Right, let's take our Bibles.
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1. Now, faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank You this
evening for this time that we have Lift our heart before You
and thank You and praise You for who You are, for allowing
us the blessed privilege to be able to come together and to
look into Your Word and to hear Your glorious Gospel, the Gospel
of Your blessed Son, the Gospel of God. And we pray that you
would bless this word to our heart and our understanding for
Christ's sake. Amen. This evening, I'd like to just
for a few minutes, I'd like to consider the glorious issue, the truth
of the faith of God's elect. Now what I'm going to say this
evening is by no means and doesn't mean to be, I didn't mean for
it to be and I don't even see myself as even remotely being
able to set forth the fullness of the glorious truth of faith. But I'd like to make and set
forth seven truths concerning faith. And it's going to be just
basically just a statement and then a few comments on each statement. I know that the world in its
false assurance sets forth that it knows and understands faith,
but I'd like to just look into the Lord's Word before we remember
our blessed Lord in the observance of His supper in this blessed
truth about faith. Here's the first truth about
faith, the necessity of it. Hebrews 11 verse 6 says, But
without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh
to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him. Now where faith is missing, I'm
talking about the faith of God's elect, faith which is from above. Where faith, true faith, is missing. Almighty God is not pleased. He's not pleased with anything
concerning a man. Where faith in Christ is not
found, God's not pleased. But where faith is found, that faith which is from the
Lord is richly rewarded. I'll tell you this, you that
believe are richly rewarded in the hearing and the understanding
of God's Word. What a reward! What a blessing! that you believe Him. Man is totally depraved. He is absolutely so polluted
that everything that issues from his person is totally unacceptable
to the thrice holy God. All that are in an unregenerate
state, that is, all who are without faith, all that are totally in the flesh
according to Romans 8.8, cannot please God. They do not and they
cannot. So here is the first thing I
know about faith. It is absolutely necessary without faith. It's
impossible to please God. Here's the second thing. The
source of it. Philippians 1.29 says, For unto
you it is given. And the word that I'm looking
for in this verse concerning this point is the word, given. For it is given in the behalf
of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for
His sake. If a man, if a woman possesses
the faith of God's elect, it is because Almighty God has given
it to him. Because all men, according to
2 Thessalonians 3, 2, have not faith. Well, knowing the necessity of
faith and the source of faith, which is Almighty God. Here's
the third point. The avenue by which it comes. It comes one way. Romans 10,
17 says, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
Word of God. Faith continually comes through
the hearing of the gospel of God, through His Word. The faith by which you believe
right now, right now, right now, just came. It is brand new. It cometh. It cometh. It cometh. You are not believing
right now by yesterday's faith. faith cometh by hearing." All
the Scriptures speaks of Christ and reveals Him who is the well-pleasing
Son. No one can believe in an unrevealed
Savior. And no one truly believes on
the Son of God who doesn't believe the gospel of God's grace. Faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Why? Why
is it absolutely necessary to continue, to continue, to continue
to hear? Because faith cometh by hearing. You hear the Scriptures. You
hear the Scriptures expounded. You hear Christ revealed in the
Scriptures. And in those Scriptures, He is
revealed. And the revelation of Him, the
Spirit of God blesses. And God Almighty gives faith. Faith cometh. Here's the fourth
truth, the object of faith. Hebrews 12, 2 says, Looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Faith of God's elect has one object. It is never looking
to the self-righteous works of man's ability. True faith never
looks to what a man has done, a man as he has fallen, fallen
man in Adam. It never looks to anything that
you've done to merit, to establish, to maintain, A righteousness
before God. Faith never looks to that. The
world says, I know I am saved because I just fill in the blank. Faith of God's elect never says
that. The faith of God's elect says this, I believe God. I believe the report that God
has given concerning His Son. I believe that Almighty God,
in His infinite mercy and grace, chose to set His faction at mercy
on me. I believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ, the everlasting surety, the Husband of God's elect, He
who has ever stood And that covenant of grace and mercy has stood
for me. And God Almighty saved me because
it pleased Him to do so. That's it. Salvation is of the
Lord. And I'll tell you, every believer
that comes to Him, that is the shepherd, they come as a poor,
needy, self-condemned sinner and they say, of themselves,
just as the disciples said when it appeared as though that the
sea was raging around them and about to come into the boat.
They said in Matthew 8, 25, Lord, save us, we perish. Here's the fifth truth, the evidence
of faith. James 2, 20 says, but wilt thou
know O vain man, that faith without works is dead." We looked at
this a little bit the other day. But the works that James speaks
of are not the works of righteousness that establishes a merit for
a man before Almighty God. In Titus 3, 5, Paul the Apostle
set forth under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing
of the Holy Ghost. Works of righteousness that establish
a righteousness before God, works of righteousness that establish
righteousness before God has been accomplished by one. Works
of righteousness. It's not by works of righteousness. But the works that James is talking
about, works that evidence true faith. Faith without works is
dead, being alone. Now you know he's talking about
something. Works that evidence true faith.
And I thought this through before I wrote this down. And to be real honest with you,
I asked the Lord to give me a mind to write this down because I
wanted to know. But after reading all that I
could read on it and looking, this is what I I truthfully feel
is the right answer. The works that evidence true
faith are the responses of the new heart that long and strive
after obedience toward God, but all the while possess the knowledge
that to will is present with me, but how to perform that which
is good I find not. you come to hear the Gospel because
you have a heart to hear the Gospel. And all the while, while
you hear the Gospel, you come to the conclusion of it and you
say, oh, that I could have heard as I ought. Oh, that I could
have concentrated as I should have. I say of myself, standing
here preaching, Why does my mind wander? The will is present with me,
but I'm telling you the works of God's elect, their strivings
after obedience, because they love the Lord. They do love Him. We love Him because He first
loved us. We do love Him. And we do follow
Him. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. Almighty God has set forth in
the Scriptures that there is an evidence of faith and it manifests
itself. A believer walks after the Spirit. Does he walk, I mean, in absolute,
perfect, unwavering obedience? No. You know he doesn't. And
he strives every day. He sees the old beast of his old nature that wars against
the law of his new mind, strives together, hates it. But I'll
tell you, God's people are obedient people. They do long after Christ. They do hunger after Him. They pray. And all the while
they pray, they'll come to the end of that prayer, and I'll
guarantee you they will have this conclusion, oh, that He
would not deal with me on the consistency and the sincerity. He was sincere, but oh, how much struggling they have with what
to say. They're just honest people. That's
a believer. They're honest. They'll admit
what they are. That's the evidence of faith. Sixthly, the proof of it. You say, well, wouldn't you say
that the evidence of faith which is works? Faith without works
is dead, but what's the proof of it? 1 Peter 1.7 says that
the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold
that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found
unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The trial of your faith, being
much more precious than gold, though it be tried with fire.
You know, you take pure gold. Pure gold. Pure gold. 24 karat gold. And you put 24
karat gold, pure gold, in the hottest fire, and do you know
that if it's pure, you'll lose nothing, but you'll gain nothing. It's pure. But faith. Holy faith. That's how the Scripture
is. Holy faith. Faith which is above. Faith of God's elect will be
shown to increase and abound in God's mercy and sustaining
grace. Trials prove The faithfulness
of God to His people. That's what trials prove. The
faithfulness of Almighty God. Listen to David in Psalm 119.75. I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments
are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. that the faith that you possess,
the proof of the faith that you possess, is that God keeps you. He's faithful. Faithful to keep. Is it real? He said, I will never
leave you. I will never forsake you. If Almighty God has given you
faith to believe, how do you know that it's real? You'll endure
to the end because you're kept by the power of God through faith. That's the proof of it. The proof
is that you don't leave. Is the proof of faith that you
never suffer? Oh, no. No, no, no. We suffer. If you be without chastisement,
you know, trials and tribulation, this life is not a bed of roses. The proof that God has given
you faith from above is that He keeps you, maintains you,
and you believe Him. You believe Him. In those Scriptures,
faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. Those Scriptures
come back and the Spirit of God reminds you of the things that
the Lord has said. And those Scriptures become precious
to you, maintain you. In the midst of trials, the buffeted
soul may seem for a while to give way. But the Lord is faithful to His
own. He comes in the surety of His presence and He speaks comfortably
to His people. You watch and see, in time, the
afflicted saint will say, Micah 7, 7 and 8, Therefore, I will
look unto the Lord. I will wait for the God of my
salvation. My God will hear me. Rejoice
not against me, O mine enemies. When I fall, I shall arise. When
I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me." The greatest
comfort that you've got is that Almighty God is not going to
forsake you. The proof of it. And then seventhly and lastly,
the comfort of faith. Romans 3.28, Therefore we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. It's not faith that justifies. As I said before, faith believes
that God Almighty has justified His people freely by His grace. Faith believes that. Faith receives that report that
Almighty God has given that states that they are justified in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's elect ascribe all honor
and glory and praise unto the Lord Jesus Christ who has eternally
stood as their surety. He bore their guilt. He earned for them and imputed
to them a righteousness that will forever answer to the law
of God, being joined to Him. Believers are accepted in the
Beloved, and in Him we are comforted. We go through trials. Problems? We have trouble. But a believer will sit there
and muse upon this truth. Almighty God has justified me. Who will lay any charge to my
account? If God has justified me, What
fear do I have? Faith. Precious faith. Faith that is from above. Faith without which no man is
going to please God. I believe God. If I can truthfully
say that with a true heart, I am a blessed man. May the Lord add
His blessings. on the truth concerning the preciousness
of His faith.