FAITH

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12)

Scripture teaches that "by grace are ye saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8), and that faith (or belief, same word) in the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross is essential to salvation (John 3:15-18, etc.). But faith does not stop there; it grows as a Christian matures. Let us look at some of the characteristics of a growing faith in God.

One who has accepted God's gracious offer of forgiveness and salvation, one who, by faith, has found God trustworthy, comes to trust Him and His promises in other areas as well. Paul, who had been sorely persecuted for his faith, claimed, "Nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:12). God will faithfully fulfill His promises, and we can have faith that He will.

The great heroes of faith, some of whom are listed in Hebrews 11, all had one thing in common. They dared to trust God for great things, even impossible things, and moved out on that basis. Consider Joshua: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days" (Hebrews 11:30). Joshua was confronted with an impossible problem, but dared to trust God for a solution.

Then there is the mature faith which can "rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him" (Psalm 37:7) in the face of hardship and opposition. "For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD . . . shall inherit the earth" (v. 9).

At every stage of our Christian lives, God allows us opportunities to exercise and expand our faith. Remember, "without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6).















Sing Praise To The Lord

Mark Chandler

RUN LIKE THE WIND

Things to Flee

"Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22)

There are times to stand and there are times to flee. There are some things so fearful and deadly that it is foolish to try to face them at all. The only rational course, when confronted by them, is to flee!

The most obvious of all such enemies is the wrath of God, for His judgment is terrible and eternal. Therefore, His message to all unsaved men and women is to "flee from the wrath to come" (Matthew 3:7—the first occurrence of "flee" in the New Testament) by receiving Christ as Savior.

It is wise to refrain from all kinds of sin, but certain sins have such deadly consequences, even in this present life, that the Scriptures warn us to flee from them. "But thou, O man of God, flee these things" (1 Timothy 6:11). In context, the apostle Paul is here warning against "the love of money" (v. 10) and those who suppose "that gain is godliness" (v. 5). Those who desire to be rich, he says, "fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition" (v. 9). Therefore, flee from this temptation!

He also warns us to "flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:14)—that is, from worshipping and serving any part of the creation "more than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). This warning is especially appropriate today when there is such a wide resurgence of evolutionary pantheism.

Also, we must "flee fornication" (1 Corinthians 6:18). This is a deadly danger to the Christian in this day of amorality. Finally, as our text says, young believers (and old believers need this admonition, too!) should "flee also youthful lusts," if we are to be able to "call on the Lord out of a pure heart.















Sing Praise To The Lord

Mark Chandler

THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE

The Sure Foundation

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure." (2 Timothy 2:19)

The preceding verses of this section of 2 Timothy are replete with warnings about the damage that could be done through "babblings" and cancerous words. But God is unshaken by whatever man might do. "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he" (Deuteronomy 32:4).

"I am the LORD, and there is none else," Isaiah joyfully quotes (Isaiah 45:6). "I am the LORD, I change not," the prophet Malachi is told (Malachi 3:6), and there is "no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17) in the God of creation. God's sovereign will is absolute: "The word of our God shall stand for ever" (Isaiah 40:8). "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isaiah 46:10).

We who are the twice-born, and thus the children of God, can stand firm and steadfast in the knowledge that He who is "sure" is the One who is working in us "to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). He has adopted us as His children "by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Ephesians 1:5).

It is no random act of capricious fate that has secured us. It is the sure foundation of the great Creator God. It is His divine power that has "given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." That calling rests on "exceeding great and precious promises" that enable us to participate in the "divine nature" and escape the awful "corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:3-4).















Sing Praise To The Lord

Mark Chandler

VESSELS OF THE HOUSE

Vessels of the House

"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour." (2 Timothy 2:20)

The "house" referenced here by Paul to young Timothy is the "house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). In the Old Testament, the tabernacle and temple were the dwelling place of God and the center of worship led by a high priest from the tribe of Levi.

Now, we are members of the Lord's "house" (Hebrews 3:6) and are like "lively stones" that are being "built up a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5), led by Jesus, who is the "high priest over the house of God" (Hebrews 10:21).

This "great house" has many "vessels" in it of different values. Some are "honorable" instruments (vessels of high value) that serve in the New Testament economy in some parallel function to that of the vessels of the inner court of the tabernacle and temple. Those instruments of gold, silver, and brass (Exodus 25; 2 Chronicles 4) each played a part in the liturgical worship, designed as part of the "schoolmaster" to teach us about the law of God (Galatians 3:24). The more public and formal the use, the more valuable the vessel. The most valuable were set closest to the Holy of Holies.

There are also vessels of "dishonor" in the great house. The tabernacle and temple had "earthen" vessels for certain functions (Leviticus 14). These were expendable—necessary, perhaps, for some short-term need, but not valuable. Since the church now functions as the "pillar and ground" of the truth, the "honorable" vessels are expected to purge themselves from that which is "dishonorable." 















Sing Praise To The Lord

Mark Chandler

WALK IN TRUTH

Walking in Truth

"I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father." (2 John 4)

This beautiful metaphor, "walking in truth," is found only in the two one-chapter epistles of John—here in our text, and in 3 John 3 and 4. This principle should indeed characterize our daily lives, since our Lord and Savior is Himself "the truth" (John 14:6), the Word of God which we believe is "truth" (John 17:17), and the Holy Spirit who indwells our bodies is the very "Spirit of truth" (John 15:26).

The New Testament also uses other characteristics of the Christian life under this figure of walking. When a person is born again through faith in Christ and testifies of this by following the Lord in baptism, he or she is said to be raised to "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

Then, since the Holy Spirit has come to indwell our bodies, to comfort, guide, and constrain us as needed, we are exhorted to "walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Furthermore, we are commanded to "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us" (Ephesians 5:2). This is not erotic love, of course, or even brotherly love, but unselfish "agape" love that sacrifices its own interests for the needs of others.

There are still more such exhortations. "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time" (Colossians 4:5). Furthermore, we are to "walk in the light, as he is in the light" (1 John 1:7).

All of these and other similar admonitions can be summarized as simply following the example of Christ. "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked" (1 John 2:6). "He that followeth me," said Jesus our Lord, "shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12).















Sing Praise To The Lord

Mark Chandler

WHO IS THIS "I AM" OF THE OLD TESTAMENT?

"I Am" in the Pentateuch

"And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." (Genesis 15:7)

There are seven "I am's" in the book of Genesis. The first is a beautiful figure of speech ("I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward" |Genesis 15:1|), but the others are all names and titles of God. The first of these is in our text above, identifying Jehovah Himself (the LORD) with the "I am."

The next is Genesis 17:1: "I am the Almighty God." The Hebrew here is El Shaddai ("God the nourishing sustainer"), also found in 35:11. Next is in 26:24: "I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee." Then, "I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac" (28:13). "I am the God of Bethel" (31:13). Beth-el means "the house of God." Finally, God says: "I am God, the God of thy father" (46:3).

In Exodus, there are 21 places where God says "I am." Most of these are merely variations of the different names of God as noted above in the "I am's" of Genesis, but six do give new insight. The first, of course, is the great assertion of Exodus 3:14 where God identifies Himself as "I AM THAT I AM." The others: "I am the LORD in the midst of the earth" (8:22); "I am the LORD that healeth thee" (15:26); "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God" (20:5); "For I am gracious" (22:27); "I am the LORD that doth sanctify you" (31:13).

In the remaining books of the Pentateuch, the phrase "I am the LORD your God" occurs very frequently, but there are two important new "I am's." "I am holy" occurs six times (e.g., Leviticus 11:45), and "I am thy part and thine inheritance" is recorded in Numbers 18:20.  

The great theme of all these claims and names of God is that the mighty God of time and space is also a caring, personal God. We can trust Him, and He cares for us. 















Sing Praise To The Lord

Mark Chandler

I AM THAT I AM

The Name of the Lord
 

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:14)

This unique name of God was given to stress the truth that He is timeless. The name "LORD" (Hebrew YHWH = Yahweh, or Jehovah) is essentially the same, conveying the truth that He is the eternal, self-existing One.

The Lord Jesus Christ appropriated this divine name to Himself when He told the Jews: "Before Abraham was |i.e., 'was born'|, I am" (John 8:58). Correctly assuming that this statement was nothing less than a direct claim to identity with God, the Jews immediately (but unsuccessfully) attempted to stone Him to death as a blasphemer.

As the I Am, the Lord Jesus Christ is, indeed, everything, and He has revealed Himself to us under many beautiful symbols. It is well known that there are seven great "I am's" in the gospel of John, each of which is rich with spiritual depth of meaning. They can be listed as follows:

"I am the bread of life . . . the living bread" (John 6:35, 51).
"I am the light of the world . . . the light of life" (John 8:12).
"I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7).
"I am the good shepherd . . . |who| giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11).
"I am the resurrection, and the life" (John 11:25).
"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
"I am the true vine" (John 15:1).

It is well known that this magnificent self-assertion of the Lord permeates the whole Bible, from its first use in Genesis 15:1, "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward," to its final occurrence in Revelation 22:16, "I am . . . the bright and morning star." And all these beautiful figures help us to pray more fervently "that God may be all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28).















Sing Praise To The Lord

Mark Chandler