Part 16

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE--Romans iv.

There is one man set before us in this chapter as the man who had faith in God. The one thing which marks him more than any other is his faith. The man lived nearly 4,000 years ago, and yet he is still a vivid personality; he lives on in our thoughts and memories as the man who trusted God. His name is still reverenced all over the world, even among people of different religions, as "The Friend of God."

"The God of Glory appeared to Abraham," and from that moment Abraham's faith fastens on what God is. The attractive power of Jehovah drew him from his home, his relations and his country, and with every fresh revelation of God, Abraham's faith grasped more of God and clung to Him with a firmer hold. God's word was all he had to go by; whatever God said was enough for him; whatever God told him to do, he did it, because, to trust God means to obey Him. He had God with him at every step.

If ever there was a clear-sighted man, that man was Abraham, for trust in God enlightens our understanding. He was a man with a far sight. He saw what no other man then living saw. He saw that the day was coming when God would send His Son to be the Saviour of the world. How do we know this? Because Christ said, "Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." [Footnote: St. John viii. 56.] He saw far on into the future, farther than any other man then living. He saw the golden City, the holy City, "whose builder and maker is God." [Footnote: Heb, xi. 10.] Yes, the eye of faith not only sees God, it sees also what "God has prepared for those who love Him."

God was very real to that man. Abraham trusted God because he knew Him personally. Faith is the act of the soul which looks wholly away from self, whether it be righteous self or sinful self, and looks to God only, in complete submission and confidence.

It was because Abraham trusted Him that God stamped the man as His friend--Abraham My friend. On and on through all these hundreds of years he has been called "the Friend of God." In the book of Chronicles, in Isaiah and in the Epistle of James it is mentioned again, "He was called the Friend of God."

What is friendship? It is two hearts trusting in each other. Abraham trusted God, and God trusted Abraham. God put such confidence in him that He let him know that He was going to destroy the cities of the plain. The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" [Footnote: Gen. xviii. 17.]

Mutual trust is at the root of all friendship. Where there is a lack of mutual confidence in the home life or in commercial life it spells ruin. The great question for each one in life is, What is my relation to God? Is it trusting God, or is it doubting God?

"Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness." [Footnote: Rom. iv. 3.] What is righteousness? It means to be right with God, and the moment we trust God's Word we are made righteous, and we become righteous.

We read in Acts that after their first missionary tour. Paul and Barnabas reported in detail all that God had done, and how He had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. [Footnote: Acts xiv. 27.] So faith is the gate of life by which the Gentiles were entering in.

Here was a new fact proving that faith was the gate of the Lord into which the righteous should enter; [Footnote: Ps. cxviii. 20.] righteous because believing. Faith is the door by which God comes into our hearts. Faith is only the door, nothing in itself, but it is called "precious faith" because of all the life and joy and riches of grace and glory which it lets in.

Abraham is not only presented to us in the Word of God as the Friend of God, but also as a pattern for all believers, and we are told to take him as our model, "to walk in his steps," to trust God and to find in God's wondrous friendship all that he found. God has been teaching us ever since, through the simplicity of the faith of this man. The most remarkable point in his faith is this, he grasped as no one else had done that God is God because He can quicken the dead. [Footnote: Rom. iv. 17.] He can give life to the dead because He Himself is the Source of life. He calls "those things which are not as though they were" because He is the Creator of all things. This applies not only to the body but to the soul. Your confidence in God began when your soul, which was "dead in sin," was quickened into a new life. When we ourselves have experienced this quickening it gives us such faith in praying for those we love, knowing that God alone can quicken dead souls.

Abraham was "strong in faith"; even when God promised him a son, although it seemed impossible, "he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief," being "fully persuaded" that God was able to do it. To be "strong in faith" is to feel our utter helplessness and to rely on God's power only; to be "strong in faith" is to grasp God's promise and not to let anything make us doubt it.

We have an illustration of this strong faith in the case of the first missionary who went out to China a hundred years ago. The captain of the ship in which he sailed was an atheist, and one day he said to him with a sneer, "You don't suppose, do you, that you are going to convert those Chinese?" "No," said the missionary, "but I believe God is going to do it." Did God fail him? No. His faith was rewarded, and at the present time there are a quarter of a million Chinese believers who meet in fellowship at the Lord's Table.

What is faith? It is the link between me and God. The link between my emptiness and God's fulness. The link between me, the sinner and Jesus, the Saviour. Is there this link between you and God? Is the link on? Faith is the spiritual link, the one and only means by which a man can have dealings with God, realise God and walk with God. It is a living link between God and the soul, a living union. The word "faith" comes from an old word which means to bind. When I say "I believe God," it means that "I am His and He is mine for ever and for ever." It is trusting in His love, not a mere cold belief in His power. It is grasping His promises, because they are precious promises. It is the whole heart and mind going out and up to God. David says: "Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul; O my God, I trust in Thee," [Footnote: Ps. xxv, 1, 2, 5] This brings perfect rest. "Thou art the God of my salvation, on Thee do I wait all the day." Do we make it a habit to be constantly referring to God about everything? We learn first, that God is, and then our faith feeds upon what God is. His faithfulness and His lovingkindness are seen in all His dealings with us.

Faith has to do with unseen realities, for faith is the evidence, or proof of things not seen; [Footnote: Heb. xi. 1.] it makes them as real as if we could see them, and brings them near.

So we may say faith is like the telegraph wire which connects two places however far apart they may be.

We had an illustration of this not long ago. Our Queen Mary was in her sitting-room in Buckingham Palace. A hospital was to be opened in Canada 4,000 miles off, and she was asked to perform the ceremony. When the signal was given that all was ready, the Queen pressed a little ivory button and in two seconds the door of the hospital, which was held by an electric wire, opened, and in fifteen seconds the signal was flashed back that the hospital was open. So in about half a minute the signal went there and back over a space of 8,000 miles. How wonderful! and yet greater spiritual wonders are happening every day and many times in the day, if only we have faith in God and let Him work in us and through us.

I will give you another illustration how the simple touch of faith links us with God's power. A few years ago some rocks blocked the entrance into the river St. Lawrence, so that the ships could not go up the river to Quebec. It was decided that the mass of solid rock must be removed. How was it done? In the presence of a large crowd a little child stepped forward and touched an electric button and the whole mass of rock was blown up by dynamite and the passage cleared.

Faith has done great wonders in times past, and it can still do wonders, if only we make use of God's Almighty power. But the rule is, "According to your faith so be it unto you."

I will give you an illustration. When I want light in my room I touch the electric button and the room is filled with light. The moment I press the button I expect the light will come, and I am surprised if it fails. Why? Touching the electric button is like the touch of faith; it brings us into contact with the source of light. Faith brings me into contact with God Himself, for He is the source of life and light. God has ordained that faith shall be a power as real and as uniform in its working as light or heat or electricity. Everything about them is a mystery which we do not fully understand, but all the same they are real to us and we use them. Although we do not understand them, yet we prove again and again that they supply us with new life and energy simply by a touch. Even a child can touch. Faith places all God's fulness at our disposal, but it is only according to our faith that we receive it.

I know a poor woman who went through a time of great anxiety about her little girl who was ill. One day a Christian friend called to see her and she told her all about her trouble. When she had finished the friend said to her very tenderly, "You have forgotten one little word of five letters." "What is it? Do tell me," she exclaimed, looking puzzled. Then the friend, pointing on her five fingers, said slowly, f-a-i-t-h. The dark cloud cleared away and she was able to look up into God's face again and to trust Him.

So when Christ says, "Have faith in God," it is a command to hold fast to God. It means trust God about everything, great and small; nothing is too small. Trust Him to save you, and to keep you. Trust Him in every difficulty and in every duty.

"Little faith will bring your souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your souls."

When Christ said to Peter and the others, "Have faith in God," He said it very earnestly and with a ring of deep conviction in His voice. He knew in Himself what dependence on God means in the earthly life. Day by day He showed what it is to have simple trust in God. When He said, "Have faith in God," He said it very solemnly, because He was speaking on behalf of His Father.

He had come to reveal Him, so He says, "I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father hath taught Me I speak these things." He had already said, "He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life," and now He adds, "Have faith in God." Yes, He claims our confidence, our full confidence, not a half-hearted trust.

Our Lord saw men seeking other objects of trust, so He says, "Take hold of God, hold fast to God, have faith in God and never let it go."

The world's great need is faith in God. God's own character demands it. The Scriptures make Him known and reveal Him as altogether trustworthy, such an One as invites our entire confidence. To have faith in God means leaning on Him, letting Him bear the whole weight. There is a great difference between believing and committing. Many say they believe, but they are not willing to commit themselves to Him.