Gods Sabbath

F AITH W ITHOUT W ORKS IS D EAT

89

faith

faith

with a certain kind of

with a certain kind of

works

works

is alive

is dead

ourselves. If we look to God as our Plan Maker, then our faith will live; but if we make our own plans to try to fulfil His pur poses, then our faith will die. In God’s terms, the presence of hu man planning means the absence of the divine. Therefore, even though there may be a great deal of human activity aimed at achieving what God has promised, in His eyes this does not count as acceptable works at all. In order to understand this principle more clearly, let us look again at the events when Israel first tried to enter the promised land. The people reached the border of Canaan with a strong faith in God’s promise to give them the goodly land. Their enthusi asm was high as they looked forward to receiving their prom ised possession. As we have seen, they demonstrated their confidence in God’s promise by immediately calling for a committee of men to in spect the land and bring back a plan for its conquest. Israel waited in eager expectancy. When the spies returned after an