Genesis 50:25 Then Joseph made
the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely take care of you, and
you shall carry my bones up from here."
This is the one act of Joseph life which the author of
the epistle of Hebrews selects as the sign that he too, lived by faith. “By
faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of
Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones” (Hebrews 11:22). It was at
once a proof of how entirely he believed God’s promise, and of how earnestly he
longed for its fulfillment. It was a sign too, of how little he felt himself at
home in Egypt, though to outward appearance he had become completely one of its
people.
I.
Faith
is always the same, though knowledge differ
- The
difference between Creed and Faith
The one may vary, does vary, within very wide
limits; the other remains the same. The things believed have been growing from
the beginning the attitude of mind and will by which they have been grasped has
been the same from the beginning and will be the same to the end. The contents
of faith, that on which it relies, the treasures it grasps, changes; the
essence, faith, the act of reliance, the grasp which holds the treasure, does
not change.
- Creed
varies
- Essence of
faith never changes.
- The
Patriarchal Creed and Faith
Although
the Patriarchal creed was imperfect, yet they had a clear knowledge of God.
They knew his inspiring, guiding presence; they knew the forgiveness of sins;
they knew, though they very dimly understood, the promise, “In your descendants shall all the families of the earth
be blessed” (Gen. 28:14).
In patriarchal times as well as now faith was necessary
to salvation. Joseph and his ancestors were joined to God by the very same bond
which unites us to him. There has never been but one path of life: “They
trusted God and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.”
- The
Relation of Creed and Faith
Creed
does not save. Brethren, what makes a Christian is not the theology you have in
your heads, but the faith and love you have to your hearts.
Creed
is necessary to saving faith. There can be no saving faith in an unseen person
except through the medium of thoughts concerning Him, which thoughts put into
words are a creed. “Christ” is a mere name, empty of all significance till it
be filled with definite statements of who and what Christ is.
II.
Faith
has Its Noblest office in detaching from the present
1.
Detachment
from worldly surroundings
i.
Joseph’s detachment from worldly
surroundings did not make him discontented with his earthly environment and
responsibilities.
ii.
Joseph’s detachment from worldly
surroundings is revealed in his dying words.
2.
Requirements
for Detachment from worldly
a. Thoughts
must be directed by faith in God. If the unseen is ever to rule in men’s lives
it must be through their thoughts. It must become intelligible, clear, and real.
Such certitude is given by faith alone.
b. Desires
must be directed by faith in God. If the unseen is ever to rule in men’s lives
it must become not only an object to certain knowledge, but also for ardent
wishes. It must cease to be doubtful and must seem infinitely desirable.
3.
Benefits
of living a life detached from the world
a. Discipline:
A man that is living for remote objects is, in so far, a better man than one
who is living for the present. He will become thereby the subject of a mental
and moral discipline that will do him good.
b. Change of character:
whatever makes a man live in the past and in the future raises him, but high
above all others stand those to whom the past is an apocalypse of God, with
Calvary for its center, and all the future is fellowship with Christ, and joy
in the heavens.
c. Change of Center of Interest:
This change of the center of interest from earth to heaven is the uniform
effect of faith. “Abraham,” says the New Testament, “dwelt in tabernacles, for
he looked for a city” (Hebrews 11:8-10).
III.
Faith
Makes men energetic in the duties of the present
- Joseph
was faithful in his duties in the world
a. The
world’s sneer that Christianity makes a man indifferent to activity in this
present life.
b. Joseph’s
life contradicts the world’s sinner. Joseph was a true Hebrew all his days. But
that did not make him run away from Pharaoh’s service. He lived by hope and
that made him the better worker in the passing moment and kept him tugging all
his life at the oar, administering the affairs of a kingdom.
- Duties of
the Present life become Greater to the persons realizing the reality of
Heaven
a. The
things of the present life are made less in their power to absorb or trouble.
b. The
things of the present life are made greater in importance as preparations for
what is beyond
- Faith
energizes man for work
a. The reason: faith
will energizes us for any sort of work, seeing that it rises all to one level,
brings all less than one section, and shows all as cooperating to one end.
b. The Illustration:
The Muster-roll of the heroes of
faith in the Epistle to the Hebrews Chapter 11 marks the variety of grades of
human life represented there, all fitted for their tasks and delivered from the
snare that was in their calling by that faith which raised them above the world
and therefore fitted them to come down on the world with stronger strokes of
duty.
c. The Secret: Trust
Christ, live with him and by hope of the inheritance.
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