The Evidence of Saving Faith

Thank you, Adam. I can't think of a better hymn to tie these two messages I want to try to bring this morning together. So many things we don't know. We don't know how the Spirit moves and makes us willing. We don't know what God's doing in Providence. But we know whom. We know whom. we have believed.

Knowing Christ, and we are persuaded, we're persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have, and that word committed, you know, so many times we use the word commit or commitment as a word to describe our determination. But it means to commit something to trust that which I have committed to his trust. I've put this on Christ.

I'm I'm I'm resting in him for all my righteousness and for all my salvation. I don't have any place else to go. Let's open our Bibles to Hebrews 3. Hebrews 3. I've titled this message, The Evidence of Saving Faith. What is the evidence of saving faith? And you'll have to wait for the fourth point of the message to hear that answer, because I want to deal with the necessity of saving faith first. And I want to deal a little bit with the nature of saving faith first and the source of saving faith. Where does this saving faith come from? And hopefully by the time we get to the end, the evidence of saving faith will be clear from these other things that the Lord has told us about saving faith. Lots of different kinds of faith in life. You know, Everybody here is exercising faith, right? You haven't thought about that pew holding you up. You just sat on it. You trusted it.

And in that sense, we have faith in many, many things. What is it to have saving faith? And the first thing that is clear about saving faith, it is we must have it. If we're to be saved, we must believe. Without faith, without faith, it is impossible to please God.

For they that come to him must believe that he is and that he's the rewarder of them who diligently seek him. Hebrews chapter three, Verse six, but Christ, the Lord is revealing the glory of Christ over Moses. Moses was faithful as a servant, but Christ as the son of God, whose name is faithful, is the one who saves. But Christ as a son over his house, whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of hope firm unto the end. Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith today, if you will hear his voice. Look down with me to verse 14. For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.

There's no salvation. Apart from faith. For by grace, we're not saved by faith, but we're saved through faith. We're saved by grace. By grace, are you saved? Through faith. Through faith. And that not of yourself, it's a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. What is faith? It is an empty hand that receives everything from God. Faith is not our contribution to salvation. Faith is the confession that we have nothing to contribute. Men by nature will make a work out of faith. They will make their faith the deciding factor in being saved. Faith by its very definition is the absence of all works and all ability.

Faith is what a little child does when it can't do anything for itself. Suffer the little children to come unto me, for such is the kingdom of God. Lest you become as a little child. It's amazing to watch a child, a small child, and how trusting they are. That's what faith is. That child is aware of the fact that there's many things they cannot do for themselves. This faith is an absolute necessity. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. There's no salvation apart from believing. You remember that father who came brokenhearted with a son who was possessed of an evil spirit.

And he brought his son to the disciples and the disciples were not able to help him. And the father brings this child to the Lord and says to the Lord, if thou art able, Your disciples weren't able. If you are able, have compassion on us and help us. And what the Lord say to that man, not my ability in question here, it's your ability. If you are able to believe, all things are possible to them that believe.

And the father cried, oh Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. That's every believer's experience. This matter of faith is not a one-time thing that we get and then it's, you know, it's all settled. We're constantly as that child's father, aren't we? Lord, by your grace, I do believe, but oh, there's so much unbelief in my life, so much in my heart. Help thou my unbelief. Lord, I must believe. And if I'm going to believe, Lord, you're gonna have to give me faith to believe the necessity of faith.

Let's read these verses, these two verses again. Verse six of Hebrews chapter three, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house are we if we hold fast the confession and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end? What is our confession? God has made Christ to be for me all of my wisdom and all of my righteousness and all of my sanctification and all of my redemption. That's my confession.

Salvation is of the Lord. Christ is all. He has finished the work. He is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him. I am dependent upon him for everything. If I'm to stand in the presence of a holy God, I must be found in Christ. The Lord Jesus himself is my confession.

My confession is not a creed. My confession is not a doctrine. My confession is a man. And this confession and this profession and this rejoicing, oh, you can't rejoice in a doctrine alone, is our Is our confession expressed in a teaching, in a doctrine? Yes, but it's not a doctrine alone.

It's in a doctrine that points us to a man, the God-man, our sin-bearer, our substitute, our savior, the one who has himself satisfied everything that God demands of us. Our righteousness before God. We rejoice in the Lord. We rejoice in him. Our confidence and our rejoicing is in him. And our hope in him is firm to the end.

The Lord tells us in Hebrews chapter 11 that faith is the substance of things hoped for. A hope that is seen is not hope. And so it is this saving faith that looks through that eye of faith to the Lord Jesus who is seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, who intercedes for me, who presents himself to God on my behalf. Hope, faith is the substance of things hoped for. This is the nature of this necessary faith that God gives. It is perseverance.

One of the evidences of saving faith is that I can't not believe. I just can't. God has given you saving faith. As often as your unbelief rears its wicked head in your heart and in your mind, you find it impossible not to be persuaded that he is able to keep that which you've committed unto him against that day. You cannot believe.

That's the work of grace. That's the perseverance. Romans chapter 11, the Lord tells us that the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. are without repentance. That repentance is referring to God. And so the gifts of God, that's faith, the calling of God, that's the work of the spirit of God who causes us to believe on Christ, that's the effectual calling, are without repentance on God's part. He doesn't take his gifts back. He doesn't recant his calling.

The gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. If God has given me this necessary faith, that faith will be my confidence and my rejoicing of hope firm to the end. Turn to me, if you will, to Romans chapter five. Romans chapter five. Verse one. Well, the last verse of chapter four speaks of the Lord Jesus being delivered up on the cross for our offenses. He bore our sins in his body upon that tree. He put them away by the sacrifice of himself. He buried them in the depths of the sea. He was delivered up for our offenses and he was raised again for or because of our justification. We are justified before God Almighty, found to be in the sight of God without sin. That's what justified means, to be without sin before God. As he is, so are we in this world. That's our boldness in the day of judgment, justified in Christ.

Therefore, being justified by faith, We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. This faith, the nature of this faith is that it perseveres to the end. God-given faith never quits. God-given faith continues to hope and rejoice in confidence to the end.

We are confident, not in ourselves, but we are confident that God is satisfied with Christ. He is our confidence. Look at verse three. And not only so, but we glory. Here's the evidence of our confidence. We glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.

And hope maketh not a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. Yes, the tribulations of this world, all that would cause us to doubt, all that would cause us to fear. And what do these tribulations do? All the weaknesses of our own flesh, what do these tribulations do?

They cause us to wait on Christ. That's what the word patience means. It calls us to wait on Him, waiting for that body that is without sin, waiting for that city which ceases not, waiting to see Him as He is and to be made like Him. The believer's life is a life of waiting and watching. That's faith. That's our faith.

So these tribulations, They cause patience. And with each experience of tribulation, day by day, we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. Why? Because these tribulations cause us to see more and more of our need for grace. Lord, I see now more of the evidence of these tribulations than ever before. And the closer we get to seeing him and being made like him, the more the Lord shows us the weakness of this old man and causes us to see our need for patience. And he sheds abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. more and more of the love of God and our love for Christ. More importantly, his love for us, his love for us.

Turn with me to Romans chapter eight. This faith is called hope. Hope, firm, to the end. Our text in Hebrews chapter 3 verse 3, if we have confidence and if we have patience and if we persevere in hope unto the end. Look at verse 24 of Romans chapter 8, for we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why does he yet hope for it? But if we hope for that which we see not, then we do with patience wait for it." Wait for it. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall day by day mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. They will by God's persevering grace.

You know, sometimes we call it the perseverance of the saints. But it's the only reason the saints persevere is because of the preservation of the spirit. The preservation of the spirit of God causes us to hope to the end. That's the nature of saving faith. Saving faith is not something that you try for a while and then lose interest in. Not if it's God-given faith. It perseveres to the end.

In Colossians, the Lord tells us that Christ in us is our hope of glory. The revelations that the Lord makes of the Lord Jesus in our hearts causes us to hope more and more for a full revelation of his grace and of his glory. This hope that we have is in Christ. It's in Christ. We're trusting. We sang the hymn, Adam. I know whom I have believed.

So much more than a doctrine. So much more than historical facts. Are the events of the gospel historically accurate? Of course they are. Of course they are. Are the precious doctrines that we believe true? Of course they are. But these are means to an end. The Lord Jesus himself is the end. I am thy shield. I am thine exceeding great reward. We look to a person. We trust in a man. We rest in him. We believe on the Lord Jesus, trusting him alone for our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption so that we have nothing to glory in. Let him that glorieth glory in the Lord. He is our glory.

This is the nature of saving faith. The necessity of saving faith is that we must have it. The nature of it is that it's eternal and that it's in a person. Go back with me to our text in Hebrews chapter three, because I want to touch on just for a moment, the source of this saving faith.

I quoted from Isaiah chapter 40, verse 31, a few moments ago, that they that wait upon the Lord mount up with wings as eagles. What are these eagles' wings? Well, hold your finger there in Hebrews chapter three and turn over with me to Revelation chapter 12. Revelation chapter 12. Verse 14.

The woman being spoken of here is the church, is the bride of Christ. And we're in this dry and thirsty land. We live in a fallen, God-forsaken world. We live in a world that forsakes God. And to the woman, we're given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a times from the face of the serpent. Serpent being Satan.

These, the time, times and half a times, that's three and a half years. That's half the number seven. It's symbolic language. Speaking of that time between the first and coming second of Christ. First and second coming of Christ. What are the two wings of this great eagle? Well, it's the word of God and it's the spirit of God. And these two wings are the means by which God gives to his people who are living in this world, faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God and the hearing ear and the seeing eye are both from the Lord.

Nicodemus, except you be born of the spirit of God, you shall not see the kingdom of God. In another place in the book of Revelation, it's spoken of the two witnesses who are found dead on the streets of Jerusalem, which is Babylon, that false religion. The two witnesses that are fall dead is the word of God and the spirit of God. Man has no interest in the spirit of God and in the word of God.

Only the woman who is mounted up with wings as eagles flying in this wilderness. have the spirit of God and the word of God. And the serpent, verse 15, cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

These are the tribulations that worketh patience in this world that every believer experiences. And the earth helped the woman. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon sent out of his mouth, cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with a woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keepeth the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." We have the gospel.

Where does that testimony come from? It comes from the Word of God, blessed by the Spirit of God. The Word of God is not by private interpretation. Holy men of God wrote as they were moved of the Holy Spirit. This is the revelation of Christ. flip back with me, if you will, to Hebrews chapter three. But Christ, as a son over his own house, whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of hope firm to the end? Wherefore, as by the Holy Ghost, saith, today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, saw my works 40 years, wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said, they do err always in their heart, for they have not known my ways.

The children of Israel knew the acts of God. God proved himself to them by revealing his acts to them. They ate the manna that came from heaven every day. They drank the water that came from the rock. They followed the cloud by day and the fire by night. And continually God proved to them who he was and yet they would not believe. They provoked God by their unbelief.

Let me ask you a question. The scripture says here, they provoked God and they grieved him. They grieved him. Would anything grieve your heart or provoke you more than for someone that you had nothing but good to do for and to say about. Say to you, I don't believe you. I don't believe you.

You've never done anything. to cause this person to mistrust you. You've always been truthful. You've always been faithful. You have provided for them everything that you could possibly do for them. And they look at you and say to you, you are a liar. I do not believe you. I do not trust you.

Now, if as a sinner that would grieve us, if as a sinner who is unfaithful in so many ways, we would be provoked by such a response, how much more is that true of God? Is there anything that we could do to grieve the Spirit of God than to say to him, I don't believe you? Lord, I've got to have your Spirit. Help thou mine unbelief. There's so much unbelief, Lord. the most wicked thing.

Here's what the Lord meant when he said that it's expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come. But when he comes, he will reprove you of sin. He will convince you of your sin because you believe not on me. Now we think of our sin as those shameful things that we think or do or say, But all of that is born out of unbelief. That's the polluted well that all of the water, the putrefying sin comes from. It comes from unbelief. And only the child of God has the Holy Spirit. Here's the evidence of saving faith. We're getting to our last point. The child of God has the Holy Spirit to cause them to know that the most egregious thing they do is say to God, I don't believe you.

And that all the other problems that they have in life stem from that. And Lord, I want to believe every word you've spoken But I see myself so often choosing that which seems to the flesh more prudent. It seems to the flesh more pleasurable. It seems to the flesh more in line with that which is popular than believing you.

Lord, what a sinful man I am. Help thou mine unbelief. The world doesn't see their sin like that. The unbeliever is only convicted by their conscience concerning those things that are in violation to the law. All men have the law of God written on their heart. You don't need the Holy Spirit to be convicted about lying or stealing or murdering or Anything that the law requires, every man's got that written on his heart. A guilty conscience is what everybody experiences. But to know something about the conviction of sin.

Lord, there's nothing that I do, nothing that I say that's more wicked. than for me to be constantly saying to you, who has never done anything but good for me, Lord, I provoked you, I grieve you with my unbelief, with my unbelief. Lord, save me. Now, to our final point, and we've touched on it already a good bit. These are the evidences that God has given to me, this necessary faith, this faith that is born from the Spirit of God, by the Word of God, this faith that is eternal, It lasts forever. It doesn't stop. It continues on. It perseveres in hope and in confidence unto the end.

How can I know for sure that I have this kind of faith? Well, any evidence of your faith that is based on a past experience is a false refuge. And any hope of your saving faith that is based on a future intent is a false refuge. And yet that's what the flesh does. The flesh would look back to past experiences to convince itself that I have saving faith. Or the flesh would convince itself that it intends to do something in the future and that becomes their refuge of saving faith. The confidence and the assurance that you have saving faith can never, ever be rooted in the past or in the future. Saving faith is always, always, always present tense. Right now. Right now.

Not yesterday. However sweet that manna was yesterday, you try to save it for tomorrow and it's gonna breed worms. We have no hope for tomorrow. Now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. Look at our text, here it is. Verse seven, wherefore, as the Holy Ghost has said, Today, if you will hear his voice. The only way, brethren, that we can have saving faith, confidence of our saving faith, is to have it right now.

And as soon as right now passes, and it passes quickly, you're gonna be in the next right now. And that one's gonna come very quickly into the next right now. The only way that I can have evidence of saving faith is as they say, In the modern vernacular, real time. Real time. It's not future. And it's not past. It's now.

Our Heavenly Father, oh, how we need your Holy Spirit to keep us looking, resting, believing, loving after Christ in the here and now. Lord, make it so. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Adam. Number 40, in the hardbacked hymnal of number 40. Let's stand together.

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The Evidence of Saving Faith

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