Alright, let's open our Bibles
once again to the book of Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Now, for those of you who weren't
here this morning, I don't want to disappoint you. If you came
expecting to hear the mysteries of Revelation 20, I hope you're
not disappointed that I'm going to put that off for one more
week. But that's okay. If the Lord doesn't come back
this week, I'll preach on Revelation 20 next week. But I will assure
you of this, that your salvation and final glory doesn't depend
upon the time sequence of events of our Lord's return. Your salvation
and final glory depends upon the One who is coming. And He
is coming again. Isn't that right? A lot of controversy
around that chapter, and I know people I like to have, I'm that
way, I like to have things settled in my mind. But you know, sometimes
that's just not the way God deals with us, is it? He doesn't make
everything as crystal clear as we might like it. Yeah, I think
part of that's probably because of our simple minds. But we know
the gospel, we know Christ. But tonight I want to continue
what I began this morning on this phrase in Hebrews chapter
10, verse 38. The just, now the just shall
live by faith. In that one statement that's
quoted from the Old Testament, Prophet Habakkuk, three times
in the New Testament, we see the very life of a believer. We see the ground of salvation.
The justified are the ones who shall live by faith. That was
accomplished at the cross of Calvary, our justification before
God, when Christ bore our sins away, paid our debt in full,
shedding His blood as the full, complete payment for all our
sins, for all the sins of God's elect. He mentions Abel here. Abel's sins were paid for at
the cross. Isn't that right? Abel looked
forward to it. He mentions Enoch, Enoch and
Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all the Old Testament saints.
And we who are sitting here tonight, who know the Lord, we were justified
thereto by that one act. That's what the Scripture teaches
in Hebrews chapter 10. All the way through it says back
over there in verse 10, by which will we are sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ one time. Now the word
for all is in italics, the translator supplied it, but that's the thought.
And it's carried right on out. Christ did it one time. for all,
all of his sheep. And it only took him one time.
He didn't have to do it again. He wasn't like those inadequate
Old Testament priests who had to continually offer sacrifices
day by day and week by week and year by year. But one time, in
verse 14, it says, for by one offering he hath perfected forever
That's an eternal offering, that's an eternal sacrifice, that's
eternal value. And you know why it's eternal?
It's because of the One who brought it, who gave it, Himself. Christ,
the eternal God-man. And He hath perfected forever
them that are sanctified. Isn't that a blessed truth? Isn't
that a blessed assurance of salvation? So it's the justified, those
who are not guilty before God, those to whom David said it this
way, blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.
Well, if you're in Christ, that's you. If I'm in Christ, that's
me. And I'm going to tell you something.
If you know your frame, if you know the reality of your of your
state in this life, you'll be thankful for that. You'll be
glad of that. Blessed is the man. And then
Paul, in his commentary on that, by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit in Romans chapter 4, he pointed out that when David penned
those words, again by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that David
had in mind his future justification through the promised Messiah.
And he said, it's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful picture.
So there we have the ground of salvation in our Savior. He suffered
the just for the unjust. And then we have regeneration
and conversion in this chapter here, in this verse, in this
phrase, because look what it says. It says, the just shall
what? Shall live. Now, we know how
we're born. We're born dead in trespasses
and sins. But he's talking about life here.
Life that comes from Christ, who is the resurrection and the
life. They're not going to remain dead. Christ will not allow it. His work on the cross ensures
the application of all that he accomplished for them. That was
applied to the Old Testament saints. They were regenerated
and converted even before Christ came and accomplished the putting
away of their sins here on this earth. God purposed it from the
foundation of the world. But he was so sure and certain
to happen that the benefits of it was applied to them. And they
looked forward. by promise to the coming of Christ.
But every one of his people shall live. Now, excuse me, that's
why I read John chapter 6 in the opening verses, opening of
the service. He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall what? Shall come to me. Now, man by
nature won't do that, you know that. But all the Father gave
him shall come to him. And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. And then it says how they're
going to live. They're going to live by faith. They're going
to live by the faith of the son of God. They're going to live
by the word of God. They're going to live looking
to him. I love that passage that Brother Aaron read in our scripture
reading where it speaks of the righteous in verse six of Psalm
112. It says the righteous shall be
an everlasting remembrance. I believe that's emphasizing
God's remembrance of his people whom he saved by his grace. The
Lord remembers me. Sometimes we forget. Sometimes
we lose sight. Sometimes we lose the joy of
our salvation. Sometimes we don't do, all the
time, we don't do what we're supposed to do. But God always
remembers us. And He remembers us in Christ.
He remembers us as we are in His Son. And that's a beautiful
thing too. And the psalmist goes on to say,
this righteous, now the righteous there are the justified. That's
what he's talking about, those who are justified in Christ.
And he says in verse six, surely he shall not be moved forever.
Now, this salvation is an everlasting salvation. The just shall live
by faith. That means it's everlasting. That means it has no end. It
cannot be taken back. It will not be lost. And he says,
surely he shall not be moved forever. The righteous shall
be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil
tidings. Now, listen to this. His heart is fixed. He's fixated. A psychologist will tell you
today that it's bad to have a fixation. Not this one. This is a good
fixation. This is being fixed. How is it
fixed? Trusting in the Lord. That's a good fixation. His heart
is fixed, established, immovable, trusting in the Lord. Now back
over here in Hebrews 10, that's what this means. The justified
shall live by faith. And you cannot separate faith
from the object of faith. You cannot talk about faith in
the scriptures without speaking about that heart that is fixed.
Fixed there by God. That's who fixed it. It's not
fixed by the free will of man. It's not fixed by the goodness
of man. It's fixed by God. And that's why it cannot be moved,
like that tree planted by the waters. Now, the justified shall
live by faith. Now, think about that. You know,
the question that is asked in the Bible quite often is, how
can a man be just with God? I want you to go back into the
Old Testament with me. Now, you know, here in Hebrews
chapter 11, that's what he does. He goes back into the Old Testament
after he talks about the just shall live by faith. And he talks
about the substance of things hoped for. That's faith. That's
the ground and confidence. And what is he talking about?
He's talking about Christ there. He's talking about looking to
Christ. You see, you can believe things that aren't true. Most
people do. A lot of people believe things
and they don't even know what they believe. They're like the
lady. who was asked, what do you believe? And she said, I
believe what my church believes. They said, well, what does your
church believe? She said, well, what my pastor preaches. And
they said, well, what does he preach? And she said, well, I'm
really not sure, but whatever it is, I believe it. That's probably
all too common. Faith has an object. It's not
just a leap in the dark. It's not just a pipe dream or
wishful thinking. Faith is knowledge of the true
and living God in Christ. And you can't separate in the
scriptures now simple faith from the simplicity of the Savior,
the simplicity of Christ. And I know we want to complicate
it sometimes, but the thing about it is, if you look at these scriptures,
think about this. He says in verse two of chapter
11, for by it, it is this faith that looks to Christ now. The
elders obtained a good report. That means a good reputation.
Now think about this. We spend our lives trying to
build a good reputation, and that's not a bad thing. But when
it's all over but the shouting, what do we have to boast in?
Nothing but Christ and Him crucified. Isn't that right? God forbid
that I should gloat. All the accomplishments of men
throughout their lives, you can put it on the headstone, you
can read it at the funeral, whatever you do, But I'll tell you what,
those who die in the faith, who do they want exalted at their
funerals? Christ and Him crucified. Just
tell those that are left behind of my Savior. Now that's our
good report, isn't it? That's our good reputation right
there. We're sinners saved by the grace of God. And he says
in verse 3, through faith we understand the worlds were framed
by the Word of God so that the things which are seen were not
made of things which do appear. You know, that's one of the greatest
verses in the Bible that denies evolution. What is he saying
there? The things you see that appear
were not made of the things, the things which we see are not
made of the things that appear. They didn't evolve out of itself. It was spoken into existence
by the Word of God. And then he mentions Abel. He
goes back to the Old Testament and Abel. He mentions Enoch.
And then he mentions Noah. Go back to Genesis chapter 6
with me in Noah. Now, this is the first time in
the Old Testament that the word just is used. Genesis chapter
6 and verse 9. And it says, these are the generations
of Noah. Noah was a just man and perfect. Now, that word perfect does not
mean that Noah was sinlessly perfect within himself. The word
is upright. The simplest way to understand
it is that Noah was a man who walked right. He walked uprightly
and justly in his generations, that is, while he was on this
earth. And Noah walked with God. Now, the same is said of Enoch.
Enoch walked with God, but Noah walked with God. So Noah was
a justified man. Now, how was Noah justified?
Well, we know that Noah was not perfect in himself. In fact,
after the experience with the ark, if you'll look over in Genesis
chapter 9 real quickly, in verse 20, you're going to find a place
where Noah fell. It says in verse 20, Noah began
to be a husbandman. That's a farmer. He'd grown grapevines. He planted a vineyard. And he
drank of the wine and he was drunken. And he was uncovered
in his shame within his tent. That's Noah, the same one that
God said here back in Genesis chapter 6 and verse 9, who was
a just man and perfect, upright. But look at Genesis 6 and verse
8. Before it speaks of Noah as a
just man and as one who is upright, what does it say about Noah in
Genesis chapter 6 and verse 8? It says, but Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. There is no justification of
sinners before God apart from grace. And what does the Bible
say about grace? It came through Jesus Christ.
And then it talks about Noah, back over here in Hebrews chapter
11. Noah being warned of God, verse 7, of things not seen as
yet, moved with fear. He prepared an ark. The evidence
of Noah's justification before God was his faith in God. He trusted God, he obeyed God,
and he built an ark because God told him to. God told him there
was a destructive flood coming, that it would rain upon the earth,
and all life on earth, in its wickedness and sinfulness, would
be extinguished. So Noah moved with fear, the
scripture says. That is, he moved out of a reverence
and a respect and a trust in God. And he prepared an ark to
the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world, because
the world didn't believe. They didn't think anything of
it. He became the heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Now, what is the righteousness
which is by faith? It's trusting in God for all
righteousness from Himself through His Son. Now, Noah was an Old
Testament believer. What that means is this. Noah
looked forward by promise to the coming of the Savior. And
it says down here in verse 13, look at Hebrews 11, 13. These
all died in faith, or according to faith. In other words, when
they died, the physical death, they died looking for a promise. And the New Testament saints
were all justified at Calvary in Christ by his blood and righteousness.
The Old Testament saints looked forward by promise. We look back
at history that's already been accomplished, but it's the same
Savior, the same grace of God, the same gospel, the same salvation. It never has changed, and it
never will. It cannot change, because it's the only way God
can be just and justify the ungodly. But look again at verse 13. He
says, These all died in faith. That's Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham,
Sarah, and the rest that are mentioned later on. It says,
not having received the promises, that means they died at a time
when Christ in his incarnation had not yet come to this earth. They had the promise, but they
didn't have the actual reception of the promise because it had
not yet been performed in God's prescribed and eternally purposed
time. And it says, but having seen
them afar off, afar off. And it says, "...and were persuaded
of them." Now, who persuaded them? God did. God did, by His
Spirit, just like He persuaded you, just like He persuaded me. And they embraced them. God persuaded
them, and they believed, and they loved that truth, and they
embraced that truth. And proof of it in Noah was he
built that ark. The proof of it in Abel is he
brought that blood sacrifice. How do we know Cain was not one
of those justified? It's because he didn't bring
the blood sacrifice. He didn't evidence. He brought
the works of his hands. It was evidenced in Enoch in
that he walked with God. And it says, and they embraced
them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
earth. And then look over at verse 39 of Hebrews 11. And these all having obtained
a good report through faith. How's that? Through looking towards
that promise, looking forward to the promise of the coming
of the Messiah, the woman seed, the Lamb, you see, all that God
had revealed to them. They received not the promise,
that is, they didn't actually live in the time here on earth
when Christ actually came to bear away their sins, but God
having provided some better thing for us, that is, a better time,
Now, we do live in a better time than they lived. I've heard people
say, boy, I wish I lived back in the days of... No, are you
crazy? The good old days. We live in the best of times,
actually. If you think about it. God says
a better thing for us. But look at this phrase right
here. Look at this line. It says, that they without us should not
be made perfect. They weren't made perfect without
us. And we weren't made perfect without them. We were all made
perfect in Christ on the cross when he died. Now that's a union
with people that we haven't even met yet. We one day will. All those Old Testament saints,
all the saints that live in this world that we don't know yet.
But that's how we live by faith. Now let me give you just a few
things about this and I want to turn to some scripture. Let
me show you what this means. Now, the justified shall live
by faith. Number one, the justified shall live by the merits of Christ. That's what it is to live by
faith. I live my life by the merits of Christ. Look at Romans
chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. I don't live
by my own merits. That is, I don't live by any
works by which to earn or gain God's favor or blessings. I live
by the merits of Christ and him crucified, him alone. That's
what it is to live by faith. And I don't look for myself.
I'm not trying to see what I can earn from God. But look here
at Romans chapter 5 and verse 18. He says, he says, therefore,
as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men, the condemnation,
even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon
all men unto justification of life. That justification in life
comes not by my merits, not by my goodness, not by my works,
not by my dedication, not even by my faithfulness. It comes
by the faithfulness of Christ. And he goes on, verse 19, for
as by one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so
by the obedience of one shall the many be made righteous. If
you're living by faith, you're living, looking to Christ for
righteousness. For all your rights standing
before God, you're looking to Him. He says in verse 20, moreover
the law entered that the offense might abound. You look at the
law of God even now. Now think about this. When you
look at the law of God even now as a justified sinner and let
it get into your frame, let it expose your thoughts and your
desires. and your reactions. Now, let
me say, I was telling Debbie last night, I heard a little
phrase that I think is so good, you know. Now, grace has a lot
to do with how we act. But I want to tell you something,
grace has a whole lot more to do with how we react. Think about
that. And I'll tell you what, that's
convicting, isn't it? It is to me. Because I don't act, react
very well in a lot of ways. I have to pray continually. God
forgive me. for that first thought that came
into my mind, that thought of anger, that thought of selfishness,
that thought of vengeance. You see what I'm saying? And
that's what the law was given for, to expose me for what I
am in myself. But thank God it doesn't leave
me there. Look at verse 20, "...but where sin abounded..." And doesn't
it still abound in you? Doesn't it? But grace! did much more about. That's that's
an that's amazing grace that it did much more about that as
sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign. That's
sovereign grace, isn't it? Through righteousness unto eternal
life. How? By Jesus Christ. That's just another way of saying,
looking unto Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. So,
the justified live by the merits of Christ. Here's number two.
Turn to Galatians chapter two with me. Number two. The justified shall live by the
power of Christ. We don't live by our own power.
We're not saved by our own power in any aspect of salvation. You've heard me say this. Salvation
is a big term. It includes everything that brings
a sinner from condemnation to justification, from darkness
to light, from death to life, from this world's sin and corruption
to glory. Everything that it includes.
That's salvation. And none of that is by our power.
None of it. You say, well, I'm too weak.
Yes, you are. And so am I. But what did Paul
say? When I'm weak, I'm strong. Now, what does that mean? That
sounds contradictory. It means that when I'm at my
weakest, that's when I'm looking to Christ the most. That's what
that means. And we're saved by His power.
We're justified by it. We're regenerated by His power.
That's what John wrote in John 1. He said, it's not by the will
of men. It's not by the goodness of men.
It's not by the will of the flesh. It's not by being born of the
flesh. It's by the power and will and
goodness of God. But look here at Galatians chapter
2, look at verse 20. Now, he said here in Galatians
2, he said, I'm dead to the law. How did we become dead to the
law? The Bible says it in Romans chapter 7, by the body of Christ.
When Christ died on that cross, in him, every one of God's elect
became dead to the law. That means the law could no longer
condemn them. They were justified. And he says,
the reason that I became dead to the law is that I might live
under God. I didn't become dead to the law. You know, somebody
says, well, you're just saying salvation is no more than what
Christ did on the cross. Oh, no, I'm not. I just said
the just shall live by faith. That means they're going to live.
Listen, what Christ did on the cross is the heart of the gospel. That's the ground of our salvation.
That's our hope, our assurance. But his death on the cross for
our sins has far reaching, powerful applications and fruits and results
and implications. And one of them is this. We're
going to live under God. We're going to be born again
by the spirit and live under God. We're going to believe in
him. We're going to love him and love each other. And so he
says that I might live under God. We're going to be glorified
one day. That's a sure thing. You know why? Because Christ
died. Now somebody might come along and say, well, I know I'm
going to live again one day because I'm going to keep on keeping
on. I'm going to be a good guy. I'm going to really, I'm going
to hang in there. Well, you've got a shaky ground
there. But I know I'm going to live again because Christ died
for my sins. My only plea, Christ died for
me. Now that's living by faith. So
Paul says in verse 20, now look here, look how he puts it, I'm
crucified with Christ. Now when was Paul crucified with
Christ? He was crucified with Christ
when Christ was crucified. Now that makes sense, doesn't
it? That's a very simple truth. And he says, nevertheless, I
live. Because I died with Christ, because
my debt was paid, because I was justified at Calvary, now I live. The Holy Spirit has come and
given me life from Christ, who's the author and finisher of my
faith. He's made me alive. I've been
resurrected from the dead, folks. That's what the new birth is. But look what he says. He says,
yet not I. Now, Paul is not denying here
that he himself is living. What he's showing here is that
he is not the power of life. Yet not I. It's not by my power.
But Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. He lives
in me by his Spirit. Christ, my Savior, who died for
my sins, was buried and rose again the third day, and is ascended
unto the Father, and is seated at the right hand of the Father,
ever living to make intercession for me, as God-man, right now,
Christ, has sent us his spirit, the divine comforter, to give
us life and to indwell us and inspire us and teach us and drive
us and energize us and lead us and convict us and teach us. Isn't that right? Brother Joe
read and studied 1 Thessalonians 5 and in one of the commandments
there, I think you remember Joe, he said, quench not the spirit.
You know what it is to quench the spirit? It's when a believer
doesn't listen to what the Spirit says. That's what it is. You
know a believer can disregard God's Word, not continually and
not unto apostasy, but he can do it for a while. David did
it for a while, didn't he? I've done it. You've done it.
Just don't listen. Just go your own way, the way
of the flesh, and don't listen. But you see, that's why it's
not by our power. It's by the power of Christ who
lives in us by his spirit and by his word. All right. He's
given us his spirit who has given us life, who dwells within us. And he has written his word indelibly
upon our hearts so that we can never totally get away from it. Now, we may lose sight of it
for a little while, but he's going to bring us back. I think
one old preacher said it's kind of like he's got us on a leash.
And so Paul says, and the life which I now live in the flesh,
now the flesh there is not talking about sin, but he's talking about
his physical life, walking on this earth, because he says the
life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son
of God. I live by the merits of Christ.
I live by the power of Christ who loved me and gave himself
for me. You see that? Justifying faith,
you see, justified rather, shall live by the power of Christ. Look back at Hebrews 11. You
see, the ability and the power is not our own. It's Christ.
For he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto
the Father by him. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed, and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. The blind men came
to Christ and they said, Jesus, thou son of David, can you heal
us? And they said, heal us, give
us sight. And he said, do you believe that
I am able? He didn't say, do you believe
enough? He didn't say, do you really believe? He didn't say,
have you believed long enough? He said, do you believe that
I am able? There's your key. That's living
by faith. Over here in Hebrews chapter
11, it speaks of Sarah. Sarah and Abraham, who had no
children but were promised a child. And it says in verse 11 that
Sarah, through faith, also Sarah herself received strength, that's
power, to conceive seed. Now was that power in Sarah herself?
Absolutely not. She was barren up until that
time. And she was delivered of a child when she was past age,
past the age that a woman would be. And the ability to a bear
child. And look at the next line. Because
she judged him faithful. Who had promised. God is faithful. God is able.
So the justified shall live by the power of Christ. Thirdly,
look at Hebrews chapter 12. Just another page over. The justified
shall live by looking to and resting in Christ. Look at verse
1 of Hebrews chapter 12. He says, Wherefore, seeing we
are also we also are compassed about surrounded with so great
a cloud of witnesses. Now, the cloud of witnesses,
there's all the ones that he mentioned in Hebrews chapter
11 that live by faith. That look look for the promise,
those who who who God accomplish great things through, you know,
there were some of them think about Moses. Think about what
God accomplished through Moses. And yet it wasn't Moses. It was
God. It was Christ. And then some
of them, you don't even know their names, but he just mentions
them this way. Verse 37 of chapter 11. They
were stoned. That means they were killed because
of their testimony of the gospel. They were sawn asunder. That
means literally they were sawed from here up into. It says they were tempted, tested,
that's what that means. They were slain with the sword.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins. They didn't even
have proper clothes to wear. They were put out of their homes.
Being destitute, that means hungry, cold, naked. Who were these people? He doesn't even name them. Their
notoriety, their names mean, that's not the issue. It says
they were afflicted, they were tormented. But do you know what
he says about them? Look at the parenthesis in verse
38 there, chapter 11. He says, of whom the world was
not worthy. The world was unworthy of those
that they stoned and sawed into and tested and slain and put
out into the desert, into the cold. The world was not worthy.
They wandered in desert. Now, that's the great cloud of
witnesses. And I think about that quite a bit, because what
in the world have I been through compared to these people? Oh
Lord, if my faith were ever tested in that way, how would I stand? I know this, it wouldn't be by
my merits, and it wouldn't be by my power. Yours neither. But he says we're surrounded
with such a great cloud of witnesses. And he says, let us lay aside
every weight. That is everything that would hinder us in our walk,
in our race. If it hinders you, get rid of
it. That's what he said. If it hinders you in worshiping God,
if it hinders you in feeding upon God's Word, if it hinders
you in growing in grace and knowledge of Christ and serving Him, if
it hinders you in loving Him and loving your brethren, get
rid of it. That's what he means there. That weight. You can't
run a race with a big weight on your back. And so he says,
and the sin which does so easily besets it. I believe he's talking
mainly about the sin of doubt and unbelief there. But any sin. And he says, let us run with
patience the race that is set before us. How? Verse 2, looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. The justified shall
live looking to and resting in Christ. Here's the fourth thing. Turn to 1 John 4. The justified
live by the love of Christ. And it's first and foremost,
His love to us. Because it's His love that keeps
us and blesses us and warms us and feeds us. And it's His love
that is shed abroad in our hearts so that we may love Him and love
one another. And that's how we're to live.
Not in hate, not in bitterness, but in love. In love to God and
love to His people. Look at 1 John 4 and look at
verse 7. He says, Beloved, let us love
one another. Now here, look at it. For love
is of God. If I love God any at all, and
even with my pitiful love, and if I love you any at all, even
with that pitiful love, that love is of God. It's not of me. The thing is, of me is self-love
and extensions of self. But he says, for everyone that
loveth is born of God and knoweth God. That's what he's saying
there. You can't love like this. This love respects and regards
first and foremost the honor and glory of God. This love abides
in the truth. This love has in mind the good
of the brethren and the good of the church. This love doesn't
think of self first. That's why we have the warfare
now, isn't it? Because we have to struggle not to think of self
first. Not to promote my wants and my
ideas and my ways and how I think things should be. What's going
to overrule and override that in the warfare? The love of God
shed abroad in our hearts. And he goes on, he says in verse
8, he says, He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.
If there's no love at all, Say, there's no knowledge of God.
And verse nine in this was manifested, the love of God towards us, because
that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might
live through him and hearing his love, not that we love God.
That's not the source of our love, our love to him, but his
love to us, hearing his love, not that we love God, but that
he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our
sins. The justified shall live by the
love of God. And then fifthly, the justified
shall live by the word of Christ. The Bible speaks a lot of that.
Romans 10 and verse 17, let me just read it for you. So then
faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Matthew chapter
four and verse four, our Lord, when he was tempted of Satan
in the wilderness, he answered and said, it's written, man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God. Faith. Believes God's Word. Faith submits to God's Word.
John chapter five and verse twenty four. The Lord said, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Do you love
his word? The justified shall live by the
word of Christ. Sixthly, the justified shall
live by obedience. Turn to James chapter one with
me. James chapter one. Now, obedience has to do with
submission, obedience to God's way of salvation, submission
to the gospel. And obedience to God's word and
obedience to God's providence. Think about that. But look here,
he says in verse 22 of James chapter 1, But be ye doers of
the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own self. Now,
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But
it doesn't stop there. He says, For if any be a hearer
of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding
his natural face in a glass, a mirror. He beholdeth himself,
and goeth his way in straight way, or immediately forgetteth
what manner of man he was. You forget what kind of person
you are that the word has shown you. And he says, but whoso looketh
into that perfect law of liberty. You see, it's not law, it's liberty.
It's not works, it's grace. And he says, and continueth therein,
he be not a forgetful here, but a doer of the work. This man
shall be blessed, not based on his deed, not for the merit of
his deed, but in his deed. Did you see that? You see, you
don't earn it by your deeds, but you'll be blessed. Living
by obedience, you see. This is the issue. Faith. Faith works by love, the scripture
says. That's how it works. James said
it in chapter 2 and verse 14 over there. He said faith without
works is dead. Faith is going to evidence itself
in the works of God that he does through us by his Spirit. And
then lastly, one more. Turn back to Hebrews 10. The justified shall live by perseverance. Now look here in verse 38 of
Hebrews 10. He says, Now the just shall live by faith. But
if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Now the drawing back here he's referring to is Apostasy, what
that is, is when a person claims to know Christ, claim to believe
in Him, claim to be saved, but then they totally leave the gospel. We're not talking about a believer
who just falls into some particular sin or habit for a while, but
we're talking about one who totally apostatizes from the faith, totally
turns against it, drawing back. But look at verse 39. But we
are not of them who draw back unto perdition. Now, the justified
who live by faith are not of those who apostatize. They cannot
be. But we are of them that believe
to the saving of the soul. That is, the full salvation unto
final glory. God's going to keep us. He's
going to preserve us. The book of Jude tells us that.
He who is able to save us and to keep us from falling. He who begun the good work will
finish it until its completion. For it is God who works in you
to bring it all about, that completion and that culmination in final
glory.