Alright, turn back with me to
Romans 1. We're going to have a word study
tonight. We're going to look at the word
faith. Alright? Romans 1, and our text
is going to be verse 17, but in verse 16 Paul said, I'm not
ashamed to preach the gospel of Christ. Verse 17 says, For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith. I'm not ashamed to preach the
gospel of Christ, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith. Therein, in the preaching of
the gospel, The righteousness, the rightness, the goodness,
the holiness of God, of Christ, of His walk through this earth,
of His work on the cross, every bit of that is revealed in the
preaching of the gospel. Every bit of it. Everything we
need to know is revealed in the preaching of the word. From faith
to faith, it says in verse 17, as it is written, the just shall
live by faith. The just shall live by faith. Our Lord has said a lot about
faith, a lot. That phrase alone, the just shall
live by faith, He said that exact phrase four times in the Word.
He said it in Habakkuk 2.4. He said it right here in Romans
1.17. He said it in Galatians 3.11.
And He said it in Hebrews 10.38. Four times. The just shall live
by faith. He wrote a whole chapter in the
book of Hebrews on this subject. Chapter 11. He made statements to sinners
like this, Daughter, be of good comfort,
thy faith hath made thee whole. He told His apostles, His very
own apostles, O ye of little faith. He asked this question. This
is in Luke 18 verse 8. He said, When the Son of Man
cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Shall he find faith? Faith is vital to a believer. It's vital. It's absolutely vital. Our text says the just shall
live by faith. Now here's our question tonight,
okay? What does that mean? What does
that mean? The just shall live by faith. What does that mean? What is
faith? Ask somebody that. How do you
put it into words? It's kind of hard to describe,
isn't it? What is faith? Where does it
come from? How do we get it? Why do we need it? How much do
we need? And how is it performed? All
right? First, turn with me to Hebrews
11. Hebrews chapter 11. All right, what is faith? Hebrews 11 verse 1 says this,
Now faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is two things. It's a substance and it's an
evidence. That's what faith is, it's two
things. It says, faith is the substance, and that word substance
means confidence. It's the confidence in what we
hope for. That's what it is. Alright, you
hope for something that you do not have. You hope for something
you don't have. If you have it, you don't hope
for it. If you have it, you don't need faith. You hope for something
that you don't have. Faith is confidence in what you
hope for. All right? Now listen to this.
It's not the confidence in your ability to hope for it. You know, we say, well, I just
need to have more faith. I mean, that's all it is. And
what we mean by that is, I just got to dig a little deeper inside
me. That ain't it. That's not it. Faith is the confidence
in what you hope for. It's not the confidence in your
ability to hope for it. Alright, the emphasis here and
the object is not me. It's what I hope for. Now let
me ask this question. Why on this earth did you sit
down in that pew just a minute ago? Why did you do that? The reason you did is because
you had confidence in the fact that that pew would hold you.
Your subconscious told you, that'll hold me. It's okay if I sit in
this. That's why you sat in the pew. Your confidence was not in your
ability to sit in the pew. It was in the pew. Does that
make sense? Now I'm standing up here looking
at all of you right now. How do I know that you have confidence
in that pew? That confidence is an inward
thing. You did not out loud walk in
and say, I have confidence in the pew. How can I know that
you trusted in that pew? You're sitting in it. You're resting in it. You see
that? What is faith? It is confidence
in the object and it's an evidence of that confidence. That's what
faith is. James said this, I'll show you
my faith. Go over to James chapter 2, it's
just a couple of pages over. James chapter two. Look at verse 17, he says, even
so faith, if it hath not works is dead being alone. It really is. Verse 18, Yea,
a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Well, James
says, Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee
my faith by my works. I trust in the pew. I do. I really
do. I'm telling you I do. I just
don't know how else to say it. I do. I trust in the pew. Then
sit in it. That's what he's saying. Sit
in it. Rest in it. Take a load off. All right, now, that's what faith
is. Now, here's the next question.
Where does faith come from? Where does faith come from? Where
does it originate? Where is the source of it? All right, go to Galatians chapter
two. Galatians chapter two and look
at verse 16. It says, knowing that a man is
not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of
Jesus Christ. Now, he goes on to say right
here, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law.
For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. You see
that? Look at verse 20. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live, the just shall live, by the faith
of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Look
at chapter 3, verse 22. But the Scripture hath concluded
all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe. All faith is Jesus Christ's faith. All faith that exists, it's His
faith. Hebrews 12, 2 says He is the
author of it, right? He is the source of it. It originates
with Him. All faith, this faith that we
always talk about, we always need it. It originates with Him. It does not originate nor can
it be found in a natural man. It cannot be found. I was watching
Whitney Houston a few years ago on Good Morning America. And she had gone through some
drug problems and then she had gotten clean and they asked her, What got you
through all that? All those hard times, what got
you through all that? She said, my faith got me through
it. And I know exactly what she means.
But here's the problem. It cannot be found inside a natural
man or woman. It does not exist. It is not
there. Well, my problem is I just don't
have enough faith. I just got to have more faith.
It's not there. It does not exist. You know, dig deep and find your
faith. You don't have any. You don't have any. None. He
is the source of it. It all originates with Him. All right, now turn to Ephesians
chapter 2. A couple of pages over, Ephesians
chapter 2. Verse 8 says, For by grace are
ye saved through faith, and that is not of yourselves. It's not
there. It's not there. It's not lying
dormant within you, waiting for you to stir it up. It's not there.
It's not of yourselves. It's not created there. Jesus
Christ creates faith. He is where it comes from. Alright,
so now faith is confidence in the object of the faith. It's
evidence of that confidence. And faith is only created by
Jesus Christ. Alright, now let's ask this question.
How do we get it? If it is not there, if it's nothing
there, how do we get it? We need it, how do we get it?
Ephesians 2.8 says, For by grace are ye saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. It's the gift
of God. It's His faith, it's His gift. All we can do is receive it. We don't even have the choice
of whether or not we want to accept it. We're going to accept
it. All we can do is receive it.
If He gives it, we're going to receive it. So this confidence
in Christ is actually the confidence of Christ. It's not even my confidence. Does that make sense? The confidence
I have is not even my confidence. It's the confidence of Christ.
And if we're going to have it, He must give it to us. Alright, now, let's listen to
this. How do we get it from Him? He must give it to us. How do
we receive it? How do we get it? Romans 10. Alright, let's go to Romans 10. Romans 10 verse 17 says, so then
faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We're about to see how vital
faith is. And if we have any hope of receiving
it and increasing in it, We must come hear the word of God preached. It's just the truth. I don't
say that because I'm the preacher. I say that because it's God's
truth. It's what he said. It's what he wrote. Our faith
will not increase through our experiences. We have a lot of
experiences. You know, we have death-defying
experiences, and then everybody's found religion, and, you know,
I've got, I'm a new man. It's just not so. It just can't
happen that way. It will not increase through our personal
learning and study, and that is a wonderful thing to do. That's
a good and vital thing to do, personal learning and study.
But it will not increase that way. If we want to receive more
faith, it will only come through the hearing of the Word of God. That's what the Lord God said.
That's it. Alright, so faith is confidence,
faith is evidence of that confidence, faith is of Christ, it must be
given, and it comes by hearing. Alright, now, why do we need
it? We know we don't have it. We
know what it is. We know He gives it. But here's
the question. Why do we need it? Really? Alright, the simple answer is
because we're sinners. That's why. Ephesians 2 verse 1 says
we're dead in our trespasses and sins. But our text in Romans
1 says the just shall live by faith. And you hath He quickened
who were dead, but that just shall live by faith." We're saved
through it. Ephesians 2.8, we just read it.
By grace are you saved through faith. We're saved through it. We're saved by grace through
faith. That's how a sinner is saved.
Grace saved us. Christ saved us. Christ is the
grace of God. He is the gift of God. Right? Grace is gift. Jesus Christ is
the gift. Christ saved us. Faith is the
confidence and the evidence of that. We're saved by grace through
faith. Now, here's a little illustration
for you, okay? Two men have to flee for their
lives. No choice. They've got to get
on a ship. They both get on the ship. One
has been around the water his whole life, grew up on the water.
The other one, this is his very first time at sea. The ocean
lover, he's standing out in the front of the ship just riding
the waves. The new guy is down below, curled
up in a corner, scared to death he's going to drown. Alright? Now, which one is going to make
it to land safely? Which one of those two is going
to make it to land safely? The one that has great faith
in the ship or the one that has little faith in the ship? They're either both going to
make it to land or they're neither going to make it to land. Their arrival safely on that
other shore has nothing to do with their faith. And it has
everything to do with that ship. If the ship is able they're able,
right? Grace is that ship. Christ is that ship. Faith put them in the ship. Does that make sense? We're saved by grace through
faith. They got on the ship. None of that is of ourselves.
It's all a gift of God. If we get on the ship, God put
us on the ship. It's His faith, right? It starts
with Him. It's given to us. But when He
gives it, we get on the ship. We do. The grace is a gift. The faith is a gift. And faith
is a vital, vital substance to a believer. Because the just,
that means the justified, those whom He shed His blood for and
paid the debt of their sins, and now they're justified. The
justified in Jesus Christ shall live by faith. That confidence
caused both of them to get in the ship. You know, that guy
who'd never been at sea, if he didn't think that ship was going
to make it, he wouldn't have got on that ship. He'd think, I'll just stay
here and die. Right? That confidence is what put him
on the ship. We must have faith. We need it.
Now, go back with me to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 verse 2 says, By faith
we obtain a good report. That's what it says. By this
faith the elders and all of God's people obtained a good report. Now our kids, they come home
with report cards on what they've done. That's
what that report card is. This is what your child has done,
right? All right. Well, what must I do to be saved? What must I do to get a good
report? Here's the answer. Have confidence
in the Lord Jesus Christ and show evidence of that confidence. He said, what must I do to be
saved? And he said, believe. Have confidence in the Lord Jesus
Christ and show evidence of that confidence. What must I do? Believe, have
faith. Verse 3 right here in Hebrews
11 says, Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by
the Word of God. And it was not a big bang that
caused a germ that turned into a tadpole, that turned into a
monkey, that turned into a me. So that things which are seen
were not made of things which do appear. The reason we don't
believe in evolution is because of faith. That's it. Through this faith, we understand
the works of God. We need it. We need it. We cannot
be without it. We cannot be without it. Here's why. Verse six says, Hebrews
11, verse six says, without faith, it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him. So we need it. We must have it. Alright, now let's ask this question.
How much do we need? How much do I need? Because his
apostles asked him, Lord, Increase our faith. Increase it, okay? How much do we need? Turn with
me to Luke 17. Luke 17, and look at verse 5. And the apostles said unto the
Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If you had
faith as the grain of a mustard seed, which is, if not the smallest,
one of the smallest seeds on earth. If you had faith as the
grain of a mustard seed, you might say unto this sycamine
tree, be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in
the sea, and it should obey you." Now I have a question for you.
Do you think Jesus Christ is a liar? He just said that. He just said that. He said, if
you had the faith, As the grain of a mustard seed, you could
say to that tree, up and go into the sea and it would obey you. Some have great faith, some have
small faith, but here's the good news. All you need to have a
sure hope of salvation is faith as the grain of a mustard seed.
That's all you need. If you had faith as the grain
of a mustard seed, you could, this old dead tree, this old
dead stump that's just rooted in this earth, could... somewhere else. We must have that mustard seed
though. We must. We must have confidence
in Jesus Christ and evidence of that confidence. That thief
on the cross. The Lord didn't save him until
possibly 30 seconds, maybe 90 seconds before he died. I don't know how long it was.
But he showed evidence of faith. Didn't he? We know what he said.
We know the story. He showed evidence. We must have
confidence in the fact that it comes from Jesus Christ. It's
given to us by Jesus Christ through the hearing of the Word of God.
And no matter how small our faith is, we must believe. We must.
Now here's our last question. How is it performed? You know, religion talks about
exercising your faith. Well, it must be done. You don't know
how to say it. It must be performed. How do
I perform it? How do I use it? How do I do
it? How do I believe? He said, what
must I do to be saved? And he said, you better believe.
All right. How do I do that? How do I do it? Turn to Matthew
17. Matthew 17, look at verse 14. And when they were come to the
multitude, there came to him a certain man kneeling down to
him and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he's a lunatic
and sore vexed for off times he falleth into the fire and
often to the water. And I brought him to that disciples
and they could not cure him. Now, the Lord gave his apostles
special powers because they healed people. And he said in verse
16, I brought him to thy disciples and they couldn't cure him. Verse
17, then Jesus answered and said, oh, faithless and perverse generation,
how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus
rebuked the devil and he departed out of him and the child was
cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples, okay? to Jesus apart after all that
was over, and said, Why could not we cast him out? We tried. Why couldn't we cast
him out? Verse 20, And Jesus said unto
them, Because of your unbelief. That's why. For verily I say
unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you
shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place,
and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Now here's the key, verse 21. Howbeit this kind goeth not out,
but by prayer and fasting. That's what he said. How is faith
performed? He said you couldn't do it because
you didn't believe. It was your unbelief. How is
faith performed? Prayer and fasting. We pray to
God, we call on God, we look to Christ, and we pray, Lord,
You are able. And fasting, we deny ourselves. When we fast, we're denying ourselves,
right? We don't eat. We're denying ourselves. We deny our ability. We deny
our involvement. I evidence faith by taking me
completely out of the equation to the point that I believe I
was never even in the equation. And there was not even a work
in me taking myself out of the equation. I can't even be proud
of that. I was never even in it. True faith believes he has done
what he said he would do all by himself. And he will do what
he says he'll do all by himself. Faith is not believing in myself. They brought Him to me and, okay,
I'm going to cure Him. I have this faith now. I'm going
to cure Him. That is not it. Faith is not
believing in my ability to believe. Faith, true saving faith, it
takes me out of the equation altogether. It only hopes in
Christ. All right, now, right here in
Matthew 17, verse 20, Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief,
for verily I say unto you, if you have faith as the grain of
a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, remove hence
to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be
impossible to you. Now, let me ask you a question. Don't answer
me out loud, but you can shake your head if you want to. Do
you believe you can remove a mountain? All right, now let me ask you
this. Do you believe Jesus Christ can remove a mountain? That's
faith. If you had faith, if you denied
yourself just that much, if you said, just that much, I'm unable,
and Christ is everything, and I can't do anything to that mountain,
but Jesus Christ can, and if He will in His time, if He tells
that mountain to remove, it's gone. That's faith. True faith takes me so far out
of this equation, I believe If He didn't believe for me, I would
never even believe. That's how far out of it I am.
True saving faith says, I'm confident that He has revealed to me that
I need to be in the ship. And if He doesn't put me in the
ship, I won't make it in the ship. But if He does, whether
I'm standing in the front or whether I'm crying down below,
If I'm going to make it safely to that other side, it's going
to be Him that got me there. That's it. Now let me close by
reading you this article. This was in our bulletin not
too long ago. Brother Henry Mahan wrote this.
This was a huge help, huge help to me. Okay, this is called Christ,
the Object of Faith. We do not find rest. nor comfort in our faith but
in Christ. Don't rest in your faith. Man,
I've really increased in faith lately. I'm just so happy and
content with my faith. I'm really seeing a lot of growth
in me. Don't do that. If you will give careful thought
to that statement, it will be of great help to you. Faith is
not a foundation. I'm standing on my faith. Faith
is not a refuge. I'm just going to try to run
to my faith. I'm going to try to go find that faith. Faith
is not a source of help. I know what I need. I just need
more faith. No! Faith is a means, a look. It's an empty hand. That's all
faith is. It's just an empty hand. It is Christ who is our refuge,
who protects from every storm. He is our rock on which we build. He is our source of every mercy
and our only plea. My faith may be weak or weaker,
but He cannot fail. If all my debts have been paid
by my surety, I don't have to be ashamed to come before God.
The praise and credit goes not to my boldness and faith, but
to my gracious benefactor. I am not debt-free because I
believe, though I do, and that faith united me to Him, but because
He set me free and paid my debt. Christ is our confidence and
assurance. The moment I seek a reason for
hope in anything I do, Even in the blessed grace of faith, I
forfeit any possibility of peace. What that means is, as soon as
I try to look inside here for anything, peace is out the window. He quoted, Blessed is the man
that maketh the Lord his trust. When Isaiah saw his glory, he
spake of him. When any man truly sees the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ, then Christ becomes the message and
the object of faith. I would venture to say that almost
every single time you see the word faith in the scripture,
you could substitute the word Christ right there. The just
shall live by Christ. That's how it's going to happen.
All right, stand together with me.