Here's a message that I believe
will be of special interest, and I believe a special blessing
to those in the television audience who know Christ, who love the
gospel, and who are believers in the Redeemer. The title of
the message today is The Life of Faith. The Life of Faith. Now, we hear people talking about
the life of faith, but very few define it. They say, well just
keep the faith, or have faith, or I'm living by faith, but what
do we mean by a life of faith? Now that's my subject today.
What is the life of faith? Of what does it, what makes it
up? What does it consist of, this
life of faith? And I'm reading Galatians 2.20,
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. I am crucified with Christ,
I'm dead with Christ, but yet I live, I still live in the flesh. And yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me, and the life which I now live, having been crucified with
Christ, The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by
faith. I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Now, when we
view the crucifixion of Christ, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus
Christ, we see several things. Number one, the death of Christ
is clearly a manifestation of God's love for sinners. and God's
purpose to save sinners from their sins. The scripture tells
us that Christ didn't come down here to get God in the notion
of loving us. He came down here because God
loved us and to enable God to be just and justify us. For God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. It
says, but God commended his love toward us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. The love of God preceded
the giving of Christ. The love of God prompted the
giving of Christ. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners of whom I am chief. So the first thing I see
in the giving of Christ, and in the sufferings of Christ,
and the crucifixion of the Redeemer, is it manifests clearly the love
of God for sinners. God so loved, He gave. And then
secondly, it's a display of God's character. Now this is not being
preached today, it's not being sounded forth, the character
of God. Romans 3 tells us that God gave
His Son as a sacrifice for our sins in order that God may be
just and justify the ungodly. You see, one thing we must learn,
the Bible teaches and God reveals, is He's holy. Immaculately, infinitely,
immutably, or unchangeably holy. God will not change. He will
by no means clear the guilty. The soul that sinneth shall surely
die. And in order for God's justice to be honored, and God's law
to be fulfilled, and God's character and attributes to be demonstrated,
somebody's got to die for our sins. Our sins must be punished. He will by no means, in no way,
clear the guilty. You say, well, he forgave us
and he saved us because Christ died for us. His justice was
honored. His holiness was honored. His
law was fulfilled by Christ, who was numbered with the transgressors.
And it's by His stripes that we're healed. It's by His death
that we live. Now that's clear. So I see in
the death of Christ the character of God manifested. He spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. And if He
spared not His own Son, How shall he not with Christ freely give
us what Christ purchased for us? Do you see that? Justice
was satisfied in the death of my substitute and therefore I'm
free. So in the death of Christ I see
the love of God manifested. I see the character of God. You
see the offering and sacrifice of Christ was not toward us.
It was not directed toward us. It was directed toward God. As
all sin offerings in the Old Testament, every lamb was slain
before the Lord. He didn't have them kill the
lamb so that Israel could look on and learn a lesson. That lamb
was slain as a sin offering unto the Lord. The blood was offered
before the Lord. The atonement was put on the
mercy seat in the Holy of Holies where no one was present but
God in His Shekinah glory. And the high priest who is Christ,
representing Christ, who brought it in there. Nobody else saw
it. When the blood was put on the mercy seat, the whole Holy
of Holies was filled with the smoke from the incense. And hardly,
the priest hardly saw what was going on. But it was sacrificed
before the Lord. So I see that in the death of
Christ, a manifestation of his character, the character of God.
And then thirdly, The death of Christ is the actual putting
away of sin. It's by atonement. The word atonement,
A-T-O-N-E-M-E-N-T, is defined in this way, three words in one,
it's atonement. The blood of Christ, the death
of Christ, brings sinners, enemies, separated by our sins from God,
It brings us into one with God, unity with God. See the word
reconciliation implies a separation. If you reconcile two people,
then they've been at war. And God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself. And so the death of Christ was
not just a down payment or an installment payment or an effort
to do something, it actually reconciled us to God. God was
in Christ reconciling, not trying to, not making an effort, actually
reconciling. And the blood of Christ, God's
dear Son, actually cleanses us, actually puts away our sins.
He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He didn't fix it
so we could put it away, or some preacher could put it away, or
some priest could put it away by saying some mumbo-jumbo, hocus-pocus
words. He put it away. He, by one offering,
perfected forever them that are sanctified. He put away our sin
by the sacrifice of Himself. He blotted out our transgressions. He removed them from us as far
as the East is from the West. By His stripes we're healed.
That's it. That's so. The death of Christ
was an actual atonement. But next, I see something else
in the death of Christ, besides the love of God manifested, oh
there are many things, and the character of God revealed, and
an actual atonement, or putting away of sin, but Paul viewed
the death of Christ in a more personal way. in a more personal
way. He viewed it, in this text, as
a substitution. He said, I am crucified with
Christ. I am crucified with Christ. In
other words, when he died, I died. When he died, I died. I died
to the world, and the world died to me. I actually died when Christ
died. That's how complete a union exists
between Christ and his people. They're one. They're one. We're chosen in Christ, we're
redeemed in Christ, we're justified in Christ, we're crucified in
Christ, we're buried and risen in Christ, and we're seated in
Christ on the right hand of God. That type of union exists between
Him and His people. So Paul said, when he died, I
died. His judgment was my judgment.
When the wrath of God fell on Christ, it fell on me, actually,
in reality. I am dead to the curse of the
law. I am dead to the penalty of the
law. The law exacted all of its demands and all of its requirements
upon me in Christ. That's what Paul is saying. I
am dead to all condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. Now that's what Paul is saying.
I am crucified with Christ. Let me tell you something. Let
me give you an illustration. When a man is punished for a crime,
in other words, he commits a crime, manslaughter, whatever, and they
put him in jail, the law has a hold on him. The law has a... that man's obligated to the law.
He's broken the law. And the law has a grip on him
and puts him in prison. He belongs to the law. When he
finishes serving that sentence and pays for that crime, Does
the law have any hold on him anymore? No, sir. Can they command
him to stay in prison? No, sir. They must leave him
go. They've got to let him go because
he's paid his debt. He's paid, he's suffered everything
that his crime required. He satisfied justice and satisfied
the law and satisfied every requirement and he's no longer obligated.
No longer obligated. The law and justice no longer
have any claim on him. He is now free. Well, let me
tell you this. When Christ died for our sin,
he fulfilled everything the justice of God required. He fulfilled
the penalty of the law, the curse of the law, the condemnation
of the law, and the penalty of sin. He paid the debt. He paid
the debt. All the debt I owed. Sin left
a crimson stain. Did he or did he not? He washed
it white as snow. If he didn't, you and I will
pay for it in hell. If he did, there is no condemnation. Paul said, who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies it.
Who is he that condemns it? Christ died? Yea, rather, is
risen again? who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Christ died for my sin. I am crucified with Christ. And
that's the only reason that Paul could challenge heaven, earth,
and hell. He could challenge the law. He
could challenge any source and say, you can't condemn me. I've
paid my debt. I've met the full penalty. Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse
for us. And if the law is satisfied,
it's satisfied. Now, we've either got the good news of a clear
gospel like that, or we've got no good news at all. Any other
message is not good news. If you come to me and say, Christ
paid for some of the rest I've left up to you, I'm a goner.
And so are you. Because in my hands no price
I bring, simply the cross of Christ I cling. And I say to
any sinner out there who can look to Christ and Christ alone,
plus nothing, minus nothing, who can believe on the Son of
God and the Son of God alone, plus nothing, minus nothing,
who can flee to Christ and Christ alone, who can look to Christ
as the one sacrifice for sin and believe on Him, is justified
before God. And there is no condemnation.
All sin, past, present, and future, is paid for in the death of Christ.
Somebody said, well, Christ just paid for our past sins. He didn't pay for our future
sins. Wait a minute. How many of my sins were future
when Christ died 2,000 years ago? They were all future. I
hadn't even been born. I hadn't even committed a sin.
When Christ died on that cross, that's 2,000 years before I was
ever born. Every one of my sins were future
sins. And He paid the debt, all the debt I owe. Now, listen to
Paul. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Nevertheless,
I live. I still live in the flesh. I'm
still walking on this earth in human form. You're looking at
a human being. That's right. You're one too.
I still walk and talk. I'm still awake or asleep. I
still eat and drink. I'm still subject to the infirmities
and afflictions that were brought on Adam's race when Adam fell.
And you are too. But I am a new person. That's
what Paul says. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live. Yet not I. Not the old I, not
the old person. But I live by the faith of the
Son of God. I'm a new person in Christ. And
the life which I now live in this flesh, in this sinful flesh,
in this weak flesh, in this mortal flesh, in this corrupt flesh.
For in the flesh dwelleth no good thing, in the flesh no man
can please God. But the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by faith. I live by faith in Christ, on
Christ, and by Christ who lives in me. Now what is this life
of faith? It says we walk by faith and
not by sight. It says the just shall live by
faith. Preacher, in plain words, what is the life of faith? Well,
I want to sound eight notes, and hopefully I can get through
every one of them. Eight notes on this scale of
faith. Eight notes. That's how many
notes are on a scale. I'm going to sound eight notes
on this scale of faith. First of all, faith lives on the name
of Christ. On the name of Christ. We're
saved in His name. The Lord Jesus Christ. Lord God,
Jesus man, Christ the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
none other name unto heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. So we're saved by that name.
And then secondly, we pray to the Father in that name. Whatsoever
you shall ask the Father in my name, he'll give it to you. In
my name. We're saved by that name. We
pray in that name. Thirdly, we serve God in that
name. Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do it in the name of
Jesus Christ. We preach in that name. Our Lord
said that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in
His name. The disciples healed in His name. They said, in the
name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. And God has ordained
that every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord. He's given him that name, which
is above every name. The hymn writer said, Jesus,
there's something about that name. Jesus, like the fragrance
after the rain. Jesus, let heaven and earth proclaim. Kings and kingdoms shall pass
away, but there's something about that name. And the something
is, it's saving power. We're saved by the name of Christ.
Then secondly, faith lives on the flesh and blood of Christ.
John 6.53 says, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and
drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whosoever eateth
my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, divine life. Now what does that mean? When
Israel journeyed through the wilderness, God gave them manna,
bread from heaven. That's how they were nourished.
That's how they were strengthened. That's how they lived. God gave
them water out of a rock. They drank that water. Without
that bread and that water, they wouldn't have lived. That bread
and water sustained them. Christ is our bread and Christ
is our water. We eat his flesh and drink his
blood through all of life. He is our sanctification. He
is our redemption. He is our wisdom. We feed on
him. Every need is met in Christ.
He's our comfort. He's our strength. He's our light. Christ is our life. And we're
sustained in every situation, under every affliction, in every
infirmity, in every trial, we're sustained by Christ who is our
very nourishment and the strength of this new life. You see that?
Then we live on the death of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ
gave His life. He died that we may live. And you hath be quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sin. And we were not only dead spiritually,
we were under the sentence of eternal death, for the wages
of sin is death, the soul that sinneth it shall surely die.
Well, by His dying, We were raised. By His dying, we live. By Christ's death, we have life. He took our hell and gave us
heaven. He took our disease and gave
us healing. He took our death and died it
and gave us His life. So we live by His death. And
then fourthly, faith lives on the life of Christ. He didn't
stay in the tomb. He arose. Our Lord Jesus Christ
did die. But he arose from the grave to
die no more, and he said, Because I live, you live. And he that
liveth and believeth on me shall never die. Actually, the believer
has no fear of physical death. He may have some concern and
some anxiety because he's never experienced it, but no fear,
because he knows he'll never die. Oh, his body will sleep
and they'll put it in the tomb, but he'll never die. If our earthly
house of this tabernacle or tent be destroyed, we have a building,
not made with hands like this one, but a building of God eternal
in the heavens. And though we in this flesh sleep,
our souls won't sleep. They'll never die. The second
death hath no power over us because we were resurrected in Christ.
That's the first resurrection. When He was raised, we were raised.
Then faith lives on the intercession of Christ. There's one God and
one mediator between men and God. And that's the man Christ
Jesus. Paul said, Christ died, yea rather
he's risen again, who is even, think of it, at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. What is intercession?
Well, it's praying for us. It's asking mercy for us. It's
serving as our advocate. It's pleading for us. He said
to Peter one time, you'll deny me, But he said, I've prayed
for you. And I'll tell you this, if he
loves you, and if he prays for you, he'll be heard. Because
he is always heard by the Father. Because he has the right sacrifice. We have an advocate. Christ actually
prays for us. And we survive on that. We live
by that. We go into the Holy of Holies,
yes. even as priests ourselves, to
offer spiritual sacrifices to God of thanksgiving, praise,
and so forth. But we go through a great high
priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have no access to God even
now except through Christ. God never hears you except in
Christ. God never looks upon you except
in Christ, because you're not holy in yourself, you're holy
in Christ. And then, in the sixth place, faith lives on the righteousness
of Christ. Surely shall one say in the Lord
have I righteousness. In the Lord have I... I find
no righteousness in us. Do you? Our righteousness is
a filthy rag. I find no righteousness in our
works. Paul said, I count them but dung.
I find no righteousness in the law. I find nothing but condemnation
in the law. I find righteousness only by
looking to Christ. He is holy. And because I am
in him, I am holy. He is our righteousness. Surely
shall one say, in the Lord I have righteousness. Not in myself,
in him. As my substitute and representative
in what he did, I have in him a perfect righteousness before
God. I think the hymn writer caught it in these words. With
his spotless garments on, I am as holy as God's Son. That's
right, in Christ I'm holy. I'm holy. All right, in the seventh
place we live on the word of Christ. Faith lives on the word
of Christ. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. Listen to what the psalmist said.
Oh Lord, remember thy word to me, upon which you caused me
to hope. This is my comfort and my affliction,
for your word hath quickened me, and your word hath comforted
me. And Paul said, you comfort one
another with these words. I tell you, you can't put too
much emphasis on the Word of God to the believer. Abraham
believed God. He believed God. What did he
believe? He believed God's Word. He said he was persuaded that
what God had promised, God would do. What has God promised? He's promised what He says. And
I can't emphasize enough to you the importance of getting in
this book the Word of God. We feed on the Word of God. His
Word is the seed of life. We're begotten again to a living
hope through the incorruptible seed, the Word of God. His Word
is our comfort. Wherefore comfort one another
with these words. A lot of the early Christians
had died, and Paul wrote to them about their loved ones who had
died. And he told them the Lord would come again, and that the
dead in Christ should rise first, and we which are alive and remain
would be chained and caught up together with them to meet the
Lord in the air. And when he got through with
that exhortation on death and the coming of the Lord and resurrection,
he said, wherefore comfort one another with these words. I tell
you, the words of men, they help a little, but they can't comfort
like the Word of God. Paul wrote in Hebrews this word.
He said, he hath said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake
you, so that we may boldly say, then the Lord is my helper. How
can I say the Lord is my helper? Because He said it first. How
can I say the Lord is my Savior? He said it first. How can I say
that all things work together for good to them who love God,
who are called according to His purpose? He said it first. How
can I say the soul that clings to Christ and comes to Christ
will never be forsaken and never be ashamed? He said it first.
I can't say anything with any certainty unless He said it first. I wish you'd read the Word of
God. Faith lives on the Word of God, as it lives on the name
of Christ, and the flesh and blood of Christ, and the death
of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ, and as it lives on
the intercession of Christ, and the very righteousness and obedience
of Christ, it lives on the Word of God. Faith is that seed by
which we are begotten. The Word of God is that seed.
And the Word of God is our comfort, and then thirdly, the Word of
God is the children's bread. You know, when our Lord arose
from the grave and appeared to the disciples, He took Peter
aside and asked him, Do you love me? Peter said, Lord, you know
all things. You know I love you. Then feed
my sheep. Well, now, that's my task. Well,
what am I to feed the sheep? Am I to feed them with fantasy,
my imagination, my visions, my dreams, my logic, my human wisdom? I'm to feed them the Word of
God. That's what's missing in present-day preaching. Once in
a while, a preacher will take one verse of Scripture and depart
from it, usually a long ways away from it. We don't preach
the Word of God. Paul said, Timothy, preach the
Word. Preach the Word. It's the children's
bread, and it's our assurance. I can have no assurance. Let
me tell you something. You say, I wish I had more faith.
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Well,
I sure wish I had more assurance. The Word of God is our assurance.
I wish I had this and that." You'll find it in the Word of
God. That's right. His Word is eternal. He said,
Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my Word will never pass away.
Till all be fulfilled. Now, here's the last note. Sound
the last note. Faith lives on the offices of
Christ. And this is important. Faith
lives on His offices. If you were given a certain office,
president of your company, secretary of your club or company, pastor
of your church, mayor of your town, if you were given an office,
and with an office goes a responsibility, with duties to perform, and you
did not perform those duties, you would be considered an unfaithful
servant. Now listen, Paul said, I'm crucified
with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself
for me." My Lord has three offices, prophet, priest, and king. Prophet like Moses, priest like
Melchizedek, king like David. Prophet to reveal the Father,
priest to redeem his people, and king to reign over them.
And he'll fulfill every one of them. And I live on that. I live
on that. My prophet, priest, and king.
Now then, I have two messages on this tape. The Lord's Table
and the Life of Faith. If you want it, write to us.
We'll mail it to you. Send two dollars. That's what
it cost to fix it up and send it to you. Until next week, God
bless you, everyone.