Abiding comes “by faith alone”
March 3rd, 2011 by Kristi Stephens
Be sure to join me over at Scripture Dig today – all through the month of March we’ll be digging into the book of Ruth! Today I’m walking us through a quick overview of Judges so we can better understand the time period!
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“…it is not only by faith that we first come to Christ and are united to Him but also by faith that we are to be rooted and established in our union with Christ. Faith is essential not only for the commencement, but also for the progress of the spiritual life. Abiding in Jesus can only be by faith.
There are sincere Christians who do not understand this; or , if they admit it in theory, they fail to realize its application in practice. They are very zealous of a free gospel in which our first acceptance of Christ and justification is by faith alone. But after this they think everything depends on our diligence and faithfulness. While most firmly grasp the truth ‘the sinner is justified by faith’ (Galatians 2:16), they rarely find a place for the larger truth, ‘The just shall live by faith’ (Romans 1:17). They have not understood what a perfect Savior Jesus is, and how He will each day do for the sinner just as much as He did the first day he came to Him. They do not know that the life of grace is always and only a life of faith, and that in the relationship to Jesus the one daily and unceasing duty of the disciple is to believe, because believing is the one channel through which divine grace and strength flow out into the heart of His people.
The old nature of the believer remains evil and sinful to the last; it is only as he daily comes, empty and helpless, to his Savior to receive His life and strength, that he can bring forth fruits of righteousness to the glory of God. Therefore it is: ‘As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” As you came to Jesus, so abide in Him, by faith.”
-Andrew Murray, Abiding in Christ
You can find all of the posts in the abide series listed here.
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- Posted in Abiding in Christ, Christian life
March 3rd, 2011 at 8:12 am
I’ve been meditating recently on these verses:
Micah 7:18+19 “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; HE WILL SUBDUE OUR INIQUITIES; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
There are a lot of thoughts I love in these verses, but yesterday I was particularly challenged by the thought that He’s the one who subdues our iniquities. So I loved reading your Murray quote this morning – “He will each day do for the sinner just as much as He did the first day he came to Him.” May we truly daily “live by faith”!
Thanks Kristi!
March 3rd, 2011 at 11:01 am
I think even when we know that we are to live by faith, we can make faith itself a work. If we can just “muster enough faith” to do this thing right! Oh yes, how we need Him daily, just as we did the first day we were born into Him.
March 10th, 2011 at 8:32 am
[...] and “aha” moments and moments with teary eyes. There are also seasons when we learn to abide in faith, just as we learned to accept salvation in faith. He is no less there, no less active, no less [...]