A True and Living Faith
“For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”” (Mark 6:50)
Thomas Boston encouraged his parishioners to have a “body of divinity from your experiences.” What he did not mean was that our experience should be our guide; instead, he pictured believers having a catalogue, a diary of their dealings with Christ. This is not to be a replacement of Scripture, but a companion or a commentary of Scripture. To have only Scripture is to have a historical faith – a purely intellectual grasp of the truth without any faith or moral purpose (John 5:39-40; James 5:19). To have only experience is a temporary faith – a great stirring of affections without being planted in the truth of Scripture (Mark 4:16-17). But to have them both together is what we call a true and living faith. Now, reflecting on my almost seventh year of ministry, I fear that many of us settle for less than a true, lively faith. Why would I say that?
Consider for a moment the disciples’ response at seeing Jesus walking on water, on this grand display of Christ’s deity. The response was terror. Is this not often the response of men when they come face-to-face with God? Who can forget Isaiah’s dirge: “Woe is me! For I am undone!” Or Peter’s cry: “Depart from me, from I am a sinful man!” Or Samson’s parents: “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” Are these common expressions today? Far too often, vain hopes of heavenly bliss fall from the lips of those drinking in sin and iniquity. The Romans publicly crucified offenders as a warning to others; and yet, when we see Christ made sin for us and crucified for us, we feel no terror when associating with sin. A faith that speak of the evil of sin without experiencing the terror of justice is one that is merely intellectual. That, my friends, will not save.
Those who only know in their “knower” will never appreciate those tender words spoken by Christ: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Has Jesus lost His mind? Don’t we have every reason to fear? We are dust and ashes; He is pure and unblemished deity. We are sin; He is righteousness. We are impure and full of wickedness; He is holy altogether. And yet, Christ speaks these words of gospel sweetness, easing our fear by the imposing of His person. He stands between us and God’s wrath. He satisfies the justice of God in which we should fear that we may only know the love of God of which we should enjoy. Many of us can recite this story frontwards and backwards, but do you enjoy Christ? Are you, like the disciples, inviting Him into your boat? Submitting your time, your attention, your everything to Christ because you enjoy Him more than these things?
My friends, as Samuel Rutherford ocne said, “Your heaven would be two heavens to me.” I love your souls very much – too much to let your faith rest in a mere intellectual shelf. Today, we do not need a faith that rests on the shelf; we need a faith that has legs and arms and moves for Christ.
