Bible

Exercise Your faith

“If you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and cast into the sea,’ it will be done” Matthew 21:21

When I was younger I was physically active and had no need to give special attention to my fitness but later my life became more sedentary and it was necessary to actively seek out physical activities in order to try and keep my body reasonably fit and strong. The fitter and stronger we are the better we are able to enjoy life. I sought out appropriate sports, activities and even joined the local volunteer fire service with a view to keeping physically active. When these were not an option I attended a gym.

We all know that if we want better physical capabilities we must exercise our muscles. That usually means discomfort and perspiration but the end result from regular exercise is a stronger and fitter body to enjoy life.

I have heard it said that the brain works like a muscle. If we don’t use it we lose it. The same can be said of faith in Jesus Christ. If we do not exercise our faith it will become stagnant and shrivel. Many of us desire a stronger faith and God has provided the way – faith exercises! Generally we don’t like exercising, unless it is in the form of a sport, but we do enjoy the results. In order to exercise faith we must live in circumstances where faith in Jesus is tested regularly. As we read the Bible we see many examples of God taking people through circumstances where they needed to trust Him. The result was that their faith increased.

Job’s faith in the Lord was tested; Abraham and Isaac’s faith was tested (Genesis 22) and many others. In each case, when their faith in God was proven, their faith increased. Paul wrote in his letter to the Christians in Rome, “For in [the Gospel of Christ] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” (1:17). The way to more faith is to exercise the faith one already has.

Don’t be confused by the untrue cliché, “faith can move mountains.” It can do no such thing. It is the object of faith, Jesus Christ, who moves the mountain. When we are exercising faith it must always be faith in Him to perform it if the mountain is to be moved. It is not the amount of faith that matters; it is the object of our faith that matters.

Jesus is not a miracle worker to do everything we want but He delights to respond to faith placed in Him. He will send us many tests and as we act in faith we will grow stronger in faith. If our faith is weak there are two closely linked possible reasons – hearing (Romans 10:17) and heeding His word. It is necessary to first know and understand God’s word and will and then to act faithfully on it. If we don’t use it we will lose it.

Closed Bible = Closed Heart

“The Word of God … is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12

On their way from Egypt to the land promised to Abraham and his descendants Israel neglected the Word of God. They heard it but left it out of their lives. As a consequence of not believing God’s Word they did not act upon it or obey it. The further consequence was that they never experienced the rest that God had for them in the land of promise; they never even entered that land and therefore did not know what they missed.

It isn’t unusual to hear comments that produce fear when people speak of governments becoming “big brother.” We don’t like someone else peering into our lives especially when it is someone who has authority over us.

As we read the passage above, and its context, we may be inclined to think that God is up there somewhere with a big stick looking forward to an opportunity to use it. However this is opposite to reality as the context of this verse shows.

The intent of God’s Word is to show us where we have attitudes and behaviour contrary to or out of kilter to His own. Such attitudes and behaviour prevent intimate fellowship because God is holy. “God is light and in Him is no darkness” (1 John 1:5). The Divine Nature is such that God can have no fellowship with any nature that is not exactly as His own. This is why we are helpless in ourselves to enter into fellowship with God.

For each of us the “eyes” of Scripture searching our thoughts and inner-most being is painful but there are two possible outcomes. Either we will close the “eyes” of Scripture by closing our Bible or we will embrace the truth and reality it reveals however horrid and wicked it may reveal us to be. God’s intent is that we see what He already knows us to be so that we will agree with Him that this is what we are. He will then forgive and cleanse us from our sin through the blood of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9).

The writer of Hebrews writes, “Let us therefore come boldly (with confidence) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” He means that when the Word of God reveals the evil thoughts and intents of our heart we may come, by God’s grace, to the throne of grace and obtain mercy and find grace even though we are what the Bible has revealed us to be.

When the Bible reveals sin in our heart it is not time to close our Bible, it is time to pour out our heart to God, agreeing with Him, and accepting His forgiveness and cleansing. We can do so with confidence because Jesus Christ died for our sin.

Watch out for the Thief

“Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward” 2 John 8

John’s letter is a sober reminder that we are in spiritual warfare and if we drop our guard we will suffer loss both now and in eternity. Salvation is the gift of God so that is not what John is writing of here. In his first letter he mentions the spirit of antichrist and in this letter he revisits this subject.

The spirit of antichrist is a deceiver of believers (v 7) and through error deceives people into believing things that are untrue concerning Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. Henry Ward Beecher wrote, “Whatever is only almost true is quite false and among the most dangerous of errors. Because being so near Truth, it is more likely to lead astray.”

If we allow the spirit of antichrist to lead us to believe false teaching concerning Jesus Christ, it will rob us of our present intimacy and fellowship with Jesus Christ and the joy that accompanies it. It will also cause us to be eternally short of where we might have been in intimacy with Jesus.

The spirit of antichrist will also cause defections from truth and love (v 10). Once deceived by false teaching a person will have defected to Satan’s cause. The only protection we have is to continue abiding in the doctrine of Christ. As Paul writes to Timothy, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13).

The spirit of antichrist also necessitates divisions and separations in the church (v 10). Separations are neither desired nor pleasant but because the spirit of antichrist is at work within the church it is sometimes necessary. We should not compromise the Gospel or doctrine of Christ for the sake of staying together. We must be discerning and discriminating. It is a sad thing that some churches, in an attempt to maintain numbers or grow, have sacrificed truth concerning Jesus Christ. The outcome is that people are deceived into defecting from Christ to serving antichrist and they are robbed of present joy and eternal reward. It is this reward that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ in and for eternity.

Teaching concerning Jesus Christ is so vital that it is the difference between heaven and hell; between being with Christ or antichrist. To diminish its importance will have eternal fatal consequences.

Daniel Webster wrote, “If truth is not diffused, error will be. If God and His word are not known and received, the devil and his will gain the ascendancy.” The church must hold fast to sound doctrine or its people will suffer great loss.

Love and truth always go together. To truly love others is to use truth to serve them in order that they might have full joy and receive a full reward.

There is Always More

“We all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect (mature) man” James 3:2

Quite a few years ago during a family discussion on a particular activity I espoused some knowledge from my distant past experience with that activity. My son (in his twenties at that time) was amazed and asked how I knew so much on that subject. What he didn’t know was that I had participated in the activity in question for several years but it was all before he was born. He didn’t know what he did not know. This is true with us in regard to the Bible. It may seem to us that there isn’t any more to know, that we know the whole  story, but we cannot know what or how much we don’t know.

The verse above reminds us to be humble and teachable with regard to the Bible. Pride will want to make us an authority in order to make us feel good or to elevate ourselves and diminish others in our sight. Then we will “stumble in many things.” We may not say it outright but in our hearts there is pride that will make us feel a little better than others. It may be that some Christians have little interest in further study of the Bible because they think they know all there is to know. James wrote, “We ALL stumble …”

Understanding God’s word is very important in living our life with Christ but it is not the ultimate objective. The Bible is replete with affirmations on the importance of knowing and understanding God’s word and wisdom in its application but it is not the ultimate goal. We seek Jesus. Paul writes, “… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:10). Yes, we will stumble in many things but let us keep our eyes on Him. There will always be more that we don’t know so a humble teachable spirit should underpin our character. This involves placing ourselves where we can learn and is why God has given gifted teachers to the church.

We acknowledge that there is more to know and understand but that does not mean that we should be as the wind blowing to and fro when it comes to doctrine. The Holy Spirit is the One who will help us to learn and understand God’s word. After all, it is He who moved men to record what we now have in the Bible. Our part is to read the Bible daily, meditate on it and study it. God will then take us through life experiences that will help in our understanding.

The mature Christian will know that there is a limit to his knowledge and will not be lifted in pride so as to stumble in word.

Fully Convinced

“… and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” Romans 4:21

The way some people view God’s word would seem very strange to the apostle Paul quoted above and to many of the people to whom God has spoken. The above verse is a reference to Abraham and is key to what faith in God and Jesus Christ is. Abraham took God at His word and took it in its normal literal context. He was convinced that God had said what He meant and meant what He said. He wasn’t speaking mystically or in riddles that Abraham had to try and solve in order to know what was required of him. As a result of being convinced he then acted upon what God had actually said, not on a mystical interpretation of what God had said. Confusion in understanding of God’s word comes about because we don’t follow Abraham’s example.

In a storm on the sea Paul said to those with him, “I believe God that it will be just as it was told me” (Acts 27:25). Believing what God has said has a very practical application in life.

Noah was also convinced that God had spoken plainly to him and built an ark as it was told to him. Had he decided that God meant something smaller because such an ark was too hard to build the outcome would have been different. What if he did as some do today and decided that God only meant a local flood? He would have built a smaller ark and only taken local creatures on board. Now that error in understanding would give the environmentalists something to complain about!

Jonah certainly believed that God meant what He said even though he was unwilling to do as asked. Hebrews chapter 11 records the names of many others who did exactly the same as Abraham. Such names as Rahab, Gideon, Samson, David and the prophets are mentioned as men and women who were convinced that God had spoken what He meant and they acted on it without disappointment.

Zacharias, John the Baptist’s father, endured nine months being dumb because at first he didn’t believe what God had said. Mary believed God’s messenger when told she would conceive outside of marriage by the Holy Spirit. What if Joseph had not believed the angelic messenger and believed instead that Mary had been unfaithful? How different the Christmas story might have been! Both Mary and Joseph were convinced that God had spoken through the angel and that they should take what they were told in its normal literal meaning even though they knew it would open them up to criticism from their religious leaders. They were fully convinced that what God had said He was also able to perform.

This week we have a day set aside to reflect on God’s faithfulness not only to His word to Mary and Joseph but to all of the men and women to whom He has spoken throughout history. Christmas, as well as Easter, is a time that we can especially reflect on God’s word and our attitude to it. Instead of trying to make it say what we want to hear let us follow the example of so many others and take God at His word. That is the message that Paul was conveying when he wrote this verse to the Christians in Rome. It is just as valid now.