"The Effect of True Faith"

Q: What does the Bible say about true faith?

True faith is a divine work of God that leads to everlasting life and righteousness through Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that true faith is not a mere act of belief or intellectual agreement; it is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. In John 6:47, Jesus states, 'He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.' This faith is rooted in the recognition of our spiritual deadness due to sin and our absolute need for Christ, the Bread of Life. It leads to a transformation where the believer acknowledges that life, righteousness, and redemption are found solely in Christ. This transformation is evidenced by an enduring faith that looks to Christ alone for all aspects of salvation - life, righteousness, and sustenance.

Q: How do we know that faith in Christ is true?

True faith is known by its effects, predominantly righteousness and a sustained belief in Christ. The authenticity of faith in Christ is evidenced by the transformation it brings in the life of the believer. According to scripture, true faith is marked by a reliance solely on Christ for righteousness and life. It produces a continual desire to follow and be conformed to Him. As expressed in Romans 3:22, 'Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe,' indicates that true faith results in justification by God. Therefore, true faith is a gift from God and manifests in a life that undeniably seeks Him and bears witness to His work in salvation. Believers will display a changed life that clings to Christ, reaffirming that their faith is alive.

Q: Why is total depravity important for Christians?

Total depravity emphasizes humanity's inability to seek God without divine intervention. Understanding total depravity is crucial in the Christian faith as it underlines the necessity of grace. Scripture explicitly states that we are all born spiritually dead due to Adam's sin (Romans 5:12). This means that humanity is incapable, on its own, of seeking God or doing anything to earn His favor. Recognizing this reality leads to an acknowledgment of our profound need for Christ, the Bread of Life, who provides spiritual sustenance and life. By grasping the concept of total depravity, believers can appreciate the depth of mercy in God’s redemptive plan and the importance of grace in salvation. Without acknowledging our fallen state, we may mistakenly think we could contribute to our righteousness, which ultimately undermines God’s sovereignty and the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.

Reading through that passage in Exodus, I don't know about you, but all I could see was Christ. All I could see, burning bush, all I could see was Christ. As he walked among men, the great I am, the light of the world, burning brightly, Moses putting his hand in his bosom and out. Boy, that's a picture of our natures, isn't it? through two natures, in one man leprous and clean, serpent of the law, feared, and then grabbed by the tail. What a wonderful thing the Lord has done to deliver us. Man, the Scriptures are just dripping with Christ. You can't help, if you just look for Him, you'll find Him everywhere.

I'm going to preach from John chapter 6, but I want us to go to God in prayer again. I need it. I need it. I need his grace. I need his strength. I can't preach without it. And I'm going to give you a hint. You can't hear without it. God don't open it to you, it'll be as dead as this wood. Man, if he'll open it to us. He'll visit. We can rejoice. Let's go to him in prayer.

My gracious Father in heaven, we bow ourselves. Confessing our desire to worship, but confessing our inability. There is no strength in us except it come from thy Holy Spirit given to us in the new man, we could never ever worship thee in spirit and in truth. And I know it is my heart and is the heart of all that have gathered here. And we ask that you give us the grace, the strength, the power, the wisdom, the understanding to worship you and give praise as the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified is preached. The source of our life, our righteousness, our redemption, our sanctification, our wisdom. You have made him that. And we give you praise for giving us the faith, the trust and believe in him. And I ask this day, you give me liberty of your spirit. I need it. I won't stand here by myself, Lord. Except you go with me. I don't want to go. But if you go with me, these that you have called will hear according to your wisdom and strength.

I pray that they will for their benefit, for their comfort and for those that are outside of Christ, those who do not believe that this day you might give them faith. Those who are deceived that you would open their understanding and that they may have true faith that is given of the spirit. Please forgive us our sins. And this moment cleanse us of our unrighteousness. Even as we confess our sins before you, you promised that you would. Take us, take us away from the cares of this life and set our minds on Christ and these things we ask in his name and for his sake. Amen. All right. John chapter six. John. Chapter 6. I'll take my text from verse 47, but we're going to go over a lot of this chapter's one instance here. Our Lord Jesus Christ says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, path everlasting life. Entitled this message, the effect of true faith, the effect of true faith. Now, the men the Lord Jesus Christ was preaching to, you remember, they saw the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Our Lord took those five loaves and two fishes and they witnessed A great miracle. He fed 5,000 men with just that.

They saw it. Not only did they see it, they ate it. They actually touched the bread. They ingested it in them. They were filled with it, the scripture says. It wasn't just one or two crumbs. They were full. so that they couldn't want any more. They couldn't take any more. I had that last night. Couldn't take any more. I got so full, you could offer me a steak, and I couldn't have done it. That's how full they were.

And yet our Lord Jesus Christ leaves these 5,000 and goes across the sea. And they wake up in the morning, they say, where'd he go? Now, these men, after they saw that miracle, they had the intent to make him king. They believed. They confessed faith. They said, this is the Christ. Let's take him and make him king. When Jesus left them there, he sailed to the other side and these men followed after him. And the Lord reveals the true nature of their faith. They had faith. They had faith. So much faith that they sailed across the sea. They left their home. They left what they knew. They went across the sea. They followed him over there.

They were going to make him king. And notice what Jesus says about these people. He said in verse 26, he answered and said to them, Verily, verily, I say to thee, you seek me not because you saw the miracle. but because you did eat the loaves and were filled." These men sought him and believed him based on some physical thing that they wanted. They wanted bread.

And he said, labor not. Verse 27, labor not. for the meat which perisheth. But for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, listen, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for Him hath God the Father sealed." God set His seal on the Son. They witnessed it when they ate those loaves. They witnessed that God had set His seal on Him.

But He says, I've come to give you something more. than physical bread. Don't labor for that physical bread. This is the bread you need. The bread that endures unto everlasting life. That bread they sought, that carnal physical bread, it's necessary, isn't it? We have to eat in order to survive. We have to eat physical food. But how long does that last? You know, this morning I was hungry. As full as all last night, couldn't eat anymore. And this morning I needed something more. That's what physical bread can do. It only sustains for a moment and more is needed. But Jesus Christ said, I've come to give you a bread that does not need more. This bread that I give to you is a bread that endures, that satisfies not just once, but forever. And he says, don't labor for that other bread.

How many today are laboring in religion for some carnal experience? Listen, if you're looking for an entertainer, you've come to the wrong place. I'm not an entertainer. I'm not going to satisfy and tickle your inner your your need for that. That's what religion wants. They want something to tickle their minds, to get them excited. You want some excitement. They get music and they have all sorts of sights and smells and sounds. What? To excite the flesh. You know what? You go away and guess what? You're going to need more of that. As soon as you get home, it's going to be gone. As soon as you leave, it'll be gone. So they labor in these spirit, these ritualistic things, these religious things that don't satisfy.

But he says, don't I've got something greater. I have a bread that you don't know anything about, a bread that satisfies not once, but forever. Jesus in this bread, as you know, this he's pointing to himself. The only bread that satisfies the soul forever is Jesus. That's it. He's the bread. He said, I am the bread of life. So Jesus is pointing to a spiritual food that's not made with hands, that is himself who gives life. He calls himself the bread of what? Life. Life. Why? Because he's the giver of life. He's the giver of life. He's a sustainer of life, not just to the body, but something more important to the soul.

The soul. You see, man by nature. Is spiritually dead. Spiritually dead. And this is a result of Adam. This is a result of the fall. You were born spiritually dead because of your father, because of my father, I was born spiritually dead. Adam was our father and by him we all died. This is not a question of theology, it's a statement of scripture. Romans chapter five, the apostle makes it very plain.

He said, wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world. Satan did not bring sin into this world. He's the father of it, but he did not bring sin into this world. He was in this world when he took that form of the serpent. He was in this world and nothing was contaminated by him. He touched the trees. He touched the other thing. Nothing he touched was contaminated.

Until when? Until Adam ate. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, listen to this, so, this is the result of that, so, death passed on all men, not arbitrarily, for all had sinned. When Adam sinned, you sinned. When Adam sinned, you sinned. He was a representative man. This is what the scripture teaches, that Adam was a representative man of his whole race. You know what happened when Eve ate? Nothing. You realize that? Nothing changed. Nothing. She represented no one. But he did. And when he ate, both of their eyes were opened.

Religion tells you that man is independent of a federal head, that he comes into this world sinless, and he becomes a sinner based on what he does. That's not what the Scripture teaches. The psalmist said in Psalm 51, verse 5, he said, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. You see the problem? Man doesn't need physical bread that only sustains this physical life, what he needs is a bread that gives him spiritual life. That is the greatest need that any man ever has, is to have spiritual life.

Why? Because he's dead. He's dead. Now what does it mean to be spiritually dead? When I say a man is spiritually dead, we can't see it, we can't smell the spiritual corpse. What's the evidence of it? The evidence of a spiritually dead man is he cannot, he cannot please God. That's the evidence. He is absolutely, utterly incapable and unwilling to please God, obey God, seek God, or know God. He's unable. Everybody can see the picture that is laid out before us. You put a dead corpse down here and you ask him to do anything. He cannot do anything. He's dead. This is how we are spiritually and Lord Jesus Christ in our Texas plainly, openly declares this to these men. He makes no bones about it.

These men asked in the very beginning, in verse 28, they said, what shall we do to do the works of God? In other words, how are we going to make bread? That's what they were asking. How are we going to do this? Isn't this what religion asks? How can we be righteous? What work do I need to do to please God? Look what Jesus answered. He said, this is the work of God. You realize that faith is a work of God? You cannot believe apart from the work of God. It is the work of God.

And then look what he says to him in verse 44. They start murmuring about his gospel now. He's got down, he said, I'm the bread of life. I'm gonna give my flesh and eat my flesh, drink my blood. They're all upset about this. He said, what are you murmuring for? What are you complaining for? Look at that verse 40.

No man can come unto me. No man can come unto me. Listen, except I like that. I'm thankful for that. I'm glad he didn't stop it. No man can come to me and walk away. He said no man can accept. There's an exception. What's the exception? Except the father which has sent me draw him. And I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, they shall all be taught of God and every man that hath heard and have learned of the father, what do they do? What is the effect of this? What is the effect of this life, this exception, this work of the father that they come to me? They come to me. No man can come to Christ or believe on him. It is not a work of will. It is not a work of merit. It is totally the work of God, and only God can draw man to Christ.

That's it. It's simple, isn't it? I'm not telling you anything complicated, am I? The words are very plain. I know they're offensive to the natural man, but it doesn't matter. They're true. No man can come to Christ. will not come because he cannot. Now to the natural man, he believes he can come anytime he wants to. Isn't that the thought of man? Well, I'll come later. What was that? It was that ruler. He said, well, I'll come at a more convenient time. Like he had some say in this. Now he was dead and God never was going to meet him. God was never going to give him life.

Isn't that why he raised up Pharaoh? Pharaoh. He just raised up Pharaoh. Pharaoh, he said, I've raised you up to kill you. And that's all your life has done. Just to show my power. I've orchestrated your whole life to show my power to my people, and I damn you.

That's what he did. So no man could come to Christ unless he is quickened. Unless he gives him life. They tell a dead man to drink some water, and he can't unless he has what? Life. And Jesus is telling you in this text, I'm the bread of life. I'm the one that gives life.

No one else. You can't give yourself life. You can't give yourself faith. No man can come to me. This is surely the most hated doctrine in this generation, isn't it? Doctrine of man's total, absolute, complete, and utter depravity. It's just hated. Don't worry, it was hated here.

In verse, what was it? 60, 64, somewhere around in there. Let's see. Yeah, verse 64, it says, and there are some of you that believe not. Wait, let's see. Make sure, 66. And from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. Now, why'd they do that? Because he preached to them their depravity. Their inability. This was the message rejected by the men of Jesus' day. It's rejected in our day. It's hated in our day. Why? Because men are dead.

You that know this, you that know your spiritual condition before God gave you life, we should not be so Upset with the religious world we were part of it We once were dead in our sins and God gave us life you know what the You know what the evidence of total depravity is man rejecting his total depravity It's the evidence of total depravity And so the question then comes, why preach, right?

God's going to give life to whomsoever he will, and it's not based on anything in time or what a man does or any ability, then why preach? That was asked Spurgeon. He said, if God only is going to save the elect, sir, then why preach? And Spurgeon said, sir, if you would kindly point out the elect to me, I will only preach to them. I don't have a clue. I don't have a clue, the elect are. You know, Jesus Christ was preaching to these men who were never his. Isn't that something?

So why preach? Well, because this is the means God's chosen to give life through the preaching of the gospel. And I have hope in this, that some will believe. Some God will give life to. That's why I'm excited to preach because I know He will. There are some. God purposed some. In verse 37, He said this. He names who they are. All that the Father giveth me. What does that scripture next?

As many as were ordained to eternal life, what did they do? Believe. They had life because of the sovereign will of God, that purpose. And I'm thankful that God has purpose to save some. Had he not purpose to give life, none of us would have lived. You that are living, isn't that right? You would have never lived had he not purpose to give you life.

Jesus preaching to these dead sinners and he said, this is his message, I'm the bread of life. That's my message to you. He's the bread of life. There's no other place to have life. There's no other place and hope for the soul except Christ. This is he read.

I am has sent me. This is one of his I am. I am the bread of life. I am. I'm God. What manifest in the flesh, that's what he was telling them. I'm the bread of life. So the greatest need of man is to have life. Verse 35, Jesus says, I am the bread of life.

He that cometh to me, listen to this, shall never hunger. He that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you that you also have seen and have not believed me. Here is the simple gospel and the effects of Christ. upon the soul that he gives life to everyone he gives life.

What's the evidence of this life? How does one know he is spiritually alive? You know, before I was given life, I didn't even know I was spiritually dead. I didn't know I was spiritually dead until he gave me spiritual life to see what I was. Then when I saw what I was, what could I do? but come to Christ, the only source of life.

Is there anything else you could have done? When God gave you life, tell me something else you wanted to do besides come to Christ. I've heard people come and say they come to Christ and then they want to add stuff. I didn't want to add anything. I didn't have anything to add. I was dead. All full of sin. had no righteousness in myself, what could I add to him?

This is what I was taught of the father, that I had no hope in myself. And I saw this. I saw that Jesus alone was all my hope. And I know this, that true faith in Christ has this effect. You don't want anything else. Now what Paul said, he said, those things gained to me I count as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, whom I do count all things but done that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness. Well, I didn't have any. not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but the righteousness which is by the faith of Jesus Christ. That's the only righteousness I wanted. That's the only hope I wanted. So faith then looks only to him, nothing else.

And once a person believes this, this is our Lord's message is that you have all you need. If you have him, you have all you need. You don't need anything else. What else do you need? And so I want to show you the effect of righteousness. It gives you life.

Now, faith is not the cause of life. Faith is the evidence of it. Faith in Christ is always the evidence of life. It's not the cause. Religion's got it backwards. They tell you, you believe, and that's the cause of life. No, no. My faith is not the bread of life. Christ is. And so faith is the effect, the effect of life. Now, the second thing is this, the effect of faith is righteousness. Righteousness.

Now, how ignorant and depraved is man to suppose that he could supply some measure of righteousness before God? That's another proof of man's depravity, isn't it? That he supposes that he could be acceptable to God based on something he does. I was talking to a man, and this is common. I asked him, you know, who is God? And the common response is, well, I think. I said, that's your problem. I had another person say, well, I feel like God is, well, there's your problem. Because your opinion of God and my opinion of God really don't count. What does God say about himself is the only thing that matters. God, in his word, declares the simple truth of this, that he is holy and demands you to be holy. It's not an option.

Religion, holiness is partial, isn't it? It's leveled. you get to a certain level of Christianity, and then you persevere a little bit more, you sanctify yourself a little bit more, and you get a little more holy. Holiness is not partial. You can't be part holy. You are either holy or you're not. Listen to what God demands. Leviticus chapter 19, verse 2, God said, Be ye holy. Listen to this, even as. I am holy. The requirement of God is not partial. You are either holy or you're not. Remember that heathen king, he asked, what am I going to do to be accepted with God? Shall I give 10,000 rivers of oil? Shall I give 10,000 rams? Shall I give my firstborn?

What does it take? And he said this, he has showed thee, O man, what is good and what the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to be perfect. Is that not? You got that? You know what you have to do to be accepted with God? Be perfect. And then when you're perfect, walk humbly. How can you do that? Is that possible for you to be perfect at anything and then be humble about it? Anybody experience that? Well, that country song, Lord, it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way. That's the way man is. Man can't be humble and perfect. And listen to this. He's neither. He's neither just nor humble.

God's holiness is not an option to be holy as God is holy. That's the requirement that God has. Therefore, Paul concludes this, that nobody's holy. Go to Romans chapter 3. So man needs life. Christ is the only source of life. Man needs righteousness. Man needs holiness. What's the source of that? It's Christ. Listen to this. Because in ourselves, we are not holy. Romans chapter 3. Now, I want you to get this. Paul is dealing with negative and positive sin. Passive and active. In the first group, he said this is passive. Notice this.

As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth. There's none that seeketh after God. They are all together gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. He's describing your nature. Passively. That's just you passively. Without doing anything, just sitting there. That's who you are. None of us righteous.

Now notice this, and he goes active. He said, now when you open your mouth, what happens? He said, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness at feet, swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their ways the way of peace they have not known. There's no fear of God before their eyes. And that's active. That's everything we do. Our mouth, when we open it, in praise to God is nothing but sin. What then is the hope of righteousness?

Religion will tell you it's a law, right? That's what religion will do. They'll point you to stop doing this and start doing that. Start coming to church, pay your tithes, do this, do that, stop that, stop that. They turn you to law. What does the scripture say here? Look at verse 19.

We know that whatsoever thing the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law for this purpose, that every mouth may be stopped and the world may become guilty before God. Law can't do anything but make you expose your guilt, can't help you in any way to be righteous. It can only show you this, that you're not righteous. When you look at the law, what do you see?

A man told me that he said, well, we go to Christ and we're made right, but we've got to maintain or we've got to do those things pleasing to God, so we've got to go back to the Ten Commandments. And I asked him, I said, well, what do you do with the other 610, 603 commandments? There's 613 commandments in the covenant of the law. Okay? I asked him what 583 was.

Had no clue. Neither did I. By the way, I didn't look it up. I just know whatever it was, I didn't obey it. I sure didn't. And so we know this, that the law has a purpose. Shut your mouth. That's it. That's the purpose of the law. cannot provide righteous. Therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. So then how is a man made righteous? Listen, the same way he was made a sinner is the same way he's made righteous.

I love this. By a federal head. I was made a sinner. I never met Adam. I don't know what he looked like, don't know I can't imagine what he was like before he fell. I kind of understand what he was after he fell. But I never met him. But you know what?

Through that man, I was made a sinner. Through his sin, I was made a sinner. Paul says in that same chapter in Romans 5, that's the same way I'm made righteous. That's glorious. I know the Lord Jesus Christ. By faith, I know him. By experience of grace, I know Him. One day, I'm gonna see Him. I'm gonna be able to touch Him. I don't need faith anymore. They'll touch Him. But right now, I see Him by faith. But I know this, the only way I was gonna be made righteous is by His righteousness, and no other way. That's what Paul said.

Look at Romans 3 again. He said, but now, the righteousness of God, that righteousness we need, without the law. And what a glorious statement that is without my participation. Righteousness of God without my help. Being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of God. Which is by the faith of Jesus Christ. You that believe, how was your righteousness made? My righteousness was made by the faith of Jesus Christ. How much? All of it.

It's not a cooperative effort. This is good news. Friend to a sinner, this is the greatest news. Righteousness is not a cooperative effort. It's not part of his work and part of my work. It's all his work. And that's how I know it's perfect. The moment I put my hand to it, it's imperfect. I don't have this, but Uzzah, what a great picture that is, isn't it? That arc of the covenant being carried the wrong way on that card, it stumbles. And Uzzah, with all the sincerity, I give that man the benefit of the doubt that he really sincerely loved that arc. But when he put his hand to steady that heart, he ruined the picture. We put our hands to Christ's righteousness, you ruin it.

Do you want to? Is there anything you've done that you want to add to his? A believer knows that there's no such thing as cooperative righteousness. It is the complete work of Jesus Christ Unto all, look at this, unto all and upon all them that believe. I like the way he said unto and upon. Why? Unto and upon. Why not just two? Why use those two words? Because it has a dual effect.

When God gives us faith and life, he gives us a new nature. And that new nature is righteous. It's like he was talking about putting his hand in his bosom, pulls out his leprosy, puts it back in, comes out, it's clean. He's showing you this, that man who is a believer in Christ, it has two natures, one that he's born with, and that does not change. When a believer is made righteous, you confess this, that you are made righteous only by Jesus Christ. You know this. We sin. Where does that come from? Well, that comes from the nature you're born with. What is this desire that you have to be righteous? I mean, you desire these things. Well, that comes from the new man that is righteous. And therefore, you got something going on inside. You got a constant warfare within yourself. Worst enemy of the believer is self. If it weren't for self, the world and Satan would have no hold at all. Isn't that right? If it wasn't for me.

But when God gives us the bread of life, he gives us righteousness that cannot be tainted by the old man. It's when this flesh goes to the grave, what goes to heaven? Me, the new man that God has created in holiness. He goes to heaven. What a glorious gift that we who have eaten the bread of life have righteousness and will never hunger for it. He's all my righteous. Secondly, he is all my redemption.

You don't have a clock. And that's y'all's fault. You should have a clock up there. I have no idea what time I started, what time I'm in the middle or close to the end. I don't know where I'm at. So if you start walking out on me, I guess that'll be the time I need to quit.

The second part of this is redemption. We not only need righteousness, we need redemption. God can't give you a righteousness without his justice being satisfied. We do it all the time. We forgive because we are sinners ourselves. We understand. You do something to me, I can kind of understand you.

And I won't require payment for it. God's not like you and me. He can't give you a righteousness without first satisfying his justice. You have sin. I have sinned. We need a payment that we cannot make. I can't. It is astounding. I cannot make my righteousness and I have nothing to offer. God requires payment that I can't give. Look there in Romans three again for all of sin. Verse 23, over all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now, how can he make me righteous when all have sinned?

Listen, being justified, you know what that word means? I know you heard it just as if I never sinned. That's not true. It's not what it means. It means I never sinned. That's what justified means. You can't be justified if you sin. You're not just. To be justified is to be completely sinless. Listen, being justified, how? Freely. Now, I couldn't be justified any other way, but freely. What's the means? By his grace, but there has to be through. It has to be through something. Grace is not like a grandfather kindly giving you a quarter. That's not grace.

The grace it took was the offering of his own son for your sin. Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be the propitiation for our sins. Hope, when you read that word propitiation, you think of the Great Day of Atonement, because that's what he meant. Or you can think about it.

That high priest, a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every part of the Great Day of Atonement is Jesus Christ. He's the high priest. He's the high priest that makes the offering. You remember those two goats that are set before the priest? One is a scapegoat, and the priest confesses all of the sins on the head of the scapegoat. And the Scripture says a strong man comes.

He takes that scapegoat in his arms and he just starts walking. You see him and he gets smaller and smaller and smaller until he's what? A picture of what Christ did for our sins. He bore our sins in his own body and carried them away to a place that not even God can see.

This is what the bread of life has done for me, for you who believe. This is the effect of grace, is that he carried all of our sins. Jeremiah 15, verse 20, you should mark it down. It says this, and he said, I sought for the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found. For the iniquity of Israel and theirs shall be none.

Who's seeking? God was seeking. He said, when I search, I won't find any. Why? Because my scapegoat bore them away. Now how did he do that? Well, that takes the other goat to picture that. He retched down with a knife and he slit the throat of that other goat and the blood poured out. He took that blood from that other goat and he brought it in to the presence of God and he sprinkled it on the mercy seat for propitiation.

I'm not getting away with anything. My sins have all been punished. Just not in me. I've been justified through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. That's the only hope of my justification. So when Christ says I have provided I'm the bread of life that satisfies. He satisfies to give me life. He satisfies to give me righteousness. And listen, he has satisfied God to redeem my soul from sin. He has redeemed us. Peter says, you've not been redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold and your vain tradition of law, but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. But one more place here for this in Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Yeah, Hebrews chapter 10. Verse 9, Jesus says, Lo, I come in the ball to do thy will, O God.

He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the witch will, we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ, Jesus Christ. How many times? How many times you've been sanctified? Now, you are sanctified by the will of God. We're going to get to that in just a second. The will of God. You are only made holy by the will of God. Through the offering of Jesus Christ and you are made holy once. How many times did he die? Once. How many times were you sanctified? Once. I was only sanctified by the will of God through the offering of Jesus Christ once for all.

Every priest ended daily ministering, offering the same sacrifice to which you never take away sin. Well, what a picture of religion that is. They just keep trying, keep on trying, never getting there, never able, ever learning, and never able to come to the truth. Truth's simple. But this man, this man, after he'd offered one sacrifice for sin, what'd he do? He sat down. What does that mean, sat down? You know, no priest in the law ever sat down. There's no chair in there. You go in there and do that sacrifice, there's no chair. Why? They're never done.

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice, he sat down, henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by his one offering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. You that have eaten this bread of life, is that not satisfying?

How much more sacrifice do you need? How much more righteousness do you need? Jesus said, I am the bread of life, and he that eats this bread shall never hunger and never thirst. You're not going to have any more need of these things. Why? Because Christ is all. So then who will believe? Man is dead. and Jesus Christ is the bread of life and he's the only one. Who in the world is going to believe?

Just as I told you, the Father except the Father which has sent me draw him. There are some that... Who are these? Listen, they are all that the Father gave Christ. I want you to understand why you believe. You that believe, I want you to understand why. You believe because God purposed for you to believe. You were given to the Son.

Verse 37 of John 6, go back there real fast, John 6, 36. These men heard, they didn't believe, but Jesus was not disappointed. John 6, verse 37, all that the Father giveth me, what's going to happen? shall come to me, not one more and not one less, all that the Father giveth me. They will come to me. Does that sound like any other religious man in the world? Did anybody else say that? He said, they shall come to me. The reason you came to Him is because the Father gave you to Him, and His will was that you come.

You didn't know that. You had no clue of that. Until when? Until after it's already over, until it's already happened. I remember one lady telling me the greatest example of faith is this. She said, I was listening to a message, and before I started, I knew this. I did not believe. What she said, her statement was firm. I did not believe. But somewhere in the middle of that message, she said, I could not help but believe. You didn't believe.

Is there anything else you want to do? Tell me, is there any other thing you want than to believe? What believer ever said, I want less faith? Anybody want less faith? Are you always begging for more? What about less love? You want less love? I just got too much love. I just think I need less. Nobody ever said that, that belief.

Why? Because we were given to the Father, and the only reason we believe, the only reason we eat this bread, there's no difference between us and the other religious world other than He purposed. And notice this, he says, I came down from heaven, not through mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the father's will which has sent me, that of all he had given me, I should lose how many? How many will he lose? Tell me. How many will not believe? Religious world tells you that there's many he loves that won't believe, many he died for that won't believe. That is a little G God, because I don't know who that is.

Our Lord said, No, I'm not going to lose one of them. Now, this is encouraging to us who believe. Why? Because all true faith, the evidence of faith is this, it endures. I'll tell you this, there's a lot of times we have little faith. And we always want more. I mean, even when we think, even, tell you the truth, when we have strong faith, we probably recognize that we still need more. But one true evidence of faith is this, It always endures. It can't do anything else.

At the end of this, when everybody leaves, Jesus said, will you go away also? How many times has that question come to you? Because of difficulties, or trials, or afflictions, or your own self, whatever it is that's pulling you in the opposite direction of believing Christ? Will you leave also? Well, I don't like what the Lord's doing with me. Will you leave also? My answer every time is this. Where else am I gonna go? I have no place else to go. You have the words of eternal life. You are my righteousness. You are my redemption. You are my life.

I've got nowhere else to go. The evidence of true faith is that it doesn't go anywhere. It stays holy, completely resting on Christ. It doesn't turn to Christ and then to the law. Listen to me, if you've turned from Christ to the law, your faith is a lie. That's just so. You've abandoned Christ, that's what Paul said in Galatians 1. You read it for yourself, it's another gospel. I marvel that you're so soon removed from him.

The believer, he can't go back to the law. There's no hope in the law. His whole life is spent believing on Christ. This is the effect of true faith, is that it endures. Why? Because the promise is this, listen, whosoever believeth in me hath everlasting life. You have it. You got that? It's not something you're gonna get, it's something you have. How long are you going to have it? Well, it's everlasting, isn't it? How long are you going to have it? Well, you'll have it forever. Why? Simply because of this.

It's not based on anything you do. I was going to preach another text. Scripture says that in Romans 5, he said, God commended His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died. He realized that and He didn't wait for you. He didn't wait for you to get better. In other words, none of this is dependent on you whatsoever. In fact, you were saved before you were called.

That's what He says in 2 Timothy 1, I think it's verse 9, He said, Who hath saved us first, Then what? Called us. Before I had faith, God had already purposed my salvation, planned it, and then executed it. And then, in an act of grace, he gave it to me. And right now, he is constantly keeping me in the faith, never to let me go.

So what then shall separate you from the love of God's in Christ? You believe you that have tasted and eaten of him. What in the world will contaminate your righteousness, seeing it's not of you? What will contaminate the offering that he has made in your behalf? Since you didn't give yourself faith, you can't keep it.

He does. And I want you to... Wish you had a clock. Sure made me feel more comfortable. Next time, put a clock up there so I can feel more comfortable about this. But I want you to see that there is nothing that can remove you from Him. Don't you need that? Because you feel like everything is moving you from Him. You feel you don't deserve it. Well, you don't. You feel like that you're not enough. You're not.

But the joy is He never based any of it on you and your salvation. Your salvation is infinitely tied to the glory of God. You know that? Now, as to why He did that, boy, that's a... Only answer he gives is grace, doesn't he? It doesn't really give us a full explanation, it just says grace. That's the only explanation he gives.

But you realize this, that you were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world that you should be holy without blame before him, in love having predestinated unto you, unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, unto the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made you accepted. in the beloved.

Then what? He redeemed you. Then what? He called you. Then what? He keeps you. And then what? You die and you go to glory, waiting for the resurrection of your body. All of it's done. Those words ring in your ear. It is finished. It is finished. It is finished. Now tell me, is it finished? Do you need any other bread than Christ? Not one who's tasted of Him. I don't want any other bread than Christ.

"The Effect of True Faith"

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about true faith?

How do we know that faith in Christ is true?

Why is total depravity important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Fred Evans

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"The Effect of True Faith"

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about true faith?

How do we know that faith in Christ is true?

Why is total depravity important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Fred Evans

Comments

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