Let us go to Isaiah chpt.1, which seemingly has nothing to do with faith. Now, we are not going there for faith, at the moment, but for something else. You see, I call this continuation “The Mystery of Faith and Will.” Isaiah 1:18, the Lord speaks to Isaiah: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Now that is something.
It is difficult to reason, right? How can we reason with God about such things when we have no idea about these things. We not only have no idea about our sins or how bad they are, but we also have no idea about the holiness being as white as snow, and so our imagination begins to work.
The Lord says this in verse 19 and 20: “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” And the Lord says the same to us, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the bread of heaven, but if ye refuse, ye shall be devoured with darkness and deception, for the mouth of the Lord had spoken it.”
Now, something comes into play here which is not spiritual, is that not so? And what is that something? Our will! Our will is also a mystery, whether we admit it or not. But we make decisions every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day of our lives. And if we think for a second that we can avoid making decisions, then we are dead wrong. Because even deciding that we are not going to make decisions is a decision in itself, and a very grave one. And if we try to avoid responsibilities and accountability, this is the gravest decision that a man can take before God. So whatever we do, we make decisions and we are accountable for them.
And so I say, it is far better and acceptable to God if I make a decision: “I am going to do it and, please, God, don’t judge me for my performance but I am going to do it”, than to say to God: “I’m not going to do anything”, for whatever reason is behind that latter decision.
In 2Corinthians chpt.8, Paul speaks about giving also. In verse 11 he says: “Now therefore perform the doing of it [meaning giving]; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” First a willing mind… and if there is not first a willing mind, we can have faith as high as the Himalayas, it is good for nothing. And that’s because the Lord is not hastily building faith in us, because that faith ought to be used and done and performed and executed and turned into fruit. The living faith equals life which then brings forth fruit.
Abraham was called the Friend of God and the man of faith and a righteous man not only because he believed in God (because James 2:19 tells us that the devils also believe in God), but because he went out from his folks and came into Canaan (Gen.12:5), and because he took Isaac and brought him up onto Mount Moriah (Gen.22:1-12). That was a living faith, for if God had told him all the history of the New Testament, which was not yet history, as it is for us, Abraham would have never taken Isaac up the mount, and what would have happened? You see, everything that Abraham did was by faith. Therefore they, these deeds, became the fruits unto God, and his faith became living faith.
Now, maybe we can reread Philippians 2:13, we may reread it a number of times to get the real meaning. Philippians 2:13: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do (that you would be willing and that you would be doing) of His good pleasure.” His good pleasure is also reality which means faith. So if you would be doing the faith, the reality which He gives you, you would be having living faith, bringing forth fruit unto Him. And for that purpose He is working in you, that there be first a willing mind. For if there is a willing mind, then the light which He gives you will be turned into a living faith, which means that light will be turned into life. Light versus Life, Faith versus Works of Faith. Worked out faith means Life. Do you believe that?
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To be continued next week
brother Hanola
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