James Niles is described as ‘operating an apostolic teaching ministry in the conviction that God fashions the inward parts of the believer from the Word unveiled through Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit’. This is a small book, and a sample of his writings. His style is somewhat tortuous and obscure, but, in the main, the truth he is seeking to express is most helpful. The essence of his ministry is that Christ Himself is the fount of all the life of a Christian and that His indwelling presence is essential to living that life. The way he approaches these realities is unusual, the presentation in the book requires thoughtful consideration. In this book he shows that we are to live by God’s faith formed in us through the indwelling presence of the Person of the Lord Jesus. So His faith becomes our faith for He is the author and the finisher of it. The book is a helpful corrective against the ‘faith ministries,’ these accentuate that the believer must ‘believe’ for prosperity, healing and the many other mainly material blessings which such ministries major on. There is also a refreshing and helpful chapter at the end of the book called ‘Lessons on faith gone wrong’. It examines Lucifer and his misuse of faith and departure from the faith of God into a false faith of his own. The term ‘ the faith of God’ is a marginal reading taken from Mark 11 v22. Faith teachings have become popular particularly in the last thirty years and tend to develop the carnal desires of man. Instead of the faith of God operating in the believer there is a pseudo faith stirred up. This false faith seems to allow us to pursue anything that seems good to us provided it is under the banner of having faith in God. This leads away from that faith of God which is in line with the reality of all He has promised and into presumption which in the end is a destroyer of truth and makes God into one Who simply serves our personal preferences. There is a helpful corrective in this book as it sets forth the revelation of Christ in us, the hope of glory within the particular reference point of faith in the believer.
