Four times that this passage
of Scripture is quoted in the Word of God. The just shall live
by faith. Now, if the Lord God sees fit
to repeat something four times, it's certainly worthy of our
careful attention. The just shall live by faith.
Now, it's in Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 4. Galatians chapter
3, verse 11. Hebrews chapter ten verse thirty
eight and here in our text, the just shall live by faith. This has something to do with
why I said this. The just shall live by faith. Consequently, if I'm wrong here,
I'm wrong on the line. I said this last night when I
was preaching in Michigan. When I. Began the message, I
said, I don't believe I could preach on a. More important subject
than what I'm dealing with. And I'm not preaching the same
message that I'm preaching this morning, this is a different
message, and yet I say the same thing. I don't believe I could
preach on a more important subject than the one we're dealing with.
And I also genuinely believe. That. If I get up and it's not
the most important subject, I could possibly deal with a ton of quick
preaching. Every time I preach, may it be that way. Not because
I'm trying to give it an air of importance, but because it's
the word of God. It's God's word for this hour,
and it is indeed the most important subject that we could possibly
deal with. The just shall live by faith.
God says this four times. The just shall live by faith. And I see three very important
words in that statement. The just shall live by faith.
The first important word I see is the just, or the justified. The second important word I see
is life. The just shall live by faith.
Life. And the third important word
I see in this statement is faith. The just shall live by faith. What in the world is faith? First, let's consider this word,
the just. He says in our text, the just
shall live by faith. The justified is what the word
means. The justified shall live by faith. Now to be justified or just before
God is to have no guilt before God. To be just before God is to have
no guilt before God. That means if I'm just before
God, when God looks at me, He looks at somebody right now,
even while I'm speaking with you, If God looks at me as just,
He looks at me as a man without sin. Holy, unblameable, and unreprovable
in His sight. Now that's what it is to be just
or justified, there is such a thing as being just before God, being
without guilt before God. How would you like to be without
guilt before God? I don't mean just not feel guilty.
I don't feel terrible to feel guilty. I feel that way all the
time. But I'm not talking about the feeling of feeling guilty.
I'm talking about being actually without guilt before God. So
God looks at you and He sees no sin. You like to be in a position
like that? The just shall live. The next word I see in this verse
of scripture is life. The just, the justified shall
live by faith. Now, the Bible teaches that all
men, as a result of Adam's fall, are dead. dead in trespasses and sins. Like Barnard used to say, graveyard
dead. Graveyard dead. Well, what's
that mean? What do you mean by that? I mean, this is a biblical
concept, and you have be quickened who are dead in trespasses and
sins. What do you mean, dead? What's
the Bible mean, dead? Well, as a result of Adam's fall,
remember, the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die. Adam died
And all of his descendants are born gay. I read in the paper this morning
where all the, there's a bigger problem with babies being born
addicted to drugs because of their parents. Their parents
are addicted to drugs and when they have these babies, these
babies are born addicted to drugs. Isn't that a horrible thing to
think about? I mean, being born addicted. Well, you and I are
born with this dead, sinful, evil nature. It's passed on from
our parents to us. I was born into this world. I
split the womb. The scripture says I came out
of the mother's womb, speaking lies. That's what the Bible has
to say. Born dead, in that sense. Now,
what do we mean, born dead? Now, you take a dead person. What if we had a dead person
here in front of us? Well, he doesn't perform the functions
of life. He's got a heart, but does it beat? He's got lungs,
but do they breathe? No. He's dead. He can't perform
the functions of life. Can he see? You can describe
the beauty of something. Can he see it? Absolutely not. You can talk about the sweet
fragrance of a rose. Can he smell it? He has no idea
what you're talking about. He's dead. You can talk about
a beautiful voice. Can he hear it? Can he feel the
tenderness of a kiss? He's dead. He can't understand
these things. That's what a dead man is. He
can't perform the functions of life. And that's what a spiritually
dead person is. Now, we're alive as far as biological,
physical life. No doubt about that. We're alive
to ourselves, to sin and so on. But as far as spiritual life,
My heart doesn't beat. That's faith. My lungs don't
pump air. That's repentance. You tell a
spiritually dead man about the beauty of Christ. Can he see
it? Describe to him the sinfulness
of sin. Does he have any idea what you're talking about? No.
He's dead. He can't perform the functions
of spiritual life. Talk to him about feeling the
kisses of Christ now. Does he know what you're talking
about? It's mysticism. Talk to him about hearing the
beauty of the voice of Christ, actually hearing the voice of
the Son of God in the gospel, knowing it's God's word. He doesn't
know what you're talking about. He can't hear. He can't feel
his sin, he can't taste that the Lord is gracious, he's dead.
The justified shall live by faith. It's true, we're born into this
world dead in sin, but there is such a thing as life. Before
God, there's legal life. God's holy law cannot sentence
a just man to death. He has life before God, legal
life. There is no condemnation to this
man. He's just in God's sight. And there is spiritual life. He sees the beauty of Christ.
And that's how he sees his own semblance. He hears the gospel. He's got life. He feels the kisses
of his mouth. That's what the writer in the
Song of Psalms said, let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth. That's the desire of the believer. He hears it. He's got
these spiritual senses. He has spiritual life. Let me show you what the spiritual
life is all about. I've been thinking about this, and I'd
like to preach on this passage of Scripture, but would you turn
with me to Matthew, Chapter 5? You want to know what spiritual
life is? I'll show you. Matthew, Chapter 5. I said, if you want
to know what spiritual life is, I'll show you. It's not like
I can do that. If the Lord's pleased, He'll show you. I hope He does. Matthew, Chapter
5, Verse 1. And seeing the multitudes, he
went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples
came unto him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying..."
Now, this is what is known as the Beatitudes. And in this passage
of Scripture, our Lord tells us what spiritual life is. This is not what a believer ought
to be. This is what a believer is. This is spiritual life. Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Not
simply blessed are the poor, but blessed are the poor in spirit.
Who's somebody who's poor in spirit? He doesn't have anything. Do you have anything that you
would commend before God? Do you have anything? I mean,
you're not poor in spirit. Somebody who's poor in spirit,
what's he have? Nothing. Our Lord said, Blessed
are the poor in spirit. Now, this is spiritual life.
Poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of
God. Verse 4, Blessed are they that mourn. What's this mourning
all about? You know, everybody mourns at
one time or the other. I mean, life deals you a bad
hand, so to speak, and you're sad, you're unhappy. Yet this
Scripture says, Blessed are they that mourn. What's that a reference
to? You mourn over your sin. before God. Blessed are they
that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Verse 5, blessed are
the meek. Every believer is a meek individual.
That means they bow to what God says is right, is best. Whatever
God does, do you believe that? Now, every believer does. Whatever
God brings your way, Even if you don't like it, even if you
don't enjoy it, knowing God brought it your way, is it best? Can
you believe that? Blessed are the meek. That's
what a meek person is. It's not weakness, it's meekness.
Whatever God does, it's the best. Couldn't be improved on. for
six blessed are they which hunger and thirst after what righteousness
for they shall be filled. Now, if you're hungry and thirsty,
can you come up with the goods to satisfy that hunger in yourself?
No, that satisfaction can only come from without food. You have
to have something outside you that's brought to you that's
going to satisfy that hunger. Hungry and thirsty, I don't have
righteousness. I can't come up with it. I can't satisfy my own
hunger. It's going to have to be something without me coming
to me that satisfies that hunger. Now, a believer is somebody who
hungers and thirsts after righteousness. That's spiritual life. Go on
reading. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Do you know anything about the mercy of God? Salvation by His
mercy. Now, if you do, can you look
down your nose at anybody? I don't care who they are. Can
you look down? You can't look down your nose, you know? Merciful. Merciful. Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy. Verse 8, blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God. Now, that's a verse of Scripture
that used to trouble me a great deal. Blessed are the pure in
heart, because I look at my heart, it don't seem very pure. You
know what the word means? Unmixed. I have pure views of myself.
If I'm seeing right, purely evil in and of myself. I have pure
views of grace. Salvation is purely by grace.
It's not by works. I have pure views of Christ.
In this sense, He's only my salvation. That's purity. Blessed are the
pure in heart. For they shall see God. Blessed
are the peacemakers. For they shall be called the
children of God. The gospel of peace is their message. Blessed
are they which are persecuted. Now, somebody says, I don't want
any conflict. Well, you might as well forget
the gospel, because there will be conflict. This is part of the Beatitudes. This is part of spiritual life.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for his
righteousness sake. Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness sake. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you
and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely for my sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so persecuted day the father is the... your father is the
prophet. Now that's spiritual life. You
see that? That's spiritual life. Now remember,
the just The justified, the perfect in God's sight, shall live. They'll
have spiritual life. Yes, they were born dead, but
they're going to live. They're going to have this life
before God. And the scripture says they shall live by what? By faith. Now, what in the world
is faith? Now, remember these three important
words. The just, the justified. They'll live. They have life
before God. They have legal life. They have spiritual life. And
one of these days, bless God, I'm going to have all that life
is, in the sense that I'm going to be just like Christ. Now that's
when we begin to live, when I'm just like Christ. I don't even
know what life is. I mean, I talk about it, but
I don't know much about what I'm talking about. But one of
these days I will. And then I'll live, the just shall live by
faith. Now what in the world is faith?
The just shall live by faith. You know that you cannot have any understanding
of faith until you first have some understanding of unbelief. Faith is meaningless outside
the context of unbelief. You know, there's a time when
there won't be faith, and this will prove it. If you think about
this, in heaven will I need faith? No. You know why? There won't be any unbelief there.
It's not necessary there. It's sight. But right now, as
long as I'm dealing with this thing called unbelief, and this
old man, as long as I have to deal with unbelief, oh, how precious
faith is, and there's no understanding of faith apart from the context
of unbelief. For instance, what would the
forgiveness of sin mean if there were no sin? It'd mean absolutely nothing.
Isn't that right? What would grace mean if there were no guilt? It would be meaningless. And what is faith if there is
no unbelief? The only place where there is
faith is where there is some understanding of unbelief. Now, what did Satan use in the
garden to tempt our first parents? Unbelief. Yea, hath God said. Do you really have to believe
what he said? Do you really have to believe you're going to die?
Do you really think that's going to happen? Do you have to take what he said literally?
Do you have to take it right verbatim? Do you? Did he really
say that? Do you have to? He's not saying,
did he say that, but do you have to believe it just as he said
it? As God said. You shall surely die. You shall
not surely die. You don't have to believe that.
That's what Satan used in the garden, unbelief. Faith is what? believing what God said. It really
is that simple, believing what God said. The first time the
word is used is in reference to Abraham over in Genesis chapter
15, where it says we believe God and we count Him for righteousness.
Now you look at Abraham. Abraham was an old man. His wife
was an old woman. The time of menopause had already
taken place. It was impossible for her to
have children. It was physically impossible.
Abraham Abraham. God spoke to Abraham. Abraham,
you see the stars up in the sky. Abraham looked up and he saw
the beautiful sky, the stars twinkling. Who could count it?
He said, that's how your seed is going to be. You're going
to have that many seeds. You know what Abraham did? He believed God. Did he have
any evidence? Could he look at his kids and
say, yeah, I think they'll end up that way? No. He had no evidence
whatsoever, but he believed what God said, and it was canon to
him for righteousness. Faith is believing what God has
said. Hebrews 11.1 says, Now faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. Thank you. What makes you think that? What
makes you think you have spiritual life? Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. What is the evidence that Christ
died for me? Now, I don't believe, listen
to me, I don't believe for a second that Jesus Christ died for everybody.
Do you believe that? Do you believe he died for every individual?
Scripture doesn't teach it. If you believe that, you're wrong.
I don't believe that for a second. Christ died for his elect. He
died for his people. Now, somebody says, how do you know you're
one of them? Because I'm relying on Christ.
That's how I know. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. Well, I can't see that you have
spiritual life. Well, what's the evidence? Faith.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not sing. There is an inseparable an inseparable
connection between just this or righteousness and possessing
life and. Now, look at our text back again,
Romans chapter one. Paul says, I'm not ashamed or
16 of the gospel of Christ, for it, the gospel is the power of
God and the salvation to everyone that believe it. Those who have
faith, not to everyone who has believed or used to be believed,
used to believe or will believe, but the one that's believing
right now. Faith is always in the presence. Do you believe
right now? Do you look to Christ right now? Are you somebody that
could be described as somebody who's believeth right now? Well,
I am. I'm relying on Him right now. 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, in the gospel,
in the Son of God being nailed to that cross, and that's what
the gospel is, Christ crucified. That's the gospel, isn't it?
Who He is and what He did. That is the gospel. Now, our
text tells us that the righteousness of God is revealed. literally
uncovered, and made bare. Consider this last week. We see
in the gospel, in Christ crucified, we see in the gospel the righteousness
of God revealed. First, I see His righteous character.
How holy do you have to be to be accepted by God? Do you have to be as holy as God?
You look at the cross and you'll find out. I see a righteousness
provided, the perfect obedience of Christ provided for every
believer. I see a righteousness accepted.
I see how God accepted what he did. The righteousness of God
is revealed from faith to faith. But let's zero in on this for
just a moment. What exactly is meant by the righteousness of
God? For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith, as it's written, the just shall live by faith. What is
this thing of the righteousness of God? We know by the term that
it doesn't mean the righteousness of men. Therein is the righteousness
of men revealed? No. I like what I heard somebody
say this week. They're talking about man. They
said, you know, the Bible doesn't have anything good to say about
men. And you know, it doesn't. It
doesn't. Don't talk about the righteousness
of men revealed, but the righteousness of God. Now, what's this about
the righteousness of God being revealed in the gospel? Well,
there's only two views you could have. First of all, when you
think of the righteousness which is of God by faith, you could
think of the righteousness that God, by His grace, enables us
to perform. The righteousness which God,
by His grace, enables us to perform. And listen to me, if you are
a believer, whether you're aware of it or not, You do perform
righteousness if you're a believer. You have a new nature. You do
love God. You do love Christ. And you perform good works if
you're a believer. Every believer does. Does that mean they see
Him? No, it doesn't mean they see Him, but they sure do. And
every one of them results in good works. If you're a believer,
you perform righteousness by His grace. You have a new nature.
It could mean, or one view of this righteousness which is revealed
in the Gospel is the righteousness that God enables a believer to
do Or is it talking about the imputed righteousness of Christ? The perfect obedience of Christ? Now, let me ask you a question.
Now, I want you to deal with this honestly. Now, you may not, if
you're, I'm speaking to a believer right now, you may not even feel
that you have any good works and so on, but if you're a believer,
I know you do, every believer does. and I, as a matter of fact,
I'd be real suspicious of you if you thought you were full
of them. That's where I'd really be wondering about you. But if you're a believer,
you do have works that God has enabled you to perform that glorify
God. I mean, loving your wife, loving your husband, loving your
children, giving to the glory of God, spreading the gospel,
seeking to be patient. Just go on. A believer has that. They don't feel good about it,
but they have it. But let me ask you a question. Would you ever present anything
like that to God and think you'd accept it? I'll tell you what I wouldn't.
I wouldn't dare present anything that had my fingerprints on it.
I'd know what that means. It's sin. When it comes right
down to it, that's all you can call it. Anything I do, you believe
that about yourself. If I do it, it's sin. Only one
thing I present before God, and this is the righteousness he's
speaking of. The only thing I plead before God is the perfect obedience
of Jesus Christ. Hear me for Christ's sake. Hear this prayer for Christ's
sake. Accept my faith for Christ's
sake. My faith is no good. Give me faith for Christ's sake.
Give me repentance for Christ's sake. Accept this confession
for Christ's sake. Nothing about me is any good.
The only thing a believer will plead before God is the perfect
obedience of Christ alone. And if you bring anything else,
you will be rejected by God Almighty. There is only one righteousness
that he accepts, and that is the perfect, the perfect obedience
of Jesus Christ. Now, that's the righteousness
that's revealed in the gospel. It's not revealed anywhere else,
is it? It's revealed in the gospel.
Oh, what a wonderful Blessed thought to know I could come
into the presence of God pleading his righteousness. Hey, I'm accepting
the beloved. That's the gospel. That's the
righteousness he's speaking of, the righteousness which is by
faith. To him that worketh not, but
believeth. Reliant. I like that. Reliant. On him that justifieth. His faith is counted for righteousness. Turn to Romans 10 for just a
moment. This righteousness of God, here's
what it is. We'll get to this in a couple
of months, I suppose, but Paul says in verse 1, Brethren, my
heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might
be saved. I'll tell you what I've been
talking about. It gives me such confidence. I never try to come
into God's presence even pleading what he's done in me. I don't
come that way. If I try, I start getting scared.
I start thinking I'm going to end up in hell. I come pleading
his righteousness only and I'm as bold as a lion. I have such
confidence in his obedience. I have such confidence in his
righteousness making me accepted before God. His righteousness
only. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved, for I bear
them record. They have a zeal of God, but it's not according
to knowledge. But they, being ignorant of God's
righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness,
they've not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
What righteousness is he talking about? Christ's righteousness. They've not submitted themselves
to be saved by the obedience of somebody else, is what they're
talking about. And he tells us, for Christ, is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believe. Now what what's
in me? What's in me? It means the door is open. That's it. Christ is the end
of the law. The end. The end. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believe. Verse 5, for Moses
described it the righteousness which is of the law That the
man which doeth those things shall live by them. It's not
enough to post them up on your wall. You got to do it. But the righteousness which is
a faith, that's the same righteousness we've been talking about, God's
righteousness. The righteousness which is a faith, speaketh on
this wise, say not in your hearts who shall ascend into heaven,
that is, bring Christ down from the bottom. Don't say, what can
I do to get Christ to come down here and save me? Or who shall
descend into the deep, that is, bring Christ up again from the
dead. Don't say in your heart, what can I do to make what he
did work for me? But what sayeth it? The word
is nigh thee, it's even in my mouth and in my heart, that is
the word of faith which we preach. said, Thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead. And you believe that when he
raised him from the dead, he accepted him and everybody he
did, whatever he did for him. You believe that. That's what
you believe in. You believe in him raising him from the dead. Thou shalt
be saved, for with the heart man believeth unto what? Righteousness. The mouth confession is made.
I confess this righteousness. That's what they're talking about.
That's what I'm confessing. Right now to you, I'm confessing
with my mouth, is righteousness as the only righteousness. Make the confession. That's what
it's talking about. With the mouth, confession is
made into salvation. Righteousness by faith is the
opposite of righteousness by works. Faith has a content. What's
it believe? To him that worketh not, but
believe it on him that justifies the ungodliness. His faith is
counted for righteousness. Now back to our text. Let me
point out one other thing I want us to think about. Verse 17, For therein, in the
gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed, uncovered, from
faith to faith. From faith to faith, as it's
written, the just shall live by faith. What's that mean? There is the righteousness of
God revealed from faith to faith. What's that mean? Well, I want
to give you some of the meanings that I read about that I wouldn't
disagree with, but I don't think they're the meaning of the text.
I read everything I could on this because that's a verse of
scripture. I feel like I got some light on it right now. But
that's a verse of scripture that I always had a hard time with.
What's that mean, from faith to faith? Well, some say it means
from the faith of God to the faith of men. Some mean from
the faith of the Old Testament to the faith of the New Testament.
Some say it means from the faith of the preacher to the faith
of the hearer. Or from the faith revealed in the faith, revealed
only to faith. You know, God doesn't reveal
himself to any but those who believe. He only reveals himself
to faith. Or from one degree of faith to
another degree of faith. The more you understand, the
more you grow. Well, I wouldn't disagree with any of those views
in principle, but I don't think it's the meaning of our text.
from faith to faith, you know what it means? It means faith all together. Now
let me try to explain that. Faith all together. I'm not a
big fan of the New International Version, let me tell you why.
The New International Version is one of the translations of
the scriptures. It's not a translation, it's what Othello, it's an interpretation.
He takes that passage of scripture and says, well, here's what I
think it means. And he gives his interpretation of it. It's not an attempt at
giving a translation. This is what it says. It's, well,
here's what I think it means. And so I don't want a man's interpretation
of the Word of God. I want to make it the Word of
God. What does it say? Don't tell me what you think it means.
Tell me what God actually says. So I'm no big fan of the NIV
in that sense. But I like their translation
of this verse. The NIV reads this way, for in
the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness
that is by faith from birth to life. Just as it's written, that just
or righteous shall live by faith. Now, there is a passage of scripture
in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 16, where this same wording is used.
Remember where Paul says to the Corinthians, for Christ is a
saver of life unto life to those who believe. And he's a saver
of death unto death to those who don't believe. That's the
same grammatical construction. He's life altogether to those
who believe. He's death altogether to those who believe. And salvation
is by faith altogether. Here's another way to say it.
Faith really works. In every aspect of life. Somebody says,
how do we live? By faith. What is the evidence that I'm
just before God? I believe the gospel. I do. I do. I'm believing on
Christ right now. I'm relying on His righteousness
right now. That's evidence to me that I'm
born of God. Where does assurance come from?
I tell you where my assurance comes from. I really believe
Christ is enough to get me into heaven. Not enough to get me
into heaven. He is heaven. My assurance is based upon the
fact that His righteousness isn't a bare-bones minimum. It's everything. And I rest in that. That's where
my assurance comes from. How do we understand? By faith,
we understand. The world was framed by the Word
of God, so the things which are seen are not made of things which
are seen. How do we understand? By faith. How do I walk through
this world? We walk by faith and not by sight.
How do I overcome temptations? I'm tempted, so untempted, just
like you are, continually. I have an old man that is scratching
and crawling at me continually. How do I deal with temptation? Above all things, take the shield
of faith, wherewith we shall quench all the fiery darts of
the wicked. How do I overcome? This is the
victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. What is it that
inspires obedience and love and zeal? Knowing that I'm accepted
in the beloved. Believing that Christ is enough,
needing nothing else, that's what inspires me to give myself
lock, stock and barrel to Him, to be His and His alone. Faith
is everything altogether in salvation, simply believing that His righteousness
This is the key to obedience. This is the key to inspiration. This is the key to zeal, really
believing that His righteousness is on you. Do you really believe that? And
He's going to want to make you serve Him and live for His glory
if you believe that. That's what it does for you.
And if you don't understand what I'm talking about, it's because
you don't believe that. You're looking somewhere else other than His righteousness.
Faith really works that way. Works don't work, do they? Words
don't work, but faith works. Faith worketh by love, it's true.
Now, this passage, like I said, is found four times in the scripture,
and this is the way we're going to close. First, turn to Habakkuk
2, chapter 4. We're going to look, we're just
going to read these verses, the four times it's in the Bible.
Habakkuk, it writes, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah. The back of chapter two. Verse
two. And the Lord answered me and
said, write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he
may run that read it, make this plain, let it be written down. This is not what happens if you
just pass something on. Here's my interpretation here.
I mean, just go through the room and change it. No, write it down.
Write it down. This is not up for debate. Write this down. The division,
verse three, is yet for a point in 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. Behold, his soul which
is lifted up in pride, self-righteousness and self-sufficiency, his soul
that's lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live
by his faith. Now, here's the first thing I'd
like to say about faith. Faith is the opposite of pride. You want
to know what faith is? Now turn with me to Galatians
chapter three. Verse ten. For as many, Galatians three,
verse ten, for as many as are of the works of the law are under
the Curse. Well, don't you believe that
we ought to try to keep the law? Listen, I love God's law. God's law is holy. And I'm not
looking for an excuse to break the law. Nor is any believer. But if you think you're standing
before God is either gained or even improved by your obedience
to the law, you know what that means? You're of the works of
the law. That's where you go. You're of
the works of the law. And what happens then? As many as are of the works of
the law are under the curse, for it is written. Cursed is
everyone that continues not in all things what is written in
the book of the law to do them, but that no man is justified
by the law on the side of God. It is evident. For the just shall
live by faith. Faith is the opposite of salvation
by law. You know, sometimes you can learn
what something is by seeing what it's the opposite of. It's the
opposite of salvation by law. It's the opposite of pride. It's
contrary to pride. It's the opposite of salvation
by works. Now turn to Hebrews 10. Verse 38. Now the just shall
live by faith. Hebrews 10, 38. Now the just
shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, If any man quits,
if any man holds back, God says, my soul shall have no pleasure
in him. But we're not of them who draw
back under perdition, but of them that believe to the saving
of the soul. Now, here's what faith does.
It perseveres. It doesn't draw back. Do you draw back on trusting
Christ alone, or are you leaning the whole weight of your soul
on him, or do you draw him back? or you leaning on him as everything
in your salvation. Now the only way you're going
to persevere, the only way you're going to continue, is by faith
in Christ alone. The only way you're going to
persevere is by continually resting in Christ alone. That's the only,
and if you, you'll end up drawn back if that's not what you're
doing. And in Romans 1, 17, our text, For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith, from faith by faith altogether,
as it's written, the just shall live by faith. Faith primarily
is that which rests in the perfect righteousness of God. It rests
in the obedience of God. It rests in Christ's perfect
work. That's it. You ever quit working? you ever
quit worrying about how you're going to get God's acceptance
and simply rest. Resting. Do not disturb.