Where is Your Faith? by Roswell Fenner Cottrell

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 29, 1875

“Where is Your Faith?”

By Roswell Fenner Cottrell

THE importance of faith in the plan of redemption and salvation can hardly be over-estimated. “Without faith it is impossible to please” God. The promises are to those who believe. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” “Being justified by faith,” says an apostle. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

It seems, that the first sin of our race arose from doubting the word of God. The tempter suggested a doubt of God’s veracity: “Yea, hath God said,” &c. Then follows the positive denial: “Thou shalt not surely die.” Now as doubting and unbelief resulted in sin; it is reasonable that faith in the word and promise of God should be made of great importance in the plan of saving men from sin. Unbelief leads us away from God; faith leads us back to God.

Faith is not sight. It takes hold of the naked promises of God. It does not believe that we shall be saved from our past sins, because we have done so well in keeping the commandments of God; but because we simply rely upon his promise of pardon. We believe God. We believe his love toward us. We believe on his Son who is set forth as a propitiation for our sin. Our sins were laid upon him. We believe it, and accept of him as our Saviour. We believe in the efficacy of the blood that cleanseth from all sin; and are FREELY justified by his grace.

But faith does not release us from our obligation to obey God and keep his commandments. “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! yea, we establish the law.” If we simply believe for the remission of past sins, we acknowledge sin to be sinful and the law which condemns it to be right. If doubt and unbelief lead to sin; faith leads us out of sin, which is the transgression of God’s law, back to obedience. The person that is saved by faith from his transgressions is no less careful to obey the good law that condemned him. He knows that it is right; that in justice it condemned him; and consequently it should be the rule of his future life. It was his transgressions of the holy, just, and good law that nailed Him who did no sin to the cross. To take license then to sin would crucify the Son of God afresh. Those who appreciate his grace in their salvation through faith in his blood cannot do this. The law has been honored in the death of the sinless One for our transgressions of it. It has been magnified, lauded, praised, not only in the teaching of Jesus Christ, but in his death for its transgression. His teaching established every jot and tittle of the law, Matt. 5:17-19, his death for its transgression establishes it; and he that is saved from its curse by his death will praise, exalt, and establish it by future obedience.

Hence, while we realize the importance of faith in order to salvation, we will no less realize the importance of future obedience to the commandments of the law of God. While we rely solely on faith in Christ for pardon for the past, we should live as though our final salvation depended upon our future obedience. The saved in the kingdom of God will be those that have washed their robes of character and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “The just shall live by faith;” and “the doers of the law SHALL BE justified” in the Judgment.

There is present truth in the unfolding of the plan of salvation. Do we believe it? Where is our faith? Are we growing strong in faith and love? Ah! there is danger. Our faith must be made perfect by works. Shall we be so unwise as to let our faith die, choked out by the cares and love of the world, and finally fail of the great salvation which is so near? Those who lay hold on eternal life by faith, hold fast, and endure, will be saved. We may be saved; let us make it sure. R. F. COTTRELL.