The Preferred Faith

The Preferred Faith

What might be termed the "preferred faith," as evaluated by Jesus Himself, was discussed by Kenneth Millspaugh in his comments on John 20:29. The occasion of reference was that of Thomas' being convinced by sight of Jesus' resurrection, and our Lord's accompanying observation. "Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed," said the Savior: "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Thus, He anticipated that faith which is the belief of competent testimony in the case, and implied that it is more highly valued by God than that virtually forced upon one by sight, as was so with Thomas. Peter, apparently taking his cue from Jesus here, spoke in like commendation of such faith, saying with reference to Christ, Whom, having not seen, ye love; in whom, though ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (I Pet. 1:8).

In enunciating this appraisal of faith-based-upon-testimony, both our Lord and the Apostle recognized and stressed the genius of the whole new-covenant economy, it was noted. In the very next verses of his account, John emphasized that the spiritual life which the new order was to make possible would be simply by believing the Apostles' testimony concerning Christ (vv. 20-21), and that the production of such faith was the objective of their writing. Thus also John's representation of the situation in First John 5:13-19, where he traces the possession of "that eternal life" (ch. 1:2) to the fact of one's believing "the record that God gave of His Son."

This being the case, all the current agitation in some religious circles about miraculous gifts for today as necessary for, or even especially conducive to, faith in the Father and the Son is exposed and refuted as the error which it certainly is. We have a testimony which has been amply confirmed by miracles and given to us by infallibly-guided men—not the testimony presumptuous and lying claims. We believe what these chosen witnesses of God have said of Jesus of Nazareth, and believing, ''have life through His Name" (Jn. 20:31), that faith being energized and empowered by the Holy Spirit, who operates through our faith, Brother Ken pointed out. How blessed, indeed, are those who, having not seen, yet believe, and so have Christ dwelling in their hearts by faith (Eph. 3:17), and leading them to heaven through this dark and evil world. –Noted and recorded by Fred O. Blakely

                              

The Life That Is by Faith

The Life That Is by Faith. "The just shall live by faith," declared the Prophet Habakkuk (Hab. 2:4). Paul picked up this assertion and three tunes over applied it to the means of life Godward under the new covenant (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). The meaning is, He that is reckoned by God to be just shall live by his faith in the basis upon which that reckoning is made, i.e., the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in his behalf. So the Apostle's declaration, "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Hunself for me" (Gal. 2:20, RSV; cf 3:10-12).

The sense of Habakkuk's expression, as operative under Christ, is, The justified shall live by his faith. The idea of the just living by his faith, unless understood as we have indicated, would be self-contradictory. If a person were himself just, he would have no need of faith in order to life. He could live unto God by his own merit—that of his justness, or righteousness. Since, however, all have sinned, and are guilty before God (or unjust), if anyone is to live Godward, he must do so on the basis of the propitiation for his sins which Christ has made. In other words, he must live by, through faith, relying on that disposition of his sms (Rom. 3:21-26). That is to live by faith, as the just, or justified, are said to do; it is to live vicariously, as it were, in and through the Person and work of Another. This is done in full recognition of the wretched fact that, of himself, the believer is unrighteous-not just—and so is wholly dependent upon God's grace, given him through the Son, for His acceptance with and life unto the Father.

The Fruit of Trust in God's Love, Part 1

Trust Yields Divine Fellowship and Confidence

 

The Fruit of Trust in God’s Love

Part 1

By Fred O. Blakely

 “And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, even so are we in this world. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love” (I Jn. 4:16-18, ASV).

The evidence and fruit of love by the children of God, as here set forth by John, are immeasurably precious. Certainly they are to be earnestly desired and diligently sought by all who in truth call on the Father. Particular note should be made of the kind of love of which the Apostle speaks, however. It is not merely the gushing affection and sentimentality that so often parades itself as the paragon of godliness. Valid testimony of filial relationship to the Most Holy and effectual banishment of the cringing fear of Him obviously have a more substantial basis than that.

Traced to its ultimate source, the fruit of the Spirit clearly stems from the individual’s firm and implicit reliance upon God, not from self-determination or self-will. That is to say, it is rooted in the Divine mercy and grace, and is actually nothing more than the issue of those qualities from within the believer, who has received them from Above. Hence, one cannot evince his or her status as a child of the heavenly King by just starting to “love” people and be kind to, and considerate of, them. Neither can such ones banish their inherent fear of death and the eternal judgment by such tactics.

These blessings are not the result of loving the brethren.  Contrariwise, love of the saints and deliverance from fear themselves take the nature of results of something that lies beneath them. And that something is one’s utter dependence upon the God of all grace, as He is revealed and set forth in the holy Scriptures.

The Basis for our Dependence. “And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us.” There, there is secret of all that fortifies the heart and flows out of the life of the saint. It is whole-hearted faith in God and unhesitating dependence on the representation of Himself which He has given. “Herein was the love of God manifested in us,” the Apostle has previously declared, “that God hath sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (vv. 9-10). Again, “we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (v. 14). And, again, “And the witness is this, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (ch. 5:10-12, ASV).

“The Apostle gives us here a startlingly beautiful succession of truths concerning love—divine love—revealed in Christ, and laying hold of men.”  The revised rendering, “which God hath in us,” rather than “toward us,” as in the A.V. (v. 16), is to be especially noted. The believer who is pressing on unto perfection in the Son (Heb. 6:1-3) has gone much further than to know the love of God to him, as that love was historically manifested in the gift of Jesus. His awareness of that love began with the belief of the record of its objective display, but it certainly did not end there. Through the Spirit which indwells him, he knows this love in himself, as “a reviving, cheering, glowing, inspiring, life-giving power.” It is in him as the living water of which Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, “springing up into everlasting life” (Jn. 4:14). Of a truth, as Paul remarked, the love of God has been “shed abroad” in his heart by “the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5; cf. Tit. 3:5). “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself” (Jn. 5:10). “The Spirit Itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16). So has the believer received Him who is the Life, Christ Himself now dwelling in his heart by faith (Eph. 3:17).

John’s order of thought here, it seems, may be expressed somewhat as follows: “Divine love is—1. A manifestation among us (v. 9). 2. An impartation to us (Rom. 5:5). 3. A reciprocal love, as ours has been called forth thereby (v. 19). 4. A transforming love, causing us to love as God loves (v. 12). 5. A self-consummating love, fulfilling its own ends in and through us, causing its outworking to be perfected in us, as its newly opened channel, through which it is flowing on to the boundless ocean of everlasting life and glory.”

The Reciprocal Indwelling. The Apostle goes on in our basic text to assert the mutual and reciprocal indwelling of God and the believer. “He that abideth,” or “dwelleth,” in the love of God, he declares, “abideth in God, and God abideth in him” (v. 16). In verse 15, he has set forth the same situation with reference to confession of the faith, though in reverse order. “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God.” Other Scriptures which represent such mutuality of fellowship include Jn. 6:56; 14:23; Rom. 8:9; II Cor. 13:5; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:18, 22; Col. 1:27; Rev. 3:20). Thus “he that dwells in sacred love has the love of God ‘shed abroad’ upon his heart, has the impress of God upon his spirit, the Spirit of God sanctifying and sealing him, lives in meditation, views, and tastes of the divine love, and will ere long go to dwell with God for ever.”

“In some passages, the Dweller in the heart is spoken of as Christ, sometimes as the Spirit, sometimes as the Father with the Son, sometimes as God by the Spirit. In all cases, the meaning is that there is a divine Life and Energy within the person, quickening, inspiring, and controlling him—a new directing and strengthening Force, leading on to all holy action, to patient endurance, to final victory. Man moves not upward and heavenward by a self-elicited force, but soars thither by a divine power imparted and sustained from Above.”

He who abides, or dwells, in the love of God and of the brethren is said to abide in God, “for God is love.” Here is truly a heavenly state. The soul is at home in God, and continually resides there. “God is not only a new life in him, but a new home for him, in which he abides, and from which he cannot be dislodged. His wanderings are over. He has a settled rest, an everlasting home.  It is the Father’s house, in the Father’s heart—the heart of boundless love. He is now seated in ‘the heavenly places in Christ Jesus’ (Eph. 2:6). Happy, happy home! It is heaven. It will never break up. No foe can invade it. Sin shall not mar it. Death cannot disturb it. Oh, to have found a home like this!” It is to be observed that the two indwellings compliment each other. “God dwelling in the soul ensures the soul continuously dwelling in its true home; and the soul, being always at home, has entire repose—it is full of God—leaving all its force free for happy, holy worship and service of God.”

John’s connection of the two indwellings with confession of faith and abiding in divine love is at once remarkable and deeply significant. The reciprocal abiding, he declares, is realized by him who lives and moves in God’s love and also by him who openly and continuously avows to the doctrine of Christ. Actually, the two practices—confessing and abiding—are concurrent, and are not to be contemplated in dissociation.

That Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and so the Revealer of God’s love, is the message addressed to faith (I Jn. 4:14). “The Christian revelation is—what should endear it to us—the revelation of divine love. The articles of our revealed faith are but so many articles relating to divine love. The history of the Lord Christ is the history of God’s love to us. All His transactions in and with His Son were but testifications of His love, and means to advance us to the love of God.”

Faith receives Christ upon the basis of God’s revelation and with Him the love and salvation which He reveals. “Confession constantly rings out the faith, and by so doing vastly increases faith’s realizing power. This, through the energy of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12:3), makes the love of God in Christ so real to the faithful confessor, that he actually dwells in love, and so reaches the state specified as ‘dwelling in love’ (v. 16). Thus the two conditions differ only as the terminus a quo from the terminus a quem [or, the point of commencment from that of completion]. Confession is the former; dwelling in love is the latter. This is verified by the order of the phrases, being in the one case, ‘God dwelleth in him, and he in God’; and in the other, ‘dwelleth in God, and God in him.’”

(Concluded Tomorrow)

 

Benefits Proceeding from Believing God

Benefits Proceeding from Believing God

By Al Stoner

Believing God always makes for advantage to the believing ones. There is always personal spiritual benefit, especially, that will be derived from simply believing the Scripture. For example, consider the following:

The Reception of Salvation. With regard to the reception of salvation and the deliverance from condemnation Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mk. 16:16).  Let us continually put one another in mind of the direct connection of believing and having been baptized with being saved: that is, being saved from the wrath to come, saved unto life eternal, saved with a great and everlasting salvation, just to name a few of the blessed involvements. While these things may already be believed by us, yet, in the time of temptation and affliction, there is a vital need for men to be persuaded anew and afresh of these things and of this vital connection. As Jude declared, "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this" (Jude 3). We ought ever to give thanks for sacred memories which may be stirred up and drawn upon for strength in the day of evil. 

The old serpent would seek to convince us that these requirements (faith and baptism), given by the Lord Himself, either are not enough for the obtainment of salvation, or at another opposite extreme, that they are not of such great consequence. Let us not be ignorant of his devices! 

The Word to Nicodemus. And again, speaking of the same benefit, the Lord declared to Nicodemus, "He that believeth on Him (the Son) is not condemned" (Jn. 3:18). That is marvelously good news to the individual who has been convinced by the law that he has sinned and come short of the glory of God! May such affirmations of the Savior as this ever be given room to sink down into our ears! O the blessedness of receiving them and pondering them. Let us hang all of our hopes upon His Word and believe upon Him with all of our hearts!  O hear again, and believe the glad tidings: He that believeth on Him (Christ) is not condemned!

A Blessing and a Curse Contrasted. Another similar affirmation of the Savior reads as follows: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (Jn. 3:36). Here the wonderful blessedness associated with believing and the very severe consequences for not believing are set in juxtaposition to each other. We can come to appreciate more the glorious benefits that are inextricably tied to believing by beholding contrasts of this sort.

Rivers of Living Water. "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly [or, from within him (ASV)] shall flow rivers of living water" (Jn. 7:38). Believing on the Savior not only benefits the believer, but enables him or her to be of great profit to those all around.  The rivers of living waters speak of the knowledge of both the Father and the Son given to believing men by the Holy Spirit.

"Rivers of living water" also speak of an abundance of the life-giving water that may flow out of the believer in Christ to those round about him or her. This living water may have the ministry of nourishing other brothers and sisters in Christ, or it may have the effect of convincing the sinner of his or her absolute need for the Savior. Also, it is a blessedly joyous experience to have the living water flowing out to others from within oneself. Let us continually draw near and make ourselves available to the Savior to be used of Him in this manner! 

The Possibility of All Things. "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mk. 9:23). It is good for us to continually cast all of our cares upon Him, with whom all things are possible (cf. Lk. 1:37). While we remain in this present evil world, we shall frequently be confronted with situations and obstacles which appear to be jeopardous and seemingly out of control. But when those times come, let us seek to "glorify" "the Lord" even "in the fires" (Isa. 24:15) of adversity and trial. And though we may be sorely tempted to fret and to reason things out with the carnal mind, let us ever remember that "all things are possible to him that believeth!" "The Lord God Omnipotent" (Rev. 19:6) is "for us" (Rom. 8:31), and He will make all things work together for good to those who love Him, and who are the called according to His purpose (cf. Rom. 8:28). 

The Satisfying of Man's Inward Hunger and Thirst. "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst" (Jn. 6:35).  While we remain here in this world as strangers and pilgrims, we shall, according to the measure of our faith, continue to hunger and thirst for the Savior and for the living God. We long to be forever uninhibitedly in Their Presence. But we are no longer hungering and thirsting aimlessly and without purpose. Our hunger and thirst have been partially satisfied even now through the knowledge of the Father and the Son that we have by faith. We shall be completed satisfied when we arrive safely in the presence of God and of the Lamb. “I shall be satisfied, when I shall awake with Thy likeness,” the Psalmist declared.  In the present time we are waiting for the hope of righteousness, and living in prospect of being fully conformed to the image of God’s Son.

The Promise of Life. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life" (Jn. 6:47). We ought to give thanks for the great plainness of speech with which the Savior affirms this promise. It is declarations such as these that have the ability to sustain us in the hour of temptation. Let us let these words sink down into our hearts' affection! Let us seek to triumphantly glorify God by our faith in His beloved Son!

Faith and the Power of God. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:16-17).

This power is not exerted upon men from without, but rather it is power that is summoned into action from within as men believe the record which God has given of His Son. It is power that is operative wherever there is faith in God's Son, to enable them to live godly, to perfect holiness in the fear of God, and to set their affection on things above. It is power that is unto salvation.

Faith and the End of the Law. "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom. 10:4). Faith is not the beginning of lawlessness for the believer in God's Son, but it is the end of the law's requirement as being the condition of salvation. For those who are in Christ, obeying the gospel and continuing in the faith are the conditions that must be met for the reception of salvation. Those conditions are certainly doable to those who have an honest and good heart, and we ought to give thanks to God continually for this blessed arrangement and benefit. 

The Benefit of Unashamedness. "Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded" (I Pet. 2:6).  There are often times when the people of God are confounded and put to shame in this world by rebuffs from the ungodly. But shame and consternation shall not be their ultimate portion. When they are at last inducted into the "everlasting habitations" (Lk. 16:9), they shall never again be "confounded world without end" (Isa. 45:17).

The Benefit of Overcoming. "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I Jn. 5:5). We must overcome the world in all three of its essential elements: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (2:15-16). 

Some of the most notable of the sons of earth have sought, in their own way, to overcome and conquer the world. From God's perspective, however, they all failed, and the world, with all of its sinful lusts, actually overcame them. But every one who has believed that Jesus is the Son of God, and who continues in that confidence unto death, or until His appearing, they shall, without question, overcome the world! By their faith they shall have been the victors over the world's lusts, pride, and corruption, and they shall be "accounted worthy to obtain that world" (Lk. 20:35).

The Witness in Ourselves. "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son" (I Jn. 5:10). It is one thing to be an heir to the benefits of salvation, and it is quite another to know, of a certainty, that these benefits are ours. It is by means of this witness within us that we know that we have eternal life (I Jn. 5:13), and that "we know that we know Him" (cf. 2:3). --Editor

It is of Faith, that it might be by Grace

It is of Faith, that it might be by Grace
By Al Stoner

"Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all" (Rom. 4:16).

The Identification of "It". The "it" of reference (it is of faith) pertains to the manner in which the "blessedness", of which David spoke (Ps. 32:1-2; Rom. 4:6-10), comes upon men, who were once associated with sinful defilements. It has reference to the way that righteousness is able to be imputed unto men (Rom. 4:5). It answers the question regarding how that the holy God is able to justify the ungodly (cf. Rom. 4:5). To the unthinking mind, these matters might appear to be insignificant and inconsequential. But not so. It required the most thorough exercise of the Divine wisdom to devise means so that God's banished be not expelled from Him (cf. II Sam. 14:14). And expelled, or cast away, they would have to be, unless suitable and adequate means had been devised of Him.

Present-day religionists are very assuming, and have not even come up to the level of Bildad the Shuhite, who queried, "How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?" (Job 25:4). And hear Job himself as he asks a similar question, "I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?" (Job 9:2). It is not until men have been perplexed by questions such as these that they will be enabled to receive with gladness the blessed provision for the putting away of sins in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the means, so far as men are concerned, is by faith.

It is of Faith. Therefore it is of faith, (which is to say), It's not by the means of keeping the law or by the doing of the works of the law. It is not by the means of vain attempts to measure up to God's standard, or God's righteousness, or God's glory. Nor is it by the means of doing the best that one can, as some are heard to speak. And it is not by the means of using resources received from Adam, from the natural man, or from tradition. Those possessing this faith and living by faith are those who are "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (Jn. 1:13).

Rather, it is of faith, it is by the receiving and belief of Divine testimony. "He that hath received His testimony hath set to His seal that God (who cannot lie) is true" (Jn. 3:33; cf. Tit. 1:1). It is by believing God. It is by believing the record which God has given of His Son. Oh, to see more clearly ourselves, and be able to persuade men more effectively of the gravity that is associated with believing this record, as well as the grave consequences of not believing it! This is a matter about which God is most sensitive. He has put His very Person and Character "on the line" (cf. Gen. 22:16-18; Ps. 110:4; Heb. 6:13-20), as it were, in the commitments and promises which He has made regarding "the gospel of His Son" (Rom. 1:9).

It is of faith. That is, it is by taking hold of those things that are revealed in the Scriptures and which have become substantive to our inward perception because of faith. It is by justifying God by the possession of evidence of things that are not seen, only for the reason that He has testified of them. It is by the means of an inward persuasion of things that are revealed of God in His Word, and yet not seen. Such things as these are not perceptible with the resources of the natural man. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God" (I Cor. 2:14).

It is of faith. It is by the means of God working all of His salvational works in and through men, and yet the possessors of this faith are involved in that work every step of the way. "But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God" (Jn. 3:21). These are the words of the King, and they are good words! Consider that which was spoken by Isaiah: "Thou also hast wrought all our works in us" (Isa. 26:12). "This people have I formed for Myself; they shall shew forth My praise" (Isa. 43:12). And again, Paul declared, "we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).

All of these things mentioned above are of faith; they absolutely involve the exercise of the faith, of which the Lord Jesus Christ is both the Author and Finisher (Heb. 12:1-2). Again, Paul affirmed, it is given unto men to believe on Christ (cf. Phil. 1:29). And yet that faith is to be diligently maintained by the ones possessing it (cf. Jn. 6:27-29). This is the fundamental "assignment" that God gives to "every man" (Jn.6:45) that would come to Jesus, and continue in Him (cf. I Jn. 2:24). "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him (Christ) whom He (God the Father) hath sent" (Jn. 6:29). This is a lifetime assignment, and it is an all-encompassing one.

That it might be by grace. It is of faith, in order that God's grace may be brought into the forefront of consideration, both to men and to heavenly intelligences. It is of faith, in order that that good thing which Noah "had" (Gen. 6:8) may not only be the benefit of eight souls (cf. I Pet. 3:20), but, much more than this, may be magnified and multiplied in a vast multitude which shall be as "the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable" (Heb. 11:12) "world without end" (Eph. 3:21). It shall be "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues" (Rev. 7:9). Such is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is of faith, so that the contrition and repentance expressed by David after sinning with Bathsheba (Ps. 51), may become the mind of all who are turning away from their sins, and believing on the Name of the only begotten Son of God.

It is of faith, so that God's thoughts may become the thoughts of redeemed personalities. As the Psalmist, transcending the covenant of his time, expressed the mind of all of the partakers of the salvation which is in Christ, "How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!" (Ps. 139:17). It is of faith, so that men may fellowship with God, even in the matter of the putting away of their sins by the Lord Jesus Christ. Such fellowship is experienced in the possession of a purged conscience, a conscience purged from dead works to serve the living God.

It is of faith, in order that of all the glory that God revealed unto Moses, "merciful and gracious" may now, in these last days, become the most prominent and glorious of them all through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Moses had to be hid in "a clift of the rock" (Exod. 33:22) in order that he might behold somewhat of God's glory. But in the world to come, because sins have been effectually put away by Christ, redeemed personalities eternally shall bask with exceeding great delight in the glory of God, because "the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev. 22:1, 3) shall be there. "The throne of God and of the Lamb", even in the present time, speaks a marvelous cordial to all those who are now engaged in the warfare of faith, striving against sin, and drawing nigh unto God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith.

It is of faith because Christ has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (II Tim. 1:8-10). The blessed abolition of death, eternal life, and immortality are things which are perceptible, yea, they may be handled, in a very real sense, by those who are living by faith. It is of faith, because Christ has tasted death for every man (cf. Heb. 2:9). It is of faith, because Christ has once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (I Pet. 3:17).

It is of faith, because God Himself is inclined to be being gracious. It is of faith, because mercy and truth have now met together, and righteousness and peace have kissed each other (cf.Ps. 85:10) in the purging of sins by Christ. It is of faith, so that God may be unrestricted in the display of His love, mercy, grace, and kindness to believing men, namely, to those who are in Christ Jesus.The fact being stated, this is not to cast any reflection on the Character of God. The law was "added because of transgressions, till the Seed (that is, Christ) should come to whom the promise was made" (Gal. 3:19).

To the End that the Promise might be Sure to all the Seed. The temporal blessings promised under the law, because of their dependence on perfect obedience on the part of the doers, were actually not sure to any of the seed under "the first covenant" (Heb. 9:1) . As James declared, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (Jas. 2:10; cf. Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10).

But in Christ, and in the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (II Tim. 2:10), there is a diametrically different modus operendi. It is that of faith, so that God may be gracious, so that His beloved Son and the salvation which is in HIm may become accessible to "whosoever will" (Rev. 22:17), to honest and good hearts (cf. Lk. 8:15), to those who are given to mourn because of their sin (cf. Mt. 5:4), to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mt. 5:6), to those whom God teaches to greatly value His Son (cf. Jn. 6:45) and who thus receive Him (Jn. 1:12) and continue in Him (I Jn. 2:24).

The promise is sure to all the seed, because fulfillment of the promise depends entirely upon God, and upon Christ. As it is written, "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy" (Rom. 9:16). By virtue of this situation, men are thrust entirely upon "God, who cannot lie" (Tit. 1:1), and upon Christ, who is "the faithful Witness" (Rev. 1:5), for both the accomplishment and full realization of "the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 1:1). "And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life" (I Jn. 2:25). Jesus said, "Ye believe in God, believe also in Me" (Jn. 14:1).

It is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed. --editor@banner.org

The Authors of this Blog

The authors of this blog have been selected because of their faith in, and evident devotion to, the Lord Jesus Christ, and also because of their experience, despite multiplied trials, in fighting the good fight of faith. When these brethren speak or write, generally they are drawing from the well of their fellowship with the Savior, as well as, their experience in the kingdom of God. In large measure, they are familiar with the ways and Character of the God and Savior that is revealed in the Bible. They are, with their heart's affection, conversant with God's will and purpose: what life is all about, what the nature of God's salvation is, the end to which God's eternal purpose in Christ Jesus (Eph. 3:10-11) is moving, how I as an individual fit in with this purpose. These writers are presently partakers of God's salvation in Christ, and they are write from this perspective. We are not claiming that when they express themselves, that they are writing ex cathedra, as some corrupt religionists would claim. But what we can say is that these believe the truth (II Th. 2:12) know the truth (Jn. 8:32-44), they have received a love of the truth (II Th. 2:10), and they are walking in truth (II Jn. 4). They are not disengaged from the warfare of faith. And they are not merely some who, in their earth wisdom, are able to say a few things about the Bible. These are asking, as well as speaking about, the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward (Jer. 50:5).

If you feel that you are one of these kinds of individuals, described above, and would like to contribute, you may send a request to: Al Stoner, editor@banner.org