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A Progressive Faith, August 8
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
.
The time has come when we are to expect large blessings from the
Lord. We must rise to a higher standard on the subject of faith. We have too
little faith. The Word of God is our endorsement. We must take it, simply
believing every word. With this assurance we may claim large things, and
according to our faith it will be unto us....
The work of faith means more than we think. It means genuine reliance
upon the naked word of God. By our actions we are to show that we
believe that God will do just as He has said. The wheels of nature and of
providence are not appointed to roll backward nor to stand still. We must
have an advancing, working faith, a faith that works by love and purifies
the soul from every vestige of selfishness. It is not self, but God, that we
must depend upon. We must not cherish unbelief. We must have that faith
that takes God at His word....
True faith consists in doing just what God has enjoined, not manufac-
turing things He has not enjoined. Justice, truth, mercy, are the fruit of
faith. We need to walk in the light of God’s law; then good works will
be the fruit of our faith, the proceeds of a heart renewed every day. The
tree must be made good before the fruit can be good. We must be wholly
consecrated to God. Our will must be made right before the fruit can be
good. We must have no fitful religion. “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God” (
1 Corinthians 10:31
).
O what a field is opened before me! Our people must have the deep
working of the Spirit of God every day. They must have a faith that works
by love, a faith that emanates from God. There must not be a thread of
selfishness drawn into the fabric. When our faith works by love, just such
a love as Christ revealed in His life, it will be of a firm texture; it will be
the fruit of a will subdued. But not until self dies can Christ live in us. Not
until self dies can we possess a faith that works by love and purifies the
soul
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11
Letter 105, 1898
.
233