A Progressive Faith
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.
Heb. 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 Cor. 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.
From That I May Know Him - Page 226
