InChristAlone
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Diligent Faith
Hebrews 6:11
"And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end."
Hebrews 11:6
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
The word diligence can mean:
a) haste, with haste
b) earnestness in accomplishing, promoting, or striving after anything
c) to give all diligence, interest one's self most earnestly
Diligence conveys that something is being promoted or strived after. In Hebrews 6:11, Paul is encouraging the Hebrews to demonstrate diligence in order to promote full assurance of the hope that is in them. But isn't faith required to be diligent in the spiritual disciplines, to promote holiness in our lives as Christ is holy? I believe that Paul is talking about being diligent in their faith and because of their faith.
In Hebrews 11:6, we are told that "without faith it is impossible to please him." So, whether we are diligent or not, if we do not have faith in Him, then we cannot please Him?
This is what became so clear to me. Faith is required to be diligent. Diligence in pursuing after God pleases God. The faith that was purchased by Christ on the Cross is what keeps us pressing on and striving after righteousness and the pursuit of holiness. Faith is needed to believe that He is the Three in One, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Faith is needed to believe in His remarkable character ( omnipresent, omniscient, all-sufficient, just to name a few). Faith is needed to believe that He is our reward and that we will one day see Him in all of His glory. Faith is what keeps us going. It is "the substance of things hoped for" and "the evidence of things not seen." But that faith is only ours by the shedding of the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 11:13
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
In Hebrews 11, there are examples of godly men and women of faith. Though many had not received the promises, they lived in full assurance of the hope that these would all one day be fulfilled. Their faith enabled them to have their eyes opened to the promises of God, to come to the realization that they were true, to embrace or accept and hold on to them, and to understand their identity as children of God in relation to these promises.
Notice that those who were examples were diligent in living by faith even up to the end of their time here on earth. They pressed on in Jesus' name. Faith was the eye of their souls. They diligently sought the Lord and followed His lead because of the free gift of faith given by Christ's sacrifice. Faith set the prize clear before their eyes.
We have a responsibility to be diligent to pursue Christ in all of His holiness. But the basis of our diligence is the work of Christ on the Cross. Though life's battles are raging and the choices to be made are hard, we have what it takes because we are in Christ. Giving up is not an option. Perseverance is not in question. How and why do we press on? All in Jesus' name! Without Christ we can do nothing, but with Him nothing is impossible. Though the battle with the flesh rages on, our victory was, is, and always will be in Jesus Christ. Praise Him that He is our great reward! It is He Who gives us the grace and faith to diligently pursue Him and His kingdom!
"And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end."
Hebrews 11:6
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
The word diligence can mean:
a) haste, with haste
b) earnestness in accomplishing, promoting, or striving after anything
c) to give all diligence, interest one's self most earnestly
Diligence conveys that something is being promoted or strived after. In Hebrews 6:11, Paul is encouraging the Hebrews to demonstrate diligence in order to promote full assurance of the hope that is in them. But isn't faith required to be diligent in the spiritual disciplines, to promote holiness in our lives as Christ is holy? I believe that Paul is talking about being diligent in their faith and because of their faith.
In Hebrews 11:6, we are told that "without faith it is impossible to please him." So, whether we are diligent or not, if we do not have faith in Him, then we cannot please Him?
This is what became so clear to me. Faith is required to be diligent. Diligence in pursuing after God pleases God. The faith that was purchased by Christ on the Cross is what keeps us pressing on and striving after righteousness and the pursuit of holiness. Faith is needed to believe that He is the Three in One, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Faith is needed to believe in His remarkable character ( omnipresent, omniscient, all-sufficient, just to name a few). Faith is needed to believe that He is our reward and that we will one day see Him in all of His glory. Faith is what keeps us going. It is "the substance of things hoped for" and "the evidence of things not seen." But that faith is only ours by the shedding of the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 11:13
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
In Hebrews 11, there are examples of godly men and women of faith. Though many had not received the promises, they lived in full assurance of the hope that these would all one day be fulfilled. Their faith enabled them to have their eyes opened to the promises of God, to come to the realization that they were true, to embrace or accept and hold on to them, and to understand their identity as children of God in relation to these promises.
Notice that those who were examples were diligent in living by faith even up to the end of their time here on earth. They pressed on in Jesus' name. Faith was the eye of their souls. They diligently sought the Lord and followed His lead because of the free gift of faith given by Christ's sacrifice. Faith set the prize clear before their eyes.
We have a responsibility to be diligent to pursue Christ in all of His holiness. But the basis of our diligence is the work of Christ on the Cross. Though life's battles are raging and the choices to be made are hard, we have what it takes because we are in Christ. Giving up is not an option. Perseverance is not in question. How and why do we press on? All in Jesus' name! Without Christ we can do nothing, but with Him nothing is impossible. Though the battle with the flesh rages on, our victory was, is, and always will be in Jesus Christ. Praise Him that He is our great reward! It is He Who gives us the grace and faith to diligently pursue Him and His kingdom!
posted by Heather Livingston at 9:59 AM
3 Comments:
Hey Heather! How have you been? Well, this is an AWESOME post! I noticed that you said (and it says in the Bible a lot), that God is our "great reward". I love the way that is put! He is our reward. After livining a life fully lived for Him....we get that reward, everlasting life with HIM!!!!!! Anyways, yeah.....I leanred a new word today, diligence. It is so true.....we can't be completely (if at all) faithful to God if we don't diligently pursue Him (like you said!)! Well, GREAT blog!!!! Cya at church!
Keep livin for Christ!
Ashley:)
The rewarder is the reward! I love it!
Ex. 33:13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”
Great post!!! I pray that we will always keep our eyes on "Christ" the greatest reward we will ever possess. May we always seek to glorify God by practicing our spiritual disciplines so that Gods word will strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ. May we always seek to diligently pursue Christlikeness and honor God with our lives.
Michelle
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