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267

SECTION IX

Simple Exercises in Theology



268

Chapter 48


Justification and Sanctification
Faith and Works



      A surprising number of measuring devices can be found in and around an ordinary home. In our kitchen we have measuring spoons, measuring cups of many different sizes, containers in pint, quart and gallon sizes, a cold indicator for the freezer, a heat indicator for making yogurt, and a heat indicator on the oven.
      A thermometer hangs on the bedroom wall and another of a different type is in the medicine closet. In the sewing box is a three-foot flexible tape measure, and in a desk drawer three different kinds of rulers. On a closet shelf is a camera with a light meter, on a pantry shelf a food scale, and on the bathroom floor a scale of a different type.
      In the garage are steel measuring tapes (12 foot and 50 foot), a tri-square and a framing square, a volt-meter for testing the electrical currents in housewiring, a hydrometer for testing automobile batteries, a tire pressure gauge, and feeler gauges for measuring the gap in spark plugs. In the car itself are a variety of gauges with needles and/or lights, and on the water tank there is a gauge for measuring water pressure. These are probably not unlike the measuring devices to be found in many homes.
      May we suggest an experiment? Gather all the measuring devices you can find in your home, put them together on a table and study them for a few moments. You will quickly observe that they are of two kinds. Some are used for measuring objects, and some are for measuring forces. We could separate them into two groups:

To measure objects
      Spoons
      Cups
      Tapes
      Rulers
      Squares
      Feeler Gauges

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To measure forces
      Thermometers (to measure heat and cold)
      Light meters (to measure light)
      Volt meters (to measure electricity)
      Pressure Gauges (to measure air pressure, vacuum, or water pressure)
      Scales (to measure gravity’s effect on an object)

      Scales are perhaps a bit tricky. We think of using them to measure an object’s weight. But is weight an intrinsic quality of an object, or is it the effect of gravity on that object? A nice question. We may settle the matter by noting that without gravity an object would have no weight but would float off into space. After reflection, we would probably put the scales in the force-measuring group.
      Now we have our measuring devices separated into two categories, and we are ready for the next question. How are they used? How do they do their work? Again, we see a difference. Those devices that measure objects do it by establishing the physical dimensions of that object - its length, breadth, and depth, that is, its mass.
      But those devices that are used to measure forces must use a different method. Forces do not have length, breadth, depth, or mass. We do not ask, How heavy is this light? Or, How wide is this heat? These would be considered nonsensical questions. So - how can we measure such forces as heat, light, electricity, etc.?
      Somebody, somewhere, had a great idea. Let the force do some work. Then use that work as a measurement of the force. Let the force move a carefully calibrated needle across the face of a gauge, or elevate mercury in a column, or thrust a shaft out of a tube, or light test bulbs of different sizes. And this work will tell us what we need to know about the force.
      This has proven to be a quite satisfactory method of measuring forces. A fifty-thousand pound tractor-trailer combination speeding down the highway must be stopped, if necessary, by a relatively tiny amount of compressed air in a small tank beneath the tractor’s frame. (It may be as little as sixty pounds of air pressure.) Yet the driver is unconcerned because on the dashboard before him is a gauge with a small needle that accurately measures the force of the air pressure by the work that it does, i.e., pressing against the carefully calibrated needle. Thus the driver always knows how much braking power is at his disposal. He trusts his instruments.
      Airplane pilots trust their instruments to guide them safely through darkness, and ship pilots trust their instruments to guide them through storms. Experience has taught them that the instruments can be trusted. This is just another way of saying that forces may be measured with accuracy by the “work” that they do. This is by no means an untrustworthy system of taking measurements.

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      From our experience and observation we therefore draw two conclusions: First, forces cannot be measured directly but must be measured by the work they perform. We are not able to call to mind any exceptions to this role. Second: measuring forces by the work they perform is an accurate and trustworthy procedure. The results are uniform, consistent, and dependable.
      This leads to an important question. What is faith? Is it an object, or is it a force? Does faith have length, width, and depth - that is, mass? Obviously not. Faith is clearly a force. And since it is a force, it must be measured, like all forces, by the work that it performs. There is no other way. Thus the apostle Paul recommends to us “. . . faith that worketh by love.” Galatians 5:6. And the apostle James warns that “. . faith without works is dead.” James 2:17.
      The testimony of the measuring device must be accepted. It is trustworthy and reliable. An absence of works means no saving faith is present.
      Does this mean that we are saved by works? By no means! The measuring device cannot perform the function of the force. The thermometer on our wall can tell us if our furnace is working, but it cannot heat our house. A pressure gauge can measure the force in a braking system, but it cannot stop the truck. A volt-meter can measure the force in an electrical system, but it cannot operate an appliance. There is no use plugging your toaster into a volt-meter. Measuring devices perform a valued service, but they cannot play the role of forces. Works provide a measurement of faith, but works cannot perform the function of faith. We cannot be saved by works. Hence Ellen White writes

      While good works will not save even one soul, yet it is impossible for even one soul to be saved without good works. 1SM 377

      The mighty works of Jesus provide us with a measurement of His faith. It was by faith that He lived a pure and holy life, worked amazing miracles, overpowered the elements of nature, and raised the dead. It was by faith that He endured the contradiction of sinners, surrendered Himself to the power of wicked men, and was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. It was in faith that He uttered the triumphant shout, “It is finished,” and yielded His spirit to His Heavenly Father. His was a faith that worked by love - unmistakably recognizable, easily measured. Even so must our own faith be measured.
      Which leads to another question: Who needs a measurement of faith? Actually, everybody does.
      God does not need a measurement of faith for His own information. He can read the human heart, but the inhabitants of other worlds cannot, So - God needs a measurement of faith to show the watching worlds why it is safe for Him to save us.

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      The world needs a measurement of faith in order to distinguish between the believer and the non-believer, and in order to distinguish between pretended faith and the real thing. The church needs a measurement of faith in order to make wise assignments of responsibility to church workers. To send a person of weak faith to a mission field, or even on a difficult home base assignment, can be a very costly mistake.
      And we as individuals need something other than feeling for a measurement of our own faith. Without it, we might find ourselves disagreeing with God. It is not inconceivable that God might say to us, “Your faith has been growing weaker for some time now.”
      And we might answer, “On the contrary, Lord. I feel very good about my faith.”
      But when God says, “Where is the evidence? What is your faith doing?” a clearer self realization will come to us.
      So - everybody needs a measurement of faith, and this measurement is what we call works.
      Is this legalism? Not at all. A work of faith cannot be called legalistic. That would be a contradiction in terms. Legalism is a work not of faith in which no love is present.
      For example: You are driving to work some morning, and you find a newly erected stop sign at an intersection near your home. You stop. But you are not happy about it. You say to yourself, “What stupid officials we have in this city! There is no need for a stop sign on that corner! This is ridiculous, but if I don’t stop I might get a ticket, and so I will do it.”
      You have performed a work, but this is not a work of faith. It is a work of the law - legalism. No love is involved. You have no desire to please the officials or honor their wishes. With man’s laws this is enough. Man’s laws ask for nothing more than the outward works, the motions of the law.
      God’s law is different. Suppose that you are going to be baptized, but again you are not happy about it. As you enter the water you are thinking, “What a stupid, old-fashioned ceremony! They should have gotten rid of this years ago. It’s ridiculous, but if I don’t do it, I might be lost, so I will do it.”
      Again, you have performed a work, but it is a work not of faith. No love is involved. It is a work of law, a motion of law-keeping, legalism. Man accepts this kind of obedience, but God does not. God insists that our works must be of faith that works by love. He will not accept empty motions of law-keeping. Only the fruits of a faith that works by love can be a measurement of that spiritual force called faith.
      When we go into the waters of baptism because we love our Lord and delight to do His will, this is faith working by love, which Paul recommended to the Galatians. The same principle applies to Sabbathkeeping, tithe-paying, or any other part of God’s revealed will.
      Why should we find this principle - that faith is a force that can be measured only by works - hard to understand? We apply the same

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principle daily in relation to other forces. We do not try to measure heat, light, or electricity by establishing their physical dimensions. Neither do we try to get along without measuring them. And we would certainly not even think of mistaking the measuring device for the force, or of expecting it to play the role of the force.
      Let us fix our minds firmly on this truth. Faith is a force, not an object. Therefore, it must be measured by its works, not by its dimensions. And the measuring device does not bring us salvation.
      Our salvation is in Jesus Christ. Salvation comes to us through the faith that embraces Him and is proved to be genuine by its inevitable fruit (good works).

      Now genuine faith always works by love. When you look to Calvary it is not to quiet your soul in the non-performance of duty . . . but to create faith in Jesus, faith that will work, purifying the soul. . . . 2SM 20.



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