If you have true faith, you will believe the Bible is the Word of God recorded as its sixty six books. Do you have such a faith that does not change over the years and does not compromise with any untruth? Do you believe that everything was created by the Word of God and that all things were created from nothing? Do you believe that God is the Creator and Heaven and Hell really exist? Let's check three aspects of your faith to see if it is true faith.
1) Keeping Guard on Your Lips_ Do you only make confessions of faith and goodness?
If you say you believe God but you rely on human means, yourself, or your knowledge, it stops God from working for you. If you completely rely on God with faith in Him, He will be with you and guide you. If you truly rely on God, you will humbly follow His will and practice goodness even in trials.
David was greatly loved by God and he became the king of Israel. But when he committed a grave sin, to cover his transgression he drove a faithful man to death. For this he had to be disciplined by God. One of the disciplines was that his son, Absalom, rebelled against him. When King David was on the run from his son who was trying to kill him, a Benjamite called Shimei spoke words of curses and contempt towards David. But he did not respond to the curses of Shimei at all. He also stopped his soldiers from killing Shimei (2 Samuel 16:5-13). He accepted the trial and humbled himself completely before God in such a situation.
If you truly believe God, you always make confessions only in faith and goodness in any kind of hardship. But there are those who seem to have faith but pour out words of complaints and grumble in difficulties. They would give out their evil to others rather than humbling themselves and storing up goodness in their trials.
Moreover, they pass judgment and condemnation on others and curse them with evil lips in their self-righteousness. So it is difficult to say that they have any faith.
There is no reason for which you should lose heart in trials if you have faith (Proverbs 24:10). Instead, you will prove your faith in hardship, and when you are in difficulties, you will only make confessions in faith and of goodness.
2) Your Love for the Souls_Are you faithful with love for souls?
Some Jews vowed to kill Paul, chased him, and hindered him wherever he went. Paul was once nearly stoned to death but revived. When he was beaten many times, and in such hardships, Paul never spoke out any words of curse. No matter how severely the Jews persecuted him, he could wish that he were accursed, separated from Christ and fell into Hell if only they could be saved (Romans 9:3).
When you preach the gospel and counsel the souls, you might experience persecution or difficulties. But if your love for the souls is passionate, you will not feel any obstacle to be hard. Even though the souls entrusted to you disobey and complain, you shouldn't get disappointed or disheartened. You must not easily say things about the souls, such as, "That is why they cannot receive blessings, but only trials."
You should make only positive confessions of faith for them, and desire to give them only good things with mercy towards them. You should want their souls to prosper and receive salvation. Some people have passionate natures, and they might do many works for God, but this does not mean that they have true faith. The most important thing is a good heart.
Matthew 23:23 reads, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." Justice, mercy, and faithfulness are more important than deeds of service.
No matter how faithful one may seem in people's sight, if he has not cultivated a good heart, it can't be true faithfulness that God accepts. Only when we work faithfully with love for God and souls can we be recognized by God as a true and faithful worker.
3) Obedience_Do you obey whatever God commands you to do?
Joseph was sold as a slave into Egypt at the age of 17 and suffered various things for 13 years. But Joseph believed that God was with him, and he could be always honest and faithful, and he obeyed God's will and providence.
When he was a slave and when he was in jail, he did his best leaving everything unto God. When there seemed to be no hope and things seemed to be getting worse, Joseph never doubted the providence of God, nor did his heart change.
When he met with his brothers who once tried to kill him, he just treated them with goodness following the will of God. He obeyed and he forgave them with God's love.
Let's say for example, a particular person was in a situation where he had to yield his personal benefit to others. But later, when the same situation arises repeatedly, he may have discomfort. It is because he thinks he is suffering loss and his heart of complaints arises.
If you really obey the will of God, you will not just serve and concede to others once. You will steadily act in the truth and cultivate the heart of truth that can please God.
Furthermore, if your willingness to obey changes midway because the situation becomes more difficult for you, it means that you have not cultivated the truthful heart and that you did not fully trust in God. God is looking for workers who can obey with a true heart in any kind of situation, with which they can obey even if the situation is not in agreement with their thought.
What God wants is complete obedience. He doesn't want you to change His laws and commandments to suit your personal thoughts and for your personal benefit. He wants you to keep the commands as they are given. Let's become workers of true faith who can even go the way of martyrdom if it is God's will.
|
Manmin News 
9755
