My wife asked me on the way up
here if I was going to preach on something about Christmas. And I said no. But it is in a
way because my subject is going to be by grace through faith. But you're not going to understand
anything about that babe in the manger without faith. not going to know who he is,
not going to know why he came, not going to know what he did,
or where he's at now, apart from faith. So I invite you this morning
to turn with me to a very familiar text in Ephesians chapter 2,
verses 8 through 10. And this is the title, this is,
I hope, the whole message, By Grace Through Faith. Spurgeon once wrote that faith
is the comprehensive summary of all true work. No man or woman will work without
faith. Nor can we work without faith,
nor can we acquire faith of ourselves. Faith, it says, is the gift of
God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And without faith,
we're told, it is impossible to please God. Men dream of doing
something, reforming their life, turning over a new leaf, making
a decision, dedication, sacrifice. They dream of all kinds of things. I had a fellow came into the
services down at the old church one time and somebody gave him
the wrong time. And he got here a half hour early
and didn't know what to do with himself. And finally he told
me, he said, now here's what we're going to do. When church starts, he said,
you're all going to all gather around me, and I'm going to get
down on my knees, and I'm going to accept Jesus as my personal
Savior. I said, no, that's not what you're
going to do. What you're going to do is shut up and sit down. And I'm going to preach to you,
and we'll see what God will do for you. That's what it's going
to be. That's what it's gonna be. But
people dream of all kinds of things, in their mind and in
their heart, and I know why, because that's what religion
sings about and preaches about and goes about witnessing, all
these things that you do to gain God's favor. You can't gain God's
favor by anything you do. Is that right? That's exactly
right. He gives his favor to whom he
will. Is that too hard? That's what he
said to those two unborn children he told their mother. He said
that the purpose of God according to election might stand, the
elder's gonna serve the younger because it's written, Jacob have
I loved, Esau have I hated. Well, why'd he love Jacob? Because
he would. Huh? That's right. It's by grace through faith. We can't acquire faith of ourselves. Faith is the gift of God and
without faith it's impossible to please God. And I'll tell you this. Faith
is also the deciding factor in our lives as to our eternal standing
before God. There's no way to know your election
of God except by faith. No way to know. Are you elect? Not without faith
you're not. Not without faith. It is by faith
that God's election is manifested. I want you to listen to this
scripture. This is 2 Thessalonians 2, beginning with verse 13. God hath from the beginning chosen
us to salvation, now listen, through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our
gospel. somewhere you know that god-given
by either believe that that is that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that
that that that that that that that He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life. It is the deciding factor in
our eternal standing before God. And there's all kinds of things
involved in the salvation of a sinner. All kinds of things.
We can just sit and talk and talk. One thing will lead to
the next. That'll lead to the next. That'll
lead to the next. You never get done. Never get
done. There's many things involved
in the salvation of a sinner and also in the damnation of
a sinner. But when it comes right down
to it, when you boil it all down, he either believes or he don't. One or the other. So let's take
this morning and look at this thing called faith. First of
all, let's look at those to whom God will give this gift of faith.
They are, here in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1, they are those whom
God hath quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Well, you say, I don't know what
that means. Well, he tells you in verse 2, wherein in time past
ye walked according to the course of this world, this condemned
world, this fallen, depraved world, You was on the same road
they were. You were walking hand in hand,
fellowshiping together, loving the same things. You walked according
to the course of this world and you walked according to the prince
of the power of the air. Now how's he involved in this
thing? Well, he's involved in this thing
through the influence of worldly religion. Antichrist religion. It thrives. Who's the power behind anti-Christ
religion? Satan is. Now what our Lord told
those, they said, we have Abraham'd our father. He said, if Abraham's
your father, you love me. You are of your father, the devil.
If Abraham's your father, you love me. I proceeded forth and
come from God. You tried to kill me. This did
not Abraham. These men were dead in trespasses
and sins. They were walking according to
the course of this world. They were satisfied. That's what
that means. They were satisfied. They had
jobs. They had a marriage. They had
brothers. They had sisters. They had a family. They had everything
they needed. They were satisfied. They went
fishing. They went hunting. They did this.
They did that. And they were satisfied in those
things. Every now and then, they go to church on Easter and Christmas.
They'd get up and go to church, and they felt good, and everything
preacher said made sense to them, except tithing. They didn't want
to pay anything extra, you know, for going. After all, they just
went two times a year. It's Antichrist. The whole myth
is nothing but Antichrist. And we walked that way. We walked
that way. We thought that way was right. He walked according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit, who now worketh in the
children of disobedience. Well, what broke the restraint
of their spiritual death? Here's a man dead. He's satisfied
in his death. He loves darkness rather than
light because his deeds are evil. It seems normal to him. Everything
seems okay to him. What breaks the restraint of
your spiritual death? How did that come about? What
released them from the reign of Satan and false religion?
What enabled them to transcend their fallen nature and to do
what they could never do before? Listen to this, verse four. God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved
us, Even when we were dead in sins, quickened us together with
Christ. By grace are you saved. Or by grace you are saved. And
hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. Now watch this. That in the ages
to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. In other words, the God who made
provision for us through His Son, who quickened us to gather
with Him by this eternal covenant union, made us to be one with
Him in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, quickened us and
showed to us our eternal Savior and Redeemer. That's what He
did. He gave us eyes to see and ears
to hear and a heart to understand. He broke us, made us to realize
our death and to see our death and to see what it is and the
power of it and its hold of us. He shut us up to Christ. And
something we need to know and something we need to think about
and be reminded of every day of our life, sinners are sinners.
They never change. That old man in you is the same
as he was before the Lord saved you. Maybe worse. Sinners are sinners. They're
all ruined by the fall. They're all dead in trespasses
and sins. They're all totally depraved.
Rebels in their hearts and no fear of God before their eyes.
But God has purposed to save some of them for His name's honor
and glory. and for the glory of His Son.
Huh? He purposed to save some. He purposed to save some of Adam's
fallen race, and He's made provision for them in Christ. And because
of this eternal provision and Christ's accomplished redemption,
God will show to them what His Son has accomplished. They're
going to show Him who it is that accomplished it. He's going to
open their minds and hearts and enable them to believe. One of the greatest privileges
on this earth for any man is to have the ability given to
him by God to believe. Well, you say that's just a simple
thing. Oh, no it ain't. I read it to you over in the
first chapter of Ephesians. He's gonna show to you the exceeding
greatness of His power to you that believe. It's a great thing. It's a great miracle of God's
grace. It's greater than the raising
of the dead. He compares it to the resurrection
of Christ. This thing we call faith, we
just take it for granted. Yes, I believe. Boy, if you do,
if you do, it's a miracle of God's grace. Without faith, oh my soul. And you can preach till you run
out of breath, but you cannot make that gospel effectual to
men. It takes an intervention of God. You has he quickened. Who quickened them? God did. And if you think by self-determination
or some decision to reform your lives or some dedication or sacrifice
you make is gonna cause God to enable you to believe, you're
barking up the wrong tree. Sinners are sinners. All right, here's the second
thing I want you to see. By grace are you saved through
faith. There's no scriptural salvation
except by grace. No part of it. No part of it. Every part of your salvation
from eternity past to eternity future is all by grace. In Romans chapter 11, he said,
Israel would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah, but God hath reserved
a remnant according to the election of grace. And if it's by grace,
then it's no more works. Otherwise, grace is not grace. Of the appearing of Jesus Christ
in this world, it's said in the Scripture, grace and truth came
by Jesus Christ. Of the justification of His saints,
it says, being justified freely by His grace. of the gospel that
we preach, he calls it the gospel of the grace of God. But especially
our faith, he said, by grace are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. I
want you to listen to this, over in Romans chapter 4, verse 16. Paul summarizes what he's been
teaching here in Romans chapter four and he said, therefore it
is by faith that it might be by grace. To the end that the promise might
be sure to all the seed. There's no sure way of salvation
except that salvation be by the grace of God. And if it's by
the grace of God, it's through faith. That make sense? Turn with me to the book of James.
I wanna show you something over here about these gifts of God.
He said, by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourself,
it is the gift of God. It is the gift of God. In James
chapter one and verse 17. Every good gift That's what we're
talking about, the gift of God. Faith is a gift of God. Every
good gift, what are these gifts? Well, Christ is the unspeakable
gift. He gives us repentance. He gives
us faith. He gives us understanding, just
to mention a few. Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above. Oh, you mean it didn't originate
in me. That's exactly what I'm trying
to tell you. It cometh from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no bearableness,
neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his
creatures. And men like to make excuses
for other means of salvation, But God who gives these gifts
never changes. Never changes. And then thirdly,
he tells us that we're saved by grace through faith. Through faith. I know some folks who say they
believe in the grace of God, but they deny the necessity of
faith. And they deny the necessity of
the means of faith. They deny a lot concerning the
Word of God. That verse I read to you in James
1 verse 19 said, "...of his own will begat he us with the word
of truth." That we should be a kind of first fruits of his
creatures. And he tells us that God's will cannot change. It's
fixed. It's irresistible. It's a part
of God's predestination. It's almighty. Who hath resisted the will of
God? None can stay his hand or say
unto him, What doest thou? And it's the desperate act of
a fool to question God. Paul said, you'll say unto me.
He'd heard it before, time and again. He said, you're going
to say unto me, why doth he yet find fault for who hath resisted
his will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou?
Who art thou? You don't call God into question.
You call yourself into question. Who are you? The scripture said, oh, the depth
of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable
are his judgments and his ways past finding out. Why? Why is this wisdom and knowledge
past finding out? Library's full of books. Bible's
complete. Why is this wisdom and knowledge
so past finding out? Why is it so foolish to question
God? Are you listening? I'm gonna
read you the rest of that verse. For who hath known the mind of
the Lord? And who hath been his counselor? Who did he consult? Huh? I want you to listen to something.
The Lord said this to Job. Job was getting aggravated by
these friends of his who were constantly accusing him of doing
things. He knew he was a sinner. And
he knew salvation was by faith. He knew a lot of things. But
they're just constantly, what did you do, Job? You need to
fess up. What did you do? Why has God...
Finally, Job got a little... went over the edge a little bit.
and started barking back down to his friends, and the Lord
took Job aside, and he said, now, gird up the loins, gird
up your loins, and I'm gonna ask you some questions, and you
answer me. Who art thou that darkeneth counsel
by words without knowledge? Ain't that what we do? Sure it
is. God counsels pure light, but
we darken it with our words without knowledge. We jump in before
we know what we're talking about. He said, who is he that darkeneth
counsel by words without knowledge? Where were you when I laid the
foundations of the earth? Were you over here to the side
saying, now, you better do it this way? Huh? Where were you? when I laid the foundations of
the earth. Whereupon are the foundations
fastened, if you know so much? What holds it in place? What
keeps it from just spinning out into outer space? Where were you when the morning
stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy when
that covenant was introduced? Christ was named the everlasting
mediator and the surety of that covenant. Where were you? Where
were you when I shut up the sea with doors and then caused it
to break forth as if it had issued out of a womb? Where were you,
and I say this to you this morning, when God made with himself an
everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure. What
do you know about that? Huh? We don't know very much. Oh my soul, where were we when
he appointed his son our surety? My friend, God is beyond question. The thing formed cannot say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? We don't have
enough understanding to do that. Faith is the eternal ordained
means of grace to call men out of darkness into his marvelous
light. And through faith is a phrase
used often in the scriptures. Too often to deny it. The righteousness Paul wrote
of God by faith in Philippians 3, 9. Oh, that I might be found
in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ. God has set forth Christ as a
propitiation through faith in his blood. And then again, by
grace are you saved through faith. There's no salvation apart from
faith in God. Well, if you're lit, you're saved
no matter what. Oh, I beg your pardon. You can't
find that in the scripture. No salvation apart from faith
in God. So what is faith? What is this
faith that I'm talking about? This faith that only God can
give? Only God can give it? Only God
can make it affect you in your heart? It's an intervention of
God? What is this faith? It's believing God. Well, you say, I believe God.
You do? Have you confessed your faith?
Then you don't believe God. Huh? That's right. We want to talk about faith. I believe, and what we're really
talking about is just an adherence to the word of God. We see the
word of God. That's true enough. No, that's
not faith. Faith believes God. Now if I believe there's a big
hole here, I ain't gonna step in it. I'm not gonna step in
it. I'll go out around it. But if
I don't know it's there, I'll fall in it. You believe God and
he tells you to do something, you do it. Why? Because you believe
him. You believe him. Faith is believing God, is taking
God at his word. Listen to this, Hebrews 11, one. It is the substance, he said,
now faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence
of things not seen. I have nothing to offer concerning
the substance of my hope except the word of God. That's all I
got. I've never seen God, Russell.
He never appeared to me in a vision. I've never heard his audible
voice. I've never seen an angel. I've
never seen a writer of the scriptures. The substance, my whole substance
of my hope is the Word of God. If the Word of God is not the
Word of God, I'm a goner. I stake my soul on it. It's his word. His word. The substance of all that I hope
for, 100% based on the testimony of God. And then he tells us
that faith is the evidence of things not seen. Now we take it as a substance
of our hope, but we look elsewhere for evidence. Your evidence seems
your hope. It's the same as your hope. It's
in the word of God. Somebody said, well, what makes
you think you're going to be saved and all these other people
are going to be damned? Well, you see it right here. I say it against my hope. I say it against my hope. I don't have any other victim. I believe God. Martin Luther
once said, feelings come and feelings go and feelings are
deceiving. My warrant is the word of God,
not else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel
condemned for one of some sweet token. How many times have you
done that? Oh, you just feel so condemned,
you feel so far from God, huh? Though all my heart should feel
condemned for one of some sweet token, there is one greater than
my heart whose word cannot be broken. I'll trust in God's unchanging
word till soul and body sever. For though all things shall pass
away, his word shall stand forever. Now that's faith. And that's
the evidence of faith. We're saved by grace through
faith. And then fourthly, faith is the
work of God. Now I want you to turn with me
this time to John chapter six. We are commanded of God and have the responsibility to
believe. That's what he tells us. He commands
you to believe, and then he holds you accountable. But because of our fallen natures,
we will not believe and cannot believe. Now look here with me
at John chapter six, verse 28. Then said they unto him, what
shall we do that we might work The works of God. They saw him
take a handful of fishes and bread and feed 5,000. The disciples
had just witnessed him walking on the water. All of these things. What can
we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered,
verse 29, and said unto them, this is the work of God, that
you believe on him whom he hath sent. This is the work of God. The disciples were granted special
privileges. They were enabled to do things
that others could not do. The scripture calls them signs
and wonders and diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according
to the will of God. They raised the dead, they cast
out demons, they healed the sick. And these were just a few of
the works which God did by them and in them. And just as raising
the dead was the work of God which they themselves did, so
is this work of faith in you. It's the working of God. The working of God. Faith not
only acknowledges the word of God, it walks in the reality
of it. You can't exercise faith if you
don't have faith. Faith walks in the reality of
believing God. Doesn't walk in the imagination
of believing God, it walks in the reality of it. It lives,
listen to this, by faith Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the
wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. That faith walked in the reality. of believing God. Faith lives
choosing to suffer affliction with the people of God rather
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Faith doesn't
just acknowledge the Word of God, but it rejoices in it, it
hungers for it, it rests its soul upon it, has to have it. Now faith does give assent to
the Word of God, but it also hold fast the confidence and
rejoicing of the whole firmament to the end. It doesn't just read
the Word of God like a science book or a history book. This
is God communicating with us. Faith feeds. What's it feed on? It feeds on the Word of God. It has to have it. And especially
the word of truth, which is the gospel. It has to have it. You can't crawl off in a corner
somewhere and never hear the gospel again. It would be a mess. Imagine yourself
loving your wife. You love her. You've been with
her. And then all of a sudden, she
just leaves. Just leaves. You come in to eat
supper and there ain't no supper. Ain't no coffee in the pot. Ain't
nothing. Wife ain't around. Well, you'd be a wreck. You'd
be a miserable wreck. The same thing with faith and
hearing the gospel. We're married to him. We're married
to him. He prepares a table for us. We're
hungry. We're ready to eat. Faith doesn't just acknowledge
the Word of God, it rejoices in it and it hungers for it and
it rests its soul upon it. Faith walks. Faith loves. Faith worships. Faith submits. Faith obeys and faith perseveres
to the end. We're not of them that draw back. under prediction. They went out
from us, but they were not all of us. Had they been of us, they
no doubt would have continued with us. Our text reads this way. For
by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
For, are you listening? For, We are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them. And he's not talking
about paying tithes here when he talks about these works. He's
talking about the work of faith, the work of repentance, the work
of love, the work of worship. You can't do that without the
Spirit of God. You can't do that without being
regenerated. You can come here and sing hymn,
but you can't worship God. James chapter 2 verse 26 tells
us plainly, for as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead. When God gives faith, He proves
that faith. He tries that faith. And when
he's done, you'll know that that faith is his work. The fires
can't burn it. The world can't destroy it. Satan
can't deceive it. He's going to prove to you that
this is my faith I give to you, not your faith, my faith. And if he gives it to you, it'll
be your faith. But you'll know where it comes
from. You'll know who sustains it, and you'll know who you ask
to help preserve it. And faith comes by way of the
Spirit of God. The Gospel comes in power and
in the Holy Ghost, and the result is faith. And we who have heard
and believed are said to be sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise.
Now I read several commentators, Hodge and Gill and quite a few
of them, and they all say that this, that spirit of promise
here is talking about the Holy Spirit who was promised of the
Father. And that's true. That is true. He was promised by the Father.
But that's not what seals us. It's that Holy Spirit who takes
the promises of God and makes them a reality in your mind and
heart. That's what seals you. That's
the earnest. This thing becomes personal.
It becomes yours. Salvation's not some obscure
thing out there, and we talk about that, and we talk about
us. No, it becomes yours. Because your sons, he sent the
spirit of his son into your heart, which causes you to cry Abba
Father. You wouldn't cry Abba Father
if he wasn't your father. Huh? You'd call him the man upstairs,
like some of these other people do. Not when he becomes your father,
you won't. You call him father, and you do it in reverence. Faith comes by way of the Spirit
of God, and it comes in power and in the Holy Ghost, and we're
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. He takes the blood
of Christ, as he says there in Peter, he words it a little differently
there in Peter than he does in 2 Thessalonians 2.13, when he's
describing the elect of God there. He talks about being sprinkled
with the blood of Christ. We're sanctified by the spirit,
and then he sprinkles that blood on the conscience. And only he
can do it, Richard. You can't apply it yourself.
Don't work that way. He has to do it. He takes the
blood of Christ and sprinkles it upon the guilty conscience,
causing the believing soul to know his justification in Christ. He causes us to see and to understand
and to know our interest in the promises that they're made to
us and for us, and so he gives us the assurance of faith. Faith is a marvelous work. It's
a great work. It's a miracle of God performed
in us. Paul said this to the Thessalonians
in his first epistle. He said, for this cause also
thank we God without ceasing. cause when you receive the word
of god which you heard of us you received it not as the word
of men but as it is in truth the word of god which affectionately
worketh also in you that believe what does that gospel preached
works affectionately in all those that believe by grace are you saved through
faith. And that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them.
You think God ordained something that's not gonna come to pass? If you know God and you don't
think that way, everything he ordained gonna come to pass.
Everything. And he ordained faith. He ordained
that that gospel work effectually in you that believe. And that's
the way it is. That's the way it is. So I don't
want you to leave here this morning getting all excited about the
babe in Bethlehem's manger. I want you to leave here with
some understanding of who that is. And only God can enable to
make that a reality in your heart. And if He does, you'll praise
Him for everything. Let everything David said at
half-breath praise the Lord.