Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 1:13

Difference between belief and trust: -- Imagine a storm at sea. There is a ship
tossed as the merest plaything on the maddened waves, while the tempest round
about roars like a black spirit from the vast abyss, and the sky overhead is bent
down with the rumbling vengeance of rolling thunder. The sails of the ship shiver;
the planks give way; the men on board are pale with terror, for they are all
conscious that they are in the utmost danger of being drowned. Their hearts beat;
their bosoms heave; their lips quiver; their eyes stare. They think as they best can
of their beloved friends, far, far away; and then they look at the foaming, boiling,
billowy sea which is likely to become their grave; and for a while all is deep, and
dead, and significant, and solemn silence. At length silence can endure no longer;
and now, mingling with the howling and raging of the storm, you hear cries and
groans and prayers, such as none but persons who are conscious that they are
perishing can utter. In this fearful crisis a boat appears, and approaching them it
offers to rescue them, and promises to ensure their safety. How is the offer treated?
One group of the drowning men believe that the boat is not a pirate, but a friend -that its pretensions are sincere, and that its flag is genuine; but they still stand and
fear and hesitate. One says that the boat is for the better class of passengers, not
for a poor, miserable, degraded wretch like him. Another is free from all fear such as
that, and yet he hesitates to step into the boat. Why? He looks at the dashing
waves; and he listens to the howling winds, and he thinks of the distance between
him and the nearest shore; and, all things being thus considered, he fears that the
boat is not strong enough to outride the storm; and hence, despite warning words
and inviting looks, the poor timorous man in question, as well as the selfdeprecating one already mentioned, neglects to rush into the boat, and so is lost.
Here you have a representation of an immensely numerous class of persons in the
Christian Church -- persons who believe in Christ, and yet for various reasons fail to
trust in Christ. How many believe in Christ as a Saviour, but dare not trust in Christ
as their Saviour! They believe He waits to save others, but they dare not trust that
He will save them. How many others, again, there are who, whilst they believe that
Christ loved them and gave Himself for them, dare not trust in the simple means
which Christ has prescribed (or sinners being saved! They dare not. Looking, on the
one hand, at the badness of their hearts, and the guiltiness of their lives, and then,
on the other hand, looking at the simple and easy method of salvation which Christ
propounds, they dare not trust in its sufficiency. They fear the thing is too simple to
be right, and they say they dare not trust for the welfare of their souls, in time and
in eternity, merely on the merits of another. This may be quite sufficient, but they
are afraid it may be otherwise. There they are, believing Christ, but not trusting
Christ; and for want of trust they perish.

(Luke Tyerman.)

Union of faith and trust: -- Another class on the foundering ship see the lightning's
flash, and hear the thunder's roll; they see the ocean tossed in tempest, and think
of their distance from the nearest haven. Their plight is perilous -- terrifically
perilous; but the boat approaches, and is close at hand, They read the inscription on
its flag; they listen to the invitations, and to the pledges of its commander; they
count the cost; they know that the case is desperate. Anyhow, they feel their case
cannot be worse than it is; and so, amid the tattering of sails and the splintering of
masts, and forked lightnings and thunders terrible, amid howling winds and dashing
waves, amid hearings and rockings and creakings and crackings, the poor perishing
wretches make a rush, and, with a desperate leap, they trust themselves to the
lifeboat which offers them assistance. Such were the Christian converts at Ephesus.
They believed in Christ; i.e., they believed that He was no adventurer, but, in reality,
what He professed to be:; but in addition to that historical faith in Christ there was
also trust in Christ. They not only believed Him to be a Saviour, but trusted in Him
as their Saviour -- even theirs. Renouncing trust in everything else, they trusted in
Christ, in His merits alone, for acceptance with God, and for the gift of eternal life in
Him. Damned or saved, cursed or blessed, sink or swim, they made the venture,
and put their whole trust for personal and for endless salvation in the merits and
mediation of this Divine Redeemer. And with what result? In this lifeboat of
salvation, launched by the illimitable benevolence of God, crimsoned all over with
the blood of the Paschal Lamb, and bearing a banner emblazoned with the Cross,
they found all they needed. The wind was sometimes boisterous; the sea was
sometimes rough; ever and anon the waves dashed the rocks, lashed the cliffs, and
seemed to splash the very skies; but in the midst of all the violence the boat is
borne without a shrunken plank, or a tattered sail, or a splintered mast.

(Luke Tyerman.)