There came a time during the
Lord's ministry upon the earth when the popularity of His message
began to fade with the multitudes, and many of His erstwhile followers
forsook Him because they began to think that His message was
a bit too radical. The Lord asked his 12 disciples,
will you also go away? Then Simon Peter gave a classic
answer, which is the very embodiment of true faith, when he said,
Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. Upon another occasion, he asked
them a similar question. Whom do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? And they said, some say that
Thou art John the Baptist. Some, Elias, and others, Jeremiah,
are one of the prophets. "'But whom say ye that I am?'
Simon Peter replied with the only answer true faith knows,
"'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.'" In neither
of these cases did the Lord ask these questions in order to gain
information, which he was not already aware of. Rather, he
posed these questions for the benefit of his followers, so
that he might demonstrate the principle upon which the very
foundation of his kingdom rests. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the
just shall live by faith. But without faith it is impossible
to please him. When Peter had given his answer,
the Lord clearly told him that his knowledge of and faith in
the living Christ did not arise out of his own power or ability
of reason. When he said, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven. There is much talk of faith in
this hyper-religious age in which we live, but most of it centers
on trying to stir men up to believe, rather than a clear and unwavering
message that declares true faith to be the result of the operation
of the Holy Ghost, according to the sovereign grace of God,
who is determined to manifest His saving grace and the fruits
of His redemptive work in the sons of God. whom he loved from
before the foundation of the world. Apart from clear understanding
of the source of true faith, it is impossible that men can
have a right understanding of the basis or operation of faith
in the children of God. The Spirit of God must grant
unto the heirs of faith eyes to see and ears to hear the glorious
gospel of the blessed God. No man has seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,
He hath declared Him. Throughout the scriptures, we
see the hand of God's mercy set upon His people as He causes
them to believe and to receive the glorious blessings of His
promise to give them a new heart. The evidence of the work of the
Spirit in His people is true faith, and it is the only currency
which is recognized in His kingdom. This is that which Solomon spoke
of when he said, Buy the truth and sell it not. The religious
hucksters continually try to make merchandise of men by persuading
them that they can make a deal with God by exercising faith
and thereby purchase for themselves the blessings of God in the present
time and that which is to come. Yet the table of the Lord is
set for those who are poor and have nothing to bring unto the
Lord. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. He has indeed hid these things
from the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes.
Yes, those with no money shall fare sumptuously at the table
of the Lord, but those who come bearing riches and treasures
of their own shall be cast out. For it is not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. But alas,
this falls upon deaf ears. Only by the grace of God can
a man be awakened to see his own innate poverty. Otherwise,
he shall either have no regard to the kingdom of God at all,
or he shall seek to attain its blessings by his own endeavors.
The end result is the same. There are multitudes who are
convinced that salvation by grace alone cannot be true, and they
must do something or obey some law to inherit the kingdom. Yet
mercy drops fall from the throne of God, and here and there a
man is awakened to see his lost estate and helplessness before
the Almighty. At that moment he can but feel
himself shut out of the kingdom and hopelessly lost apart from
a crumb of mercy bestowed by the Lord. Yet such is the mercy
of God, that all of those upon whom He is pleased to cause these
mercy drops to fall, He will give them treasures that they
could never have imagined, nor even have sought by their own
power. They will be made rich in the only currency of this
kingdom, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure
of faith. If it be that currency which is accepted in the kingdom,
it does not matter whether it be much or little, because this
currency is backed by a standard of righteousness which is complete
for all who are included therein. Sell it not, and they that are
with him are called, chosen, and faithful. If you would like
a free transcript of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.