God's Plan for Dealing with Worry

by Eldon DeBoer

 

We all struggle with it from time to time. Some of us struggle with it a lot. This thing called worry. Worry involves continuing to have anxious thoughts about what is happening to us. The result is a detrimental negative mental and emotional condition.  The reason I allow worry to dominate my thoughts is because I have failed to apply the truth of God and His Word to what I am facing.  Worry happens because I lack faith in the Lord and in His Word as it should be applied to what is plaguing me.  Yes, I too struggle with worry.

George Mueller stated, “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.” “Whatever is not of faith is sin” from Romans 14:23, is the biblical basis for Mueller’s conclusion (cp. Philippians 4:6-7).

It is humbling to recognize that until we see Jesus and are transformed into His likeness we will not be completely free of worry with no lapses from it. We succumb to the weaknesses of our sinful nature. Our faith is not yet perfect. But we may be free of worry, for a while at least, as we turn our eyes upon Jesus and trust in Him again.

Let’s consider the teaching that the Lord has provided in Philippians so that you may be free from worry.

Stop worrying because you trust in the Lord and trust in His Word.  Philippians 4:6

Philippians 4:6 starts off with the command, “Be anxious for nothing,” or “Don’t worrying about anything” (NLT). In order to heed this command we must have confidence in the Lord and His Word.

Believers who “stand firm in the Lord” know what to do with their worries (cf. Philippians 4:1). You may “Stand firm in the Lord” by“pressing on” toward the goal of knowing Christ (3:10,14) with the truth fixed firmly in your thinking that He has made you a citizen of heaven (3:20-21).

When we make knowing Christ the number one priority in life, the troubles that may cause anxiety may be viewed from His perspective from the teachings of His Word more and more.

 

Hudson Taylor, missionary to China and founder of what is presently known as the Overseas Missionary Fellowship, gave this excellent advice: "Let us give up our work, our plans, ourselves, our lives, our loved ones, our influence, our all, right into [God’s] hand; and then, when we have given all over to Him, there will be nothing left for us to be troubled about."

Citizens of heaven who are rejoicing in the Lord and want a vital and meaningful personal relationship with Christ know what to do with their worries (Philippians 3:1; 4:4). They place everything in God’s hands, especially their worries. And they talk to the Lord about the anxiety they are facing and its causes. They apply step two.

Talk to the Lord about what is happening as you keep in mind that the Lord will hear and respond.  You can trust in Jesus.

As a believer in Jesus you certainly should know that you can trust Him. Life may not be what you had expected or hoped for. Stuff happens, decisions are made that you wish you could back and change.  But remember, Jesus loved you enough to suffer and die in your place so that you could enjoy Him and His heaven forever. So talk to the Lord about the specifics of what is going on in your life. Pray for the Lord’s insight. Ask Him, “What principles from Your Word should be applied to what I am facing?

The Lord declared through Jeremiah, “Blessed is the man who trusts (batach) in the LORD and whose trust (mibtach) is the LORD” (17:7). Then He described what this man is like:

For he will be like a tree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.

Believers who keep on trusting in the Lord have stability in life and do not become filled with anxiety when their lives go through seasons of drought. When times and relationships become troublesome, they are not overcome with worry. This is addressing what is generally true of a mature believer in Christ. However, no one has perfect faith. Therefore, there may still be occasional times of anxiety. But we should understand that when we side step God's plan for dealing with worry we have failed to make the proper application of the truth to what is taking place. We are failing to trust in the Lord and His Word.

Keep talking to the Lord about the stress in your life. Is there anything He wants you to do in response to what He has placed in your path? In addition to talking to the Lord about it, maybe there are some specific things He wants you to do. Ask the Lord Jesus to help you evaluate your worries. It may be needful to seek the counsel of another believer in Christ who may be able to share some insights from the Word of God that apply to your circumstances.

Ask the Lord, “What is the root cause of my worries?” Think through what may be underneath the cause of your anxious thoughts and feelings. Maybe you will find that you have anxiety for no good reason.

Believers who faithfully renew their confidence in the Lord and His plan are able to apply His Word by His grace.

Talk to Jesus with an attitude of thankfulness because you know the Lord Jesus will work out His plan for your good in your life.
Praying “with thanksgiving” is in keeping with the commands in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit."

A rejoicing and thankful heart is from the Lord and His grace as we remember the promise of Romans 8:28 for all who love God. 

"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God."  (HCSB)

All the circumstances of life should be viewed from God’s perspective from divine viewpoint, as much as possible. When we are confident that the Lord will somehow bring about good through the very troubles we are facing we may be thankful as we keep on talking with Him about life as it is. 

The importance of taking in the Word of God, pondering the truth He has given to us should be obvious. When we willfully turn away from the Lord and His Word we are quenching His Spirit’s work in us.

We talk to the Lord and are thankful because we believe in Him. He has the answers to our worries. He is providentially ordering our life. A thankful attitude in the face of very difficult times is from the Lord by His grace and the ministry of His Spirit.

We can be thankful because we know the Lord always has our growth and productivity in mind (cf. John 15:7-8). We are able to be thankful by His grace when we understand that He wants us to enjoy an intimate, even better personal relationship with Him (John 14:1, 23; Ephesians 3:16-19; Revelation 3:19-20). And most times it is only by undergoing stressful times that we get closer to Him (James 1:1-6). May we view the stress that is causing the worries with an attitude of thankfulness to the Lord.

When you apply this teaching from Philippians, you’ll experience God’s peace within. The promise of Philippians 4:7 is based upon applying 4:6.

God Promises Peace   Philippians 4:7

God’s peace will guard your heart and mind. The Lord Jesus will give you emotional and mental stability by His grace.

God’s peace is not a result of your ability to work it out by yourself. This is what the phrase, “the peace of God which is beyond all understanding,” (nous) is about. God’s peace does not result from your mental abilities or psychological adjustments that you think you can conjure up on your own. God grants His peace by His grace to believers who want to know Christ more and more as they keep on applying Philippians 4:6.

All the praise should be offered up to the Lord Jesus for enabling you to stop worrying and giving you peace. When you turn your thoughts to Him and His Word, you should experience His peace within. This is the emphasis of what follows in Philippians 4:8-9:

"Moreover, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good reputation with God, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."

When you apply the truth that the Apostle Paul taught by the Spirit, focusing on the Lord and His Word, “the God of peace will be with you.” God will give you a strong and healthy sense of well-being because you know Him and His plan for your life.

Five “don’ts” to avoid concerning your worries:

1. Don’t sweep your worries under a rug by attempting to ignore them.

Meet your worries head-on, trusting the Lord to give you the grace to face them by the application of His Word.

At this point, maybe you need something on the lighter side. For several years a woman had been having trouble getting to sleep at night because she feared burglars. One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he did find a burglar. “Good evening,” said the man of the house. “I am pleased to see you. Come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10 years to meet you" (William Marshall, Eternity Shut in a Span).

2. Don’t succumb to escape mechanisms.

Turning to alcohol or drugs is often caused by not dealing with anxieties from the Lord’s view that you may be experiencing. However, if your anxious thoughts do not diminish while you are seeking the Lord’s insight, it may be necessary to consult with someone who may be able to determine whether or not there is a physical problem causing the unusual level of anxiety.

3. Don’t worry about worrying. Don’t become anxious about your anxieties.

When you find yourself worrying again, thank the Lord that He has the grace solution to all your anxieties in your personal relationship with Him in understanding His Word and plan for your life.

But you may be wondering, “What do I do when I seem to “blind-sided” by anxious thoughts that tie me up in knots within?” This is what “for a while at least” in the brackets under the title of this message are about. Yes, this teaching provides for a worry free life in Philippians 4:6-7. But thinking that we can be worry free without any lapses this side of heaven is not being realistic. Everybody worries from time to time because no one has a perfect or complete faith. We have not yet been completely glorified with perfect natures. When the Holy Spirit brings to your attention that you are not applying Philippians 4:6-7 in your life confess it as sin, receive the Lord’s forgiveness, get your eyes back on Him and meditate on His Word (1 John 1:9 – 2:2; Hebrews 12:1-3). When the mental and emotional state of worry sweeps over you seemingly without notice and you find yourself fretting within, stop and reflect upon and ponder what you know to be true of Jesus Christ, what He has done for you and the wonderful relationship you may have with Him that He has made possible because He loved you so much and suffered for you.

4. Don’t worry about what may never happen.

A woman who had lived long enough to have learned some important truths about life remarked, “I’ve had a lot of trouble—most of which never happened!” She had worried about many things that had never occurred, and had come to see the total futility of her anxieties. Maybe just waiting and allowing some time to pass will alleviate the cause of your concerns.

J. Arthur Rank, an English executive, decided to do all his worrying on one day each week. He chose Wednesdays. When anything happened that gave him anxiety and annoyed his ulcer, he would write it down and put it in his worry box and forget about it until next Wednesday. The interesting thing was that on the following Wednesday when he opened his worry box, he found that most of the things that had disturbed him the past six days were already settled. It would have been useless to have worried about them.

5. Don’t confuse worry with concern.

We should be concerned about many things. But be alert for when legitimate concerns cause you to begin to fret within.

Try to imagine the task the Lord called His prophet Jeremiah to carry out. Certainly he had heartfelt concerns about what the Lord had called him to do and what he would witness. He had to tell the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem that the Lord God was going to bring judgment upon them. Because of the ongoing sinfulness of the Judeans, they would experience tremendous suffering at the hands of the Babylonians who the Lord had raised up. Jeremiah’s concern for the people he loved caused him to have deep levels of anxiety from time to time. This is especially evident by what he wrote in Lamentations. Jeremiah kept renewing his confidence in the Lord even though life was hard and certainly not what he would have chosen for himself.

May we be like Jeremiah. May we renew our trust in the Lord in the face of our concerns when we find that we have become anxious once again. How thankful we should be that the Lord Jesus will help us recover from our worries by His grace as we apply the principles from His Word.

This teaching is for believers in Christ Jesus who have placed faith in Him as their personal Savior. When you believe in Jesus Christ He will give you His Spirit so that you may stop worrying by His grace. You should know that He gives you much more in addition to freedom from worry. He gives you everlasting life with Himself forever because He suffered and died in your place on Calvary’s cross, bearing your sin in His body (John 6:47; chapters 19 – 20). He will make you free of worry forever with no lapses of trust in Him. Yes, you will have no more problems with worry and be given much more when you are perfectly transformed into His likeness and see Him face to face (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 John 3:1-3; Revelation 21:4). You will be completely free of struggles with stress. But until we see Jesus face to face and become totally like Him, we must draw upon His grace and His Spirit, seeking to apply the truth and teaching given in Philippians 4:6 so that we will experience God’s peace promised in 4:7.

Share your thoughts with me at edeboer.gmm@gmail.com.  Thanks.

Don't Live a Wasted Life by Falling from Grace

by Eldon DeBoer

A prominent concern that the Apostle Paul had for the believers of Galatia is expressed in 4:8-11:

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. (NIV)

How could Paul have wasted his efforts on the Galatians? They had heard the true gospel and believed in Christ. They had received everlasting life by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (cf. Galatians 3:1-5). Yet Paul feared he had “wasted [his] efforts on” them because they apparently were buying into the same false message that Peter was approving by his behavior (2:11-12. Another article, which is available upon request (edeboer.gmm@gmail.com), “Acting in Line with the Truth of the Gospel,” addresses this in detail). They were “observing” certain laws that they thought were of God and apparently were thinking that this was necessary in order to secure their righteous eternal standing with God. Before believing in Christ for justification they had been “enslaved” by “those weak and miserable principles” and now they were returning to these rules thinking they must live by them in order to secure or remain secure in a right standing with God. Therefore Paul’s concern for such believers in these verses may be summarized this way:

Do not enslave yourself to a set of rules for fear that you will lose what cannot be taken from you. To do so is to live a wasted life.

Paul feared for the Galatians because they were in danger of living wasted lives. If his teachings of the grace message were not applied, his work with them would have been “wasted . . . efforts” because of the tragic result that their lives would remain unfruitful before God. This applies to believers through the present time. For, you see, believers in Christ will live forever with God whether or not they grasp and apply the message to the Galatians. They may live a wasted life or they may walk by faith applying the law of love because of Christ’s love for them and receive eternal rewards (Galatians 2:20; 4:10; 5:1-5). Paul indicates this in greater detail in Galatians 5 where he pointedly declares,

You have become estranged from Christ [have faded away from Christ], you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:4; NKJV)

This verse sets forth the fact that those who attempt to be justified by the law have “become estranged from Christ” and “have fallen from grace.”

Some translations use words stronger than “estranged” which do not fit the larger context of this letter. The word translated “estranged” in the New King James is katargeo and may be rendered “faded away”. 

When a believer in Christ has fallen from grace by assuming he can secure his right standing with God by keeping a law he thinks is of God, the tragic result is that he has faded away from Christ in his experience, in his walk with Christ.

Believers in Christ who seek to secure their right standing with God or think that they can remain secure with him by obedience to the Law or a rule that they think is of God, “have faded away from Christ.” Their walk with Christ becomes that which is not compatible with grace because of their works orientation. If the people addressed had believed in Christ like Abraham did (Galatians 3:8ff.), they had not lost their eternal standing with God in Him, which is impossible (cf. Ephesians 1:13-14). But their relationship with Christ Jesus had been severely damaged. Believers in Christ who continue to try to “be justified by law” cannot have a meaningful and intimate personal relationship with Jesus. A grace oriented, meaningful relationship with the Savior in this life on earth is maintained only as a believer walks with Him by faith, obeying Him out of gratitude for having been completely justified by faith (Galatians 2:16-20; cf. Colossians 2:6-7).

By seeking to secure their right standing with God for eternity by obeying a set of rules, believers have “fallen from grace” in their experience with Christ. They no longer trust in Christ Jesus alone to provide their justification. Since they are seeking to be “justified by law” they have “fallen from grace” from the standpoint of their relationship with Christ in time. Instead of drawing strength and power from the Lord Jesus as they walk with Him by faith like Paul did (Galatians 2:20), they seek to be secure in their relationship with Him by obeying “rules and regulations” (4:9-11). Those who seek to secure a right standing with God in this way have become “burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (5:1). They have once again become enslaved to the law and know little or nothing of the freedom they could have in Christ. Therefore they have “fallen from grace” in their relationship with Christ Jesus here and now in time. Said another way, they have fallen out of favor with Christ in this life as they keep striving to be justified before Him by their obedience.

A Wasted Life is a Life that Has “Fallen from Grace” Galatians 5:13-24

There are two possible tragedies presented in Galatians that result from “falling from grace.”

1. Those who have fallen from grace live in danger of having a wasted fruitless life.

2. Those who have fallen from grace live in danger of leading others into a wasted fruitless life.

Believers who “attempt to be justified by law” do not communicate the grace message by the way they live their life and certainly cause confusion by what they communicate verbally to explain their behavior. Therefore they are ineffective as true ambassadors for the clear message of God's grace in Christ Jesus.

To whom does Galatians 5:4 apply?

It applied to believers in Antioch who were buying into the message of “the party of the circumcision.”

It also applied to the believers of the churches in the region of Galatia to whom Paul was writing who also had become confused by their false teachings.

Whenever believers in Christ attempt to secure their righteous standing with God (to be “justified by law”) by their obedience to any rule or rules, they have “fallen from grace,” they have faded from Christ. This does not mean they have lost their eternal standing with God, but that their life in relationship to Christ in time here on earth is no longer grace-based. They fall from grace in practice but not from their position in Christ.

Peter had fallen from grace in practice, but not in position.

To a limited extent Galatians 5:4 may have been applied to Peter (2:11-15). The application is limited because Paul does not explicitly state that Peter actually bought into the false message of the legalistic Jews. Peter feared them and therefore he had fallen from grace by what he communicated by his behavior. He had fallen from grace in practice, while remaining in Christ positionally for all eternity.

While this letter to the Galatians does not explicitly state that Peter himself was trying to be “justified by law” it clearly is implied in chapter 2 that his behavior would have communicated that he had sided with those those who were communicating this false teaching.

Believers Who Are Free to Have a Fruitful Life by the Spirit

In contrast to those who have fallen from grace, those who are of Christ walk by the Spirit of God by faith in love and bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). They also are enabled by the Spirit to have victory over sin in their life:

And those who are Christ's (who have not “become estranged” from Him as stated in 5:4) have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24).

Believers have the wonderful gift of the Spirit and are thereby able to put to death the sinful flesh and manifest the fruit of the Spirit. This is what should to be characteristic of their lives.

In contrast to those who walk by the Spirit, are those who are guilty of the sins from the sin list in Galatians 5:19-21. Believers who have faded from Christ may be found guilty of these sins:

• Contentions/enmities/antagonistic
• Jealousies/envy
• selfish ambitions/selfishness
• dissensions/party spirit
• heresies/factions/disagreements
• sexual sins
• idolatry
• sorcery
• drunkenness
• orgies/carousing

Some believers often question the eternal salvation of people guilty of sins they consider to be particularly “gross” that are included in this list. The fact of the matter is that their behavior also falls in line with living according to the sinful passions of the flesh if they are guilty of practicing any of these sins. As they themselves attempt to secure a right standing with God by keeping the Law or a law that they assume might prove that they are justified, when they might become guilty of say, "selfish ambitions," they are no better off than someone guilty of "orgies/carousing" before God.

What God desires is that believers walk by the Spirit so that they will have an inheritance in His kingdom. Believers who keep on living by the fleshly sinful nature will have little or no inheritance in Christ's kingdom. They will have lived wasted lives. This includes those who think that they must prove that they have been justified by keeping a set of standards while they themselves remain guilty of what they would consider to be lesser sins.

Conclusion

A life lived in slavery to the law to attempt to secure or retain a right standing with God is anathema (under a curse). Do not waste your life and the lives of others by enslaving yourself to laws of God for fear that you will lose what cannot be taken from you.

Believers in Christ will live forever with God whether or not they grasp and apply the message to the Galatians. They may live a wasted life by falling from grace or they may walk by faith applying the law of the love of Christ because of His love for them (Galatians 2:20; 4:10; 5:1-5; cp. 1 John 4:19).

Enthralled by God's Grace Message!! Again and Again!

by Eldon DeBoer

It has been said that our emotions are the responders of our souls. To narrow it down, when we ponder a particular truth, we may have an emotional response within our heart and soul. Should not all believers in Christ Jesus be enthralled by His grace message? 

Interestingly enough enthralled was formerly used of being held in slavery. It then came to mean to be held “spellbound” (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enthrall). We may become captivated and overwhelmed with emotion when we contemplate the truth of the grace of Christ Jesus. When we know Christ Jesus and the message of His grace we should be enthralled. When we read with understanding verses like 2 Corinthians 8:9, we should be enthralled:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (NASB).

Think of it! In eternity past God the Son chose to set aside the exercise of His attributes as God in order to be united with true humanity in the Person of Jesus so that He could serve us. He “became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” This should enthrall us! Knowing that our great God chose to do this for us should captivate us.

The great God who created all things and is the King of kings became poor for us so that He could serve us.  And by serving us in His death He defeated the devil and, therefore, we need no longer fear death (Hebrews 2:14-15). This should enthrall us! Christ Jesus took the sting out of death! (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).
And so we serve Him and make Him Lord of our life (1 Peter 3:15), deciding to please Him again and again because of what He has done for us. We “love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We are enthralled with who He is and what He has done for us and so we keep on choosing to honor Him. While we often fail to do this as we should, by the Lord's grace and by His strength (John 15:5), we can recover and be forgiven (1 John 1:9) and renew our commitment to Him over and over again.

Fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3) and become more and more enthralled with Him and His grace message!

When Looking to Jesus, there's Always More to See: There's Always "More Beyond"

The Challenge: Keep “fixing your eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:2

When it comes to the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, there is always more beyond. There will always be more to discover. As we keep looking unto Jesus in His Word, there is always more beyond what we presently know. When it comes to the knowledge of our gracious Master and Savior, Jesus Christ, there will always be more to learn (cf. 2 Peter 3:18).

Before the days of Christopher Columbus in the latter part of the fifteenth century, the Spanish proclaimed on their coins the Latin words Ne Plus Ultra, which meant “No More Beyond.” As they looked to the ocean and saw nothing beyond, their conclusion was there was nothing more than more water. But after the explorations of Columbus, the Spanish changed the inscription on their coins to read Plus Ultra, “More Beyond.” This inscription is found on a monument in honor to Columbus:

In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain’s motto for centuries. Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto was “Ne Plus Ultra,” which means “No More Beyond.” The word being torn away by the lion is “ne” or “no,” making it read “Plus Ultra.” Columbus had proven that there was indeed “more beyond.” (http://bible.org/node/10347)

Leading up to the challenge in Hebrews 12:2 to keep “fixing our eyes on Jesus,” we find what has been called “the great hall of faith.” We have our “Halls of Fame” throughout our land that have been established to honor those who have had success in sports arenas. But in Hebrews 11 we have a “Hall of Faith.” The believers of the days before Christ proclaim to us their success before God as they lived out their faith. Just before the Spirit moved the author of Hebrews to write of some of the specific acts of their living faith, he provides a definition of faith in 11:1.

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. New King James Version (NKJV)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. New International Version (NIV)

Notice that the underlined words are variously translated in Hebrews 11:1. Whenever this is observed among good translations of the Bible, it is a safe assumption that the translators are wrestling with the meaning of the Greek terms. The words “substance,” “assurance,” “reality” and “being sure” are translations of hupostasis. This word is used of God’s Son, Jesus Christ in Hebrews 1:3, where it is translated “nature” (NASB, HCSB), “being” or “person” (NKJV) (cf. Hebrews 3:14). The words translated “conviction,” “certain,” “proof” and “evidence” are from elenkos. Each of these translations is helpful in gaining an appreciation for the meaning of the words used. Each translation therefore provides more insight so that we can appreciate the meaning and application of this verse.

There is a progression of thought from the order of the translations given above. The truth of God and His Word provides for the objective “reality” of our faith (HCSB). Therefore our faith may have “substance” (NKJV). It then may become that which provides “assurance” (NASB). The NIV expands upon this idea and presents the strongest statement about faith. Faith is “being sure” and “certain” that what God has promised will come true. This was the testimony of the believers of Hebrews 11. Their behavior, their living faith, provides the “proof” (HCSB) of their strong confidence in the Lord and His promises. Underlying their actions was their faith in God and His Word

Since the believers of the Old Testament had the assurance that God was a God of truth and since they had convictions about their future with God beyond this life, they acted upon what they understood about God and His plan. These believers were sure of God's promises and were certain about what they could not see. And their lives revealed the quality of their faith.

Their faith had substance. The faith in their souls was an attitude or way of thinking that was based upon reasonable evidence. They counted on the reality of things they could not see physically. They had good reason to believe that they were not laying down their lives for nothing. What they did by faith would matter forever. God would reward them for their faith in Himself and in His Word (11:6, 16-17). Because of the quality of their faith they were truly successful in life from God’s view.

These acts of faith of the Old Testament believers recorded in Hebrews 11 were built upon their knowledge of God. Gresham Machen offers this concerning faith and knowledge:

That knowledge of God is regarded by the Bible as involved in faith and as the necessary prerequisite of faith. We can trust God, according to the Bible, because He has revealed Himself as trustworthy. The knowledge that God has graciously given us of Himself is the basis of our confidence in Him; the God of the Bible is One whom it is reasonable to trust.

These seven principles are drawn from Hebrews 11 and 12 about having a faith that endures unto maturity in Christ:

(1) Having a faith that endures is essential in pleasing God for “without faith it is impossible to please” Him.

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6, HCSB

(2) Having a faith that endures is revealed in doing “the will of God,” acting upon our faith in deeds done in the power of the Spirit to the glory of God. Hebrews 10:36 – 11:38; cf. John 14 – 16

(See information below under, “Keep Looking to the Son and Have a Faith that Endures.”)

(3) Having a faith that endures may mean letting go of certain things in life. 11:24-26, 35-38; 12:1

(4) Having a faith that endures is encouraged by the witness of the Old Testament faithful. 12:1

The testimony of the acts of faith of the “great cloud of witnesses” (believers of Old Testament times) is especially encouraging because they “did not receive what was promised” (11:39-40). They lived before the coming of the promised Messiah.

Hebrews 11:40 states from the NKJV, “. . . they should not be made perfect apart from us.”

(5) Having a faith that endures means that we keep on laying aside “the sin …” in our lives. 12:1

(6) Having a faith that endures may result in a longer life. 12:4-11; cp. 10:36-39

(7) In order to have a faith that endures unto maturity in Christ we must keep “fixing our eyes on Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of faith.” 12:2-3; cp. 3:1

Jesus is our supreme example of living by faith. He is the “founder, author, leader,” or “source” of faith. These are all possible translations of the original archegon (cf. Hebrews 2:10). It has been said that Jesus is the “one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith” (searchgodsword.org). The noun translated “perfecter” is teleiotes, which only occurs here in the New Testament. However the verb form, teleioo, occurs three times in Hebrews with reference to Jesus (2:10; 5:9; 7:28; cp. 7:19; 9:9; 10:1, 14; 11:40; 12:23).

Jesus is the founder or author of faith in that He established it from the beginning. He is the One that enabled people to live by faith--from Abel to those who first read and studied the Epistle to the Hebrews. So the faith that Jesus authored and completed is a reference to the living faith that was within Him and should be within us that results in the application of the truth in our walk with God.

Because the Christ Jesus has perfected faith in His life and ministry, we should look to Him and endure in our confidence in Him and live by faith in the application of His Word.*

We may endure or persevere in our faith more and more as we keep prominent in our thinking the Person of Christ and what He endured for us on the cross of Calvary.  Keep looking to Jesus in whom there will always be more beyond! 

How Can We Live by Faith More Consistently?

by Eldon

First, here is an explanation for those of you who may be new to this site and maybe don't know the intended context of the question, "How can we live by faith more consistently?"  The faith being addressed here is the belief that God exists and has revealed Himself and His plan in the Bible and that He rewards those "who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11).

People live by faith in the Lord God and His Word because they are convinced or persuaded that who He is and what He has revealed about Himself and His plan is in fact true.  And believers in Christ Jesus should live like they truly believe what they say they believe.  The problem is this: we are often weak and frail and fail do this as we should.  Our faith waivers.  We become entangled or weighed down with sin.  If we are convinced that Jesus is the Christ and provided deliverance from sin and death and eternal life with Himself forever by means of sacrificing Himself through His awful and horrible death, we should live by faith in thankfulness to Him.  But why don't we do this more consistently?  The most important explanation and answers are given in the letter to the Hebrews in the Bible.  We do not keep on "fixing our eyes on Jesus" as we should (Hebrews 12:1-3).  We do not set aside the sin that so easily entangles us.  And when we do confess our sin we often do not ponder the truth of Christ and His love for us following our confession (1 John 1:5 - 2:2).  We live by faith more and more consistently as we keep on looking unto Jesus, bringing to mind who He is, what He has accomplished for us, and most importantly, how much He loves us.

The people who first read the letter to the Hebrews (or more often than not heard it read or cited from memory in their time) struggled to live by faith much like we do.  So the Spirit of the Lord moved the author of this wonderful epistle to include the great "hall of faith," as it has been frequently called (Hebrews 11).  Believers in the Lord who had great faith lived out their faith in the Lord and revealed this in their decisions to act upon what they had become convinced was true.  Believers such as Moses who could have settled for a comfortable life as a prince in Egypt but instead identified himself with his relatives, the children of Israel (Jacob).  The amazing thing about these believers of great faith like Moses was that they lived before Christ Jesus came to earth.  And yet they showed they had great faith by the way that they lived!  Shame on us who live after the cross and resurrection of Christ for not living by faith more consistently.  And what's our problem?  We just don't fix our eyes on Jesus and ponder who He is and what He has done for us.  We do not renew our confidence and trust in Him like we should from day to day and hour to hour.

Notice I said we!  I'm right there with you.  I often do not live by faith like I should.  But I'm crying out to Jesus for the grace to live be faith and please Him more today than I did before.

So what's our Lord Jesus, our Savior, calling you to do this day to express your confidence in Him, obviously showing that you have been persuaded that His Word is true?

Grace to Think Like Jesus Thinks

A number of years ago WWJD became a popular challenging question. Yes, it is a good thing to ask ourselves, "What Would Jesus Do?" when facing decisions about what to do in a given circumstance. But before we can do what Jesus would have us do (quite franky we can't do what He did in many respects), we have to think like He thought. We have to have God's viewpoint--the divine viewpoint that applies to a particular course of action.

There are verses in the Bible that tell us what was at the very heart of Jesus' thinking. And believe me, we can't begin to think like He thought in the way He thought about His life and ministry without God's grace to do so.

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:3-8; New American Standard Bible)

Need I say more than what the Apostle Paul has declared by the Spirit in these verses? But maybe a few thoughts will be helpful.

In order to serve us the One who existed as God in all eternity past decided to not express all that He was as God. In joining Himself to a human body like ours he "emptied Himself" by setting aside the complete and free exercise of all that He is as God. The One who owns everything looked out for our interests and our greatest need in doing this.

It has been said that grace is personified in the Lord Jesus Christ. Just think about it! Jesus loved you so much--He looked out for your interests--by dying for you so that you could live with Him and enjoy Him and all who have believed in Him forever.

Do you struggle with being self-centered like I do? Cry out to Jesus to think more like He thinks so that you will look out for the interests of others, serving them in meaningful ways.

Ask God to give you the grace to think more like Jesus thinks.

God's Grace for No-Fear Love

God wants to pour out His grace upon us so that we will experience no-fear love. How often do we fail to reach out to others to meet their needs because fear disables us from doing so?

How fantastic an experience it is to focus on the Lord Jesus and His love and receive the grace from Him and His Spirit that casts out fear in our life. With all that is going on in this fallen sinful world we live in there could be great cause for fear; fears that disable us. But as 1 John 4:18a declares, "Perfect love casts out fear!" Here's a translation, partly from The Amplified Bible:

"There is no fear in love (dread does not exist), but full-grown (complete, perfect, mature) love casts out fear!"

The verses that lead up to this declaration have drawn a great deal of attention to the awesome love God has for us as demonstrated by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus (4:7-17). The Lord Jesus came to this earth in a real human body so that He could ultimately suffer and die in our place, bearing our sin and thereby satisfying (propitiation) the righteous and just demands of our holy God (1 John 3:16; 4:1-6). Jesus clearly has shown us what God's love means. God the Father has shown us how His love is defined by sending His Son to give His life for us. The Father sent the Son to earth and the Son willingly came to do battle for us and win the victory over sin, death and all evil.

When we become more and more occupied with Jesus Christ and His love for us, we will find that His love has cast out our fears more and more.

A 5-year old boy named Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn’t want to go in alone. He said, “It’s dark in there and I’m afraid.” She asked again, but the boy continued to resist because of his fear of what might be lurking in the dark. Finally Johnny’s mother said, “It’s OK—Jesus will be in there with you.” Johnny walked hesitantly to the door of the dark pantry and slowly opened it. He peered into the darkness of the pantry, but his fear began to overcome him and he started to close the door. But suddenly an idea came to him. He said, “Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?”

We chuckle at Johnny and his way of dealing with his fear of entering the dark. But we might be very much like that five year old boy when it comes to fear of other things in our life. We may wish that Jesus would suddenly appear from the darkness and put an end to what we fear. We should know that in a real sense Jesus is available to us and wants to appear from the darkness to shine the light of His Word upon the solution to our fears. The Lord certainly does not want us to be plagued by fears that disable us.

Nearly everyone (if not everyone) has experienced disabling fears to some degree or another. Disabling fears are those fears that keep us from doing what we would really like to do. For believers in Christ Jesus who want to please and honor Him, the most frustrating of all disabling fears are those fears that keep them from doing what they know Jesus wants them to do.

There are a lot of ways people have overcome their fears through counsel and psychological maneuverings. But, as 1 John 5:18 indicates, God's love brought to maturity in us is what casts out fear.

How does God’s love reach a level of maturity in us so that it casts out fear? By being occupied with the love God has shown us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. (Study and ponder 1 John 3:16-18 and 4:7-17 to appreciate the context leading up to 4:18.)

I remember vividly the time in my life when I begin to realize that the fears that had previously kept me from doing what I knew the Lord wanted me to do seldom hindered me any longer. What had happened? By God's grace I had become more occupied with Christ and what mattered was pleasing Him. I no longer was plagued by concern over what others thought of me and what I was doing or not doing. What mattered most was pleasing the One that had given His life for me.

A main result of being occupied with Jesus Christ and His love for us is a change in our relationships with others. When our perspective is there you are as we look to meet the needs of others and not here I am (no longer being occupied with self or being occupied with self less and less), fears are “cast out” of our life because God has given us His mature love by His Word and His Spirit. A mature love that is primarily concerned about others and not what is happening to us.

Occupation with Christ Jesus and His love and grace demonstrated by His person and work provides the knowledge base required so that the Spirit of God can bring you to the place where you can express no-fear love.

Yes, God's love brought to maturity in us casts out fear! This is God's work in us by His grace for His glory.