We Live By Faith

And Jesus said to them,

'I am the bread of life. 

He who come to Me 

shall never hunger, 

and he who believes

in Me

shall never thirst...

All that the Father

gives Me

will come to Me,

and the one who 

comes to Me

I will no means cast out.'

John 6:35;37

      There are those who reduce faith as the only condition of the Spirit's dwelling in us as the source of spiritual life, but we do live by faith. That may seem circular but it is not, it is by the exercise of faith continuing in the believer's life where can be found spiritual life. We live by exercising faith in God, in His attributes, in His providence, in His promises, and in all the truths which He has revealed. All spiritual lives are sustained by the exercise of faith when faith has as it's object, Jesus Christ. It is His divine, even though mysterious constituted person as God manifested in the flesh, that has provided finished work for our redemption. Jesus Christ being God, has provided intercession which is infinite, there is no end as there is no end to Him. This intimate relation as our High Priest, our Prophet, and King, our living head in whom are our lives hid in God, and from whom flows all that He is into our souls. We are sanctified by faith. It is through faith whereby all the activities of spiritual life are called into exercise, our affections and our deepest love. 

     Hebrews chapter eleven verse one, a most famous passage states: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Our sanctification is by faith the very thing hoped for, the very evidence of things not seen. What are those "things?" It is all that God has revealed concerning the spiritual and eternal world. This is necessary for us while we exist in this world as the objects of our faith. It is not by the natural eye we see, faith is to the soul what the eye is to the body. By faith we are able to see things unseen and eternal. It is this faith that gives them substance, reality, power in some measure in proportion to their value. Here then is the good news: those things seen lose their power and domination over His children, over their souls. These temporal and secular things are not worthy to be compared to those things seen by faith, things which God has prepared for us before the beginning of the world. Reading the Scriptures elevates a person, the actual believer to be above the things of time and sense, he overcomes the world and becomes heavenly minded: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). God's children reside in heaven, we breathe the living air and are pervaded with His Spirit and we have a foretaste of its joys. 

     The true believer is rendered pure, spiritual, humble, self-denying, laborious, meek, gentle, forgiving, as well as firm and courageous: (Galatians 5:22-25). There is power in this faith as well demonstrated in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. Think, peruse, meditate upon those men who in faith had the mouths of lions stopped, built an ark even when there had been no rain, placed his son on the altar in sacrifice by command of the Lord, the altar flooded with water only to be consumed upon prayer to the Living and True God. History records those who died, violent deaths without renouncing their faith. All these and more are for us examples, example of a good report. 

     We are admonished to: "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:6). Let this be said of you: "But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works," Show me your faith without your woks, and I will show you my faith by my works....but do you want to now, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?...You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only....for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:18;20;24;26). Works does not give us faith, it is faith, giving freely to those elected by God, and by faith works becomes the result. We are commanded (Matthew 28:19-20) to work, become disciple makers, and to love as John so commanded us in his epistles. Yes, we are sanctified, but that does not mean that we are timid, we are not lazy, we work for our God and Lord, and that is a privilege that brings eternal rewards, now and infinitely. 

I will bless the LORD at all

     times;

His praise shall continually be

     in my mouth.

My sou shall make its boast

     in the LOrD;

The humble shall hear of it

     and be glad.

                          Psalm 34:1-2

God Bless You as You Exercise Your Faith

Richard L. Crumb

Sanctification Is A Fruit of Faith

I will deliver you from 

the Jewish people,

as well as from the Gentiles, 

to whom I now send you,

to open their eyes,

in order to turn them from 

darkness to light,

and from the power 

of Satan to God,

that they may receive

forgiveness of sins 

and an inheritance among

those who are sanctified

by faith in Me.

Acts 26:17-18

     By faith we are sanctified, our hearts are renewed and by love purified as these words above state to Paul on the road to Damascus when he was approached by Jesus and set aside to become an Apostle. Paul would be delivered from the Jews, those to whom he was compelled to protect from this growing new religion. Further he was to be protected from the Gentiles for Paul was set aside to minister the Word of God as the Holy Spirit would reveal to him. The principle for us in this narrative is that Christians are set aside to be ministers for Jesus Christ, and, we have the protection and guidance of God Himself as we labor in His work. We are justified, but more, we are sanctified in the sight of God. Yes, we must work sanctification into our daily lives, and this sanctification comes by being in His Word, praying and intentionally being an ambassador for Him. Both Galatians 5:6 and Acts 15:9 instruct us that it is faith that works in us by love and that our hearts are purified. 

     Prior to the coming of the Son of God into this  world, in the old covenant made with Israel, justification came by keeping the law and all the sacrifices and festivals that were required. Now in the new covenant made with the coming of Jesus Christ as the One who would redeem God's people by His death on the cross, we are justified, justified by means of that propitiation death for the true Church. The law brought forth fruit unto death, that is all that the law could bring forth for if you did not keep all the law death was the fruit. We are freed from the law and its curses by the death of Jesus Christ. This is not to say that we are to become antinomian, for there is no antinomy between the old and new covenant, only that the requirements of the old covenant were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself stated: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17). There are those who preach and teach the abolishment of the Law, and others hold fast to the Old Testament Covenant and attempt to keep the Law, the Law that was fulfilled in Jesus with all its rules and requirements, but the Law, the Ten Commandments are not abolished and it is that Law that has it fulfillment in us as Christians, there is no room for antinomianism: "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another, for all the law is fulfill in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18), (Galatians 5:13-14). The writer of Hebrews adds: Previously saying, 'Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them' (Which are offered according tot he law), then He said, 'Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.' he takes away the first that he may establish the second. by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ one for all" (Hebrews 10:8-10). 

     It is in the object of our faith, Jesus Christ, that we are freed from the condemnation of the Law, we then live free by the death of Jesus Christ. We live holy lives, and until we do live in that manner, until we have been delivered from that wrath there can be no love of God in our hearts. We receive the favor of God, the release from what the Law could never do, we are restored, to the favor of God. This is so clearly taught in Romans chapter 6:1-6 and in the seventh chapter. It is by faith that we pass over from death unto life, this judicial death, required by the justice of God, a just God, and a merciful God who paid our debt Himself through the Son of God. We are justified, sanctified and is the most indispensable step of faith. Sanctification in this life is revealed to our consciousness, to the consciousness of the believer. 

    Eternity began the day we were knit together in our mother's womb. There is an eternity for all people, whether we live for God now is determined if we are living for eternity or for the moment, this secular life. Are our treasures laid up in Christ? Or as some who will be rejected by Christ even though they shout all that they have done for Christ. It is not what we do for Christ, it is what Christ has done for us. We live in love, love for God, in all our being, body, soul, and spirit, and we love our neighbor as we should be loving ourselves as being children of God. 

Therefore do not

     cast away 

your confidence,

     which has 

great reward.

             Hebrews 10:35

May God Continue to Bless You

Richard L. Crumb

All Governments Are Ordained By God

Let every soul be subject

to the governing authorities.

For there is no authority 

except from God,

And the authorities that exist

are appointed by God.

Romans 13:1

     Having lived in this country just short of seven decades I have been witness to the events that have shaped this country, both the good, bad, and the ugly. This being the 4th of July, a day set aside to celebrate our independence, to become a nation with its own government, let us not forget that this independence, this freedom so outlined in the Constitution that frames and defines our freedom, a document so  formed so that people could be free, free in their choices, free to worship, free to continue in the venue set forth by our founding fathers, that is, we are free inasmuch as we care for one another. Freedom is not licentiousness, it is not having the ability to do just as we please, rather it is freedom built upon the tenants of the Bible. When those tenants are discarded are dismantled in some matter our freedom is affected and lessened and we become more like those countries from which people fled so that the government would not continue to oppress. Furthermore, let us not forget that this freedom did not come without a cost, a cost in lives, those who died, who were maimed, affected in some manner that continues to affect even into those dim days of life. We may forget that the war for independence did come on July 4th, 1776, rather the war was already in progress and would continue until this country would be free from the military sent to hold people under the very government that they had fled and had come to this world so as to begin a new life. Through many wars, the biggest war was that between the states. No matter what side a person may stand, it was this war that finally defined this nation to be one nation Under God, a republic that stands for freedom, united for one cause and that is for the people, we are a democratic Republic, and this nation around the world with all that it has endured represents freedom. 

     You might ask, "Did not Paul admonish us not to resist?" Yes! Paul writes: "Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves" (Romans 13:2). Paul writes to Titus: "Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men" (Titus 3:1). Does this mean then that Christians are to be pacifist? No! It is to those who do not good works that the government becomes a terror (Romans 13:3), and the government is to do good for the people (Romans 13:4). It is when the government becomes oppressive and discards the principles that God established from the beginning, that is the Ten Commandments, that we must resist, for Paul states: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). As Christians we are not to be passive, we are to be active, intentional in making sure that the government does not become oppressive with laws and rules that change this country, a country that allows its people, to participate and make the laws, and this under the auspices of the Constitution. We have in place a document that has determined that this is a Democratic Republic, a nation under God, and being such we are the people that tells the government what should be done, not the government telling the people what is right and should be done. 

     Here is the crux, in all the years that I have been on this earth, and all that I have seen, the worst is that Christians are so involved with life, making sure that they grab hold of all the good that is available, without following Biblical principles have become non-involved, as a people, with what is happening in our government. Some do, of course, but as for the whole, they don't. Voting, examining the men running for office, using Biblical principles as the litmus for qualification to be our representative has all but been laid aside. The good things that have happened are to be found in the life we live, all that we have to make our lives more comfortable, etc. The bad things is that our government has become autonomous and runs without considering the people, it is pet projects, ideals, etc. that are forwarded and without inspection. The rule to inspect what is expected has been discarded. Why? Because we don't care. Maybe it is because theologically we just believe in eternal security, in other words we are going to heaven no matter what happens here on earth that we just forget that we have a responsibility, in the now, and to our grandchildren, in the future. We don't not know when God will send His Son, we only know that it is on the last day that He comes, not as some would teach that there is a "rapture" of the Church and Christians would be removed until Christ comes again. This is not Biblical, Jesus does not come multiple times, only once, the last day. Until that time, whenever it is, now, or thousand of years from now, we have the assurance that He is coming and we are to promote and teach disciples the Good News, He is coming. In doing so we do not sit idly by until He comes or we, those who are called and are His children, go to heaven in death upon this earth. 

     The ugly: Abortion, Homosexuality, Licentiousness, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries and the like (Galatians 5:19-21). We walk, and call ourselves Christian, yet we are not doing anything about these ugly evidences that are the fruit of those who will not inherit God's kingdom. These people are free to do whatever they like for they have come to know, they are taught in this culture that is so removed from Biblical principles that they have no fear, they push forward their agenda, only that their agenda is the agenda of our adversary the Devil. When we fight against such ugly cultural divisions so far removed from the Bible we are fighting against the Devil. Paul asks: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" We live, and teach, and bring the truth to all, that includes our government so that to allow the government to run amuck without  oversight by Christians is to allow the Devil to have his ways. This is unacceptable.

     I wrote this as a concerned individual who also has been in the past affected by false teaching, and living an autonomous life away from the commandments of God. That was then, but, and you will find too, that when reading the Bible and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide, the truth can be found. This is July 4th, it is independence day for this country, it is a call to all true Christians to wake up, become involved, if only it is to be able to vote, do so, under the principles and commands of the Bible. This is our country, not government officials. It was founded upon the principles of the Bible. If you don't agree, then tell me how those principles of the Bible found their way into our Constitution? Therefore, celebrate this day, celebrate our freedom, stop allowing the erosion of our freedom both in this country and in our Christianity to be subterfuged by unchristian men, men who follow other ideals. Remove the ugly, begin living as God would have His people live, that is to love, love the brethren, show love to all people, we are God's children, ambassadors with a message of reconciliation, we are of the priesthood of God, a priesthood of believers in God, act like it. John writes: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is grater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of god. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God....Beloved, if God so loves us, we also ought to love one another" (1John 4:4-7; 11).

     Enjoy this day. Celebrate, remember all who died and fought, both in wars, and in the halls of our government to keep this nation free.

In Christ We Stand

Richard L. Crumb