Good evening. It's good to be
here tonight. This morning we looked at, this man receives sinners. We
saw that Christ Jesus our Lord receives sinners. Despised, rejected
sinners. Despised by the self-righteous.
Tonight we'll be looking at the life of faith. The life of faith. The life of those sinners who
are saved by the grace of God in Christ, how they now live. Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter
10. They live a life of faith. The sinners who are saved live
a life of faith. Hebrews chapter 10, verses 32
to 39. But call to remembrance the former
days in which after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions. When the Lord saves sinners,
they quickly endure a great fight of afflictions. Sometimes from
family members, a lot of times from friends, so-called friends,
who wonder what happened to them. Partly, whilst ye were made a
gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst
ye become companions of them that were so used. For ye had
compassion on me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling
of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better
and an enduring substance. Cast not away, therefore, your
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye
have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of
God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he
that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Our Lord will
come back when it's His time. He will come. He will come, beloved,
and He will not tarry. He will be at the exact time
that he's supposed to return. Now the just shall live by faith. There's our text. But if any
man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But
we are not of them who draw back into perdition, but of them that
believe to the saving of the soul. Our text is found in verse
38 in these words. Now the just shall live by faith. The verse preceding this verse
speaks of the suffering and afflictions of the early Christians and what
they went through. And these afflictions would have
overwhelmed them had they been destitute of faith in Christ.
They would have overwhelmed them. But they're kept by the power
of God, beloved. Just as we who believe now are
kept by the power of God. Have you ever went through afflictions
and trials and looked back and went, how did I make it through
that? That's because the Lord took us. He never left us. He has promised to never leave
nor forsake his people, no matter what they go through. And Paul
writes in verse 34, For ye had compassion on me in the bonds
and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves
that ye have in heaven a better and enduring substance. Beloved,
we have an inheritance in heaven that cannot be spoiled. Cannot
be spoiled, cannot be taken away. And it's in Christ Jesus, our
Lord, in Him alone. Yet a little while and Christ
will come for His own. He tells us that. Turn, if you
would, to John chapter 14. In verse 37, above our text,
it says, For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come,
and will not tarry. Our Lord tells us in John 14, verses 1 to 3, We are not to let our hearts
be troubled, beloved. No matter what we see going on in this
world, we're not to let our hearts be troubled. Look at John 14, verses one to
three. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God?
Believe also in me. In my father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you. Now he either receives
us at our death or those who which will be alive at his coming
will here receive them then. that where I am, look at these
precious words, beloved, where's our Lord right now? He's in glory. Where's our loved ones who went
before us, who've died in the faith? They're in glory. They're in glory. Where's our
friends, our brethren who have died in the faith? They're in
glory. They're with Christ because to
be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And
our Lord promises us here that where I am. That where Christ
is. There you may be also. What words when Christ come,
think of this, too, when Christ comes here, put an end to all
suffering and death below. You put an end to. It'll be over. And he will come again, he's
promised us in that text right there, he coming again, whether
people believe it or not, he's coming again, beloved. He's coming
again. Acts chapter one, verse 11, says
this. Which also said, you man of Galilee, why stand you up,
gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven. shall so come in like manner
as you have seen him go into heaven. He's returning, beloved.
He's coming back. And our text implies, look at
our text again, in Hebrews 10, 38, in the first few words there,
now the just shall live by faith. Now the just shall live by faith.
Our text implies that the righteous should live in continued confidence
in our great God. trusting and resting in our wonderful
Savior. Because who's the object of our
faith? Christ. Christ in Him alone. Resting and trusting and reposing
in our wonderful Savior. And how do we do that? By faith
in Christ. By trust in Him. By trust in
Him. By having our hearts and minds
set upon Him. Remember Paul in Colossians tells
us to set our affections on things above. He's telling you and he's
telling me to set our affections upon Christ, upon him. I read it again today and you
guys have heard me say it many times. I read it, some other
preacher wrote it too. He said, when I get in trouble,
this is when I get my eyes on the Lord. It's true, it's true
of all of us. We are all the same. We go through
the same struggles, beloved, the same doubts. We all struggle,
because we're sinners. But let us remember this, that
our confidence, and our hope, and our faith, has one object,
Christ. Christ, in Him alone. Now the believers, the Hebrews
that Paul writes to here, they anticipated the return of Christ,
either in His second coming or at their death, knowing that
then they would be free from all trials in their lives. All
sorrow, all sickness. There's no sorrow, no sickness,
no death in heaven. Oh my. No sin. That's the most amazing part. No sin. So when we worship God,
we won't be distracted or things. It'll be perfect worship. It'll
be amazing. It's incredible. Oh, my. What a day that that is, what
a day that is for our brethren or was for our brethren who've
gone on before us, and what a day that'll be for us when the Lord
comes to take us. Like a dear brother, Brother
Norm, after a dear brother of ours in Oregon went home to be
with the Lord. It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking
because you miss them. You're joying for them and you're
happy for them, but oh, the pain of being separated from them. But you're joyful for them. And
Brother Norm called me, he says, he's not worried about you. No,
he's not. He's beholden the king. And when
I go home to glory, I'll be beholden, and you too, when you go home,
when God calls you home, who believes. You won't be worrying
about nothing going on down here. You'll be enamored with the king
of glory. Enamored with him. One commentator has said, As
the scripture declares, the just shall live by faith. A preserving
confidence or belief in the Lord will preserve the soul amidst
all trials and calamities to which we are exposed. And we
are exposed to many trials and many calamities in our lives.
But the Lord continuously delivers his people out of them. And think
of how many times, this is the amazing one, this is the one
too that just blows my mind away. How many times did the Lord keep
me from things before I was saved? How many times did he spare my
life before I was? I can count. I can count a few
times where I were. Looking back, I thought, boy,
I should have died there. But it wasn't my time. But it
was a close call. And I didn't know Christ then.
And I'm sure we can all look in our lives and see times then.
God preserves his people even before they're saved. So as we
go through trials and tribulations, we learn more and more what it
is to live by faith. And it's the Lord who keeps us.
We don't keep ourselves. He keeps us. He keeps us. He saved us, and we live a life
after he saves us of resting by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our text here says, the just
shall live by faith. They shall live a life of trusting
the Savior through all circumstances. Note in our text, the saints
of God are called just. Just. Who did Christ come to
save? Sinners. We saw that this morning. He didn't come to call the well
The righteous, right? He came to call sinners, those
who are sick, soul sick sinners, right? But here in our text,
it says the just. The just shall live by faith. God's people are called, God's
elect are called the just. Sinners by birth, nature, and
choice are called just. The just. This is not our natural state. No. Our natural state is that
we're dead in trespasses and sins, that we're unjust, that
we're sinners. Because Paul pens in Romans,
as it is written, there's none righteous, no, not one. And then
directly after that, he says there's none that understand
it, there's none that seek it after God. So our natural state
is we are unjust sinners. In love with sin, drinking it
like water. But our wonderful text here tonight
says the just shall live by faith. The just. Believers in Christ, Jesus our
Lord, and all believers, not just a select few, right? All believers, beloved, are said
to be just or righteous, because the Greek word is defined righteous. The righteous shall live by faith. The just, the Greek word also
says this, righteous, observing divine laws. All I did was break the law of
God. To my shame. But the Lord Jesus Christ is
my substitute, and if you're a believer, he's your substitute,
fulfilled in all. So the Greek word is defined
as righteous, observing divine laws in a wide sense, upright,
righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God. Innocent. Faultless. Guiltless. That's the meaning,
that's the Greek meaning for this world. In our natural state, we are
unrighteous, but beloved here before us. What a wonderful text. The scriptures declare that those
who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are just, innocent, faultless,
guiltless, righteous before God. I ask you, I ask you, brother
Matt, is this not divine mercy shown to ungodly sinners? And we saw today in our text,
we saw today in our text, where was our Lord? In the midst of
publicans and sinners. In his people, who are born again
by the Holy Spirit of God, who are granted faith by God to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, are declared here in our text righteous. innocent, faultless, guiltless, all because the Lord Jesus Christ
lived and died as our substitute. In this state of being just,
beloved, is only found in Christ. Outside of Christ, we are unjust,
unjust, hopeless, helpless sinners. And Christ, scripture declares,
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. So everyone who believes on Christ, the just, are guiltless, innocent,
faultless, guiltless, made righteous by Christ. What a Savior. What salvation
we have in Christ, beloved, and it's all a free gift from God.
To undeserving. Unmeriting. Sinners. And those who believe in Christ,
Jesus are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, bring out the best
robe. That's what we're called in the best. And that's why we
can be in God's presence. Only because of the righteousness
of Christ, only because of what he's done. This is the planning
of infinite wisdom. This is the planning of rich,
free and sovereign grace, which flows from God, and it is worthy
of all our praise, beloved. And we can only be called just
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Because in Adam, we were made
sinners, weren't we? When Adam fell, we all fell with
him. Turn, if you would, to Romans
chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. When Adam fell, we fell. But
praise be to God, beloved. Praise be to God. We are made
just, righteous, in Christ, in Him alone. So if we tie this
verse here in, where it says righteous, it's just, because
we are the just ones made just by Christ. Look at this in Romans
519. For is by one man's disobedience. That's Adam. Many were made sinners. We all were plunged into sin. Romans 519. But look at this. Praise God. So by the obedience
of one shall many be made righteous. We are made just. Just. righteous in Christ in Him alone. The believer in Christ is righteous
in the eyes of the Father. They are new creatures in Christ. Having been regenerated by the
Holy Spirit of God, we then believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And
then we live a life of faith. The just shall live by faith.
Those who are declared righteous, those who are just in God's eyes,
Those blood-bought saints purchased by the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross live a life of faith, of
looking to our risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we
never stop looking, and in glory we'll be looking. We'll be looking
to Him. Once the Lord has us look to
Him, we never stop looking. We never stop looking. Therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are
passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. Do you know that the believer is free? Turn, if you would,
to Romans chapter 6. The believer is free from the
condemnation, free from the penalty. free from the power of sin, not
the presence though, but one day we will be free from the
presence of sin when the Lord takes us home. But while we're
here on this earth, we are not free from the presence of sin.
But all right now, right this minute, the believer in Christ
is free from the condemnation, the penalty, and the power of
sin. Romans chapter six, scripture declares this, knowing this,
verse six and seven, knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed and henceforth,
that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead
is what? Freed from sin. Praise God. We were crucified with Christ.
Turn, if we would, to Ephesians chapter four. Now the believer
in Christ lives a life by faith in Christ and Him alone. Struggling
daily, though, and battling with sin. We battle every day with
sin, don't we? We do. Every day. Resting and trusting in God,
our Savior, to give us strength and grace to overcome this flesh,
this body of flesh that wars against us daily. Daily. Look at Ephesians chapter
4, starting in verse 20. But ye have not so learned Christ,
if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him,
as the truth is in Jesus. That ye put off concern in the
former conversations the old man, which is corrupt according
to deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And
that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness. Now this is similar to the Colossians
where he tells us to put on the new man. We know that that's
only when we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Wherefore,
putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor,
for we are members one of another. We're members of the same body,
beloved, the body of Christ. Be ye angry and sin not, let
not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to
the devil. Let him that stole steal no more,
but rather let him labor, working with his hands the things which
is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let
no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which
is good, to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto
the hearers. and grieve not the Holy Spirit
of God, whereby you're sealed until the day of redemption,
that all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil
speak and be put away from you with all malice. And look at
this beautiful verse in, oh, this verse in verse 32. And be
kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, hath what? Forgiven you. Oh, God has,
for Christ's sake, forgiven us for all our sins. My, my beloved. So we live a life of faith, trust,
and rest in the one, in the one whom we have forgiveness of all
our sins. Now we're constrained from sin
by the love of Christ. And this saving faith, spoken
of here in our text, the just shall live by faith, is wrought
out in the believer by the Holy Spirit of God. Colossians says
it's an operation of God. Colossians 2, verse 11 and 12.
The scriptures proclaim this. In whom also ye are circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands, and put off the body of
the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God. who hath raised him from
the dead. Colossians 2, verse 11 and 12. The operation of God, the regenerating
power of the Holy Spirit of God. We're born again. And it's an
act of God. Religion tells you, religion
has taken regeneration and replaced it with decision. No. We'll never come to Christ unless
the Holy Spirit regenerates us. And when he does, we run. We're
like Zacchaeus. We come flying down that tree.
Right to Christ. Right to Christ. My. So the reason the sinner flees
to Christ is because God's done a work in them. And they receive
Christ as prophet, priest and king. They receive him in all
his offices. Everything that he's done. Think
of this, the ones who would never seek God are made to seek Him. The unbelieving are granted faith. The sinner who comes to Him is
now called just. And it's all because of what
Christ has done. The unrepentant, the unrepentant
sinner is granted repentance. The unbelieving sinner is granted
faith to believe. And it's all the work of God.
It's all the work of God. Scripture declares, therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into
the grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory
of God. Romans chapter five, verse one
and two. Ephesians 2 8 and 9 for by grace. Are you saved through
faith and that not of yourselves? It's a gift of God not of works
less any man should boast God's people believe on Christ. They
have faith in him And beloved it's a gift of God because not
everyone believes Not everyone believes Not everyone believes on Christ
But those who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God they
do They believe on Christ, and it's a gift of God. And then
we live a life. We live a life of trusting God
by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, because our scripture declares,
now the just shall live by faith. Turn if you would to Galatians
2.20. Paul gives a beautiful illustration here, Galatians
2.20 and 21. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. In the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me. Every believer can say that. I do not frustrate the grace
of God. For if righteousness come by the law, if righteousness
comes by works, then Christ is dead in vain. But beloved, righteousness
doesn't come by works, not our works. Righteousness comes from Christ
and him alone and the work that he done. And that is imputed, that righteousness
is imputed to us. The believer was once dead to
the spiritual things of God. The things of God had no effect
at one time on our hearts or on our minds. As a matter of
fact, most of us wanted to stay as far away from Christians as
we could. But you know, we know that. In our unregenerate state, we
did not think of God in our daily lives. We didn't think about
him a whole lot. We probably didn't think of him
almost at all. Well, when we were in trouble,
of course, we cried out to who we thought was God, but that was a God of our imagination. And before the Lord saved us,
we did not really know who he was. But now, now we see God's
hand of providence moving and working in our lives as he's taught us the gospel.
He's revealed Christ to us. We look back even in our lives
before we were saved and now that we're believers and we see
his sovereign hand at work. Moving you guys up here to hear
the gospel. It's incredible. It's amazing. He works and moves as he's pleased. And we did not have a clue. But
oh, when God gave us ears to hear and eyes to see. We didn't want to look anywhere
else. And we still don't. That's why we won't settle for
anything but the gospel being preached. Why? Oh Lord, teach us. Teach us more
of thyself. Through the preaching of your
word, through the reading of your word, teach us. Teach us
your statutes. Teach us about yourself. That's
our prayer. And Christ is now all our hope.
He's all our hope. I like what some preachers say,
A-L-L, all. He's everything. He's all our
joy too, isn't it? And we see that all that we are
and all that we have comes from His merciful hand. Whether they be spiritual blessings
or whether they be physical blessings, they all come from Him. All of
it. The jobs we have, the homes we
live in, our beloved brides or husbands, they all come from
Him. All. Especially our faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Gifts of God. And after He saves
us, We now live a life of faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. And what is Christ to us now?
Something that he wasn't before. Precious. More precious than anything in
the world. More precious than anything in
the world. And true believers live by faith, not by law, not
by works, not by merit, not by ceremony, but by faith. And that
faith has one object, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ and Him
alone. Scripture declares here, now the just shall live by faith. And as I said, that faith has
one object. Turn, if you would, to John 15. John 15. The just
shall live by faith because they are united to Christ. He is the
head and we are the body. He is the object of our faith
and we receive our sustenance from Him. Just as you see the
trees out here. I love watching these trees in
the springtime. Because you know all the nourishment
comes up through the root. And from the root goes to all
the branches and we get these beautiful blossoms. And then
later on in the year we get the fruit. that appears on those
branches. Now those branches don't produce
the fruit. It comes up through the vine, beloved. All the nourishment
goes to those branches. Christ is the vine. Christ is
like that trunk buried deep in the ground, a sure foundation,
beloved. And we are the branches. We have
objects before us that shows us pictures of us in Christ. But look at this in John 15,
look at this. Verses 1 to 5, I am the true vine and my father
is the husband man. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth
fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now
ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me and I in you, as the branch, look at this, cannot
bear fruit of itself. So those branches on the trees
out there, that will produce apples. It's not them that's.
All that nourishment's coming up through the trunk and going
to the branches. It's the same with us, beloved. The only way
we bear fruit is by the work of the Holy Spirit of God. The
only way we bear the fruit of the Spirit is by the Spirit of
God working in us, in us. Abide in me and I in you as the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine.
No more can ye except you abide in me. Now look at this next
verse. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I
in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me ye
can do nothing. How dependent are we on Christ? How dependent are we on Christ
as believers? Listen to the words of the master,
for without me, you can do nothing. That's pretty dependent. So people who are outside of
Christ are hopeless. But people who are in Christ,
oh, what a treasure. Because without me, you can do
nothing. Without Christ, we can't appear before God, can we? So we receive all our spiritual
life in and through the Lord Jesus Christ by faith in Christ
and the life lived by faith in Christ is sustained and kept
by the power of God, beloved through faith. The believer will
keep on believing. And the life shall be perfected
by faith. The salvation is all of grace. Works makes no contribution
to our life in Christ. And if any professor of faith
draws back to ceremonialism or away from the pure faith in Christ
Jesus, our text continues, but if any man draw back, my soul
hath no pleasure in him. No pleasure. That's when someone just makes
a mere profession and walks away. Now, faith in Christ, beloved,
anticipates the glories of heaven, where Christ is the center of
worship, the sole object of worship. And we live a life of faith in
him, anticipating that day we will be with him. And he has
promised, we saw that in John 14, he's promised that his people
shall be with him. We anticipate a day when we shall
see our Redeemer face to face. when we shall see Christ face
to face. Right now we cannot see Him,
but we know He lives. And we know He holds all our
tomorrows. We know He does. And we hope
in Christ and Him alone, we hope in His atoning sacrifice for
us, we hope in what He has accomplished here on earth, redeeming our
eternal souls with His precious blood, And we have a hope that
we shall behold him in eternity, beloved, and be with him forever
in heaven. Faith in Christ, believes in
Christ, trusts in Christ and his merits alone for the salvation
of our eternal souls. By faith in Christ, the just,
the just, the ones who are made righteous, because we're not
righteous on our own, are we? But the ones who are made righteous,
the just overcome temptation. Faith in Christ overcomes the
world as we seek a better country. Turn, if you would, to Hebrews
chapter 11. We seek a better country and an eternal country
where we will one day see our Lord in glory. Hebrews chapter
11. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 14
to 16. For they that say such things
declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they
had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they
might have had an opportunity to have returned, but now they
desire a better country. That is heavenly. Oh, don't we
long to be home with the Lord? Wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city.
Beloved faith in Christ overcomes persecution. Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Faith
in Christ overcomes the flesh, believing the promise, my grace
is sufficient for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12, nine. Therefore the believer in Christ
glories in our infirmities that the power of Christ may rest
upon us. Christ is the object of our faith, our only hope. Whether it be dark seasons in
our lives, in poverty or financial failure, whether it be domestic
troubles or affliction, whether it be under bereavements, our
hope is set upon Christ and Him alone, beloved. knowing that
he orders all things in our lives and all things in this world
according to his divine providence. Turn, if you would, to Habakkuk
chapter three, Habakkuk chapter three. The believer in Christ knows
that God works all things out for our good and for his glory,
as we are called to Christ according to his purpose. Habakkuk chapter
3 verse 17 to 19. Although the fig tree shall not
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. The labor of
the olive shall fail and the field shall yield no meat. The
flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd
in the stalls. Yet amidst all that calamity,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord. The just shall live by faith,
beloved. faith in Christ. Yet I will rejoice
in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The God of my salvation and in
Habakkuk 319 says the Lord God is my strength and he will make
my feet like Heinz feet and he will make me to walk upon my
high places. to the chief singer on my on
my stringed instruments. But oh, yet I will rejoice in
the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. Believers live a life of faith
in Christ. And the believer in Christ desires
to live a life of faith, hoping and resting in Christ and him
alone. And remember, hope in Christ does not exist without
faith in Christ. In love for Christ does not exist
without faith in Christ. And again, again, I must stress
this because sometimes people make an idol out of their faith.
But our faith, beloved, has one object, and that's the Lord Jesus
Christ in him alone. Turn, if you would, the second
Corinthians, chapter four, second Corinthians, chapter four. And we'll read verses 17 and
18, and then we'll look at verse 1 of chapter 5, which continues
right after those two. 2 Corinthians 4, verses 17 and
18, and then chapter 5, verse 1. For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory. Well, we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. We look to
Christ, beloved, for the things which are seen are temporal.
Everything we can see here is going to one day just burn up. Every one of us in this room
is one day going to die. for the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know, chapter five of
verse one, for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle
were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with
hands eternal in the heavens. My, my beloved. Heaven is the rest to which the
believer will travel, the port of unspeakable bliss to which
we voyage, beloved. Faith often brings heaven to
view as we think upon our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. For in
heaven we shall see the King in His beauty. We shall see the
King in His beauty. And think of that for our loved
ones who went before us, or friends, Brethren in the Lord who went
before us, who were saved, blood-bought saints, they now see the King
in all his beauty, beloved. In the land that is afar off,
our text again says, now the just shall live by faith. Beloved
of God, we who have been redeemed live a life of faith. faith in
Christ. As it is written, the just shall
live by faith. So let us exercise a patient,
confident faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. When things
rise up, trials or troubles, let us just... I know I have
to do it all the time. Oh Lord, You're in full control.
Let me just rest in You. Calm my heart, please, Lord. We are kept by the power of God,
beloved, and receive spiritual life by faith in Christ. We're
born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And true believers in Christ
live by faith, not by law, not by works, not by merit, not by
ceremony. We are born again by the Spirit
of God, and then we believe. We have faith. And as I say,
we never stop looking to Christ. Righteousness and justification
are of faith and not of works. In no other way but faith can
salvation be by grace. A reward must be reckoned either
of all of grace or of a debt. One last scripture we'll look
at Romans chapter 4 verse 16. A reward must be reckoned either
all of grace or else all of debt on account of works performed.
They cannot be combined. If God takes into account any
works of man, then salvation is not by grace. But we know
that salvation is by grace alone through Christ alone. Romans 4.16 says here, Therefore
it is of faith that it might be by grace. And we know that
faith is a gift of God, beloved. To the end the promise might
be sure to all the seed, to that only which is of the law, but
to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the
father of us all. Therefore, it is a faith that
it might be by grace and beloved salvation is all of grace, all
of grace and the just shall live by faith. True believers cannot
and will not and do not leave Christ. They trust in Him. He keeps them, beloved. He keeps
them. To whom shall we go? Christ alone
has life. Christ alone gives life. And Christ alone is life. There's nowhere else to go. Nowhere
else to go. Who he who has saved us and kept
us thus far beloved will keep us to the end. Will keep us to
the end, and he will one day present us. Faultless. Blameless. Before the presence
of his glory and God's people say. What a savior. Gracious Heavenly
Father, we come before Thy throne in awe, in awe that the text
proclaims that the just, and we know we looked at this morning,
we're sinners. We're sinners, but You came,
Lord Jesus. You came to save sinners. And
the scriptures declare the just shall live by faith, the guiltless,
the innocent. But oh, what a cost. What a cost,
Lord Jesus, is the cost, the shedding of your precious blood
on Calvary's tree, which you, when you died as a substitute
for your people. And we who believe, we just,
we praise your name for your goodness and mercy and grace
to us for saving our eternal souls by the shedding of your
precious blood. May you be glorified and magnified
in Jesus name. Amen. Turn in your hymnals with me.
In closing this evening, number 52, Majestic Sweetness, Sits
Enthroned. Number 52, let's stand. ? Majestic
sweetness sits enthroned ? ? Upon the Savior's
crown ? ? They sing with me ? For this world is split with grace
or flow ? ? Is split with grace or flow ? ? No mortal man can
compare ? ? Among the sons of men ? Their work is sweet, they
hold the prayer, Who fill the heavenly tray. Who fill the heavenly tray. He saw me plunge in heavy stress,
and bloom to my relief. For me, He bore the sin of lust
and carried all my grief, and carried all my grief. To him I owe my life and breath
and all the joys I've had. He makes me triumph over death
and saves me from the grave. and saves me from the grave.