The nature of our Faith

Heb 11:1-2 - Now faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen, For by it the elders obtained a good report (were justified). 

Faith has always been what justifies men before God, in the old covenant and in the new. Faithful men of old had great confidence in God and are remembered because of the mighty deeds they did as a result of their faith and trust in God. God led them and they followed *because* their faith in Him was strong and they knew they could trust him if they followed his precepts and walked in his ways. We might be tempted to say, “Well my faith is strong and immovable in Christ!, I’m just having trouble walking in obedience and in godliness because of the weakness of my flesh, but at least there is no problem with my faith!” when in reality the root of the problem IS precisely our faith and the lack thereof. Faith and conviction drive our behavior, attitude and actions...you cannot separate them.

That is why Heb 11 goes on and lists in great detail all of the deeds the men of old did BECAUSE of their strong and immovable faith in God, it was their Faith that drove their unwavering trust AND obedience…..and their mighty works. Matthew Henry’s commentary puts it this way: Faith was the principle of their holy obedience, remarkable services, and patient sufferings. There is great pressure today to try and separate and compartmentalize our faith and behavior as if the two exist as separate entities within us and operate independently from each other, they do not. When we are told in 2 Cor 3:5 to examine and “test” ourselves to see if we are in the faith, what measure are we supposed to use? What aspect of our lives gets the scrutiny? I would contend that it is precisely our behavior, attitude and actions that we examine to determine if they demonstrate a good example of a person who is walking by faith. If we find those aspects lacking in our lives, then we go to God in humility and prayerfully ask Him to show us why and where we are lacking in the necessary faith to trust His leading.

Christians often wonder how their faith will hold up when the “real” persecution comes, when our faith is “really” tested, but I think our faith is tested every day. Our demeanor, attitudes and behavior *in all things*, are they Christlike? Do we *daily* fix our eyes on Jesus and let our character be molded by His inward work? Do we *daily* walk in righteousness, resisting temptation and walk in the Spirit? Do we *daily* put on the Lord Jesus and make no provision for the flesh? If we can’t do that now, then we are right to be concerned. If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? (Jer 12:5). But If we can learn to walk with Him victoriously in the day to day, then we have no need to fear and will be prepared and seasoned when the bigger trials come.

Buffeting the Body

1 Cor 9:27 - but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

One of the main reasons so many Christians fail to live consistently holy and clean before the Lord, which all true Christians will intensely desire to do, is because they have not practiced the principle of “buffeting their body and making it their slave” as the Apostle Paul practiced and taught in 1 Cor 9:27.

We have to understand that even though we’ve become a new creature in Christ and have been indwelled by His Holy Spirit, the flesh and it’s carnal appetites will still desire to be satisfied within us and must be steadfastly subdued by walking in the Spirit and denying its ungodly impulses. It’s a walk of faith. Christ has stripped the power of the flesh over us and given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness, but we must still walk that out by faith.

Why faith?  Because true faith in God will recognize the incomparable freedom and benefits of holiness and righteousness compared against the degrading, enslaving nature of sin. Enough so that whenever a fleshly urge rises up within us, intensely wanting to be satisfied, we say “NO!  You no longer have any dominion over me and I will not indulge you!...consider yourself denied!”.

You will be amazed at how quickly the temptation dissipates when you do this every time with determination. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you…...

We may not “feel” like doing this in the heat of the temptation, but the quality of our faith is PROVEN in that moment….everything leads up to the test. True faith is never passive, it is very active and must be purposely exercised the life of the believer. This is why the Apostle James said  “I will show you my faith BY MY WORKS”. Faith without works is considered “dead”. Some teach that faith is purely a gift and we don’t have any control over it, this is false. Faith is a gift AND a responsibility, it is given in measure, and then WE are held responsible to exercise it and build upon it. This is why we are commanded to “build yourself up in your most holy faith…” this is why it says in Hebrews “The just shall LIVE by faith, and IF ANY MAN shrinks back, my soul will have NO pleasure in him”.

Jesus makes an interesting statement in Luke when he says “When the son of man returns, will he find faith in the earth?” Will he find a people that have so committed themselves, in faith, to being like Him and being changed and conformed into His image, that they’ve learned how to “buffet their body and make it their slave”.

The Fight!

What exactly are we supposed to “fight” for? Isn’t it all taken care of? Hasn’t the victory already been won? Wasn’t everything settled at the cross? And yet Paul told Timothy to “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life!” 

In addressing the Corinthian Church the Apostle Paul said Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

You will never get the idea from the epistles that Christianity is spectator sport, where we just kick back and watch it all play out. It’s a very active walk of faith that demands our active, daily participation. Jesus said If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. The Race doesn’t end at the cross, it begins there.

We will face ups and downs in our pursuit of God….the battle to keep our zeal after God strong and our hearts warmed in His presence. The fight to be sufficiently engaged and focused on the pursuit of Him so as to be “filled with all joy and peace in believing and abounding in hope (Rom 15:13)”. The Psalms are filled with the high points of David’s relationship with God resulting in glorious outbursts of praise and adoration, but they also contain some very low points where he despaired of life itself as he struggled to understand why certain things were the way they were, and why it was difficult at times to “find God”. But he always knew where his refuge was and he always fought to find his way back to the anchor of his soul..and he ALWAYS found his way back, why? because God made sure he found his way back, why? because he knew David’s heart was wholly consecrated unto him...if you seek me you will find me, IF you seek me with all of your heart and soul and strength. Are our hearts wholly consecrated unto the Lord?  Or are they divided? That’s a question only we can answer….but it’s a good question to ask. God promises that he will show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect, which means “wholly committed” unto Him, but only to those who are wholly committed. A half-hearted walk with God will never provide the kind of “joy” in our salvation and sabbath rest that was always intended to accompany our walk with God and make the race a joy to run.

But all of that being said, there should be no ups and downs with respect to holiness and moral purity, that is a wholly different issue that must remain fixed and ever guarded. Don’t give the flesh any leeway for indulgence, you must remain ever vigilant and ward off any attempt of the flesh to try and regain dominance in your life, which it will always attempt to do if not steadfastly subdued by walking in the Spirit. The Apostle Paul himself said “I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest after having preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” So must EVERY person claiming Christianity do, as it says in 2 Tim 2:19  “....The Lord knoweth them that are his, and, let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity”. There is no room for waffling on that front, you must purge any accommodation or justification in your mind for the presence of any ongoing sin, any sin whatsoever, so that we can be of the same conviction as the Apostle Paul in Rom 6 when he said:  “How can we who are dead to sin live any longer therein??”.

Have we lost ground?

Philippians 3:16 - Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

The Apostle Paul is imploring us here to be careful to not lose the progress in our walk with the Lord that we have already attained as a result of neglect. Of course this makes total sense, but before we too quickly just store this in the mental archives, consider this: if we are not constantly seeking and clamoring after God in our daily walk, we will do EXACTLY that. It’s amazing how quickly we begin to lose ground if we are not on a constant “push” after God in daily pursuit.

So let me ask, have you lost any of the ground you had once attained?  Are you continually tending to the basic things that keep your soul stirred up and your desire strong after the things of the Kingdom of God? Are your affections still firmly "set on the things above" as we are admonished in Col 3:2?

Well yes...we say. I think so.....I’m still a Christian, I go to Church, I try to keep up some devotions and not do bad things.....You know, I just keep plugging along!

But are you enamored with the Word of God like you once were? Is it like a well spring of water for a thirsty soul like it once was? Do you delight to spend time with God in personal communion and fellowship like you once did? Is the desire to be changed into His image from glory to glory an overarching one?  Do you look forward with anticipation to each day knowing it’s another glorious day to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ? ....or has all of that diminished over time?

Has your walk with God become stale, lethargic, not providing the kind of abundant life, joy and peace it once did, and that Jesus promised it would when he said: “I have come to give you life, and that more abundantly”.

Have your prayer times become cold and mechanical, rattling off a list of petitions but no longer joyfully communing and fellowshipping with the savior of your soul and close friend? Have the concerns for this life, the pursuit of worldly things choked out your relationship with God and rendered you fruitless as a Christian.

Does the intense desire to “be ye Holy as he is holy” still captivate you and drive you to continually walk victoriously, through His strength, in holiness and moral purity?

Again I ask, are we walking by the same rule, are we minding the same things?  Or have we lost that which we had once attained?

Are we willing to be honest with ourselves? You don’t have to convince me or anyone else for that matter....convince God, who examines your heart. He knows where your real interests lie, what motivates you and captures your attention.....is it still the pursuit of Him? Is it still the intense desire to grow in all aspects unto Him who is the head? Are we willing to admit our true condition and that something needs to change? Are we willing to go back and rekindle that which once burned so brightly for Him and let it burn brightly once again? Will we return to our first love?

Be "filled" with the Spirit

Eph 5:18 - And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit....

There is a definite distinction between being “sealed” by the Holy Spirit and being “filled” with the Spirit.

At the point of initial salvation, when we repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are instantly transformed from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his beloved Son. It’s a wholesale radical transformation of what what were, children of darkness, to now being children of the light. At that point, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as a “seal” of our inheritance. 

But now, beyond being “sealed”, the Apostle Paul specifically exhorts us to be “filled” with the Spirit. Why?

The “sealing” happens once, but the “filling” is something that we ourselves are required to continually tend to and maintain. At any particular point in time you are maintaining a “level” of the Holy Spirits filling that influences everything about you, your demeanor, how you walk, how you respond to things and ultimately your usefulness in the kingdom of God. Those who are “filled” with the Spirit are the ones who are effective for the purposes of God. Steven, the first martyr, was specifically recognized as one “full” of the Holy Spirit, and therefore carried a distinction above that of his other brethren. When Peter addressed the elders and scribes in Acts 4, it was specially noted that he was “filled” with the Holy Spirit. There are numerous other examples in scripture.

It has nothing to do with the “office” you hold, but everything to do with the level of the Holy Spirit’s filling that you personally maintain. A pastor/preacher/missionary is no better equipped to effectively serve God than any other person simply by virtue of their office, it all hinges on how “full” of the Holy Spirit a person is at any given time. Anyone can minster, but in order to minister effectively requires a sufficient filling of the Holy Spirit.

The responsibility is upon US the be filled with the Spirit, as a Christian, we alone determine the level of the Holy Spirit’s filling that is present at any given time within us, this is why the scripture implores us to “grieve not” the Holy Spirit in Eph 4:30. It is Gods desire that his people would continually be “filled” with the Spirit. The Greek word for “filled” literally means to “make replete” to “cram” to “level up”.

How do we obtain and maintain this “filling”? By actively and consistently "sowing" to the things of the Spirit, and steadfastly resisting anything that would grieve the Holy Spirit.

Gal 6:7-8 - Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Since it is possible to be "depleted" of the Spirit's filling, we must consistently pursue it as a matter of daily habit, primarily through earnest prayer and worship. Seek, and ye shall find, knock and the door shall shall be opened to you.....

The very next verse, right after the Apostle implores us to be filled with the Spirit also gives us something of a clue: Eph 5:19 - Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

This may seem somewhat strange to us, what kind of person, really, regularly “speaks to themselves” in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs?  Who, as a matter of daily practice, is of such a joyful demeanor that they “make melody in their heart to the Lord”? This is a picture of a person with a fervent, earnest prayer/devotional life that is driven by deep commitment to the Lord. A person who maintains a close and regular communion with Him that drives them to fellowship with Him every day in a deep and abiding relationship. A heart that delights in His word and precepts, desires to do his will and walks in it. A person that produces the fruit of righteousness in their daily walk.

How vital is it that we maintain this filling?  The parable of the 10 virgins gives us a stark picture. All 10 virgins were “waiting for the bridegroom”, much like any Christian today who will say they are eagerly awaiting Christ’s return. But five were wise, and five were foolish. Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit, five of the virgins had enough oil to carry them through the door, and five did not. The door was shut to the five who did not maintain the “level” of oil needed to carry them through and they were rejected.

Let’s take heed this parable and be like the five wise virgins. Let’s seek to daily be “filled” with the Spirit.

Welcome to The Word as Logos!

Welcome to the first post of this blog! First, an explanation the name of the blog: "The Word as Logos"

Logos is a Greek word that simply means "something said" as a result of a subject of discourse or reasoning. When you see the term "Word of God" in scripture, it is a combination of "something said" and "of God". So, the term "Word of God" essentially means any declaration that originates from and is inspired of God.

As Christians, we have been conditioned to automatically think "Word of God" is always and only referring to "Scripture" or "The Bible", it is not. When Scripture refers to itself it uses the Greek word: Graphē which is defined: Graphē: a document, that is, holy Writ (or its contents or a statement in it): - scripture.

Scripture is "holy" writ, so it is a document that contains the writings "from God". 2 Tim 3:16 states that "all scripture is inspired of God". Therefore Scripture is a Holy document, inspired of God.

So why the distinction? Why is important to understand the difference between Scripture (Graphē) and the Word (Logos) of God?  Well, because scripture itself makes the distinction and for a very important reason.

Scripture, by it's very definition, required men to be "inspired of God" or "moved by the Holy Ghost", so today, a person must in the same way be "moved by the Holy Ghost" to effectively declare the Word (logos) of God. A "right word spoken in due season" as it states in Prov 15. It goes far beyond just reciting a bunch of Bible verses and somehow thinking that that constitutes the declaration of "The Word of God", it does not. In order to be qualified as "The Word of God" it must be declared under the unction, and at the direction of the Holy Spirit.

I fear this truth has been almost completely lost in the Church today. Instead of pastors and preachers laboring and seeking God diligently, earnestly, in their prayer closets to get their messages fresh from God to declare to Gods people, they instead give themselves to bookish, academic study to craft the message. It may be "sound", it may be "biblical", but it is not necessarily "Inspired of God" given under the unction of the Holy Spirit, and therefore it is not  the Word of God. It is not "easy" to understand and declare the "logos", and it doesn't come through the human faculty of the mind or academic study, the preacher must give himself to long seasons of earnest prayer in his prayer closet, there is no other way to obtain the necessary "inspiration from God" and truly understand the mind of God. Only then will he truly deliver God's Word to God's people and at the right time for the word declared. Only then will the preached word be "living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow...". Only then will the word of God "not return void".

E.M. Bounds excellent work, Power through Prayer, puts it very eloquently:

The real sermon is made in the closet. The man -- God's man -- is made in the closet. His life and his profoundest convictions were born in his secret communion with God. The burdened and tearful agony of his spirit, his weightiest and sweetest messages were got when alone with God. Prayer makes the man; prayer makes the preacher; prayer makes the pastor. The pulpit of this day is weak in praying. The pride of learning is against the dependent humility of prayer. Prayer is with the pulpit too often only official -- a performance for the routine of service. Prayer is not to the modern pulpit the mighty force it was in Paul's life or Paul's ministry. Every preacher who does not make prayer a mighty factor in his own life and ministry is weak as a factor in God's work and is powerless to project God's cause in this world.

This blog will be a collection of messages born out of my own times of earnest daily prayer "in the closet". It is my hope that they will truly be the "Logos", the ancient truths of God, "fresh" from Heaven!