If you would, to the book of
James, please. James, chapter 2. The name of
the message is, What Does Saving Faith Do? What Does Saving Faith
Do? James, chapter 2, starting in
verse 15 to 26. If a brother or sister be naked
and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them,
Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye
give them not those things which are needful to the body, what
doth it profit? Verse 17, Even so faith, if it
hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou
hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy
works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest
that thou there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also
believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, vain man,
that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified
by works when he had offered Isaac his own son? upon the altar,
seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works
was faith made perfect. In the scripture was fulfilled
which saith Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto
him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by
faith only. Likewise also not Rahab the harlot
justified by works when she had received the messengers, and
had sent them out another way. For as the body without the spirit
is dead, so faith without works is dead also." Now this passage
of Scripture through the years has caused much confusion. The
Catholics take it and say, look, you see, faith without works
is dead. Works-based religion does the
same thing. They take that and they take this verse and they
say, look, faith without works is dead. And they often pit Paul
and James against each other. It's not so. It's not so, believe
me. And we live in a time right now
in religion where folks are always telling people what they have
to do. We preach about, one, Who's done it all? The Lord Jesus
Christ. He accomplished the work. It's
finished. Was His cry upon the cross? We'll
look at that later. It's finished. There's no work
for us to do for our righteousness, for our standing before God.
Christ has done it all. And we preach about Him. In the
matter of salvation of our souls, He has redeemed us, He has purchased
us with His own precious blood. He lived, Christ lived as the
believer's substitute. He lived and died as the substitute
of all His people, all His elect. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one who satisfies God, and we preach and we believe that. Salvation
is from the beginning to the end of the Lord. It's the Spirit
that worketh in us, isn't it? He regenerates us. We can't regenerate
ourselves. We can't save ourselves from
one sin, let alone billions of sins that we commit in a lifetime. But Christ can save us from all
our sins. And He does, doesn't He? I'm
living proof. And if you believe, you are too.
That Christ can save, and He does save, and He did on Calvary's
cross. It's finished. Salvation was
purchased, and the cost is His precious blood. We know that
saving faith obeys the gospel, to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou wilt be saved. We know that. Turn, if you would,
to 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. We
know we must believe the truth, which is set before us in Scripture.
If we reject the Scriptures, we reject God. No one can be saved apart from
believing the truth. And who's the truth centered
in? Christ. Christ. And we even see today,
as we see what saving faith does, what does saving faith do? All
the points are about Christ. They're all about Him. Because He is everything in our
salvation. And we cannot be saved apart
from Him. 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 13 and
14 says this, But we are bound to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit, and what? And belief of the truth. The Gospel is proclaimed. And God's people believe it.
Because we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Folks get
all tied up on faith and repentance, right? They get all tied up.
I commented on something yesterday. Faith and repentance, faith and
repentance is like this piece of paper right here, beloved.
On one side is faith, and on one side is repentance. You can't
separate them. They're one, and they're both
gifts from God. You can't muster him up. He has
to give him to us. And when do we have faith? When
we're regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God. Regeneration always
precedes faith and repentance. Always. Always. Ye must be born
again, scripture declares. You must be. You must be. And only God can do that. And
it says, where unto he called you by our gospel? That's the
effectual call by the Holy Spirit to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. So let us ponder this. One can
have a head knowledge but not a heart knowledge. One can have
a head knowledge of who God is, of who Christ is, but not a heart
knowledge. It happens all the time. All
the time. One can believe truth set forth
in scripture, but not have saving faith. We saw that the devils
believe and they tremble. A.W. Pink said, one can be a
professor, but not a possessor. One can be a professor, but not
a possessor. And Satan is a counterfeit. He's
a counterfeiter. He sends forth his preachers
to preach lies. It says this in John 8, 44, Ye
are the father of the devil. Ye are the father of the devil,
and the less of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and bold not in the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own. For he is a liar, and the father
of it. And this is what false preachers do. They lie on God. They lie on God. They lie about
who God is. They lie about God's saving power.
They lie on God. They tell you God wants to save
you, but he can't unless you make a decision. I was talking to Brother Newell
this week, and I love what you said, Brother Newell. Brother
Newell said, God can save, we were talking about our kids.
Brother Newell said, well, God can save them if he wills, if
he chooses. Amen. You see, God's not at our
whim. We are at His mercy. We are at His mercy. Oh, they tell you though that
God can't save you unless you make a decision for Him. That
means that God's powerless. Unless you, the creature, do
something. No. God's all-powerful can do
whatever He wills, when He wills. He can have mercy on whomever
He has mercy. And He can save whomever He wills. It's His sovereign choice. It's
His sovereign doing. He's God. He's not like you and
I. He's God Almighty. And we who believe, we study
the truth set forth in Scripture to know the counterfeit, to know
the counterfeit. Salvations from the Lord begin
and end. Scripture declares this. So when
someone says that salvation's by your works, we say, no, it's
not. It's not by anything we do. It's all by what Christ has
done. I don't know if you read the 2 Corinthians, though. 13, verses 5 and 6. Scripture
declares this. Now in religion, in religion,
there's a lot of examining other people. I know, because I was
there. Well, I wonder about that person.
Well, that person should have been here to hear that sermon.
I actually said that sometimes to my shame in religion. There's a lot to examine in other
people. But what does the scripture say right here in 2 Corinthians
13, verses 5 and 6? Examine yourselves. Examine yourselves. whether you
be in the faith. Prove your own selves. See, the
problem with religion is they're looking at everyone else. In
grace, we look to ourselves and go, oh my gosh, I'm such a wretch.
I need Christ desperately. Know ye not your own selves,
how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But
I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. So Paul
is saying, instead of examining me and seeking proof of Christ
speaking through me, examine yourselves. Examine yourselves. Determine by God's word if you're
in the faith of Christ. Don't spend time proving others.
And as I said, the religionists and the legalists, they love
to do that. They thrive on that. I got a guy I talk to, and all
he does is complain about other people. And I keep saying to
him, but what about you? What about you? And I confess
to him all the time that I'm I'm a worm. I'm I'm a I'm a saved
mess. I'm a saved sinner. And that's all I say, by the
gracious and precious grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn,
if you would, the second Peter to 10, second Peter to 10. So
Paul's putting forth, don't spend your time proving others, prove
yourselves, examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith.
Look at 2 Peter 1, chapter 1, verses 10 and 11,
look at this. Wherefore the rather brethren
give diligence to make your, This is personal, right? Remember
Paul said, examine yourself. Wherefore the rather brethren
give diligence to make your calling and election sure. Examine yourselves. For if you do these things, you
shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered
unto you and abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If Christ dwells in your heart
by faith, you become a new creature. You're born again. His spirit
is within us. His graces and fruit are manifested
in our lives. His love is shed abroad in our
hearts. And the believer, he has a good
hope. We have a good hope. And at the
anchor of our hope and the object of our hope is Christ. Nowhere
else. It's not in anything we do at
all. It's all in what Christ has done. James again says, Yea, a man
may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith
without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is
one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. Now these works that James is
setting forth, these are not saving works. They're evidence of a work that
has been done within the believer. See, Paul and James are not at
odds with each other. Not at all. And what I'm going
to touch on is just a sampling of what does saving faith do. Just
a sampling. Just a small amount of it. These works are not saving works. They're evidence of a work being
done by the Holy Spirit of God. We're born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. As I said, one can have a head
knowledge of Christ and not a heart knowledge. But our prayer is,
if you are in that state, that God would give you a heart knowledge
of Christ, that you'd be born again by the Holy Spirit of God. James 2.19, Thou believest that
there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe
in tremble. James 2.19, Thou believest that
there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe
in tremble. Turn if you would to Matthew
chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8. And then put your finger in Mark
chapter 1. Scripture here before us says,
Thou believest that there is one God, in James 2.19, thou
doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. And we have no doubt, as the
scripture proclaims this, Satan and his demons believe the truth
about God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and their coming judgment. Look
at Matthew 8, verses 28 and 29. Look at this. And when he was
come to the other side, into the country of the Gorgonthes, there made him too
possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce,
that no man might pass by that way. And behold, they cried out,
saying, What have we to do with thee? Jesus, they know who he
is. Thou son of God, they know who
he is. He didn't identify himself. They
know him. Art thou come hither to torment
us before the time they know about the common judgment? Scripture declares this, and
then turn, if you would, over to Mark chapter one. We know that scripture declares
Christ is the holy one of God. And there was in the synagogue,
verse 23, a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying,
let us alone. What have we to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the
Holy One of God. They know who he is. James says the devils believe
and tremble, beloved. They're trembling. They know who he is, the Holy
One of God, and Scripture declares Christ is the Holy One of God.
The devils also believe in tremor. And Jesus rebuked him, saying,
hold thy peace and come out of him. Who has the power? Christ. He has all power. He's the creator.
They're just created beings, just like we are. But he has
all power. And in Mark 3, 11 says this,
and unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him. Mark 3.11, and unclean spirits,
when they saw him, fell down before him and cried, saying,
Thou art the Son of God. Oh, beloved, the devils believe
and tremble. They know the truth about the
absolute sovereignty of God. They know about Christ's substitutionary
atonement and imputed righteousness. They know truths that are set
forth in Scripture. Go back to our text in James
again. James brings out that fact before us, that faith without
works is dead. Look at James 2, verses 17-20. Even so, faith, if it hath not
works, is dead. being alone. Yea, a man may say,
verse 18, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith
without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is
one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble.
But will thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead.
And again, these works in no way save us, that James is talking
about here. They in no way save us. They
are evidence. Evidence of a work that's being
done within us by the Holy Spirit of God. So let us, let us here
examine ourselves today and see if this faith James is speaking
of is evidenced in us. Because God's people confess,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We confess that,
don't we? We believe that. We believe that. And this is
evidenced by some things which we do. Saving faith confesses
and believes the truth set forth in scripture. We believe the
truth. We believe what the scriptures
say. We bow our knee to it. Now, we don't always understand
it, do we? But we bow our knee to it, and we believe what the
scriptures say. And saving faith produces fruit
in certain works, which are evidence of a work of the Holy Spirit
having been done within us. So let the believer, let us consider
what saving faith does today. And as I said, this is by no
means an exhaustive list. Saving faith number one. Saving
faith trusts in Christ. Trusts in Christ. Saving faith
doesn't trust in itself. It has one object. One object. Christ. Christ. There was a time
When I trusted in myself, I don't trust in myself anymore. I trust
in Christ and Him alone. He's my Savior. He's my Redeemer. He's my only hope. Psalm 17.7
says this, Show thy marvelous lovingkindness, O thou that savest
by thy right hand, by thy right hand, them which put their trust
in thee, in thee, from those that rise up against them. Salvation
is of the Lord. In Psalm 17.7 it says, Which put their trust in thee.
The definition for trust there in the Hebrew is to seek refuge. To seek refuge. All the believer
seeks refuge in Christ, in Him alone. It means to flee for protection. Christ is my only protection
from the wrath and justice of God. He's my only hope. I have no hope outside of Christ.
It means to put trust in. We put our trust in God, in Him
alone, in Christ, in Him alone. It means to confide our hope
in God. I have no hope outside of Christ. He's the only one
I trust. So saving faith trusts Christ. It trusts Christ. It doesn't
trust itself or its own works. It trusts Christ and Him alone.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, which means some trust
in material possessions. Things that they can do with
the strength of their hands. But we, we will remember the
name of the Lord our God. He's our trust. He's our trust. No one else. And nowhere else. The second point is saving faith
commits to Christ. Commits to Christ. Turn, if you
would, to 2 Timothy 1, verse 12. The believer says, I know
who I believe. And I'm persuaded that he is
able. I'm not able to keep myself.
But He is able to keep me. He's able. He's the one I've
committed my eternal soul to. Christ in Him alone. He's able
to keep what I've committed to Him until that day. 2 Timothy
1.12 says this, For the witch cause I also suffer these things,
nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. Paul's committed to Christ. He's
committed to Christ and him alone. And I'm persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that
day. What is he committed to Christ? His eternal soul. And the believer commits his
eternal soul to Christ. I can't keep myself and none
of us can, can we? But we're trusting the one who
can keep us, Christ. Christ and Him alone. Committed in the Greek here is
defined as a deposit, a trust, or thing consigned to one's faithful
keeping. We've consigned our souls to
Christ's faithful keeping. We who believe, we're committed
to Christ. We commit our souls to Him. And
it's all about faith, which we know is a gift. It's all Christ. It's all about
Him. So saving faith commits all to Christ. The believer commits
their eternal soul to Christ in Him alone. The next point
is, saving faith looks to Christ. We look to Christ. Look to me
and be saved, all ye the ends of the earth. For I am God and
there is no other. Look and live. There's no other. There's no
other salvation. There's no other God. There's
only the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior. Everything else
is a false refuge, a false hope. Look to Him. Look unto me, and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth, for
I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45, 22. The Hebrew word
for look is defined as to turn. To turn. By implication, to face. That is to appear, to look. God's people are turned to Christ. And we look to him. We're turned
by the Holy Spirit of God and his regenerating power. And we
look to Christ. Are you still looking? We still
look, don't we? We continue to look. We don't
stop. We look to Christ. Now, sometimes
we may look to circumstances in the world or something, but
ultimately, we who believe the Holy Spirit will always bring
us back, even in times of trials and tribulations, to look right
to Christ. He does. It's incredible. And so the believer, he looks
to Christ. And we keep looking to him. What's another thing that saving
faith does? Saving faith, calls upon Christ. Romans 10, turn
a few words to Romans chapter 10. We call upon Christ. We believe the promise. We believe
the record that's set forth in scripture. We call upon Christ. Joel chapter 2 verse 32 says
this, and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on
the name of the Lord shall be delivered. For in Mount Zion
in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in
the remnant whom the Lord shall call. And then look at Romans
10, verses 10 to 13. Look at this. For with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness. Well, we who believe are being
given a new heart. A heart that loves God and seeks
to serve Him. Look at this though. For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness. And with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there's no difference
between Jew and the Greek. And the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him. For whomsoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Saving faith calls
upon Christ. And we keep calling upon him,
don't we? In prayer. We keep seeking them, you see? So these are things that we can
examine ourselves. Is this true of me? I know it wasn't true of me before
the Lord saved me. I know that, I know that. I didn't
call upon the Lord. I didn't commit my soul to him.
But everything's changed now. Everything's changed. So we examine
ourselves. You know, saving faith, the next
point is saving faith comes to Christ in obedience. Turn, if
you would, to Matthew 11, verse 28. We'll go back to this verse
later on. But look at this. Matthew 11, verse 28. Saving faith comes to Christ
in obedience. In obedience to His call. And
here's His call. Come unto me. Matthew 11, 28. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Are you heavy laden by trying
to work your way to heaven? Because it's work. Christ says, here, come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. Are you weighed
down by constantly trying to do your best, like I used to
do in religion, and then just fall flat in my face about two
hours after I heard a sermon? Because I couldn't do what they
were telling me to do? Come unto me, Christ says, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will. I will. Give you rest now, we're going
to go back to that scripture later on, but there it is, God's
people are made willing. We're made willing and we do
come under him. And we continue to come. We continue
to come here. We flee to the Lord Jesus Christ
and him alone. Turn, if you would, the Proverbs
1810. Did you know that saving faith runs to Christ? We make haste, as one of the
scriptures Brother Matt brought out, we make haste, we run to
Christ, because we're made willing in the day of His power. And
in turn, if you would, put your finger in Numbers 35. I'm sorry,
I should have mentioned that too. Proverbs 18.10 and Numbers
35. Saving faith runs to Christ.
He's our only refuge. He's our only refuge. We have
no other refuge but Christ. Proverbs 18.10 says this, the
name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth
unto it. or into it, the righteous runneth
into it. We run to Christ and look at
what it says, and it's safe. There's no doubt. The believer
is safe in Christ. In Christ, we're safe. And the
believer runs to Christ. Now we continue to run to Christ
too, don't we? As I said, when we get into trials and tribulations,
who's the one we run to? We don't run to each other. We
may ask each other to pray for each other, but who's the one
that we're asking others to pray to? Christ. We run to Christ. We run to Him. We flee to Him. Look at Numbers
35. Saving faith flees to Christ like the manslayer to the city
of refuge. Saving faith flees to Christ
like the manslayer to a city of refuge. There were cities of refuge set
out in Israel that if someone accidentally killed someone,
say they were chopping wood and the axe head flew off and hit
their friend in the head and killed them, that they could
flee to the city of refuge. But there was always the avenger
of blood who would follow them. And the avenger of blood, if
he caught him before he got into the city of refuge, he could
kill him and they wouldn't be held responsible for that. But
if he got into that city of refuge, They were safe. They were safe. And get this until the death
of the high priest, and then they were able to leave the death
of the high priest. Christ is our high priest. It's
amazing. But look at this numbers, 35
versus six to 15. And among the cities which ye
shall give unto the Levites, there shall be six cities for
refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may
flee thither. And to them ye shall add forty
and two cities. So all the cities which ye shall
give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities. Them
shall ye give with their suburbs. And the cities which ye shall
give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel. From
them that have many ye shall give many. But from them that
have few, ye shall give few. And every one shall give of his
cities unto the Levites, according to the inheritance which he inherited.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children
of Israel, and say unto them, When ye become over Jordan into
the land of Canaan, then ye shall appoint you cities to be the
cities of refuge for you, that the slayer may flee thither,
which killeth any person at unawares. And they shall be unto you, cities
for refuge from the Avenger, that the manslayer die not until
he stand before the congregation in judgment. And of these cities
which he shall give, six cities ye have for refuge. Ye shall
give thee three cities on this side of the Jordan, and three
cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities
of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge
both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for
the sojourner among them, that every one that killeth any person
in the wares may flee thither." And let me tell you that the
manslayer, he didn't just casually walk to the city of refuge. He
ran as fast as he could get there. And that city of refuge is a
picture of Christ. Because once you were in that
city, you were safe. You were safe. Oh my. So save in faith. It runs to
Christ. It runs to Christ. Saving faith,
grasp Christ. Turn, if you would, to 1 Timothy
6, 12. Saving faith, grasp Christ. Obeying the command to lay hold
on eternal life, to which ye were also called. We grasp Christ. You remember Jacob held, wouldn't
let go, eh? Wrestled with the angel all night,
wouldn't let go. And that's Christ. He wouldn't let go. He wouldn't
let go, beloved. Oh, we grasp Christ and we hold
on. We hold on to Him. Look at 1 Timothy 6, verse 12. Fight the good fight of faith,
lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called and hast
professed a good profession before many witnesses. So saving faith
lays hold of Christ spiritually as Jacob did physically. saying,
I will not let you go unless you bless me. We cling to Christ. We grasp in and hold on to him. And thankfully, our salvation
is not based upon us holding on him, right? It's based upon
him holding on to us. But the believer does we. Oh,
we don't we don't want to go anywhere else. Where shall we
go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Saving faith receives Christ.
Receives Christ. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
1. Saving faith receives Christ. We are assured that as many as
received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. But as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name. Look at this in John chapter
1. I want to bring a little something
out here in the Greek in these verses here, these two verses.
John chapter 1 verses 11 to 12. He came unto his own and his
own received him not. Now the Greek word therefore
received in verse 11 is to receive near, that is associate oneself. It's not an intimate reception. It's like a reception when you
have someone come to your home who you maybe don't know, someone
knocking on the door and you just, oh, okay, yeah, no, I'm
not interested, goodbye. It's not an intimate reception. Note though here, he came unto
his own, which refers to the nation of Israel, the seed of
Abraham. He came to his temple, came to his priesthood. He came
to the people who had eagerly awaited the appearance of the
Messiah for centuries. And they received him not. They
received him not. It began with this. No room at
the end. And it finished with shouts of
crucify, crucify and mocking and cruel mockings at the cross.
And they cried, we have no king but Caesar. Now, look at verse 12. But as
many as received him. To them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, the
Greek word there is to take. It's a different Greek word. It means to take, to take with
the hand, to lay hold. To lay hold of any person or thing
in order to to use to seize. To seize. Apprehend. And then look at John
1, 13. So those in verse 12 have laid
hold that sees him, take hold of him, were made willing. Think
of that in light of were made willing in the day of his power.
What's the difference between those in verse 11 and those in
verse 12? What's the difference? Only the
grace of God in Christ. Those in verse 12 have obtained
mercy. they've obtained mercy in and
through the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone. Because look at
verse 13, which were born, speaking of those in verse 12, not of,
not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man. There goes free will ism, but
of God. And we know in John chapter three,
Christ is talking to Nicodemus and says, you must be born again.
You must be born again. This is speaking of the new birth
too. We're born of God, the Holy Spirit. Thy people shall be willing
in the day of thy power and the beauties of holiness from the
womb of the morning. Thou hast the dew of the youth.
The unwilling are made willing. The unwilling
are made willing. And we all would have, even we
who are saved right now, we would have been just like those spoken
of in verse 11. If it had not been for the distinguishing
grace of God in Christ, we would never have received him. We would
never have sought him. See, salvation is of the Lord.
He does a work in us, and then we made willing, and we flee
right to Christ. Now, we looked at this in some
of our messages. The next point is saving faith feeds on Christ.
Turn, if you would, to John chapter 6. Saving faith feeds on Christ. We feed on Him. We feed on Him
through the gospel preached, through our studying of the Word.
He's our food and drink, beloved. He's our food and drink. Look
at John chapter 6, verse 35 to 40. And Jesus said unto them,
I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But
I say unto you, that ye also have seen me and believed not.
As many as, remember, he came unto his own, and his own received
him not. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and he that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. Now there is eternal security
for that. Look at this. Here he speaks
of his condescension and how he came down from heaven. For
I came down from heaven Not to do mine own will, but the will
of Him that sent me. What was the will of the Father?
That Christ would save His people from their sins. And He did it. He did it. He's a successful
Savior. He's a successful Savior. And
this is the Father's will which has sent me. That of all which
He hath given me, I should lose nothing. There's a place for
us to hang. hang our hope, isn't it, right?
Christ says, I won't lose any of my sheep. Not one of them.
Not one of them. But should raise it up again
at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent me,
that everyone which seeth the sun and believeth on him may
have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
But note in verse 35, I am the bread of life. He that cometh
to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall
never thirst. We feast. We feast by the on
Christ by the preaching of the gospel, by the reading and studying
of His Word. We feast upon Him. Turn, if you would, to Song of
Solomon. Song of Solomon. Chapter 8. Saving faith leans
on Christ. We lean on Christ. He's our only
hope. There was a time when we who
believed trusted in ourselves, but now we don't. Now we don't. Christ is our only hope. I guess I've said many times,
if you take Christ away, I have nothing. I have no hope. I have no redemption. I have
no sanctification. I have no justification before
God. But in Christ, I have all those things. I'm a sinner, saved
by the grace of God and Christ, plus nothing. Plus nothing. Saving faith leans on Christ,
though. Leans on Him. Song of Solomon, chapter 8, verses
5 to 7. Song of Solomon, chapter 8, verses
5 to 7. Who is this that cometh up from
the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raise thee up
under the apple tree. There thy mother bought thee
forth. There she bought thee forth that bare thee. Set me
as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm. For love
is strong as death. Jealousy is cruel as the grave.
The coals thereof are coals of fire, which have the most veminent
flame. Many waters cannot quench love.
Neither can the floods drown it. If a man would give all the
substance of his house for love, it would be, it would utterly
be contempt. No one who leans on Christ, no
one, no one who leans on Christ will be lost in the wilderness.
No one, no one, no one. He's our only hope. No one who
leans on Christ, who trusts in Christ, who rests in Christ,
who reposes in Christ shall ever be lost. Why? Because he's everything to us.
We've abandoned all hope in ourselves, haven't we? The believer has literally abandoned
all hope in himself. God, the Holy Spirit, has manifested
to us our sinfulness and our other guilt, guilty, how we're
totally guilty before God. And we who believe have fled
the Christ, who is our only righteousness. Who is our only sanctification?
Who is our only redemption? Can you pay for one of your sins?
I ask you, saved or lost here, can you pay for one of your sins
before God? Just one. Can you pay what God
demands for just one of your sins? I can't. But I can tell you one
who paid the price for all of my sins. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ.
He paid it all, and I'm complete in Him, Galatians says. I'm complete
in Him. This salvation is not based upon
anything I do. It's based upon all the work
what He did. Everything that He did. The last point is this. Saving faith rests in Christ
and Him alone. Turn back, if you would, to Matthew
chapter 11. I told you we were gonna go back
here, and we'll go back here. Look at this. Save and face rest
in Christ and Him alone. We have no other rest but Christ.
He is the only hope for the salvation of our souls is Christ and Him
alone. If you're trusting in yourselves and you die in your
sins, it'll lead to your eternal doom. And I don't care if you're
just trusting in a pinprick of your works, it'll lead to your
eternal doom. It's either Christ plus nothing
in everything He did, for there's no salvation. Look at this, saving
faith rests in Christ and Him alone. Look at this, Matthew
11, verses 28 to 30. Come unto Me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. And I know, I
know from the fact that coming out of religion, that religion
is labor, trying to work your way to heaven is labor, and you
get heavy laden, but all the rest that's in Christ. Cease
from your labors and flee to Christ. And then he says in verse
29, take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and
lowly in heart. He left the glories and splendors
of heaven to come to this earth to die upon Calvary's cross.
Not for sins of his own, because he's perfect, he's sinless, he's
spotless, he's the perfect Lamb of God, but for the sins of his
people. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest. Now notice in the previous verse
it's rest from our works. Look at this. You shall find
rest unto your souls. That's eternal rest. That's eternal
rest. That's rest for our souls. And
that's what Christ is. He's our rest. He's our eternal
rest. And it's in Christ and Him alone.
He didn't say, plus your works. No, it's all about Christ. Take
my yoke upon you and learn of me. Oh, my God, the Holy Spirit
show you Christ and teach you him. And he says, for I am meek
and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls. And
look what he says in verse 30 for my yoke is easy. And my burden
is light. Why is it easy? Because it's
not based upon our works. It's based upon his work. And
what he's done. It's all about Christ. So one
who's saved, saving faith, does these things, right? We rest
in Christ, don't we? That's who we rest in. Saving
faith rests in the Savior. In a Savior. Because there's
no other. In a Savior. The Savior who finished
the work. Christ did it all. He's dying
on the cross. And He cries. It is Finished! He finished the work. He satisfied
God's law. He satisfied God's justice in
the sinner's place. In the place of His people. And
He cries out, and these are words that bring us tears of joy, but
knowing what our Lord suffered, it is finished. And what does finished mean? It means it's done. So the believer in Christ rests
in Him. And rests in what He's done.
The Greek word for finished means this. And turn if you would to
John 19.30. We'll look at this one verse here. Look at this.
John 19.30. Our Lord upon the cross. And
we're closed with this. John 19. Verse 30. When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. Note he bowed his head and he
gave up the ghost. He finished all the work. And
the word finished here in the Greek means this, to bring to
a close. to bring to a close. So if something's
brought to a close, is there anything we can add to it? No. It also means this, to finish,
to end, accomplish, make an end, expire, fill up, finish, go over,
pay, perform. That covers everything. This is the hope of the gospel.
And it's honey to God's people. And we rest in the fact that
Christ finished the work for us on Calvary's cross. All that
God required for the salvation of the believer is finished. Finished. Paid in full. Paid in full. Nothing else owing.
Paid in full. Now the question is, for you
and for me, after looking at these 11 points that saving faith
does, is our faith saving faith? Heavenly Father, oh, we come
before your throne so thankful, so thankful for
the mercy which we who believe have received being given to
us in Christ Jesus and Him alone. And the fact that you had your
heart and your love set upon your people from eternity just
leaves us in awe. And the fact that Christ left
the glories and splendors of heaven to die upon the cross,
the sinless one, the perfect one, the spotless one, to die
for sinners. May we just marvel. at your words
which you cried out to, Lord, it is finished. Oh, may I rest
in that and just trust in you. I thank you for your mercy and
goodness towards me and towards your people. In Jesus' name,
amen.