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The Life of Faith: What Has God Done for You?
What is the purpose of our lives?
God's design is that he might be glorified and that those he has chosen might be saved to have abundant life. The life of faith is lived in the light of this so that Christians must remember lack of growth brings God no honour, prayerlessness gives no glory. Yet, positively God works in the believer through Scripture to prepare them for glory and to give them happiness here and now.
A. W. Pink looks at what God has done for us, why he has done this and how we should respond. He gives us marks of grace to look for in ourselves and reassurance as to the help God provides.
God's design is that he might be glorified and that those he has chosen might be saved to have abundant life. The life of faith is lived in the light of this so that Christians must remember lack of growth brings God no honour, prayerlessness gives no glory. Yet, positively God works in the believer through Scripture to prepare them for glory and to give them happiness here and now.
A. W. Pink looks at what God has done for us, why he has done this and how we should respond. He gives us marks of grace to look for in ourselves and reassurance as to the help God provides.
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1969
22 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Arthur W. Pink
684 books307 followersArthur Walkington Pink was born in Nottingham, England on April 1, 1886 and became a Christian in his early 20s. Though born to Christian parents, prior to conversion he migrated into a Theosophical society (an occult gnostic group popular in England during that time), and quickly rose in prominence within their ranks. His conversion came from his father's patient admonitions from Scripture. It was Proverbs 14:12, 'there is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death,' which particularly struck his heart and compelled him to renounce Theosophy and follow Jesus.
Desiring to grow in knowledge of the Bible, Pink migrated to the United States to study at Moody Bible Institute. In 1916 he married Vera E. Russell, from Kentucky. However, he left after just two months for Colorado, then California, then Britain. From 1925 to 1928 he served in Australia, including as pastor of two congregations from 1926 to 1928, when he returned to England, and to the United States the following year. He eventually pastored churches Colorado, California, Kentucky and South Carolina.
In 1922 he started a monthly magazine entitled Studies in Scriptures which circulated among English-speaking Christians worldwide, though only to a relatively small circulation list of around 1,000.
In 1934 Pink returned to England, and within a few years turned his Christian service to writing books and pamphlets. Pink died in Stornoway, Scotland on July 15, 1952. The cause of death was anemia.
After Pink's death, his works were republished by the Banner of Truth Trust and reached a much wider audience as a result. Biographer Iain Murray observes of Pink, "the widespread circulation of his writings after his death made him one of the most influential evangelical authors in the second half of the twentieth century." His writing sparked a revival of expository preaching and focused readers' hearts on biblical living.
Desiring to grow in knowledge of the Bible, Pink migrated to the United States to study at Moody Bible Institute. In 1916 he married Vera E. Russell, from Kentucky. However, he left after just two months for Colorado, then California, then Britain. From 1925 to 1928 he served in Australia, including as pastor of two congregations from 1926 to 1928, when he returned to England, and to the United States the following year. He eventually pastored churches Colorado, California, Kentucky and South Carolina.
In 1922 he started a monthly magazine entitled Studies in Scriptures which circulated among English-speaking Christians worldwide, though only to a relatively small circulation list of around 1,000.
In 1934 Pink returned to England, and within a few years turned his Christian service to writing books and pamphlets. Pink died in Stornoway, Scotland on July 15, 1952. The cause of death was anemia.
After Pink's death, his works were republished by the Banner of Truth Trust and reached a much wider audience as a result. Biographer Iain Murray observes of Pink, "the widespread circulation of his writings after his death made him one of the most influential evangelical authors in the second half of the twentieth century." His writing sparked a revival of expository preaching and focused readers' hearts on biblical living.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 28, 2012
Pink is clear and concise and has the courage to speak his convictions:
"Ungodliness" is failing to give God his due place in our hearts and lives. It is disregarding his precepts and commands. It is having preference for the creature, loving pleasure more than holiness; being unconcerned whether my conduct pleases or displeases the Lord. There are many forms of "ungodliness" besides that of open infidelity and the grosser crimes of wickedness. We are guilty of "ungodliness" when we are prayerless. We are guilty of "ungodliness" when we look to and lean upon the creature; or when we fail to see God’s hand in providence—ascribing our blessings to "luck" or "chance". We are guilty of "ungodliness" when we grumble at the weather.
It is because sin indwells the Christian, he needs to have this injunction "submitting yourselves one to another" frequently pressed upon him. Such is poor human nature that when a man is elevated to a position of honour, even though it be a regenerate man who is called to serve as a deacon, he is prone to lord it over his brethren. A most solemn warning against this horrible proclivity is found in Luke 22:24. "And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." That strife was among the twelve apostles, while they sat in the Saviour’s presence, after the Supper! Alas, how little has that warning been heeded! How many since then have aspired for the same precedence. How often a spirit of envy and strife has been engendered by those who strove for superiority in the churches. How few realize that doing good is better than being great, or rather, that the only true and noble greatness consists in being good and doing good - to spend and be spent in the service of others. Greatness is not being toadied unto, but ministering to those less favored.
In the next place, we emphatically deny that this Sabbath law has ever been repealed. Those who teach it has, are guilty of the very thing which the Saviour so pointedly condemns in Matthew 5:19. There are those who allow that it is right and proper for us to keep the other nine Commandments, but they insist that the Sabbath has passed away. We fully believe that this very error was anticipated by Christ in Matthew 5:19: "Whosoever shall break one (not "any one") of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven". Hebrews 4:9 tells us that Sabbath-keeping remains: it has not become obsolete.
The Sabbath (like all the other Commandments) was not simply for Israel but for all men. The Lord Jesus distinctly declared "the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27) and no amount of quibbling can ever make this mean Jews only. The Sabbath was made for man: for man to observe and obey; also for man’s well-being, because his constitution needed it. One day of rest each week is requisite for man’s physical, mental and spiritual good.
Page 94
It is therefore clear beyond room for doubt that the Ten Commandments are to be sharply distinguished from the "law of Moses". The "law of Moses", excepting the Moral Law incorporated therein, was binding upon none but Israelites or Gentile proselytes. But the "law of God" unlike the Mosaic, is binding upon all men. Once this distinction is perceived, many minor difficulties are cleared up. For example: someone says, if we are to keep the Sabbath-day holy, as Israel did, why must we not observe the other "sabbaths"—the Sabbatic year, for instance"? The answer is, Because the moral law alone is binding upon Gentiles and Christians. But why, it may be asked, does not the death penalty attached to the desecration of the Sabbath day (Ex. 31:14, etc.) still obtain"? The answer is, Because though that was a part of the Mosaic law, it was not a part of the moral law, i.e. it was not inscribed on the tables of stone: therefore it concerned none but Israelites. Let us now consider separately, but briefly, each of the Ten Commandments.
Page 91.
Much confusion prevails today among those who speak of "the law". This is a term which needs to be carefully defined. In the New Testament there are three expressions used which require to be definitely distinguished. First, there is "the law of God" (Rom. 7:22, 25, etc.). Second, there is "the law of Moses" (John 7:2; Acts 13:39, 15:5,etc.).Third, there is "the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2). Now these three expressions are by no means synonymous, and it is not until we learn to distinguish between them, that we can hope to arrive at any clear understanding on the subject of "the law".
The "law of God" expresses the mind of the Creator, and is binding upon all rational creatures. It is God’s unchanging moral standard for regulating the conduct of all men. In some places the "law of God" may refer to the whole revealed will of God, but usually it has reference to the Ten Commandments, and it is in this restricted sense we shall here use the term. The law was impressed on man’s moral nature from the beginning, and though now fallen, he still shows the work of it written on his heart. This law has never been repealed, and, in the very nature of things, cannot be. For God to abrogate the moral law would be to plunge the whole universe into anarchy. Obedience to the law of God is man’s first duty. This is why the first complaint that Jehovah made against Israel after they left Egypt was "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?" (Ex. 16:2, 27). That is why the first statutes which God gave to Israel after their redemption were the Ten Commandments, i.e. the moral law. That is why in the first discourse of Christ recorded in the New Testament, he declared, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17), and then proceeded to expound and enforce the moral law. And that is why in the first of the Epistles, the Holy Spirit has taught us at length the relation of the law to sinners and saints, in connection with salvation and the subsequent walk of the saved: the word "law" occurs in Romans no less than seventy-five times, though, of course, not every reference is to the law of God. And that is why sinners (Rom. 3:19) and saints (Jam. 2:12) shall be judged by this law.
"Ungodliness" is failing to give God his due place in our hearts and lives. It is disregarding his precepts and commands. It is having preference for the creature, loving pleasure more than holiness; being unconcerned whether my conduct pleases or displeases the Lord. There are many forms of "ungodliness" besides that of open infidelity and the grosser crimes of wickedness. We are guilty of "ungodliness" when we are prayerless. We are guilty of "ungodliness" when we look to and lean upon the creature; or when we fail to see God’s hand in providence—ascribing our blessings to "luck" or "chance". We are guilty of "ungodliness" when we grumble at the weather.
It is because sin indwells the Christian, he needs to have this injunction "submitting yourselves one to another" frequently pressed upon him. Such is poor human nature that when a man is elevated to a position of honour, even though it be a regenerate man who is called to serve as a deacon, he is prone to lord it over his brethren. A most solemn warning against this horrible proclivity is found in Luke 22:24. "And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." That strife was among the twelve apostles, while they sat in the Saviour’s presence, after the Supper! Alas, how little has that warning been heeded! How many since then have aspired for the same precedence. How often a spirit of envy and strife has been engendered by those who strove for superiority in the churches. How few realize that doing good is better than being great, or rather, that the only true and noble greatness consists in being good and doing good - to spend and be spent in the service of others. Greatness is not being toadied unto, but ministering to those less favored.
In the next place, we emphatically deny that this Sabbath law has ever been repealed. Those who teach it has, are guilty of the very thing which the Saviour so pointedly condemns in Matthew 5:19. There are those who allow that it is right and proper for us to keep the other nine Commandments, but they insist that the Sabbath has passed away. We fully believe that this very error was anticipated by Christ in Matthew 5:19: "Whosoever shall break one (not "any one") of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven". Hebrews 4:9 tells us that Sabbath-keeping remains: it has not become obsolete.
The Sabbath (like all the other Commandments) was not simply for Israel but for all men. The Lord Jesus distinctly declared "the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27) and no amount of quibbling can ever make this mean Jews only. The Sabbath was made for man: for man to observe and obey; also for man’s well-being, because his constitution needed it. One day of rest each week is requisite for man’s physical, mental and spiritual good.
Page 94
It is therefore clear beyond room for doubt that the Ten Commandments are to be sharply distinguished from the "law of Moses". The "law of Moses", excepting the Moral Law incorporated therein, was binding upon none but Israelites or Gentile proselytes. But the "law of God" unlike the Mosaic, is binding upon all men. Once this distinction is perceived, many minor difficulties are cleared up. For example: someone says, if we are to keep the Sabbath-day holy, as Israel did, why must we not observe the other "sabbaths"—the Sabbatic year, for instance"? The answer is, Because the moral law alone is binding upon Gentiles and Christians. But why, it may be asked, does not the death penalty attached to the desecration of the Sabbath day (Ex. 31:14, etc.) still obtain"? The answer is, Because though that was a part of the Mosaic law, it was not a part of the moral law, i.e. it was not inscribed on the tables of stone: therefore it concerned none but Israelites. Let us now consider separately, but briefly, each of the Ten Commandments.
Page 91.
Much confusion prevails today among those who speak of "the law". This is a term which needs to be carefully defined. In the New Testament there are three expressions used which require to be definitely distinguished. First, there is "the law of God" (Rom. 7:22, 25, etc.). Second, there is "the law of Moses" (John 7:2; Acts 13:39, 15:5,etc.).Third, there is "the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2). Now these three expressions are by no means synonymous, and it is not until we learn to distinguish between them, that we can hope to arrive at any clear understanding on the subject of "the law".
The "law of God" expresses the mind of the Creator, and is binding upon all rational creatures. It is God’s unchanging moral standard for regulating the conduct of all men. In some places the "law of God" may refer to the whole revealed will of God, but usually it has reference to the Ten Commandments, and it is in this restricted sense we shall here use the term. The law was impressed on man’s moral nature from the beginning, and though now fallen, he still shows the work of it written on his heart. This law has never been repealed, and, in the very nature of things, cannot be. For God to abrogate the moral law would be to plunge the whole universe into anarchy. Obedience to the law of God is man’s first duty. This is why the first complaint that Jehovah made against Israel after they left Egypt was "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?" (Ex. 16:2, 27). That is why the first statutes which God gave to Israel after their redemption were the Ten Commandments, i.e. the moral law. That is why in the first discourse of Christ recorded in the New Testament, he declared, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17), and then proceeded to expound and enforce the moral law. And that is why in the first of the Epistles, the Holy Spirit has taught us at length the relation of the law to sinners and saints, in connection with salvation and the subsequent walk of the saved: the word "law" occurs in Romans no less than seventy-five times, though, of course, not every reference is to the law of God. And that is why sinners (Rom. 3:19) and saints (Jam. 2:12) shall be judged by this law.
November 11, 2021
There’s something about Pink’s writing that is so God glorifying and so awe inspiring that I often have to stop reading to take in the majesty and magnitude of what he’s saying. So so rich - reading his work makes me be in awe of God (as I should). Such a cool little book with the different chapters - it covers a lot of different things in a short amount of time which is great.
"The aim of God in creation, in providence and in redemption, is the magnifying of Himself. Everything else is subordinate to this paramount consideration."
"The aim of God in creation, in providence and in redemption, is the magnifying of Himself. Everything else is subordinate to this paramount consideration."
July 4, 2017
The style of writing was easy to understand, yet not so simple that it oversimplified the material. The book did end rather abruptly, but I suppose that's because it is a collection of Pink's writings that were put together.
Great thoughts: (p.137) "The work of the ministry is such that no man is naturally qualified for it; only God can make any meet for the same." So many in our day view the role of a pastor as if it's a profession that the individual just chose to go into. It's so much more than that.
(p.148) "As one of the old worthies put it, 'The saints are trees of righteousness whose fruit is to be eaten by others; candles, which spend themselves in giving light and comfort to those about them.'"
Great thoughts: (p.137) "The work of the ministry is such that no man is naturally qualified for it; only God can make any meet for the same." So many in our day view the role of a pastor as if it's a profession that the individual just chose to go into. It's so much more than that.
(p.148) "As one of the old worthies put it, 'The saints are trees of righteousness whose fruit is to be eaten by others; candles, which spend themselves in giving light and comfort to those about them.'"
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews