Grace and Power

Grace and Power by W. H. Griffith Thomas.pdf

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“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5, LSB)

It is a fact, perhaps a significant fact, that throughout the Epistles of the New Testament, where, naturally, we find full instructions for Christians, there is only one exhortation to do the work of evangelization (2 Tim. 4:5), while appeals to carry out the duty of foreign missions are equally conspicuous by their absence. On the other hand, the Christian life, its provisions and possibilities, its secrets and methods, its duties and responsibilities, will be found emphasized almost everywhere.

Is there any connection between the silence and the emphasis? May it not be a reminder that when the Christian life is what it should be, the duty of evangelization at home and abroad will be the natural and necessary outcome, as effect to cause, as stream to source? Be this as it may, there can be no question about the way in which the New Testament calls attention to the Christian life and demands the highest possible standard while providing the fullest possible power.

The believer’s life is described in the New Testament under two aspects: “acceptable to God and approved of man” (Rom. 14:18). We are to “walk and please God” (1 Thess. 4:1); to “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing” (Col. 1:10); and to “do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). Nothing can be more inspiring than this requirement, leading us to pray, “Teach me to do the thing that pleases Thee” (Psalm 143:10; Prayer Book Version).

But the life of the Christian is also to be “approved of man.” This is one of the best recommendations of the Gospel the believer claims to possess, for nothing so readily impresses and attracts those around as reality in daily living. When the Seven were appointed, one requirement was that they should be “men of honest report,” that is, “well spoken of,” men of good reputation. This feature is more prominent in the New Testament than many imagine (Acts 10:22; 16:2; 22:12; Eph. 5:15; Col. 4:5; 1 Thess. 4:12; 1 Tim. 3:7). It has been said that the “Christian is the world’s Bible and sometimes they will read no other.” All the more necessary, therefore, that we should be in “favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52) and thereby show that

“Our lips and lives express

The Holy Gospel we profess.”

Thomas, W. H. G. (1916). Grace and Power: Some Aspects of the Spiritual Life (pp. 7–8). Fleming H. Revell Company. (Public Domain)