Learning to Live by Faith

I read a sermon by G. Campbell Morgan last night called Christian Citizenship 1: No Abiding City | G. Campbell Morgan. There were several quotes from it I wanted to share. Sometimes when I am studying I make an outline of a sermon or I summarize it, and sometimes I just have time to write down quotes from it. I keep them in a notebook and look at them again later. For this sermon, I will share several quotes with you. This is a sermon about Hebrews 13:14, which says, “For we have not here an abiding city.” Here are the quotes:

“The letter to the Hebrews is a letter written in order to warn men against the specific sin of unbelief. It illuminates for us, therefore, as perhaps no other writing in the Bible does, the true meaning of faith. It reveals the fact that faith is not merely intellectual apprehension and conviction of truth; and shows that faith is the assent (approval, or agreement) of the will, and the yielding of the life, to the claim of the truth of which the mind is convinced. It is the letter, if I may say so, which more than any other writing of the Bible gives Biblical force and warrant to the suggestion of the title of Professor James’s essay, “The Will to Believe”; showing forevermore that belief in its profoundest sense is not conviction merely, but conduct proceeding out of conviction, and harmonizing with the conviction. From beginning to end the writer has but one sin in mind, the sin of unbelief; that is, the sin of refusing to yield obedience to the claim of the truth, when the truth has brought conviction to the mind.”

Remember that Spurgeon said the 3 elements of faith are knowledge, belief, and trust. So we hear information…we gain knowledge. Then, as Christians, we hear the information and believe it to be true…in other words, we feel convicted of the truth of it. And then we place our trust in it. Morgan is here saying that our belief and trust in God results in an assent (or agreement) of our will…which leads to us yielding our life to God…and righteous conduct flows out from that. So you could think of it like this: conviction –> behaviors that harmonize with our conviction. (that’s supposed to be an arrow after conviction)  He is emphasizing that faith is not only conviction…but a conviction that leads to obedience. That is saving faith…saving belief…recognizing that what God says is true…and then serving Him as your King. Morgan says that sin of unbelief is refusing to yield obedience to the claim of the truth after the mind has been convicted that what God said is true. So again, saving conviction leads to behaviors that harmonize with our conviction. You can spend time working with imagery for that. You could envision your heart being convicted of the truth of God…feel your heart being transformed…and then beginning to follow in Christ’s footsteps on the pathway to heaven.

Here is the next quote: “The first essential element of the Christian character is the death of self — so easily said, so imperfectly understood, so little realized — the death of self; not the destruction of self, but the death of self, so far as self is a separate personality thinking only of itself and making all outside forces minister to its own well-being and advancement. The Lord Christ begins by saying to men, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself… and follow Me.” That is the central fact of Christian experience, denial of self.

      The result in the economy of grace is holiness of character; purity of motive; holiness and righteousness, the two sides of the one great pure Christly character; holiness, rectitude of character; righteousness, rectitude of conduct springing out of rectitude of character. Add to these two things that one inclusive word which has in it the fire of holiness and the passion of self-denial, the great word love. These are the distinctive elements of Christian character.

      What is the result wherever these things are realized? A new refinement; life finding self realization according to the original purpose of God through self denial; life set free from all the vulgarities that spoil, and coming into realization of all the refinement and beauty of character which once had its manifestation in human history in the Person of our Lord Christ, the Man of Nazareth. And not refinement only; but that permanence which defies decay, which realizes that the things of past failure are things of no moment; which enables a man to think of death as transition merely, and to challenge the rider upon the pale horse, ‘O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?’”

So here Morgan says that the first essential element of the Christian character is the death of self. I think it is correct to think of self in terms of that self is anything in us that is opposed to God…because when you deny yourself…or empty yourself of self…it results in holiness. You are made more and more like Christ. You might have heard it said that we are supposed to be emptied of ourselves and filled with Christ. That is imagery you can use in your meditation time…envision that process taking place of being refined by God and conformed to character of Christ. I thought it was interesting when Morgan said that holiness is rectitude of character and that righteousness is rectitude of conduct springing out of rectitude of character. So that would be…holy character –> righteous conduct. (that’s supposed to be an arrow, too). You can take time thinking about that imagery. You could envision a light energy as holy character is being formed in the heart…and then envision righteous actions springing from that character. What Morgan is emphasizing is the importance of a change of heart. Saving faith results in a heart of stone being changed into a heart of flesh…and then righteous actions spring out of that heart.

Here is the next quote: “Out of our supreme content and rest in God and in His will, arises the restlessness of perpetual protest against everything that is unlike God.”

I posted a hymn on here recently called “Beside the Still Waters with Jesus” by Fanny Crosby – Learning to Live by Faith. The 3^rd verse says, “Beside the still waters with Jesus I walk in the glory of noon; His light is the Daystar of gladness that wakens my heart into tune.” We have been talking about the importance of spending time in God’s presence and how that when you do…you will be transformed by it. God makes you more and more like Him…He brings your heart into tune with His. When that happens…you will find yourself more and more in tune with God…and more and more out of tune with the world around you. That’s what Morgan is talking about when he says that out of our rest in God arises a restlessness towards the world around us. So that would be…rest in God –> restlessness with the world. (that’s supposed to be an arrow).

So to summarize…righteous actions should spring out of a saving faith. Once you are saved, you begin to go through the sanctification process…through which your life will be cleansed and transformed and you will be made more like Christ. As this takes place, you become more in tune with God and you begin to see the world around you differently. Earlier in the sermon Morgan explains that, “The presence and work of our Lord in the world was for the creation of these characteristics, and of this character. I go further, and say that the presence and work of our Lord in the world has resulted in the creation of these characteristics and of this character. Dealing with individual men, He communicates the dynamic force which produces the change; and those who are so converted, turned back again to the Divine ideal for humanity, born again, find their life centered no longer in self but in God, and are conscious of the passion for holiness without which no man can see the Lord, and feel within them the thrill and throb and driving of this great eternal life. Those who partake of these characteristics become men and women who are constrained to say, ‘We have not here an abiding city.’ The men of faith are homeless in this world, having no place where they can perfectly rest; having no place where the surroundings are in harmony with the mysterious and mighty forces of their own life, as created by their contact with this Lord Christ Himself.” He says that in this sermon, “We are looking at the ultimate desire, the ultimate passion, of the men of faith. It is a passion for the establishment of the Divine order, or in figurative language, for the building of the city of God.” He says, “We are not fighting to build heaven. The living Lord passed out of sight saying in infinite tenderness and pity and love and compassion to His fearful followers, “I go to prepare a place for you”; and that He will assuredly do. What then is this pilgrimage, what is this warfare? What is the consuming passion of the men of faith? I answer that inquiry superlatively, that I may state it briefly. He has gone to prepare a place for us beyond; our business is to prepare this place for Him.” Earlier in the sermon Morgan said, “The supreme passion of faith is not the selfish desire to win heaven, but the self-emptying desire and devotion to win the earth for God.”

These are the notes I had time to make after reading the sermon last night. I hope it gives you an idea of what the sermon is about. It’s very interesting if you have time to read it.  The hymn “Beyond Our Sight” by D. W. Whittle – Learning to Live by Faith talks about the heavenly city and would be helpful to listen to during your meditation time. We are waiting to go to that heavenly city and we are working to prepare this place, this earth for Jesus.