Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. It is impossible for us
to determine who the elect of God are until such time as the
Lord is pleased to call them out of darkness and into the
light. The times of his elect are in his hands. From the beginning
he has covered them under the shelter of his wings and held
them in his hands from which they could not be plucked. Time
would fail us to recount in detail the abundance of mercy which
is visited upon those who are the sons of God or the multitude
of pathways which the Lord has marked out for them to travel
in in order to bring them unto himself. But suffice it to say
that his mercies are new every morning, lest they should be
consumed. Paul asks, where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law of works? Nay, but
by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. This is
a startling statement to the men of moralistic religion, who
expect that their righteous living must surely be regarded in a
favorable light by the Lord. Most modern faith teachers regard
faith as an activity which men can engage in and do their best
to try to convince men to have it or exercise it. Many books
have been written seeking to accomplish this goal and to educate
their readers as to the ease with which it can be performed.
Now, there is no doubt that there is an exercise of faith, but
the exercise of faith cannot be understood until one is given
the knowledge of the object of faith. A man is not justified
by the exercise of faith, but rather by the one who is the
faith of God's elect. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. even as Abraham believed God,
and it was accounted to him for righteousness. That which was
accounted as Abraham's righteousness was not the fact that he believed,
but rather the fact that God was the object upon which he
relied. Belief is of no use if the object
of that faith is not Jesus Christ and Him crucified. So that faith
in which the sons of God desire to be found is that which is
in Jesus Christ, as Paul exhorts Timothy, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. Knowing that a
man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
of Jesus Christ, 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. And such were some of you, but
ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. The exercise
of faith is not a work of man, but is rather the gift of God.
Sadly, faith is viewed by many as an ability which a man might
operate in according to his free will, and as such is no different
than performing the deeds of the law. By the works of the
law shall no flesh be justified. No activity of man can cause
him to be accepted in the sight of him who hates the workers
of iniquity, will not acquit the wicked, and views the righteousnesses
of men as filthy rags. So one might ask, where then
can faith be found? The faith of God's elect is in
Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of it as the faith
of Christ. 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 by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me. But the scripture hath
concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus
Christ might be given to them that believe, according to the
eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, in
whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith
of him. And be found in him, not having
mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith. The exercise of faith in men
is weak at its best state, so much so that it is nonexistent.
As the Lord said, if you have faith, nothing shall be impossible
unto you. The great faith boasters think
that Christ was exhorting his hearers to attempt great things,
yet he was actually instructing them as to the barrenness of
their faith. Great faith, which is the gift
of God, is illustrated for us by the centurion at Capernaum,
the woman whose daughter was vexed by a devil, and the woman
with the issue of blood. In all cases they called upon
him in whom they believed. It was not their exercise of
faith which the Lord Jesus remarked upon, but rather the location
of that faith. Where is your faith? For a free
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