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A Progressive Faith, May 19
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 manufacturing
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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