John 6:28-29 Then said they to him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?… I. FAITH IS HERE CONSIDERED AS THE WORK WHICH GOD ENJOINS IN EVERY INDIVIDUAL. Why is it that men do not believe the testimony which God has so clearly made? 1. A wilful turning aside from God and a determination to take up with the nearest trifle is one reason. 2. The deceitfulness of the human heart is another. Sin possesses in a most astonishing degree the faculty of hiding its own deformity. 3. The reasons of this disobedience vary in different men according to their different characters and circumstances. 4. What does the Holy Spirit do when He introduces the principle of faith into the heart of man? (1) He removes every obstacle which we cherished in our natural state. (2) He fixes in us principles of obedience, and makes duty a delight. 5. What is this faith? A continual reliance on Christ as a Saviour. 6 What does this faith do? It delivers the believer from the charge and dominion of sin and purifies the heart. II. GOD'S SENDING HIS SON INTO THE WORLD. 1. This was an act of sovereignty. 2. Christ was sent as the medium of God's moral government and as the channel of salvation. 3. What a view this gives us of the mercy and love of God! 4. How this heightens the guilt of the rejection of Christ! III. THIS OBEDIENCE OF FAITH IS THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE DESIGN OF GOD AND THE COMPLETION OF THE SAVIOUR'S TRIUMPH. (W. Howels, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?WEB: They said therefore to him, "What must we do, that we may work the works of God?" |
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