SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15884, 3 April 1915, Page 8 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

" STRONG IN FAITH." BT REV. DINSDALE T. TOUNQ. Strong in faith, giving glory to God.— Rom. iv., 20. What a wonderful description of Abraham this is! Here is Abraham's life and character in one graphic sentence. He was "strong in faith" and he gave glory to God. In the&e two statements, you have a really noble characterisation of the follower of God. But what you and I have to do is to ask: " Can this ever bo a description of mo?" Just think what the Church of Christ would be like, if everyone in it was " strong in faith, giving glory to God!" Now let us bring it home to ourselves, and let our whole business be I" see that it shall be a true description of us. The exact equivalent 0/ the word here rendered "faith" is just the child's word "trust." Now ''faith" does not always means "trust" in the Bible, but it certainly means that here; and if you were to read this sentence in accurate English you would read it: "Strong in trust,"! Abraham could trust God; he could trust God thoroughly, and even that is scarcely half the stun- ; lie could trust God when all appearances were against him; he could trust God when none around him could: ho could trust God when it really seemed a matter for laughter that any man could believe as lie did. A Progressive Faith. Our Greek scholars would tell us that we should do equal justice to the Greekword here if we were to render it " strong in reliance." Abraham could rely on (rod. If God said anything, he staked everything on it, he'depended on it. Sometimes it seemed a very insecure foundation, because, you know, Cod does try his people's faith. George .Midler used to say: "Whenever God gives faith, he tries it;" and what is faith worth if it is not tried? When you come to the Bible there •ire sonic words there that seem hard to be relied on, and Abraham had a word that seemed hard. All science seemed against it, all common-sense seemed against j it, and all experience seemed against it. But you may have science, common-sense. ' and experience against a thing, and yet ' i' it is God's word you may depend on it. i Abraham had nothing to rest on but God's j promise. Everybody round about, laughed : ! and Abraham's unbelief would have made him laugh, but he said: " God's promise is j there, and if He says it. so it shall be." |

What have we got to rest on? Exactly what Abraham had—the word of God. We have not only pot one promise, we have what Peter calls "exceeding great ' and precious promises." We have got God's Word—much in it that seems improbable, much in it that science would seem „to negative, and very much in it that common-sense sneers at; but it is God's Word, and " let God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom. 3:4). We must not put our science, our common-sense or our experience against God's Word. Abraham bad God's word, and he just relied on it; and he came out on the right side, as everyone does who depends on it. We must be strong in faith, in reliance. But, says someone, is it possible for me to get to that? Now the Revised Version renders us a very great service in this matter. It reads: "He . . . waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God." He gradually became strong; he grew strong. Abraham was like us ; be was not strong at the beginning. Samuel Rutherford was preaching one Sunday in his little kirk, about Abraham and "what a ■wonderful- believer he "was; and. anticipating the interjection :'n the heart of his hearers, "Oh! I have such a little faith; I can never have faith like that," he §aid: "Strong father Abrahan was once a babe at the breast"; and they took it in, those shrewd Scotch people, "and they smiled all over the kirk, for they saw'what he meant. Strong father Abraham, the great stalwart of faith, had not always been a - stalwart. Now that is good cheer to those who are babes in faith. Abraham waxed strong in faith. He had only a little faith at first. Many a time he trembled at God's word. Many a time he said: " That is too much lor me." Many a time the devil came to him. because he has transactions with all great saints. Some of your fine gentlemen in religion do not believe there is a devil, because he does not trouble them much; but he was a reality to Paul, and Luther, and Wesley, and Spurgeon; and if you believe iin experimental religion, and 'are aiming- at being a great truster, the devil will give you a terrible time of it—but you will wax strong in faith. 1 was talking to a clergyman of the Church of England 'h down in Devonshire the other day, and 'he'related to me that a friend recently told him he had got such a confirmation of faith in some parts of the Bible, lately, because of the confirmation; .modern science had given. "Then,"' said" the " clergyman to him, " yours is a very poor faith; you ought to believe it because it is God's Word, whether science believes it or not.' Some people would say 'he was not abreast of modern thought. Spurgeon said: "The 'Holy Ghost doesn't ride in the waggon of modern thought; -He rides in the chariot of Scripture." Obstacles to Faith. « Then think of the great obstacles to faith Abraham had. I turned to Matthew 'Henry, and he says: "The strength of his ; faith appears in the victory he had won -over his fears." It was a crisis; fears rose up—they naturally- would. How did . it seem possible that at this time of life he could become the father of a nation'' Everything seemed against it; but there was one thing in favour of God had promised it and Abraham won the victorsby lite faith over his fears. Now, I have no doubt J am speaking to many who have great obstacles to their a.th. This war is a great obstacle to tilth; the sorrow som e people are having over the loss of their dear ones is a tremendous obstacle to their faith. Obstacles to faith are continually assailing us It i* never easy to trust God. If it were easy' you wouid not need the Holy Ghost u help you to do it. Perhaps there are some woo, like Abraham, have peculiar difficulties just now m the way of their faith lou eav it is so hard to believe God under these conditions. Yet, it is spedally hard, but these are the very limes when your faith may wax strong. ' It was not under summer skies, hut under winter clouds, that Abraham waxed strong in faith. Samuel Rutherford, writing to a friend, said: "Grace groweth best in the winter." Some of you have proved tl at in the winter of experience, in the ir liter of trouble, when the conditions are rigorous, grace grows best. a A Justifying Faith. One other thing about his faith is that it was a justifying faith. "It was imputed to him for righteousness" (v. 22) God has a vonderful way of reckoning, and He reckoned Abraham's trust for righteousness. He always reckons trust forighteousness, and that is what we mean by justification by faith. What vou have got to do is to trust God's Word," namelv that. Christ died for you and paid your debt: and if you will trust that it "will be reckoned unto you for righteousness