Chapter. 22. Quest. How to know whether Faith will carry us through difficult works
with oil. When God carried you through difficult works, you were anointed with oil. Yet now, your faith fails you in the ordinary matters of ordering your business and affairs, and you fail miserably in every ordinary interaction with others. In your dealings with your family, what a shameful thing it is that someone who had the power to face their enemies and testify for the truth before them now fails disgracefully in dealing with a servant, child, or spouse. When it comes to interacting with your brethren, you don't know how to conduct yourself, as if you were never anointed with oil, as if you never had faith. You rely solely on your natural tendencies, full of stubbornness, irritability, and outward disturbances, just like those who have never experienced faith. Moreover, your faith has carried you through great difficulties, enabling you to deny yourself and attend religious services, but when you are there, it fails to assist you in making use of them and giving glory to God. Instead, you defile and spoil them. How shameful is this? Feel ashamed and embarrassed in your own thoughts, and stir up your faith.
CHAPTER 22
Question: How can we know if faith will carry us through difficult works? Answered in several particulars:
1. Faith operates on spiritual grounds, motives, and ends.
2. It makes people concerned and diligent in seeking the presence of God.
3. It causes individuals to conduct themselves in a gracious manner.
4. It fosters a high esteem for the name of God.
5. It leads to carefulness, ensuring that one's purpose is not frustrated.
6. It cultivates contentment with God alone.
7. Faith is a continuous work. The same faith that brought you out will carry you through.
Question: It is true that faith carries us through difficult works, including the act of forsaking one's own country. There is much that we leave behind in forsaking our country, and we truly need faith to carry us through this. Indeed, a Christian should regard the entire world as their country, for they walk on no ground but that which belongs to their Father. Socrates used to call himself a citizen of the world, and when he was banished, he did not consider it as such, for the world was his country, and as a human being, he was a citizen of it. Certainly, God has given the saints the world. The promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that they would be heirs of the world. And just as it was said of the children of Israel, "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours," it can be said of the saints that whatever ground they tread upon is their own for use. Moreover, although the world belongs to them, they live above the world, and therefore, they do not care in which part of the world they find themselves. Tertullian, writing to encourage the martyrs who were forced to leave their own country, said, "It doesn't matter in which part of the world you are, for you are separated from the world." Nevertheless, leaving one's country presents significant challenges, and one truly needs faith to carry them through. But how can we know if it is faith that carries us through? After all, there may be other underlying motives at play.
Answer:
First, faith operates on spiritual grounds, motives, and ends. Faith is a spiritual grace, and its workings are profoundly spiritual. The reasonings of faith surpass those of flesh and blood. To determine if you forsook your country out of faith, consider your motives, grounds, and ends. It's possible that you left your country due to vexation, discontent, the influence of others, novelty, carnal fears, or vain hopes. Many factors can lead people on such a path, especially novelty, example, and discontent. However, if it was truly by faith, the grounds and ends will be spiritual—for God and out of obedience to God. A notable example is Moses. When he pleaded with Pharaoh to let the people go, he didn't argue based on their bondage or mistreatment. Instead, in Exodus 4:23, he said, "The Lord has commanded us to go into the wilderness to worship Him." That was his plea, ground, and end—spiritual in nature. When people forsake their country, outward circumstances may play a subordinate role to higher things. There may be faith in ordering the heart in relation to those circumstances, but faith must rise above them. Can your conscience testify, in the presence of God, that your longing desire was to enjoy God in His ordinances and to keep your soul from defilement? If so, this indicates faith.
Secondly, if faith is what led you to leave your country, above all things, you will be highly solicitous and careful to experience God's presence with you. While you may have a subordinate responsibility to provide for your family and consider how to live, the primary concern of your soul is to enjoy the presence of God. This was Moses' argument in Exodus 33:15: "If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here." If your departure was marked by the care to carry God and His gracious presence with you, if you would rather
endure anything, even imprisonment and decay, than go without God's presence, then this is an indication of faith.
Thirdly, Moses, when he left his own country and departed from Egypt, conducted himself in a gracious manner. When he approached Pharaoh, despite the people's vexation and distress due to increased bondage, he did not fall into exclaiming against Pharaoh. Instead, he displayed submission as far as he could. He did not act rashly, headstrong, foolishly, or self-confidently like many do, revealing pride and stubbornness of spirit. Rather, he conducted himself with sobriety, gravity, humility, meekness, and wisdom. This is the manner in which faith operates in every action. Therefore, consider the manner in which you forsook your country. Did you seek God, discern His will, and depart with a quiet and humble spirit, guided by wisdom? If so, this is another indication that it was an act of faith.
Fourthly, when Moses left his country, above all else, the name of God was precious to him. Especially because their departure from Egypt proclaimed the name of God, he was greatly concerned that this name, which was proclaimed in their departure, would not be defiled. Whenever he faced danger, he immediately turned to God and asked, "Lord, what will become of your great name?" He pleaded not so much for the people as for the sake of God's name. Similarly, if faith has brought you from your country, the name of God is significant in it. By professing that you left your country for the sake of God's ordinances and the greater purity of worship, how dear would the name of God be to you? You have forsaken friends, wealth, and country for this reason. If it was done out of faith, the name of God, proclaimed in your profession, would hold great value. When you come here and there are divisions and nothing but tearing and
fighting among yourselves, consider what will happen to the great name of God. Just as Moses reasoned, "What will the heathen say, that you brought the people here to destroy them?" Others will say that you left your own country only to tear each other apart and engage in conflict. Let the name that is proclaimed in your profession be precious to you. Use it as an argument to restrain passion and to govern your dealings with one another.
Fifthly, Moses was extremely concerned about not being frustrated in his end. He left Egypt to reach Canaan, and whenever there was a danger of being frustrated in this goal, it deeply troubled him. It weighed heavily on his heart, and he cried out to God to let him see that good land. Similarly, if you have come from your country out of faith, you will have great care to not be frustrated in your end. Why did you come? Was it not to enjoy God, to have deeper communion with Him, to walk with Him in a closer way than before? Are you attentive to attaining your end? Does it trouble your souls when you perceive any danger of being frustrated in your end? Does it affect you when you realize that, for the present, you have achieved so little of your end? Those who come for other purposes may disregard this, but if you come in faith, you will be immensely careful to reach the end for which you came. The work done in faith will exert powerful influence toward the intended end and will never cease working until it achieves that end.
Sixthly, if indeed you left your country by faith, your souls will find satisfaction in God alone. The call and promise of God will be your constant recourse for the satisfaction of your souls. Just as Moses, when he was in distress, immediately turned to God's call and promise to bring His people out of Egypt, and that satisfied him.
Seventhly, just as faith brought you out, it will carry you through all difficulties. Now you encounter many difficulties, some of which you did not anticipate. If you came out in faith and if that faith is a continuous work, it will carry you through the challenges you face.
Do you find that your hearts sink upon encountering difficulties? You may fear that it was not faith that initially brought you out. I do not want anyone to draw unfavourable conclusions from what has been said, as if we are making comparisons between our country and Egypt. No, we give thanks to God for the good we received in our own country, and we desire its well-being as much as we can. We only use the example of Moses forsaking Egypt to illustrate a point. However, among those who came from Egypt, there was a mixed company, and this mixed company was a continual trouble and disturbance to the true Israelites. In Numbers 11:4, it is stated, "And the mixed multitude that was among them fell to lusting, and the children of Israel also wept again and said, 'Who shall give us flesh to eat?'" The mixed multitude started the sin, and the children of Israel followed them. Similarly, in these countries, many people of God, who came out in faith, have arrived. However, there are also many from the mixed multitude, people with broken lives who do not know how to live. When they come together, the people of God are troubled by them. They are the greatest despisers of godly ways. They may receive kindness from the people of the country, but they bring trouble to the true believers. This is especially true when some of these individuals infiltrate the Church and become members. As for those who come from their country in faith, we hope to enjoy a comfortable communion with all such individuals. This concludes the fourth point of discussion.