage in argument. Rather, I am hopeful that some of these
considerations I am proposing will be helpful if you feel concerned or even
confused. Ministers have said to me that there are so many positive Scriptures
that they just work around the more difficult and controversial sections. When I
preach month after month in a specific book of the Bible, I try faithfully to
deal with the “hard-to-understand” passages when I come to them. For centuries,
there have been differences in the interpretation of certain verses relating to
the faith and endurance of Christian believers—the “perseverance of the saints,”
as some call it. In Christian theology, so the dictionaries say, this simply
means “the continuance in a state of grace until it is succeeded by a state of
glory.” I look back into church history, and in my own mind, I can visualize
John Calvin and John Arminius—who polarized the issue of God’s sovereignty
versus man’s free will—squaring off in their own differences at this point. But
why should this be made such a great test in the area of our Christian
fellowship? People have cornered me and pressured me, asking pointedly, “Are you
Calvinistic or Arminian in doctrine?” I think I have effectively parried this
thrust by repeating a conversation I once had with a prominent English clergyman
of our times. He spoke to me of another minister of his acquaintance, and I
asked, “He is a Calvinist, I presume?” My minister friend smiled with good
humor. “Well,” he replied, “I think he is what we might call an equivocating
Calvinist! “From a personal point of view and to answer the curious, I would say
that the phrase also describes me fairly well! We need to disagree graciously I
have always said that these are personal matters for each of us to determine in
our own sincere lives of faith. I have found many thoughtful people in our
fellowship who do not want to be pushed from a position of charity and
understanding to the extreme edge of any doctrines, particularly where the deity
and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ are not in question. Scores of books have
been written by people who have taken opposite sides on some of these difficult
passages of Scripture. I have read and studied many of these books. In this
context, I recall a friend’s story. He told me that he had discovered a
woodworking shop where all varieties of wooden products, like clothes pins and
chair legs, were made and sold. There was a rather startling sign in front of
the shop. It read: “All Kinds of Twisting and Turning Done Here.” When I have
read the narrow, partisan arguments set forth in some of these books I mention,
I have felt they too could use the words as an overall title: “All Kinds of
Twisting and Turning Done Here”! We do well to remember that we are Christ’s
only representatives in an evil world and in a very self-centered society. I
believe our Lord wants us to be day-by-day examples in the gracious art of
putting our Christian love and concern ahead of any divisive dialogue. One
school of thought has always insisted that those who have fallen away could not
have been genuine believers. They may have had the appearance of being
Christians, but they were not. They could speak the language of Christians. They
had the reputation of being Christian believers. They may have won the trust and
confidence of the Christians around them, but they had not attained unto the
grace of God. And because they had missed, in some way or another, the grace of
God, they had fallen away. On the other side, there are many reasons for
considering those who have fallen away as once Christian believers. They were
described as enlightened, as having shared in the Holy Spirit, as having tasted
the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age. But, the
arguers persist, they merely had received light. They had only tasted. They may
have recognized the Holy Spirit, but they did not possess Him. As a result they
fell away. We should compare Scripture with Scripture When it comes to the
original Greek, I do not profess to be a scholar. But I do know how to compare
the basic meaning of the same words when they are used in different places in
the Scriptures. Some teachers have commented: “Enlightened—that means they
merely had light, but they were not born again. They merely received light.” But
when Paul wrote to remind the Ephesian Christians of his prayer that the eyes of
their understanding would be enlightened, he used the very same word we find in
Hebrews 6:4. Paul was praying for an advanced spiritual state for genuine
Christians whom he called saints and chosen of God. Clearly enlightened may mean
much more than merely receiving information about the gospel. The next
expression refers to their tasting of the heavenly gift, the goodness of the
Word of God and the powers of the coming age. The word tasted has caused some to
conclude that these to whom the writer refers merely licked at it—sampled it—to
see if they liked it, and decided that they did not. But the very word used for
tasting here is also used in Hebrews 2:9, where we are told that Christ “tasted
death for everyone.” If tasting the heavenly gift means merely nibbling but
never swallowing and digesting, are we to say the same for Christ, who tasted
death for everyone? Christ experienced death. We can hardly conclude other than
that the people mentioned in Hebrews 6 likewise had experienced the heavenly
gift, the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age. Then
there is the expression, “who have shared in the Holy Spirit.” Those who suppose
these were not genuine Christians minimize this sharing in the Holy Spirit.
“They went along with Him, but they never really possessed Him.” But I find this
same Greek word translated “sharing” or” partaking of” used elsewhere in the
Scriptures for accepting, receiving, eating. I have to believe this word means
actual experience, also. These had received and experienced the Holy Spirit.
This would indicate that those who had experienced and actually shared in
spiritual attainments could fall away, some even “crucifying the Son of God all
over again” to the point they could not be brought back to repentance.
Backsliding and the “unpardonable sin” Right here, I would like to suggest a
point for clarification. I do not think we are referring to what we commonly
call “backsliding” when we are considering what it may mean to fall away. Look
at Peter. He failed miserably, but he was forgiven and became a great apostle.
Look at Mark. He went back for a time, but he was restored and served Christ
until he died. We also know that there have been many backslidden Christians who
have agonized over the possibility of having committed the unpardonable sin. I
have discovered a very helpful rule in this matter. I believe it holds good
throughout the whole church of God around the world. “Anyone who is concerned
about having committed the unpardonable sin may be sure he or she has not! Any
person who has ever committed that dark and dread unpardonable sin feels no
guilt and confesses no worry. Jesus dealt with the Pharisees and told them face
to face that their expressions concerning His person and their attributing the
work of the Holy Spirit to the devil were evidences of the unpardonable sin. But
His warning caused them no worry. They still believed themselves to be entirely
righteous! They felt no need for repentance, no sorrow for sin, no guilt for
unbelief. “Do not worry about us,” was their attitude. “We do not have any
problem!” Returning to our rule for Christians with guilt and concern, the very
fact that a person is worried and concerned indicates that the Spirit of God is
still working in his or her life. Being human and therefore finite, we may not
know in this life all that the inspired writer meant when he used the words fall
away. I suggest that to actually fall away means that the person has no worry
about his or her spiritual defection. He or she shrugs it all off as though it
was a foolish relationship in the first place. Concerning the words, “it is
impossible … to be brought back to repentance,” I have found a helpful
suggestion. Let me refer to the example of a sinning man in the church at
Corinth: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and
of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put
out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically
present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one
who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of
our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is
present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed
and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 5:1-5) With God all
things are possible It is plain that Paul condemned this man for his incestuous
acts, and it appears further that he could not be brought to repentance by the
Corinthian church. So Paul said, “We will hand him over to Satan for the
destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the coming day of our
Lord Jesus Christ.” In the light of this action and the instructions of Paul
given to the believers in the church, I ask you a question—and I think it is a
searching question: May we not conclude in faith, relative to those the church
cannot bring to repentance, that God Himself may accomplish it, even by bringing
them to the point of death and turning them around to Himself? The suggestion is
surely inherent in this study of the incestuous man, for we learn in Second
Corinthians that he indeed repented. Some of these questions have been on the
lips of Christians throughout the centuries. Some of them have been bitterly
argued. There are believers still who spend much time and effort trying to
convert other people to their opinions concerning them. When it comes to this
issue of the impossibility of renewing a person to repentance, the question has
long ago been settled in my own heart and mind: I am not going back! For me, the
question of falling away is only academic. It is academic and not real to all
Christian believers who, like their Savior, have set their faces like a flint.
We will follow the Lamb wherever He leads us! We have not come into the
Christian faith to promote or protect shallow Christian experience. Neither is
it our calling to defend the coldness of heart that is all too apparent in
Christian circles. Let us never, never defend such coldness of heart! Rather,
let us covenant to follow Jesus Christ fully and faithfully. We know that He
will faithfully and lovingly do His part to keep us and sustain us. God’s
first-aid kit But, you ask, “What if I fail? What if I stumble through some
weakness of the flesh?” Probably the very best way for me to close out this
discussion is to remind you of God’s first-aid kit for His devoted family. I had
some part in raising a family of six boys and one girl. As a family, we could
never have made it without the first-aid kit. There was hardly a time during
those years that we were not giving attention to a cut or a bruise, a cold or an
illness. It is remarkable that they all survived—and in good health! God has
provided an effective truth—I call it our spiritual first-aid kit—in John’s
first letter: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth
is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive
us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not
sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My
dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does
sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the
Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours
but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 1:8-10 to 1 John 2:2) That is
a plain, blunt, helpful message from the Scriptures. If you say you have not
sinned, you are lying! Jesus is our great High Priest, and He appears with the
Father on our behalf. He is our Advocate, our Intercessor. Go to Him, confess
your sin and your need, and He will cleanse and forgive. He will bless and heal.
No turning back! Now, we have come through these difficult, hard-to-understand
passages, and it remains for us to determine that we are committed followers of
the Lamb. We are not going back! I never want to experience whatever it means to
fall away, to fail the God who is full of grace and truth. I do not want to
know—or experience—whatever it means to fall away. I do not want to know any
more about hell. What I do know about hell is enough to make me want to know
much more about heaven and our Savior, who is already there. I do not want to
find out how far I can go toward the edge without finally perishing. But I do
want to know, by the grace of God, how closely and carefully I can walk with Him
in faith and blessing and victory.


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  CHAPTER 11: - FAITH’S MANIFESTO: WE CLAIM GOD NOW!
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11 - Faith’s Manifesto: We Claim God Now! HOW MANY ARE WITHIN THE ranks of the
Christian church by confession of faith—yet living daily as spiritual paupers
and beggars, as though Christ Jesus had never been raised from the dead? I long
for every believer in the church of our Lord to join me in a clear-cut manifesto
to our times. I want it to be a declaration of our intentions to restore Christ
to the place that is rightfully His in our personal lives, in our family
situations and in the fellowship of the churches that bear His name. Too many
within the Christian church seem able to do no better than to be concerned—and
then to be apologetic. Let me say that the time for apologies is long past! The
need today is for men and women of faith and courage and daring. The need is for
Christians who are so concerned for the presence of Jesus Christ in their midst
that they will demonstrate the standards of godliness and biblical holiness as a
rebuke to this wicked and perverse generation. The church, generally speaking,
is afflicted with a dread, lingering illness that shows itself daily in the
apathy and spiritual paralysis of its members. How can it be otherwise when
twentieth-century Christians refuse to acknowledge the sharp moral antithesis
that God Himself has set between the church, as the body of Christ, and this
present world with its own human systems? The differences between the churchly
world and the followers of the Lamb are so basic that they can never be
reconciled and they can never be negotiated. God never promised His believing
people that they would become a popular majority in this earthly scene. But the
inspired writer to the suffering Hebrew Christians in the first century promised
something better. He emphasized the availability of Jesus, our Lord and Savior,
in the life of the true Body, His church: You have not come to a mountain that
can be touched and that is burning with fire. … But you have come to Mount Zion,
to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.…. You have come to God,
the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the
mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word
than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:18, Hebrews 12:22-25) The blessings are here
and now These warm, glowing New Testament words speak of God’s great plan for
Christ’s life to be exhibited constantly in the faithful and believing church.
They speak of great treasures and glorious realities that we should presently be
enjoying in our Christian life and walk. The Hebrews writer says plainly that if
we are a New Testament church, we have come to the joys of Mount Zion and to the
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. He says we are surrounded by an
innumerable company of angels. He reminds us, without any hesitation, that by
our faith we are already included in the general assembly and church of the
Firstborn. He states that our names are written in heaven. He does not hold
back: he tells us that we are perfectly related to the Judge of all and to the
spirits of just men made perfect! Because there are no limitations known to our
God, the writer presses on to assure us of the reality of our fellowship with
Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and of His blood, which speaks better
things than the blood of Abel that cried out for revenge. These are all reasons
why we should take our stand, put ourselves on record. This revelation of what
God expects of the New Testament church makes me fall down before the Lord. I
find myself crying in faith and determination: “Jesus, I will trust You and
follow You in this present evil age. I will trust You to be my very life and
sufficiency in the fellowship and joy of the body of believers, Your church!”
Repeat: this is a present reality Let me hasten to the Spirit’s emphasis here to
Christian believers. The inspired Word of God insists that the reality and the
blessings from the heart of the living Christ are not reserved for some future
and heavenly age. We are forced to part company with a great segment of popular
Christian theology which congenially offers us soothing advice: “Let’s not get
mixed up or sidetracked. All of these precious things are references to heaven.
So we will just bide our time, and we will have it all—some day!” Actually,
there is no mention at all of a future heaven in these promises to the church.
There is no reference to the day we will die. Rather, the New Testament church
of Jesus Christ is to know and possess these realities now. We can meet God and
His Spirit in blessed reality now! We can know and commune with our Lord Jesus
Christ in our heart of hearts now! We may know the joy of sensing all around us
God’s innumerable company and the fellowship with the church of the First born
now! As committed Christians, we know what we believe and we know what God has
done for us. We want to make it plain to our own day and age that we are highly
privileged to be part of a Christian church in God’s plan and in God’s will. We
are thankful for the dimensions of His grace and love. We know where we stand in
faith, and we are not bound by ecclesiastical traditions, except where we choose
to be and intelligently and openly desire to be. Because we experience the life
of Jesus Christ in the body, we need not be engaged in finding out what other
religious groups are doing. Our statement of faith is clear: through the Holy
Spirit we get our instructions from the throne of God as we study and lean upon
His revelation in the Scriptures. We desire to make it very plain that we have a
valid reason for our assemblies and fellowship. It is a reason of spiritual life
and spiritual maturity. It is not a social reason—even though our Christian
fellowship does have social implications. The negatives must be dealt with Let
me remind you that the writer to the Hebrew Christians began this section with a
negative reference: “You have not come to {Sinai},” and then he proceeds to the
positive declaration, “You have come to Mount Zion.” It is fitting that we
consider the negative before dealing with the positive. How can anyone deny that
a portion of our Christian teaching has always taken into account the negative
concerns? When we stand up for Jesus, it means that there are some things that
we will be against. This is the way it is in this world. We do not deny it, and
we do not apologize for it. To say that we will never discuss anything in the
negative would be similar to saying that there is only one side of a coin. If I
should try to split all of my Canadian quarters right through the middle because
I am impressed with the likeness of the Queen but I want to get rid of the
likeness of the elk on the other side, someone might soon appear at 5 Old
Orchard Road to deal with me. “A nice old man,” they would comment
condescendingly, “but he has slipped his trolley.” There is polarity in the
universe, and we do well to recognize it. In order for right to be established
and grow, wrong must be exterminated, or at least minimized. Of these words,
exterminate an minimize, I prefer exterminate. I like to see the extinction of
things that are wrong and unworthy. We are always going to have to deal with the
negatives—the things that are offensive and out of place—in order that we may
emphasize the things that are right and that have a rightful place. I am
reminded that when Jesus came to offer Himself to Israel, there was much that He
was forced to oppose. Much of His teaching was against the negatives in the
religious professions of the Pharisees. He found it necessary to expose the
negative concepts they held and to oppose their distorted and unworthy views of
God’s love and mercy. It is surely just a pipe dream to imagine that a man with
a head full of error and a heart full of heresy can receive truth into his mind
and being. When Martin Luther came into his effective ministry, he had to
personally engage the power of Rome, and he dared to stand against it. The
plain-speaking evangelist, Charles Finney, had to meet and defeat the dead
Christian orthodoxy of his day in order to release the power of God’s Word for
the salvation of men and women. The Christians of our own day who still think
they can be “carried to the skies on flow’ry beds of ease” are wrong, terribly
wrong! We must face up to what is going on in the churches and meet it as men
and women of God. It is not enough just to show a smiling countenance and insist
that we are hoping for the best. Where we see there is wrong, we must face up to
it, show why it is wrong and dismiss it; and then plant truth in its place. A
builder dares not erect any structure until he has cleared the sand and debris
away in order to place the foundation squarely down on rock. Some things we must
oppose As Christian believers, we must stand together against some things. So,
if you hear anyone saying that A. W. Tozer preaches a good deal that is
negative, just smile and agree. “That is because he preaches the Bible!” Here
are some of the things we oppose: We are against the many modern idols that have
been allowed to creep into the churches. We are against the “unauthorized fire”
that is being offered on the altars of the Lord. We are against the modern gods
that are being adopted in our sanctuaries. We are specifically against the
baptized foolery and sanctified frivolity that have come to the fore, even in
conservative Christian churches. We hold firmly to our belief that the Christian
church is a divinely appointed body and that as a church we are called to
worship and witness for Christ. We believe in another dimension also: that we
are called to an attitude of separation from the things of this world that
grieve the heart of God. We are against this world’s ways and its false values.
We are against this world’s follies and its vain pleasures. We are against this
world’s greed and sinful ambitions. We are against this world’s vices and its
carnal habits. We believe this spells out clearly the Bible truth of separation.
God asks us to stand boldly against anything or anyone who hurts or hinders this
New Testament body of Christians. We dare to state that an apathetic tolerance
is not necessarily a virtue. It may be a downright vice if it is given to
excusing hurtful abuses. Actually, the body of Christ has been given deposits of
love and faith that bring self-healing and self-building. But if the church
tolerates within itself those things that harm and destroy, it will not heal
itself—it will wither! Therefore, it is necessary for us to stand with and teach
the Bible and all it truths. The Word of God is the “antibiotic” that seeks out
and destroys the viruses that would plague the life of the church. Now, to the
positive side! But there is a positive side. We do need to rejoice in the
positive blessings that come to us through Jesus Christ our Lord. His positive
will is our glory! It is a positive reality that we do not have to wait for that
day when Christ is fully revealed to know the everlasting joys and possess the
everlasting treasures that have come to us through His death, resurrection and
glorification. The apostle Paul does not advise us to wait until we get to
heaven. In his Letter to the Ephesians, he encourages us to claim our spiritual
inheritance and heavenly blessings now: Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every
spiritual blessing in Christ. … He predestined us to be adopted as his sons
through Jesus Christ {that is here and now}… to the praise of his glorious
grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves {that is also here and
now}… In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God’s grace {that, too, is now}. … And he made
known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he
purposed in Christ. … (Ephesians 1:3-9) Paul then races on into the future to
show us that all of our gracious blessings which we now have in Christ
constitute only the prelude for all of the ages to come. It is a remarkable
listing of the shining glories to which we, as members of the body of Christ,
are called in our pilgrimage here. Note that I am speaking of the “body of
Christ, not what is frequently referred to as the institutional Christian
church. It can be fairly said that the institutional church is largely known in
the world as an organization and not as a living organism. The institutional
church offers many good things to its members, but it does not necessarily
recognize the true glory of Christ’s life within. It lives and thrives on
sociability, amusements, group activities—things that may be innocent and
pleasant and nice but which lack the glories of the church of the living God.
That wondrous delight which the disciples felt when they met with their risen
Lord is not there. There is no delight, no adoration, no worship except what is
superimposed by the beauty of the stained glass windows and the solemnity of
organ tones. It is paramount that the church of Jesus Christ should be concerned
for the supreme gifts of God. The church should be concerned for those spiritual
blessings that have been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ and made accessible
to us now through the ministries of the eternal Spirit of God. But we are
citizens of heaven The church of Jesus Christ, His believing body on earth,
recognizes that “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior
from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). The believing Christian
agrees that he or she is a migrant and a pilgrim. To these believers, God has
imparted His own nature. They have a distinct sense of belonging to one another
while they live—almost as exiles—in an unfriendly world. These earthly citizens
of heaven speak a common language—that of their constitution, which is the
Bible, the Word of God. They love to sing the songs of Zion, for they are loyal
to the same Lord and King. Thus the Christians come together where the life of
the assembly is the life of Christ. This is the Bible pattern. God the Father is
there. Christ the Son is present. The Holy Spirit indwells each member. The life
and spirit of Christ is the true glory of the church. Let us not overlook the
fact that the “inner man” is a real being as certainly as the eternal, physical
“man” is a real being. For certain the soul within us has ears and can hear the
voice of God. The spirit within us can experience and taste the glories of God
in a blessed fellowship now. Such is the joyful purpose of the church! I dare to
remind you, as a fellow-believer, that God has set before us a rich table of
blessings. He is saying, “This is all yours, and it is for you now!” God tells
us that we share in fellowship with all of those who are enjoying His blessings
in the heavenlies. He is saying, “Share these blessings! They are all yours. And
Christ, your elder Brother, is in the midst, presiding over My table!” The
reality of our spiritual blessings in Christ can never be apprehended by a
downright secular philosophy. The deaf person will never acknowledge the
satisfying impact of a symphony orchestra. He or she cannot hear. The ailing man
on a starvation diet cannot describe the taste and delight of good, nutritional
food. He is on his death course. So, the person who is dead in trespasses and
sins but brags of culture and education and refinement can only shrug and walk
away when we try to describe the glory of God, the beauty of Jesus, the wonder
of the Holy Spirit and the present accessibility of Zion, city of God. But when
that person shrugs and walks away, we still have our smile and our joy. We know
what we have found: the “spirits of righteous men made perfect.” Are we falling
short of the goal? Are we so absorbed with worldly affairs that we do not enjoy
God’s promised blessings as we should—right now? Why are we not trusting God to
let us inspire one another as we sense the presence of these good, invisible
gifts? They are the things that are ours in Christ now because we are part of
the body of Christ. Oh, for the spiritual insight and godly trust of an Elisha!
Remember that Elisha, the prophet in a day long past, lived so close to God that
he was able to tell Israel what their great foe, Aram, was doing. The king of
Aram inquired of his forces if there was a spy in the ranks. His own people gave
him this answer: “Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel
the very words you speak in your bedroom” (2 Kings 6:12).So the king “sent
horses and chariots and a strong force” to surround Dothan, Elisha’s city. The
next morning, Elisha’s young assistant came rushing in, pale-faced and
trembling, to report the military build-up. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” he
cried. But the old prophet just bowed his shaggy head in reverent prayer: “Lord,
open his eyes so he may see.” And God answered the prophet’s prayer. God opened
the young man’s eyes and let him see the true situation. God showed him the
presence of the heavenly host between the city and the enemy forces. The young
man “saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” As
the enemy troops advanced, Elisha prayed again. “Strike these people with
blindness.” God did so, and Elisha himself led the confused and blinded troops
to Samaria and to Israel’s king. The story ends as well as any in the whole Old
Testament. When the king asked Elisha if he should kill the Aramean prisoners,
Elisha intervened. “Do not kill them. Set food and water before them so that
they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” And that is just what
they did. The Bible record concludes with great significance: “So the bands from
Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory” (2 Kings 6:23). Our conclusion Here,
then, is the conclusion of our manifesto of faith: If those who call themselves
the people of God would give up their carnality and worldly-mindedness, if they
would live with the reality that Jesus is victor at the heavenly controls, they
could be the kind of New Testament church that makes glad the heart of God.
There would be such an overflow of the Holy Spirit’s gifts and graces that their
spirituality would be effective in every contact and activity, just as it was in
New Testament times. God grant that it may be so!


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  CHAPTER 12: - FAITH WILL ENDURE THE FINAL SHAKING
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12 - Faith Will Endure the Final Shaking THE LIVING GOD DOES NOT ASK US to
believe Him and honor Him only because of His mighty acts done in the past. The
writer to the Hebrews informs us of a spectacular future judgment promised by
God. It will be a “shaking” of His creation and the actual removal of temporal
things to ensure that “what cannot be shaken may remain.” This is the brief
review of God’s acts provided in the Letter to the Hebrews: See to it that you
do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who
warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns
from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised,
“Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words
“once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created
things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are
receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship
God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
(Hebrews 12:25-29) We believe the Holy Spirit of God is the true Author of what
is written here. We note the warning that men and women may be guilty of
refusing to heed the God who speaks to His creation on earth. God’s first divine
act described in these verses was His giving of the Law—the Ten Commandments. On
Mount Sinai He spoke to Moses and through him to the people of Israel. The
second reference is to the gospel—God’s revealing from heaven His grace, mercy
and love in the person of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son. When this message was
written to the early church nearly 2,000years ago, both of these mighty, divine
acts were already history. God had spoken to the fallen human race, first from
the mount, from the earth, and then from heaven itself with the plan of
redemption through Jesus Christ. But the Hebrews text continues with the promise
of a future act of God. It speaks of the great day of consummation—the final
judgment that is often mentioned in the Scriptures. God’s word at Sinai First, I
want to review the two great acts of God in the past. The Old Testament record
makes it clear that God chose the nation of Israel to witness and exemplify Him
before a lost, sinful humanity. From that nation as well would come the promised
Messiah and Savior. The Israelites, at the time God spoke from Sinai, had just
been delivered from grinding slavery and oppression in Egypt. For four centuries
they had been surrounded and influenced by Egyptian paganism. Three months after
leaving Egypt en route to Canaan, Israel under Moses’ leadership had come to the
rugged wilderness terrain of Sinai. The dark red granite peaks clustered ahead
of them, rising to heights of 8,000 feet. Israel was encamped in an area of open
ground that looked upward to the peak of Mount Sinai. Dangers and uncertainties
loomed ahead of them. Surely these chosen children of Israel did not realize
that they were about to participate in an awesome, even terrifying encounter
with the Lord, their God. It was to bean event unprecedented in human history.
The living God was ready to declare His holy, moral will to a young nation.
Israel’s intended role was to communicate that will to an earthly society in a
sin-cursed world. God called Moses to go up into the mountain. He told him to
prepare the people of Israel to receive His sacred Law. On Sinai, God in a
mighty, significant act spoke from the earthly mountain, declaring His moral
will for His people. The giving of the Law on Sinai was accompanied by
supernatural terror, according to the Scriptures. The mountain burned with fire.
There was darkness and tempest. There were the sounds of a mighty trumpet and
the divine Voice, so overpowering that the encamped people pleaded that they
could not endure it and begged that they should not have to hear it. The
experience was so far beyond the limits of normal human expression that Moses
cried, “I am trembling with fear!” God was dramatizing the necessity for people
to live according to His will. In unforgettable fashion, God was setting before
human beings the high principles of morality that He requires of His creatures.
God said, “This is what I expect” It was in those Ten Commandments that God said
to His earthly people, “Here is what I expect from you, My covenant people. My
Law declares specifically your individual moral duty to Me and to your fellow
beings.” God promised Israel through Moses: “If you obey me fully and keep my
covenant, … you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus
19:5-6). For the first time in history, men and women could actually be measured
in the performance of their moral duties both to God and to their fellow beings.
History tells us how thoroughly Israel disregarded God’s Word. That was Israel’s
great tragedy: she disregarded the word from God. God bore patiently with His
erring people. He brought them into the promised land of Canaan. He made them a
great nation—under David and Solomon, dominant over all the surrounding nations.
Israel’s temple atop Mount Moriah was a thing of beauty and splendor. History
tells us that Israel lost her temple. The nation lost her king. The people were
driven from their land and scattered among the nations. Ultimately a remnant
returned to struggle against superpowers that controlled their homeland. In the
fullness of time God sent Messiah. Israel failed to recognize Him. Instead, she
put Him to death on a cross. Short decades later, Rome mercilessly devastated
Jerusalem and blotted Israel from national existence. In all the succeeding
centuries, the Jews have known trouble and persecution. They have wandered the
earth. The famed wailing wall in present-day Jerusalem is a continuing symbol of
Israel’s great tragedy: her failure to hear and heed the God who spoke so
eloquently on earth from Sinai. I will only remind you, for you surely know it
well, that many people have declared the Ten Commandments no longer valid, no
longer relevant in our society. I watch the papers to check on the sermon topics
of my fellow ministers, and it is apparent that Christian churches are not
paying attention to the Ten Commandments. Dwight L. Moody preached often on the
Commandments. John Wesley said he preached the commands of the Law in order to
prepare the way for the gospel. R. A. Torrey told ministers if they did not
preach the Law they would have no response to the preaching of the gospel. It is
the Law that prepares us for the gospel. It is the Law that shows us our need
for the gospel of salvation and forgiveness. That Law has not been annulled When
I said the Ten Commandments are no longer in vogue, I referred to common
attitudes held generally among unbelievers. In our Christian churches, we
generally respond, “Well, we are not living under the Law; we are living under
God’s grace!” It is accurate to say that our binding obligation is not to Old
Testament Law. As believing Christians, we are under Christ’s higher law—that
which is represented in His love and grace. It is true that if we are in Christ,
His better law of love is operative in our lives. Is that a big relief to us?
Something else needs to be said about God’s Law and God’s will and God’s grace.
Everything that is morally commanded in the Ten Commandments still comprises the
moral principles that are the will of God for His people. As believing,
regenerated Christians, we must acknowledge that God’s moral will for His
people—then and now—has not changed. God expressed His will for His covenant
people. He said, for example, “You shall have no other gods. … You shall not
make for yourself an idol. … You shall not bow down to them or worship them”
(Exodus 20:3-5). It has always been God’s will that His people shun idolatry. We
take our position in God’s grace that we are not bound by Mosaic Law. Are we
free, then, to worship idols? No, of course not! We are in our Savior, Jesus
Christ, by faith. We have met God. We love Him with our whole being. We admire
Him and we worship Him. To us, it would be utterly senseless to worship an idol
made by the hands of human beings. That is our higher reason—and it confirms the
moral will of God. We can apply the same moral and spiritual standards of our
faith to the matters of taking the name of the Lord in vain, to covetousness and
murder and adultery and stealing and lying. We are not bound by the exterior
chains of the old Law—true. If we are what Christ means us to be through love
and grace, that kind of external allegiance is not necessary. The apostle Paul
expressed well for us this new principle of grace: Through Christ Jesus the law
of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the
law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be as in offering. And so
he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the
law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but
according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:2-4) God’s second mighty act Now, let us
review the second mighty act of God—the giving of this gospel of grace. The
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is the declaration of God’s redemptive will for
men and women on this earth. Quite surely we can agree that this act was more
completely divine than the first. I say so because of the participation of the
three Persons of the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—in the plan of
salvation for the lost. This brings us to the mystery and miracle of the
Incarnation—God coming to take our humanity and our flesh, yet without sin. Luke
quotes the message of the angel Gabriel to Mary: You have found favor with God.
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. … The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:30-35) The
overshadowing of the Most High, the Father; the energy of the Holy Spirit; the
enfleshment of the eternal Son—here were the Persons of the Godhead cooperating
in a gracious act on behalf of lost men and women. Later, at the crucifixion, in
that most important of all moments for a lost, death-doomed race, the three
Persons of the Godhead are again in full view. Our writer to the Hebrews
expressed it concisely: “Christ … through the eternal Spirit offered himself
unblemished to God” (Hebrews 9:14). Then, in that culminating miracle—the
resurrection of Jesus from the dead—we view again the Trinity in action. Jesus
Christ our Lord—to use the apostle Paul’s words in Romans 1:4 —”through the
Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his
resurrection from the dead.” So, in this mighty, once-for-all act of redemption,
the three Persons of the Godhead were participating as one—lovingly,
harmoniously, effectively working in behalf of lost humanity. In this personal
communication from heaven, God declared His redemptive will for us, even as He
had declared His high, moral will earlier at Sinai. Why would Israel not listen?
There is a question to be considered at this point. Why did Israel refuse to
listen to their God who spoke to them on earth? First, consider the acceptance
of idolatry in Israel’s culture and worship. The Israelites had not been able to
resist the power of example in Egypt. They had lived among their pagan overlords
for 400 years. These heathen masters had dominated their lives. When they saw
the Egyptians worshiping their idols, the temptation was there to ask, “Why
should we be satisfied with an invisible God? Let us fashion something visible
to remind us of Him!” Then the mighty hand of God—the God who had never
forgotten or abandoned His people—delivered these Israelites from slavery and
from their pagan surroundings. On the mount, He gave them His Word and His Law.
But, as the Bible admits, the children of Israel fell to a new low. They not
only committed adultery and fornication in view of the thundering Mount Sinai,
but they turned such immoral acts into a religious rite, believing that they
could worship Jehovah God with licentious sexual practices. From the very start
of their heathen rituals, the Almighty God condemned them. But although they
were His covenant people, they refused to hear and heed the voice of Him who
spoke on earth. There were other areas of disobedience as well. God in His Law
had commanded that one day in seven should be observed as a holy and reverent
Sabbath. But Israel was largely an agrarian nation, and there were economic
reasons for breaking the law of Sabbath rest. If a storm threatened a field of
ripe grain, it became easy for the Israelite to finish his harvest on the
Sabbath. He would reason within himself, “I know God is not going to be
displeased as long as I have a reasonable economic excuse.” We are guilty, too
How do we apply this kind of rationale to our practices in this generation?
Surely we must admit that the Israelite farmer of long ago was not alone in his
shortcomings! We have become quite adept in our own time in finding and using
economic, social and other reasons for doing things we should not do and for
making decisions that we should not make. We presume the grace of God is so wide
and so flexible that we can do just about anything that pleases us or is
convenient, and God will look the other way. But Jesus was very dogmatic
concerning the lives and attitudes of His disciples. We recall how plain and
direct His teachings were. Jesus was not concerned at all about the preservation
of economic and cultural customs. He said it was most important that His
followers should accept the offense of the cross. I remind you and emphasize it
that every serious-minded, committed believer is going to be challenged and even
persecuted because he or she is a disciple of the crucified Jesus. Some times
there are alternatives, both of them good. But at other times, we shall be
called upon to take a right and proper stand for Jesus’ sake. Jesus did not
promise that consistent Christian living would be easy. He did not promise a
release from daily problems and pressures. He did not promise to take us home on
a fluffy pink cloud. We live in the knowledge of the grace of God, but we dare
not forget that our Lord came to die for us and to express the never-changing
moral and redemptive will of God for His people. Before we condemn the Jews of
Bible history for their failure, we must be sure we are not overlooking
spiritual and moral short comings of our own. The prophetic Scriptures announce
a coming day when there stored Jewish remnant will come into a blessed, glorious
future. We confess that we are indebted to Israel for many things. We owe them
for our Bible, for our Messiah who is now our great High Priest in glory. And
when the prophecies of our Lord are fulfilled, restored Israel will again be an
effective, God fearing nation. But at present, Israel remains under divine
judgment. Why? Because Israel rejected the God who loved them, who spoke to
them, who cherished them as a chosen people. Israel has turned from the speaking
God. In the light of that history, the writer to the Hebrews has this question
for his Christian readers: “If they did not escape when they refused him who
warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns
us from heaven?”(Hebrews 12:25). We have a personal responsibility Israel must
give her own accounting to God. But what about us? As Christian believers, you
and I must be careful about the reasons we give for not heeding God’s Word and
God’s warning from heaven. Have we taken His grace seriously enough that we have
asked Him to forgive our spiritual carelessness? Have we identified and dealt
with the twin sins of indifference and apathy that are always trying to creep
into our daily living? In our day, we hear strange things concerning the
measurement of spiritual life and activity. What measurement will be made of
your life if you are among those who insist—sometimes loudly—”I am just as good
a Christian as most of the people in our church!” God’s message is clear: “Once
more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once
more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so
that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a
kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably
with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:26-29)
The apostle Peter was in that generation to whom the above words were originally
addressed. I close this chapter by telling you that Peter got the message and
responded to it! Through Peter, the Holy Spirit has given us one of our best
glimpses of the coming shaking of all things and what our preparation should be:
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with
a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in
it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind
of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look
forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the
destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But
in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new
earth, the home of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:10-13)


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  CHAPTER 13: - FAITH RESTS ON AN UNCHANGING JESUS
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13 - Faith Rests on an Unchanging Jesus MANY ADHERENTS OF CHRISTIANITY are
beginning to admit that their attachment is to little more than a pallid “world
religion.” If they think about it at all, they may wonder where the moral and
spiritual dynamic of the early church has gone. God has humble, faithful people
who personally know that moral, spiritual dynamic. “Genuine, effective faith,”
they will insist, “must always rest on an unchanging Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, today and forever!” The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews provides
us a list of the shining virtues that Christians must exhibit in every
generation. And he ties them to the reality of Christ’s eternal and divine
person: Keep on loving each other. … Do not forget to entertain strangers.…
Remember those in prison … and those who are mistreated.… Marriage should be
honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure. … Keep your lives free from the
love of money and be content with what you have.… Remember your leaders, who
spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and
imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and
forever.(Hebrews 13:1-8) These exhortations are a call to the personal faith and
godliness characteristic of the early Christian church. They are based on solid,
fundamental Christian doctrine. That is the apostolic method of teaching,
instructing and encouraging. A New Testament pattern We do not know if Paul was
the human writer of this letter, but we can say that this same method of
exhortation is apparent in the letters Paul wrote. He first gives his readers
the scriptural reasons for certain Christian actions and attitudes. He provides
the basis and the reason, and then he exhorts them to respond appropriately. So
it is in this letter. Earlier sections state what Christ has done for the human
race and what He now means to the Christian. We are assured that Christ is
greater than Moses and Aaron, greater than the angels. We are told that once for
all, by His own blood, He purchased mankind’s salvation. That is the foundation,
and it is strong and true. Then comes the exhortation: If all of the above is
true, then “keep on loving each other.” It is a good and gracious argument:
because we have reasons for doing something, we ought to do it without delay and
without reservations! Now, in the light of these reasons for exhortation and
spiritual action, let me share a thought with you about our modern times and
about modern ministries. Quite often we hear are mark that “the Reverend Doctor
John Doe is an inspirational preacher.” Frankly, in my judgment there are too
many “inspirational” preachers in our day who are trying to cheer up their
listeners without using sound, biblical methods. From my own contacts with them,
I describe the “inspirational” preacher like this: after warming his audience
with his natural charm, he energetically waves his arms and exhorts people to be
a little holier, a little better, a little busier, a little happier
and—perhaps—a little more generous. But he fails to give a single compelling
reason why they should be any of these things in their daily lives. It is a
method of exhortation without true biblical background or pattern. Suppose you
are standing in your own yard, on your lawn, during a quiet summer evening. And
suppose I am standing on the sidewalk only a few feet from you. Suddenly I shout
at you, “Look out! Jump! Quick!” I reinforce my shout of warning by waving my
arms and jumping up and down. You are not likely to jump. You have no reason to
jump—or even to move! You may be puzzled or curious. But you know your yard and
your lawn well enough to know there is no compelling reason for you to jump.
But, if I saw you standing on a railroad track and I could also see a speeding
train about to run you down and crush out your life, I would surely scream at
the top of my lungs, “Jump! Train! Jump quickly!” In that case, there is plenty
of reason for action, and you would jump for your life. You might possibly set
an unofficial world record for the standing broad jump! You would be moved to
action with good reason. The train is coming, and you will be killed if you do
not jump. I can be very hard to move. If I am being exhorted to action by a man
who is merely overheated emotionally, I am likely to drag my feet. I want that
man to deal with me on the basis of valid reasons for my interest, my
consideration and my decision to act and to move. Probably you have had some
contact with the appeals of ministers who have espoused the cause of liberal
Christian theology. Many of them say they want the same piety in people that we
want. They want the same honesty, the same loyalty, the same purity, the same
degree of philanthropic love expressed for their fellow men. They urge the
performance of these good qualities—and quote persuasive poetry along with their
urging. But they fail to provide the good and necessary reasons for these
qualities and actions—reasons that are inherent in the Bible and in the
proclamation of Christ’s saving and keeping gospel. They want the spiritual
virtues without dealing with the root hindrances to such virtues. They want men
and women to be more like Jesus, but they want nothing to do with the new birth
from above that imprints Jesus’ image on people’s lives. They want humankind to
be forgiving and forgiven, but they do not recognize the biblical necessity for
atonement, regeneration and justification. They want the blessing and the
display of the fruits of the Spirit, but they reject the Bible’s declaration
that fruits are related to the fullness of the Spirit. Actually, they seem to
expect fruit and harvest without any tree at all! We must have a basis for our
faith Their disappointments must be hard for them to explain. The apostolic
method was to provide a foundation of good, sound biblical reasons for following
the Savior, for our willingness to let the Spirit of God display the great
Christian virtues in our lives. That is why we come in faith and rejoicing to
the eternal verity of Hebrews 13:8. Because Jesus Christ is eternal and without
change forever and ever, we can trust Him and live for Him! Hebrews 13:8 is the
verse of Scripture that gives significance to every other section of teaching
and exhortation in the Letter to the Hebrews. In this verse is truth that is
moral and spiritual dynamic if we will exercise the faith and the will to
demonstrate it in our very needy world. We hear much discussion about revival
and renewal. People talk about spiritual power in the churches. I think this
fact—this truth—that Jesus Christ wants to be known in His church as the
ever-living, never-changing Lord of all could bring back again the power and the
testimony of the early church. I wonder if you feel like me when I survey much
of Christendom in today’s world: “They have taken away my Lord and I do not know
what they have done with Him!” If we would only seek and welcome our Lord’s
presence in our midst, we would have the assurance that He is the same Lord He
has always been! As Christian believers, we stand together in the evangelical
faith—the historical faith of our fathers. Yet we must confess that the
evangelical church today is bogged down with moral boredom and life-weariness.
The church is tired, discouraged and unastonished. Christ seems to belong to
yesterday. The prophetic teachers have projected everything out into the dim
future where it is beyond our reach—unavailable. They have dispensationalized us
into a state of spiritual poverty—and they have left us there! But regardless of
such teachers, the course of spiritual victory is clear: let us trust what the
Word of God continues to say to us. The Scriptures are open and plain The
Scriptures are open and plain. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord. He is our
great High Priest, alive and ministering for us today. His person, His power and
His grace are the same, without change, yesterday, today and forever! He is the
same Lord because He is the same God. He is the same, never having changed in
substance, in power, in wisdom, in love, in mercy. In His divine person, Jesus
Christ has never known correction or change. He feels now as He has always felt
about everyone and everything. Jesus will not yield to those who charge that He
is an absentee, that He is far away and unavailable. Our faith tells us that
Jesus Christ is close at hand, that He is a living force in our lives today. He
is the Holy Spirit of God fulfilling His promises moment by moment. We true
Christians must stand together in our faith. Our Lord is as powerful now, as
real now, as near to us now, as loving now as He ever was when He walked among
the men and women on the shores of Galilee. The great spiritual needs around us
should drive us back to the gospel records of the life and ministry of our Lord
Jesus. When evil men crucified Jesus, killed Him, they had no power to change
Him. They could not alter the person and the personality of the Son of God.
Jesus had come for the humiliation of death. He came to declare God’s redemptive
will. The plotting of jealous men could not destroy His divine affection for a
lost race. Putting him on a cross did not drain away any of His love. That is
why we believe with assurance and blessing that He is the very same Lord Jesus
Christ now! And it is this ever-living Christ who wants to demonstrate Himself
through our faith and love to those around us. How do you suppose Jesus feels
today about the sinful men and women who walk our streets? He loves them. No
matter how we feel about them, He loves them! We may be righteously indignant
about the things they do. We may be disgusted with their actions and ways. We
are often ready to condemn them and turn away from them. But Jesus keeps on
loving them. It is His unchanging nature to love and to seek the lost. It is the
sick who need a doctor And how does Jesus feel about the outcasts—the helpless
and the hopeless? He said many times when He was on earth, “I have come to help
the needy. The well do not need a doctor—but the sick need attention and love!”
By contrast, what is our attitude? We look at the needy and measure them and
say, “Let us determine if they are worthy of our help.” I do not think Jesus
during all of His ministry on earth ever helped a worthy person. He often asked
those who appealed to Him, “What is your need? Do you need My help?” What would
we think of a doctor who would make it known that he would treat or attend only
those who could prove themselves well and healthy? What should we think, then,
of Christian churches that seem to indicate they have help available only for
those who can demonstrate they do not need help? Jesus is our Lord and Savior.
The best thing we know about Him is that He loves the sinner. He has always
loved the outcast—and for that we should be glad, for we, too, were once
outcasts. We are descended from that first man and woman who failed God and
disobeyed. They were cast out of the garden, and God set in place a flaming
sword to keep them from returning. The greatest encouragement throughout the
Bible is God’s love for His lost race and the willingness of Christ, the eternal
Son, to show forth that love in God’s plan of redemption. The love of Jesus is
so inclusive that it knows no boundaries. At the point where we stop caring and
loving, Jesus is still there, loving and caring! I confess that I like kids. In
my congregation, people used to remark that if they could not find me, it was
probably because I had run across some little boy or girl delighted to get a
piece of candy. But our Lord Jesus loved the children with a kind of love that
none of us can even remotely approach. He loved and gave Himself to the
children. It was a special kind of love for all who approached Him in need. And
He is still the same today! Do you ever have times of discouragement? I mean,
really rough and depressing periods? Do you have those human times when it is
not easy to pray? Do you ever have a week when things are not as fresh and
bright as they were the week before? I do, sometimes. And in those times we
remember that we are changeable. In our humanness we do change. Thus, we need to
remember that Jesus, our Lord, changes not. The manner of our love for one
another may change, but the Savior’s love remains the same, always constant.
Love one another This is a good place for me to mention something else about our
love for one another within the fellowship of our churches. The writer to the
Hebrews appeals to us to “keep on loving each other as brothers” (Hebrews 13:1).
In effect he is saying, “You are all born of the same Spirit. You are all
witnessing for Christ and waiting for His coming. Therefore, you are to love one
another!” Being the humans that we are, how is it possible for us to love one
another in the bonds of our faith? Perhaps this perception of mine will be of
help to you. I have always insisted that it is possible to love people in the
Lord even though we may not like them! Here is what I mean. Some people are so
nice and friendly and outgoing, so easy to get along with that we have no
hesitation about accepting them and loving them. We find it easy to love people
like that. But then there are the others! Some are unfriendly. Or perhaps they
cut us down. Or just ignore us. Some have personalities that rub us wrong: it
may be simply their temperament, or they may be boastful or sarcastic—or
ignorant. And we think within ourselves, “It seems impossible for me to like
that person!” I have come to believe that the Bible supports the position that
we can love such people even if we do not like them! We do not like their
boorish or distasteful human traits, but we will love them for Jesus’ sake. I am
being frank about this, and I hope I am being helpful. Do not ever say that you
are not right with God because you like some people more than others. I believe
you can be right with God and still not like the way some people behave. Our
admonition is to love them in a larger and more comprehensive way because we are
all one in Christ Jesus. This kind of love is indeed a Christian virtue, and the
Holy Spirit will help us to nurture it and display it in all of our contacts.
There is much of eternal mystery in this gracious fact of God’s love for us and
the expression of our love for Him. A. B. Simpson’s writings were always
meaningful concerning this relationship. He said in one place, We become the
objects of the very same love that the Father in heaven has for His Son. This
is, indeed, the mystery of mysteries: that we are permitted to share the
intimate and exclusive affection of the eternal Father toward His only begotten
Son. He loves us now, not for ourselves, nor in proportion to our personal
claims upon His affection, but precisely as He loves Jesus Christ, with infinite
complacency and unlimited measure. This is the mystery hid from ages, and at
last made known to the saints, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Some human
clouds may for the moment shut out the radiance of Jesus’ glorious face, but no
one and nothing can change or quench His love for you. His eternal plan through
the cross does not change, and it never will! Our Lord has never begun anything
that He will not complete, bringing it to fruition in His plan for the ages. It
is our responsibility to believe His Word and to obey His truth. It is our task
to practice the Christian virtues in the power of the Holy Spirit as we await
the coming of Him who will come.


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Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/jesus-author-of-our-faith/
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