Because that is so, the Scriptures go on to affirm that faith can indeed do marvelous things. Perhaps the most astonishing passage on the subject is Mark 9:23: “All things are possible to him who believes� (NASB). Our familiarity with this verse has done much to weaken the impact of its promise, but the words hit us with renewed force when we realize that ultimately it is of God alone that we can say, “All things are possible to Him.� Men and angels certainly lack that power in themselves, yet God, through Christ, promises all power to our faith. What Christ is actually saying is that faith,
Because that is so, the Scriptures go on to affirm that faith can indeed do marvelous things. Perhaps the most astonishing passage on the subject is Mark 9:23: “All things are possible to him who believes� (NASB). Our familiarity with this verse has done much to weaken the impact of its promise, but the words hit us with renewed force when we realize that ultimately it is of God alone that we can say, “All things are possible to Him.� Men and angels certainly lack that power in themselves, yet God, through Christ, promises all power to our faith. What Christ is actually saying is that faith, in its receptive, appropriating character, receives God Himself! It has nothing to do with man’s moral achievements or intellectual strivings. Faith is a dependence on Christ’s indwelling that Scripture variously describes as “looking,� “seeing,� “coming,� “resting,� “receiving,� and even “eating� and “drinking.� This amazing truth should help us to see many things more clearly. For one, it should help us understand the missionary failure of so many congregations today. Plainly, God would have us see that all the resources have been available for accomplishing the deeds of God. What has failed is our appropriating faith. The promises of God have gone unclaimed, with no one to embrace them as their own, and the church has more and more retreated into her protective shell. If that is the case, what can we do about it? The cure for this grave sin of unbelief is to get back to the Scriptur...
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