• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1. Perverting the Gospel - The Ultimate Sin Against Humanity
• CHAPTER 2. The Gospel of Salvation - Part I - Faith and Obedience
• CHAPTER 3. The Gospel of Salvation - Part II - A Righteous Life by Faith
• CHAPTER 4. Regeneration: God's Creation of the Righteous
• CHAPTER 5. Sanctification: Set Apart for Righteousness
• CHAPTER 6. The Neccesity of Coming Under the Lordship of Christ - Part I
• CHAPTER 7. The Neccesity of Coming Under the Lordship of Christ - Part II
• CHAPTER 8. We Walk By Faith - Part I - Every Believer Overcomes the World
• CHAPTER 9. We Walk By Faith - Part II - Every Believer Takes up Their Cross
• CHAPTER 10. The Fallacy of the "Carnal Christian"
• CHAPTER 11. Bear or Burn: The Fate of the Fruitless in the Parables of Christ
• CHAPTER 12. Righteousness vs. Self-righteousness
• CHAPTER 13. Saint or Sinner?
• CHAPTER 14. Can a Christian Backslide?
• CHAPTER 15. Sin and the Misinterpretation of Romans 7
• CHAPTER 16. Examine Yourselves as to Whether You Are in the Faith

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross

Grk/Heb Fonts

Over 75 Online Commentaries

by James P. Shelly

CHAPTER EIGHT

We Walk By Faith Not By Sight
Part I - Every Believer Overcomes the World

Christians are referred to in Scripture as pilgrims (aliens NASB) and strangers (Heb. 11:13, 1 Pet. 2:11), their earthly bodies as tents (2 Cor. 5:1, 4; 2 Pet. 1:13, 14), i.e., temporary dwellings. Their citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20) and are therefore depicted as temporary dwellers in a foreign land on a journey to their heavenly home; “they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:16, 12:1).Their earthly sojourn is a momentary stewardship, a brief time of testing, a God-given opportunity “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him” (Col. 1:10), approved as good and faithful servants of their Lord (1 Tim. 2:15, Matt. 25:21). They live with a view to the high and lofty goal of eternal blessedness in God’s everlasting kingdom wherein there are pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16:11), rather than in the vain pursuit of the fleshly, transitory and illusive pleasures of a crooked and perverse world (Phil. 2:15). “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Rom. 8:24-25). Therefore, we “walk by faith not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), in “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). We walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (Rom. 8:5).

Our example is Jesus himself. He says in John 8:23, “I am not of this world” and says of His disciples, including all those who will afterward believe in Him through their testimony, that “they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” He prays to the Father,

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word (John 17:14-20, emphasis added)

Jesus here describes all Christians as being not of the world in the same way that He Himself was not of the world. “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith” (1 John 5:4). John writes in Revelation,

He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne (Rev. 3:21).

To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7).

He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death (Rev. 2:11).

He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations (Rev. 2:26).

He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life (Rev. 3:5). (All the above are NASB).

It is plain from these Scriptures that those who do not overcome, as Christ overcame, will not be granted to sit with Him on His throne — shall not eat of the tree of life — shall indeed be hurt by the second death — shall not have authority over the nations — shall not be clothed in white garments — and will have their name erased from the Book of Life.

Since those alone who overcome, even as He overcame, will dwell with Him in His kingdom, it is essential that we have a practicable sense of how Christ overcame the world. First and foremost, He overcame by submitting to the authority of His Father, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). He rejected the cultural norms and traditions that were in conflict with His Father’s will — its religion, philosophies, wisdom, pride, lusts, and vain pursuits and thus He was not swayed by, nor did He succumb to, the influences and temptations of the ungodly world around Him. He walked in the light of God’s truth rather than in the darkness of the lies, deceptions, and misconceptions of men. He had great compassion for the sick and needy, the widow and orphan, as well as the receptive sinner, but had little tolerance for the false religious teachers who would, in any way, pervert the integrity of the gospel and the character of His Father. He was undeterred in His desire to please His Father by any thoughts of being hated, despised, and rejected for speaking those truths which, although in the best interest of the people, were often offensive to their corrupted hearts. All His earthly duties and endeavors were done according to God’s word and for His honor. Always doing that which was pleasing to Him (Jn. 8:29), not for His own glory, but for the glory of His Father. In all aspects of His life His mind was “set on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2). He forwent any earthly comforts and pleasures that would in any way conflict with doing His Father’s will, sacrificing His temporal well-being to that end. He lived with an eye to that which is eternal rather than that which is transitory. Enduring the cross “for the joy that was set before him” (Heb. 12:2). The joy of “bringing many sons to glory” (Heb. 2:10), all of His fellow over-comers who He redeems, “a people for his own possession” (Titus 2:14). He lived with a view to the consummation of the kingdom of God, “the holy city,” wherein He would rule and reign forever. He exemplified one who walked by faith and not by sight and thus overcame the world.

It is written in Revelation 21:7-8,

He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (NASB, emphasis added).

Here, those who overcome are contrasted with the unfaithful who live in immorality. God says to the one who overcomes, “I will be his God and he will be My son,” and he “will inherit these things.” Inherit what things? We are told in v. 2, “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” This is the inheritance promised to those who, by faith, have become participants in the new covenant. Those who have overcome this world by being “fully convinced” of the promise of a new world.

John gives us further insight as to what he means by the expression “overcomes the world” in 1 John 2:15-17,

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Here, John contrasts loving the world with doing the will of God. We read in 2 Peter 2:20,

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

Peter says that those who come to a knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, those who believe the gospel, have escaped the defilements of the world. The Apostle Paul describes those who overcome the world as those who are no longer following the course of this world.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind (Eph. 2:1-3, emphasis added).

According to Paul following the course of this world is to walk in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. Those who do so, he says, are sons of disobedience and children of wrath.

So then, to overcome the world, even as Christ overcame the world, is to overcome its defilements, lusts, evils, rule of conduct, pursuits, erroneous beliefs, philosophies, etc. It is to overcome the wicked one (1 Jn. 2:14). It is to live according to the word of God rather than the words of men. The standard of the world’s morality is a morality whereof the first and greatest commandment to love God with the whole heart is entirely absent. Therefore, to be no longer of this world is to live in contrast to even the most moral and upright persons in the world who are without Christ. In simple terms, to overcome the world is to overcome the dominion of sin.

James says that “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27, emphasis added). Albert Barnes writes,

That is, religion will keep us from the maxims, vices, and corruptions which prevail in the world, and make us holy. These two things may, in fact, be said to constitute religion. If a man is truly benevolent, he bears the image of that God who is the fountain of benevolence; if he is pure and uncontaminated in his walk and deportment, he also resembles his Maker, for he is holy. If he has not these things, he cannot have any well-founded evidence that he is a Christian; for it is always the nature and tendency of religion to produce these things.¹

Again, it says in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18,

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty’ (emphasis added).

Adam Clarke writes,

Is it not plain from this and the following verse that God would be their God only on the ground of their taking him for such, and that this depended on their being separated from the works and workers of iniquity? For God could not inhabit in them if they had concord with Belial, a portion with infidels; etc. Those who will have the promises of God fulfilled to them must come under the conditions of these promises: if they are not separate - if they touch the unclean thing, God will not receive them; and therefore will not be their God, nor shall they be his people.²

It is an often-repeated claim that Jesus Himself was a “friend of sinners.” However, when we look to Scripture we find the opposite to be true. He says in John 15:14, You are My friends if you do what I command you (emphasis added). This is the very antithesis of the claim “Jesus is a friend of sinners.” He says, in essence, you are not my friends if you are sinners, i.e., those who do not do what I command them. He says to His disciples in John 15:15, No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you (emphasis added). James tells us, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. And he was called a friend of God (Jas. 2:23, emphasis added).

We read in 1 Corinthians 15:33, Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’ In the immediate context Paul is speaking of the false teachers denying the resurrection and thus touting the philosophy of, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Nevertheless, the axiom “Bad company ruins good morals” is universal in its application. The Greek word rendered “company” means, association, conversation, companionship, intercourse, or communion. We are taught here that companionships with the immoral, or “friendships” with the ungodly, will have a destructive influence on our moral character. There is a direct correlation between a person’s character and the company he keeps. Few would disagree, even in the unbelieving world, that such is undoubtedly the case. It is, therefore, a common practice among loving parents to forbid their children from being friends with other children whom they think would be a bad influence. Would we expect our heavenly Father to have any less concern for His beloved children? Would He not also prohibit them from friendship with sinners and their corrupting influence? We read in Proverbs 13:20, Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. In other words, walk with believers for the wise are those who fear the Lord; “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10).In contrast “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1). Again, we read in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness.... Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” If Jesus was a friend and companion of sinners, He would be setting a dangerous and perilous precedent for his followers, disregarding the clear teachings of Scripture.

The Pharisees, seeking to find fault with Christ, were proclaiming, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Luke 7:34). It would make little sense, in light of their intent, to include the charge of being a friend of sinners if it were not generally recognized as being contrary to Scripture even as drunkenness and gluttony. They were deviously seeking to make the case of guilt by association. Because He associated with and was compassionate toward sinners, He was assumed to be a friend of sinners and one who enjoys the camaraderie of the wicked. If any one of these charges were true, He would have indeed been guilty of wrongdoing. We are told in Proverbs 12:26, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray” (NKJV). In Proverbs 28:7 we read, “The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.” It says in Proverbs 23:19, 20, “Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat.” David says in Psalm 119:63, “I am a companion of all who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts” which is in perfect harmony with what Christ Himself said in John 15:14, “You are My friends if you do what I command you” (emphasis added). If Christ was in fact a friend and companion of gluttons and drunkards, tax collectors and sinners, as the Pharisees were claiming, then He would indeed be doing that which is contrary to these clear admonitions in Scripture. However, these were nothing more than erroneous assumptions and exaggerations of what was actually occurring. Jesus tells us in Luke 14:12, 13, When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends.... But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind (emphasis added). In light of this verse, the fact that Christ ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners in no way implies that He was friends with them, or guilty of any wrongdoing. Jesus was not a friend of sinners but rather He came to save sinners, eating and drinking with the enemies of God that He might bring them the message of reconciliation, the gospel that would indeed give them the opportunity to truly become His friends.

Christ commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44). We are to be charitable, kind, compassionate, and “friendly” toward them. We are to seek their best interest, both physically and spiritually. Obviously, we are not to retreat from society and have no relationships with unbelievers otherwise our call to be the salt and light of the earth, or to preach the gospel would be impossible, but we are warned, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” Why would a Christian want to be a companion of one who walks in opposition to Christ? Who lives flagrantly and unashamedly in rebelliousness to His word? “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness.... Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” Saints and sinners walk in two opposite directions. One walks in the narrow and difficult way which leads to life, while the other walks in the broad way which leads to death (Matt. 7:13, 14). The one is a slave to righteousness the other a slave to sin (Rom. 6:15-23). The one walks in the Spirit the other in the flesh (Rom. 8:5-8). The two have nothing in common in regards to their core beliefs, interests, and lifestyles. What then would be the basis of such a friendship? According to Scripture, there is none. We may have numerous unbelieving acquaintances; however, to take them as our intimate friends and companions is contrary to the admonitions we find in Scripture. Adam Clarke writes, “How strange it is that people professing Christianity can suppose that with a worldly spirit, worldly companions, and their lives governed by worldly maxims, they can be in the favor of God, or ever get to the kingdom of heaven!”³ Matthew Henry writes, “Let us not be joined with ungodly men; but warn all around us, especially children and young persons, to shun them as a pestilence.”⁴

The Apostle John says that sinners are of the devil (1 Jn. 3:8) and makes this distinction in 1 John 3:10, “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God”, etc. To claim that the children of God can admissibly be friends and companions with the children of the devil would be, in essence, to claim that Christ could be a friend and companion of Satan and to that, we would say God forbid! For, “what accord has Christ with Belial?” (2 Cor. 6:15).

We read in James 4:4, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James does not say a friend of the world is a weak Christian but an enemy of God! Friendship with the world is to be in collusion with the enemy.

Paul tells us in Phil. 3:18, 19 that those who set their mind on earthly things will experience eternal destruction.

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things (emphasis added).

Paul describes these men as enemies of Christ. Though he is speaking primarily of the Judaizers within the church, it applies to all who would twist his teachings. He says in verse 17, “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” Follow my example says Paul, as well as those who walk as I walk, in the Spirit. We are the pattern by which you know how a Christian must walk, for many walk, verse 18, in a contrary way. It is a false and deceptive way. Let us understand how somber the matter is; Paul is weeping! Can we sense his sorrow in our own soul? He sees not a few, but many who are professing Christ who gather with the church, they claim salvation, but they have their minds set on earthy things, walking in the flesh, living contrary to God’s will. Why is the matter so solemn? Because eternal souls are at stake! They dishonor the glorious grace of our Lord and God’s name is continually blasphemed because of them (Rom. 2:24, 2 Pet. 2:2). The world cannot differentiate between these disobedient goats that profess Christ and the true sheep who genuinely obey their shepherd. They thus assume that all Christians are hypocrites even as these goats when, in truth, they are actually enemies of the beloved cross! Barnes writes of Phil. 3:18:

An immoral life is enmity to the cross of Christ; for he died to make us holy. A life where there is no evidence that the heart is renewed, is enmity to the cross; for he died that we might be renewed…. It is to be feared that at all times there are such enemies of the cross in the church, and the language of the apostle implies that it is a proper subject of grief and tears. He wept over it, and so should we. It is from this cause that so much injury is done to the true religion in the world. One secret enemy in a camp may do more harm than fifty men who are open foes; and a single unholy or inconstant member in a church may do much more injury than many men who are avowedly opposed to religion. It is not by infidels, and scoffers, and blasphemers, so much, that injury is done to the cause of religion; it is by the unholy lives of its professed friends - the worldliness, inconsistency, and want of the proper spirit of religion, among those who are in the church. Nearly all the objections that are made to religion are from this quarter; and, if this objection were taken away, the religion of Christ would soon spread its triumphs around the globe.…

Who mind earthly things - That is, whose hearts are set on earthly things, or who live to obtain them. Their attention is directed to honor, gain, or pleasure, and their chief anxiety is that they may secure these objects. This is mentioned as one of the characteristics of enmity to the cross of Christ; and if this be so, how many are there in the church now who are the real enemies of the cross! How many professing Christians are there who regard little else than worldly things! How many who live only to acquire wealth, to gain honor, or to enjoy the pleasures of the world! How many are there who have no interest in a prayer meeting, in a Sunday school, in religious conversation, and in the advancement of true religion on the earth! These are the real enemies of the cross. It is not so much those who deny the doctrines of the cross, as it is those who oppose its influence on their hearts; not so much those who live to scoff and deride religion, as it is those who “mind earthly things,” that injure this holy cause in the world.⁵

Paul says, “Set your mind on things above and not on the things on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:2, 3). The Living Bible paraphrase is, “Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Again, Paul is not giving us an option here, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4, 5, emphasis added).In Romans 8:5, to live according to the flesh is to “set our mind” on the things of the flesh, and in Romans 8:13, those who live according to the flesh will die. Again, it should be clear to all that the death Paul speaks of in this passage is eternal death or the second death of judgment, for all men, irrespective of how they walk, will die a physical death.

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption [death], but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7, 8, emphasis added).

This verse makes it clear that he who does not sow to the Spirit will not receive eternal life. What conclusion can we draw but that only those living according to the Spirit, having their mind set on the things of the Spirit, and thus sowing to the Spirit, will have eternal life. What is your mindset says Paul, where is it anchored? Is it anchored in the unseen realities of heaven or does it remain anchored in the things of this world? Where is your hope?For the Christian, it is at the right hand of the Father. It is the hope of the kingdom of our Lord.

Paul says in Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” The faithful await a Savior, that Daywhen the child of God sees face to face the one who died for them, has sanctified them, has been living in them, leading them, working in them, transforming them, lovingly chastening them, and comforting them.The whole of the Christian life is a preparation for that Day when we stand before God with the great anticipation and expectation of hearing those glorious words “well done My good and faithful servant.” That Day of the consummation of the kingdom when we are at home with Him who, by the Spirit, came and made His home with us (John 14:23).

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland...they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city (Heb. 11:14-16, emphasis added).

It is that heavenly country Christ spoke of to his disciples “I go and prepare a place for you…that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2, 3). What an incredibly life changing revelation it is when we come to truly grasp and wholeheartedly believe that the eternal God of the universe has prepared a city for us that we might dwell with Him forever! Again, “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience (Rom. 8:24, 25). For the Christian, this hope acts as “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf” (Heb. 6:19). This is the hope that keeps the soul from straying from its course, for its anchor is sure and steadfast. It is an anchor secured by the faith that justifies which is “fully convinced of the promises of God” (Rom. 4:22). It is this hope that is continually set before us, that effectually works within us, to convict, persuade, and empower us that we might purify ourselves even as He is pure (1 Jn. 3:3). In contrast, “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8). We read in 1 Kings 18:21, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” David, the man after God’s own heart, says in Ps. 119:113, “I hate those who are double-minded.” The Lord does not tolerate double-mindedness, for “No one can serve two masters.” Adam Clarke writes,

A double-minded man - The man of two souls, who has one for earth, and another for heaven; who wishes to secure both worlds; he will not give up earth, and he is loth to let heaven go. This was a usual term among the Jews, to express the man who attempted to worship God, and yet retained the love of the creature…. A man of this character is continually distracted; he will neither let earth nor heaven go, and yet he can have but one.⁶

The kingdom is the hope of every Christian and how absurd would it be to speak of those eagerly waiting for that which they have doubts as to its reality? Would it not be remarkable for a believer to say, “I prefer this God-hating, sin infested world of suffering, pain, and death to that heavenly city wherein perfect righteousness dwells; where perfect peace and love reign supreme; where sorrow, pain, and death are no more; where our beloved Savior rules as King of kings and Lord of lords!?” It is without question that this was the mindset of the martyrs of the early church. Yet, how many in the professing church today are of this mind? How many are groaning, earnestly desiring to be clothed with their habitation which is from heaven? (2 Cor. 5:2). How many sincerely say in their hearts, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” How many actually walk by faith and not by sight? I think it is safe to say relatively few (Matt. 7:14).

The greatest enemy of the Cross is not the one who rejects it outright, but rather the one who embraces it outwardly but has no root in himself. It is the thorny ground hearers who “as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature” (Luke 8:14). Note here that he does not say the sinful pleasures of life but simply the pleasures of life. We find the same thought in 2 Tim. 3:4, “Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Where is their mindset? It is on the pleasures of this earthly life rather than on the pleasures of the heavenly life. They are enemies of the cross of Christ. Who were the greatest enemies of Christ while on this earth but those professing religion, those who claimed to know God but were utterly destitute of His grace? They were God’s representatives on earth, turning the love, justice, and mercy of God into that which is detestable. They were relying on their relationship with their father Abraham for salvation, while these are relying on their relationship with Christ claiming God as their father. Yet, again, what does Jesus say to the Pharisees? “If you were Abraham’s children you would be doing the works Abraham did” (John 8:39). Likewise, would He not say to these “If you were God’s children you would be doing the works Jesus did?” Indeed, he does say it in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you?” Paul says it in Ephesians 5:1, “Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children.” Peter says it in 1 Peter 1:16, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” John says it in 1 John 2:6, “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” But no, these, even as the Pharisees, turn the grace of God into licentiousness and that which is profane and defiled.

This hearing and not doing is one of the greatest self-deceptions found throughout Scripture. We read in Ezek. 33:30-32,

They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it (emphasis added).

Does this not describe many who profess to be Christians in the church today? They love to hear teaching about the grace of God but only to the extent that it comforts them in their sin. Speak to them of the necessity of obedience and you will find a ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing howling legalism! Phariseeism! heretic! while having little understanding as to what these terms actually mean. See how quickly they turn on you, to bite and devour you. It is a religion of form with no power. They “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). Out of their mouths flow praises to God, yet their hearts are estranged from Him (Matt. 15:8, 9), “they hear…but they will not do it.” We are thus warned by Paul in Ephesians 5:6, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things (verse 4, 5) the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” John gives us the warning in 1 John 3:7, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous as he is righteous.” James warns, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). And again, Paul says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived” (1 Cor. 6:9, emphasis added). We notice that in each of these solemn warnings the deception is not that of a “salvation by works,” but that of a disobedient faith that is independent of works which brings disgrace to God’s wisdom, majesty, honor, and glory. We read in 2 Tim. 3:13 that “evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Therefore, “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame” (1 Cor. 15:34). Calvin states of false professors:

Those having nothing of Christ but the name and sign, would yet be called Christians. How dare they boast of this sacred name? None have intercourse with Christ but those who have acquired the true knowledge of him from the gospel. The Apostle denies that any man truly has learned Christ who has not learned to put off ‘the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and put on Christ,’ (Eph. 4:22). They are convicted, therefore, of falsely and unjustly pretending a knowledge of Christ, whatever be the volubility and eloquence with which they can talk of the gospel. Doctrine is not an affair of the tongue, but of the life; is not apprehended by the intellect and memory merely, like other branches of learning; but is received only when it possesses the whole soul, and finds its seat and habitation in the inmost recesses of the heart. Let them, therefore, either cease to insult God, by boasting that they are what they are not, or let them show themselves not unworthy disciples of their divine Master. To doctrine in which our religion is contained we have given the first place, since by it our salvation commences; but it must be transfused into the breast, and pass into the conduct, and so transform us into itself, as not to prove unfruitful (emphasis added).⁷

Jesus exhorts us in Matt. 6:19-21,

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Those with their mind set on things above will lay up their treasures there that they might enjoy them forever. The one with their mind set on earthly things, caught up in “the cares and riches and pleasures of life” (Luke 8:14), “who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21) will be left with nothing; “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Tim. 6:7, Luke 12:16-20). If one who claims to be a Christian spends the majority of their precious time chasing after and storing up treasures that they must leave behind rather than for those that remain forever, what possible excuse would they have to account for such squander? Is it not more than probable that they never actually believed in Christ and His words? Where is their heart? For the Christian it is in heaven, where their citizenship is, where their eternal treasures are being stored by the genuine faith of those who, not only say “Lord, Lord,” but actually do the things that He says (Luke 6:46). John Gill writes,

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. This seems to be a proverbial expression, and contains in it another reason, dissuading from worldly mindedness; because of the danger the heart is in of being ensnared and ruined thereby: and the sense of it is, if your treasure is on earth, and lies in earthly things, your hearts will be set upon them, and be in them, in your bags, your coffers and storehouses; and so your souls will be in danger of being lost; which loss will be an irreparable one, though you should gain the whole world. But if your treasure is put into the hands of God, your hearts will be with him, and be settled on him; your desires will be after heavenly things; your affections will be set on things above; your conversation will be in heaven, whilst you are on earth; and that will be the place and seat of your happiness, to all eternity.⁸

“The word treasures does not mean simply riches. The term is not to be literally limited to material wealth alone, but is a symbol for whatever we hold to be our main good, whatever has our predominant affection, whatever is our aim of life.”⁹ Matthew Henry writes:

Good counsel, to make the joys and glories of the other world, those things not seen that are eternal, our best things, and to place our happiness in them. There are treasures in heaven, as sure as there are on this earth; and those in heaven are the only true treasures, the riches and glories and pleasures that are at God’s right hand, which those that are sanctified truly arrive at, when they come to be sanctified perfectly.... It is our wisdom to lay up our treasure in those treasures; to give all diligence to make sure our title to eternal life through Jesus Christ, and to depend upon that as our happiness, and look upon all things here below with a holy contempt, as not worthy to be compared with it. We must firmly believe there is such a happiness, and resolve to be content with that, and to be content with nothing short of it…We are therefore concerned to be right and wise in the choice of our treasure, because the temper of our minds, and consequently the tenor of our lives, will be accordingly either carnal or spiritual, earthly or heavenly.... The heart is God’s due (Prov 23:26), and that he may have it, our treasure must be laid up with him, and then our souls will be lifted up to him...if we have done these only to gain the applause of men, we have laid up this treasure on earth, have lodged it in the hands of men, and must never expect to hear any further of it. But if we have prayed and fasted and given alms in truth and uprightness, with an eye to God and to his acceptance, and have approved ourselves to him therein, we have laid up that treasure in heaven; a book of remembrance is written there (Mal 3:16), and being there recorded, they shall be there rewarded, and we shall meet them again with comfort on the other side of death and the grave. Hypocrites are written in the earth (Jer. 17:13), but God’s faithful ones have their names written in heaven, Luke 10:20. Acceptance with God is treasure in heaven, which can neither be corrupted nor stolen. His ‘well done’ shall stand for ever; and if we have thus laid up our treasure with him, with him our hearts will be; and where can they be better?¹⁰

Jonathan Edwards writes:

Be directed to sacrifice everything to your soul’s eternal interest. Let seeking this be so much your bent, and what you are so resolved in, that you make everything give place to it. Let nothing stand before your resolution of seeking the kingdom of God. Whatever you used to look upon as a convenience, or comfort, or ease, or thing desirable on any account, if it stands in the way of this great concern, let it be dismissed without hesitation; and if it be of that nature that it is likely always to be a hindrance, then wholly have done with it, and never entertain any expectation from it more…. Whatever it be that stands in the way of your most advantageously seeking salvation…let all go. Offer all such things together, as it were, in one sacrifice, to the interest of your soul. Let nothing stand in competition with this, but make everything to fall before it. If the flesh must be crossed, then cross it, spare it not, crucify it, and do not be afraid to be to cruel to it. Gal. 5:24 ‘They that are Christ’s, have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts.’ Have no dependence on any worldly enjoyment whatsoever. Let salvation be the one thing with you. This is certainly what is required of you: and this is what many stick at; this giving up other things for salvation, is a stumbling-block that few get over¹¹ (emphasis added).

William Law writes:

As to the death of Christ, the condition is this: ‘If we be dead with Christ,’ we believe that ‘we shall also live with him’ (2 Tim. 2:11). If therefore Christ be dead alone, if we are not dead with Him, we are as sure, from this Scripture, that we shall not live with Him...as to the Resurrection of Christ, the Scripture showeth us how we are to partake of the benefit of it: ‘If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God’ (Col. 3:1). Thus, you see how plainly the Scripture sets forth our Blessed Lord as our Representative, acting and suffering in our name, binding and obliging us to conform to all that he did and suffered for us. It was for this reason that the Holy Jesus said of His disciples, and in them of all true believers, ‘They are not of this world, as I am not of this world’ (John 17:14). Because all true believers, conforming to the sufferings, Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of Christ, live no longer after the spirit and temper of this world, but their life is hid with Christ in God. This is the state of separation from the world, to which all orders of Christians are called. They must so far renounce all worldly tempers, be so far governed by the things of another life, as to show that they are truly and really crucified, dead, and risen, with Christ. And it is as necessary for all Christians to conform to this great change of spirit, to be thus in Christ new creatures, as it was necessary that Christ should suffer, die, and rise again, for our salvation. …we know and consider ourselves not as men in the flesh, but as fellow-members of a new society, that are to have all our hearts, our tempers, and conversation, in Heaven.¹²

We have a great cloud of witnesses who walked by faith and not by sight recorded in Hebrews 11, which Albert Barnes sums up beautifully:

There is no part of the New Testament of more value than this chapter; none which deserves to be more patiently studied, or which may be more frequently applied to the circumstances of Christians. These invaluable records are adapted to sustain us in times of trial, temptation, and persecution; to show us what faith has done in days that are past, and what it may do still in similar circumstances. Nothing can better show the value and the power of faith, or of true religion, than the records in this chapter. It has done what nothing else could do. It has enabled people to endure what nothing else would enable them to bear, and it has shown its power in inducing them to give up, at the command of God, what the human heart holds most dear. And among the lessons which we may derive from the study of this portion of divine truth, let us learn from the example of Abel to continue to offer to God the sacrifice of true piety which he requires, though we may be taunted or opposed by our nearest kindred; from that of Enoch to walk with God, though surrounded by a wicked world, and to look to the blessed translation to heaven which awaits all the righteous; from that of Noah to comply with all the directions of God, and to make all needful preparations for the future events which he has predicted, in which we are to be interested - as death, judgment, and eternity - though the events may seem to be remote, and though there may be no visible indications of their coming, and though the world may deride our faith and our fears; from that of Abraham to leave country, and home, and kindred, if God calls us to, and to go just where he commands, through deserts and wilds, and among strange people, and like him also to be ready to give up the dearest objects of our earthly affection, even when attended with all that can try or torture our feelings of affection - feeling that God who gave has a right to require their removal in his own way, and that however much we may fix our hopes on a dear child, he can fulfil all his purposes and promises to us though such a child should be removed by death; from that of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to regard ourselves as strangers and pilgrims on earth, having here no permanent home, and seeking a better country; from that of Moses to be willing to leave all the pomp and splendour of the world, all our brilliant prospects and hopes, and to welcome poverty, reproach, and suffering, that we may identify ourselves with the people of God; by the remembrance of the host of worthies who met danger, and encountered mighty foes, and vanquished them, let us learn to go forth in our spiritual conflicts against the enemies of our souls and of the church, assured of victory; and from the example of those who were driven from the abodes of human beings, and exposed to the storms of persecution, let us learn to bear every trial, and to be ready at any moment to lay down our lives in the cause of truth and of God. Of all those holy men who made these sacrifices, which of them ever regretted it, when he came calmly to look over his life, and to review it on the borders of the eternal world? None. Not one of them ever expressed regret that he had given up the world; or that he had obeyed the Lord too early, too faithfully, or too long. Not Abraham who left his country and kindred; not Moses who abandoned his brilliant prospects in Egypt; not Noah who subjected himself to ridicule and scorn for an hundred and twenty years; and not one of those who were exposed to lions, to fire, to the edge of the sword, or who were driven away from society as outcasts to wander in pathless deserts or to take up their abodes in caverns, ever regretted the course which they had chosen. And who of them all now regrets it? Who, of these worthies, now looks from heaven and feels that he suffered one privation too much, or that he has not had an ample recompense for all the ills he experienced in the cause of religion? So we shall feel when from the bed of death we look over the present life, and look out on eternity.

Whatever our religion may have cost us, we shall not feel that we began to serve God too early, or served him too faithfully. Whatever pleasure, gain, or splendid prospects we gave up in order to become Christians, we shall feel that it was the way of wisdom, and shall rejoice that we were able to do it. Whatever sacrifices, trials, persecution, and pain, we may meet with, we shall feel that there has been more than a compensation in the consolations of religion, and in the hope of heaven, and that by every sacrifice we have been the gainers. When we reach heaven, we shall see that we have not endured one pain too much, and that through whatever trials we may have passed, the result is worth all which it has cost. Strengthened then in our trials by the remembrance of what faith has done in times that are past; recalling the example of those who through faith and patience have inherited the promises, let us go cheerfully on our way. Soon the journey of trials will be ended, and soon what are now objects of faith will become objects of fruition, and in their enjoyment, how trifling and brief will seem all the sorrows of our pilgrimage below!¹³

It is as Paul says in Galatians 6:14, “the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Those who have overcome the world have come to understand that their earthly life is but “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (Jas. 4:14). To have our minds set on the mist rather than on the eternal substance is foolishness indeed. If we are cleaving to a cross that allows for a life of earthly mindedness — living with a greater attentiveness to the things that are seen and temporal than that which is unseen and eternal — walking according to the flesh rather than the Spirit — by sight rather than by faith — we deceive ourselves if we think we have a genuine faith in Christ and are indeed clinging to a counterfeit cross. (Continued in Part II)

CHAPTER NINE
We Walk By Faith Part II - Every Believer Takes Up Their Cross