Failure and Its Cause

D. Matthews explains the causes of failure in our lives with wise insights in the following address that she gave at the Japan Evangelistic Band's annual conference in 1939. This portion is taken from the book titled Personal Holiness:

"It is not necessarily sin that makes us feel the pull of temptation. The Lord Jesus Christ was without sin. He had an unfallen nature, was absolutely sinless, and yet it says that 'He suffered being tempted.' It says, 'He was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin.' Temptation was so tremendous to Him that it meant great suffering. Adam and Eve were sinless; they were innocent; they had an unfallen nature--which we have not--yet they failed! Now I hope you see by these few verses that when we feel the pull of temptation it is not sin in us that is responding if we are truly sanctified. If God has cleansed our hearts through faith in His sacrifice on the Cross, and if He is possessing us, inspiring and controlling us by His Spirit, yet temptation can come, and we can fall before that temptation. If we do I do most earnestly suggest that you go to God and pray as David prayed; 'Search me, O God, and try me, and see if there be any wicked way in me.' Do not think that because God has sanctified you therefore you can never get sin into your heart again; because if we accept some temptation and do not ask the Lord to cleanse that temptation of thought, motive, desire, or whatever it may be, that thing will enter into our hearts, and when the devil comes to tempt us we shall fall before temptation because of that sin in us. If God reveals that we have disobeyed Him let us confess it to Him; and if we confess He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse. Never try to live on a past experience, however great and wonderful it may have been. It is a moment by moment abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Lord Jesus abiding in us.

"I would suggest that there are three causes why people who have been really definitely cleansed and sanctified, fall before temptation. The first reason is, I think, because of the POVERTY of their FAITH. The second is because we do not discern or RESIST THE DEVIL, and the third because we do not TRUST AND OBEY our Saviour.

"FIRST because of our LITTLE FAITH. 1 Peter 1. 7 R.V. we read, 'Ye have been put to grief in manifold temptations that . . . your faith . . . might be found unto praise . . .' 'The proof of our faith'--that is the purpose of temptation. It is to try our faith. James says: 'Count it all joy when ye fall into manifold temptations knowing that the proof of your faith worketh patience.' We all want to develop spiritually. We want the Lord to increase more and more in us. Temptation and trial is one of the ways by which this is done. We come seeking the Lord, hearing His promise and word expounded to us; we hear, for instance, such a word as 1 John 1. 9. 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' That is quite simple, isn't it? And it is the way into holiness, sanctification and the way to be filled with the fulness of the Spirit. It is so simple, only we make it difficult. So few people will do just that. They say, 'I want to be truthful and faithful and loving,' but they do not go to God and say, 'Lord I am a liar, Lord I am unclean, Lord I am hard and bitter and resentful and proud; I have an idol, some friend, career, home, etc.' Have you been doing that in these days? Because if you have been confessing your sins to Him, then God has been cleansing you from all sin. What we bring to Him that He cleanses. Over and over God's servants have been saying, 'You must come and bring your sins to Jesus.' You must name them to God one by one. No general confession will do here. We must be very definite, telling Him the truth, the whole truth, for 'the truth shall make you free,' and what we name He purges away. 'The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin.' 'From all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you' (Ezekiel 36. 25). Hallelujah! He is the wonderful, wonderful Saviour Who purifies. Oh, for a heart by Blood made clean. Praise His Holy name! This is what happens when you go to Him for cleansing; and when you have definitely confessed to Him the sins or idols He has revealed, ask Him to show you if there is anything else. It may be something far away; it may mean writing a letter, for you must make restitution to those you have wronged (Matthew 5. 23-24, Lev. 5. 5; 6. 5) to the one 'to whom it appertainteth'; then it is that sin is as if it had never been, 1 John 1. 9. But if you confess and yet do not believe that you are cleansed, you are belittling the Blood of Christ.

"So come to Him, and never belittle the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is where the fight comes in. You must believe God's Word that when we confess, then and there He cleanses from all unrighteousness. I would urge you not to be in a hurry over this initial cleansing. It may take weeks, but when the last sin and idol has been revealed and cleansed you will have no difficulty about believing. Indeed you will have far more difficulty not to believe than to believe. When God speaks there is no difficulty in believing (Ezekiel 2. 2).

"Furthermore, He says, 'I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them.' We have been hearing about the fulness of the Holy Spirit, and perhaps you are saying, 'What about the future? I have failed in the past.' Listen, God says; 'I will cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them.' 'The very God of peace Himself shall sanctify you wholly . . . Faithful is He that calleth you Who also will do it.' He will do it. He has been calling. He called you before you came up here, that He might fill you with His Holy Spirit, that He might sanctify you wholly, and He will do it. 'He will keep you from falling.' You need not fear the future though temptations will come for 'If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ . . . cleanseth us from all sin.' We only have to do the next thing He tells us to do. It is so simple. Do not be anxious about to-morrow for 'He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure' (Phil. 2. 13). Are you going to believe God, and the promises of God, or are you going to listen to the devil? Why do we fail? Because we do not believe God's promises, not only for creating a clean, pure heart, and filling us with His Holy Spirit, but also for keeping us clean, causing us to trust and obey Him moment by moment; His promises to transform our characters and temperaments, etc., so that they become Christlike.

"Does He not say 'We all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.' That is quite simple. Not as we look at ourselves, nor as we look at somebody else, but as we look at Him. So we are transformed from glory to glory. Do you believe it? That is how it is done. Are you going to stand on the promises? Why are Christians sighing and lamenting that they are not Christlike? Because they do not believe that promise, that they are being transformed from glory to glory as they look to the Lord and trust and obey.

"Then again, how many of God's children are sighing about their service for Christ? We read in John 7. 38, 'He that believeth on Me, out of him shall flow rivers of living water.' Why is our service so poor? Because we do not believe God's promise, that rivers of life will flow through us to others. Convicting power, converting power and transforming power will flow through us because He says so. Why do we fail? Because we do not believe that promise.

"But perhaps we are in some position for which we do not know any particular promise we can claim; we seem to have come to the place that Job was in. He was going through an experience nobody had gone through before, and he had no written record to help him. What did he say? 'Though He slay me yet will I trust HIM.' Have we got there? 'In that day ye shall ask me no question' (John 16. 23). Have you stopped asking 'Why? Why? Why Lord?' Oh the blessedness of stopping all the 'whys.' 'I simply take Him at His word, and praise Him that my prayer is heard.' Why do we fail? Because of the poverty of our faith. Then, how can our faith be increased? There are many ways, but there are two ways I would suggest to you to-night.

"One reason why we have so little faith is because we neglect feeding on the Word of God. Oh, do get alone with God and His Word. 'Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.' That is one way by which our faith is developed; and the other way I would suggest is by our trials. We pray every day 'Give us this day our daily bread.' When Joshua and Caleb returned from exploring the promised land their declaration was that the enemies there 'are bread for us.' Yes, these trials of faith are the things that nourish faith. God is reigning in our circumstances. We give thanks for meals, for nourishment given for the body, but I wonder if we thank God for our trials!

"The first reason why people fail after they have had a real experience of sanctification and if they are abiding in Christ, is because of their little faith.

"The second reason is because we DO NOT DISCERN AND RESIST THE DEVIL. He comes as 'an angel of light' suggesting religious works in place of faith. He comes 'as a serpent' with the poison of bitterness, criticism, suspicion, etc. And he comes as 'a roaring lion' to make us afraid and doubt God. After Christ had been baptised with the Holy Spirit He was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The first thing the devil said was 'If Thou be the Son of God' though God had just testified to the fact that He was His beloved Son. In the same way the first thing the devil will say to you will be : 'Yes, you are sanctified, but what about so and so?' Then you must have the Word of God so ready in your heart and mind that you will be able to say: 'It is written, it is written,' and stand on that Word. 'Resist the devil and he will flee from you.'

"The third reason why we fail is because we DO NOT TRUST AND OBEY our Saviour. In Heb. 8. 1 we read that 'we have a High Priest.' He is 'ever living to make intercession for us and save us completely.' 'If we sin we have an advocate with the Father.' He ever lives to plead the merits of His eternal sacrifice. He is praying for us as He did for Peter. 'I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.' Is your faith assailed by the devil? Christ knew how that after Peter had denied Him Peter's faith would be tested. He is praying for us that our faith fail not. Do we trust in His prayers? Are we trusting in Him? When everything else goes, and we have not even a friend to turn to, are we relying on His prayers, on Him?

"Then, we fail because we do not obey. We have to trust, but we also have to obey. Turn to II Peter 1. 4-10, 'If ye do these things ye shall never stumble.' There is a promise, but are we obeying all God commands in these verses? (II Peter 1. 4-10) God's oft-repeated command to praise Him, to rejoice, to leap for joy when in difficult circumstances. See Psalm 50. 23; 1 Thess. 5. 16-18; Luke 6. 23. Do we obey these commands? We cannot do so except by the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit. As we call upon God He will quicken us to discern and resist the devil: He will quicken us to trust and obey: He will quicken us to praise and give thanks.

"And then, finally, we must obey the Lord's command--'make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.' If you are tempted along certain lines, keep clear of them. Do not see how near you can go, but keep as far away as possible. If you should be tempted, then instantly lift up your heart and say 'Lord cleanse me.' We can be kept clean. 'If ye do these things ye shall never stumble.' Praise His Holy Name! Ours is such a full salvation, all must be well.

"I have had a tremendous burden on my heart all this day, because God has brought us up here. God has been working in hearts and giving us His Word: showing that we are called to be clean, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to live holy lives, and we can do it. Oh, come to Him, the loving Redeemer, the One Who loves us so much that He cannot bear to see a spot or blemish in us (Eph. 5. 27). That is why He died, why He was made a curse, that 'He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people for His own possession, zealous of good works' . . . 'a people for His own possession'. Do you not see, it is love that calls. You need not be afraid. Come near to Him. He knows what is in your heart, but He asks you to tell Him about it, and as you tell Him, tell Him what you are, not what you want to be--as you put your sins down, one by one, the 'blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.' After that, ask Him to reveal anything else, continue to wait with quiet confidence on your Lord and Saviour, and He will reveal perhaps things that are hidden away. He only reveals as we are able to bear it.

"If you let Him do the work thoroughly there will be a thorough experience. If you come God's way, it will work, because you will be filled with Him and 'He never fails and He is never discouraged.' Will you come to Him? Will you get away with Him to-night? I am thinking of the PRICE that was paid that you and I might be cleansed and filled. What it cost God the Father, what it cost God the Son, and what it cost God the Holy Spirit. Think of what it must have meant to the Holy Ghost to energise Christ to make His soul an offering for sin! I urge of you that you will be in dead earnest. Determine that you will seek the Lord until He fills you with the Spirit. Search the Word. Feed on the Word, only so will you have a living appropriating faith. See that you have confessed, and put right everything that needs to be put right, and when you have done that you will find He will simply come in and take possession of you by the Holy Spirit. It will be like the incoming of the tide.

"But God manifests Himself to different people in different ways. Do not think you must have an experience like that of another person. He will meet you in some other way. God has called you to be holy and faithful. He also will do it. God is here. We are so soon going to stand in His presence, and have to give an account of the way we have treated the sacrifice of His Son. What will your answer be? It is so simple, if we will only take Him at His word and trust and obey."