Four Things Faith Does

Q: What does the Bible say about salvation by grace?

The Bible teaches that salvation is entirely the work of God’s free and sovereign grace in Jesus Christ, as seen in passages like Ephesians 2:8-9. According to Scripture, salvation is not something that individuals can achieve on their own; it is a gift of God's grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 emphasizes that we are saved by grace through faith, and that it is not of ourselves—it is the gift of God. This aligns with the Reformed understanding that God's election and irresistible grace are the foundation of genuine faith and salvation. The idea that humans can earn their salvation through works undermines the fundamental truth that it is God's sovereign choice that determines who will be saved and how they come to faith in Christ.

Q: How do we know faith in Christ is transformative?

Faith in Christ is transformative as it rests entirely on His ability to redeem and give life, fundamentally changing a believer's nature. The teaching in the historic Reformed tradition holds that saving faith is not a passive grace but a vibrant, transformative force. As the sermon highlights, faith leans on Christ, who provides all the necessary changes in a believer's life. When someone possesses the gift of faith, they are not only justified before God but also receive a new nature through the Holy Spirit, empowering them to live differently. This transformation is evident in the believer's reliance on Christ for wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification, leading to a radical change in their desires and life direction.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand the nature of faith?

Understanding faith is vital for Christians as it defines their relationship with Christ and shapes their spiritual life. The nature of faith in Christ is crucial because it has profound implications for how believers live and relate to God. As emphasized in the sermon, faith is not merely intellectual assent; it involves leaning on Christ, actively engaging with Him, and pleading for His grace continually. This understanding fosters a vibrant spiritual life characterized by dependence on Christ for all matters—be it wisdom or sanctification. When Christians grasp that faith is a dynamic relationship rather than a one-time act, it transforms their daily walk with God, encouraging ongoing intimacy and reliance on His grace.

Q: What role does prayer play in a Christian's faith?

Prayer is a vital expression of faith, engaging God's sovereignty and allowing believers to ask for grace. Prayer is an essential aspect of a believer's faith because it demonstrates reliance on God and engages His sovereign will. As the sermon explains, faith arouses God and moves Him to action in response to the prayers of His people. This principle illustrates that while God is sovereign, He desires to be sought after and to respond to the cries of faith. Scripture supports this view, as seen in James 4:2, which states that we do not have because we do not ask. Therefore, prayer becomes a means through which believers actively express their dependence on God and seek His mercy, which is a hallmark of true faith.

Q: How does faith allow believers to persevere in their love for Christ?

Faith empowers believers to persevere in love for Christ, ensuring their commitment remains strong despite trials. Perseverance in love for Christ is a hallmark of genuine faith. The sermon emphasizes that the true faith of a believer is accompanied by a vigorous passion for Christ, which cannot be quenched by trials or tribulations. Romans 8:35-39 assures us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, highlighting the strength of this divine love. As believers lean on their faith, they are enabled to remain steadfast in their love and devotion, even in the face of adversity. This steadfastness in love is further encouraged by the understanding that Christ’s love for them is enduring and all-consuming, motivating them to hold fast to Him.

to get men and women to understand
the simple truth of Holy Scripture that salvation is altogether
the work of God's free and sovereign grace in Jesus Christ. Men and
women are saved by God's election, God's redemption, and God's irresistible
grace in Jesus Christ. Nobody will ever be saved except
God Almighty stop him in his mad rush to hell and turn him
to himself. No dead sinner will ever live
except God give him life. No sinner will ever believe on
the Son of God except God give him faith. It's difficult, very,
very difficult, impossible for any man to teach another man
those things. But once men and women had been taught of God,
that indeed salvation is of the Lord, there is a terrible danger
to run in the opposite direction and get the notion in our heads
that somehow men have no responsibility. To get the notion in our heads
that somehow faith in Christ is an indifferent thing. That
faith is just something God sort of drops in you and leaves it
there and it doesn't have anything to do with your salvation. I
want you to understand clearly the teaching of Holy Scripture.
Faith in Christ is not a passive grace. Faith in Christ is not
indifferent. Faith in Christ is a gift of
God's grace that is very much full of life and transforms everything
about that person who possesses the gift of faith. I want us
this evening to take up right where I left off Sunday evening
in the Song of Solomon chapter 8, verses 5, 6, and 7. And I want to show you four things
that faith does. Now here are four things clearly
set before us in this beautiful allegory. showing the holy activity
of faith. Four things that faith does. First, faith leans on Christ. What a picture. What a picture. He is this that cometh up out
of the wilderness, leaning on her beloved. God's people are
people in a wilderness in this world. We are coming up out of
this wilderness. And the way we come up out of
this wilderness is leaning on our beloved. The Lord Jesus Christ
is described as our beloved in so many, many passages in scripture. And that which makes him beloved
to us is our faith in him. Were it not for faith in him,
Christ would be nothing to us. Oh, he might be a word, he might
be a sentiment, he might be expressed in various thoughts. But this
is what the scripture says. unto you therefore which believe
he is precious and he's only truly precious to those who believe. What is something precious? I
mean really beloved. Precious. That's something you
can't get along without. That's something you got to have.
I mean precious. Gold is not really precious.
You can live without that. Riches not really precious. You
can get along without that. What's precious? Vital food,
vital drink, vital air. That's precious. You've got to
have that. You've got to have that. Let
me tell you something. The man, the woman who believes,
understands that Christ is vital. Him alone I've got to have. He is that one thing needful. I can I wouldn't want to, but
if I had to, I'd get along without you. And you without me, but
Bobby, we can't get along without Him. We've got to have Him. We
must have Him. Not just what He gives, but Him. Not just what He blesses us to
possess, but Him. We must have Christ Himself. He is our beloved. He is the
one who by virtue of His love for us, which He has caused us
to experience in grace, causes us to love him. Now then, we
come up out of this wilderness looking to him as the object
of our heart's love, the object of our heart's devotion, the
object of our heart's affection, leaning on him. Laying the weight
of our helpless souls on Christ alone. As we go through this
world, we have great need for many things. often stand before
men accused of this, that, or the other, stand before men with
questions that are meaningless to us, but questions that are
intended to confuse, and questions that are intended to turn men
away from the faith. And we need wisdom. Well, we
lean on Christ for wisdom. You remember how our Lord spoke
to his disciples, and he said, they will call you before the
judgment seats, and they'll bring you before courts of law. And
in that day, he said, don't take any thought what you're going
to say. He said, I'll give you the words you need to speak.
He said, you be wise as serpents or harmless as doves, and I'll
teach you how to speak in my name. I'll teach you how to speak
in my honor. And when you lean on Christ in
just that way, to give us wisdom to walk in this world, this dark
wilderness, filled with hostility, filled with enemies, to walk
in this wilderness as Rex prayed just a little bit ago honoring
Jesus. And only he can give us wisdom
and grace to do so. We lean on him as Christ our
righteousness. He is the only righteousness
we possess. He gives us righteousness by
imputation in a legal standing before God, but he gives us something
else, Lindsay. Men and women who are born of
God have his righteousness imparted to them. So that every believer
is a man, a woman who possesses a new nature in Christ. The old
nature is still there, but he possesses a new nature. We're
made new creatures in Jesus Christ. So that we walk before God in
this world with hearts serving him in true righteousness. We
lean on Christ the Lord for sanctification. God requires that we be separated
unto him. And strive as we may, we simply
cannot separate ourselves unto him. And in a real sense, we will
not. If he leads you to yourself,
he leads me to myself. We will cling to everything and
let go of everything. Well, how are we going to be
sanctified, consecrated to God, separated to God, brought finally
to God, completely in Christ? Only looking to Him. He is our
sanctification. And He, by His grace, will see
to it that we are cut out of this world and consecrated to
Him. We lean on Jesus Christ as the Lord our righteousness,
the Lord our sanctification, the Lord our wisdom, and the
Lord our Redeemer. He has bought me. He has paid
for my sins. He has earned for me a place
at God's right hand. He has taken possession of heaven
itself for me by virtue of the merit of His blood. And I lean
on Him alone to give me acceptance with God. We lean on the Lord
Jesus indeed for everything. In all the affairs of our lives
in this world and for the world to come. This I recall to my
mind the prophet said, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's
mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail
not. Bless God they never fail. They
are new every morning. Every morning. is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith
my soul. That's enough. That's enough. The Lord is my portion. Therefore
will I hope in him. The Lord is good to them that
wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that
a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the
Lord. All right, now that's the first
thing. Faith leans on Christ. Faith trusts Jesus Christ alone
as Lord and Savior. We lean on him. Secondly, faith
arouses Christ. Now I want you to give me attention
for a minute. Look here, verse five. I raise thee up. I raise thee up under the apple
tree. Now when you read that, immediately you think, well that's
got to be Christ talking to the bride. No, no, no. The word thee,
T-H-E-E, that pronoun in the Hebrew text is in the masculine
gender. So it's clearly speaking of the
bride speaking to Christ. I raised thee up. Now obviously,
this is one of those places where it's clear we're talking about
an inspired allegory. These things cannot in their
strictest sense be true of Solomon and the Shulamites. But they
are indeed true of Christ and His Church. So here the bride
speaks again. And she says, I raised thee up
under the apple tree. There thy mother brought thee
forth. There she brought thee forth
that bare thee. First, there is a lesson here
about prayer. I raised thee up. This is what she says. I have
wrestled with you in prayer and I prevailed upon you to help
me and to comfort me. Faith rouses God. Faith moves God. You heard me right. rouses God. Faith moves the arm of omnipotence
to action. How can you say that, Pastor?
We recognize God's sovereign. Yes sir, we recognize that God
responds to the cry of his people in faith. God Almighty says for
this, he promised that he would give mercy and grace and he says
for this will I be sought after. In Acts 28, is it? Where the apostle speaks of the
shipwreck and he tells the folks there, he said, now God's promised,
he's promised nobody on this ship is going to die, but you're
going to have to stay on the ship. You jump off the ship and
you're dead. God promised nobody's going to
die, but you've got to unload all their cargo. If you don't,
you're a dead man. Well, how can that, how can both
be? Because they are. And I'm telling you, God Almighty
in his glorious sovereignty condescends to move in grace to the cry of
faith. We recognize that it's grace
that causes us to cry. We recognize that it's grace
that moves our hearts in prayer to Him in faith. But faith arouses
God. Let me show you what I'm talking
about. Turn to Psalm 44. Psalm 44. You remember when the disciples
came to the Lord Jesus in the hull of the ship. He was asleep
there in the midst of the storm. And they said, Master, cares
thou not that we perish? And thus they roused him up.
How? By crying out in their desperation
to him, even in weak faith, they roused him up. The Lord God often
appears to be sleeping. I didn't say he sleeps. He that
keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, but he often seems
to. He often seems to forsake us. He never forsakes His own,
but He often appears to. He does so that we may cry to
Him, and He responds this way. Look in Psalm 44, verse 23. The
psalmist says, Awake! Why sleepest thou, O Lord? Arise! Cast us not off forever. Now, you and I would probably
never speak in exactly that language, we'd be afraid to. And if Bob
heard me talk like that to God, what would he think of me? If
Bobby heard me pray like that, what would he think? If my son,
my wife, or my daughter heard me pray like that, what would
they think concerning me? How would they respond to that? David was speaking to God in
the desperate need of his own heart In the hour of his great
trouble, when God seemed not to care a flip, what happened
to him? That's what it looked like. See, God went down. Well, I'm
going away to my hell. And he did. Look in Psalm 34.
Psalm 34. Verse 1. I will bless the Lord at all
times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof
and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me.
Let us exalt his name together. How come? It's one of my favorite
songs, and here's the reason why. I sought the Lord. Have you ever sought the Lord?
I haven't even saw them. You ever, you've all had the
experience one time or another when you lose someone in a large
crowd, lose someone in a shopping mall, or your husband's trying
to get lost when you're in a shopping mall, and your wife goes seeking
you. Have you ever lost your son or your daughter? Little
types. And you were looking for them,
you can't find them. And you begin to seek them. I mean, you're
in dead earnest now. Have you ever sought the Lord
that way? Ever sought Him? Those who need Him, seek Him. I sought the Lord, and He heard
me. All who thus seek Him, He shall
hear them, and He delivered me from all my fears. They looked
unto Him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. and saved him
out of all his troubles. When the Lord Jesus teaches us
about prayer, he teaches us that prayer of necessity involves
importunity. True prayer of necessity involves
importunity. You remember how he gives the
story, says that someone came and had Folks come visiting them
in the middle of the night and they didn't have any bread so
they go to their neighbor and they knock and their neighbor
says, I'm already in bed, don't bother me now, come back in the
morning. But I've got nothing to feed my friends with. I've
got to have some bread. And so she knocks and she knocks
and she knocks and she knocks. And he says, okay, now get up
and give me what you want. That's exactly how our Lord teaches
us to pray. We have just begun to see the
fruit of earnest prayer for 19 years. Some longer than that. How do you pray? How do you pray? We don't wanna use vain repetitions.
It's not vain repetition to cry out for water when you're thirsty.
It's not vain repetition to call for mercy when you need it. We
call upon our God with earnestness, expecting that he will arise
and give us what we need. And so faith rouses him up. You
see, We speak this way and are confident because he who is our
God is ready and willing to yield to the cries of impurity. I'll say nothing much about it
now, but this is also a lesson concerning prophecy. The prophecy
of the Old Testament and of the New. She looks here with an eye
to the future prophetically. She says, I raised thee up unto
the apple tree. There thy mother brought thee
forth. There she brought thee forth. How does that refer to
anything prophetically? Read the 12th chapter of the
book of Revelation. There we're told that the Lord Jesus Christ
was born out of a woman's womb. And that woman is not the Virgin
Mary, but that woman is rather the church of the Lord God. Now,
don't misunderstand me. I'm not suggesting he was not
born in Mary's womb. He was. But in Revelation 12,
it's talking right about the church. That church that the
devil seeks to destroy from the very beginning of time. And the
Lord Jesus comes forth out of her womb, who is her Savior.
And our Lord himself in John 16, verses 21 and 22. Turn there
if you will. Here our Lord uses the same analogy
to speak of his second advent. John chapter 16, verse 21. A woman when she is in travail
has sorrow, because her hour has come. But as soon as she
is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish
for the joy that a man is born into the world. The woman goes
into labor. She has a great hard time delivering
a child. She has a large son in her womb,
but just as soon as that baby is laid on her breast and she
kisses his forehead, man, it's worth it. Trouble's over now. She's got a man child. Listen
to what our Lord says, and you now have sorrow. As long as you're in this world,
this is a veil of tears. And sorrow is your bitter cup,
dear. That's just that. That's just
that. Somebody says to you, trust Jesus,
everything will be all right. It will, sooner or later. But
I'm gonna guarantee you, when you come to enroll into the banner
of Jesus Christ, you come to enroll in a warfare. And in a
warfare, you got sorrow. Our Lord says, you now therefore
have sorrow. But I will see you again. And
your heart shall rejoice like a woman who brings forth a man
child. And your joy no man takes from
you. Again, when Rex prayed a little
bit ago, you heard as I did the quiver of sorrow in his voice
and the anticipation of joy. Oh, blessed be his name. Soon
the sorrow is going to be over. This travail will give way and
we will see Him who is the man, child, God, the Son, Jesus Christ
our Savior. All right, thirdly, faith leans
on Christ and faith arouses Christ and faith begs for grace unceasingly. I hear fellas want to argue and
debate, you know, Should we pray for forgiveness? After all, we've
already been forgiven. Should we ask for grace? God
promised he'd give us grace. Don't get involved in that silly
nonsense. Man, if you're hungry, ask for
food. If you're thirsty, ask for water. If you feel a sense
of guilt, you ask for forgiveness. You confess your sin and seek
God's mercy. Here is faith, begging for grace. Believers never get above that.
Look what it says in verse six. set me as a seal upon thine heart. Well, he did that from eternity.
I know it. I know it. As a seal upon thine heart. That's
always been so. I know that. But this is written
for a reason. We as believers constantly desire
the Lord Jesus to give us the confident reassurance and reaffirmation
of his grace and the constant experience of it. As we make
our pilgrimage through this world, the bride prays for her union
with Christ that it may be confirmed, that her communion with him might
be constant, that her fellowship with him might be intimate. Each of us, as we believe, might
very well make these same words to express the prayer and desire
of our hearts. This is my prayer, my God. Set
me as a seal on your heart. Set me as a seal on your right
arm of omnipotence. Now this word means four things.
Let me have a place in your heart and an interest in your love.
Dottie, dottie, that's what I want for Christ. Oh God give me a
place in your heart. interested in your love. The
reference is to the high priest in Israel. You remember, he wore
the breastplates that God ordained, and on the breastplate were the
names of the 12 tribes of Israel, right up next to his heart. This
is what I want. Blessed son of God, great high
priest over your Israel, it's enough for me if you bear me
on your heart before God Almighty. That's enough. That's enough.
Give me confidence of that and whatever sorrow, whatever trouble,
whatever heartache comes, I will rejoice in you. Number two, let
me never lose that place that I have in your heart. Set me as a seal, seal. Let your love be secured to me
as a, as a deed that is sealed and can never be broken. Sealed
by God's Spirit. Sealed with the earnest, the
foretaste, the damn payment of everlasting life. But sealed,
unbreakably sealed. Thirdly, let me always, oh my
Savior, let me always be near and dear to you. And make me know it. The illusion is, she says, set
me as a seal upon your right arm. The illusion is to, those
bracelets used to be common when I was a kid, were common in ancient
days, that lovers would wear with one another's names inscribed
on them. Set me as a seal on your right arm. So does I look
at the bracelet and see your name. And I look on your arm
and see my name. I'm constantly reminded that
everything's over. I'm constantly reminded of your
love for me. I'm constantly reminded of the
intimate communion I have with you because of your love for
me. The Lord God indeed speaks in this way to comfort his people.
He says, can a woman forget her sucking child? Well, she might. She might. Yet will I not forget
thee. Behold, I have graven thee from
the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before
me. This prayer also means this. Lord, let your power be engaged
for me as the token of your love for me. Set me as a seal on your
right arm. Oh God, make me to know always
that your arm is set for my protection, my defense, and my salvation.
All right, here's one fourth thing that faith does. Faith
leans on Christ, and faith arouses Christ, and faith begs for grace,
and faith just stays with Christ. Just stays with him. Look at
verse 6 again. For love is strong as death,
jealousy as cruel as the grave, the colds thereof are as coals
of fire, which hath their most vehement flame. You see, all true faith is persevering
faith. It perseveres in love for Christ,
so that if ever a man or a woman comes to know and love the Lord
Jesus Christ, they continue in both faith and love toward Christ. Love for Christ is a vigorous passion in the
believing heart. Faith is confidence in Him. Leans on Him. Rouses Him. begs for his mercy, confidence
in him. Love is commitment to him. Faith is not so much something
that involves passion as it is just simply fact. Whereas love
involves passion. Here it's described as love that's
stronger than death. The love of the believer For
Christ is as strong as death. Love for Christ makes the believer
dead to everything else in the world. And indeed, his love for
us was stronger than death. Jealousy. Wherever there is love,
there's a measure of jealousy. Not jealousy of a lack of confidence. Not jealousy that involves a
lack of assurance concerning the one who is loved or his love
for us. But jealousy in this regard, that dear lady sitting there,
I'm jealous of anything or anybody that in any way would come as
a wedge between us. You better not be one of them. That's just the way it is. I'm
jealous of it. I'm jealous of it. I'd fight
for it. I mean physically I'd fight for it. I'm jealous of
that. We've got something special and
I'm jealous of it. And I'll tell you something I'm
even more concerned about. I'm jealous lest I should behave
in any way as to hinder that blessed, blessed communion myself. That's what I'm talking about
there. Love for Christ is jealous of anything and anybody that
comes between us and him. Anybody. Anything. And jealous
of anything in us that may come between us and him. There's nothing
in him gonna come between us. But there's much in us that might.
Therefore we're bidding quench not the spirits. Love for Christ
is an all-consuming fire in the hearts of his children. It burns
like a vomit flame. And love for Christ is the victorious
passion of the believing heart. Look at this. Many waters cannot
quench love. Neither can the floods drown
it. If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
it would be utterly contend, utterly despised. But neither the substance of
this world nor the swelling floods of death could quench our Savior's
love for us. Nothing can separate us from
the love of Christ. And where there is true love
for Christ, it cannot be destroyed. Waters of affliction can't quench
it. They only make it grow stronger.
Floods of trouble can't destroy it. It only clings more tenaciously
to Christ. All the bitches of the world
can't buy it. Even life itself would be despised
before this love would be sacrificed. May God graciously grant each
of us this holy faith, this faith that leans on Christ, arouses
Christ, begs for grace, and stays with Christ. Amen.

Four Things Faith Does

What does the Bible say about salvation by grace?

How do we know faith in Christ is transformative?

Why is it important for Christians to understand the nature of faith?

What role does prayer play in a Christian's faith?

How does faith allow believers to persevere in their love for Christ?

Sermon Transcript

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Four Things Faith Does

What does the Bible say about salvation by grace?

How do we know faith in Christ is transformative?

Why is it important for Christians to understand the nature of faith?

What role does prayer play in a Christian's faith?

How does faith allow believers to persevere in their love for Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

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