It is easy to read Christian biographies and feel inspired. To look up to men and women of faith and admire their willingness to take God at His word. But then what? What do we do with that inspiration, that admiration?
Written Lives is devoted to sharing the stories of history- the stories of those who lived and learned before us. But as you read these stories, I'd encourage you to ask yourself if they just entertain you, or if they challenge and change you? Do you merely admire your heroes, or do you want to become like them?
In today’s post, Katie is sharing the story of a man’s incredible faith and practical obedience and she has done a great job of bringing it to application. So, I want to challenge you, as you read this article, look for application as well as inspiration.
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“One of these days some simple soul will pick up the book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed.” - Leonard Ravenhill
C.T. Studd was one such simple soul.
“By his father’s will he was to inherit a large sum of money at the age of twenty-five, and the simple reading of the Scriptures had led him to definite and far-reaching conclusions on the matter. The words of Christ, ‘Sell your possessions, and give to the needy’ (Luke xii.33), and ‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth’ (Matt. vi.19); the example of the early church at Pentecost, of whom it says, ‘They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need’ (Acts ii.45); and finally the story of the rich young man to whom Jesus said, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me’ (Mark x.21), seemed to him to be as equally binding on himself as a present-day disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ as on those whom they were spoken. Therefore, in the light of God’s Word, he decided to give his entire fortune to Christ.” (Norman Grubb, C.T. Studd - Cricketer & Pioneer, p 67)
“This was no fool’s plunge on his part. It was his public testimony before God and man that he believed God’s Word to be the surest thing on earth and that the hundredfold interest which God has promised in this life, not to speak of the next, is an actual reality for those who believe it and act on it.” (p 69)
He Believed God’s Word
Do you hold God’s word in such high regard? Do you believe that every word written in the Bible is reliable, trustworthy, and true?
We often refer to Christians as “believers” - people who believe the Word of God. But how often, when faced with passages like those mentioned above, do we esteem the word of God as true, without actually living like it is?
C.T. did not merely believe God’s word was good or true. He believed that the Bible was the very words of Jesus Christ, and therefore actual reality that he could build his life upon.
Because he believed God’s word, Studd gave away his entire inheritance with the exception of just three thousand and four hundred pounds. This he gave to his new wife in obedience to 1 Timothy v.8 which says, “If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
However, Studd’s wife was also a believer in the Word of God.
“She, not to be outdone, said, ‘Charlie, what did the Lord tell the rich young man to do?’ ‘Sell all.’ ‘Well then, we will start clear with the Lord at our wedding.’” (p 70)
For she regarded “heaven as the safest bank, and moreover [thought] it is so handy; you have no trouble about checks or rates of exchange, but just ‘Ask and receive, that your joy may be full.’” (p 71)
In a letter to General Booth of the Salvation Army, C.T. Studd wrote, “Henceforth our bank is in heaven … And this step has been taken not without most definite reference to God’s Word, and the command of the Lord Jesus, who said, ‘Sell that ye have and give alms. Make for yourselves purses which wax not old.’ And He also said, ‘If ye love Me, keep My commandments.’ And again, ‘He that saith I know Him and kept not His commandments is a LIAR.’” (p 70)
What Would You Have Done?
After giving away his entire inheritance, C.T. set out for China as a missionary. He had no money of his own and no one knew of his need except the Lord.
So what happened? Did C.T. Studd and his wife get to China and have to take out a loan? Did they have to beg and borrow from friends, or return to England early?
Or was God faithful to them?
Since you’re reading his story you can probably guess the answer - God was faithful.
But for just a minute, imagine you are in C.T. Studd’s place - young, about to inherit a fortune, called by God to go to China and preach the gospel. You read the same scriptures he read and can’t deny their clear teaching - give away your riches and trust God to provide.
What would you do?
Would you simply believe God’s word where it says ‘give and you shall receive’? Would you humbly obey it, putting your trust in Jesus Christ alone?
Or would you keep your inheritance, reasoning that it is God’s means of sending you to China? After all, isn’t it irresponsible to move to a foreign country empty handed? Isn’t it foolish to presume that God will supply every future need if you give away His present blessing?
It’s easy to look at the lives of missionaries and rejoice that God provided for them. But do you realize that C.T. Studd had the same God and the same Bible as you do?
The One who commanded Studd to give away his inheritance, trust only and fully in Jesus Christ, and seek first His Kingdom, is the same God who has commanded you to lay down all idols, trust only and fully in Him, and seek first His Kingdom.
The One who promised to abundantly provide all that C.T. Studd needed for life and godliness, is the same God who has promised to be faithful to you if you simply trust His word and obey Him.
He hasn’t changed.
Yes, it is irresponsible and foolish to this world. But “the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians i.25)
God is Always Faithful and True to His Promise
Everything about C.T. Studd’s life was absolutely impossible by earthly standards. He started his family in the middle of China with no salary and no support. He preached the gospel in the middle of Africa when doctors said he should be dead due to the numerous diseases he had contracted. Studd defied earthly impossibilities because he built his life upon one simple fact - God cannot lie.
If God cannot lie, and if the Bible is God’s word, then it only makes sense that every word of scripture is absolutely true.
Including Jesus words, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mark x:29-30)
Because he believed the word of God to be true and the Lord Jesus Christ to be faithful, C.T. experienced that “hundredfold interest” which God has promised to those who believe His word and act on it.
Over and over again, Studd experienced God’s miraculous provision for his family. On one occasion he wrote,
“My own family knew nothing of our circumstances, only that we were in the heart of China. The last of our supplies was finished, and there was no apparent hope of supplies of any kind coming from any human source. … We had looked facts in the face. If the return of the postman brought no relief, starvation stared us in the face. We decided to have a night of prayer. We got on our knees for that purpose. I think we must have stayed there twenty minutes before we rose again. We had told God everything that we had to say in those twenty minutes. Our hearts were relieved; it did not seem to us either reverence or common sense to keep on talking to God as though He were deaf or could not understand our simple language, or the extremity of our circumstances, or the weight of the words of His Son, who said that God knew everything before we told Him, or as He said Himself, ‘Before they call I will answer.’ And verily He did. The mail-man returned at the appointed time. … This was the letter - I looked at the signature first, one wholly unknown to me - ‘I have,’ he said, ‘for some reason or other, received the command of God to send you a check for 100 pounds. I have never met you, I have only heard of you, and that not often, but God has prevented me from sleeping tonight by this command. Why He should command me to send you this I don’t know - you will know better than I. Anyhow, here it is and I hope it will do you good.’” (p 101)
A Life of Faith
I am not suggesting that C.T.’s decision to give away every last penny and never speak of his need is prescriptive for all Christians. However, his decision to believe the word of God implicitly, trust it, and act upon it, is. The Bible calls this “a life of faith.”
Later in his ministry, C.T. was offered a small salary for his work and he gladly accepted it. But even with this income, he continued looking to God alone to provide for every need he had.
In a letter to his wife he wrote, “Only now let us remember once more that God is to be our portion, and that knowingly and willingly we trust our lives and those of our children to Him; if He fails, we are done for; but how can He fail? It is blasphemy on my part to suggest such a thing. Glory be to Him for allowing us this second privilege; only it must be trust in Him and in Him only, not one little bit in any society; if they pay our expenses, well and good, but I am not going to trust in God and them, I shall trust only in God, and so will you.” (p 124)
Will You Trust Only in God?
C.T. Studd was a man who placed all of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A “simple soul” who picked up the Bible, read it, believed it, and as a result has “embarrassed” many Christians who hear of the life he lived.
Would you also be willing to place all of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Would you be willing to sell your worldly inheritance and give to the poor? To break your bottle of costly oil, as Mary did, and pour it out on Jesus’ feet? To pick up your Bible, read it, believe it, and act upon it?
Would you simply trust that God cannot lie and build your life upon the surest thing on earth?
In Christ,
Katie
Katie Stone is a girl who has a passion to declare the sufficiency of Jesus Christ with words. Through an online magazine, she first glimpsed the depth of joy and fulfilment that is found when we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ. Simple truth, communicated through writing, changed her life. And ever since, Katie has had a desire to write and share this same powerful gospel with others. You can read more of her writing and support her at girlofjoy.org
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