I covet your prayers as I attempt
to bring this message because I want to bring it the way it
ought to be brought. I don't want to darken counsel
with words without knowledge. I want to bring this message
as it ought to be brought, and I feel like I've seen things
in this verse of scripture that I just read that I've not really
seen in the past. Let's read it once again. He loved the people he was writing
to. Have not, possess not, hold not
the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect
of persons. Notice what he does not say. He does not say, my brethren,
have not faith in our Lord Jesus Christ with respect to persons. He doesn't say that at all. He
says, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect
to persons. You say, is there any difference? There's a big difference. As
a matter of fact, this is the difference between grace and
works. Faith in Christ, the faith of
Christ. Now, there are a lot of scriptures
that speak of the faith of Christ rather than faith in Christ,
and I realize some people might think, well, that's splitting
hairs. As a matter of fact, if you look at all the different
versions, the King James Version is the only version that's faithful
in translating every time this faith of Christ as opposed to
faith in Christ. And as I said, this is the difference
between grace and works. That's how significant this is. Justified by faith in Christ
makes faith the cause of justification. Faith is not the cause of justification. Faith is the evidence of justification. justified by the faith of Christ
makes the faith and the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ the
ground of our justification. Now, is the ground of your justification
your faith in Christ, your active believing, or is it the faith,
the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ? Now, If we believe,
we believe for ourselves. God the Holy Spirit doesn't believe
for me. You don't believe for me. If I have faith, I believe
myself. But notice, it's the faith of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Have not, possess not the faith
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of
persons. Now, how can I personally believe,
and yet my faith is not mine, but his? Because that's what
he says. Let's pay attention to the language. Have not the
faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, with respect of persons. Well,
in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2, we read where he is the author. That means our faith is by him. He's the author, he's the beginner,
and he is the finisher or the perfecter of our faith. If I
have faith, he's the author of it, he's the subject of it, he's
the object of it, he's the ground of it, and he's the finisher
of it. being justified by the faith
that is in him. Turn with me for a moment to
Acts chapter 3. Hold your finger there in James 2 and turn to
Acts chapter 3. This is after Peter had been
given supernatural ability to heal the lame man And the people
came up to him wondering at the great deed that he'd done. Verse
12, And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye
men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly
on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this
man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, The
God of our fathers hath glorified his Son, Jesus, whom you delivered
up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined
to let him go. But you denied the Holy One, and the just, and
desired a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince
of life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are
all witnesses. And his name Through faith in
his name hath made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yea, the
faith which is what? By him, of which he is the author. The faith which is by him hath
given this man perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Now
go back to James. My brethren, had not The faith
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of
persons. Our text does not speak of the
faith which he is the author and finisher of. Our text speaks
of his faith. His faith. His personal faith. have not the faith of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. Now I want to look at several
scriptures. Would you turn to Romans chapter
3? Verse 21, but now The righteousness of God without
the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the
prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe the faith
of Jesus Christ. Now, if you don't have a King
James Version, I bet you it says by faith in Jesus Christ. But
that's not what it says. It's the faith of Jesus Christ. Turn to Galatians chapter 2.
Galatians chapter 2. This is a familiar scripture
with many of you, I'm sure, but it's a very important one. Verse 16. Knowing this, that a man is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ. It doesn't say we're justified
by faith in Christ. It says we're justified by the
faith of Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not
by the works of the law. For by the works of the law there
shall no flesh be justified. Now, this verse shows clearly
that this is the difference between grace and works. We're justified
by the faith. the faithfulness of the Lord
Jesus Christ and not by our works. Our faith is not the cause of
justification. The obedience, the righteousness,
the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Christ Jesus
the Lord is my only ground and reason for being justified. Faith
is the evidence He did it for me, but I'm not justified because
of an act of my faith. I'm justified by the faithfulness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, somebody had to believe
God. Somebody had to trust God completely, and that somebody
is the Lord Jesus Christ. I love to think of His faithfulness,
how He trusted God even when he was in complete darkness.
He never quit believing God. Even when he was suffering the
wrath of God with no, and I know I don't know what I'm talking
about when I talk about this, but he had no feeling of God's
presence. He had no feeling of God's favor.
He felt nothing but his awful frown and his awful wrath, and
he couldn't feel anything that God had any favor toward him,
but he never quit believing God. He said, Father, into thy hands
I commend, I entrust my spirit. He said, though he slay me, yet
will I trust him. He never quit trusting God. When he was a little boy, he
trusted him. He said, was she not that I must be about my father's
business? He trusted God for power to enable
him to live a perfect life. He completely trusted and believed
God. And you and I, if we're saved,
we're saved because of his trustworthiness, because of his faithfulness,
because of his faith to his father. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
3, verse 12. in whom we have boldness and
access with confidence by faith in him. I didn't read that right,
did I? In whom we have boldness and
access, freedom of inference, the right to come into his presence
with confidence by the faith of Him. The faithfulness of Him. Now here's where my confidence
comes from. The faith of Him. His perfect obedience. His righteousness. His perfect keeping of the law
of God. His faith toward His Father. That's where I get my
confidence. That's where I get my boldness. I have boldness
to come into his presence if his faithfulness is my justification
before God. Now, if it's my faith that's
my justification before God, I don't have any boldness, but
it's the faith of him that gives us this boldness and this access
with confidence. Here's another scripture, Philippians
chapter 3, verses 8 and 9. It says, Oh, that I may win Christ
and be found in him. not having my own righteousness. I don't want to have anything
to do with that. Do you? Not having my own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ. The faithfulness of Christ. The righteousness which is of
God by faith. Now that is where I want to be
found, in His faithfulness, in His righteousness. I want to
be found when God comes looking for me. There's only one place
I want to be found, in His Son, justified by His faithfulness,
having His righteousness as my righteousness before God. Galatians
3.22 says, But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin,
That the promise by faith of Jesus Christ. Not by faith in
Jesus Christ, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. His faithfulness
and His covenant engagements. You see, He agreed. to be my
Savior, to take full responsibility for the salvation of all of His
elect before time began. And He was faithful to do all
the Father gave Him to do. My salvation is because of His
faithfulness to stand as my surety, and to keep the law for me, and
to die for me, and to be raised for me, and to represent me right
now. That is all my salvation. His
faithfulness. Not my faith. Now, I believe. I do believe. My believing the
gospel is the evidence of His faithfulness to me. But my faith
isn't my justification before God. His faithfulness. Revelation 14, 12 says, here's
the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments
of God and the faith, the faith of Jesus Christ. Now when James
says in James chapter 2, 1, my brethren, have not the faith
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory with respect to
persons, that means exactly what it says. Don't possess the faith
of Christ. Now the one thing that will deliver
us from the respect of persons is some understanding of the
faith of Christ, the Lord of Glory. Jesus Christ is the Lord
of Glory, the absolute perfection of deity. Who being the brightness
of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding
all things by the word of his power when he had by himself
purged our sins. He sat down. The work was finished. He's the brightness of God's
glory. Now, if you and I ever hold and
have the faith of Christ himself. And we don't get this mixed up
and try to mix our works in it. It will be because we have seen
him as the Lord of glory. When you've seen him as the Lord
of glory, it changes everything. John chapter 1 verse 14, John
said, And we beheld his glory. the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. I love that scripture in John
12 when it says, these things said Isaiah when he saw his glory. You know what he did then? He spake
of him. That's what will happen when you see his glory. You'll
speak of him. He said in John chapter 17 verse
24, Father, I will that they whom thou has given me be with
me where I am that they may behold my glory. When by his grace I
shall look on his face that will be glory. Be glory for me. I think of the... I want you
to look at this. John 21. Turn with me there.
John 21. An unbeliever could not possibly
understand this verse of scripture. Verse 18, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself. John 21,
verse 18. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither
thou wouldest. But when you're old, you'll stretch forth your
hands, and another shall gird thee, and care thee, whether
thou wouldest not. That's when he's nailed to a cross. Peter
was crucified, and crucified upside down. He felt like he
did not deserve to be crucified the same way the Lord was crucified. What a gruesome death. But look
at these next words, verse 19. This fakee, signifying by what
death, he should glorify God. He should glorify God. His glory
is such that to be crucified upside down for Him, for His
sake, is to glorify God. This is indeed what Paul calls
in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 10, the glory that exceleth. God, who commanded the light
to shine out of the darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Now listen to this statement
very carefully. Faith is not merely assent to some propositions. Thinking those things you hear
are true. It's seeing that Jesus Christ
is the Lord of glory. That's faith. It's seeing. that Jesus Christ is the Lord
of glory. Now I want to talk a few moments
about His glory before we get into how an understanding of
this will keep us from partiality, will keep us from the respect
of persons. I read this to the class out front today for the
kids. Turn with me for a moment to
Proverbs chapter 8. His glory before the world was. This is Christ speaking and he
says in verse 22 of Proverbs chapter 8. The Lord possessed
me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was
set up from everlasting. From the beginning, or ever,
the earth was. When there were no depths, I
was brought forth. When there were no fountains
abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before
the hills, was I brought forth. While as yet he had not made
the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust
of the world, when he had prepared the heavens, I was there. when
he set a compass upon the face of the depth, when he established
the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, when
he gave to the sea his decree that the waters should not pass
his commandment, when he appointed the foundations of the earth,
then was I buying as one brought up with him, and I was daily
his delight, rejoicing always before him." Now I want you to
think about that for a moment. Before there was any creation,
When all there was was God, God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit, Christ tells us, I was daily His delight,
rejoicing before Him. And how glorious He was when
He stood as our surety. taking full responsibility for
the salvation of everybody the Father gave him. He said, I'll
be surety for him, and I think of Judah saying this for Benjamin,
and I think more of the line of the tribe of Judah saying
this for me, I will be surety of him From my hand shall thou
acquire him. If I bring him out unto thee
and set him before thee, let me bear the blame forever. He took complete, how glorious
he is in taking complete responsibility for my salvation. How glorious he was in his incarnation. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us and we beheld his glory. the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth." How glorious he was
in his birth! I don't think it's glorious that
he disdained a king's palace and was born in a manger with
the smell of manure in the air, sowing his disdain for everything
that the world thinks of as important and great. The wise men still
came to worship him who was born king of the Jews. And when they
saw him wrapped in those swaddling clothes in a manger, they fell
down at his feet and they worshiped. They knew who he was. How glorious
he was in his life. Glorious in holiness. Fearful
in praises. Doing wonders. How glorious he
was when he kept God's law perfectly. He never sinned in thought, in
word, in deed. Perfect. Perfection of holiness. How glorious he is in his perfect
obedience. You know what I find glorious
too? I find glorious the way he treated the Pharisees. The
Pharisees represent human religion and here's what he had to say
to them. Hypocrites, snakes, vipers, you're of your father
the devil and the less of your father you'll do. You're not
of my sheep. As I said unto you, you've not
known him, but I've known him. If I should say I know him not,
I'd be a liar like you are. I love the way he talked to the
Pharisees. I admire it. Why do you not understand my
speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. Oh, I love the
way he spoke. Every word. I love the way he
spoke to sinners. It was said of him by his enemies,
this man receiveth sinners. and eateth with him. And you
look at the way, the kind, tender, compassionate way he spoke with
sinners. He said to that confused woman
who said, I know when Messiah comes, he'll tell us all things. He said, I've been speaking to
thee, am he? He said to the thief on the cross,
today thou shalt be with me in paradise. He said to that woman
taken in adultery, woman, where are those nine accusers? Has
no man condemned thee? She said, no man, Lord. He said,
neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. He said to
that woman weeping at his feet, her sins, which are many, are
forgiven. He said to that man laying in
a cot that they brought him to him, he said, son, be of good
cheer. Thy sins be forgiven me. Don't
you love his words? Oh, how glorious, how glorious
he was when they came to arrest him. He said, Whom seek ye? They said,
Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I am. And what happened? They went
backwards, fell to the ground because he's letting them know
at this time You're not in control of this. I am. And he said again, Whom seek
ye? And I can imagine how afraid
they were when they said Jesus of Nazareth. I think of how glorious
he was before Pilate when Pilate said, Don't you know that I have
power to crucify you and I have power to release you? He said,
Thou couldst have no power at all over me. I love to think
of him saying it that way. Except it be given thee from
above. How glorious he was when he hung
on the cross. They nailed him to a cross at
that time. Once again, I'm glad that darkness covered the land
to let us know that there's a whole lot about this we don't understand
and never will understand. We believe, but we don't understand.
But I love to think of him saying, Father, forgive him. They know not what they do. And
everybody he prayed for was forgiven. Every single one of them. I love
the way he said to his mother, Mary, Woman, behold thy son. Then he looked at John and said,
Behold thy mother. And she came into his house at that very time.
That's glorious. I think it's glorious when he
said, I thirst. no thirst like his thirst. And how glorious it is when he
said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And I know
the answer to that, because God's holy. And because my sin became
his sin, I deserve to be forsaken. When he took my place, he was
forsaken. how we love his words to the
thief, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. And you know what I reckon my
favorite words are? I bet you know. It is finished. That comes as good news to my
soul right now. is finished. There's nothing left for me to
do. He did it all. And then he, after
crying that, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. How glorious he was in his death. Why, when he died, what did that
Roman centurion say, the man who was presiding over his death?
He said, surely this man was the son of God, how glorious
He was in His death. The veil was rent in two from
the top to the bottom. The earthquakes, graves were
opened. I don't understand all that where
it says many saints rose up from the dead and walked around Jerusalem
at that time, but I do know this. It's only because of his death
that the grave is open to us and we have a right to go into
heaven. It's only by what he did. And he was glorious in his
resurrection. He put death to death. He made
complete satisfaction for His people. He put away all sin.
I love to think of Him being in that dark room and all of
a sudden opening His eyes and getting up and walking out because
He had completely satisfied everything the Father gave Him to do. How
glorious He is! that. He's glorious in his ascension. Lift up your heads ye gates,
and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The
Lord of hosts, mighty in battle. He is the King of glory. He's the Lord of glory. Isn't
it glorious right now as my great high priest? There's a man in
glory with my name written on his breast right now. And he
doesn't say, well, father, he did it again, forgive him again.
No, all he does is show the father his hands and feet and nothing
else has to be said. He's in complete control as our
great high priest and intercessor. And what glory, what glory there'll
be when he returns. when he comes with clouds and
great glory. And I love to think of his glory
on Judgment Day, when the Son of Man shall come in his glory,
and all the holy angels with him. Then shall he sit on the
throne of his glory. That's where you're going to
separate the sheep from the goats. Isn't this a wonderful name for
our Lord? Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory, with respect of persons." Something that cannot dwell together
is the faith of Christ, the Lord of glory, and respect of persons. Partiality. Showing favoritism
to some type of person because of their wealth or because of
the color of their skin or because of their educational background
trying to show favor toward them. Now that can't dwell. If you've
seen the Lord of Glory, you know what you've seen with regard
to all flesh? It's grass. Nothing more. You can't respect
or show respect to man. if you've seen the Lord of Glory.
Now that doesn't mean you're going to be rude to men and disrespectful
to men. I hope by the grace of God we're
nice to people. I hope when they see us they
think, boy, they're really nice. I like them. I mean, I want to
present myself that way. But as far as showing respect
to persons, none at all. Not in light of who He is. How can you see who He is and
be impressed with the flesh, and think some kind of fleshly
distinction will make it better for you. If I know this person,
it's going to help me. If we get these rich people in
the church, it's going to help the church. I mean, they can
help us more. They can be more of an influence,
and they can bring more people in. If we could get some movie
stars, and athletes, and famous people in, and people well-respected
in the community, if we could get them in, they could help
us, and we'd get somewhere, and our church would grow. That's
pure, you know what. That's all it is. Pure you-know-what. I don't have to go. I wish I
could say the word. One of these days I will. When
I get old enough, I'm going to start using the word when I need
to. Right before I'm going to get ready to die, I'll do it.
At any rate, the only reason for the respect
of persons is you've never seen the Lord of glory. You see the
Lord of glory. there will be no respect of persons. The voice said, cry. And I said,
what shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the
glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers,
the flower thereof falls away, but the word of the Lord, that's
what endures forever. The Lord of glory. Now, we are saved by The faith
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, who is so glorious,
respect of persons cannot even be allowed. You see, he gives
all the glory and none goes to anyone else. And we like it that
way, don't we? We like it that way. I like being saved by His faith
a whole lot more than I like being saved by my faith. His
faithfulness. Now may we lay hold upon that. Hold not the faith of Christ,
the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory with respect
of persons. Let's pray together. Lord, how thankful we are that
salvation is by the faithfulness of thy dear son, who stood as
our covenant head, our surety, and took responsibility for all
of our salvation. And Lord, we're so grateful for
that. Enable us to preach him in this generation. enable us to hold the faith of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, without any respect
of persons. And Lord, how we thank you that
you're not a respecter of persons. For if you were, none of us would
be saved. But how we thank you for the
respect you have for thy son and his sacrifice and the salvation
that's in him. Lord, give us that high esteem
of him. Bless this word for your glory
and our good in Christ's name we pray, amen.