Heart Faith

Q: What does the Bible say about heart faith?

Heart faith is a supernatural work of God's grace in a believer's heart that produces true saving faith. The Bible speaks of heart faith as the kind of faith that genuinely believes in God and His Word. In Mark 9:23-24, when a father asks Jesus if He can do anything, Jesus shifts the focus from His power to the father's belief, affirming that all things are possible to those who believe. Heart faith is not merely a mental agreement; it involves a deep, personal conviction where the heart is changed by the Spirit of God. This faith is what draws a person into a true, living relationship with Christ, resulting in a transformed life that reflects God's love and power.

Q: How do we know heart faith is true?

Heart faith is evidenced by a genuine relationship with Christ and a life transformed by His grace. We can ascertain the truth of heart faith through its fruits and characteristics in the life of a believer. True heart faith produces a love for God and others, leading to a life that reflects the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, and peace. It is not simply about outward actions or religious duties, but about a heart that has been transformed by grace. As noted in Romans 10:10, with the heart man believes unto righteousness. When one possesses heart faith, it is evident in their consistent pursuit of Christ, their attitudes, and their responses to trials and temptations, demonstrating a reliance on God's strength rather than their own.

Q: Why is heart faith important for Christians?

Heart faith is essential for true salvation and a genuine relationship with God. Heart faith is crucial for Christians because it distinguishes genuine believers from those who may merely practice religion outwardly. It is emphasized in scripture that true faith involves a heartfelt trust in Christ, which leads to justification and righteousness (Romans 10:10). Heart faith affects every aspect of a believer’s life, guiding their actions, thoughts, and relationships. Without heart faith, one can engage in religious activities without true connection to God or understanding of His grace. Thus, heart faith is foundational for living a life that glorifies God and stands firm in the face of challenges and trials.

Q: How can I examine my heart faith?

You can examine your heart faith by reflecting on your assurance of salvation and fruit in your life. Examining one’s heart faith involves introspection in light of God's Word. 2 Corinthians 13:5 encourages believers to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith. This self-examination includes looking at the changes in your heart that align with Scripture—such as a brokenness over sin, a dependence on God's grace, and a desire to live in obedience to His will. You'll notice whether your life produces the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace—indicative of Christ dwelling in you. It’s essential to seek the Lord's guidance through prayer, asking Him to reveal the state of your heart and help overcome areas of unbelief.

I'm going to talk kind of plain
to you today. The title of this message is
Heart Faith. Heart Faith. We're going to talk
about faith, what it is, the gift of God, a marvelous, supernatural
work of His grace in the heart. Will you listen to me for a little
while? Just sit down there and listen to the message and weigh
these things that I have to say on this subject, heart faith.
Now I've chosen as my text Mark chapter 9 verse 23. And Jesus
said to him, this is our master speaking. And Jesus said to him,
if you can believe, if you can believe, all things are possible
to him that believeth. And the man answered, verse 24,
straightway he cried out, Lord, I believe, I believe, help thou
mine unbelief. Now what's this all about? Well,
these are the words of a father who had brought his poor, sick,
ailing son to the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said to him, Lord,
If you can do anything, if you can do anything, that's a strange
question to ask the sovereign, omnipotent, almighty God, isn't
it? If you can do anything, help us. And our Lord turned it around. And He said, the question is,
if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. And that's when the man cried
out, I believe. I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. I believe I can say today, I
believe. I do believe. But I also must
add with this man, Lord, help my unbelief. My faith is not
perfect. Like the Apostle Paul said, I'm
not perfect. I haven't arrived. I haven't
laid hold upon that for which the Lord has laid hold of me.
And I must continually examine my faith. Do you? Peter said
that. He said, give diligence, give
diligence, brethren, to make your calling and election sure. If you do these things, you'll
never fail. Again, Paul said in Corinthians, examine yourselves
whether you're in the faith. Examine yourselves whether you're
in the faith, not a faith, some faith, any faith, the faith.
Know ye not your own selves? How that Christ dwelleth in you,
except your reprobate, And listen, every time we come to the Lord's
table, Paul said, let a man examine himself. Let a man examine himself
and so let him eat. Don't take these things for granted.
Don't presume on God's mercy. Examine yourself. Don't be afraid
of self-examination. Don't be afraid to take inventory.
Don't be afraid to search your heart. I tell you this, death
is too certain. Judgment is too sure. and eternity
is too long for you to neglect these things and be presumptuous
about them. You know what old John Newton
said? This is the great preacher. Many of you have heard of John
Newton. He wrote Amazing Grace, great preacher of the gospel
of many years ago. He said this, when I get to heaven,
three things will amaze me First, he said, I'll be amazed to see
some people in heaven that I did not expect to see. Really didn't. And then he said the second thing
that will amaze me is I'm going to miss some folks that I thought
would be there. And he said the third and most
amazing thing of all will be to find old John Newton himself. in the presence of the Lord.
Do you have that kind of spirit, that kind of attitude? Well,
if you do, then you don't mind taking a look at heart faith,
do you? Lord, I believe. Help thou mine
unbelief. I want to take a good look at
this matter of heart faith, the faith that saves. Now, listen
to me and think about this now. Just don't get upset. Just think
about it. See, what I'm saying is not true.
Everything that goes by the name of faith is not heart faith. Everything that goes by the name
of believing is not saving believing or saving faith. Throughout the
Word of God, religious people had much that looked like faith
that wasn't faith at all. There were a lot of religious
people that produced a whole lot of things that looked like
faith, that appeared to be faith, that made everybody around them
think that they really knew God. I'll give you some examples.
First of all, these Pharisees. They acknowledged God to be their
Father. They said, listen, they looked
at our Lord Jesus Christ and they said, we are not sinners,
we are not born of fornication, God is our Father. We have one
Father, even God." And you know what he said to them? This will
shock you. He said, if you were of God,
you'd hear me, you'd believe me, for God sent me. You're not
of God, you're of your father, the devil. That's what he said
to these They claimed that God was their father. They were Israelites. They were Abraham's seed. They
were keeping the Sabbath. They were paying their tithe.
They were attending the synagogue. They were trying to keep the
law. They'd missed the gospel. Tell you something else, some
of these fellas, they spoke well of Christ. Nicodemus came and
said, I know you're from God. Nicodemus was not a believer.
Nicodemus was not born again. Nicodemus didn't know Christ.
Nicodemus didn't know God. But he said, I know you come
from God. No man could do what you do except God be with him.
Pilate said, Pilate was no Christian, but he spoke well of Christ.
He said, I find no fault in him. And the soldiers, they were not
Christians. And they said, never a man spake like this. They came
to arrest him one day and came back without him. And the authorities
said, why come you didn't bring him? Where is he? They said,
we couldn't touch him. Nobody ever spake like that man.
The centurion stood at the foot of the cross and said, surely
this man was the son of God. So a man can claim to God as
his father and he can speak well of Christ and he can even reform
the outward man. Now we know that the Pharisee
in the temple was not saved. He was not a child of God. We
know that because Christ said he went home not justified. He said the publican went home
justified rather than this man. But do you know what this man
said? I thank you, God, I'm not like other men. I tithe, I fast
twice a week. I give tithes of everything I
have. I give alms to the poor. I am
not an adulterer. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not
unjust. I'm not like that publican. You see what I'm saying? A religious
man in the name of religion and even in the name of God can produce
a whole lot of outward morality and piety and yet not be faith. This man had no faith. He wasn't
justified. And then they get excited over
a kingdom. You hear people talk about Christ is coming and set
up a kingdom and rule in Jerusalem and a millennial reign and all
of these things. They get so excited over the
kingdom and the good times that we're all going to have. Well,
a crowd did that at Jerusalem too. When Christ rode into town
on the donkey, they threw their clothes out in front of Him and
let the donkey walk on their clothes. And they threw palm
branches and they said, Hosanna, Hosanna to Him that cometh in
the name of the Lord. These people wanted a kingdom.
They wanted a king. They wanted a Jewish reign. They wanted David's glory restored
and they just went wild about it. A few days later, they were
hollering, crucify him, crucify him. And then they experienced sorrow
over sin. Judas came back with the 30 pieces
of silver for which he had betrayed his Lord. And he said, I'm sorry,
I betrayed innocent blood. And he threw it on the floor.
Esau sought repentance with tears. He'd sold his birthright a bowl
of beans." We run into that all the way through the Bible, people
showing great remorse after they're caught, after they've lost out. King Saul, after God had taken
his spirit and the kingdom away from him, he did a lot of crying
after David. And they give large gifts to
the church. You say, well, that man's a good giver. Well, Ananias
and Sapphira were good givers, too. And God killed both of by
lying to the Holy Spirit. Well, he was baptized and joined
the church. So did Simon Magus. And Peter
said, your heart's not right with God. You're in the gall
of bitterness. But they've been preachers. They
preached. Demas did too. So did Judas. But they hold an office in the
church. Judas was the only officer the early disciples had. He was
the treasurer. They didn't have another office.
Well, they performed great works in the name of the Lord. Listen
to the people at judgment, Matthew 7. Lord, we preached in your
name, cast out devils in your name, did many wonderful works
in the name of Jesus. You hear them say that all the
time on television, in the name of Jesus. That's exactly what
these people say at the judgment. We did, we preached in your name,
We cast out demons in your name. We did many wonderful works in
your name. But I shall profess unto them,
I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity." Yes, sir, works of religion without hard faith are
works of iniquity. They're deceptive and deceiving
and not honoring to God. And all this proved to be sham
and hypocrisy. Christ said, you are they that
justify yourselves before men. Your religion is to be seen of
men. Your prayers are to be heard
of men. Your giving is to get a reward
from men. All of these things you do to
be seen and heard and praised and glorified of men. God knows
your hearts. That's what I'm talking about,
heart faith. God knows your heart. and that which is highly esteemed
before men and looked upon by men with great honor and praise
is an abomination to God Almighty." Whew! Well, that's... I told
you I was going to talk plain to you. Woe unto the preacher that won't. I know true saving faith does
involve the mind. Yes, it does. Man can't believe
what he doesn't know. He can't believe what he doesn't,
what he hadn't heard. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. How shall they call on Him in
whom they've not believed? And how are they going to believe
in Him of whom they've not heard? And how are they going to hear without
a preacher? I know in saving faith, the mind and the understanding
are certainly involved. I've got to know some things.
I've got to believe God's Word. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the Word of God. These are facts. I've got to
believe that God is, and that He's the rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him. I've got to believe that in Adam
all die. By one man's sin entered the world, and death by sin,
so death passed upon all men. I know that. That's a head fact.
That's a fact of experience. That's a fact that you know and
I know. We're sinners. So much easier to do wrong than
to do right. Don't you find that true? It's a lot easier to get upset
than to stay peaceful and restful and happy all the time, isn't
it? And I believe that God, in eternity past, determined to
save a people. That's just so. That's fact.
Whom He foreknew, He predestinated to be conformed to the image
of His Son. Whom He predestinated, He called. Whom He called, He
justified. Whom He justified, He glorified. Those are facts. Salvations of the Lord. Redemption
is pictured and patterned in the Old Testament. Jesus Christ
came to this earth and fulfilled all that was pictured and promised
and patterned and typified Him in the Old Testament. I know
those things, those are facts. Jesus Christ was born of a woman,
made under the law, walked this earth in human flesh, was tempted
and tried in all points as we are, yet without sin. He went
to the cross of Calvary and He died. Anybody listening to me
that doesn't know that? Anybody listening to me that
doesn't believe that? Look at your calendar. 1991, 92, 93 A.D., in the year
of our Lord. 200, 300 years B.C., before Christ. Anybody doubt that? He died on
the cross with Baird and Rose again. But saving faith, this
redeeming faith, this faith that these fellows over here, though
they produced all these things outwardly, never had. This is
a heart work, a heart work. It's a work by the Spirit of
God using the Word of God, the seed of God on the inner man,
the innermost being, the soul, the heart, where you are, not
where everybody else dwells, where you live. My son, God said,
give me your heart. If I have your heart, I have
everything else. But you can start rationing and
tithing parts of yourself and parts of your possession, and
that person not have your heart. You see, if you love your wife
with all your heart, she has anything you have. But you may
give her $100 a week or $200 a week to spend on groceries
and things she wants to, and she doesn't have your heart.
My son, give me your heart. The love of God is shed abroad
in the heart. The Lord saveth such as be of
a broken heart. The Lord is nigh unto them of
a broken and contrite heart. Keep thine heart out of it of
the issues of life. Christ said, These people draw
nigh to me with their lips, with their hands, with their feet,
but their hearts are far from me. these people draw nigh to me
with their lips," praise the Lord, thank God, hallelujah,
whoop-dee-doo, sight me, their lips, blah, blah, blah, and waving
their hands and walking up and down aisles and dancing around,
cutting up, but God said their hearts, there's the problem.
A man may never open his mouth or wave his hands and his heart
be knit to the soul of the I'm telling you the truth. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine heart God raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with a heart man believeth
unto righteousness. It's not a mental assent to a
few facts. Well, I believe Jesus Christ
died on the cross, was buried, and rose again. Sure, who doesn't?
The devil knows that. My son, give me your heart. That's
where the work of grace is done. With a heart man believeth...
Listen to me. Listen to me. With a heart man
believeth unto righteousness. It's heart faith that brings
a man into a living union with Christ. Not mental agreement
with facts. You don't walk down an aisle
to get to Christ. He's not down there. You come
to Christ without moving a muscle. Without moving a leg or a hand
or a foot or a hand or a hair, you come to Christ in your heart.
It's heart faith that makes a person a new Christian. Christ, God
said, I'll take that old stony heart out and give you a heart
of flesh. That's God's Word. That's something
you don't do, the preacher doesn't do, and the soul winner doesn't
do, and nobody else can do. God does that. He said, I'll
give you a new heart. I'll write my Word on your heart.
It's the heart, it's a heart faith that causes a person to
forsake everything and follow Christ. You might get those church members
to come to church on Sunday once in a while and do a few duties,
but I'll tell you this, the man that forsakes all and follows
Christ, that man's had a heart work. And all the persuasion
and pulling and promising and rewards and and whips and laws
and everything else does not motivate him. He's motivated
by love for the Redeemer who has his heart. It's heart faith
that makes a person love God and love others. It's heart faith
that produces the fruit of the Spirit. What is the fruit of the Spirit?
Love, joy, peace. That cannot be produced except
from one fountain, the heart. and only the heart where Christ
dwells. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
gentleness, meekness, temperance. Those are attitudes. Those are
not outward acts. Those are attitudes. That's a
spirit of a person. And that comes from the heart.
And that does not come from a natural stony heart. That comes from
a new heart. It's heart faith that makes a
wife submissive. It's heart faith that makes a
husband loving. It's heart faith that makes a
child obedient. It's heart faith that makes a
workman a diligent laborer. It's heart faith that makes a
boss a generous and kind boss. It's heart faith that rejoices
in Christ and has no confidence in the flesh. It's heart faith
that makes a person a giving person. generous, forgiving. It's hard faith that says, not
my will, but thy will be done. You can't whip that out of a
natural heart. That's a subdued heart. That's
a broken heart. That's a bowing heart. The man
that says, not my will, but thy will be done, O Lord. I'll challenge
you to produce that with all the owl walking in the world.
It will not do it. That's the reason the churches
are made up of like revolving doors, people coming in, going
out, coming in, going out. 2,000 members, 100 in prayer
meeting, coming in, going out, you know. There's no heart faith.
It's heart faith that continues in spite of trial or trouble
or difficulty. Why, you can offend a church
member the next Sunday morning. Some of you preachers offend
one of your leading members and watch him quit. Replace that
Sunday school teacher with somebody else and watch him quit. Tell
your choir leader he's not going to lead the choir anymore and
you got somebody better and he'll quit. It's heart faith that makes a
man continue in spite of trial and trouble and conflict and
difficulty. It's heart faith that will worship
God in sunshine or in shadow. It's heart faith that looks on
the things of others more than your own welfare. It's heart
faith that counts all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord. It's heart faith that
said, oh, that I may win Christ and be found in Him. It's heart
faith that says I'm content wherever God puts me with whatever God
gives me, oh, that I may know Him. It's heart faith that lives
and speaks and prays and walks and gives for the glory of God
in all things. That's heart faith. And that, my dear friends, is
saving faith. Now, that's just so. With a heart, man believeth unto
righteousness. And I'm telling you, it troubles
me in this day that we're trying to do mechanically and outwardly
and with human means what cannot be done. And that is bring forth
children into the kingdom of God. They have to be born, born
of God, born of the Spirit, born from above, born of the Word
of God. And it can't be done any other
way. Let me show you something. In closing, let me give you four
things. Whatever outward experiences and feelings and works and decisions
and professions a religionist may make or produce, there are
four things, four things that a religionist cannot produce. He cannot do it for the life
of him. He cannot do it. And all four
of these are essential to heart faith. The first one is this,
a natural religious man cannot produce a heart broken toward
God over his own sins. Read Psalm 51, there's a man
with a broken heart. Lord, listen to this, have mercy
upon me, according to thy loving kindness, according to the tender
mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me from mine iniquities,
cleanse me from my sin. My iniquities and sins are ever
before me." You'll never get an unsaved religionist to talk
about his sin. He'll talk about everybody else's.
He'll talk about sin in general. He'll talk about everybody else's
sins. He'll talk about everybody else's faults. He'll be like
the publican in the temple. He'll down the publican, but
he won't acknowledge his sins and his transgressions. David
said against thee have I sinned. And not only did David acknowledge
his sins and transgressions, but he justified God in damning
him. He said, Lord, you're clear when
you judge me and just when you condemn me. That can only come
from a broken heart. Secondly, another thing a religionist
cannot produce, he cannot acknowledge that he has no righteousness
and no goodness. Now a man may talk about his
sins, he may talk about his faults, he may talk about what a rascal
he used to be, but he's going to brag on what he's doing for
God now. He's going to brag on the fact
that he preaches or sings in the choir or teaches or gives
a little money. He's going to brag about that.
And he doesn't realize that even his righteousnesses are filthy
rags, even his goodness. There's enough sin in our prayers
to damn us. Our tears need to be bathed in
the blood of Christ. Our repentance needs to be repented
of. Nothing we do pleases God in the flesh. Our righteousnesses, we repent
of those too. But a natural heart can't see
that. Thirdly, the false religionists will never acknowledge that salvation
is wholly, completely, and totally of God. Salvation's of the Lord. The Lord quickeneth whom He wills.
It's of God. Not of the will of the flesh,
not of the will of man, but of God that we're born. It's not
of him that willeth nor of him that runneth. It's of God that
showeth mercy. That old leper knew it. He came
in his scaly, rotten, corrupt condition and looked at Christ
and said, Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. But today,
the preacher's looking at the sinner and saying, if you will,
God will. If you will, God will. You got it backwards. If He will,
you will. He'll make you willing in the
day of His power, but His will is what determines your salvation. You believe that? Well, it's
so anyway. Salvation's of the Lord. Last
of all, an unsaved religionist can never receive Jesus Christ
alone, plus nothing, minus nothing, as His wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Nothing in my hands I bring.
Simply to Christ Jesus and Christ alone, I claim. Want this message? Listen to it again. HeartFaith. Send $2. We'll mail it to you
along with another message. Till next week, God bless you.

Heart Faith

What does the Bible say about heart faith?

How do we know heart faith is true?

Why is heart faith important for Christians?

How can I examine my heart faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Heart Faith

What does the Bible say about heart faith?

How do we know heart faith is true?

Why is heart faith important for Christians?

How can I examine my heart faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book