The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1962-12-28
Belief In Action
Lesson for December 30, 1862

II you WduL 70 kIlOCh uOWI
stone arch, it is not necessary
to knock down every single
store. All you have to do is to
knock out the keystone, the cen
ter stone at the very top, and the
rest will fall of themselves.
Christians sometimes ask: What
is the keystone belief of all the
Christian doctrines? We have
been looking for three months
now at Beliefs that matter,
and more than one of these has
been claimed to be the keystone,
at some time or other. Now at
the erd we come to a belief
which Jesus rated as indispen-
sable. A mans house of life
will fall to ruin if this is is
ing. Jesus said: HE that hear
eth these words of mine and
doeth them shall be like man
who built his house on a rock. :"
The man who hears and does
not do, is building his house on
sand.
What We Can Do
This indispensable keystone
belief is called "Discipleship. "
A Christian scholar has said:
''Discipleship is the process as
well as the objective of belief. :"
Let's not be shy of those five dol
lar words. What that sentence
means is that discipleship- be-
ing a follower of Jesus lis not
just something to believe in,
something we call important;
discipleship is belief in action.
If we really think it is important
we shall not just talk about it,
we shall begin to live it.
There are many angles to
this. You might say the whole
New Testament deals with what
it means to be a disciple, to be
to think. to plan, to live, as
brothers Of Christ and children
Of God the Father. But let us
pick out three angles from one
chapter in EpheSians (4). Paul
is writing to born again Christ
ians, committed Christians. But
even such Christians need ad.
vice, warning, teaching and help
One thing Paul has to say is that
believers all have gifts of one
sort or another. People who are
urbellevers, not Christians at all
of course have gittS.-that is tc
say aptitudes. abilities, to each
his own. The difference between
Christian and non-Christian is
not that one class has gifts
and the other not. The difference
is that the Christian will take his
gift" whatever it is. as some
thing God has provided and will
use it and increase it as a sa-
cred trust. He will know, furth-
ernlore, that What he can do
his gifts not just what he
can do; it is what he can do in
partnership with God.
How We Do It
The second angle of disciple.
ship brought out in this chapter
by St. Paul is the way we use
gifts, the spirit in which they
develop. History has many ex-
ampleS of brilliant scound1els.
One whose chief and perhaps
only gift is an attractive, warm
personality. can use that almost
electric personality in unselfish,
friendly ways or in ways Of pure
SelfiShnesS. Many a confidence
man, check-forger. embezzler, Or
plain liar. has been smooth as
butter. bland as cream. A Wom-
an may marry the sweetest
man she ever met only to find
out. too late. that he is also
the meanest. The Christian on
the other hand will want to use
his gift which God gave him
not for selfish but for unselfiSh
purposes.
Why We Do II
Why does a Christian, a dis
clple and follower of Jesus hold
his gifts in a spirit of humility
and use them in a spirit of
helpfulnesS? In other words,
what is the Christians motive
for acting and serving as a
Christian ought? Paul gives us
the answer in the first SEN
fences of Ephesians 5. He holds
up two motives, which are really
the same. First he tells us to
initiate God as beloved chill
Gren." And if initiating God
seems too high for US. Paul is
ready with another thought
which is yet the same: Walk in
love, he says, "aS Christi loved
US II it seems too hard 10 uni-
tate the invisible God, VIC can
remember that he becomes Wis
ible i'll Jesus. So at the end Of
the Christmas season We may be
grateful above all for the one
great Gift of Christ himself. For
he is not only Gods word to us
he is the pattern OF our response
to God.
BASED on outlines copyrighted
by the Division OF Christian Edu.