The Fight of Faith Blog

I have a new blog called The Fight of Faith.  Any new writing will be posted there. Come join me.

Here are a few posts to check out.

The Fight of Faith [Title Post]

It Could All Fall Apart, and That's Ok

When Pressing On Means Giving Up

When Loss Is Gain

I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. Phil. 3:8

Our hearts are easily lured away by the fleeting shadows of this world, and these shadows have a way of slowly enticing our hearts in ways that are so subtle that we are often unaware of how tightly they have begun to grip us. Unaware that is, until we find ourselves reeling emotionally from being pulled in two opposite directions. If we follow the ways of Christ, our hearts break in longing for that which we will have to deny, and if we give ourselves to whatever it is that has our hearts inordinately bound, we know that we will find ourselves disappointed in the long run, even though it seems like it is the very thing we need to give us the peace that seems to be eluding us.

We know in these moments that it truly is impossible to serve two masters, for we will end up despising one of them. If we were left to ourselves, we would run headlong into sin, but praise God, our savior has ways of showing us our folly. The things that have held us captive and entranced are often exposed, by some providential means, to be things to which we must bid farewell.

How does the Lord do this? Often it is through trials, for when we are tried, we are reminded that this world is not our home, and no matter what it was that we were pursuing, we begin to realize that next to the excellency of knowing Christ, all other things will let us down. For if we are pursuing youth and beauty, he can remind us of our own frailty through illness and make us to be cognizant of our own end. If we are pursuing wealth and affluence, even if he allows us to attain it, he can cause us to experience great emptiness in the midst of it all through a time of spiritual depression. If you have made an idol out of some relationship, he has ways to show you how easily it is to be let down by those we trust or how easy it is to let someone down ourselves.

After the Lord has broken our hearts by showing us the futility of making anything of this world our ultimate treasure, he then reveals to us in even greater ways the unfailing treasure of knowing Him. For anything we may pursue in this life apart from Christ, only leads us to greater condemnation. Our sin separated us from a Holy God, and no amount of youth and beauty, wealth and affluence, or any earthy relationships could have removed the penalty that we deserved. But Christ, the Lord of Glory, stepped out of heaven into human flesh to save those who will have faith in him. He was a man who had no form or comeliness (Isaiah 53:2), and any youth and beauty he did possess was marred beyond recognition as they crucified Him. Being born in a stable he was not a man of affluence. He had no place to call his home (Luke 9:58), and even the robe he did own was stripped from his back and gambled away by the roman soldiers. Finally, he was denied by those closest to him; he was betrayed by Judas, disowned by Peter, and the rest of the disciples scattered as he was being tried and sacrificed for our salvation.

If Christ denied himself all these things when it was necessary, how much more should we who follow him. What good would it be if we had all these things, but did not have Christ? For there was one aspect of suffering Christ bore in order that we would not have to. While Jesus was suffering on the Cross, he was bearing something much more terrible than the loss of beauty, wealth, and friends. He was bearing the very wrath of God the Father. When Jesus told the people, “do not fear those who can destroy the body, but fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell,” he knew that he would be bearing that destruction in our place, and the blow would be given by his Father in Heaven. As he cried, “my God, my God why have you forsaken me,” he was doing more than simply drawing a comparison to the suffering servant of psalm 22. He was fulfilling its prophecy, and it pleased the Lord to bruise him (Isaiah 53:10).

Now why would Christ, who could have refused the suffering, choose to bear it, and why did the Father, who loved the son, choose to pour his wrath on his only son? It was so that we could be reconciled to God, through the forgiveness of sins. The punishment for our sins has been met in Christ, for He loves us with an everlasting love. In Christ, though we may lose some of what this world calls pleasure, relationships, and maybe even our lives, we will gain all the blessings of God, including eternal life and a friend who sticks closer than a brother. As we experience these losses, we must remember that those losses will be gain as we find our Savior. There is no treasure that can compare to the greatness of knowing Christ.

Doug Eaton

Faith is Full of Inventions - Charles Spurgeon

"And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay."
- Mar_2:4

Faith is full of inventions. The house was full, a crowd blocked up the door, but faith found a way of getting at the Lord and placing the palsied man before him. If we cannot get sinners where Jesus is by ordinary methods we must use extraordinary ones. It seems, according to Luk_5:19, that a tiling had to be removed, which would make dust and cause a measure of danger to those below, but where the case is very urgent we must not mind running some risks and shocking some proprieties. Jesus was there to heal, and therefore fall what might, faith ventured all so that her poor paralysed charge might have his sins forgiven. O that we had more daring faith among us! Cannot we, dear reader, seek it this morning for ourselves and for our fellow-workers, and will we not try to-day to perform some gallant act for the love of souls and the glory of the Lord.

The world is constantly inventing; genius serves all the purposes of human desire: cannot faith invent too, and reach by some new means the outcasts who lie perishing around us? It was the presence of Jesus which excited victorious courage in the four bearers of the palsied man: is not the Lord among us now? Have we seen his face for ourselves this morning? Have we felt his healing power in our own souls? If so, then through door, through window, or through roof, let us, breaking through all impediments, labour to bring poor souls to Jesus. All means are good and decorous when faith and love are truly set on winning souls. If hunger for bread can break through stone walls, surely hunger for souls is not to be hindered in its efforts. O Lord, make us quick to suggest methods of reaching thy poor sin-sick ones, and bold to carry them out at all hazards.

Charles H. Spurgeon

The Haunting Effects of Sin

David thought it was over. His sin had been exposed and he had sought the Lord’s forgiveness and it had been granted. A right spirit had been renewed and a clean heart had been created. Then came the news that his child was seriously ill. As David was thrown to the floor in anguish, thoughts of his sin filled his mind. Months had passed but now his sin had come out from hiding to remind him of his treachery against the God of the universe.

Years later another son of his rebels against him, and once again David is reminded of the sword that has been driven into his family because of what he had done. Another fierce reminder that he, at one point, actually thought he knew better than Lord of all creation. In his sinful nature he desired something that the Lord had forbidden, but David ignored the law because he thought it would be better if things where done his way. Oh’ but how that sin has haunted him. How many times he thought he was done with it, he had repented, he had been forgiven, but regardless of all that, it seemed to pursue him. Though it had no hold on his life, and there was no possibility that his sin could exact its wages from him, due to the redemptive plan and work of God, it was not going to let him forget.

It seemed to sit in silence for long periods of time just to make David comfortable. Then as he would be going about his day, there would be those moments when something, whether it something he saw or something he heard, gave his sin an opportunity to spring up on him and cloak his day with darkness by taunting him of his failures and reminding him of his foolishness.

You see, one or two moments of sin do not simply last for a season. Many times they have a way of coming back in little reminders which sink your spirits every now and again, and the fact that it comes on when you least expect it is what makes it all the more difficult. After it happens a few times it can also cause you to begin to look over your shoulder in preparation for it to happen again, until you feel it trying to stifle you in your work for the Lord. It can even cause a hesitancy to step out into new areas of ministry because of what it might do when you venture out into new territory.

As it did with David, sin has a way of robbing us of peace and joy. It can weaken, embarrass, and grieve us years after the indiscretion. On top of all that, if the enemies of God find out, they begin to rejoice, mocking the God we love because of what we have done.

If you are toying with sin, or considering spurning God’s loving standards to feed your flesh, you might want to think twice. Because what you do could linger for years to come. Now if this warning comes a bit too late and you already know from experience that all of this is true, you must remember that the haunting cannot ultimately hurt you. Remember that our sovereign God, who has taken your sin and bore it’s wages on the cross has promised to never lose His child, and has promised that all things will work together for the good of those that who love Him; even the haunting effects of sin. Though they can be troubling and painful, He is using all things to accomplish His purposes in your life. His plans are to prosper and not to harm you, He will finish the work he has started in you, and with a little wrestling, He can change your name from Jacob, the heel-catcher and deceiver, to Israel; the prince of God.

Ultimately, David never forgot his sin, but that did not stop God from calling him “a man after His own heart.” As king of Israel, the Lord has used his example to show the world his love and forgiveness, and that the Lord can use anyone in a mighty way, even those with serious failures in their past. Sin can haunt the repentant believer all it wants, but ultimately it cannot separate them from God’s love. Even though the enemy naively believes that he is going to stifle them by it, the sovereign God is using it to conform them to the image of His Son. And let us never forget that it was the haunting effects of sin that the Lord used in David life, which caused him to draw up under the wing of his Lord, and through it birthed several of his Psalms which were inspired by the Holy Spirit and considered the very Words of God.

In an interesting way the Lord uses the haunting effects of sin to bring his child to the point were we will no longer be able to be haunted by them. By using them to conform us to His image, not only will we avoid sin in the future, but when the accuser rears his head, we will understand that all His work is in vain and the more he tries to afflict us, the more we will grow (Ex. 1:12), And before long, Satan will be looking over his shoulder, because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

Doug

On Faith and Feelings

“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say you are my God.” Psalms 31:14

In this passage we hear King David make a statement that we’ve heard him say many times, but what is significant are the words that precede this statement. Many people base their relationship with the Lord on their feelings. If we feel close to the Lord then He is close. If we feel far from Him then He is far. If we feel joy, peace, and love then we are in His favor, but if we feel grief, pain, guilt and distress then we are not. If we look at the words of David that precede this verse, we will find statements like “My eye wastes away with grief”, “My bones wastes away”, and “My strength fails me because of my iniquity.” Other words that accompany his plight are “broken,” “trouble,” “reproach,” and “forgotten.”

When we enter times like this we tend to believe that God has forgotten us, or that we’ve been cut off from before His eyes, but if we are his children through faith then this is completely contrary to the truth. God’s faithfulness and truth are not conditioned by our feelings. We enjoy it when good feelings accompany our faith, but we must remember that the faithfulness of God is not based on our feelings.

How does David conclude the Psalm? By calling on all of God’s children to love the Lord and to place their trust in Him. Even though he is struggling with his own doubts and fears He puts the call forward, and speaks the truth of God’s sovereignty and his faithfulness.

You may be in a time in your life where the truth of God’s word is accompanied with times of peace, and comfort. Your worship springs from a fountain of overwhelming joy. Or you may be in a time of your life where you feel dry, broken, and full of reproach. Regardless of how you feel move forward in the Lord. Speak His truth, and work to forward the kingdom of God, because if we are not doing this, it doesn’t really matter what feelings we have. We are commanded by God’s Word to proclaim His truth; we are equipped by His grace, and spurred on by faith, not feelings, to fulfill the works ordained beforehand because we are his workmanship.

On the other side of the coin, many people feel good about their souls condition, but their life does not line up with scripture. The New Age spiritualist may claim to have found peace, but is still under condemnation of the law. Their feelings have deceived them. Only when feelings line up with the Truth can they be trusted. Other than that, they deceive. In our attempt to seek and know God, let us make the Truth of Christ the treasure we seek, and this can only be found in the Word of God. If we don’t know the Word of God we will not be able to tell whether or not our feelings are lying to us or telling us the truth? This is why the Psalmist says “Thy word I have hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

When times of trouble and distress come, may we say with David “My times are in your hands”. I will not worry about how things make me feel, but I will trust that all that comes my way is ordained by Him and He is faithful, and His word does not waiver with my feelings. Therefore, I will march on proclaiming your truth.

-Doug Eaton-

What is Saving Faith?

This is a short look at the three aspects which are usually spoken of when discussing saving faith.