Chapter 9
Chapter 9
THE LANGUAGE OF FAITH
"But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound"—Romans 5:20.
In our preceding chapters, we have learned something about the Lord and His great salvation.
What view do we take of it all? A great deal of the comfort or discomfort of our Christian lives depends on the view we take of things.
I do not mean that our view of things aJBFects their reality in any way. But our view does make all the diflference in our interpretation of this reality. While our safety comes from what things really are, our comfort comes from what we see them to be.
There is an expression used many times in the Bible to describe the salvation of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
It gives a view of that salvation that is so amazing and so perfectly satisfying that I wonder whether any of us have ever grasped its full meaning. One thing is certain—no one who would
grasp it could ever be uncomfortable or miserable again.
It is the expression much more. It is used to tell us that there is no need known to man that cannot be much more than met by the glorious salvation that is provided.
But we are continually tempted to think that much less would be a truer word. Instead of this salvation being much more than our needs, it turns out in actual experience to be much less.
And this much less view is in danger of making our whole spiritual lives miserable.
If all that we have learned in our preceding chapters of the fullness of God's salvation is indeed true, it would seem as if nothing but the language of much more could ever be used by any child of God. But there are some Christians who, by their thoughts and their actions, declare that they consider the language of much less to be the only prudent language for poor sinners. We must carefully consider the matter in the light of what the Bible tells us. Then we will discover whether we are justified in saying much more.
This is a far more important consideration for each one of us than it may appear at first. God declares that the salvation He has provided is much more than enough to meet our needs. If we insist on declaring in our secret thoughts that it is much less, we are casting doubt on His trustworthiness. We are also storing up for ourselves untold discomfort and misery.
While much less is the language of the seen things, much more is the language of the unseen things. Much less seems on the surface to be far more reasonable than much more, because every seen thing confirms it. Our weakness and foolishness are visible; God's strength and wisdom are invisible. Our need is evident before our eyes; God's supply is hidden in the secret of His presence and can only be realized by faith.
It seems a paradox to tell us that we must see unseen things. How can it be possible? But there are other things to see than those which appear on the surface. There are other eyes to look through than our physical eyes.
To see unseen things requires us to have that interior eye opened in our soul. This interior eye can see below the surface and pierce through the outer appearance of things into their inner realities. This interior eye looks not at the seen things, which are temporal, but at the things that are not seen, which are eternal. (See 2 Corinthians 4:18.)
The question for each one of us is whether that interior eye has been opened in us yet. Can we see the things that are eternal, or is our vision limited to the things that are temporal only? Can we say of the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ that it is much more than our need, or that it is much less?
No Match For God There is a wonderful instance in the history of the children of Israel, when they saw the unseen
things with such clearness of vision that their enemy was powerless to disturb them. The story is told in 2 Chronicles 32:1-15.
An enemy had come up against Judah and had threatened to overwhelm them. This enemy had been so successful in all his wars with the nearby nations that he had no doubt he would be able to conquer the Israelites also. But Hezekiah, the king of Israel, looked not at the seen enemy but at the unseen God. He saw that God was the strongest.
Therefore, Hezekiah spoke comforting words to the people and said, **Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him, for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles" (2 Chronicles 32:7-8).
What a tremendous contrast! On one side was an arm of flesh, while on the other stood the Lord our
God. No wonder the people rested upon a declaration such as this. If we had been there, would we have had faith enough to rest like them?
When Sennacherib saw their faith, he was enraged. He ridiculed them for being persuaded by Hezekiah to expose themselves to the risk of death by thirst and famine. He claimed they were foolish to cling to the vain hope that the Lord would deliver them.
And then comes the taunt of the much less.
**Know ye not," he said, **what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were
the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand? Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or Icingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the land of my fathers: how much less shall your
God deliver you out of mine hand" (2 Chronicles 32:13-15).
How much less—what a temptation to unbelief was shut up in those words! All the seen things were on that side.
It did look impossible, especially since all the neighboring nations had been | defeated. How could the nation of Israel, which was no stronger or better equipped than the others, hope to find deliverance?
But Hezekiah kept his eyes and the eyes of the people fixed on the unseen things, and their faith stood firm. The Lord in whom they trusted did not fail them, but sent them a grand deliverance. The much less of the enemy was turned for the Israelites into a much more of victory. The man who had promised them defeat and death was himself defeated. He was obliged to return to his own land with shame and was there slain by his disappointed relatives.
Trusting In God Alone Is there any situation similar to this story in our own lives? Have we ever been taunted with the discouraging thought that God is much less than able to deliver us than His promises would lead us to expect? When we have looked at the formidable, seen things of our need, has it sometimes seemed that we were giving ourselves over to ''die by famine and thirst," ifwe would trust in nothing else but the Lord alone? (See 2 Chronicles 32:11.)
I remember hearing of a Christian who was in great trouble, and who had tried every way for deliverance in vain. He said to a friend in a tone of the utmost despair, ''Well, there is nothing left for me now but to trust the Lord."
"Alas!" exclaimed the friend in the greatest consternation, "is it possible it has come to that?''
We may think that we would never use such an expression. But if we are honest, we will confess that sometimes in the very bottom of our hearts, we have indulged in this same feeling. To come to the point of having nothing left to trust in but the Lord has seemed to be a desperate condition of things.
If our Lord is to be believed. His much move's of grace are abundantly equal to the worst emergency that can befall us. Paul tells us that God is able to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). This describes what His much move's mean.
We can think of very wonderful things in the way of salvation—spiritual blessings that would transform life for us and make the whole universe resplendent with joy and triumph.
But do we really believe that God is able and willing to do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think? Is the language of our hearts much more or much less?
In 1 Corinthians 2:9, we are told that ''Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." God has prepared more for us than we could ever imagine. What can it be then but downright unbelief that leads us to harbor a thought of God's salvation as being less than anything that our hearts long for.
Let us settle it then that the language of our souls must be, from now on, not the much less of unbelief, but the much more of faith. We will find that God's much more's will be enough to cover the whole range of our needs, both temporal and spiritual.
*Tor if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many" (Romans 5:15). This is a much more that reaches into the depth of human need.
There is no question in our minds that ''many be dead," but do we believe in the much more of grace that is to abound to many? Are we as sure of the grace as we are of the death? Do we believe
that the remedy is much more than the disease?
Or do we believe in our hearts that it is much less?
One of the deepest needs of our souls is salvation. Is there a promise of much more available to meet this need? **But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" (Romans 5:8-10).
The question of salvation is absolutely settled by these much more's. Christ has died for us and has thereby reconciled us to God. If only we will let
Him, He will now save us. There can be no question as to whether He will or not. The great salvation that He accomplished for us must necessarily include the lesser temporal blessings. Having done the greater, much more will He do the less.
None of us doubt the greatness of salvation, and we dare not doubt He will take care of us daily as well.
Confidence Of Faith Now the practical question for us in all this is Do we really believe it? Have we rid ourselves of all doubts concerning our salvation? Can we speak with assurance of forgiveness and of eternal life?
Do we say with the timidity of unbelief, **I hope I am a child of God;" or do we lift up our heads
with joyous confidence in God as our Father and say with John, **Now are we the sons of God"
(1 John 3:2). Is it in this respect much mor^ with us or much less?
We long and pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit, but it seems all in vain. We feel that our prayers are not answered. But our Lord gives faith a wonderful much more to lay hold of for this.
'*If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).
We all know how thankful and eager good parents are to give good gifts to their children. They thrust them on the child, often before he is ready to receive or even knows that he has a need. Yet, who of us believes that God is actually much more eager to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
Him? Is it not rather common to feel secretly that He is much less than willing. We think that we will have to beg, entreat, wrestle, and wait for this sorely-needed gift.
If we could only believe this much more, how full of faith our prayers would be. We would then be able to believe that we actually did receive that for which we asked. We would find that we were in actual possession of the Holy Spirit as our present and personal Comforter and Guide.
All our weary struggles and agonizing prayers for this promised gift would be over.
Triumphant Living Greater perhaps than any other need is our need of victory over sin and over circumstances. Like
Juggernaut cars, circumstances roil over us with irresistible power and crush into the dust. The language of much less seems to be the only language that our souls dare speak. But God has given us a most triumphant much more, *Tor if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:17).
We have known the reign of the spiritual death which comes by sin, and we have groaned under its power. But what do we know of that much more reigning in life by Jesus Christ? Do we now have greater victories than we used to have defeats? Do we reign over things much more than they once reigned over us?
It is promised in the Bible, **Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us"
(Romans 8:37). We have been reigned over by thousands of things—by the fear of man, by our peculiar temperaments, by our outward circumstances, by our irritable tempers, even by bad weather. We have been slaves where we ought to have been kings. We have found our reign to be much less rather than much more.
Why is this? Simply because we have not received enough of the abundance of grace that is
ours in Christ. We have let unbelief cheat us out of our rightful possessions. We are called to be kings, and we were created to have dominion over the earth. (See Genesis 1:28.) God declares that our dominion in Christ will be much more powerful than our former bondage, but have we found this to be true?
God has not failed to provide the much more of victory. It must be that we have in some way failed to obtain it. Our failure comes because we have substituted our much less for God's much more.
Deep in our hearts, we have not believed there is a sufficiency in the gift of righteousness in Christ to enable us to reign. We have failed, through our unbelief, to receive the abundance of grace that is necessary for reigning.
What is our remedy? Only this—to abandon forever our much less of unbelief, and to accept as true God's declaration of much more. We can claim at once the promised victory. According to our faith, it must and will be done for us.
Free From Care These assurances of the much more's of God's salvation are not for our spiritual needs only, but for our temporal needs as well. Jesus tells us,
*'If God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matthew 6:30). To many Christians, this passage and others like it are so familiar that they have almost
lost all meaning.
But they do mean something almost too wonderful to believe. They tell us that God cares for us much more than He cares for the universe around us. He will watch over and provide for us much more than He will for His universe.
Incredible, yet true! How often we have marveled at the orderly working of the universe. We admired the great creative Power that made it and now controls it. But we never felt that it was necessary to take the burden of the universe upon our shoulders. We trusted the Creator to manage it all without our help. Yet, from the way some people find fault with the Creator's management of things, and the advice they seem to feel it necessary to give Him in their prayers, one would think the whole burden was resting upon them!
Even though we recognize that the universe is in God's care, we fail to see that we also are there.
Many never dreamed that much more than He cares for the universe will He care for us. We have looked at the seen things of our circumstances and surroundings. We have seen the greatness of our need and our own helplessness, and we have become anxious and afraid. Instead of believing that we are of much more value than the fowls of the air or the lilies of the field, we live as though we are infinitely much less. It seems to us that the God who cares for them is not at all likely to care for us.
We say with the psalmist, **When I consider the
heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:3-4). Man is so puny, so insignificant, of so little account when compared to the great, wide universe. What is he that God should care for him?
Yet God declares that He does care for him. He even cares for him much more than He cares for the universe. Every thought of anxiety about ourselves must be immediately rejected. Since we are not so foolish as to be anxious about the universe, we must not be so much more foolish and be anxious about ourselves.
In the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord gives us the most wonderful much more of all. **Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew
7: 11). In this much more we have a guarantee for the supply of every need.
All human readiness to hear and answer the child's cry of need can only be a faint picture of God's readiness; therefore, we can never dare to doubt it again.
If parents would not give a stone for bread, neither would He. When we ask, we must be absolutely sure that we receive the good
thing for which we asked, whether what we receive looks like it or not.
God Gives The Best The mother of St. Augustine, in her longing for the conversion of her son, prayed that he might not go to Rome because she feared its wicked inifliuence. God answered her by sending him to Rome to be converted there. Things we call good are often evil things. No matter how things may look, we always know that God must give the best, because He is God and could do no other.
**He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). Yet, we continually hear God's children lamenting their spiritual poverty and spiritual starvation.
It even seems that some think it is rather a pious thing to do and a mark of true humility. This is simply glorying in the much less of their unbelief, instead of in the much more of God.
**Oh, I am such a poor creature," I heard a child of God say when urged to achieve some victory of faith.
**I am such a poor creature that I cannot expect to attain to the heights you great Christians teach."
Of course you are a poor creature, and so are we all. But God is not poor.
It is His part to supply your needs, not your part to supply His. God is able, no matter what unbelief may say, to **make
all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).
All, always, every—what all-embracing words these are! They include our needs to their utmost limit and leave us no room for any question. How can we, how dare we, in the face of such declarations, ever doubt or question again?
We have only touched upon the wonders of grace hidden in these much more's of God. We can never exhaust their meaning in this life. But let us at least resolve to lay aside every much less of unbelief concerning salvation. Then out of the depths of our utter weakness, sinfulness, and need, let us assert with a conquering faith, always and everywhere, the mighty much more of the grace of God.