Belief Controls Action.--"As the man is, so is his strength" (Judges
8:21), "For as he thinketh in his heart so is he" (Proverbs
23:7). "According to your faith be it unto you" (Matthew 9:28,29).
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of
life" (Proverbs 4:23).
The Scriptures place stress upon the fact that a man's actions are
largely dependent upon what he believes or disbelieves rather than
upon his environment (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 10:10; Acts 8:21; Matthew
9:4; 12:34; 15:11,18-20; 23:25).
There is the will to believe and there is the will not to believe
(Matthew 15:28; 16:24; Luke 9:23; John 5:40). Man grows from the
inside out. What he believes in his heart will sooner or later
manifest itself in his acts. If a man thinks evil in his heart and
cherishes that evil, while outwardly his life is moral and upright, it
is only a question of time when the inner badness will break through
the thin crust of outer goodness. The real battle of life is in a
man's soul and if a man sets himself to win this battle he need have
no fear of outward evil circumstances; he will have to set no guard
upon his words or acts for he will speak and act from a pure and
upright heart. It is not what he disbelieves, but what he believes,
his conviction of truth, that makes him strong.
Hence the necessity for the vigorous and living faith which Christ
urged upon His followers (Mark 11:22-24; Matthew 17:19,20; Luke 8:
24,25), a faith that could not be daunted by mountains of difficulty
or great storms of afflictions.
Jesus came into the world with a positive program. He had a
constructive gospel to preach to men. His disciples after His death
followed in the footsteps of their Master and carried out His
commands. The result was that faith was translated into action; the
old world was changed and myriads of men gave in their allegiance to
the Christ. The positive setting forth of the Christian faith always
brings definite results.