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Miles J. Stanford
Miles J. Stanford (1914 - 1999). American Christian author and Bible teacher born in Wheaton, Illinois. Raised with little religious background, he centered his early life on baseball, golf, and heavy drinking until a profound conversion on September 19, 1940, at age 26, prompted him to study the Bible eight to ten hours daily. Serving in the U.S. Army Engineers from 1942 to 1945 as a cartographer in England and Germany, he began corresponding with Christians, writing to nearly 200 by his discharge. From 1946 to 1955, his study and correspondence grew, and in 1951, he married Cornelia de Villiers Schwab, who shared his passion for spiritual growth. They ministered together, leading Bible studies in Brooklyn, New York, and later at Pleasant Hill Community Church in Warrenville, Illinois. In 1960, Stanford launched The Green Letters series, a newsletter that became his seminal book (1964), followed by titles like The Complete Green Letters (1975), translated into 12 languages. A self-described Pauline dispensationalist, he drew from Plymouth Brethren and Lewis Sperry Chafer, emphasizing positional truth and sanctification. Based in Colorado Springs from 1962, he maintained a global correspondence ministry. Stanford’s words, “Our part is not production, but reception of our life in Christ,” reflect his focus on grace. His works, freely shared online, continue to guide believers in spiritual maturity.
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Miles J. Stanford emphasizes the importance of faith in receiving the Lord Jesus for life, highlighting that there is no self-effort required in manifesting His life through us, from re-birth to maturity. He contrasts true grace with counterfeit victories over sin, stating that any victory obtained through self-effort is false. Stanford explains that our freedom from sin's power comes solely through Christ's work, not through our own efforts, and that we are as dependent on Jesus' work for deliverance as we are for forgiveness.
Sans Effort
"To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5). There is no work involved in our receiving the Lord Jesus for life, and there should certainly be no self-effort involved in the manifestation of His life in and through us. The principle is the same, from re-birth to maturity. "'Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Corinthians 15:57). That is grace. That is the test of the real or the counterfeit. Just remember this: any victory over the power of any sin whatsoever that you have to get by working for it is counterfeit. Any victory that you have to get by trying for it is false. If you have to work for your freedom, it is not the real thing, it is not that which the Father offers you in His Son." "The effortless life is not the will-less life. We use our will to believe, or receive, but not to exert effort in trying to accomplish what only the Father has done. Our hope for freedom from the power of sin is not 'Christ plus my efforts,' but 'Christ plus my receiving.' To receive victory from Him is to believe His Word that solely by grace He is, this moment, freeing us from the dominion of sin. And to believe on Him in this way is to recognize that He is doing for us what we can never do for ourselves." -C.G.T. "The Father has left us as much dependent on the Lord Jesus' work for our deliverance as for our forgiveness. It is wholly because we died with Him on the Cross, but unto sin and unto the whole legal principle, that sin's power for those in Him is broken." "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt" (Romans 4:4).
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Miles J. Stanford (1914 - 1999). American Christian author and Bible teacher born in Wheaton, Illinois. Raised with little religious background, he centered his early life on baseball, golf, and heavy drinking until a profound conversion on September 19, 1940, at age 26, prompted him to study the Bible eight to ten hours daily. Serving in the U.S. Army Engineers from 1942 to 1945 as a cartographer in England and Germany, he began corresponding with Christians, writing to nearly 200 by his discharge. From 1946 to 1955, his study and correspondence grew, and in 1951, he married Cornelia de Villiers Schwab, who shared his passion for spiritual growth. They ministered together, leading Bible studies in Brooklyn, New York, and later at Pleasant Hill Community Church in Warrenville, Illinois. In 1960, Stanford launched The Green Letters series, a newsletter that became his seminal book (1964), followed by titles like The Complete Green Letters (1975), translated into 12 languages. A self-described Pauline dispensationalist, he drew from Plymouth Brethren and Lewis Sperry Chafer, emphasizing positional truth and sanctification. Based in Colorado Springs from 1962, he maintained a global correspondence ministry. Stanford’s words, “Our part is not production, but reception of our life in Christ,” reflect his focus on grace. His works, freely shared online, continue to guide believers in spiritual maturity.