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“The Limits of Faith.” This is, I imagine, a really unusual title. We tend to think of faith as being without limits. Inspiration instructs Yahweh’s people to claim, and then to proclaim, an “invincible” faith. For those who may need some clarification, to “claim” something means to receive it for one’s self, while to “proclaim” sometime means to declare it outwardly for the sake of others.
Our personal belief, which then becomes our public testimony, is the reality of an invincible faith. Creation Seventh Day Adventists take this instruction very seriously; in fact, to my knowledge we are the only Church, group, ministry, fellowship, etc. that is entirely given over to this idea. We have encountered numerous ministries over the years who will claim agreement with us on this matter, on declaring complete victory over sin and self. When, however, they are asked what that means to them, personally and individually, we find that it is almost always a surface-level testimony.
I am not saying this to belittle anyone else’s experience in secret, or behind their back. They themselves will admit that they cannot say they no longer commit any known sin. They are not able to say that they have been “critically examined” before their baptism, to see that they have really ceased to sin. They are not able to testify that they are actively in the process of discovering and putting away anything that may remain as a stain on their character. Backsliding and “moments of weakness” are anticipated milestones on the path to Heaven in their theology, while the Scriptures have our Father saying to humanity, “‘Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.’ Behold, we come unto Thee, for thou art Yahweh our God.” (Jer 3:22)
Understand the significance of this. For those who have come to Him, Yahweh has not only healed our sins, the spiritual impact that our transgressions have had on our souls, but He has healed our “backsliding” as well. He has removed our tendency to return to the sins that had beset us in our pre-converted lives. John puts this in other words, but equally powerful words, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:9) As we know, people often misuse this verse; they say, “This means that every time we commit a sin, He will forgive us and cleanse us from that sin.”
They do not understand what sin is, if this is their faith. They believe that sin is like mud that can get stuck to your shoe, or a stain that can mark the back of your clothing unaware. No, sin is manifest in one’s life as a choice to speak or act contrary to righteousness, which reveals that the soul is not, and has not been, abiding in Christ; in other words, sin is the nature of dead flesh, of the soul already outside of unity with the Father and Son. This is not a state of being that can be casually flipped off or on like a light switch. One is either alive or dead, and the transition between the two involves either death or birth, apostasy or baptism, neither of which are matters of a moment.
Christ died for us once. He was raised for us once. He raises us up with Him once, and that “once” is enough, for those who genuinely love Him, and worship the Father through Him. When we are “cleansed” from unrighteousness, truly cleansed, we do not return to unrighteousness. Our “backsliding” is healed; Jeremiah and John are saying the same thing here. We read in a study a few weeks ago that “affliction shall not rise up the second time.” (Nah 1:9) This is true in the society of Heaven, because it has been true for every one of its citizens. In other words, the collective whole of the Redeemed will reflect the individual experience of each of its members. Sin does not arise in the universe ever again, after probation closes, because it does not arise in the universe of any single soul, each saint having learned the power of righteousness over evil from personal, sanctifying experiences.
So yes, our faith is invincible. It cannot be overcome. It cannot be stripped away. It cannot be diverted from accomplishing its goal, which is the perfecting of the character of the believer, and the preparation of the soul for everlasting life. To accept this is to know what it means to be a CSDA in this last generation. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1John 5:4)
This is not an experience that arises naturally. One does not learn it these days in isolation, or through solitary study. It is sad to say that, because we believe that the Word of Yahweh is enough; however, with centuries of false teachings and the traditions of men, with so many “experts” in the Bible consistently teaching that, “Yes, the Scriptures say this, but that’s not really true…” that if even the sincere believers are exposed to them for even a brief period, it genuinely damages their ability to find truth in the Word. Satan delights that this is so.
In the first century, evangelism was asking people, “Have you heard of Yahshua?” In this last century, evangelism is asking people, “Have you heard of the true Yahshua?” It’s a very different question, and one that is much harder to answer in many ways. Everyone has heard of Jesus. Few people have really met Him. But there are a people on this earth who represent Him in His glory, who would rather give up their lives than dishonor His name, who speak the truth in love, including the truth of what He has done for us, even though the world and the fallen Churches mischaracterize this testimony as false, prideful, blasphemous, and so on, merely for repeating the actual words of inspired Scripture.
And speaking of actual words, so covenanted are we to this idea of the invincible faith that we have changed our Hymnals, as I mentioned in last week’s study, to better reflect the truth as it is in Yahshua, refining the good things of the past into the perfect things of end-time sanctification. Here are just a couple of examples, among quite a few, which themselves serve as a testimony to the world of righteousness:
Example 1
Song: “What a Friend We Have in Yahshua (Jesus)”Original: “Oh, what peace we often forfeit; Oh, what needless pain we bear; All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer.”
CSDA Revision: “Oh, what peace we always cherish; Oh, what blessings ours to share; all because we always carry everything to Yah in prayer.”
Example 2
Song Title: “Come, Thou Font of Every Blessing”Original: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love; Take my heart, oh, take and seal it; With Thy Spirit from above.”
CSDA Revision: “Ne’er to wander, Yah, I thank Thee, nor to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.”
It is valuable for everyone who is hungering and thirsting for righteousness to give some serious prayer and contemplation to those changes, and the reasons why they were made. It is always more glorifying to the Father and Son to speak of Their power, and Their goodness, rather than the curses from which They have already saved us at infinite cost.
What I want to talk about today, though, are the “limits” of faith, and this is not the same thing as the “vulnerability” of faith. To put that in another way, just because a faith is invincible, this doesn’t mean it is unlimited.
We could get into some pretty deep theology about this, and talk about Yahweh being all-mighty, and yet limited by His character, by His promises, and by His covenants, but there are some practical examples in the New Testament for simplicity’s sake. Here is one: “And after that they had mocked [Yahshua], they took the robe off from Him, and put His own raiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; him they compelled to bear His cross.” (Mat 27:31, 32)
This is generally read as Yahshua being so beaten and abused that He could not, physically, carry His own cross to the place of His crucifixion. But why not? If we can do all things through Christ, why could He not do all things for Himself? And of course, there is a respectful, and a disrespectful, way of asking that questions. The witnesses of His punishment asked this manner of question quite irreverently just a few verses later: “And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, and saying, ‘Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.’” (Mat 27:39, 40) It is possible, however, to explore this idea reverently, for we do have other examples of Yahshua being unable to accomplish things He intended to.
We have this well-known passage from earlier in His ministry: “But Yahshua said unto them, ‘A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.’ And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. And He went round about the villages, teaching.” (Mark 6:4-6)
Why should the unbelief of finite mortal men restrict the power of the Word Made Flesh to cast out demons, to heal diseases, or even to raise the dead?
There are things that the Faith of Yahshua is not permitted to do. By this, I do not mean there are limitations on what faith can do, in a theoretical sense, but there are limits on what faith will do, on what it is purposed and intended to do, and this has relevance for the sanctification of the saints.
If I go up to the top of a tall building, pray for the power of flight, and then jump off, I would not expect to survive the experience. There is a difference between faith, which is complete and unreserved belief in the promises we have been given from our Father, and presumption, which is the belief that our own desires and notions must be approved and granted by the divine. This is a topic we have touched on a few times before. Faith is humility. Presumption is a sensation of entitlement that, because I have given myself to Christ, I now deserve His cooperation in the plans that I lay out for my life.
This was Satan’s attempted trick when he tempted the Savior to cast Himself off of the temple. It was not the Father’s purpose to facilitate such a vulgar display of power; therefore, it was not the Son’s either. He would not be worshipped because He could deny the Law of Physics. No, He would uphold the Law except where special signs were appointed, and be worshipped for His character, not His supernatural skill set. Even the healings that He did perform were not for this purpose. Think about it; how many times did Yahshua raise the dead? In the Gospels there were only a couple of times recorded… two incidents, easily covered up by the Sanhedrin.
Why did He not raise a body to life every Sabbath in full view of the public? Don’t you think that would have gotten Him a bigger role in the history books of the time? But that would not be the kind of faith that He wished to inspire.
The purpose of faith is not to fulfill our own, individual plans. It is not for us to discover new ways for our desires to be met through the right works, and the right prayers. If that was how faith worked, we would not need a Church. We would not need a fellowship of saints. The purpose of faith is not to isolate us with the Father and Son. Christ, the very Center of our faith, required help from human hands when He was carrying the cross.
If faith was given to us so that everything we wanted would be granted without limits, sanctification would not be the work of a lifetime. We could just pray to be ready for Heaven and… no need for all the troubles of life. But we are told, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (1Pet 4:12, 13)
Faith is the tool by which character is shaped, and that is the most delicate task in the universe. Only Yahweh is skilled enough to accomplish it and, since it requires our conscious and willing cooperation, it must take place over time, limited by our ability to follow the angels appointed to us. And I am not saying this to justify anyone’s spiritual slothfulness. Some might hear this and say, “Oh, then I guess there is no need to urgently prepare for Yahshua’s return, since He won’t lead me any faster than I am willing to go.”
No… He will not lead us any faster than we are capable of going. That is another limitation of faith; it does not do for us what we are appointed to do for ourselves. And really, for those who are born again, and filled with the Spirit, their willingness and their capability are just about the same; we go as fast as we can, because we are willing to be sanctified as quickly and as thoroughly as we can be.
Faith is designed to give us confidence in the ultimate success of what we are called to do. But it does not guarantee a mechanism that we might expect. Here is a parable: suppose an angel appeared before you and sent you into a field to move a huge stone. You aren’t sure how you can accomplish this, but you are obedient, and so you go. As you see the stone, you realize that there is no way you can move it; it is much bigger than you can physically manipulate. But you are obedient, and so you try to find a place to grip it, and you start to pull. You have faith that Yah will give your muscles divine strength to move this stone – your faith, you have read, is capable of moving mountains. However, nothing happens. You pull some more, believing without wavering, that this is your purpose in life. Nothing continues to happen.
You know you were not deceived. An angel from Heaven definitely told you to come to this field to move this stone… but so far you haven’t been able to budge it. As you stand there wondering what to do, and why you weren’t suddenly Samson, someone drives up and notices you sweating in the middle of a field next to a huge stone. He asks what you’re up to, and you explain that you need to have this stone moved. Without asking any further questions, he says, “Sure, I can help with that.” He hitches his truck to the stone and pulls it away.
Now, here’s the thing; you might say, “I thought I was the one who was supposed to move the stone.” The truth is, if you hadn’t been standing there in the field next to it, that guy with the truck wouldn’t have stopped, and the stone wouldn’t have been moved. The angel gave you an instruction, you obeyed, and the work got done.
Faith works along with providence to accomplish the perfect will of Yahweh. This is a key to understanding the Kingdom. As we become more sensitive to the movements of the Spirit, we begin to see our Father’s hand in “ordinary” things, and the barrier between the natural and the supernatural begins to fade. This is a necessary step before the saints can complete their prophesied work. More importantly, every event of our lives becomes an opportunity for praise, because we see our Savior everywhere, in everything that we are permitted to encounter. “Are you happy with the life that Yahweh has given you?” This is a question we ask of those with whom we seek to share the Gospel. This is a question that is answered with an enthusiastic “Yes,” for all who have this faith.
By faith, Yahshua should have been able to lift and carry His cross all by Himself. By faith, working with providence, He got it where it needed to be, and a man named Simon was brought into contact with the Savior. We aren’t told the result of this interaction, but I am certain we will study it with interest during the thousand years of historical review.
By faith, all the Christian needs is a Bible and a deserted island, right? But faith, working with providence, has given us a fellowship, a People, to perfect us, and whom we help to perfect, for the glory of the Father and Son. It is not, you see, what faith is able to do. The limits, while present, are not boundaries to prevent us from succeeding. It is what the Father will do with those of us who have faith. It is the fellowship we form. It is the set of acts of cooperative righteousness that we perform. It is the network of connections that we make as we go about our work for the Lord. None of these things are possible if “solitary faith” is the intention of our Father in Heaven.
Here is another aspect: Yahweh could have restored Paul’s eyes when he prayed for healing. He said, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” (2Cor 12:8) He certainly had the ability, and Paul certainly had the faith to receive it. We do not accept the notion that the apostle had less faith than the villagers whom Yahshua could not heal. In fact, this is why Yah answered him directly, assuring him that his prayer had been heard, and explaining that there was a reason why things were as they were. It was not because the faith was not capable, but it was limited by its intended purpose. Invincible, but intended for something specific, which we, in our mortal understanding, may perceive as a limitation.
The saints experience challenges. We fall into perplexity. Sometimes we become ill. Do not let Satan cast these incidents in an improper light. Whatsoever we are called to do, this we are enabled to do, fully and without restriction. Even if it doesn’t come about the way we expect… sometimes we are just there to attract the attention of somebody with a truck, spiritually speaking.
This understanding is important for our sanctification. We shall not fail, nor be discouraged, just like our Savior. (Isa 42:4) When we don’t know how we are going to accomplish our work for the Master, we must stand in our integrity, and await His deliverance. Count the cost, yes, before embarking on service. Make sure that you aren’t trying to make a door where a wall exists, as we’ve said in the past. But once you are convicted that this is where you are called to be, then be there with your hands open to receive the blessing.
Our faith is invincible. It cannot be destroyed, and it cannot be taken from us. It has some limitations as we may perceive them, but they do not prevent victory in anything that our Father has called us to do. In practice, what this means is that the ONLY time you are not apparently able to accomplish something, there is a lesson in it, either for you, or for someone else. There is growth to be experienced. There is more light to be seen. When Elijah ran from Jezebel, thinking he had failed in his mission, it was only because he did not perceive that there were thousands of faithful souls in Israel, waiting for a word from on high.
Faith is not a substitution for diligence in the Christian life. We are to believe, and rest in the letter and spirit of Sabbath, but we are also to “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mat 26:41) The saints understand that both these things are true; they cannot be explained in formulas and equations, but they can be understood through experience. The saints know that faith cannot compensate for sloth, but that our agreement with the Father’s work in us brings forth the divine life, over which death and the lake of fire have no claim.
Be, therefore, the willing servant. Go where you are sent, and stand where you are set. Listen to the voice of the Father, through His Word, through His messengers, and through His Spirit’s work on your conscience. This will drive you through this life, ever toward Heaven, and down many roads that you might not have expected to travel, but which are just exactly those roads you most needed to take.
David.