THE BENEFITS OF FAITH

"I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day." So goes the chorus of a wonderful little hymn which celebrates the assurance that belongs to those who belong to Christ. As we consider this first of five benefits which may belong to all of those who belong to Jesus, we may well ask how this important benefit is experienced. Thomas Watson observes that "it is not any vocal or audible voice, or brought to us by the help of an angel or revelation."

No indeed, if we were to claim some personal special revelation in our time, we would be denying the very words of Scripture and the witness of the Creeds and Councils which understand the Canon to be closed after the first generation of Christians repeated the words they heard directly from Jesus Christ. Also, we would be hard pressed to lift our witness above the New Age Gurus who claim an inner testimony of some "spirit guide" or of a "previous life experience". In addition, we have to be very careful and even a little suspect of feelings! Recently, I had to fill out a recommendation for someone. They were applying for an important position which required responsibility and dependability. The form was only interested in how I felt about the situation which I was addressing. How sad, there were no practical questions at all. Quite the contrary was Thomas Watson's admonition about knowing the assurance that God would grant to all of those who believe in Him. This practical assurance of knowing Christ may be understood simply. First, we well understand the Scriptures to teach us that whoever believes in and fears the Lord is indeed loved by God.

Second, in our hearts we may sincerely testify that we fear and love the God of Creation. This understanding on our part leads us to the third premise that the Lord does indeed love and care for us. Certainly, we have some spiritual experience in our lives to demonstrate the threefold premise before us here? This experience is nothing more than the working out of what Paul calls in Romans (8: 16) the witnessing of the Spirit with our spirits, that we are his children.

The second benefit that flows from the experience of salvation, involves peace of conscience. I remember the terrified letter that I once received from a former student. It had been three to five years since I had seen her. She had fallen in with some weird body of believers who had taught her that she had to contact everyone whom she had ever wronged and ask for their forgiveness. So she had written to me to ask forgiveness for having cheated on a paper when she had been in my class. So I wrote her a long letter back. In it I asked what would her spiritual leaders say if I had refused to forgive her? Would they say she was still lost in her sins? I even went further and asked her, what if you can't remember all of the people who you need forgiveness from? Would her so called spiritual leaders conclude that she was lost forever? I tried to point out the utter absurdity of the garbage she was being taught so that she could enjoy the real peace of conscience that when we are forgiven for our sins, then the implication of that forgiveness is totally true both now and forever.

Yes, if the Lord lays it on our conscience that we owe someone an apology so that His name may be glorified, then by all means do so. But, peace of conscience here is ever so much more important than trying to remember every single sin so that we might find forgiveness. This practical, spiritual peace of conscience is nothing more than our comprehending that we are indeed forgiven for each and every sin. Each week, we begin our worship with a reminder to come before the throne of heaven and lay our sins before the Lord. Then we humbly ask for His forgiveness, knowing full well that Christ has died for our sins and that we are promised over and over that we are indeed forgiven. Now, if we should become overconfident in thinking that we might sin all the more to increase the glorious ability of our God in heaven to forgive, then we have indulged ourselves in presumption. The extreme of such an ego filled expectation has little to do with the real humbling experience of God's saving Grace.

Third, there is the joy in the Holy Spirit which is a wonderful blessing in the midst of a stress filled living of the Christian faith day in and day out. In the last few weeks, I have had all manner of people call, talk or write to me about how terrible my life must be in the after blow of loosing Dad. Certainly, there have been tears, but there have been new found responsibilities to focus my heart and mind on the assorted and increased tasks before me. In spite of the initial and real pain, I do know that peace leads to joy. Some years ago, when Dad was going through the same process of caring for an older generation, there seemed to be no end of such duties. One afternoon, when he was driving a relative home from another trip to the doctor, he thought for a moment, how easily it would be to turn the wheel of the car in the wrong direction and end his self inflicted suffering.

Immediately, he realized the error in such stupid thinking and resolved to face his responsibilities since his calling and labor must be given as to the Lord Himself. You know, just as he learned, there is a great satisfaction in knowing that you have done all that you could do in any situation to honor and glorify the Lord of Lords. Pity, the poor earthlings who are always wondering if they could have done more and thus caused events to come out differently. They will never enjoy the peace of the Holy Spirit that comes from doing the nitty gritty work of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Our fourth benefit this morning involves the increase of grace. It was this benefit that brought us to the passage in Colossians which we read earlier. Look at the list of labors recited in verses ten and eleven. Just as Christ's calling involved work, suffering, hardship and persecution, so shall the sharing of His glory bring similar experiences upon us all. Thomas Watson observes that a "good Christian is like the crocodile. ... He is never done growing".

By this comparison we understand a fact of nature, that Alligators and such reptiles do continue to grow their life long. When the Spanish first explored the southern swamps, the came out with tales of fearsome thirty foot beasts who must have been 150 years old! If the worldly were so awe struck by such a mere beast, think of how they would react to Christians who were really truly maturing in grace, wisdom and power according to the blessings of the Holy Spirit.

Just this week a shared an article from World Magazine, where the author showed how Abraham Lincoln understood his ethical calling. The phrase "honest Abe" takes on a whole new meaning. You see, Lincoln had promised to marry a "young" lady that he had not seen for some years. When he began to renew his acquaintance, he was horrified at the specter which stood before him. Any other human would have run and forgotten their commitment. However, Abe went ahead and courted her and asked her to marry. Only when she refused was He relieved from the honest burden that he had undertaken on the basis of having given his word! Do we wonder why the Church of Jesus Christ is in such sore estate today. Here is a prime reason, Christians have stopped growing in grace and understanding.