February 1931
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62
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The Just Shall Live by Faith B y T. M arshall M orsey (Los Angeles, Calif.)
HERE is a great need in the church today for ^ men and women who are doctrinally orthodox % to translate their orthodoxy into practical liv- ing. Even those who are fundamentally sound W in the faith sometimes fail to realize the impor- L tance of this fact. Christianity is not merely a religious system; it is a Person. Christian theology, in the last analysis, is the personal history and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith in Him will always lead to consistent and practical Christian living. We are discussing at this writing the doctrine of jus tification by faith—a doctrine which is familiar to every Christian, and one that is vitally important to believe and to understand. But it is not so much its theological mean ing as its practical application to a life of faith that we have in mind. It is this latter aspect which is emphasized in the quotation of the text, “The just shall live by faith,” found in the epistles to the Galatians and the Hebrews. A C lear C ommand It is not merely a statement of fact. It is a com mand of God. Every Christian is to be a living example of faith in Him. Some people—even Christian peop le- say, “I do not believe in the faith life.” .What do they mean? It is not a question of what they like or what they believe. God has issued a decree. The failure of the church today lies, fundamentally, in its lack of obe dience to God’s command to live by faith. The fact that the church is living by sight and not by faith is leading her to spend millions of dollars for magnificent buildings and elaborate services. But, following the faith principle, the gospel spread like wildfire when men like John Bun- yan could sit in a barn, look up through the rafters and patched roof, and call that place “the palace beautiful” because God was there. They did not need to see beauti ful frescoes and to hear magnificent choirs, for by faith they saw “him who is invisible,” and their souls were en- .raptured. They found God in every humble place of wor ship, and they needed not to have great temples in which to commune with Him. Yet the faith that God demands is not impractical. It does not lead to cessation of service for Him. Faith comes first; then work follows the course of God’s direc tion. Do not rely upon your plans, your schemes, your cleverness; but trust God. If we look at the future in the light of prophecy, we may expect some of the days to be bright and some to be dark. Because of the prevailing business depression and other unhappy circumstances of the present day, many are passing through deep trouble. But if we live by faith in God, we need not be anxious. It is a time for God’s people to follow His injunction to live by faith. This attitude of trust is necessary not only for their personal wellbeing, but for the sake of the unsaved. The church will never attract the lost 'if its ideals are as materialistic as those of the world which it endeavors to win. It is when people see their mater ial strongholds falling that they reach for the unseen re alities. But we will be utterly unable to help them if we are trusting in the same uncertain refuge as they..
A n U nalterable C ovenant Furthermore, this word, “The just shall live by faith,” is a covenant of God. The Lord, who called Abraham to walk by faith, made a solemn covenant with him—a blood covenant—sealed with an oath. Its special privi leges are extended to us also. We can refuse to abide by the terms of the covenant, but we cannot annul it. It re mains fixed, unchangeable. When God made this cov enant with Abraham, He promised him that not only would he be justified by faith, but that through his faith and obedience the whole world would one day be blessed. God kept that promise to Abraham and provided life by faith in Jesus Christ. He sent His Son, born of the seed of Abraham, who by His death paid the penalty of the broken law. He was made a curse for us, so that the way of faith might be opened. He sent forth the proclamation, “Believe and live.” He provided a way whereby men might begin at once to live an eternal life, counting upon Him moment by moment to keep them from the penalty and the power of sin. God has provided life through faith in Christ, and He offers no alternative. The righteousness of the law brings death. All are included under sin, and no works of the flesh or of the law are accepted. By the works of the law is the knowledge of sin, and the flesh is called “the body of this death.” In the seventh chapter of Romans is a clear portrayal of the truth that the end of both the law and the flesh is despair and death. So then, life is obtained through faith, and in no other way. God’s solemn covenant with Abraham, by its very nature, de manded salvation by faith. Any other method would have been unfair to the trusting patriarch. Every child of the covenant stands on the same ground. He stands, by faith, in right relation to and in eternal fellowship with God. A U niversal W ay The way of faith is, moreover, the only possible way that could become universal. When God promised that He would, through Abraham, bring blessing to all the na tions of the earth, He was in duty bound to provide a method which would be within the reach of every mem ber of the human family. Had eternal life been offered to men on any other basis than simple faith, some would have been, of necessity, disqualified and shut out. For instance, the standards set for the civilized man could never be reached by the illiterate African tribesman. The moral man and tbe immoral man could not have been touched with the same message. Faith, however, is open to rich and poor, learned and unlearned, good and bad, up and out, and down and out. “The just shall live by faith.” This is a message that can be received and ap propriated in every age and clime and condition of human life. A M ea n s ' of B lessing To crown all this, we find that living by faith is the only way to receive the rich blessings of God which were promised to Abraham. But this is the believer’s privilege.
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