Believing On His Name

I'm reading today from the third
chapter of John, verse 35 and 36. If you'd like to follow in
your Bibles, open them please to John 3, 35 and 36. Now, my subject is believing
on his name. Believing on his name. I'm going to have some things
to say about faith. I'm interested in the subject
of faith. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. And I believe you will find this
message to be informative and instructive. So take your Bibles
now and turn to John 3, verse 35. And the apostle writes, the
Father loveth the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and hath given
all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." Now, according
to this scripture, and so many other scriptures like it, the
most important and principal matter in the salvation of my
soul is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the most
important and principal matter in the salvation of my soul,
to believe God. This is what our Lord told the
centurion. You remember when the centurion
came to him and told him that his son was sick? And the Lord
said to the centurion, if you can believe, all things are possible
to them that believe. If you can believe. And this
is what Philip told the ethiopian eunuch who requested baptism,
and Philip replied, If you believe on the name of the Son of God,
thou mayest, if you believe. And is this not what Paul told
the jailer when the Philippian jailer asked him, What must I
do to be saved? Paul replied, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. And this was what separated
Abraham from all of the idolaters around him. The scripture says
again and again, Abraham believed God. He believed God, and it
was counted to him for righteousness. And here our text says, he that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not
the Son shall never see life. But the wrath of God abideth
on him." Now, faith, faith, believing God, is the simplest, most uncomplicated
act in the world. Did you know that? Believing
is most uncomplicated. Believing is a simple act. It
does not involve working. It does not involve deeds of
any sort. It does not involve movement.
There's no preparation. Just believe. It is to believe,
it is to trust, it is to rest. Someone said faith is nothing
but an empty cup held underneath a flowing stream. Someone else
says faith is nothing but an empty hand, the hand of a beggar,
held out for alms or for food. And someone else says faith is
only the weary soul collapsing into the arms of the Son of God
and finding rest. So this faith is a simple thing. It's uncomplicated. There's no
works involved, there's no deeds involved, there's no preparation.
You believe or you don't believe. You trust or you don't trust.
You rest or you don't rest. You look or you don't look. Now
I have something for you I believe you'll find very interesting
on this subject of faith. Now I've established this from
the scriptures, that to come to God is to believe. To find
rest in Christ is to believe. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath life. He that believeth not the Son
of God shall never see life. So what is this thing of faith?
What is it to believe? Well, some of the old writers
have endeavored to define faith and to illustrate it. And here
are three definitions of faith that I have discovered in all
the years that I've been in the ministry. I've read a great deal
on the subject of faith because I'm desperately interested in
faith. And I found three definitions
that I believe are the best. of all that I've read in all
of these 30 some odd years of preaching the gospel. Now here's
the first one. Faith is three things. It is repentance, it is reliance,
it is receiving. Now what do we mean by that?
Faith, first of all, is repentance. There's the three R's. Repentance,
reliance, and receiving. Now, what do we mean by that?
Well, there can be no faith without repentance. The scripture says
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. And there can
be no faith apart from repentance. The two are inseparable. A man
will acknowledge his sinnerhood, his sinfulness, if he comes to
Christ. He'll be like the publican in
the temple. who smote upon his breast out of need and out of
grief over his sins. And he cried, O God, be merciful
to me, the sinner. I am a sinner. And all who come
to Christ are sinners, because he came to save sinners. He came
to seek and to save the lost. He came, he said, not to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. So the first thing
involved in this matter of believing on Christ as your Savior is to
acknowledge that you're a sinner, that you need Christ. So it's
repentance. There's no faith without repentance. And then
secondly, there's no faith without total reliance. Dependence on
the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. In other words, if I cannot produce
what God requires, I must rely on someone who is able. God requires perfection. I cannot
produce it. God requires obedience, perfect
obedience. I cannot produce it. So in order
to meet God's requirements, I have to rely on one who is able to
meet them. And that's total reliance on
Christ, depending on him. Not partly on him and partly
on myself. Not partly on his mercy and partly
on my merit. But totally relying on Christ.
So, see that? It's repentance, acknowledging
I'm a sinner, it's total reliance on Christ as the sinner's substitute
and Savior, and then it's receiving. There's no faith as there's no
faith without repentance. As there's no faith without reliance
and depending on Christ, there can be no faith without receiving
Christ. How do we receive Christ? It
says, to many as received him. We receive him as he is. We receive
him in his person. We receive him as he's revealed
in the word of God. This is the record God has given
us eternal life. This life's in his Son. And he
that hath the Son, he that hath revealed the Son, received the
Son as God has revealed the Son. I receive him as my prophet to
reveal God. God has spoken to us by his Son. He said, in the latter days he
spake to the fathers of the prophets, he hath in these last days spoken
to us by his Son. So I receive him as my prophet.
He that hath heard Christ hath heard God. He that hath seen
Christ hath seen God. I receive him as my prophet,
I receive him as my priest to intercede, to offer an acceptable
sacrifice, and I receive him as my king to reign over me.
That's faith, that's faith in Christ. It's repentance, acknowledging
my need, acknowledging my need, my sinfulness. It is reliance,
it is depending totally, wholly, completely on Him. On Christ,
not grace plus works, but grace alone, looking to Christ alone.
And it's receiving Him, as He's revealed in the Word of God.
receiving him as prophet to reveal God, as priest to intercede,
and as king to reign over us, receiving Christ. You see that?
That's a good definition of faith. Here's the second one. The second
definition of faith comes from Mr. Spurgeon, who pastored in
London from 1855 to 1892. And Mr. Spurgeon has a very similar
definition, but different to some extent. He says saving faith
is defined by the Apostle Paul in the book of 2 Timothy, chapter
1, verse 12. He said this is the best definition
of saving faith to be found in the word of God as far as he
was concerned. I think it's quite good, too.
You say, well, what does 2 Timothy 1.12 say? It says this, I know
whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed to him against that
day. I know whom I have believed,
and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed to him." Now again, faith is defined in three ways. First of all, faith is knowledge.
And Paul says, I know whom. He didn't say, I know when I
believe or I know what I believe. He said, I know whom. It's a
person. It's to know him. Eternal life
is to know God and Jesus Christ whom he had sent. And John put
it this way. We know that the Son of God has
come into the world and has given us an understanding. The Son
of God has come into the world and has given us an understanding. that we may know him, that we
may know him that is true, and that we're in him that is true,
even in his Son, Jesus Christ, and this is the true God, and
this is eternal life. We know whom we have to meet. It's not a decision I'm resting
in, or an experience in which I'm resting, or a church in which
I'm resting. It's a person. And it's a person
I know. And it's a person who has come
from heaven and given me an understanding. It is God incarnate in human
flesh. God was in Christ reconciling
the world to himself. You see what I'm saying? Faith
is knowledge. There's no such thing as blind
faith. Faith always has an object. We
believe him. I know whom I have believed. I know him. I know he's God. I know he's God's Son. I know
he is God's Christ and Messiah. I know whence he came, and why
he came, and what he did, and why he did it, and where he's
gone, and I know he'll return. So faith is knowledge. Knowledge
revealed by the Holy Spirit to the heart. Secondly, faith is
confidence. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. I'm not resting in a preacher, I'm resting in Christ.
Not resting in experience or profession or law, I'm resting
in a person. I know whom I have believed.
And secondly, faith is confidence. I am persuaded, I am confident,
that he is able. He is able to do what? Now, if
anyone saves me, he's got to first be willing, but he's got
to also be able. I tell you, to save a soul is
a difficult thing to perform. away sin is not very easy. And
whoever is my Savior from sin and my righteousness has got
to be able to perform all that God Almighty requires. And it
says here that he is able to do all that he promised. And
secondly, he is able to save to the uttermost them that come
to God by him. And thirdly, he is able to keep
us from falling And he is able to present us holy and unblameable
before his majesty and throne in glory with great joy. And
thirdly, he is able to raise our vile bodies from the dust
and make them like his body. Now, he's able. And this is what
Paul is saying about faith. He said, I know whom I have believed. Most religious debaters know
what they believe. And most religious emotionalists
know whom they believe. But the believer knows whom he
believes. I know him, and I know he's able.
I'm confident and persuaded that Jesus Christ is fully equipped
and able to save my soul. And what's thirdly now? The reason
Spurgeon thought this was such a good definition of faith is
one I'm sure the reason you think it's good. It's to know him.
is to be confident of his power and ability, and thirdly, faith
always involves a committal. A committal, like the other definition
said, a receiving of Christ. He said, I know whom I have believed,
and I am persuaded he's able to keep that which I have committed
to him. I've turned it all over to him.
What have I committed to Christ? My soul, my life, my hope, My
all, I've committed it to Him. I tell you, my soul's too important
and too valuable to commit into the hands of some organization,
or some creed, or some emotional experience. I'm going to commit
it to Christ. And then, where have I committed
this soul? To Him. I've committed it to
Him, to Christ, totally. And why? Against that day, that
day of judgment, that day of reckoning, that day when God
will deal with sinners in judgment. It's appointed unto me in Worcester
down after that, the judgment. And Paul said, I know whom I
have believed, and I'm confident, I'm persuaded that he is fully
able to keep, to keep my soul, to keep my soul, to keep my life,
to keep my hope, to keep my all, which I have committed into his
hands against that day." Now, here's the third definition.
I say these are the best that I've found. They've helped me
considerably, and I hope they help you. The third definition
of faith is one given by, I believe, John Flavel many, many, many
years ago. He also has three parts to this
definition. He says, first of all, saving
faith arises, and this is similar to Spurgeon's definition, saving
faith arises from a right knowledge, a right knowledge of three things,
a right knowledge. You're not going to have faith
without knowledge. You're not going to have faith without understanding.
The Son of God has come and given us an understanding. that we
may believe, that we may know God. Faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. The scripture says, Whoso shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, but how shall
they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall
they believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how shall
they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
there be sin? And faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God. Faith arises, faith is born of knowledge. Knowledge. The Word of God is the foundation
of faith, while Christ is the object of faith. The Word of
God is the foundation of faith. There's got to be knowledge.
So faith arises out of a knowledge of three things. Now, are you
with me? Stick around. Faith arises out of a right knowledge
of the holiness of God. The absolute, immaculate, infinite,
indescribable holiness and righteousness of God Almighty. God is not who
we think he is. I get so weird hearing people
say, well, I think God does this, and I think God's like this.
God is not who we think he is. Almighty God is who he says he
is. Who he says he is. Not who we
think he is. God is who he says he is. Isaiah
saw the Lord. He said, I saw the Lord high
and lifted up, and his train, his glory filled the temple.
And the seraphims cried, holy, holy, holy, holy Lord God of
hosts. Oh, the holiness of God, the
holiness of God. This is the chief attribute.
And the one word that describes the very character of God, holy
and reverend, is his name. So if you want to believe God,
that saving faith will arise out of some knowledge or understanding
of who God is. And God is holy. This is his
holy Bible. Those are his holy angels. God's
in his holy temple. His love is a holy love. The
place of worship is the holy of holies, and across the priest's
mitre is holiness to the Lord. Secondly, saving faith arises
not only out of a knowledge of God's holiness, but saving faith
arises from a right knowledge of my sinfulness. What did Isaiah say when he saw
the holiness of God? What was his response? Right
in the middle of the Bible is this man Isaiah. In the year
that King Uzziah died, God gave him a glimpse of his holiness.
He saw the Lord. He said, in the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. Not a lot of men could say that.
I saw the Lord. But Isaiah could. And what was
his response? What was his reaction when he
saw the Lord? You know what he said? He said,
I saw the Lord and I said, woe is me. Woe is me. I am cut off. I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips. I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. So I'm telling
you this, saving faith arises not only out of an understanding
of the holiness of God, but it arises out of an understanding
of my great sinfulness, and the fact that my sins have separated
me from my God. And by nature, I'm everything
that God is not by nature. So that brings us to the third
thing involved in this business of faith. And that is a right
knowledge of God's holiness, a right knowledge of my sinfulness,
and a right knowledge of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Because of the holiness of God
and my sinfulness, Jesus Christ came to be my Mediator. There's
one Mediator between God and me, and that's the man Christ
Jesus. Christ came because God is holy. And Christ came to redeem
me because I am totally sinful. and incapable of redeeming myself. So in Christ I have a righteousness. By the disobedience of Adam I
was made sinner. By the obedience of Christ I
was made righteous. I have in Christ Jesus an atonement
that has made me one with God, put away my sins, and made me
holy. We have an atonement. In Christ
we have a high priest. So we can come boldly before
the throne of God's grace and find mercy and grace to help
in our time of need. We can come before the throne
even in our need and in Christ find grace and mercy. In Christ
we have not only a mediator but we have a redeemer. So saving
faith arises out of a knowledge of the absolute holiness of God
and the depravity and wickedness of human nature, and Jesus Christ
as the one who is sent from God to lift the beggar from the dunghill
and wash him and cleanse him and make him holy and seat him
at God's right hand in himself. Now the question arises, well,
if that's faith, then is my faith saving faith? And this is a matter
that must be settled in my own heart, my own heart. The faith that saves, you see,
is not born of emotionalism and excitement, not saving faith. The scripture plainly declares
that saving faith in Christ is a matter between the sinner and
God. It's a serious matter, it's a sober matter, it's a soul-searching
time. It is a time in which the Holy
Spirit begets life and draws the sinner to believe God. It's
a personal matter and a private matter. It's not an emotionally
exciting time, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of people,
when I follow the Mass down to the front of the church and make
some kind of decision or some kind of profession. This thing
is a sobering, soul-searching, solemn time in which God deals
with my heart on the matter of sin and his holiness and his
holy law and his justice and eternity in the person of Jesus
Christ. And this faith is the gift of
God. It's not the product of the human
heart. It's not the product of human
persuasion. This is what disturbs me in this
day, salvations of the Lord. Salvation is not something a
preacher does for you or a soul winner does for you. You know,
the average revival meeting today is like a political convention,
recruiting supporters. But I tell you this, if a man
can talk you into a profession of faith, another man can talk
you out of it. But if God called you, and God
convicted you, and God dealt with you, and God saved you,
and God filled you, there'll be perseverance. There'll be
continuance in the faith. What we need to do is preach
the word of God to sinners. Preach the word of God, and wait
upon the Lord to make the seed live. No pressure. No emotional
coercion, no salesmanship, no begging, just preach the gospel,
salvations of the Lord. And God will work in the sinner's
heart, and God will bring him to faith. Faith is not coming
to the front of the church, it's coming to Christ in the heart.
Faith is not believing what a preacher says, it's believing what God
says. Faith is not repeating a prayer from the mouth of another,
it's calling on God myself from my heart. Nobody told the thief
on the cross, now say, Lord, remember me when thou comest
in thy kingdom. That came out of his soul, that
came out of his heart. That was him crying to the Lord.
Faith is not repeating a prayer somebody else wrote down or made
up. Faith is not the reformation
of my flesh. It's to receive a new heart,
a new nature, and a new spirit. Faith is not to try God, it's
to trust God. Like the hymn writer said, Jesus
Christ, I will trust thee, trust thee with my soul. Guilty, lost,
and helpless, but you can make me whole. Jesus Christ, I trust
thee, I trust your written word. Fully faithful is thy promise,
and precious is thy blood. Is my faith saving faith? Do
I believe the Word of God? Do I believe the Word of God?
The Word of God, the Word of Creation, the Word of Revelation,
and the Word of Incarnation. That's the Word of God, the Word
of Creation. It's heard in every language.
The Word of Revelation, the written Word, and the Word of Incarnation,
Jesus Christ. Do I believe the Word of God?
Do I believe God is and that God is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him? Do I believe that Jesus Christ
is the only Savior and has the words of eternal life? Yes, yes
I do.

Believing On His Name

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Believing On His Name

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