The Ultimate Degree of Faith (Part 1)

By C.C. Crawford

Gen. 22:1-------"And, it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham," etc.

By ultimate we mean the highest, that degree of faith beyond which one cannot go. This implies, of course, that there are lesser degrees of faith. Note that faith is defined scripturally as "'the assurance of things hoped for, a conviction with respect to things not seen," Heb. 11:1; cf. 2 Cor. 4:16-18.

A moral command of God requires that a thing be done because it is right in respect to the very nature of things. The Decalogue is a code of Moral. law: to identify it as such one needs only to follow the principle of universalization, namely, that, a man in contemplating a certain action, by asking himself what the effect would be if every person would do the same thing under the same circumstances, can surely see for himself whether his contemplated action is right and good or wrong and bad. Tested by this principle, it becomes obvious that idolatry (of whatever kind), false swearing (blasphemy, perjury), disrespect for parents, murder, adultery, theft, false witness (slander, libel), covetousness, etc., if universalized would destroy social order, and in all likelihood the human race itself. (Recall the venerable doctrine of the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, covetousness (avarice), lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth.) The only exception, of course, is the law of the Jewish Sabbath: this was a positive institution, and was superseded, with the establishment of the church, by the Christian Lord's Day, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:1-2, Mark 16:9, Rev. 1:10).

A positive command, in Scripture, requires a thing to be done because Divine authority orders it. The chief characteristic of this kind of command is that there is no necessary logical connection between the thing commanded and the end in view. The primary reason for such a command ordained is simply that God ordained it for specific purpose; and He is to be obeyed if the divine purpose is to be actualized. Unbelief will ask "Why?" and "Wherefore?" when confronted with a positive command; but faith obeys without asking questions. (Of course, such a command has always the moral virtue (excellence) of obedience inherent in its fulfillment). One who obeys a positive command does so solely out of faith in God and love for God; the obedience is a manifestation of the faith and love which motivate it. Positive commands are designed to prove the faith of the professing believer. (Compare Matt. 7:24-27; John 15:14, 14:15, 8:31-32, Heb. 5:9, etc.) &

How the Holy Sprit Operates on the Heart of Man

By Bob Myhan

Jesus said the Holy Spirit “will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; and of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16: 8-11).

John indicated that certain ones were convicted by their conscience (John 8:9) and that it is our heart that either condemns us or does not condemn us (1 John 3:19-21).

Thus, the conscience is the heart functioning in an ethical capacity and the Holy Spirit operates on the heart in conviction. An individual is convicted of sin when he learns he stands condemned because of sin. But learning is an intellectual function. Therefore, the Holy Spirit operates on the conscience via the intellect so as to cause him to know that he stands condemned.

Now, either the Holy Spirit operates on the heart directly (without means) or He does so indirectly (through means). To operate both directly and indirectly in the same work is redundant and inefficient. If He operates directly (without means), there is no need for means. But, if He operates indirectly, the means are necessary, because God never acts unnecessarily. He always and only does what is necessary to be done in order to accomplish His eternal purpose. Otherwise, He would not be the perfect Being that He is. Therefore, in any area of work, if the Holy Spirit operates directly, He does not operate indirectly and vice versa.

Consider the preaching of Ezra as described by Nehemiah, shortly after the return of Judah from Babylonian captivity.

Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose…. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. (Neh. 8:1-8)

Ezra and others helped the audience to undergo an intellectual change by helping them understand the Law. Thus, they were changed in intellect by the Word that Ezra and others explained. This is also what happened on Pentecost. Notice:

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words…. Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know--Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” (Acts 2:14; 22-24)

There was no direct operation of the Holy Spirit on anyone but the apostles in Acts 2. Peter calls the people’s attention to his “words” which he spoke by the Spirit (v. 4). He quotes from Joel 2:28-32 and explains how the tomb of Jesus came to be empty. All they had heard was the false report of the guards (Matt. 28:11-15).

Peter gave them information they did not previously have. He then explained to them the significance of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus–the facts of the gospel. He concludes his sermon with the following words.

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)

And what was the effect of this sermon on the hearts of the people?

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37)

Their hearts were changed intellectually, emotionally and ethically by the words that Peter preached by the Holy Spirit. &

The First Messianic Prophecy

By Bob Myhan

When God said to the serpent, “…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:14-15), He was stating His intention to make it possible for the woman to be friends with Him, once again. All those who are at enmity with God are the collective seed of the serpent, the devil (John 8:44).

Eve was “the mother of all living,” but Jesus is uniquely “her Seed” for He had no earthly father. (Matt. 1:18-25; Gal. 4:4)

The bruising of the “head” and “heel” were figures of speech for a fatal blow and a non-fatal blow, respectively. The latter was a prophecy of Satan’s instrumentality in the crucifixion of Jesus, which would be a non-fatal blow. (Luke 22:3-6; John 13:18-27) But “the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4), by which Jesus would “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), was a fatal blow indeed! &