The first principle of revealed religion is faith in God. True
religion must begin with faith in the true God. Faith in false gods
leads to false religions. Without faith there can be no religion in
the soul of man. "Without faith it is impossible to please him: For
he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). In a
general sense, faith is the assurance in the soul of the existence
of unseen things, that is, unseen by the natural eye. The principle
of faith, that is, the power to believe, is planted in man by the
gift of God. It is developed by evidence. Faith in God is brought
into action by the word of God. Whether spoken by Deity himself, by
angels sent from his presence, or by men divinely authorized and
appointed to speak in his name under the influence of his Holy
Spirit, the word of God is the same. When that word is written it is
scripture.
Evidences of the existence of a Supreme Being are seen in vast
profusion. They appeal to every rational mind. The order, beauty,
and sublimity of the heavenly bodies, moving through space in silent
majesty, each in its own orbit, balancing and counterbalancing each
other without an error in time or revolution, all preserving their
own identity and performing their own mission, proceeding thus
through everlasting ages, are perennial witnesses of the existence,
power and glory of God. The earth itself, with its relations to
other planets, its products, its seasons, its adaptation to the
needs of the creatures that inhabit its surface or its atmosphere,
joins in the grand chorus of the music of the spheres, "Forever
singing as they shine, the hand that made us is divine." Nature,
however, while proclaiming the existence of Deity, does not disclose
his personality or reveal his will. A knowledge of God can only come
from God. Faith leads to that knowledge.
The greatest religious teacher among men was Jesus, the Nazarene. In
his personality God was manifest in the flesh. He revealed Deity to
humanity. He showed that God was in reality the Father of the
spirits of men. He proclaimed that he was in the beginning with God;
that he came forth from God, and that all mankind were his brethren,
made in the image of God and part of his eternal family. This
presents God as actually and literally "Our Father which art in
heaven." It takes away the mystery with which false faiths have
enveloped the Supreme Being, beclouding the minds of men, and making
God utterly incomprehensible. Jesus taught that his Father and our
Father is a personal being, man being in his likeness, Jesus himself
being in his express image. He taught also that he was sent into the
world to save mankind, and bring them back to the Father's presence;
that no man could come unto God but by him. The true Christian
religion, therefore, combines faith in Jesus Christ the Son, with
faith in God the eternal Father. Christ further taught the existence
of a divine Spirit, proceeding from God, to enlighten the souls of
men; that is, the Holy Ghost, by which the mind and will of God may
be made known to man, and by which holy men chosen of God have been
inspired in different ages to declare his word.
These three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, form the
eternal Godhead. They are not one person, as erroneously declared by
modern Christian churches, but are separate and distinct substances,
though one in mind and power and dominion. Jesus of Nazareth, as the
Son of God, was a personality as distinct from the personality of
the eternal Father as is that of any earthly son from his father.
The Holy Spirit, though proceeding from both the Father and the Son,
is not either of them, but has an identity of his own. It is true
that Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). But he also
said, "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28).
That the unity of the Godhead is not oneness in person is made very
clear in the account of the baptism of Jesus Christ; the Son on that
occasion coming up out of the waters of Jordan, the Holy Spirit
descending upon him in the form of a dove, and the voice of the
Father from heaven proclaiming, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16-17). Jesus said, "I came forth from
the Father, and am come into the world." Again, "I leave the world
and go to the Father" (John 16:28). He also prayed the Father, and
in the prayer recorded by John explained in unmistakable language
what he meant when he declared, "I and my Father are one." After
praying for his apostles, he said: "Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their words,
that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us. That the world may believe that
thou hast sent me" (John 17:20, 21). Concerning the Holy Spirit he
said: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you
that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (Chap. 16:7).
Many more of the sayings of the Savior might be adduced, but these
are sufficient to show the distinct personality of each of the three
that form the Godhead, while they are in perfect unity of mind and
purpose and action. If they are one substance, as taught in modern
Christendom, then all who believe on them, in all ages, are to be
made also one substance, thus losing their identity and becoming one
vast, incomprehensible and inconceivable finality.
The omnipresence of God has bewildered many minds which are unable,
because of modern false teachings, to understand how God the eternal
Father can be a person after whose form and image man is created,
and yet be present throughout his vast creations. But the
explanation is simple in the light of truth. It is by his Holy
Spirit, which permeates all things, and is the life and light of all
things, that Deity is everywhere present. Our Father has his
dwelling place in the eternal heavens. Christ is at his right hand,
and the Holy Spirit proceeds from them throughout the immensity of
space. By that agency God sees and knows and governs all things. By
it mankind may be brought into union and communion with God. It
guides into all truth. It recalls the past, manifests the present,
and reveals the future. It is the testimony of Jesus and the spirit
of prophecy. It is the light of Christ, and "lighteth every man that
cometh into the world." It is the "inspiration of God which giveth
the spirit of man understanding." To that degree it shines on every
soul, but as the gift of the Holy Ghost it is a far greater and
higher light. Then it is the abiding witness that bears record of
the Father and the Son; that "searcheth all things, yea the deep
things of God."
Faith in God, the Father, and in Jesus Christ, the Son, and in the
Holy Ghost is but the beginning of true religion. It is exhibited in
works of obedience which will be explained in other tracts of this
series. Faith is also a principle of power. All human exertion
springs from its exercise. This is exemplified in all the acts of
life. In a higher sense it is a spiritual force. It was by faith, in
this degree, that the wonderful works of the prophets and apostles
and other holy men of old, were accomplished, as recorded in the Old
and New Testaments, and in the sacred books of the seers and sages
who were not of the Hebrew race. For, faith is the same principle in
all ages and among all nations. It was by this faith that the sick
were healed, the blind received their sight, the lame were made to
walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, the sting of the serpent
and the virulence of poison were made harmless, divine dreams and
heavenly visions were beheld, and the glories of eternity were
unfolded to the saints and servants of God in the early Christian
church. It was by faith that lepers were cleansed, water was turned
into wine, multitudes were fed with a few loaves and fishes, the
winds and the waves were stilled, and the dead were raised to life,
when the Divine Master walked on the earth in the flesh. These
marvels are called "miracles." They are deemed supernatural, but
they were the natural results of the exercise of the spiritual force
called faith. It was by the same power that the heavens were closed
that there was no rain for three years and six months; that the
barrel of meal and the cruse of oil failed not, and that the ravens
brought food in the days of Elijah the prophet. By the same faith
the children of Israel were led out of Egypt by Moses, the Red Sea
was divided, manna was brought from heaven and water from the rock,
and people bitten by serpents were healed in the wilderness. It was
also by that same faith that the early patriarchs prevailed, and
some of them walked and talked with God. And indeed, it was by faith
that the worlds were brought into material existence, order coming
out of chaos, light springing forth from darkness, and life, in its
various forms, being developed through the word of the eternal God,
in whom this principle of faith is manifest in its full and complete
perfection.
This is the faith spoken of in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. Also in
the epistle of Jude, in which he urged upon the church when writing
upon the "common salvation," that they should "earnestly contend for
the faith once delivered to the saints." In modern Christendom it is
taught that this faith, with all the gifts, signs and glorious
manifestations which it produces, are "done away and no longer
needed." But this is another of the many grievous errors of
spiritual Babylon. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. A
principle of truth never changes. Cause and effect do not vary by
the lapse of time. The faith exercised in the first century of the
Christian era or of human existence on earth, must inevitably bring
forth similar results in the latter days. The absence of the effect
proves the absence of the cause.
The true religion contains the true faith. It is the one thing
needful. It is the one way of salvation. To know the only living and
true God and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent, is to gain eternal
life (John 17:3). Living faith is the starting point in the path to
that knowledge. While it has existed in a small degree, and has been
exercised occasionally and in a limited manner during the centuries
that have passed since the apostolic age, the faith "once delivered
to the saints" has faded almost out of active life, even among
professing Christians, whose minds have been blinded by the
traditions of men and the dogmas and theories of human invention.
While good men and women have served God, and sought after him to
the best of their ability, through the long night of darkness which
has intervened from the days of divine revelation down to the
present century, they have not been able to find that "closer walk
with God" and exercise that mighty faith enjoyed in ancient times
and which is essential to the true religion. Thank God that faith
has been restored to earth, and through it divine communication is
once more opened up, man may commune again with his Maker, and all
the blessings obtained at any time thereby may now be received by
the obedient sons and daughters of God. Concerning this
all-important matter other tracts of this series will be presented
to the public, that truth may prevail and that divine light may
shine upon the world.