But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. (Colossians 2:6)
For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Adjacent to our home sits a prairie field, and from the second story of our house you can look down on the tall grass. The deer have worn a definite pathway along the edge. Their continual use has defined a clear path. Habits form pathways.
For the believer, growth in grace comes through the walk of faith. Without faith the flesh profits nothing and cannot please God. With faith the Spirit enables with the indwelling life of Christ and the Father is pleased. Just as we received Christ by faith, so must we walk by faith. This walk depends on the leadership and power of the unseen, yet real Holy Spirit.
Walking by faith and walking in the Spirit reveal two expressions of one essence. Walking by faith describes the believer’s responsibility. Walking in the Spirit describes the believer’s focus and object of dependence.
Paul, under inspiration, provides clarity to what it means to walk in the Spirit. The way you received Christ—by grace through faith, is the way you walk in Him—by grace through faith (Col. 2:6). So how do we walk in Him? How do we walk in the Spirit? The same way we received Him to begin with—by faith.
In salvation, we believe in Jesus to receive His life. In sanctification and service, we believe in Jesus to access His life. This is how we grow in grace (2 Pet. 3:18). When this “trusting to obey” is applied repeatedly, we are developing the habit of faith.
The word walk, used often in the New Testament, conveys practical help. Just as walking involves repeated steps, so walking by faith, involves repeated steps of faith. Just as repeated steps form pathways or habits, so repeated steps of faith form the pathway or habit of faith.
John Van Gelderen
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“In sanctification and service….” What does that mean? Biblically, we should be walking (as you correctly state) close to the Lord as a habit… And surely that would include staying away from productions of Hollywood and CCM. The problem is, so many Independent Fundamental Baptists are embracing such- look no farther than Lancaster Baptist/West Coast, Crown, even Falls Baptist/Baptist College of Ministry has a pastor teach for them that plays CCM in his church. What is Christian service? Too often we’re told service in the Church…. But a prerequisite to that is to not be conformed to this world –… Read more »
Historically, theologians have used the terminology “sanctification and service” to mean holiness and ministry. Holiness is accessing the holy life of Jesus by faith and service is accessing the serving life of Jesus by faith.
Regarding the rest of your comment, since you have named names, I feel no obligation to respond unless you give your name.