Faith To Be Saved

Q: What does the Bible say about faith to be saved?

The Bible teaches that faith to be saved is a gift from God, essential for receiving salvation through Christ. According to Ephesians 2:8, faith is a gift from God, and by grace are we saved through faith, implying that our ability to trust in Christ for salvation does not stem from ourselves but is entirely given by God. This is essential because, in our total depravity, we lack the capacity to believe on our own. Salvation comes to those who are spiritually helpless and dependent on God to provide that faith to believe in Christ and receive salvation.

Q: How do we know that faith is a gift from God?

The Bible affirms that faith is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, as stated in Ephesians 2:8. Ephesians 2:8 explicitly states that we are saved by grace through faith, and this faith is not something we conjure on our own but is given to us by God. This aligns with the understanding that spiritual deadness prevents us from initiating belief. Thus, true saving faith comes as a divine gift to those whom God has chosen, allowing them to believe in the truth of Christ's redemptive work.

Q: Why is believing in Christ alone important for salvation?

Believing in Christ alone is crucial because salvation rests solely on His righteousness and atonement, not on our deeds. Salvation is by faith in Christ alone, as He is the only source of righteousness. Trusting in anything else, such as our morality or good works, undermines the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. In Mark 5:36, Jesus emphasizes the need to only believe, separating faith in Him from any other conditions or contributions. This underscores the point that our complete dependence on Christ is essential for receiving salvation, and believing in Him alone ensures that we rest in His righteousness, not our own.

Q: What role does preaching play in faith and salvation?

Preaching is vital because God uses it to impart faith and reveal Christ to those who are to be saved. The preaching of the gospel is essential for the impartation of faith. Romans 10:14-17 explains that individuals cannot call upon a Savior they do not know, and that knowledge comes through hearing the word preached. It is through faithful preachers that God reveals Christ to sinners, and it is also through this preaching that faith is birthed in their hearts. Thus, the ministry of preaching holds a crucial role in God's redemptive plan, orchestrating how His elect come to be saved.

Q: How can I know if I have faith to be saved?

You can know you have faith to be saved by recognizing your belief and trust in Christ alone for salvation. Self-examination is key to understanding if one possesses saving faith. The Scriptures emphasize that faith is evidenced by reliance on Christ alone, for salvation, devoid of personal merit or works. If you can assert that you trust in Christ's righteousness and His work on the cross for your salvation, this is a strong indication of genuine faith. As stated in 1 John 5:13, believers can know they have eternal life, and this assurance often comes from recognizing faith's transformative impact upon one's understanding and relationship with Christ.

Well, good morning, everyone. If you would open your Bibles with me to First Thessalonians, Chapter 2. As you're turning, a few announcements. I found out from Sandy this morning that our sister, Joyce Brown, now Joyce Anderson, has had a mini stroke, and she is at the hospital at UK. I want to remember her in prayer. Also, if you have not yet signed Lila's Bible for her graduation present, do so as soon as possible.

And I don't even know what to tell you about what's going on with me. I had to miss the service last Sunday and Wednesday because I just have such extreme fatigue and weakness and brain fog. It's just unbelievable. And the doctors, so far, have concluded that my body is playing tug-of-war with itself, coming off all the treatments for the prostate cancer.

And their best guess is that I'll start feeling good this fall. So, seems a long way away, but I thank the Lord, in part, at least laid me low so I could hear Dan's lesson this morning. So second, and we're going to continue this, Dan's going to teach the class for a couple weeks and see if I can't get some strength and energy back. Hard to study when you have brain fog, so it's all I can do to prepare for that session, much less two for Sunday. So we'll kind of continue that and see if Thor's pleased to strengthen me and enable me to get back to it. All right. First Thessalonians 2.

For yourselves, brother, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain. But even after that we had suffered before and were shamefully entreated, as you know at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile, but as we are allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor cloak of covetousness, God is witness. Nor men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail, for laboring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

Ye are witnesses, and God also, how wholly and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe, as ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you into his kingdom and glory. For this cause also, thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews."

And we'll end our reading there. All right, let's stand together as Sean leads us in singing our call to worship. Prepare me, gracious God, to stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the work perform, for it is all of grace. In Christ's obedience clothed, and wash me in his blood. So shall I lift my head with joy among the sons of God. Do Thou my sins remove, Thy sovereign love make known, The Spirit of my mind renew, And save me in Thy Son. Let me attest thy power. Let me thy goodness move.

Till my full soul can hold no more of everlasting love. Okay, if you would, turn in your hymnal to song number 255. We'll sing Blessed Assurance. 255. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God. Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, perfect delight. Visions of rapture now burst on my sight. Angels descending bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love This is my story, this is my song Praising my Savior all the day long This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blessed. Watching and waiting, looking above. filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. Turn with me, if you would, to the book of Acts, chapter 14. Acts 14, we'll read the first 10 verses together.

And it came to pass in Iconium that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews. That is Paul and Barnabas. They went both together into the synagogue of the Jews and so spake that a great multitude, both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and made their minds evil affected against the brethren long time. Therefore abode, they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony under the word of his grace and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the multitude of the city was divided apart, held with the Jews and part with the apostles. And when there was an assault made, both of the Gentiles and also of the Jews with their rulers to use them despitefully and to stone them, they were aware of it and fled under Lystra and Derby, cities of Lycaonia and under the region that lieth round about.

And there they preached the gospel. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent, in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked. The same heard Paul speak, who steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

And we'll end our reading there. Let's pray together. Our holy heavenly father, We thank you for the right in Christ to bow before you and call you our father. We thank you that you've seen fit again today to draw us together. Then in your wisdom, in your wisdom, you've called us and you haven't left us, not for a minute to ourselves. You've called us here yet again to hear of you, to hear of Christ again. We thank you for that unspeakable blessing of fellowship with you as children in Christ.

We thank you. We pray that this time that we're gathered together be a fruitful time, a time of worship, certainly a time of comfort and learning, but above all, a time of worship. We thank you for Christ, in whom is full remission of sin, that you would that you would continue to bring your children to a throne of justice and mercy in Him. We're thankful. We're a needy people. We, above all, have a need of you. And we also have many needs in this flesh of which you are aware. We don't pray to make you aware. We know, Father, that you're aware. You're the first cause of all things.

I pray that you give us faith in a heart to believe that that we heard this morning, to see your face in trial and to find comfort in our need. Father, we pray for ourselves in this flesh and in this life. We think of our pastor even now. We pray that you give him a word from you and we pray that you strengthen him. from this pulpit and also afterward that you continue to be with him and strengthen him, lift him up, heal him if it be your will and according to your will. I pray that you show comfort and show grace and give with an open hand according to your will. We think of those of our congregation that are away today and are traveling, that you be with them as they travel. a time of rest if they're vacationing, a time of comfort, and bringing them back safely to us according to your will. We think of quite a few members of our congregation that are ill, that should be with them. We think of Joyce even now, that should be with her.

Comfort according to your good will, according to your good pleasure. Father, we pray for your will, and we pray for faith to believe and to follow. And we pray this, thankfully, in Christ's name, for his sake. Amen. If you would keep your Bibles open there to Acts 14, that will be our text this morning. I titled the message, Faith to be Saved.

Paul and Barnabas had been on this missionary trip. They went through Antioch and preached. Some believed, some did not believe. Those who did not believe chased them out of town. They went to Iconium and preached there. Some believed, some did not believe. And they rose up to Verse five says to despitefully use them and to stone them, to run them out of town. Then they came to Lystra and Derby. And verse seven says, and there they preached the gospel. Because that's what God's preachers do. Wherever it is God sends us, we preach the gospel of God's grace.

Because that's what people need. We need believers and unbelievers alike. This is what we need. We need to hear Christ preached. He is the answer to the need, the need of every human being. And they came, they preached Christ, and here's the result of that preaching, an example of that result, beginning in verse eight. You know, we preach with this confidence.

The Lord's gonna save somebody. The Lord's gonna save somebody. He's got a people. He's gonna save them. He's got a people that he's already saved. He's already revealed himself to. He's gonna feed and comfort and instruct those people through the preaching of the gospel. We preach knowing this is gonna be successful. This is gonna be successful to accomplish what God sent it to accomplish. And in this case, he sent it to accomplish salvation through faith.

Verse eight says, there sat a certain man, at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked. The same heard Paul speak, who steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. Now Paul said, this man, he saw this. This man had the faith to be healed. Now that is something I don't know anything about by experience. I don't know if this was an apostolic power, or if this was something the Lord just gave Paul for this particular instance, but he saw this man had faith to be healed.

I can't see that. I can see, as I preach, that there are people Man, they're a million miles away. They don't care one bit about what I'm saying. I see that, and believe me, I understand, because I was there at one point. And then I have seen, over the years, a light goes on. And suddenly, they're listening. They listen different. They listen with interest. They listen. You see it. It's different. And seldom have I ever been surprised when somebody came to me and asked to be baptized because I almost always can see it before they come ask.

Now, sometimes I've been wrong. I mean, you know, it's just not infallible like this was here with Paul. Sometimes I'm wrong, but sometimes you can see that. But the most important part of this passage is not the miracle that Paul could see faith in this man.

It's not that he told this man to stand up and walk and immediately he was healed. It's faith. If you find faith, that trust Christ in a person, you've seen a miracle. What a miracle that that is. And it says here that Paul said he saw he had, he perceived he had the faith to be healed.

And of course he needs to be physically healed, right? He's born, we'll get this in a second, he's born without a foot. But that word is almost always, Overwhelmingly translated, saved. Paul perceived this man had the faith to be saved. Not just made physically whole, but salvation is to be made spiritually whole. It's a spiritual healing of all of our wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. It's the healing of the soul. Now, he had the faith to be saved. Nobody saved. their faith. We're saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, right? He's the one that saves us. But we lay hold on that. That salvation always comes to us through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I think it's important to note that this Paul perceived that this man had the faith to be healed, to be healed.

He didn't have the faith or the strength to heal himself. He didn't have the faith to get saved. He didn't have the faith that enabled him to do something that made salvation effectual to him. He had the faith to be saved. To be saved by somebody else. And he's completely passive in the whole operation. Now that's the way salvation comes to every believer. We're completely passive in the matter and Christ saved us. He saved us all by his doing. This man was completely helpless to do anything to help contribute to him being made whole.

The word cripple there means he was born without a foot. Just at the end of one of his legs, there was no foot. He can't go to physical therapy. and then work that foot and strengthen that foot and, you know, do that, move those bones around, have surgery to help correct those bones and make that foot start working right, because he doesn't have one. There's nothing in him to work with to physically make himself whole.

That is such a great picture of you and me in our total depravity. We don't have the capacity in us to do anything spiritual. We don't have the capacity that's in us to make ourselves believe Christ, to make ourselves righteous. There is nothing in this flesh that God will work with in order to give us salvation. Nothing, there's nothing there.

So if this man's gonna be saved, if he's gonna be made whole, somebody else is gonna have to do all the saving for him, aren't they? That's us. in our condition in Adam, if we're going to be saved, somebody else is going to have to do all the saving for us, and they're going to have to give us the faith to be saved.

Now, what I want to know and what I want you to know by the time we leave this room this morning is this. Do I have that kind of faith? Do I have the faith to be saved? I can't see it in others. Hopefully I can see if it's in my heart or not. If I can know that this is, this is my experience, this is the way God has saved me. Do I have the faith to be saved?

And the scriptures give us a description of this faith. If you look first at Ephesians chapter two, faith to be saved is God given faith. It can only be given by God. Ephesians chapter two, Verse 8, for by grace, by grace are you saved through faith. And that's not of yourselves, it's what? The gift of God, the gift of God.

If we would believe on Christ, God must give us this glorious gift of faith in Christ. We can't make ourselves do it because we're spiritually dead. But there's nothing in us that can, nothing in our flesh that can ever believe Christ. If we would have this faith to believe Christ, God's got to give it to us. You know, the Lord said one time, he told the Pharisees, you cannot come unto me. Coming to Christ is believing Christ.

You cannot come unto me that you might have life. We're just like this man that's born without a foot. He doesn't have the capacity to walk because he doesn't have a foot. We don't have the capacity to believe Christ until God gives us faith to believe. He's got to give us that gift. We're born crippled. We've never walked either. We've never spiritually walked either.

We don't have in our flesh what it takes to produce what God requires. We are completely helpless. We're completely dependent on God to do all the saving from beginning to end. From beginning in God's divine election of a people to ultimately glorifying his people together with Christ, we're completely dependent on God to do it all. Because we're born crippled. We can't do it. Dan touched on this in his lesson this morning. We can only be saved by the faith of Christ. the faith of Christ to do all the saving for us.

He had to be faithful to obey the law and establish a righteousness that he could give to his people. He had to be faithful to do everything that the Father gave him to do. He had to be faithful to go to the cross and willingly be made sin for his people. Stripped naked between heaven and earth for men and God both to see. He had to be willing to suffer until that sin was put away by his precious blood. He had his faithfulness to do all of that. That's what it took to save us. We're saved by the faith of Christ. And if we would lay hold on Christ, God's got to give us faith in Christ. That's the gift of God. And what a gift. What a gift. I'm trying to figure out how to say this. I'm not an overly emotional man. I don't suggest that we start hooting and hollering and jumping around and those kinds of things. But I'm telling you what, this gift of faith ought to make us right happy. I mean, what a gift. Recently, Janet and I gave to our grandson a package of Spider-Man underwear. I mean, you'd have thought we gave the kid the keys to Fort Knox. I mean, he was so happy. We should be so happy. What a gift.

If God gives you faith in Christ, you believe Christ. I mean, you believe him. You believe everything his word says. You believe every promise of God. You believe that he is all it takes to save you. So you rest in Christ. You rest from all your works of the law. Now you're gonna work to help others. Dan, again, touched this on his lesson this morning, to comfort others who are in time of need, to do for each other. But as far as the works of the law, to establish your own righteousness before God, you rest from all that.

Because God's given you faith to trust Christ. You have such assurance. There is such assurance of salvation. There is such assurance to lay down on your deathbed and not be afraid to die because I trust Christ. I trust Him. And I can only trust Him if God gives me this faith in Christ to trust Him to do everything it takes to save me.

And I'm telling you this, look at Psalm 32. If God's given you this gift of faith in Christ, he's covered you with his mercy. I mean, there's few things a sinner is more interested in than mercy. If God's given you faith to trust Christ, this glorious gift, he's covered you with his mercy. Look at Psalm 32, verse 10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.

And this is why I was saying a second ago, be glad in the Lord and rejoice ye righteous and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. The only reason that you're righteous and upright in heart is because God's given you the gift of faith in Christ. Look over a few pages of Psalm 40.

Oh, if God's given us the gift of faith, God has blessed us. And you just underline that word blessed and put an exclamation mark at the end of it, God's blessed us. Verse four, blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. If God's given you the gift of faith in Christ, God's blessed you.

Now is that the faith that you have? Did you decide to get saved one day? Did you decide to accept Jesus as your personal savior one day? Did you decide one day to change doctrines from Armenian to Calvinism? Or did God give you the gift of faith in a supernatural way that you can't exactly define, you just know? There was a time I didn't believe Christ, and I believe him now.

If God's given you that gift of faith, he's given you faith that saves. All right, number two, faith that saves always and only comes through the preaching of Christ. Look at our text again. Don't miss this in verse nine. The same heard Paul speak. Then Paul steadfastly beholding and proceed the other faith to be healed. God gives this gift of faith through the preaching of Christ. Could God save sinners another way?

Could he just make you wake up one day and believe? Could you just be at work one day or driving down the road one day or fishing one day or doing whatever one day and suddenly believe? I reckon he could, but he won't. He won't do it. First Corinthians 121 says this, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. God will only use the preaching of Christ, the preaching of the truth to save them that believe. If you look at Romans chapter 10, I wouldn't apply logic to the gospel at all because it defies human logic. But surely to goodness you see this.

You can't believe on somebody that you don't know. You can't believe on somebody you've never heard about. If we're gonna trust Christ, somebody's gotta tell us who he is. That's what Paul says here in Romans 10, beginning in verse 13. For whosoever, and boy, I love that word, whosoever, doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter what your background is, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But now you gotta call on the right Lord. How shall they call on him in whom they're not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sinned?

As it's written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. If you're gonna call on Christ the Savior, somebody's got to tell you who he is. Somebody's got to tell you this, the Lord, the Savior who saves is not this Jesus who died for everybody to give everybody a chance to be saved. That's not Savior. That is not the Jesus of this book. The God who saves is not the God that wants to save you, but he can't unless you let him. You've got to make the first move. You've got to seal the deal. That's not the Lord Jesus Christ. If we would be saved, somebody's gotta tell us who the Savior is so that we call on the right Savior. So we call on the Savior of sinners. See how dependent we are on this thing?

God's gotta give a man a gift to preach, to preach the gospel. He's got to send him somewhere to preach it, and then he's gotta give us ears to hear it. God gives this glorious gift of faith in Christ through the preaching of Christ, by somebody telling you who He is, by lifting Him up and magnifying Him and glorifying Him as much as humanly possible and saying, look and live, look and live.

And I have a word of advice that's good advice. For those here who do not trust Christ, who do not believe Him, who do not know Him, if you'd like to know Him and you like to believe Him, tell you what to do. Don't miss a service. Don't miss a service. Because right here, doing what we're doing right now, preaching Christ, that's how God gives the gift of faith to his people. Number three is this. Faith that saves. It's faith that trusts Christ only. Only and completely.

God-given faith does not trust Christ plus my morality. I ought to be a moral person, but salvation is not Christ plus my morality. It's not Christ plus my law keeping. It's not Christ plus my good deeds. It's not Christ plus me sending less than I used to.

Salvation is Christ alone. Christ alone. Mark chapter five. Our Lord can put things in such simplistic terms. I wish I could do this. Beginning at verse 35. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master any further? And as soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid.

Only believe. Only believe. Don't think, well, you know, I can do this, that, and the other, and then God will do this, and the matter will be taken care of. Only believe. Only believe Christ. Only believe the Christ that is described in this book. Only believe Christ. Now, what happened that made the Lord tell this man, only believe, is because a woman came who laid hold on Christ by faith too.

Look at verse 25. And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood 12 years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she heard of Jesus, She came in the press behind and touched his garment. For she said, if I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And this woman, her trust in Christ alone, and buddy, she put her money where her mouth is. She crawled on her belly up through a crowd and reached out and laid hold on Christ.

And immediately, she was made whole. Same way as this man that Paul told, stand up on your feet, he was immediately made whole. Trusting Christ only makes us immediately whole, immediately saved, immediately righteous, immediately accepted of God, immediately.

That's why every believer, At some point in our lives, say the same thing that Jacob said in Genesis 32 verse 26, I will not let you go, except you bless me. I will not let you go. Unlike the apostles, Lord, I'm not gonna leave you. To whom shall we go? You're my only hope.

Now, if you can't trust anything other than Christ only, for all of your salvation, God's given you the gift of faith that saves. Number four is this, look at John chapter 17. Faith that saves knows who Christ is. John 17, verse three. And this is life eternal. that they might know thee, the only true God, in Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. You know, I wouldn't ever say that faith, saving faith, is blind faith. No, it's not blind faith.

I know whom I have believed. I believe him because I know him. because somebody dared preach him to me and tell me who he is. If somebody didn't tell me who the Lord Jesus Christ is, if somebody didn't tell me who the true living God is, I'd make one up. And he couldn't save and he wouldn't be a God worth worshiping. But if I know Christ, this is what I know.

He's my only righteousness. My only hope of righteousness is that Christ was made sin for me. that he might make me the very righteousness of God in him. If he didn't obey the law for me as my representative, I have no righteousness. He's my only righteousness. I don't add to it by my good behavior. He's all of my righteousness. I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine alone, David said. If I know Christ, I know this. He's the only sacrifice that could put away my sin. The only sacrifice. He's the only way to God. He's the only way of life. He's the only way of forgiveness. He's the only way of mercy. I don't know everything that there is to know. And I was talking to someone about this not too long ago. The older I get, the less I know. But I do know this.

Christ is all. And nobody can ever convince me otherwise. Nobody. Christ is the only savior of sinners. Every other Jesus or every other idol that men preach, they don't save sinners. They save good people. They save people who can do enough good things to contribute to them. They don't save sinners. The only savior of sinners is the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're a sinner, you come to Christ. to save sinners. There is salvation in no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. It's Christ only.

And because I know Christ, I know his character. I know his mercy. I know his grace. I've experienced it. I know it. And I'm pretty sure I can count on in the future, I say pretty sure, sarcastically. I know I can depend on his mercy and grace. I know this, that Christ is the only way of salvation in both mercy and justice. The father has mercy on his people because he satisfied his justice on his son at Calvary. I know that.

That gives me such The more I know about Him, the more I love Him, the more I trust Him, the more I want Him. The more I learn of Him, the more I want to learn of Him. Now is that your Savior? Do you know that's who? If so, then God's given you the gift of faith that saves. And then last is this. You cannot separate faith and love. Faith that saves always comes with love. Love for Christ and love for his people. If you truly trust anyone, you have to love them. You just have to love them if you truly trust him. There's too many scriptures here for us to turn to all these. Let me just read these to you. I've jotted them down here. Galatians five, verse six. For in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision. Whether you're keeping the law or not keeping the law, whatever your background is, But faith, which worketh by love. Our faith always works by love.

Ephesians 1, 15. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love, your love unto all the saints. If you love Christ, you love his people. Ephesians 3, verse 17. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. and that ye being rooted and grounded in love. If we're rooted and grounded in faith, we're also rooted and grounded in love for Christ and love for his people, so I can't not love him. Colossians 1 verse 4, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have unto all the saints. If we love Christ, we'll love his people. If we trust him, we're gonna love his people.

First Timothy 1.14, and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. Wherever God gives faith, he always gives love. Philemon, verse five, hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints. If God's given us faith that saves, we love him.

I wouldn't brag on it. I wouldn't brag on it a bit. I'm ashamed how little I love Christ. I'm ashamed. But I love him. I do love him. Do you love Christ? Do you love Him because He first loved you? Do you love Him because He did all the saving for you that He would condescend to do all the saving for the scum of the planet like you are? Do you love Him? Do you love Him just for who He is? I do love the Lord. I'm so thankful for His salvation, His mercy, His grace. I'm so thankful. I tell you, I love Him for who He is. There's none like him. There's none like him. Brother Mike Walker preached through the book of Ruth at our conference. And I always love that moment where Ruth is out there gleaning in the field, and here comes Boaz to his field.

I mean, this guy, he's a specimen. I mean, I bet he had that long, thick, curly, black hair. He's on his big, white stallion. He's got the finest clothes on. And he comes riding out there, and all the people, the Reapers and the Gleaners see him. The men want to be him, and all the women love him. Just... And not only is he... He's a gorgeous man. I mean, wow.

This man is kind. He's generous. He comes and tells his reapers, oh, God bless you. God bless you today. He tells them, now, don't you be stingy with these people that are reaping. Oh, he sets his eye on Ruth, and he loves her. He says, you leave some handfuls of purpose for her.

People just loved him for who he is. Boaz is the kinsman redeemer. He's a picture of Christ our Savior. I love him for who he is. Every view of him I get in scripture just makes me go... Just follow his feet and worship him. Oh, I love him. I love him. And here is the thing I can never get over. The sinner's only hope is mercy and grace from the one that we've sinned against. He's so gracious, He forgives sin that's all against Him. Now, do you love Him? Do you trust Him? Is He your hope? Then God's given you the faith that saves.

And I pray that each of us will find that so. All right, let's bow together. Our Father, how we thank You that in Your eternal purpose grace that you have determined to save a people by the doing and dying of your son and father that you would be pleased to give faith in your son faith that saves through one sinful man preaching death other preaching Christ to other sinful men and women father what a miracle of your grace and your power your mercy your love your pity to sinners And Father, I beg of you that you'd bless your word as it's been preached this morning to your glory. Father, cause us to be taken up with the desire for your glory, for your glory, the glory of your son, his redemptive glory, and how he has saved all of his people from all of their sin. Father, show us your glory. Father, we pray that you'd bless us for Christ's sake. For his blessed name, we pray and give thanks. Amen. All right, Sean. If you would turn in your hymnals to song number 126 and stand as we sing Rock of Ages. 126. Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.

Let the water and the blood from thy wounded side which flowed Be of sin the double cure. Save from wrath and make me pure. Could my tears forever flow? Could my zeal no longer know? These four sin could not atone. Thou must save and thou alone. In my hand no price I bring Simply to thy cross I cling While I draw this fleeting breath When my eyes shall close in death When I rise to worlds unknown And behold thee on thy throne Rock of ages, cleft for me Let me hide myself in thee

Faith To Be Saved

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about faith to be saved?

How do we know that faith is a gift from God?

Why is believing in Christ alone important for salvation?

What role does preaching play in faith and salvation?

How can I know if I have faith to be saved?

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Faith To Be Saved

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about faith to be saved?

How do we know that faith is a gift from God?

Why is believing in Christ alone important for salvation?

What role does preaching play in faith and salvation?

How can I know if I have faith to be saved?

Sermon Transcript

About Frank Tate

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