I think I can safely say that
we live in the most religious age this country, if not the
world, has ever known. Everybody has faith. I have met
in my lifetime very, very few people who denied having any
faith, any religious faith at all. Not many folks live by it,
but everybody has some kind of faith. some kind of faith which
gives them some hope before God. We have politicians, and our
politicians, we ought not talk too bad about them, they just
reflect the people who put them in office. We have politicians
who show us by example utter decadence and immorality and
at the same time talk about faith and God. God bless you. God bless
America. Sounds good for politicians to
say that. We have athletes whose names and reputations are associated
with drugs, fornication, adultery, everything under the sun that
indicates nothing but immorality, and they talk about faith, and
faith in God, and believing in Jesus, and walking with Jesus.
Folks talk about the Baptist faith, the Presbyterian faith,
the Protestant faith, the Mormon faith, the Catholic faith. Everybody
has faith. But in the light of that, there's
a question that needs to be answered. What is true faith? What is it? Do I have it? Are there any specific
traits, characters, any specific things by which true faith can
always be identified? Indeed there are. Turn with me
to Hebrews chapter 11, we will look at verses 1 through 6, and
I will show you from these verses both the nature and the blessedness
of true faith. Now you'll remember that in the
10th chapter, the Holy Spirit gave us words of warning, encouragement,
instruction, and admonition concerning true persevering faith, that
faith by which chosen, redeemed sinners are experimentally united
with Christ, that faith which does not draw back into perdition
but believes unto the saving of the soul, that faith which
perseveres. In the 11th chapter, the inspired
writer speaks to us about the nature of faith and the works
of faith. And then in the last verses,
actually beginning in verse 4 and going through the end of the
chapter, those next 36 verses, he gives us example after example
after example of faith in the Old Testament. Tonight, let's
look at just six things revealed in the first six verses. Hold
your Bibles open here, and we will look at them one at a time.
Look at verse 1 first, the opening line. Here's the first thing
to be learned. Here the Apostle Paul tells us
that faith is the substance of things hoped for. It would almost
seem that that were a strange way of speaking were it not written
in the book of God. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. It is sort of like what Peter
says in 1 Peter 1, says, Whom have you not seen, you love. That seems a little bit beyond
human comprehension. And it would be except to faith. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. What are those things for which
you hope? What are those things you and
I hope to attain? What are those things we hope
to have in Jesus Christ? Well, we hope for eternal salvation. We hope for deliverance from
the wrath of God. We hope for deliverance from
all sin, all the curse of sin, and all the consequences of sin.
We hope to stand before God Almighty accepted forever, not just tolerated,
but accepted. Not just tolerated, but embraced.
Not just tolerated, but in communion, in fellowship, in sweet oneness
of heart and mind and nature with the eternal God. But what
is the basis of our confidence? The ground, the foundation, the
basis, the support of our hope is faith. Faith in the living
God. Faith in Jesus Christ. Faith
based upon and rising from the revealed Word of God given to
us in Holy Scripture. What you're holding in your lap
right now. Faith gives us the possession
of things before we get it. Faith gives us the reality of
them. You remember Sunday morning talking
about the first fruits of the Spirit? The first fruits of the
Spirit, as Elphaba has spoken of, is the earnest of the Spirit.
The first fruits of the Spirit is the reality of the harvest
that shall soon be ours. All these things are certain. They are as certain and as sure
as the life and throne of God Almighty, who is life. These
things shall surely be ours if we are Christ. The scriptures
speak very plainly. But faith gives us the confidence
concerning them. Faith makes us aware that they're
ours. Let's look at some passages.
Hold your hands here and turn to Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter
4. The great eminent example of
faith in the Old Testament is Abraham. Abraham is the father
of them that believe. Abraham is the first man of whom
it is written he believed God and it was imputed to him for
righteousness. He's not the first man who believed God, but he
is the eminent example of faith in the Old Testament. Here in
Romans 4 verse 17, as it is written, I have made thee a father of
many nations before him whom he believed, even God. Now, somehow in your mind, lock
this in. Not what he believed, whom he
believed. Now if you believe him, you're
going to believe the right things about him. But you can believe
all the right things about him and never believe him. Abraham
believed him, even God, who quickens the dead and calls those things
which be not as though they were. What? Well, God promised him
a son. And not only did he not have
a son, he didn't have much likelihood of getting one. He was an old
man married to an old woman, and both of them were withered.
Her womb was withered and his seed was withered. He was an
old man, but he believed God, who calls those things that are
not as though they are. Or look at verse 18, who against
hope, against hope, that is against all outward indication of hope,
Believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations
according to that which was spoken. Do you see that? He believed
what God spoke. That's what it is to believe
God. So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a
hundred years old, neither the deadness of Sarah's womb. He
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded. That's what faith is. Fully persuaded
that what God had promised, God was able to perform. Now it was
not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but
for us also to whom it shall be imputed, this very same righteousness. If we believe on him that raised
up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. You remember in Acts chapter
27 when Paul was at sea, he was a prisoner, and the ship was
about to be overturned, it was in a terrible storm, and the
sailors were just about to enter the ship and abandon the ship,
and Paul said, no, no, no, don't get off the ship, don't get off
the ship, because God stood by me this night, whose servant
I am. And he told me there'd be loss
of no life but of the ship only. So you just stay right here,
everything will be alright. What kind of assurance is that to
me? Paul said, I believe God. I believe God. None of them did,
but they were flat convinced he did. They stayed on board
the ship. He said, I believe God. All right now, look at verse
one again. Here's the second thing. First,
faith is the substance of things hoped for. Every life is going
to be saved on this ship. I believe God. Not just I. I believe in believing. Not just I believe that if we
hold on it'll be alright. I believe God. What God said that I believe. Because I believe God. Now then,
here's the second thing. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter
4. Here's the same apostle. And now he's writing about his
shipwreck. He's writing about storms he's been through. He's
writing about the afflictions he's endured. He's writing about
all those things that he experienced as a believer, as the servant
of God, from the inception of his life in faith. He just, from
the time that the Lord called him by his grace, to the time
that he left this world, his life was a life of constant conflict
with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Constant conflict
with the religious world and the unreligious world, or the
irreligious world. Look here in verse 17, how he
speaks of it. For our light affliction. What a word. Our light affliction. Man, if we... If we have a headache,
we talk about it for three days. Our light affliction. Our light
affliction. I heard Brother Milton Howard
preaching one time. Somebody at one of these conferences,
somebody got him cornered and he said to this lady, well, hello,
how are you? Wrong thing to say. She started telling him exactly
how she was. He said, I wish folks would learn that's a greeting,
not a question. Our light affliction. Our light
affliction. Which is but for a moment. worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. How
on this earth can a man whose life is nothing but trouble say
that? While we look not at the things which are seen, but at
the things which are not seen. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. Not just I've decided this is
what it ought to be, so I believe it's going to be. That's not
faith. That's presumption and foolhardiness. But faith is the
evidence of things which God did in eternity. Faith is the
evidence of God's eternal covenant, God's electing grace, God's purpose,
God's predestination. Faith is the evidence of those
things that God does in time. The incarnation of Christ, His
death, His substitutionary atonement, His resurrection glory, His providential
rule. Faith is the evidence of things
God does now. Our Lord's intercession. The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
go to my father. I believe he's there. I believe
he's there. He said, I'll never leave you
nor forsake you. I believe him. He's right here. The son of God
makes intercession for us before the throne of God is our high
priest. I believe what he said. He intercedes
on my behalf and the Father hears his prayer. Faith is the evidence
of things yet to be done. I fully expect. I fully expect. I expect this more fully than
I expect anything else with regard to natural life. We're expecting
William Stuart Hacker to be born in a week or so. Not near like
I expect this. I fully expect. to stand up from
my grave in this body of flesh without any of the corruption
of sin. I fully expect." He said, well, you're insane. Either that
or I believe God. One of the two. One of the two.
I fully expect to meet God Almighty in judgment and meet you before
his throne. I fully expect to stand with
Jesus Christ my Lord in eternal glory. in the perfection of His
own work made just like Him. Godhood alone accepted. I fully
expect it. I don't know what eternal glory
is. I don't know what heavenly glory is. I don't know what things
are going to be like when God makes all things new, but I know
they're going to be good and I expect again. I expect. These are all unseen things. But faith in Christ gives our
hearts the confident proof and evidence of them. His Word, His
Spirit, His work of grace in us all assure us these things
are so. Faith comes by hearing. Now you can't get it any other
way. And hearing by the word of God. Faith is that which is
born in God's elect by the power of God's spirit through the hearing
of God's word, believing what God has revealed. All right,
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen. Read on, verse two. Here we are
called to remember that God's saints of old had the same kind
of faith we do. They believed God just like we
do. There was only one difference. There was only one difference.
Only one difference. They had a whole lot less to
go on. And they seemed to believe them a whole lot better. We have
the whole revelation of God. We have the whole word of God. All they had were visions and
pieces of the Word. All they had were miraculous
signs and pieces of the Word. All they had were supernatural
works that men could see with their eyes and pieces of the
Word. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Peter says over in 1
Peter, he said, I was with the Lord in the mouth of transfiguration,
and I saw his glory. I saw God in human flesh glorified
right in front of me. Now that's something to see.
But he said we have a more sure word of prophecy. We got something
more certain than signs and visions and wonders. Something more certain
than supernatural gifts. Something more certain than types
and images. We have the word of God. But those men of old
believed God exactly as we do. Believe the same God we do, believe
the same gospel we do, look to the same Savior we do. Alright,
look at verse 2, see if that's not what it says. For by it,
that is by this same faith, the elders obtained good report.
These elders were those men of faith who lived in the earliest
ages of the church, who lived in the earliest times of the
Old Testament, Abel, Job, Enoch, Noah. Now Paul writes these things
by inspiration because the Jews tended to highly venerate their
elders, their forefathers, sort of like we do. You know, we,
if we trace our family tree back far enough and we get back where
none of the neighbors and none of the family remembers who,
ho, now that's where I come from, that's good stock. That's my
great, great granddaddy and he wasn't like the rest of us. He
was something else. The Jews were just exactly like that.
They were religious folks. They venerated them, highly esteemed
them. They made Abraham their father. They made Moses their
law. They made Elijah their prophet,
substituting those men who spoke for God for God himself. And so Paul says, now you need
to understand that our forefathers, those who walked with God long
ago, walked with God by the same faith we do, sinners forgiven
on the grounds of justice satisfied, righteousness imputed through
Christ the substitute. All right, now here's the third
thing. Look at verse three. True saving faith is given understanding
in the things of God. Through faith. Through faith. Not just through faith in faith.
Through faith in God's revelation. Through faith in God who speaks
by His word. Through faith we understand. We understand. I understand what
the smartest, smart folks in the world can't get hold of.
You do too. I understand that the worlds
were framed by the word of God. So that the things which are
seen were not made of things which do appear. In other words,
this stuff we call matter wasn't always around. God created this
earth out of nothing. God created the world out of
that which was not. And God created the world through
Christ our mediator in order to show forth his glory in redemption
and grace in the saving of his people. Turn over to John chapter
1. Let me show you. A man of faith understands the
visible creation, that it was formed from nothing, that it
came into its existence by the command of God, who made all
things out of nothing and gave it its form just exactly the
way he wanted to. John chapter 1, in the beginning
was the word. And the word was with God and
the word was God. Now this is talking about Christ.
The expression, the revelation, the word of God. That one by
whom God makes himself known to men. The same was in the beginning
with God. And all things were made by him. And without him was not anything
made that was made. Look in Colossians 1. Colossians
1. Verse 16, the apostle is giving
us this great, glorious description of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
he says, by Him were all things created that are in heaven and
that are in earth, visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created
by Him and for Him. You see that? They were created
by Him who is the Word of God. They were created for Him who
is the Word of God. And He is before all things and
by Him all things consist. How long is the earth going to
stand? Just as long as he holds it together. Just exactly that
long. Aren't you concerned? No. Just
exactly that long. Just exactly that long. He's
the one who holds things together. What men call the laws of nature,
the power of God. What men call just mother nature. What a blasphemous term. Mother
nature? Oh no, nature is mother to nothing. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
creator and ruler of everything. By Him all things consist. And
He's the head of the body. What kind of connection is there
there? Why on earth does it say that there? They were made by
Him, for Him, by Him they all consist. And here's the reason. He's the head of the body, the
church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence. God created
everything that is by Jesus Christ for Jesus Christ to show forth
the glory of Christ in the saving of his people. And as we understand
the works of God in creation and providence only by faith
in his word. And it's the only way we understand
it. I understand what's going on when I read the paper every
day. I understand what's going on when I go home and turn on
the newspaper or turn on the television and I see some report
of what's happened through the day. I understand what's going
on on Wall Street and I don't even pay any attention to it.
I understand what's going on in Washington and I don't pay
too much attention to that. I understand what's going on
in my life. in the ups and downs. How else can you say that? I've
read this book. I've read this book. By faith,
we understand not only the natural creation, the physical universe,
and divine providence, but by faith, bowing to the word of
God, we understand the works of God in grace and in judgment
because we have the mind of Christ. You see, this book, is called
the revelation of God. It's not a secret code book.
There's nothing secret about it. It's not hard to understand.
It really isn't, except if you refuse to believe. Now, I readily
acknowledge there are intricate details of things that I don't
grasp, but the message of this book, it's not hard to understand.
It's as plain as the nose on your face. The problem is that
men refuse to bow to the book. Election is not hard to understand.
Anybody can understand that. Redemption is not hard to understand.
Anybody who's ever bought anything understands what redemption is.
The problem is folks refuse to bow to what this book says concerning
those things. Justification is not hard to
understand. It's understood by anyone who's ever witnessed anything
in a court where a man was justified before the court. It's easy to
understand. The problem is bowing to it.
We understand that God created the world not because we're brilliant
scientists, because the book says so. And when you bow to
the word and you listen to folks talk about how the world just
sort of popped into being, just sort of oozed out of nothing,
just sort of slithered its way into existence, you know, you
just smile. No point getting too upset. Poor
fools. Poor fools. You smile. The point of fussing with them
is they can't see because they won't bow. They have no faith.
We understand also God's grace, mercy, his judgment and his truth
because we have the mind of Christ, the natural man. understands
not the things of the Spirit of God, the foolishness to it.
Neither can another because they're spiritually discerned. They're
discerned by faith, God-given faith. They're discerned and
understood by those to whom God has given the mind of Christ.
All right, now here's the next thing. Look at verse 4. From verse 4 through verse 40,
the Holy Spirit, as I told you earlier, gives us examples of
faith. before the flood, after the flood,
and so on, through all the various ages of the Old Testament. But
here in verse 4, we learn this fourth thing. True saving faith
receives the witness of righteousness before God. Have you got it? True saving faith receives the
witness of righteousness before God. The witness of the Holy
Spirit. That we, believing God, stand
righteous before God by blood atonement. Let's see if that's
not what verse 4 teaches. By faith Abel offered to God
a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. By which he obtained witness
that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts,
and by it he being dead yet speaketh. Now you're familiar with the
story in Genesis 4. Abel brought a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain. Abel brought a sacrifice of blood. He brought an animal
sacrifice slain, whose blood was poured out before the Lord
God Almighty, and he brought the sacrifice because he believed
God. He believed what his father Adam
taught him, what God taught his father Adam. That the Lord Jesus
Christ, seed of woman would come, and by him we would obtain eternal
redemption. And Abel brought a sacrifice,
pointing to Christ the Lamb. Abel was no better a man than
Cain. He came from the same daddy, raised in the same way, had the
same nature. I don't have any idea how one
behaved from day to day as opposed to another, but as far as their
nature was concerned, as far as their hearts were concerned,
Abel and Cain, like you and I, were two peas out of the same
pod, corrupt, depraved, defiled, unable to do anything pleasing
to God. So faith comes to God and brings
a blood sacrifice and says, I believe God. I believe the word that
God has given concerning him who is to come, and I trust him. Cain, on the other hand, brought
his bunch of turnips and said, here, I'll bring God the works
of my hands because God will look at me and smile because
I tip my hat toward him no matter what my heart's like, no matter
what I have done. And God had no respect to Cain
and his offering. In these two men, we see the
whole of the religious world before us. There are but two
religions in the world. There's a way that seems right
in the men. It may be called papacy, or it may be called Hinduism,
or it may be called New Age mysticism, or it may be called Baptist theology,
or it may be called Protestant theology, it may be called free
will religion, it may be called Mormon religion. There is a way. It's all the same way. It's the
way of man. That seems right unto man. But
the ends thereof, the ends thereof are the ways of death. And then
there is a way, which is Christ the Lord, not a way, but the
way. And this is the way of grace.
This is the way of redemption. This is the way of substitution.
And this is the way of God. The end of this way is life everlasting. You and I, like Abel, received
the witness of our righteousness before God exactly the same way
he did. As we believe God, we have the
witness of God the Holy Spirit by his word that we are righteous. Totally righteous. Completely
righteous. Perfectly, indestructibly, immutably
righteous by the work of God. Now let's see if that's not so.
Turn to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. I want you
to look at two texts. I'll refer you to a couple of
others. When He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will convince
the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. When God, the
Holy Spirit, comes to a sinner in saving grace, He convinces
that sinner that sin has been put away. His sin. That righteousness
has been established. The righteousness of Jesus Christ.
That judgment is over. Now look at Romans chapter 8,
verse 16. How often have you heard folks
say, well, I know he's a Christian because his spirit bears witness
to my spirit. That ain't much basis of knowing
anything. I know he's a Christian because I just, I feel it. I
feel it. You don't know anything about
anybody, not really, as far as their spiritual relationship
with God's concerned, except as they express it as it comes
out of their mouths. But he says here in Romans 8.16,
the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we're the
children of God. How? Turn to 1 John chapter 5
and I'll show you. Verse 7. It's not some kind of
a mystical thing, it's a faith thing. It's only mystical to
folks who have no faith. There are three that bear record,
verse 7, in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost, and these three are one. That's talking about the
Trinity. Now look at verse 8. And there are three that bear
witness in earth. The Spirit and the water. Water
is not talking about the waters of baptism, though certainly
that may be applied to that. It's talking about the Word of
God. The Spirit, the Word, and the blood. The Spirit of God
comes to us in the new birth, making known to us that which
is written in the Word of God, pointing us to the blood of Christ,
and declares to us justice is satisfied by that blood. Righteousness
is brought in by that blood. God Almighty smiles on you by
that blood. How can you be sure it's what
it says? Read the next line. These three agree in one if we
receive the witness of men. If two or three of you came together,
you walked in here at different times. One comes from the south,
one from the north, one from the east. Make it four. One comes
from the west. And you come in two or three
hours or two or three days apart. And you report to me the same
incident. And you report the same words
and the same facts. I suspect, I believe it was so. Even if it appeared incredible
to me. Because we believe men who are themselves honorable
men with good sense to tell the truth. All right, look what it
says. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is
greater. For this is the witness of God
which he's testified of his son. The spirit, the word, the blood. He that believeth on the Son
of God has the witness, the spirit, the word, the blood in himself. He that believeth not God says,
I'll spit in your face. You ain't fit to be believed.
He'd made him a liar. All right, now here's the fifth
thing. Look at verse five. True saving faith. gives believing
sinners the witness and testimony of God the Holy Spirit that in
Christ, because of Christ, we please God by faith. Enoch was
translated that he should not see death and was not found because
God had translated him. For before his translation, he
had this testimony that he pleased God. Now, I have to admit that
I have commonly looked at those last words of this verse and
thought, well, that meant that Enoch had the testimony before
other men that he pleased God. After all, the Lord translated
it. That's not what it says. He had this testimony before
the Lord translated it. It wasn't talking about a testimony
before men, it was talking about the testimony of God in him.
He had this testimony, this witness from God that he pleased Him. Now there are many things to
be learned from this. Certainly there is a picture
here of the distinct relationship between life in this world by
faith and heavenly glory. Certainly there is a declaration
here the Old Testament believers like Enoch expected resurrection
glory at the second coming of Christ of which Enoch was a prophet.
Certainly, there's a picture here of how that we who live
and remain until Christ comes will be caught up together without
tasting death to be forever with the Lord. And there is a declaration
here of the resurrection of all believers by the power and grace
of Christ at his second coming. But the primary thing to be learned
here is the fact that Enoch walked with God by faith. It is faith
that pleases God, not faith in faith, not the act of believing,
not even the life of believing, but the object of faith, the
object of faith. It's faith that receives testimony
from God that like Christ, because we are in Christ, because Christ
is our surety, substitute, representative, God looks on us and says, I'm well pleased. God Almighty
looks on you and smiles with approval as you walk before Him
trusting His Son. Not because you walk so good,
you don't. Not because you act so good, you don't. Not because
your faith is so strong, it's not. But because you're in Christ,
upon whom God smiles perpetually. Amen. Let's look at verse 6 and
I'll show you one last thing. Faith, true saving faith, is
believing God. I'll come back to this, I won't
try to expand it tonight, but without faith, we're told. And
this is the connection with verse 5, this tells us how Enoch pleased
God. Without faith, it's impossible to please Him. What is this faith? Here are three things. He that cometh to God. That's what faith is. It's coming
to God. To whom coming? To whom coming? Not he who came to God. He that
comes to God. Comes to Him. I've been coming
to Him now for, oh my soul, I can't get dates correct, 36, 37 years. I've been coming to Him. I've
been coming to Him. I'll be coming to Him today.
I'm coming to Him right now. And I'll be coming to Him tomorrow.
As long as I live in this world, I'm coming to Him. It's coming
to God. He's able to save to the uttermost
all them that come unto God by Him. We come to God by faith
in Christ. Here's the second thing. He that
cometh to God in Christ must believe that he is. I have good hope for our brother
Jim Wilson because he died last night and he's gone into eternity
but he believed in a God. He believes that God is exactly
who and what he said he is. Now that's faith. Faith is not
believing in God, believing in a God, believing in your concept
of God. If that's the case, everybody
who's ever walked on this earth is saved, universalism so, because
everybody in his heart believes what he believes about God. Faith is believing that God is. Look at this third thing, and
he's the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. You mean
faith necessarily involves believing that God will do what he says
he will do? Yes, sir, it does. Yes, sir,
it does. Brother Todd Niven made a profound
statement Saturday morning at a conference in Fairmont. Someone
said to him, my God's bigger than that. I believe God can
save people any way he wants to. He doesn't have to use the
gospel. I believe God can do anything, the fellow said. Doesn't
that sound good? I believe God can do anything. There ain't an ounce of faith
in that. Not an ounce. Faith is not believing God can
do anything, but rather faith is believing that God will do. Everything He has said He will
do in His Word. That's faith. That's faith. You see, true saving faith is
not a leap in the dark. It is not. It's not just groping
about with your eyes closed, believing some kind of mystical,
nonsensical idea about Jesus and God and the Spirit and righteousness. Oh, this feels so good. No. Faith is believing that God Almighty
in Christ will reward me with eternal life and glory because
of Christ. He's the rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him. Faith is always connected with
the Word of God. And any faith that does not arise
from and find its basis in this book is a delusion. It's no faith at all. Amen. All right, Lindsay, you come
lead us in the hymn, if you will.