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BELIEVING AND HAVING

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 6, 1901

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 78, No. 32.

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BELIEVING AND HAVING.

By L. A. S.

THERE is a difference between believing that God’s word is true, and receiving the truth into your heart; between believing that God is able to do what He has promised in your behalf, and believing that the thing He has promised has been performed. And this difference is of more importance than we may think.
It is a difference which will account for the failure of very many of us to receive the priceless blessings upon which our welfare for time and eternity depends.
The Lord says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is the truth. But it is one thing to believe that this is the truth, and quite another thing to believe that our sins have been forgiven.
It is one thing to believe that God is able to save us from sin, and quite another thing to believe that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me [us] free from the law of sin and death.” Rom. 8:2.
The point is in appropriating the words of God. We fail because we do not go far enough. It may be illustrated like this: Suppose you are starving, and in this condition you come into a room where there is a table upon which is an abundant supply of nourishing food. You look at it and say, I believe that this is food. You are starving still. You go up to the table, take some of the food in your hand, and say, I believe this food will sustain my life. You are starving still; you are no better off than you were before. You will keep on starving till you eat the food.
You go to the word of God and say, I believe this word is true. You are no better off than before; “the devils also believe, and tremble.” You say, further, I believe God is willing to forgive my sins. Still the blessing of forgiveness is not yours, even though you may have confessed your sins according to the Scripture injunction. Having confessed them, you must then believe not only that God is willing to forgive them, but that He has done it. And more than this; for it is not enough to provide for the sins of the past. There is the possibility of future sins, and God has provided for this. God has said, “Sin shall not have dominion over you,” and this provision must be appropriated the same as that for past transgressions. Without this, there will be new transgressions, and the Christian life would never get beyond a treadmill round of repentance and confession of sins. Jesus Christ is a Saviour from sin, and salvation from sin means more than the mere forgiveness of sin. It includes salvation from the power of temptation.
So the transgressor must not only say, I believe my sins are forgiven, but also, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death;” in other words, I believe that God has given me the power to keep from sinning. This is not presumption; it is strictly faith. It is only expressing belief in a complete salvation.
“Thy words were found, and I did eat them.” Jer. 15:16. Do not fail to eat the word of God, the bread of life. Do not fail to appropriate the divine promises. “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24. L. A. S.