“It’s the vogue to be vague! It is a day of moral fogs and spiritual twilights. We are headed into another variation of the Dark Ages because we have compromised with what we should have confronted.”

~Vance Havner

Dead Faith

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Nothing in the Bible is stated more clearly or with greater emphasis than the blessed Pauline revelation of justification by grace, through faith, without works.

Romans 4:5: “To him that worketh not, but believeth…his faith is counted for righteousness”. Ephesians 2:8,9: “For by grace are ye saved, through faith…it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast”. Titus 3:5: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us”.

Yet James states, just as clearly that “faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). He challenges professing believers: “Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith BY my works” (Ver.18), and declares that “by works a man is justified and not by faith only” (Ver.24), since “faith without works is dead”.

Some have imagined a contradiction here, while actually there is none. There is a dispensational distinction, for to Paul had been committed “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Ephesians 3:1,2). His was “the preaching of the cross” (I Corinthians 1:18), offering salvation by grace, through faith alone, to all who would trust Christ as Saviour.

James, on the other hand, was an apostle of the kingdom, proclaiming the kingdom rights of Christ and offering a changed way of life on earth which had already been experienced by the disciples in Judaea (Acts 2:44-47; 4:32-35).

Hence with James the emphasis is on works, not because good works can save or even help to save, but because true faith inevitably bears fruit and we can judge true faith only by the fruit it bears. Our Lord said: “By their fruits ye shall know them”. Hence James’ epistle abounds with such phraseology as, “ye see”, “show me”, “I will show you”, etc.

What we must be careful to remember is that according to both Paul and James, faith comes first, then good works. Faith is the root, good works the fruit. The absence of fruit indicates that the root is dead, that while there may be an intellectual assent, there is no true heart faith, and “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

The source of justification is grace; the basis, Calvary, the resurrection; the means, faith; and the evidence, works. Think this through; accept God’s grace and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. He will cause you to produce good fruit.

“Paul speaks of spiritual babes who won’t grow up. Some of these 150- to 200-pound church babies keep the pastor busy running around with a milk bottle when they should have been on beefsteak years ago. When the church calls a new pastor, these infants may be heard to complain, “I don’t like the new preacher—he changed my formula!” ”

~Vance Havner

All That We Have

By Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. — Deuteronomy 30:15

The Torah reading for this week is a double portion, Nitzavim-Vayelech, from Deuteronomy 29:9–30:20. Nitzavim means “standing” and Vayelech means “and he went.” The Haftorah is from Isaiah 61:10–63:9.

What do we have? What is it that we can truly say we possess? Money? Health? Wisdom? Possessions?

God asked Moses this question from the burning bush in Exodus. God asked him, “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). The Sages explain that what God was really asking Moses is, “What do you have?” Moses answered: “A staff” (Exodus 4:2). According to Jewish tradition, at that point Moses was already considerably wealthy. In addition, he was wise and strong. So why did Moses answer that the only thing he had was a staff?

The Sages explain that Moses understood that for all the gold and silver that he might have at the moment, it wasn’t truly his. It was all a gift from God that He could just as easily take away should He choose to do so. As we read in Haggai, “‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (2:8).

Moses also understood that even his knowledge wasn’t truly his own. Should God choose to do so, He could remove that, too, in an instant. As we read in Isaiah, “I am the LORD, the Maker of all things . . . who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense” (44:24–25).

Finally, Moses acknowledged that even his health and strength were not truly his own. As we read in Daniel, “He will become very strong . . . . Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power” (8:24–25). God could take away the strength of the mightiest in the blink of an eye.

So what was it that Moses had? What is it that any of us can ever truly possess?

A staff. The staff in Moses’s hand represented his ability to choose. The staff, which could be turned in any direction and lead Moses on any path, was all that he truly had. And that’s true for us as well. All any of us really have is the power to choose – what we will say, what we will do, what we will believe, and how we will react to any situation that we might find ourselves in. The power to choose is all we have, but it’s also all we need. The power of choice brings the opportunity for all other blessings.

In this week’s Torah portion we are reminded that we possess this great gift of choice. We read, “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.” God gives us the option – in all situations – to choose life and prosperity or death and destruction. The choice is completely in our hands. We must pray to God to help us choose wisely, to know which path is the right one for us, and then to have the courage to choose it.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

TRUST ALSO…

By Vance Havner

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Psalm 37:5

“Roll thy way upon the Lord” is a marginal reading. Alas, we go through the form of it but fail to do the next thing, “trust also in him.” We take our burden to the Lord, but we do not leave it there. We keep praying over the same ground, committing and recommitting our way. That is not faith, it is unbelief.

A man quietly reading a newspaper may not look as pious as a man on his knees in prayer. But if he has committed his way to the Lord and left it with Him, while he calmly moves on to something else, he is a better Christian than one who never leaves his way with the Lord but is always trying to. It looks very religious to keep on begging God to take over our burden, but true faith casts all care upon Him because He said to do it, and then considers it settled and stops worrying about it.

When Hannah brought her request to God, she considered it settled: “so the woman went her way and did eat and her countenance was no more sad.” That is it! God your way, eat and smile – it is as good as done when God takes over.

SHOUTING AT JERICHO

By Vance Havner

Shout: for the Lord hath given you the city.
Joshua 6:16

The people shouted before the walls fell. Anybody can shout after they fall. Faith anticipates victory and celebrates in advance.

“What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). “Believe that ye receive them” – the walls are as good as down already when God says so. Faith takes His word for the deed and shouts now.

“The Lord hath given you the city.” He has given us all things freely with the gift of His Son. We already have it in Christ, though we may not actually have possessed our possessions. Faith is the land deed for our inheritance with God’s signature.

Jericho may loom big and ominous, but if, like Joshua, you have had a meeting with the Captain of the Lord’s host, fear not. “Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.” Anticipate victory and shout in advance!

Do Not Fear

By Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Deuteronomy 31:6

The Torah reading for this week is a double portion, Nitzavim-Vayelech, from Deuteronomy 29:9–30:20. Nitzavim means “standing” and Vayelech means “and he went.” The Haftorah is from Isaiah 61:10–63:9.

In this week’s reading, Moses told the people that he was about to die. He would not go with them into the Promised Land; instead, his disciple Joshua would take over and lead the children of Israel.

Now, let’s take a moment to appreciate what impact this must have had on the people of Israel. Until that time, Moses was the only person who had ever led them. It was Moses who led their parents out of Egypt and shepherded them through the desert. It was Moses who ascended to the mountaintop in order to receive and bring down the Word of God. After the Israelites had sinned with the golden calf, it was Moses who prayed for them and brought them God’s forgiveness. Moses was more than a leader; he was a parent, a confidant, a savior.

Just as Moses was about to depart, the people would face their greatest challenge. Back in Deuteronomy 9 we read a description of what was ahead for the Israelites. They were told that they would face giants who were greater and stronger than they. The cities they were commanded to conquer were surrounded by strong impenetrable walls. Talk about a challenge!

And yet, God, through Moses, reassured the people with these stirring words, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” In essence, God was telling them, “You will succeed because I am with you and will continue to be with you always.”

Recently, comedian Jim Carrey was asked to give a college commencement speech. Among his advice to the new graduates was the following: “Now fear is going to be a player in life, but you get to decide how much . . . . You are ready and able to do beautiful things in this world . . . don’t ever let fear turn you against your playful heart.”

Today, I want to encourage us to choose trust over fear knowing that God is with us in any battles that we might face. We may feel like the Israelites did at the bank of the Jordan River, about to face a monumental battle and on the verge of losing their leader. Things might seem uncertain, difficult, and even impossible. But we must know today, as God told the Israelites then: He is with us. Even when other people and things that we may have relied upon have disappeared, God is always here. If we walk in faith and obedience, God will fight our battles. And when God fights for us, no one and nothing can stand against us.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

“I had finished a week’s preaching in Baltimore on a Sunday night and was due to begin in La Salle, Illinois, on the Monday night following. Some said I couldn’t make it on wartime train schedules. On Monday morning, I noticed that the Pullman seat opposite mine was occupied by a prominent government official. He was on his way to speak in Chicago. Pressure was brought to bear on his behalf and the train really went through on time. I sat and looked at him—a cat may look at a king—and thought, “You may think we are making this schedule because you are to speak in Chicago, but, really, the good Lord is just getting this little preacher to La Salle to begin his revival on time!” That was one time I had the government working for me! It may seem that man’s plans are given the main line today, but God is seeing His own program through. The best thing we can do is to find out which way God is going and get ourselves going in that direction.”

~Vance Havner

GOD AND TITUS

By Vance Havner

I found no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother…Our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus.
II Corinthians 2:13; 7:5, 6

Thank God for the humanness of Paul! Every lonely preacher, far from home, without rest in flesh or spirit, finds a kindred soul in these verses. We miss Titus, whether a brother or a dear one far from us. True, we have God, but we need the touch of a human hand and God often comforts us by Titus. It takes both God and Titus to cheer the castdown. Paul had his helpers, like Onesiphorus, who oft refreshed him, and like Luke and Timothy.

But when the day came that “all men forsook” him, he could say, “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me.” There may come a time when Titus cannot reach us, but when it comes God will get through. And in the last valley where the dearest cannot go along we need fear no evil “for thou art with me.”