Stablished in The Faith
"And
so were the churches established in THE
FAITH,
and increased in number daily." -ACTS
16:5 [KJV]
Oh
what an inestimable mercy it is for a man to know the truth for
himself by divine teaching and divine testimony; to have it applied
to his heart by a gracious influence and a heavenly power, so as to
know for himself what salvation is, whence it comes, and above all to
enjoy a sweet persuasion that this salvation has reached his heart!
He will then know where to go in the hour of trouble, to Whom to
resort when sorrow and affliction come into his house, or illness or
infirmity shake his tabernacle. He will not be a stranger to the
throne of grace, nor to the sweetness of the covenant ordered in all
things and sure. But there will be given him from above, out of the
fulness of Christ, such grace and strength as will support him in the
trying hour.
It is by these gracious dealings upon his soul, that a believer becomes "stablished in the faith." Nay, the very storms through which he passes will only strengthen him to take a firmer hold of Christ, and thus become more established in the faith of Him. It is in these storms that he learns more of his own weakness and of Christ's strength; more of his own misery and of Christ's mercy; more of his own sinfulness and of super-abounding grace; more of his own poverty and of Christ's riches; more of his own desert of hell, and more of his own title to heaven. Thus he becomes "stablished in faith," for the same blessed Spirit Who began the work carries it on, goes on to fill up the original outline, and to engrave the image of Christ in deeper characters upon his heart, and to teach him more and more experimentally the truth as it is in Jesus.
It is by these gracious dealings upon his soul, that a believer becomes "stablished in the faith." Nay, the very storms through which he passes will only strengthen him to take a firmer hold of Christ, and thus become more established in the faith of Him. It is in these storms that he learns more of his own weakness and of Christ's strength; more of his own misery and of Christ's mercy; more of his own sinfulness and of super-abounding grace; more of his own poverty and of Christ's riches; more of his own desert of hell, and more of his own title to heaven. Thus he becomes "stablished in faith," for the same blessed Spirit Who began the work carries it on, goes on to fill up the original outline, and to engrave the image of Christ in deeper characters upon his heart, and to teach him more and more experimentally the truth as it is in Jesus.
-Gospel
report by preacher J.C. Philpot (1802–1869 A.D.)
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