LET all the world practise the doctrine of Jesus, and the reign of God
will come upon earth; if I alone practise it, I shall do what I can to
better my own condition and the condition of those about me. There is no
salvation aside from the fulfilment of the doctrine of Jesus. But who
will give me the strength to practise it, to follow it without ceasing,
and never to fail? "_Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief._" The
disciples called upon Jesus to strengthen their faith. "_When I would do
good_," says the apostle Paul, "_evil is present with me_." It is hard
to work out one's salvation.
A drowning man calls for aid. A rope is thrown to him, and he says:
"Strengthen my belief that this rope will save me. I believe that the
rope will save me; but help my unbelief." What is the meaning of this?
If a man will not seize upon his only means of safety, it is plain that
he does not understand his condition.
How can a Christian who professes to believe in the divinity of Jesus
and of his doctrine, whatever may be the meaning that he attaches
thereto, say that he wishes to believe, and that he cannot believe? God
comes upon earth, and says, "Fire, torments, eternal darkness await you;
and here is your salvation--fulfil my doctrine." It is not possible
that a believing Christian should not believe and profit by the
salvation thus offered to him; it is not possible that he should say,
"Help my unbelief." If a man says this, he not only does not believe in
his perdition, but he must be certain that he shall not perish.
A number of children have fallen from a boat into the water. For an
instant their clothes and their feeble struggles keep them on the
surface of the stream, and they do not realize their danger. Those in
the boat throw out a rope. They warn the children against their peril,
and urge them to grasp the rope (the parables of the woman and the piece
of silver, the shepherd and the lost sheep, the marriage feast, the
prodigal son, all have this meaning), but the children do not believe;
they refuse to believe, not in the rope, but that they are in danger of
drowning. Children as frivolous as themselves have assured them that
they can continue to float gaily along even when the boat is far away.
The children do not believe; but when their clothes are saturated, the
strength of their little arms exhausted, they will sink and perish. This
they do not believe, and so they do not believe in the rope of safety.
Just as the children in the water will not grasp the rope that is thrown
to them, persuaded that they will not perish, so men who believe in the
resurrection of the soul, convinced that there is no danger, do not
practise the commandments of Jesus. They do not believe in what is
certain, simply because they do believe in what is uncertain. It is for
this cause they cry, "Lord, strengthen our faith, lest we perish." But
this is impossible. To have the faith that will save them from
perishing, they must cease to do what will lead them to perdition, and
they must begin to do something for their own safety; they must grasp
the rope of safety. Now this is exactly what they do not wish to do;
they wish to persuade themselves that they will not perish, although
they see their comrades perishing one after another before their very
eyes. They wish to persuade themselves of the truth of what does not
exist, and so they ask to be strengthened in faith. It is plain that
they have not enough faith, and they wish for more.
When I understood the doctrine of Jesus, I saw that what these men call
faith is the faith denounced by the apostle James:[18]--
[18] The epistle of James was for a long time rejected by the
Church, and when accepted, was subjected to various alterations:
certain words are omitted, others are transposed, or translated in
an arbitrary way. I have restored the defective passages after the
text authorized by Tischendorf.
"_What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man believe he hath faith, but
hath not works? can that faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked
and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be
ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the
body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead
in itself. But some one will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works:
Shew me thy faith which is without works, and I, by my works, will show
thee my faith. Thou believest there is one God; thou doest well: the
demons also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that
faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by
works when he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? Thou seest that
faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect.... Ye
see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith.... For as
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith is dead without works._"
(James ii. 14-26.)
James says that the indication of faith is the acts that it inspires,
and consequently that a faith which does not result in acts is of words
merely, with which one cannot feed the hungry, or justify belief, or
obtain salvation. A faith without acts is not faith. It is only a
disposition to believe in something, a vain affirmation of belief in
something in which one does not really believe. Faith, as the apostle
James defines it, is the motive power of actions, and actions are a
manifestation of faith.
The Jews said to Jesus: "_What signs shewest thou then, that we may see,
and believe thee? what dost thou work?_" (John vi. 30. See also Mark xv.
32; Matt. xxvii. 42). Jesus told them that their desire was vain, and
that they could not be made to believe what they did not believe. "_If I
tell you,_" he said, "_ye will not believe_" (Luke xxii. 67); "_I told
you, and ye believed not.... But ye believe not because ye are not of my
sheep_" (John x. 25, 26).
The Jews asked exactly what is asked by Christians brought up in the
Church; they asked for some outward sign which should make them believe
in the doctrine of Jesus. Jesus explained that this was impossible, and
he told them why it was impossible. He told them that they could not
believe because they were not of his sheep; that is, they did not follow
the road he had pointed out. He explained why some believed, and why
others did not believe, and he told them what faith really was. He said:
"_How can ye believe which receive your doctrine_ ([Greek: doxa][19])
_one of another, and seek not the doctrine that cometh only from God?_"
(John v. 44).
[19] Here, as in other passages, [Greek: doxa] has been incorrectly
translated "honor"; [Greek: doxa], from the verb [Greek: dokeô],
means "manner of seeing, judgment, _doctrine_."
To believe, Jesus says, we must seek for the doctrine that comes from
God alone.
"_He that speaketh of himself seeketh_ (to extend) _his own doctrine,
[Greek: doxan tên idian], but he that seeketh_ (to extend) _the doctrine
of him that sent him, the same is true, and no untruth is in him._"
(John vii. 18.)
The doctrine of life, [Greek: doxa], is the foundation of faith, and
actions result spontaneously from faith. But there are two doctrines of
life: Jesus denies the one and affirms the other. One of these
doctrines, a source of all error, consists of the idea that the personal
life is one of the essential and real attributes of man. This doctrine
has been followed, and is still followed, by the majority of men; it is
the source of divergent beliefs and acts. The other doctrine, taught by
Jesus and by all the prophets, affirms that our personal life has no
meaning save through fulfilment of the will of God. If a man confess a
doctrine that emphasizes his own personal life, he will consider that
his personal welfare is the most important thing in the world, and he
will consider riches, honors, glory, pleasure, as true sources of
happiness; he will have a faith in accordance with his inclination, and
his acts will always be in harmony with his faith. If a man confess a
different doctrine, if he find the essence of life in fulfilment of the
will of God in accordance with the example of Abraham and the teaching
and example of Jesus, his faith will accord with his principles, and his
acts will be conformable to his faith. And so those who believe that
true happiness is to be found in the personal life can never have faith
in the doctrine of Jesus. All their efforts to fix their faith upon it
will be always vain. To believe in the doctrine of Jesus, they must look
at life in an entirely different way. Their actions will coincide always
with their faith and not with their intentions and their words.
In men who demand of Jesus that he shall work miracles we may recognize
a desire to believe in his doctrine; but this desire never can be
realized in life, however arduous the efforts to obtain it. In vain they
pray, and observe the sacraments, and give in charity, and build
churches, and convert others; they cannot follow the example of Jesus
because their acts are inspired by a faith based upon an entirely
different doctrine from that which they confess. They could not
sacrifice an only son as Abraham was ready to do, although Abraham had
no hesitation whatever as to what he should do, just as Jesus and his
disciples were moved to give their lives for others, because such action
alone constituted for them the true meaning of life. This incapacity to
understand the substance of faith explains the strange moral state of
men, who, acknowledging that they ought to live in accordance with the
doctrine of Jesus, endeavor to live in opposition to this doctrine,
conformably to their belief that the personal life is a sovereign good.
The basis of faith is the meaning that we derive from life, the meaning
that determines whether we look upon life as important and good, or
trivial and corrupt. Faith is the appreciation of good and of evil. Men
with a faith based upon their own doctrines do not succeed at all in
harmonizing this faith with the faith inspired by the doctrine of Jesus;
and so it was with the early disciples. This misapprehension is
frequently referred to in the Gospels in clear and decisive terms.
Several times the disciples asked Jesus to strengthen their faith in his
words (Matt. xx. 20-28; Mark x. 35-48). After the message, so terrible
to every man who believes in the personal life and who seeks his
happiness in the riches of this world, after the words, "_How hardly
shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God_," and after
words still more terrible for men who believe only in the personal life,
"_Sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor_;" after these warning
words Peter asked, "_Behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee;
what shall we have therefore?_" Then James and John and, according to
the Gospel of Matthew, their mother, asked him that they might be
allowed to sit with him in glory. They asked Jesus to strengthen their
faith with a promise of future recompense. To Peter's question Jesus
replied with a parable (Matt. xx. 1-16); to James he replied that they
did not know what they asked; that they asked what was impossible; that
they did not understand the doctrine, which meant a renunciation of the
personal life, while they demanded personal glory, a personal
recompense; that they should drink the cup he drank of (that is, live as
he lived), but to sit upon his right hand and upon his left was not his
to give. And Jesus added that the great of this world had their profit
and enjoyment of glory and personal power only in the worldly life; but
that his disciples ought to know that the true meaning of human life is
not in personal happiness, but in ministering to others; "_the son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his
life a ransom for many_." In reply to the unreasonable demands which
revealed their slowness to understand his doctrine, Jesus did not
command his disciples to have faith in his doctrine, that is, to modify
the ideas inspired by their own doctrine (he knew that to be
impossible), but he explained to them the meaning of that life which is
the basis of true faith, that is, taught them how to discern good from
evil, the important from the secondary.
To Peter's question, "_What shall we receive?_" Jesus replies with the
parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matt. xx. 1-16), beginning with
the words "_For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a
householder_," and by this means Jesus explains to Peter that failure to
understand the doctrine is the cause of lack of faith; and that
remuneration in proportion to the amount of work done is important only
from the point of view of the personal life.
This faith is based upon the presumption of certain imaginary rights;
but a man has a right to nothing; he is under obligations for the good
he has received, and so he can exact nothing. Even if he were to give up
his whole life to the service of others, he could not pay the debt he
has incurred, and so he cannot complain of injustice. If a man sets a
value upon his rights to life, if he keeps a reckoning with the
Overruling Power from whom he has received life, he proves simply that
he does not understand the meaning of life. Men who have received a
benefit act far otherwise. The laborers employed in the vineyard were
found by the householder idle and unhappy; they did not possess life in
the proper meaning of the term. And then the householder gave them the
supreme welfare of life,--work. They accepted the benefits offered, and
were discontented because their remuneration was not graduated according
to their imaginary deserts. They did the work, believing in their false
doctrine of life and work as a right, and consequently with an idea of
the remuneration to which they were entitled. They did not understand
that work is the supreme good, and that they should be thankful for the
opportunity to work, instead of exacting payment. And so all men who
look upon life as these laborers looked upon it, never can possess true
faith. This parable of the laborers, related by Jesus in response to the
request by his disciples that he strengthen their faith, shows more
clearly than ever the basis of the faith that Jesus taught.
When Jesus told his disciples that they must forgive a brother who
trespassed against them not only once, but seventy times seven times,
the disciples were overwhelmed at the difficulty of observing this
injunction, and said, "_Increase our faith_," just as a little while
before they had asked, "_What shall we receive?_" Now they uttered the
language of would-be Christians: "We wish to believe, but cannot;
strengthen our faith that we may be saved; make us believe" (as the Jews
said to Jesus when they demanded miracles); "either by miracles or
promises of recompense, make us to have faith in our salvation."
The disciples said what we all say: "How pleasant it would be if we
could live our selfish life, and at the same time believe that it is far
better to practise the doctrine of God by living for others." This
disposition of mind is common to us all; it is contrary to the meaning
of the doctrine of Jesus, and yet we are astonished at our lack of
faith. Jesus disposed of this misapprehension by means of a parable
illustrating true faith. Faith cannot come of confidence in his words;
faith can come only of a consciousness of our condition; faith is based
only upon the dictates of reason as to what is best to do in a given
situation. He showed that this faith cannot be awakened in others by
promises of recompense or threats of punishment, which can only arouse a
feeble confidence that will fail at the first trial; but that the faith
which removes mountains, the faith that nothing can shatter, is inspired
by the consciousness of our inevitable loss if we do not profit by the
salvation that is offered.
To have faith, we must not count on any promise of recompense; we must
understand that the only way of escape from a ruined life is a life
conformable to the will of the Master. He who understands this will not
ask to be strengthened in his faith, but will work out his salvation
without the need of any exhortation. The householder, when he comes from
the fields with his workman, does not ask the latter to sit down at once
to dinner, but directs him to attend first to other duties and to wait
upon him, the master, and then to take his place at the table and dine.
This the workman does without any sense of being wronged; he does not
boast of his labor nor does he demand recognition or recompense, for he
knows that labor is the inevitable condition of his existence and the
true welfare of his life. So Jesus says that when we have done all that
we are commanded to do, we have only fulfilled our duty. He who
understands his relations to his master will understand that he has life
only as he obeys the master's will; he will know in what his welfare
consists, and he will have a faith that does not demand the impossible.
This is the faith taught by Jesus, which has for its foundation a
thorough perception of the true meaning of life. The source of faith is
light:--
"_That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world
knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as
many as received him, to them gave he the right to become the children
of God, even to them that believe on his name._" (John i. 9-12.)
"_And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and
men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For
every one that doeth ill hateth the light, and cometh not to the light,
lest his works should be reproved. But he that doeth the truth cometh to
the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they have been
wrought in God._" (John iii. 19-21.)
He who understands the doctrine of Jesus will not ask to be strengthened
in his faith. The doctrine of Jesus teaches that faith is inspired by
the light of truth. Jesus never asked men to have faith in his person;
he called upon them to have faith in truth. To the Jews he said:--
"_Ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth which I have
heard of God._" (John viii. 40.)
"_Which of you convicteth me of sin? If I say truth, why do ye not
believe me?_" (John viii. 46.)
"_To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the
world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of
the truth heareth my voice._" (John xviii. 37.)
To his disciples he said:--
"_I am the way, and the truth, and the life._" (John xiv. 6.)
"_The Father ... shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with
you forever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive;
for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he
abideth with you, and shall be in you._" (John xiv. 16, 17.)
Jesus' doctrine, then, is truth, and he himself is truth. The doctrine
of Jesus is the doctrine of truth. Faith in Jesus is not belief in a
system based upon his personality, but a consciousness of truth. No one
can be persuaded to believe in the doctrine of Jesus, nor can any one be
stimulated by any promised reward to practise it. He who understands the
doctrine of Jesus will have faith in him, because this doctrine is true.
He who knows the truth indispensable to his happiness must believe in
it, just as a man who knows that he is drowning grasps the rope of
safety. Thus, the question, What must I do to believe? is an indication
that he who asks it does not understand the doctrine of Jesus.