Arizona republican., 1899-02-27
THE BLESSINGS OF FAITH.
Subject Of Yesterday Mornings Ser mon at the Christian Church.

mon at the Christian Church.
 The Church of Christ met Lords
 day in the Good Templars' hall in the
 Padgett building on Adams street
 where it will continue to meet until
 the new hose is completed.
 At the morning service the pastor
 read a lesson from Heb. XI:1-1O and
 announced as his theme, The Bles-
 sings of Faith" Of this he said in
 part:
 This whole chapter is devoted to a consideration, of the blessings of faith. | The writer has lead up to this sub | ject by series of considerations, and states in the 3Sth verse of the preceding 2 chapter of proposition that is at the bottom of all he says in the XI chapter ''The just by faith shall live" In the first verse of this lesson is to be found definition of faith, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the proving of things not seen." (R. V. English translatOrs.) The word in the been variously translated assurance, substance, giving substance to-. COZ
 Idence. Here is really but two ideas, and doubtless the Greek word thus rendered contains them both, and to get the full meaning of the writer both should be considered. The Greek con- mentators took it in it's etymOICgicaI sense and gave the meaning of the text, Faith gives a present substance to the future things of hope" But this is giving what faith does, rather than what it is, when it seems to me the writer meant to declare both, and that his meaning is, faith is the assurance that gives Q present substance to the things of hope.
 But the next clause adds yet more to the meaning of faith. "The test of things not seen.' Again. the word rendered test" also has been variousIy translated, test" ''evidence,' conf dence, proving" It means simply a strict proof, demonstration, a prCot which carries conviction to the mind and determines the will. Here then | we have what faith is. It is such an assurance as gives a present substance to our hopes, and is such a proof as l removes all doubt concerning the | things unseen by the natural e. e. Now | the writer prOcedes to show what a | great blessing such a faith is. And. | first he says that it enables Us to un. derstand how the worlds have been i made, they were framed py the word | power of God. The ground of thia faith is the revelation of God, Tn the | \ the earth" So the source Of the faith that saves us in the revelation of God. and so Paul declares in Rom. X, that faith comes by hearing the word Of God. See also John XX:30, 3l.
 But let us consider some of the things which God has promised us which our faith gives a present sub stance to and which we are enabled by faith to anticipate: Immortality, the +I,o | new earth, our introduction into the country, and the possession 0f it's joys forever. Faith is that cer- -ainty that God will give us these bless ngs, enables us in a measure to en- joy them at this present time. And Sod has not only promised these .hings, but has made them sure in Jesus Christ for he is the Fathers guarantee to US that he will in good .ime deliver to us these blessings. Hence Peter in his Second Epistla, granted unto us all things that pertain of him that called us by his ,wn glory and virtue; whereby he has 5ranted unto us his precious and eZ- eeding great p17mises,' What bles ing then faith becomes to us! How | | increases our happiness and brings o us joys we could in no other way btain. Heaven and eternal life, te ome to us g reality. not Cnly by and ", but now.
 But this is not all. Faith is ble- ing to us in that it enables us to 'lease God and to do what we could Ot do without it. And this e,eve- -t2 hapter of Hebrews from verse to he close is devoted to ilustr2tiug this ruth. The first example the w1iter ties is the offerings of Abel and Cain Abel's offering plus faith pleased GCd ( nd made it acceptable to him: Gains I minus faith was neither pleasing nCr r cceptable to him. It $ a great bless ', ng to be acceptable to God, to be well I leasing to him. But Abel was net . niy blessed himself on account of hi3 q aith, but through it he has become a lessing to the world, for By it beng ( cad yet speaketh." And this suggests 9 us the inquiry what shall the Ian : uage Of our lives be to p0sterity? | hall it be the language of faith? Su ch | ; the language in which Abel speaks 3 US today, although it is sixty centU- ies since he fell tEe victim of his U rOther's jealousy. And so spe2k3 | lnOch and Abraham, and Isaac, Jacob, loses and Noah; and of our own time aTey and JudsOn and Williams, Liv- lgstOn and others. And what shall T say more? For the time would fa1! \ le to tell of the WOrthie5 whose names Q re written in the Lambs Book Of l fife, and who speak to us in the Ian | uage of faith.
 Now do not these blessings fill you | -ith 8 desire to become a Christian? T
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. y
 q