2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) Life is a pilgrimage which men undertake and accomplish upon very different principles and to very different results and ends. In this parenthesis St. Paul very succinctly and very impressively describes the nature of that pilgrimage which he had adopted and with which he was satisfied. I. THE WALK WITH WHICH THAT OF THE CHRISTIAN IS CONTRASTED. This, which is that of the unenlightened and unrenewed, is the walk by sight; i.e. by repressing the spiritual nature and walking by the light which earth offers, by the mere guidance of the senses, by the influence of society, the approval and esteem of men, by considerations drown from earth and limited to earth. This is a course of life in which there is no satisfaction, no safety, and no blessed prospect. II. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WALK OF FAITH. Faith in itself is neutral; its excellence depends upon its object. The Christian regulates his course through this life of temptation, danger, and discipline by: 1. Faith in the existence of God, the God who possesses all. moral excellences as his attributes. 2. Faith in Providence; i.e. in the personal interest and care of him who is called Friend and Father. 3. Faith in God as a Saviour, which is faith in Christ, the salvation of the Lord revealed to man. 4. Faith in a righteous and authoritative taw. 5. Faith in ever-present spiritual aid - guidance, protection, bounty, etc. 6. Faith in Divine promises, by which the pilgrim is assured that he shall reach home at last. III. THE ENCOURAGEMENTS TO UNDERTAKE AND TO PERSEVERE IN THE WALK OF FAITH. 1. It is the one principle enjoined throughout revelation, from the day of Abraham, the father of the faithful, down to the apostolic age. 2. The possibility of the walk by faith has been proved by the example of the great and the good who have gone before us (vide Hebrews 11.). 3. To those who live by faith life has a meaning and. dignity which otherwise cannot possibly attach to it. 4. Faith can sustain amidst the trials and sorrows of earth. 5. And faith is the blossom of which the vision of the glorified Saviour shall, be the heavenly and immortal fruit. - T. Parallel Verses KJV: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) |
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