Christ, and how you've saved
us, and how you continually save us, and how you're going to save
us, and then give us faith to believe it. We pray this in Christ's
name, for his sake. Amen. All right, take your Bibles
and turn with me to Romans, chapter 4. Romans, chapter 4. The text will be found in verse
17, Through verse 25, let's read this together. Scripture says,
as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations. Before him whom he believed,
even God, who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things
which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in
hope. that he might become the father
of many nations, according to that which was spoken. So shall
thy seed be. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead. When he was about a
hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb,
he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God. and being fully persuaded
that He, what He had promised, He was able to perform. And therefore it was imputed
to Him for righteousness. Now it was not written for His
sake alone that it was imputed to Him, but for us also, to whom
it shall be imputed if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead. who was delivered for our offenses,
who was raised again for our justification." Now the title
of the message this evening is, What Faith Is. What Faith Is. The apostle has made it very
clear of the necessity of faith. The doctrine of justification
of faith declares the necessity of And so this evening I want
us to look at what it is by the example given to us of Abraham. Now, thus far we have clearly
seen that all justification of sinners is through faith. All
justification of sinners is through faith without works. Behold for a minute the anchor
of all who believe on Jesus Christ. is this, that He by Himself established
law. He by Himself justified us before
God, obtained our righteousness and our redemption all by Himself. That's the anchor of our faith.
That's the object of our faith, is Christ. Therefore, Paul says
in chapter 3 and verse 26, we declare We declare this. Make sure I get this right. I'm
sorry. There it is. Chapter 3 and verse
26. He says, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness.
That's what we preach, isn't it? His righteousness. Not yours.
I preach His righteousness. Why? That God might be just and
the justifier of a very specific group of people. The him which
believeth in Jesus. And this gospel, therefore, Paul
goes in these next three things, he shows us a chain of events
of things that this gospel of justification does. It excludes
boasting. There's no boasting in this gospel.
You get no glory for yourself in this. God did all the purpose
and planning. He did all the saving. He did
all the quickening. Even faith is a gift of God. And so there's no boasting. Second
of all, He tells us about this doctrine. He says there's only
one Savior and one way of salvation. There's not two. He says, is
He the God of the Jews only? Now He's also the God of the
Gentiles. Look what He says in verse 30. He says, seeing it is one God
which shall justify. There's only one that justifies,
both Jew and Gentile. And notice this, He justifies
the same way, by faith. He justifies the circumcision
by faith and the uncircumcision through faith, same way. That's what this doctrine declares.
And thirdly, this doctrine declares this, that we've established
the law. The law is established. The law is honored. The law is
magnified as it was done in Christ for us, and as by virtue of our
union with Christ, we ourselves have honored the law. What he
tells us in verse 31, do we then make void the law through faith?
God forbid. Yea, we establish it. We establish the law. How?
By works or faith? Do you establish the law by,
do you honor the law by works? Or do you honor the law by simply
believing on Christ? That's how the law is honored.
You can't honor the law by your works. He's already established
that. So now in chapter 4, We see that all who believe on
Jesus Christ, he uses Abraham as the eminent type. Abraham
is the eminent type of everyone who believes. That's why God
calls him the father of us all. Because he is nationally, genetically,
the father of the Jew. But really, in spirituality,
he is the father of both Jew and Gentile. Those who are born
again of the Spirit. He's the eminent type. And so
he says this, that Abraham was not justified by works. In verse
2 he said, If Abraham were justified by works, he had wear of the
glory, but not before God. For what saith the scripture,
Abraham believed God in what? It was counted to him for righteousness. So, how was Abraham justified? Well, the same way you're justified.
Same way. By faith. God imputes, God charges
you with the righteousness of Christ even because He gives
you the righteousness of Christ. He gives it to you. And so we
now and forever have all the blessings. Then he goes in verse
5, verse 6, he talks about what David says about this blessed
justification by faith. He said David described this
blessedness unto the man that God imputeth righteousness." You see, God has imputed righteousness
to you. That word impute is very important,
it means charge you. He said you're righteous. God
says that. Now is He pretending? Can God
pretend someone's righteous when they're not? Is that just to
say you're righteous and you're not? No. You're righteous because
He has made us righteous. In that new birth, He has given
us the very righteousness of Christ. And so that's how He can charge
you with righteousness. He's given it to you. Forgiveness
of sins. Here's another blessedness. Constant,
perpetual forgiveness. You that are justified by faith,
you are perpetually forgiven. Now can you name all your sins
today? Can you name them all? Did you count them? Can you number
them? Can you even remember them? And
yet God has already forgiven you your trespasses. Now I confess,
I don't know them all. But I know this if we confess
our sin. Look, I confess this, my nature
is sin. My old man, that's all he is
is sin. I confess that. And he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins. The third blessing is this, he
will not impute sin to you. That's what David said. He says
in verse 8 that the blessed is the man to whom the Lord will
not impute sin. He will not charge you with sin.
Why? Because there is no sin to charge you with. Again, is
God pretending? He's not pretending. God took your sin, made Christ
to be sin for us who knew no sin, that you might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. And so this is how he does it.
This is the blessedness. So what we're talking about is
justification. It is obtained by Christ. It
is received by faith in Christ. And those who are justified are
blessed. You're blessed just like Abraham
was. And notice this in verse 13.
This is a promise to you. You who are justified by faith.
Look at this. You're heir of the world. You are an heir of
the world. That's what he gave Abraham,
wasn't it? Look, for the promise that he should be heir of the
world. Now, I know you kind of chuckled
when I said that. See, faith lays hold on that. Faith lays hold on that because
that's so. This planet is mine. It's mine. God's not going to
give it to me as it is right now. But I tell you this, when He
cleans it up and there is no more sin in it, it's mine. It's yours. And just as much
yours who believe as it is mine. It's ours. Why? Because we are
heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ. We are heirs
of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Now I know it appears
that we have so little. Believers, we have so little
in this world. Many believers are so poor they
can't feed themselves. We live in a place that we have
food, but there are people in this world, there are God's people
in this world who have no money that can't feed themselves. They
have no home. They own no land in this world. You know, Abraham owned not a
stitch of land in this world except when he bought the place
he was buried in. Yet, I tell you this, to the
day he died, he believed this whole world was his. But why? God swore it was. And by faith
he believed God. He didn't believe what he saw.
He didn't believe the deeds he owned in this world. Didn't trust
in them. Didn't trust in his money. Didn't
trust in anything. He trusted God's word about this. And so it is with us. By faith
then we see that we are heirs of the world. That's the only
way you're going to see it. You see it by faith. That we
are heirs not by works. That word heir in this text right
here, in this verse here, it has to do with a son. It's not
an inheritance that's given out to other people. It's only an
inheritance that's given to the son. And my children need not do anything
to receive what I have. They don't do anything. They're
my children. What I have is theirs. How much more is it with God
if we are the sons of God? Look at Galatians. Now look over
Galatians chapter 4 for a second. Look at Galatians 4. Do you ever wonder why you're a
son? Or why you believe? Do you ever wonder why you believe?
You believe because you are a son. Now, you don't believe to become
a son. That's what the world religion
thinks. Throw that out. They say, well, if you believe,
you can become a son of God. No, no, no. You believe because
you're already a son. Look at this in Galatians 4. Let's look at verse 4, it says,
But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, what'd
God do? He sent forth the Spirit of His
Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. That's why He sent
the Spirit to you, because you are a son. You were always a
son. And if a son, then what? An heir. And joint heir with Jesus Christ. So consider that you're not a
son because you believe, you believe because you're a son.
And you're a son, what does that mean? You receive the same inheritance
as Abraham. And so now in verse 16 of our
text, go back there, look at this. Paul begins a conclusion
here in verse 16. He said, therefore, it is of
faith. So how are we justified? By faith. Well, how does faith come? That
by grace. How'd you believe? Well, faith
was not a product of our will, it's not a product of our human
nature, it is a grace of God. Now why is this so important?
Because if justification is by grace, and even our faith to
receive it is by grace, then what? Why is this important?
Notice why it's important, look at what he says, to this end,
that the promise might be sure. to all the seed. That the promise might be sure.
If salvation in any measure was left up to a cooperative effort, it would never be sure. You could
never be sure it was enough. You that believe, how can you
be so sure it's enough? Because it was by faith and that
by grace. That's how you know Because it's
not by works. It was by the work of Christ,
by faith in Christ, and even our faith was a gift of God's
grace. Therefore, what's the conclusion?
My salvation is secure. It's secure. It can't be moved.
It can't change. Our salvation, listen to this,
Your salvation is so secure, it is as secure as the glory
and the throne of God. Your salvation is as secure as
the glory and the throne of God. The apostle asked that question,
who shall separate us from the love of God that's in Christ
Jesus? He said, neither tribulation,
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, nor sword, angel, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things to present, nor things
to come, nor height, nor depth. And if I have missed anything,
any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love
of God that is in Christ Jesus. The salvation that we have is
immutable. That word means unchangeable. It cannot be altered by anything
or circumstance. Yet now, in this present state,
we are still often fearful. In dark providences we are made
to doubt. I don't know. I don't doubt God's
goodness to you. I don't doubt your salvation
is secure. But in dark providences it's
mine I'm worried about. I know you feel the same. Don't worry, you're in good company. Remember Psalm 73? I think it's
a great, great one if you ever feel like you're alone in this
doubting business. Remember what Asa said? He said,
I know God's good to Israel, but as for me, I don't know. We are often cast down and distraught But my justification is sure
regardless of my fear and doubt. My fear and doubt have nothing
to do with this justification. It will not move it. It does
not change it. Why? My justification is sure
because it was purposed of God. It was by the will of the Father,
by the power of God. It was my God who purposed to
give it to me, it was my God that accomplished it, and it's
my God that applied it. It will be my God that keeps
it. So salvation of all who believe
is tied, infinitely tied, to the honor and glory of God. Go
to Hebrews 6. I want you to see this. You've
got to hold on to this because in the times of darkness, this
is where you don't feel, you don't see any light at all. It's necessary for you to find
some footing. This is it. Here's some footing
right here. And God intended it to be this way. Let's see. Look at verse 12.
We begin there. He said, that you be not slothful,
but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the
promise. He's encouraging them to continue in faith. You need
to be encouraged, you should be encouraged to continue in
faith. Don't be slothful in faith. But follow them who through patience
and trouble and tribulation and trial they endured. They endured. Follow them. For when God made
promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he
swore by himself, saying, Surely, blessing, I will bless thee. In multiplying, I will multiply
thee. And so after he had patiently
endured, he obtained the promise. For men barely swear by a greater,
and an oath of confirmation is to them them an end of strife. Isn't that true? You take two
people, they have an oath, they make a covenant, they make a
pact, and that's the end of strifing. If they're honest men, that should
be the end of strife. He used that as an illustration.
How much more the covenant of God? Now look what God says,
wherein God, willing more abundantly to show
to the heirs of promise, two things, God is willing to show
you two attributes of His on which your salvation depends.
Look at this. Two immutable things. His counsel
and confirmed it by an oath. That by two immutable things. in which it's impossible for
God to lie. We might have a strong consolation.
Two immutable things. You that are justified by faith,
you are justified by the immutable counsel of God. God determined
to justify you. In blessing, I will bless thee. That's what he says to you. In
multiplying, I will multiply thee. Who's doing the blessing
and who's doing the multiplying? God says, I'm going to do it.
I'm going to do it. It's my will that you be justified. Is there anything to move the
will of God? What did God say in Isaiah 46?
He said, I am God and there is none else. declaring the end
from the beginning, from ancient times of things not yet done,
saying this, my counsel shall stand, and I'm going to do everything
I please. Don't you see that everything
that's happening is the pleasure of God? Everything. No chaos. To you it's chaos. There's no chaos. You imagine looking out over
this and seeing the order of it? You'd be astounded as to
what the order of all things. God ordered all things according
to His counsel. And who's involved in this counsel?
Did He ask you? Did He ask you what you thought
He should do? No, God does what He wills. And
what his will is to you that believe is to justify him, to
save you. That was his will. And if that
was not enough, he included another immutable thing, his oath. Now
why would God have to swear anything? You and I should have to swear.
We do it all the time. You know, somebody comes to us,
we say something almost impossible to believe. We say, no, I swear.
Well, OK, well, since you swore, I guess maybe that makes it a
little bit better. Still might not be true. We might have false information
thinking it's true and we swore. And then somebody had to come
back later, you lied. I said, yeah, I didn't mean to. I just
had some bad information. When God swears, He cannot lie. So to you who believe, is there
anything to move God's counsel or His oath? Why did he give
that? Why did he do it that way? So
that you and I, who are weak, might have strong comfort. I'll tell you what, we need a
strong comfort. I need something that really doesn't move. I moved
about easily as a leaf in the wind. And I need something strong. Well, that's it. I can stand
on this. I can stand on this, and you
should stand on this. Look, He says, now He says, strong consolation
to a specific group, to you who have fled for refuge to lay hold
upon the hope set before us. Isn't this what we've done? You who believe, you've fled
the law, haven't you? You've fled from works, you've
fled from self-righteousness, and you laid hold on that hope.
Who is that? That's Jesus. He's the hope. When somebody
preached to you, he set forth hope. You needed hope. You didn't have any hope. And
somebody said, look, here's hope. And you forsook everything and
laid hold of that hope. You laid hold of Him, Christ,
which hope we have as an anchor for our soul. Look at this. both sure and immutable. Man, how do you know you're going
to heaven, Glenn? How in the world are you ever
going to have any hope of heaven? My anchor is my hope. God's counsel
is my hope. God's oath is my hope. I've got a strong hope. and which is within the veil. When Christ entered in with his
own blood, what was God's response? He rent that veil into, and now
the way is what? It's open. Therefore, being justified
by faith, Paul's gonna conclude this in chapter five, being justified
by faith, what do we have? We have peace with God. We have peace with God. Whereby
we have access. Don't you need access? If God were to fail then to save
one for whom Christ died, his counsel and his oath would be
mutable. His glory and his throne would
fail. But faith lays hold of Christ Faith lays hold of Christ. Faith
rests our souls upon the salvation based upon his oath and his counsel
that cannot fail. And all who are given faith to
see this understand therefore the necessity of faith enduring. I know the necessity of enduring
faith. Faith in the scripture, I've
told you this many times, is present tense for a very important
reason. Faith ten minutes ago is not
going to help me. And faith ten minutes from now
is not going to help me. I need faith when? Now. And what? Now. And now. And now. And I need faith until the day
I leave this world and faith is lost in sight, I need faith.
Well, who's going to keep me in that faith? What's my hope
that faith is going to endure? The oath and counsel of God. God swore to keep me. And so you that are believers
in Jesus Christ, now I'm going to look at a few things here
about what faith is according to our text. Look at verse 17
again in your text. It says, As it is written, I
have made thee father of many nations. That's a promise of
God to Abraham. Before him whom he believed. The first thing about all true
faith is this, it believes God. It believes God. Wasn't this
the first response of Abraham to the promise? When God came
to Abraham in his pagan, idolatrous religion, and God quickened his
soul, and he said, I am thy God. I will bless you. I will make
you heir of the world. I will make you father of many
nations. What was his first response?
He believed God. He believed God. All who have true faith, listen,
we don't believe in God. The devils believe in God. Lost men believe in God. Listen to this, we believe God. Whatever God said and whatever
God promised Whoever God says He is, we believe God. We believe God. When God gave
His promise to Abraham, he immediately looked to God alone to fulfill
it. Isn't this true? When God gives us a promise,
who are we looking to fulfill it? We look to God. Why? He gave it. He gave the
promise. And if it's going to happen,
we believe God must fulfill it. And so as we believe God, the
first thing I want you to see is Abraham believed God was his
father. Look at your text again. He said,
As it is written, I will make thee the father of many nations.
Now, the margin rating of this, it reads like this. As it is
written, I have made thee the father of many nations, like
unto him whom he believed, even God. He said, I will make you
a father just like me. God was his father. God told
him, I'm your father, and I'm going to make you a father like
me. And so this is what we believe.
When we believe God, we believe God is our father. God is our
father. and all our salvation, all of
it, is rooted in the election of our Father. All of our salvation
and our faith is rooted, the root of all of our salvation
is rooted in eternity, isn't it? In the purpose and will of God
our Father. Remember, that's who the Apostle
blesses in Ephesians 1. He said, blessed be who? The
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because our Father blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
That's our Father did that. According as our Father had chosen
us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy. Well, who chose you to be holy? It was our Father that
did that. In love, our Father predestinated
us under the adoption of children. And our Father purposed it be
by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,
the praise of the glory of His grace. So we believe that God
is our Father, and it was God who chose us. That's what we
believe. We believe God. Why? Because God said, I chose
you. Our Lord Jesus said that to His disciples. You have not
chosen me. I have chosen you. Secondly, true faith believes
in the resurrection from the dead. Look what else he says.
He believed in God as his father. Like him whom he believed, even
God, listen, who quickeneth the dead. Abraham believed God was
able to quicken the dead. He believed God was his Father
and able to quicken the dead. Now, I know this. We who believe
know this about ourselves. We were born dead. There's no doubt about that.
In my soul, I know that to be true. God's Word declares it
to be true, and I know it to be true. I know that I was dead
when my father Adam sinned, and being dead, I could not and would
not ever come to Christ. But I'll tell you what, this
knowledge of my decease, my demise, was not given to me till I lived. Solomon said, the dead man knoweth,
knoweth, knoweth, doesn't know anything anymore. He's dead.
You can sit there and read a book to a dead man, and he's not going
to gain any more knowledge. He's dead. Now, it's altogether
different if he rises from the dead. What's the first thing
you know that when God quickened you? When God quickened you,
the first thing you know, I was dead. I was dead. And so before that moment, I
was unwilling and unable to believe on Christ. Yet now at the appointed
time, God sent a man to preach the gospel. And now what? I believe. I believe on Christ. I believe
on Christ. I trust Christ. All my sanctification,
all my righteousness, all my justification, I believe Christ.
I come to Christ. When God quickened me, I fell
at his feet. And he spoke peace to me. I thought
he was going to speak something else. When I came with all my
sin and I laid before his feet, I surely thought he was going
to say some harsh things. I did. I condemned myself. The law of God condemned me.
And I thought he was going to condemn me. That's not what he
did, did he? He spoke peace. He spoke peace
to my heart. And I who was dead am now alive."
Therefore, true faith knows this. God is able to quicken the dead. He's my Father. He chose me. I didn't choose
Him. And I know this. He alone was able to quicken
the dead. Jesus said, the hour is coming,
and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of
God. What's going to happen? They that hear shall live. They that hear shall live. So
true faith, then, by the experience of grace, knows this, that God
alone is able to raise the dead. You have people that you love
who are dead, don't you? All your tears and all your pleading,
all your crying cannot give them life. All your begging cannot give
them life. There is only one who can give
life, God. There is no way to earn this
life. It is a gift of grace. And we
who believe know that He alone is able. Remember the dry bones
in Ezekiel. What a beautiful picture. Man
of God sent out and he said, Go and look at those bones out
there. Valley full of them. Just walking
all over them and they're dry. Ain't got no life at all. Scattered
all over the desert. And God asked a very peculiar
question. He said, son of man, can these
bones live? He said, you know. In other words, if they're going
to live, you have to know. If you will it so, it will be
so. And if you don't, they'll just
lay there. I look out and see so many without
life. I see religious men boasting
in their works, their morality, and yet dead. I see wicked men
indulging themselves in the pleasures of the flesh and the things of
the world Can these bones live? Yes. Yes, they can. But there's only
one who can give life. That's what Abraham knew. He
was thinking about his body. God said, you're going to have
a son, Abraham. Abraham looked at his old, wrinkled, dead body,
and he said, look, you're going to have to do something. His
body's dead. Looked at his wife, and he said,
look, there ain't nothing in there. Yet, listen to me. He believed
God, and so do we. I know this. God has a people. They're scattered like those
dry bones. They're out there. They're dry, and they're dead.
But I know this. God will give them life. Who are they? Whoever he will.
Whoever he will, he'll give life. And so that's what we know about
our faith, isn't it? We have life because our Father
was able to raise us from the dead. Thirdly, true faith that
believes in God, believes this, look at what he says in this
next part, and calleth those things which be not as though
they were. Now this speaks of God's eternal
purpose and counsel. Now at the time of this promise,
Abraham had no children. His body was dead. Sarah's womb
was dead. There was no earthly reason or
hope that they should ever have a son. There was no way, earthly speaking,
humanly speaking, these two could ever have a son. They had tried
to have children for 90 years. She was 90 years old. Imagine back then they were married
when they were really young, probably before they were teenagers
they were married. So you gotta figure, 80 years
she's probably been trying to have a kid. 90, 80, 75 years. Nothing! And now they're so old
and past the time. Imagine, Joanne, Lord called
and said, you're gonna have a child. You'd say, It's impossible. Abraham staggered not at the
promise of God. He staggered not at the promise
of God in unbelief. Though his body was dead, yet
we know that though they had not yet experienced it, though
it was not yet done, listen, it was already done in the purpose
and will of God. To God, it was already done.
Now, we see things in time, in order, in a line, if you will. That's how we see things. Really,
the Scriptures help us in this. They put things in order for
us so we can know, we can try to wrap our minds around it.
Like, He chose us in eternity. You see, we've done something
that really we're not supposed to do. We put eternity in time.
We called eternity part of time. And really, we don't understand
eternity. But in the mind and purpose of
God, everything God has determined in eternity past, in His purpose,
it's already done. It's already done. Remember,
I just quoted that in Isaiah 46, declaring the end. When did
He do that? From the beginning. Now this
matter of having Isaac, it was already done. Was there anything
going to stop it? Was there anything that's going
to alter it? Anything going to change it?
Nope. This is the purpose of God. As true faith then looks
to God, and we believe God who quickens the dead, everything God purposed to do,
He will do. That's what Abraham believed.
Everything God purposed to do, though it not yet had been done,
in the purpose of God it was already done. It was settled.
And what does faith do with that? Faith simply believes that. We
receive that. Listen to these promises that
were made before you believed. I will be your God. Now when was that promise made? I will be your God. Speaking to you who believe.
Right now you who believe, this promise was made way before you
ever experienced life or physical life even. Even during your dead natural
state. In the eyes and mind of God,
He was already your God, even though you rejected Him, even
though you hated Him, even though you despised His Word. Yet God
said this, I will be your God. You know what? He was your God.
Now later on you found out He was your God. You experienced
you were His God. And listen, you shall be my people. I will be your God and you shall
be My people. What is God doing? He's calling
those things that be not as though they were. He's not pretending, that's not
what He's saying here. He's not trying to pretend as though they
were. He's saying this, as though it was already done. That's how
He sees it. That's how God sees everything.
As though it's already finished. You and I don't see anything
We don't know what's next. We don't know. But this is sure. You believe God, you believe
this. Everything God purposed to do,
he will do. That's what Abraham believed.
We believe God's our father. He chose us. We believe he quickens
us from the dead. We know that by experience. And
we know this. Everything God says about us
is true. Everything God purposes for us,
he will do. And even so, consider what God
says about what He's going to do. Consider the resurrection
of the saints. You ever think about that? That last day, that
last day when all of the saints shall rise from the dead, our
bodies that have been consumed in the dust will be likened and
fashioned unto His glorious body. Our souls and our bodies will
meet together in the air and we shall forever be with the
Lord. Don't you realize in the mind
and purpose of God that's already done? I haven't experienced that
yet. We will. But know this, I know
it's as good as done. That's what faith does. Faith
lays hold that it's already done. Why? Because that's how God sees
it. God sees it. Listen how God sees you. Grab
a hold to this. Hang on to it. As He is, so are you. right now. Now faith can only receive it. You don't go looking in the mirror
and try to find evidence of that. You must receive that as it is
God's Word. John tells us that. As He is,
so are we in this present world. God sees things as they really
are. And so just as it was, there
was no possibility for Sarah to fail to conceive, there was
no possibility for Christ not to be sent and justify us, there
was no chance that the Spirit of God should fail to quicken
us, and there is no way that he will fail to bring us to himself. Why? Because God calls things
that have not yet been as though they were. Why? Because they're
already done. They're already finished. I know, fourthly, you see this,
true faith believes the Word of God. Look at that in verse 18, he
says, Against hope, he believed in hope, that he might become
the father of many nations, according to as it was spoken, so shall
thy seed be. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body, now dead, when he was a hundred
years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarawum. He staggered not
at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he
had promised he was able to perform." Now, true faith lays hold of
what God promises regardless of the circumstance or the natural
outward things that affect us. Faith lays hold of the promise
of God regardless of outward circumstances. Abraham, by faith, believed God
regardless of what he saw his body. He looked at his body,
there's no hope there. He looked at Sarah, there's no
hope there. Faith laid hold to the promise of God, and that's
what true faith does. Regardless of... You and I are in a constant struggle. I was speaking to a young believer
this morning and they're in a struggle. And it's a common struggle. You
that have been in the faith a long time. Their struggles, you understand. You've been through those struggles. And yet, did it stop? After you
got through that struggle, what was next? Another one? You're
in one right now. If God gives us any life longer,
guess what? There'll be another one following
that one. We struggle! The circumstances don't match
the promises. Listen to this promise. Peace
I give you. My peace. I don't know, but sometimes I
don't feel that peace. I don't feel at peace. My mind
is not at peace. Those around me are not at peace
with me. You see, the promise seems opposed to the circumstance. What does faith do? Faith disregards
the circumstance and lays hold to the promise. I have the peace
of Christ whether I feel it or I don't. I am justified before
God by faith whether I feel it or I don't. And so true faith then lays hold
of the Word of God. Friends, how do I know I'm justified
by faith? Word of God. Abraham believed
the Word of God. What little word he had, that's
what he believed. Look what we have. Look at the
blessing we have. Sixty-six books written over
multiple continents by multiple men who most of them never met
each other, were in different cultures and different kingdoms
all over this world at different times and different centuries.
And yet all this book speaks of one person. Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. That speaks of justification
by faith, salvation by the grace of God through Christ alone. We have the Word of God. And so then what is true faith
to do? It is to disregard, it is to
not stagger at the promise of God in unbelief. That's what
true faith does. lays hold of the promise of God,
not regarding the outward circumstances. And lastly it says, true faith
is never without action. I've said this so many times,
justification is not by works. Paul is very clear, the apostle
is very clear, God is very clear, that justification before God
is without works. Justification by faith is a grace,
a gift of God, no doubt. Yet it is also true that true
faith produces works. There is no doubt about it. There
is no doubt about it. Consider Abraham's faith again.
Abraham, take thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, to
a mount I will show thee, and offer him a sacrifice to me. Consider if Abraham said, I believe,
and never went. What if he used his own reasoning?
Well, you know, I don't think God wants human sacrifice, so
I don't think I'm gonna go. I'll just believe God, and he'll
count that as righteousness, and it'll be okay. True faith that believes God
acts on that faith. It does. True faith works. This is the
whole purpose of the book of James. James is not talking about
justification before God. He's talking about justification
of your faith. And he's not telling you to justify
somebody else's faith. He's not telling you to look
around and see if everybody else is doing right. This is an inward
conversation here. Abraham's faith was justified
by his works. It was proven. Abraham proved
his faith. What Paul said to the Philippian
church, he said, I know thy election. How did he know that? By their
works of faith. That's how he knew it. And so this, if we're to be justified
by faith, is it not important to make sure our faith is true? Remember Pilgrim's Progress ignorance?
Remember him? He went along thinking everything's
fine. Christian came along preaching
the word of God to him, and he just, eh, eh. He justified himself. Justified that he was walking
on this way. This is not the way. You didn't go by the way
of the cross? You didn't come up through this
way? Any old way's fine, as long as I have faith. No. True faith always produces such
works and service out of love for God. And its motivation is the love
of God for us. I'll close with this and see
what true faith looks like. Go to Romans 12. Romans 12. True faith believes
God is our Father. He chose us. He quickened us
from the dead. It was Christ is the object of
our faith. True faith doesn't regard other
things, but true faith also works. Look at this. I beseech you therefore. Now he's come to the end of justification
by faith. He's taken 11 chapters and proved
salvation by grace through faith in Christ. He's come to this,
and he says, because of what I preach to you, I beseech you, I beg you, brethren,
because of the mercies of God, what are you to do? Present your
bodies a living sacrifice. Which is harder, a one-time sacrifice
or a living sacrifice? living sacrifice, constant, perpetual
sacrifice, holy and acceptable. Isn't that what God made you?
Isn't that what God made you? Holy and acceptable? And when you present yourself,
your body, your soul, your possessions, everything you have as a sacrifice
unto God, what is it? It's just reasonable. Isn't it
reasonable? It's just reasonable. Be not
conformed to this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God. Isn't it just reasonable to be
humble? Doesn't the gospel bring us to humility? Isn't that reasonable
for us to be humble? Faith that receives the gospel
knows it. That's reasonable. that I should
be humble. No boasting. It's just reasonable
for us to love one another, isn't it? Isn't that reasonable? Seeing
how much God loved you? Isn't it reasonable then for
us to do good to all? Isn't it reasonable
to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Isn't
that reasonable? Isn't it reasonable to give up
everything you've got for the service of God? Isn't that just
reasonable? What would you withhold? I know this, we always want to
give out of our abundance. Faith demands we give out of
our necessity. Who gave the most that day the
Lord was over the treasury? Who gave the most? The woman
who gave too much, wasn't it? Why? Because she gave everything
she had. Isn't that reasonable? It's just reasonable seeing what
we have, seeing what God promised, seeing what God has given us,
seeing the immutability of His promise to save us. Isn't it
just reasonable? Faith believes it's reasonable.
And so Abraham, he didn't stagger. When God told him to go, what
did he do? He went. When God told him to offer his
son, he offered him. Why? Because he believed God. And so his faith was proven,
wasn't it? What Paul said, make your calling and election, what?
Sure. Is there anything more important?
No. May God cause us to see the faith
that He's given us. Be thankful for it. If you have
true faith in all these things you identify with, give thanks
to God for it. It's just reasonable, isn't it?
It's just reasonable. I pray God will bless you. So let's stand and be dismissed
in prayer. Father, dismiss us with your
blessing and pour out your grace on us, I beg you. I beg you to
show us again what great things Christ has done for us. Cause us to bow before him. Look
in adoration and praise into the face of Christ our Savior
who loved us and gave himself for us. Help us to continue to
lay hold on Him, regardless of what happens in this world. With
ourselves, I beg you to do it in Christ's name.