We're turning in our Bibles this
morning to the book of Hebrews. I'll be reading a passage of
scripture from Hebrews chapter 10, verse 38 and 39. Now I'd
like very much for you to open your own Bible and follow with
me as I read the scriptures. But if you do not have your Bible
handy, then just listen. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 38
and 39. My subject this morning is true
believers never quit. True believers never quit. In Hebrews 10, 38, the apostle
writes, now the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw
back, that is quit, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But
we're not of them who draw back under perdition. But we are of
them that believe or keep on believing to the saving of the
soul. Now my friends, preachers, there
are a lot of preachers. There are many preachers in this
world. But I'm talking about preachers who are really concerned
for three things. They're concerned for the glory
of God in doing all things for the glory of God. and they're
concerned for the eternal well-being of their heroes, the eternal
well-being of their heroes, and they're concerned to preach the
gospel of God's saving grace. Now, preachers who are concerned
about those three things, the glory of God, the eternal well-being
of their heroes, and to preach the gospel of God's saving grace,
also know that salvation is not I repeat, is not. Salvation is
not an isolated experience or a one-time profession of faith. That is not Bible salvation. That is not God's salvation.
Salvation is not an isolated experience or a one-time profession
of faith. My friends, faith that does not
keep on believing is not faith at all. And repentance that does
not keep on repenting is not repentance at all. And grace
that does not grow, that does not produce the fruit of God's
Spirit is not grace at all. Now what I'm saying is this,
that the Bible clearly teaches that true believers, first of
all, have been regenerated by the Spirit of God. Regeneration
is a new birth. And it has nothing to do with
your works. It has nothing to do with your
efforts. It is the work of the Spirit of God. We're born again
by the Spirit of God through the Word of God and the blood
of Christ. And all true believers have been
regenerated. They have been born again and
made partakers of a divine nature. They've been made partakers of
the nature of God. They're new people, new creatures
in Christ Jesus and will never turn back. John wrote in John
chapter 1, He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he the privilege
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,
which were born, which were regenerated. Not by blood, that is, but not
by natural generation. Not by the will of man, not by
the will of the flesh, but they have been born of the Spirit
of God, regenerated by the Spirit of God. Again, John wrote in
his epistle, for whosoever is born of God overcometh the world,
and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith. So what I'm saying is this. Now
listen carefully. Salvation is not just an isolated
experience. It's not just a one-time profession
of faith. But the person who has been,
in scriptural terms, saved, become a child of God, has been delivered
from sin and made a partaker of the grace of God, has been
regenerated. That person has received the
divine nature of God Almighty. And then secondly, true believers,
have been brought into a living union with Jesus Christ. A living
union that will never change. It's more than an isolated experience. It's more than a one-time profession
of faith. It's more than walking down a
church aisle and giving mental assent to a few facts about the
Bible. It's more than becoming affiliated
with or associated with a religious group. It's more than turning
over a new leaf. It is being brought by the power
of God into a living, vital, personal, intimate union with
Jesus Christ. Now in the scriptures, Christ
called himself the vine, or the trunk of the tree, and we're
the branches. The life is in the trunk of the
tree. The branches receive their life because they are in a living
union with that trunk. And cut the branches from off
the tree, and they're dead, they're withered, they have no life.
Christ is our life. And we in salvation are brought
into a living union with Him. You see that? And then in the
Scriptures also, Christ Jesus is called the head of the body. The body is the church of believers. The body is the family of believers. And Christ is the head. Now how
long would a person exist without his head? You can sever some
members off, but the head is vital to existence in life, and
Christ is the head and we're the body. So this thing of salvation
is a living union with Jesus Christ. And then thirdly, true
believers are a part of an eternal covenant of grace between the
Godhead God gave to his Son a people. This covenant of grace is based
on the eternal purpose of God to populate the new heaven and
new earth. Before the foundation of the
world, God the Father gave the Son a people chosen in him. He predestinated those people
to be conformed to the image of his Son. And believers, all
believers, Jew and Gentile, old and young, rich and poor, black
and white, wherever they may be found, of every tribe, kindred,
nation, tongue unto heaven, are a part of an everlasting covenant
purposed by God the Father, and purchased by the blood of Christ,
and made effectual, or applied by the work of God's Spirit."
Now listen to Jeremiah in chapter 33. "'They shall be my people,
and I will be their God.' And I will give them one heart and
one way, and I will make an everlasting covenant, an eternal covenant
with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good,
but I will put my fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart
from me." True believers never quit for several reasons. First, salvation is not an isolated
experience. It's not a one-time profession
of faith. They never quit because, first
of all, they have been regenerated or born again by the Spirit of
God. They're new people. They have a new nature. And then
secondly, they're part of an everlasting covenant which God
made with the Son and gave him a people. And thirdly, they're
members of the body of Christ. They're brought into a living,
vital union with Jesus Christ. Now, fourthly, true believers
never quit because salvation, In salvation, they are devoted
to a person. The living God revealed in Christ
Jesus, they are devoted to a person. They have come to know and to
love and to trust the living God. They know the living God.
They have not just become religious. That's not what salvation is.
It's not just to become religious. I hear people say, well, George
got religion, or Betty got religion. Well, that's not salvation. A
person can get religion and not be saved. They have not got religion. They have not accepted some facts
of religion. But as John 17, 3, in the words
of our Master declares, they know the true and living God,
Jesus Christ, whom he had sent. Our Lord was preaching to a huge
multitude one day, having already fed this multitude of 5,000 people
or more. And he began to talk to them about what I've been
talking to you about, living union with Christ, eating his
flesh and drinking his blood. He's the bread from heaven. He's
a sovereign God who saves whom he will, who reveals his grace
to whom he will. And the scripture says from that
time, John 6, around verse 65 or 66, it says, from that time
many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.
They wanted no part of this sovereign grace, they wanted no part of
this vital union, they wanted no part of this eternal covenant,
they wanted no part of this vine branch relationship, and so they
just walked off. And when they did, the master
turned to the twelve, and he said to them, will you also go
away? And that's when Peter gave this
reply, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God." Do you see what I'm saying? That
this thing of salvation, contrary to what we're seeing today and
hearing today, is not just a mental acceptance of facts, it's not
just getting religion, it's not just joining the church, it's
not just prancing down the aisle and shaking a preacher's hand,
and having an isolated experience of some sort. Faith that believes
keeps on believing. Repentance that repents keeps
on repenting. And grace that is the grace of
God keeps on growing. And a believer has been regenerated. He has received a new nature,
a divine nature. He has been brought into a personal,
intimate, living union with the Son of God. with the Lord Jesus
Christ, and He Himself, because of that living union with Christ,
is a Son of God. And that everlasting covenant
shall not fail. He said, I am the Lord, I have
purposed it, I will bring it to pass, I have spoken, and it
shall be done. And then we believe, true believers,
love Christ, they trust Christ, they rest in Christ, they have
found in Christ all they need. Now in this world of religion
in which we're living, it's like one of the presidential candidates
said in the debate recently, he said America is the most religious
nation on the face of the earth, and I agree with him. In this
world of religion, we have religion, more religion per square inch
than we've ever had in the history of mankind right here in the
United States of America. We have religion, and in this
world of religion, in this world of superstition, in this world
of emotionalism, in this world of religious entertainment, in
this world of religious con men, it is not an easy task at all
to distinguish between saving faith and false faith. It's not easy. I tell you, it's
not easy. That's the reason when the apostles
wrote the scriptures, Inspired by the Holy Ghost, they wrote
verses like this, 2 Corinthians 13, 5. Examine yourselves whether
you be in the faith. Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived. It's possible to be deceived.
In fact, there's so many antichrists in this world today that our
Lord said they would deceive even the elect if it were possible. That's how how deceitful they
are, that's how crafty, that's how shrewd they are. They'll
use Bible terms and Bible language. They'll use Bible doctrines,
anything to accomplish their goals and their ends and get
your support and all of this sort of thing. And I'll tell
you that's what Paul said, examine yourselves. Peter said this,
2 Peter 1.10, wherefore the rather brethren Give diligence to make
your calling and election sure, yours, your calling, your election,
sure, for if you do these things, you'll never fail. And then John
said in 1 John 4, 1, try the spirits, whether they be of God,
for many false prophets have gone out into the world. You
better try the spirits, that is, try the preachers, the spirits
that speak by these preachers. Our Lord Jesus Christ said in
Matthew 7, many, many shall say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord,
have we not done this, that and the other? Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of God. So
it's not an easy thing at all in this day of religion and superstition
and emotionalism. It's not an easy thing to distinguish
between true saving faith, a faith that saves, and a false religion. and a false faith and a false
hope. You see, false faith can do many things. False faith can
do many things that are commendable or seem to be, and that seem
to be spiritual. For example, false faith can
excite the emotions and the passions. You see people on these religious
programs with their hands in the air, and clapping, and waving
things, and getting excited, and falling on the floor, and
rolling, and passing out, and all these things. Paul's faith
can excite the emotions and the passions. In Romans 10, Paul
said, these people I'm praying for, that I want to see saved. He said, I bear them record,
they have a zeal for God. They have zeal. They have fire. They have enthusiasm. but not
according to knowledge. They're ignorant of God's righteousness. And then when our Lord talked
about the stony ground heroes, the people that finally faded
away and disappeared, He said they received the Word with joy,
much joy. That's the way they received
the Word. But having no root, having no understanding, having
no discernment, having no depth, when the sun came out, they withered
and fell away. So false faith can excite the
emotions. That's no problem. And then false
faith can reform the outward man. The Pharisees are perfect
examples of that. You say, boy, he's really got
religion. He doesn't drink. He doesn't smoke. He doesn't
play cards. He doesn't dance. She doesn't
dress this way or that way. They are really clean, moral
people. So were the people who crucified
Christ. They were the cleanest, most
moral, religious people of their day. One of them stood in the
temple one day and said, God, I thank you, I'm not like other
men. I tried, I fast twice a week, I give alms of all I possess,
I'm not an adulterer, I'm not unjust, and I'm not an extortioner.
And he would probably be president of one of our denominations if
he were living today, clean outwardly and rotten on the inside. That's
what our Lord said. He said, you're like a grave.
On the outside you appear beautiful unto men, but on the inside you're
full of dead men's bones, full of envy and pride and bigotry
and jealousy and hate and malice and lust and all these things
that are produced by a fallen human nature. False faith can
reform the outward man, but reformation is not salvation. Salvation is
a heart work. Circumcision is of the heart.
He's not an Israelite which is one outwardly. He is an Israelite
who is one inwardly. And then false faith can attain
to high religious office. There's no problem to be a preacher.
Anybody that can talk can be some kind of preacher. There's
no problem to get to be a pastor, or a deacon, or an elder, or
a Sunday school teacher, or a choir director, or an assistant pastor,
or a district superintendent, or an associational missionary,
or a president of a convention. Anybody with the right credentials
and education can aspire to those positions. Judas was an apostle. That's higher than any of you
boys ever attained or gone. He was an apostle. There were
only twelve of them, and that's all. And then Demas was a companion
of the apostle Paul. False faith can be baptized with
Simon Magus. False faith can give gifts with
Ananias and Sapphira. False faith can speak well of
Christ like Nicodemus, and false faith will persecute those who
disagree with it. Did you know that? False faith
will put people out of business that disagree with them. Saul
of Tarsus did that. He said, I sought to persecute
the Church of God and do all manner of evil against those
who disagreed with me in my religious position. But he didn't know
God. He met Christ on the road to
Damascus. And false faith, let me tell
you something else, it will even persevere to the judgment. Because
those people stood in front of our Lord and they said, well
now hold on, hold on. We preached in your name and
prophesied and cast out devils and did many wonderful works.
So false faith, I'm telling you, it's hard to distinguish between
false faith and true faith. It's hard to discern. It takes
the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Revelation. Examine yourselves
whether you be in the faith. These outward evidences and outward
circumstances can be produced and counterfeited and imitated
by Satan himself. For he himself becomes an angel
of light and his ministers are ministers of righteousness. But
there are some things that false faith can never produce. and
can never do. And these are the fruits of saving
faith. Now you listen to me, and you
listen carefully. First of all, false faith can
never produce a heart that has been broken, truly broken, over
sin. False faith can never produce
a heart that is genuinely broken and repentant before God because
of sin. David wrote, Lord be merciful
to me according to thy lovingkindness, and blot out my transgressions.
I acknowledge my sin. My sins are ever before me. Against
thee and thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.
O God, purge me with thistle. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than the snow. Lord, you are right when you
condemn me, and you are just when you damn me. But I am seeking
mercy, mercy, mercy. That is not false faith, and
false faith will never do that. False faith, well, oh, I'm a
sinner, but I'm not as bad as so-and-so. Well, I may be a sinner,
but I'm not a bad sinner. Well, there are a lot of things
I've never done. False faith always justifies itself. Always
justifies itself. Before me, even before God. And false faith cannot produce
that broken heart. And God say that such as be of
a broken heart and a contrite spirit, the Lord is known to
them of a broken heart. The sacrifices of God are a broken
heart. and a contrite spirit. Secondly,
false faith will never, never, never, never I say, false faith
will never bow to the absolute sovereignty of God and the Lordship
of Jesus Christ in all things, in creation, in providence, and
in salvation. But this very gateway to the
kingdom of God is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If thou shalt
confess with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine
heart God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
My friends, salvation is of the Lord, and every true believer
with true faith knows that salvation is of the Lord in its planning,
salvation is of the Lord in its execution, salvation is of the
Lord in its application, salvation is of the Lord in its sustaining
power, and salvation is of the Lord in its ultimate perfection. False faith will call Jesus Christ
Savior, but it will not call Him Lord. Lord. Absolute, immutable, infinite,
sovereign Lord. Lord of all things. And God hath
highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven,
earth, and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that
He is Lord. Now thirdly, false faith will
always try to add something to the work of Christ. False faith
can never, never, false faith can never believe, receive, trust,
and rest in Christ alone, Christ alone, plus nothing, minus nothing. False faith may read 1 Corinthians
1.30, But it never can believe it. You say, what's that say?
But of God are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. All I need to
know is in Christ. All of the righteousness I need
to cover me and make me acceptable before God is in Christ. All
the sanctification and holiness I need is in Christ. And he hath
redeemed me, not only my soul, but my body. He hath redeemed
me for time and eternity. And in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and we are complete in him." False faith,
fifthly, can never continue to believe, to believe God regardless
of the circumstances. False faith cannot, it cannot
endure trial. It cannot endure the dark valleys. It cannot endure the rocky roads.
It's got to always have, it's always got to have the sun shining.
For example, let me read you something about Abraham. It says
here in Romans chapter 4, Abraham believed God. He's the pattern
of believers. He's the very pattern of those
who have faith. He's the father of those who
believe. It says, Abraham believed God,
regardless of the circumstances. When God told him to get out
of his father's house and go to a land he'll show him, he
didn't know where he was going, but he believed God. And then
when he and Lot had that conflict over the land, he believed God. He told Lot, he said, pick out
anything you want. God watches over me, God will
take care of me. And Lot chose the well-watered
plains of Sodom, the beautiful bottom farmland. And Abraham
went to the hills, but he believed God. And then the riches, the
kings of Sodom, after he had delivered them from the hands
of their enemies, they wanted to make him rich. And Abraham
said, no, no, I don't want a thing you've got. They promised him
everything a man could possibly want. He said, I don't want it.
I've lifted my hand to God, and I'm not taking even a shoestring
from you, lest you say you made Abraham rich. I don't need what
you have. I've lifted my hand to God, and He'll supply my needs.
He believed God. And then when God told him he'd
have a son, he was 100 years old, Saber was 90, but he believed
God. He didn't know how. And then
when God told him to send Ishmael away, he loved Ishmael. Ishmael
was 14 years old, but he was the son of the bondwoman. And
he couldn't live with the son of the free woman. You see, works
can exist with grace. And God said, send him away.
And old man Abraham stood out there and put a bottle of water
on his shoulders and a loaf of bread under his arm and said
goodbye. He believed God. He didn't argue.
And then that supreme test of all, when God told him to take
Isaac to the top of the mountain and sacrifice him, he went that
three days journey never murmuring, complaining or questioning God's
word, he just believed God. False faith can't do that. It
cannot stand the heat, it cannot stand the cold, it cannot stand
the rain, it cannot stand the wind, it cannot stand the darkness,
it cannot stand the desertion, it cannot stand it. It just can't
take God at his word and believe it. Romans 4.20, Abraham staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strong in
faith, giving glory to God, believing that God was able to perform
all that he said, and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
He believed God, and therefore he was counted as a righteous
man, because he believed God. And his works gave evidence that
he believed. His works proved his faith. Now
it says, This was not written for his sake alone, that righteousness
was imputed to him, but for ours also, to whom it shall be imputed
if we believe on him who raised up our Lord from the dead, who
was delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification.
My friend, I believe God. I believe God. I didn't say I
believe in God or own God or there is a God. I believe Him.
I believe His Word. His word regarding redemption,
salvation, and all things. Now if you want this message
on a cassette tape, true believers never quit. They never quit.
And what I'll bring next week on saving faith as opposed to
religious profession. You write to me. Send a two dollar
donation. That's what it costs to prepare
these tapes and send them to you. I'm not trying to finagle
you into anything, I want you to have this message. If you
want it, send two dollars. Now she'll give you the address.
Until next week, God bless you, everyone.