We've read all three of the accounts
of the Roman centurion's faith, and I had entitled this message,
The Roman Centurion's Faith, but I got to thinking about it
this morning, and I changed the title to, Do I Have Saving Faith? Do I have saving faith? What a question. I want to know
the answer this morning, if I have saving faith. In Matthew and
Mark's account, they both say that he confessed Christ to be
the Son of God. What a confession. And in Luke's account, He confessed
him to be the righteous man, not a righteous man among many,
but the righteous man. Now this Roman centurion, I thought
of the passage where Paul said in 1 Timothy 3.16, Great is the
mystery of godliness. God was justified, or God was
manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels,
preached to the Gentiles. Here it's happening right now.
Believed on in the world. And here it is happening right
now with this Roman centurion. And received up into the glory.
Now what did he believe? The Roman centurion believed
Jesus to be the Son of God, the creator, the absolute sovereign
of the universe, the one who controls everything and everybody,
the one who is incapable of failure. Jesus, the Son of God, the uncreated
second person of the blessed Trinity. And this Roman centurion
believed him to be the righteous man. Not a righteous man among
many, but the righteous man, the only righteous man. Now crucifying criminals against
the state was his job. He did this for a living, crucify
so many and be at home on time for dinner with the wife and
kids. This was his job. I've read of Men who would bomb places and
go home and eat supper. In the German concentration camps,
people would kill thousands of Jews and go home. Life goes on. And that's the way this man was.
He did this for a living and he had presided over many crucifixions.
And you can be sure he was desensitized and harden toward the pain that
the ones who were crucified suffered. It didn't mean much to him when
he would drive in the nails to the hands and the feet and see
the suffering. It just didn't hit him so hard. He was one of the soldiers who
had been mocking Christ. This man was the one who presided
over his death. who gave the orders concerning
driving the nails through his hand and feet. He no doubt had
a hand in pressing the crown of thorns upon his head. And
Mark's account tells us that he stood against Christ at first.
He stood against Christ. He had no love for Christ. He
didn't believe him. All he wanted to do was mock
him. Look in Luke chapter 23 verse 36, and the soldiers also,
and he was among them, and the soldiers also mocking him, coming
to him and offering vinegar and saying, if thou be the king of
the Jews, save thyself. There's no reason to think that
he was not one of these people. He was the leader of this, and
it was his job to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, he starts
off with no love to Christ at all, thinking he was just a man
that he was being commissioned to crucify, a criminal against
the state. But something miraculous takes
place that very morning. No doubt, he was one of the ones Christ
was praying for when he said, Father, forgive them. They know
not what they do. This is one of the men the Father
forgave, because Christ prayed for this man. I have no question
about that. This is one who Christ prayed for, and the Father saved
him. And you know, he had never seen
a man die like this before. Look at Mark's account, Mark
15. And when the centurion, which
stood over against him, that means he was opposed to it, he
was against it. When he saw that he so cried
out, and we know what he heard when he so cried out, he cried
out, it is finished. That was the cry that came from
his lips at this time. When he saw that he so cried
out and gave up the ghost, he'd never seen anyone give up the
ghost like this. You see, when death comes to take somebody,
it takes him. He'd never seen anybody die like
this. The Lord actually let death come and take him. Remember when
he said, Father, into thy hands, I commend, I place my spirit.
Nobody else ever said that. I couldn't say, Father, I'm gonna
put my spirit in your hands. No, I say, have mercy on me and
receive my soul. But as far as being able to say,
I'm placing my spirit in your hands, he'd never heard a man
say that. He saw this man die as no man
had ever died before. And perhaps he was stunned by
the Savior's silence when all these accusations were brought
against him and the Scriptures he answered them not a word.
And I'm sure he was stunned by that. Why isn't he defending
himself against all these accusations being made against him? Perhaps
he saw majesty in him during his death that he'd never seen
before. He heard the people making fun
of his claims as the eternal son of God, as the Christ. He
heard all that. Matthew's account says he was watching Jesus, carefully
observing him. He'd never seen anything like
this before. And he heard the seven sayings
of the Savior from the cross. He heard the Lord say, Father,
forgive them. They know not what they do. He
was a witness to what the Lord said to that thief. After the
thief said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
I know you're not going to stay dead. I know you're going to
come back as a mighty reigning king. You're God. The thief knew
he was God. Don't you fear God seeing you're
in the same condemnation? He knew who the Lord Jesus Christ
was. And he heard the Lord say with kingly authority to that
thief, verily I say unto you today, thou shalt be with me
in paradise. You reckon that was blowing him
away when he heard the Lord saying things like that? He saw the
Lord look at his mother and say, woman, behold thy son. And he looked at John and said,
behold thy mother. And then he was there when the
sun quit shining. And there was nothing but quiet
for three hours between nine or between 12 and three. And
he heard the voice that pierced the darkness. My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me? He heard that. He heard him say, I thirst. No man thirsted like this man.
He heard him cry without loud voice, it is finished. And he heard him cry this with
majesty. This wasn't the cry of a weak,
defeated martyr. This is the cry of a mighty king.
Whatever it was he intended to do, he finished it. And then he heard him say, Father,
into thy hands. I commend my spirit. He felt
the earthquake. He felt the rocks rent. And Matthew's
account says he feared greatly. He went from being a hardened
executioner to someone who was scared to death. And this is
that fear that's the beginning of wisdom that it's speaking
of. He feared greatly saying truly, This was the Son of God. In Luke's account, he glorified
God, saying, certainly this is the righteous man. Now remember, this is the man
who was giving the orders concerning driving the nails in his hand
and now trembling in fear and glorifying God. He knows now
who this is. He is the righteous man. He is
God the Son. This is the Son spoken of in
Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6. Unto us a child is born, but
unto us a son is given. The Son wasn't born. The Son's
eternal, and He was given. Listen to this scripture. This
is the same Son that Nebuchadnezzar saw in the fiery furnace. Did
we not catch three men into the fire? They said, true, O king. He answered and said, lo, I see
four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have
no hurt. And the fourth is like unto the
Son of God. This is the same one. the son of Mary, the son of David,
the son of man, the son of God. Now this is what the angels announced
at his birth. That holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the son of God. I think it's
the angels were at a loss for words as to what to call him.
That holy thing, that holy thing. That holy man, that holy God,
that holy sovereign, that holy thing which will be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God. Now the centurion was quite simply
saying that which is true. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Turn with me to a moment to John
chapter 5 and I think we can get some idea of the implication
of that statement. Verse 17, but Jesus answered them, the
Pharisees, the religious folks, my father worketh hitherto and
I work. Whatever it is my father is doing,
I am doing. Verse 18, therefore the Jews
sought the Lord to kill him because not only had he broken the Sabbath,
but also said that God was his father, the son of God. And look at this next statement,
making himself equal with God. And there's only one who is equal
with God, God. They understood exactly what
he was saying. In John chapter 14, he said,
you believe in God, believe also in me. Now that's not a reference
to believing in God's existence. Everybody here knows that God
is. It's not talking about believing in God's existence. Everybody
knows God is. And if you don't know him, the
best thing you could do right now is say, I know there's a
God and I know I don't know him. Then you'll start seeking him.
What a blessing if somebody says that, even this morning. I know
there is a God, and I know I don't know him, and I want to know
him. God is. Now, when the Lord said, you
believe in God, believe also in me, what he's saying is, do
you believe, I mean, you believe that God is sovereign. You believe God is the creator
of the universe. You believe he created everything
by an act of his will. Believe that regarding me, because
that's who I am. I'm the one who created everything. You believe
God is all-powerful? That whatever He wants to do,
He has the power to accomplish? Believe that regarding me. I
am all-powerful. Whatever my will is, I have the
power to accomplish it. You believe God is sovereign?
You believe that He controls everybody and everything, and
He even controls the thoughts going through men's mind, that
His will is always done? You believe God's sovereign?
Believe that regarding me. I am the sovereign of the universe. You believe God is all wise?
Know this, I am all wise because I'm God. You believe God is absolutely
just? I am absolutely just because
I am God the Son. equal with the Father. Every attribute that God has
is in the Son. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body. You believe in God? Believe also
in me. Do you believe God is good? I'm
good. Do you believe God is absolutely
just? I'm absolutely just. I am God the Son. You believe
in God, you believe me. Do you believe God is eternal?
That he never had a beginning? That he never began to be? I
never began to be. Do you believe God is immutable?
That he can't change? I am Jesus Christ the same, yesterday,
today, and forever. All that God is, I am. I'm equal with God, and I repeat,
the only one who can be equal with God is God himself. Look back in John chapter 5,
verse 19. Then answered Jesus to their
objection. Then answered Jesus and said
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing
of himself, but what he seeth the Father do. For what things
soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father
loveth the Son. and showeth him all things that
himself doeth, and he will show him greater works than these
that you may marvel. For as the Father raises up the
dead and quickens them, even so the Son quickens whom He will. Now let me remind you that right
now you are in the hands of the Son, and your eternal destiny
is up to His will, not your will. Don't we have a free will? No.
You're in His hands. And He quickens whom He will. As the Father quickens whom He
will, so does the Son. Verse 22, For the Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all
men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He
that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent
him. The Lord took it this far. He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. Explain that. I can't explain
that, but I believe it. He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. Now when the Lord told that gathering
demonic to go home and tell his friends the great things God
had done for him, you know what he did? He went home to tell
his friends the great things Jesus had done. Was he mistaken? No, he was telling the truth. When the thief said, don't you
fear God? He was speaking of the Lord Jesus
Christ, God the Son. When Paul said to the Philippian
jailer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
The scripture says he believed in God with all his heart. Now, the son of God came to die
on the cross to save his people from their sins. And as God almighty,
he's incapable of failure. Now I can tell something about
what somebody believes concerning the person of Christ by what
they believe concerning what he did. Is Christ capable of
failure? Can he have an intention and
fail in his intention? Can he intend to save somebody
and that person not being saved and his will being thwarted?
That's impossible. That's impossible because of
who he is. He's God the Son. Turn with me for a moment to
Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 28. He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy. Under two or three witnesses of how much sorer of how much
severer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who
hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the
blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing. Now that word unholy is the word
that's generally translated a common thing. And the word by definition
means that which is general to all, common to all, as opposed
to that which is peculiar to the few. Now this passage of
scripture tells me that if I believe that Jesus Christ could fail
in his intentions and that he saved or he shed his blood for
all men, but some of those men that he shed his blood for die
and go to hell. What that means is, I've trodden
underfoot the Son of God, in my thinking, and have encountered
the blood of the covenant. What a powerful language, the
blood of the covenant, of the eternal covenant of grace, for
which He was sanctified, a common thing, and done despite unto
the Spirit of grace. If a man doesn't believe, listen
to this. He that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only
begotten Son of God. Nothing could be worse than that,
to not believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God. Now, when the centurion made
this confession, he said, surely this was the Son of God. Certainly,
this is the righteous man. When the centurion made that
confession, it was the exact same confession as Peter. When
it was said to Peter, or the Lord said to the disciples, whom
do men say that I am? And they replied, well, some
say you're John the Baptist, some Jeremiah, one of the prophets.
They put you in high cotton. And he said, but whom say ye
that I am? Now put yourself in that ye.
Whom say ye that I am? Peter answered, Thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God. And the Lord said, Blessed art
thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. when the
Lord watched the crowd leaving in John chapter 6, after He had
preached that great message to them. And there they go. He looked
at His disciples and said, Will you also go away? You know, if you have an option,
you will. If you can't go away, You will
go away. But what did Peter say? To whom shall we go? It's not
like we have an option. It's not like there's anywhere
else to go. Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe
and are sure that thou art that Christ. the Son of the Living
God. Listen to the Father's testimony
regarding His Son. This is My beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. God who at sundry times, and
in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets,
hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son." Even the demons said, what do
I have to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God?
Are you come to torment us before the time? They knew who he was.
You know, demons show more respect for Christ than most religious
people. They have more of an understanding of who he is. Luke's
account tells us, when the centurion saw what was done, when the centurion
saw what was done. Now I wonder, have you Have I
ever seen what was done? What did Christ accomplish? What was done? Well, we know why He came. Matthew
121, Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His
people from their sins. Now when the centurion saw what
was done, when he heard Christ so cry, it is finished, he feared
greatly, he worshiped and said, surely, certainly this man is
God the Son, this is the only righteous man. Have you seen
what was done? Now the message of false religion
is here's what you need to do. Here's what you need to do. Let
me give you a list of things you need to do. You need to straighten
up your life. You need to start reading the
Bible more. You need to start praying. You need to start giving up this
sin and quitting that sin. And there's all this litany of
things you need to do. That's the message of false religion.
And it's false. It's false. It's a lie. That's all it is. Have you ever
seen what was He said in Revelation 21, it is done. Salvation is done. It's a done
deal. It's what he actually accomplished
on Calvary's tree and it is done. When he saw what was done, that's
when he made this confession. You see, you can't separate the
person of Christ and the work of Christ. It's impossible. Who he is, determines what was
done. And that's what he understood
at this time. He saw what was done. Would you turn with me for a
moment to Acts chapter 8? Now remember I entitled this
message, Do I Have Saving Faith? Believing who he is, is saving
faith. Acts chapter eight. Now this is after he was reading
this eunuch from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, verse 34. And the eunuch answered Philip
and said, I pray thee, Of whom speakest thou the prophet, this,
or of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth,
and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way,
they came unto a certain water. And the eunuch said, See, here
is water. You were talking about baptism,
obviously. Here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? If there's a reason why I shouldn't
be baptized, I wanna know. What hinders me from being baptized? Wouldn't that be a blessing if
somebody was asking themselves that question this morning? What
hinders me from being baptized? Now look at Philip's answer.
And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, And
I've got to bring out what he didn't say. He didn't say, I
believe I'm saved. I believe with all my heart I'm
saved. I believe with all my heart that God elected me before
time again and I'm in the great Lamb's Book of Life. He didn't
say, I believe with all my heart that I've been regenerated and
that I've got saving faith. He didn't say, I believe with
all my heart that Christ died for me. He didn't say anything
like that, but look what he did say. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. Now, beloved, that is saving
faith. It's not what you believe about
yourself. It's what you believe about Him. Believing that He
is the Son of God is saving faith. Believing He is the Son of God
is how we continue in the faith. Paul said in Galatians 2.20,
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. Believing He is God the Son,
is what makes us sons. To as many as received Him, to
them gave He the power to become the sons of God. Even to them
which believe on His name, which were born, not of blood, not
because your mom and dad are Christians, not of the will of
the flesh, not because a bunch of men got together and said,
we're gonna pray for Him until He's saved. Not of the will of
man, not because of an act of your free will, but of God. Now, if you would have asked
the centurion if he knew he was saved, I don't know if he could
have answered that with an honest affirmation. If you would have
asked him if he knew he was one of God's elect chosen before
time began, He probably would have thought, well, I hope I
am. If you would have asked him if Christ died for him, I'm sure
his answer would, I hope so. I hope so. I can't say for sure.
But if you would have asked this man, do you believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God? Yes, I do. He is God the Son. Now turn with me to 1 John chapter
5. Verse 4. For whatsoever is born
of God. Now let me remind you of this.
If you are saved, you've been birthed by God. You've been born
of God. He's given you a life which you've
never had before. It's a divine life, being born
of God. For whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world. And only that which is born of
God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our victorious life. Doesn't say
that, does it? Even our faith. Verse five, who is he that overcometh
the world? But he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. Do I have saving faith? Do I believe that Jesus is the
Son of God? Do I really believe that? Do
I really believe that he's the uncreated creator, the absolute
sovereign of the universe who controls everybody and everything,
whose will is always done, who cannot possibly fail in whatever
it is he intends to do. Do you believe that he's the
son of God? My dear friend, if you do, you have saving faith. Don't get messed up on to what
saving faith is. Saving faith is what you believe
about him, what you believe concerning him. It has absolutely nothing
to do with what you believe about yourself. It has to do with what
you believe concerning Him. Do I have saving faith? Well,
you can answer that question. Do you believe that He is God
the Son? If you do, you have what the
Bible calls saving faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you can know that all your sins are forgiven that you stand
perfect, accepted in Christ through what he did on your behalf. May
God give everybody in this room saving faith. The same faith
that this Roman centurion had. I love thinking about that. That
morning, he woke up, he knew he was going to do his job. There
were some people who were going to be crucified. Something happened,
didn't it? Something powerful happened,
the power of God. And this man had the same faith
that every believer has. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that you would birth each heart here into spiritual
life. which is evidence that believing
thy dear Son is God the Son. Lord, grant us this saving faith
to look away from ourselves and to look wholly to Him and teach
us what it is to rest in who He is and what He did as everything
you require of us. Bless this message for your glory
and for our good. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.