Faith or works?

 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-9.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:7-9.

The juxtaposition of faith vs. works has been tested throughout the church age. Paul tells the Ephesians that they had nothing to do with their works, but James on the other hand says, "Faith without works is dead". Is faith enough, or must there also be the "fruit of repentance" as John the Baptist preached? 

Well, certainly faith IS enough, in fact, faith is "The only way to please God", writes the author of Hebrews. But what is faith? What is belief? Is it simply agreeing with a fact? No, for James writes that the devil's believe that fact, and they tremble. I have heard an old story about a daredevil named Blondin. He was a circus acrobat who had stretched a cable across the mouth of the Niagara River, just before the falls. He told the crowd that he would now cross that cable with a wheelbarrow blindfolded! He asked the crowd if they thought he could do this, and many shouted yes. His next question, though, was "who will get in?". And thus true faith is illustrated. Not only do we agree that God is enough, our faith must be made real by actually placing our trust in Him. 

How many of us in this camp meeting have a testimony about what it actually means to trust God? I'd venture to say that we could easily take up the rest of our meeting and then some to listen to all of them! Hebrews chapter 11 lists the testimonies of the OT saints. So we are indeed surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Our testimonies are added to theirs and together we rejoice with them. My challenge, though, is not about the times when we have had no choice but the trust God, and found that He was indeed enough. No, how do we deal with the every day reality that we find ourselves in? Are there what Hebrews calls "besetting sins that so easily entangle us". How well do we overcome in the seemingly endless days of ordinary life? 

I cannot speak for any other camp member. I can only offer my own testimony. Let's just say that overcoming besetting sins has not ordinarily  been a part of my experience. Looking back on my life, my assumption has rather been that, well, no one is perfect, and I am trying my best, but mastery over sin is not possible. But is that what the Word of God teaches? Certainly not! What then have I been missing? I believe what I was missing was actual TRUST in the power of the Holy Spirit to, as John writes, "cleanse me from ALL my sin"! The key, I am convinced, is to first of all repent, which simply means changing my mind about my sins. I must not believe that sin is inevitable, but rather invite the Holy Spirit to search my heart, Psalm 139:23-24. When He examines me, and challenges me to think again, I am giving then the opportunity to confess those sins, and be cleansed from their power over me. 

Will this be challenged? Absolutely! Satan will demand to "sift us like wheat". If my sin be materialism, he will attack my possessions. If it be envy, he will make sure my undeserving neighbor will be given a position ahead of me. The question then is, "In whom will I put my trust"? Will I get in the wheelbarrow, or turn aside? But if we have committed ourselves to repentance, the Holy Spirit will be at our side, "taking every thought captive" to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Let us accept this challenge saints!

Dealing with sin

 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Romans 8:11-12

If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I Jn 1:9

So what does Paul mean, "through the Spirit"? I think this goes to the very core of he disciple's life. Some believe this is a matter of motivation. If your intensions are good, then so must be your works. I wonder though if there is something more. I wonder if Paul could have written, "if through the POWER of the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body"? Might have nothing to do with good intensions. Rather, upon what are we trusting when confronting our sin? What is this power of the Spirit? How might be access this power? 

I have seen that my younger days have gone by, and I was trapped in my sins. I knew nothing of the verse, "It was for freedom that Christ has set me free". It did not matter if my sins were peccadilloes or Armadillos, I was not getting away from them. I did not know there was any way of escape the sinful thoughts and imaginations. But this is not true. Yes, there is no way, by the power of my mind, will and emotion, that I was going to be able to conquer them, but I did not see that in fact, the power to overcome my sins was already in me. I just needed to tap into it by believing God's promises to me. 

What to do, then, with sin. Well, repentance seems like a good idea. However, repentance is not well understood. The word is "Metanoia" and it simply means, "To change your mind". Confession is also thought of as verbally telling your sins to another believer, and it is that, but really it basically is saying the same thing about your sins as God says. I'd suggest to go to Psalm 139 to start with, "See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me into the way of life everlasting". When the Spirit radar picks something up, repentance involves in putting the "sin tag" on it, and confession zaps it by agreeing with God that indeed there is sin, and it must go. Prayer might be something like "God I agree that X is sin, and I am changing my mind that there would be no hope to deal with X. Help me trust you to cleanse me from the ravages of X". Could this be walking in the Spirit, saints?

Election

 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh,

they stumbled and fell.

Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear:

though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after;

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion:

in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me;

he shall set me up upon a rock. Psalm 27:1-5

For those who adhere to Calvinist theology, today is a holiday - it's ELECTION DAY. But seriously, what are political elections anyway? Do we really suppose that man can choose something that is not in the sovereign will of God? Why should the results of a Presidential Election cause any angst? The great Hymn says, "Though all around my soul give way, He THEN is all my hope and stay". Amen. 

I was offended at my unbelief. Surely, God, you will not put us in the hands of that evil candidate, right? Habakuk had the same question about the Babylonians. How could it be that God, who has always blessed America, allow her to be judged by those more evil than she is? All I can say now, though, is that no matter what, God is still sovereign. And I can rest in that fact. If we are to be ruled by those who hate Him, if we are to be persecuted for righteousness sake, well then perhaps the end of the age is upon us, and His return is sooner than we suppose. 

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, support us in the stormy blast, and be our eternal home. God's ways are not our ways. His part is to act, our part is to trust. No matter who he elevates to the US Presidency, let us always remember this. Amen.