glorious gospel statement from
the Word of God, the just shall live by faith. Now, everything in this book
is written by God. Amen? This is a divinely inspired
book. All scripture is given. by inspiration of God, and it's
profitable for doctrine, for reproof. And that word reproof
doesn't mean to ball people out. It means it's the proof of the
evidence. Give me a scripture for what you believe. Don't tell
me what you believe without a scripture. For instruction in righteousness. that the man, for correction,
for instruction and righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect,
truly furnished unto all good works. Now every word of scripture
is inspired by God, but I dare say that there is not a more
important statement than this. The just shall live by faith. I want to enter in to this. The just shall live by faith. Now, the writer to the Hebrews
was warning them of the sin of apostasy in this very chapter. Look in verse 25, not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, Now,
that is not missing church occasionally. That's not what that's talking
about. That's talking about forsaking the assembling of the place where
the gospel is preached, no longer identifying with that message. Not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting
one another. And so much the more as you see
the day approaching for, if we sin willfully, after. that we've received the knowledge
of the truth, which is so clearly stated in Hebrews chapter 10
about how God saves sinners by Christ. He says, there remaineth
no more sacrifice for sins. Now, the writer to the Hebrews
realized that Hebrews could have been thinking like this. Life would be easier. if we took the sail down a little
bit, and didn't drive so fast, and slow down, and not be so
dogmatic, not be so insistent upon this. You see, there were
people who were losing their life because of this truth. There
were people who were being persecuted. And they were thinking, well,
if we slow down a little bit. Verse 38, now the just shall
live by faith, but if any man draw back, My soul shall have
no pleasure in them. Look at verse 32. The writer says, call to remembrance the former days. Remember when you first heard
the gospel as gospel, the former days. when you were, I love this
word, illuminated. You were in the dark and God
gave you light. He gave you light concerning
who he is. And he gave you light concerning
who you are for the first time. And he gave you light concerning
the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Call to remembrance
those former days. You know, there was a time when
if I knew my sins were forgiven, I wouldn't care if I had to live
in a cave and didn't have anything else. If I just knew my sins
were forgiven and that I was accepted by the living God through
Christ. Oh, how glorious to be saved
by his grace. Call to remembrance the former
days. in which after you were enlightened,
illuminated rather, you endured a great fight of afflictions. You found out that the gospel
you rejoiced in, other people didn't rejoice in it. And you
found out that it was going to create conflict and trouble in
your life. You found that to be the case,
you experienced it. Verse 33, partly, whilst you
were made a gazing stock, you became a laughing stock. You
became the object of contempt and ridicule. partly whilst you
were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions,
and partly while you became companions of them that were so used. When
you saw someone was being persecuted for the gospel of Christ, you
wanted to identify with them. You wanted to be right there
with them. You didn't want to pull away from those people.
You wanted to share with them. That's how precious the gospel
was to you. You wanted to identify with whoever
was being persecuted for the gospel. You became companions
of them that were so used. Four, now the writer to the Hebrews
is talking about something biographical now, something that he experienced.
Four, you had compassion of me in my bonds. Now, whoever wrote
Hebrews, I don't know who wrote it, but I know this, at one point
he was in prison because he was preaching the gospel. And he
says to these people, you had compassion on me. You identified
with me. You came to me when I was in
prison and look what it cost you. For you had compassion of
me and my bonds and you took joyfully the spoiling of your
goods. You know what it cost them to
identify with the writing to the Hebrews? The confiscation,
they confiscated their material goods. I mean, they lost from
this. They could have lost everything.
It could have been, they were, had their homes taken from them,
their money taken from them, whatever they had was taken.
And what was their attitude about it? He said, you took joyfully
the spoiling of your goods. Isn't that amazing? You counted
it a blessing of grace that you were allowed to have this happen
to you. You didn't look at it as misfortune.
You looked at it as a blessing of grace. You were joyful about
this. Knowing in yourselves that you
have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. I mean, what
if you did lose everything? My home is not here anyway. I've
got in heaven a better and more enduring substance. Now look
what he says in verse 35. And he sees this in these Hebrews. He says, cast not away therefore
your confidence. Now that word confidence is translated
in verse 19 of this same chapter, boldness. Having therefore, this
is the most amazing statement. Having therefore brethren boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. What could be better than that? To have boldness through the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. To have boldness to enter into
the very presence of God and know you're accepted through
the blood. Nothing's better than that. Cast not away therefore your
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. Oh, to
come boldly into his presence. What a reward that is. to be
accepted, to have your sins washed away, what a blessing that is. Cast not therefore away your
confidence, your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward.
Four, you have need of patience, that after you've done the will
of God, you might receive The promise. Now what is this doing
of the will of God? You believe the gospel all the
way to the end. All the way to the end. You don't
graduate from this. You don't go on to something
better. You believe the gospel. You need to have patience. that
after you've done the will of God, remember when the Lord said,
not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father,
which is in heaven. Many shall say unto me in that
day, Lord, Lord, they thought they'd done his will. Have we
not preached in your name? In your name, have we not cast
out demons? In your name, have we not done
many wonderful works? But you know what? They never
did his will. They never believed the gospel. They never looked to Christ only. He said, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. I never knew you. Now you need
patience. I need patience. After having
done the will of God, continuing in faith all the way to the end,
you might receive the promise for yet a little while. And he that shall come will come. Everyone, I want Terry to listen
to me. Christ is coming back in just
a little while. It won't be long. Now I know he wrote that 2,000
years ago. What's that in light of eternity? That's a small amount
of time. And he may come back in our lifetime.
I hope he does. There's nothing that can prevent
him if that's what his will. He won't tarry. There's no one
or nothing that can prevent him from coming at his appointed
time. Yet a little while, he that will come will come. and
not Terry, and then we read this memorial statement. Now the just shall live by faith. Oh, may God teach me and you
what that means. May God enable us to be these
just ones who live by faith. The just shall live by faith. But. We'll come back to that
just shall live by faith in just a moment. But look at this warning. If any man draw back. From this
thing of the just shall live by faith. If any man draw back
from this. my soul shall have no pleasure
in him," No delight in him. And then the writer gives this
hopeful statement, but we are not of them which draw back unto
perdition. What's he say? If I draw back,
I draw back into perdition. But we're not of them that draw
back into perdition but unto them which believe. to the saving
of the soul. Man, I want to be in that crowd,
don't you? Them which believe to the saving of the soul. Now,
what does it mean to draw back? This word is used four times
in the New Testament. Here, and then it is used twice
in Acts chapter 20 when Paul was talking to the Ephesian elders,
and one of the times he said, I kept back nothing. Same word. Same Greek word, I kept back
nothing, which was profitable unto you. And in that same message,
he said, I have not shunned to declare the whole counsel of
God. There the word is shunned. Now
that gives us some idea of what the word means to draw back.
He said, I've not shunned, I've kept back nothing. And then the
other time it's used is in Galatians chapter two, where it says that
Peter was having a good time fellowshiping with the Gentiles,
and all of a sudden these fellas from James comes, and he gets
a little uptight, and he realized that they're not going to approve
of him sitting there with the Gentiles when he could have been
at the Jewish table. And he, scripture says, he withdrew
himself. He withdrew and separated himself. He just got up and left the table
of the Gentiles and went to the table of the Jews. He withdrew. That's the word drawback. He
withdrew. And we know that Paul at that
time, he publicly reprimanded him.
Now this is an apostle and Paul. publicly reprimanded him in front
of everybody. And I'm sure people were thinking,
Paul, aren't you nitpicking? He didn't say anything. He just
moved tables. That's all he did. But Paul reprimanded
him that the truth of the gospel might remain. If he let that
go, the truth of the gospel would not remain. Now that gives us
some idea of what this means of drawing back. Let's let the
sails down a little bit. We don't have to be so exact.
We don't have to be so hard. But what does God say about this
man who is tired of conflict and tempted to draw back? He
says, if you do, if you do, my soul shall have no pleasure in
you. Now, All this is important for the
important part. What does this mean? The just
shall live by faith. I've got three very simple points. Number one, the just. Number
two, shall live. Number three, by faith. And then in closing, I want us
to consider the four different places that is used and see what
the implications of each statement is. The just. The just. Now that word is found
81 times in the New Testament, 41 times it's translated the
righteous. 33 times, it's translated the
just. Five times, it's translated right. And two times, it's translated
meet. Now, there are only two kinds of people
living in this world, the just and the unjust. the righteous and the wicked. There's no neutral parties. You
can't say, well, I'm not affiliated with either one. No, God sees
me and you right now as either altogether just and righteous,
having never sinned, a perfect standing before God to where
he is actually well pleased with me. or he sees me as altogether
wicked, evil, and unjust. There is no in between the just
and the unjust. There are only two kinds of people
walking this planet, the righteous and the wicked. Listen to this
scripture from Matthew chapter 13, verse 49. These are the words
of the Lord. He says, so shall it be at the
end of the world, The angels shall come forth and sever the
wicked from among the just." Now, they're all together, even
in the church, wheat and tares. They're all together, the wicked
and the just. And really, me and you, when
it comes right down to it, I love the Lord giving that parable
of the wheat and tares. You want us to get rid of the
tares? And what did the Master say? Don't try it because what
you'll end up doing is rooting out the wheat. Wait until Judgment
Day and it will all be seen. wheat and tares. But listen to
this scripture, Matthew 13, 49, so shall it be at the end of
the world. The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from
among the just and cast them into the furnace of fire where
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Two kinds of men, the
righteous and the wicked, the just and the unjust. Now the righteous, that means
faultless. When God looks at you, you have
no sin. And this is not him pretending
this and imagining that this is the way it ought to be. If
you're just, that means before God, and he's the only one that
counts, before God, you have no sin. That's who the just are. those who are just and righteous
before the law of God, having never sinned. Now, the scripture
calls this justification. If you're justified, that doesn't
merely mean you're forgiven. It doesn't mean the sin is swept
under the carpet. If you're justified, that means
you're declared by God himself as having never sinned. Don't miss that. If I'm just
before God, that means when God sees me, he sees me as one, without
fault, holy, unblameable, unreprovable, perfect in his sight. Now somebody's
thinking, that sounds good. That sounds real good. But what
about the fact that I have sinned? Because that's the fact. I can't
just up and say I'm righteous and holy and I've never seen
one. I know, in fact, I have continually in and of myself
and my own experience. That sounds like pie in the sky
to me. How can that be that I could stand before God without guilt? Only the Bible answers that question.
Christ took my sins in his own body on the tree. And he literally
was punished for them and put them away so they are no more. For he hath made him to be sin. Do you hear that? Sin can't be
in two different places. If he took my sin, and if he
made him to be sin, it was my sin, you know what? It's not
mine anymore. He put it away. It's gone. And he takes the very righteousness
of his son, just as his son truly took my sin. I truly. God can do this. This isn't me
deciding, well, I'm gonna take Christ's righteousness. No. God
made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be
made, made by God, the righteousness of God in him. Turn with me for a moment to
Revelation 22. Now, John in this verse of scripture
actually is talking about death. And when you die, you're going
to remain the state you're in when you die. Look at this in
verse 11. He that's unjust, let him be
unjust still. You're going to spend eternity
unjust. And he which is filthy, filthy
by a sin, let him be filthy still. He will spend eternity filthy
still. And he that's righteous, that's every believer, let him
be righteous still continually forever. and he that's holy. Oh, every believer's holy. Every
believer's been born of the Spirit. Let him be holy throughout eternity. Do you realize that you're not
even gonna be more righteous in heaven than you are right
now, and you're not even gonna be more holy in heaven than you
are right now? That gives us some idea of the power of the
flesh, doesn't it? Because none of us can see that, but we believe
it. All of the righteous will be
in heaven. David said, as for me, I will
behold thy face in righteousness. I'll be satisfied when I awake
in thy likeness. And all of the wicked will populate
that horrible place called hell. The righteous and the wicked. Now we're talking about the just,
the righteous. The just. What does it say with
regard to them? They shall live. And this is not talking about
existence. But life before God. Where I
walk with God. Life before God. The life of
God in my soul. Spiritual life. You know, there
are two kinds of people. Again, this is kind of the same
thing. There are the dead and there are the living. Dead in
sins and those who live before God, born of the Spirit. They've got the actual life of
God in their soul, Christ in you. The hope of glory. I live, said Paul, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. And the life that I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me. I don't frustrate the grace of
God. If righteousness came by the law, by my works, then Christ,
what he did was in vain. We just heard it in that song.
It took the death of Christ to save me. And because he died,
I live. The life of God in my soul, spiritual
life. Born dead in sins, but given
spiritual life. And you think of the senses.
I mean, if you're, if you're alive physically, you can see,
you can smell, you can taste. You can feel, you can touch,
you can hear. When you're dead, you can't do
those things. And when somebody's dead in sins, he doesn't have
the spiritual senses, but when they're given life, oh, I see
the beauty of Jesus Christ. I see the beauty of being saved
by him. I smell the sweet savor that
God smelled of his sacrifice. God's satisfied, I'm satisfied
too. I've tasted that the Lord is
gracious. I've heard the joyful sound,
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The just, those who God has justified,
shall live. Life from the dead. You know,
I love that scripture in Romans chapter 14, verse nine, where
it says, for to this end, Christ both died and revived that he
might be Lord, both of the dead and the living. He's the dead
man, the man dead in sins, he's their Lord. They don't know it,
but they're in his hand. He has absolute sovereign control
over them. He's Lord of the dead, but oh,
he's Lord of the living. You know, I love the way Thomas
said, my Lord and my God. He's my Lord. He's my God. And that's life. The just shall live. These people have fellowship
with God. They delight in God. They know God and God knows them.
Why? They have life. Life. The just. The righteous shall
live by faith. Not by their works. Not by their efforts. They live
by faith. What is faith? Simple answer.
It's believing God. It's believing what God says.
Abraham believed the LORD. Do you believe what God says?
Do you believe what God says in His Word? I love that passage in John chapter
four, we considered it a month or so ago, how that fellow had
his son was sick, dying to death. He came to the Lord and said,
Lord, would you heal my son? And he said, except you see signs
and wonders, you will not believe. And he said, sir, come down here.
My child died, that didn't stop him. And the Lord said to that
man, go thy way, thy son liveth. You know what the scripture says?
The man believed the word that the Lord had spoken. And he didn't
even rush home. Why? He knew he lived. Why did he know he lived? Because
the Lord said he did. Nothing else is needed. Faith
is believing what he said. Now, the writer to the Hebrews
anticipated that people would ask, what do you mean by faith?
And I'm gonna look briefly at what he said in verse one of
chapter 11. We're gonna spend another message
on that next time, but he gives this simple, what is faith? You say the judge shall live
by faith, what is faith? Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. Now the word substance. That's translated by two other
words by the writer to the Hebrews when he uses this word. Remember
when it says Christ is called the express image of his person?
That word person is substance. All the substance of God, Christ
is. Now the substance of things hoped
for. I have a hope. that I stand before
God without guilt. And I have a hope that everything
between now and my acceptance on judgment day is working together
for my good and his glory. And the substance, all the reason
for that is Christ. He is the substance of things
hoped for. He's the evidence. He goes on
to say, he's the evidence of things not seen. I can't see
right now, looking within, if I look within my heart, I can't
see I have a pure heart. I can't. Somebody says, I can. I don't believe you. I can't
see that I have a pure heart. I can't see by what I see. I can't see that I have a perfect
standing before God, that I have no sin. I can't see that. What's
the evidence that it's so? Faith is the evidence. I believe the gospel. Faith is
the evidence of things not seen. The just shall live by faith. Closing. I'm going to read this
passage from Habakkuk. I've heard that pronounced in
many different ways. It seems like it's Habakkuk. I've called
it Habakkuk forever and that's not even the way it's spelled,
but Habakkuk chapter two, verse three. That is right before
Zephaniah, right after Nahum, right after Micah. Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk. Verse three, chapter two, verse
three. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at
the end it shall speak and not lie, though it tarry. Wait for
it, because it will surely come. It will not tarry. This is what
the writer to the Hebrews was quoting. Behold, his soul, which
is lifted up, is not upright in him. but the just shall live
by faith. Now the first thing that tells
me about the just shall live by faith is contrary to all human
pride. If my soul is lifted up in me, it's not upright, it's evil. It's fooled itself. Pride is
so groundless. It's so evil. It's the sin of
our first parents. It's the sin of Satan. It's the
sin of sins. Do you believe that? It's the
sin of sins. It would take Christ off his
throne and take his place. Pride. There's no room for pride
in the salvation of the sinner. The just are led by faith. I
can't take credit for anything. Not a thing. Not a thing. The just shall live by faith. That's contrary to all pride. Where is boasting? Paul said,
it's excluded by what law of works? Nay, but by the law of
faith. Faith, justification by faith
excludes human pride. Then Paul quotes it in Romans
chapter one. Do you want to turn there? Romans chapter one, verse 16. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. You know what? I'm not either. I'm proud of
the gospel. I love the gospel. It's worthy
of God. It's worthy of his glory. We
love the gospel. We're not ashamed of it. I'm not. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for therein
in the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith as it's written, the just shall live by faith. Now here's
what the just shall live by faith means. The just understand that
their righteousness comes from the righteousness of God. You
understand the righteousness of his character. You understand
that he would be righteous in sending you to hell. You understand
the righteousness of Jesus Christ is your righteousness before
God. Only faith apprehends that Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it.
Now, the just shall live by faith means my righteousness is the
righteousness of Jesus Christ. And God's righteousness declares
me to be righteous because of what Christ did, the righteousness
of God. I turn to Galatians 3. Galatians 3. Verse 10, for as many as are
of the works of the law are under the curse. What's it mean to be under the
works of the law? It means that you think some
part of your salvation is dependent upon what you do. That is the works of the law. And anybody that's of the works
of the law is under the curse for it's written, cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them, but that no man is justified by the law
in the sight of God it's evident. For the just shall live by faith. Here we have it again. The just
shall live by faith is the enemy of salvation by works. It's the
enemy. It's opposed to salvation by
works in any form. Just shall live by faith. That's my life before God. And
then in our text, turn back to Hebrews 10. Verse 38, now the just shall
live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have
no pleasure in him. The just shall live by faith
must be persevered in all the way to the end. I don't graduate
from this. I don't get bigger and better
things. You know, that's what religion will present. Well,
you're justified by faith, and that's this one-time act. Now
you go on to know the greatest thing in the world, the continual,
the just shall live by faith. And when I take my last breath,
by the grace of God, it's going to be looking to Christ only,
the just. shall live by faith. May the Lord make each one of
us just like this, just. shall live by faith. The just
shall live by looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of
our faith. Let's pray. Lord, we ask that you would give
us The saving grace to be of that
number who are the just who live by faith. And Lord, may we never
draw back from this. The just shall live by faith
in Christ's name. We pray. Amen.