I want to make a few statements
before I bring the message this morning. Our one concern is to glorify
the Heavenly Father and to preach the gospel of His grace. And
next to that, our concern and desire is that you might come
to know Christ as your Lord and Savior, that you might hear the
gospel and have your heart opened by the Spirit of God to understand
the gospel, your ears opened to hear not just my words, but
the word of God in power, in conviction, in the Holy Ghost,
and that your eyes of faith may be opened to behold the Son of
God, our Lord and Savior. We're not in the religious con
game. We're not in religious promotion
and entertainment. We're here to preach Christ and
Him crucified. I'm here to deal with the word
of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we're not begging
for support. God will meet our needs and God
will supply our needs according to his riches and glory through
Jesus Christ. There's one thing that I do.
I offer these messages to you on cassette tape. Now, we sell
these cassette tapes for exactly what they cost us to produce.
We make not one dime, in fact, lose money on these tapes. But
I want the gospel to be in the hands of the people. And any
message that I preach on this television program, you can receive. Any back message, all the way
back nine or ten years, we have all the messages that I've preached
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Now, if you want a back copy of these messages that I've brought
over these years on this television program, write to us, and we'll
send you a tape list. We'll be glad to do that. But
I'm concerned for my generation. We're playing church. We're playing
church. We've got us a God that we've
whittled out with our own pen knives, and we've concocted Him
in our own imagination. We've got as many different ways
to God as there are preachers and people. And so little of
the Word of God is being preached. We're entertaining people, we're
promoting programs, we're building schools, we're trying to straighten
out the United States government, we're trying to dry up all the
liquor crowd and shut down all the dens of iniquity, and nobody's
preaching the gospel. And I'm determined, like Paul
the Apostle, I'm determined to know nothing among you save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. Now, let the winds blow and let
the tempter come and let people try to sidetrack us and divert
our attention. I'm going to keep doing what
I've done through these 35 years. I'm going to preach Christ. If
you listen to this program, you're going to hear the gospel. And
this morning, I'm preaching from Galatians 3, the third chapter
of Galatians. Now, turn with me to Galatians
3, and let me read two verses, 6 and 7. Now, listen carefully. Here's the subject. our example
of faith. And we're going to learn something
about faith. I'm not going to just entertain you this morning.
We're going to talk about the subject of faith. And when I
get through, if you'll listen, you'll learn something about
faith, at least in your head, whether you believe in your heart
or not. But at least you'll understand, in the event that God's pleased
to give you faith, at a later date you'll have a foundation
of the Word of God to base it on. And the Word of God is the
foundation of faith. It says in Galatians 3, 6 and
7, Abraham believed God. And it was accounted to him for
righteousness, for righteousness before God, in the sight of God.
He believed God. Know you therefore, listen to
this, know you therefore that they which are of faith the same
are the children of Abraham. He's our example. He's our father
in faith. He believed God. It was counted
to him for righteousness, and you'll come the same way, or
you won't come at all. If you look at Romans 4, you'll
see how Abraham believed God, that God was able to do all that
he promised, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. And
Paul wrote, and this was written not for his sake alone, that
it was imputed to him for righteousness, but for us also, to whom it shall
be imputed if we believe on him that raised Christ from the dead.
Now, there's a lot of religion in the world today, just an awful
lot of religion, and a whole lot of preaching about faith,
keep the faith, have faith, all these different things, you know.
And usually when men preach and talk about faith, they wind up
talking about Abraham. And rightly so, because Abraham
is truly, according to the Scripture, our example of faith. Let me
show you that. The first time that the word
believe is used in the Bible, the first time. Now, you preachers,
if any of you are listening, you know something about the
law of first mention. Well, the first time that the
word believed is used in the Bible, it refers to Abraham,
the very first time when God uses the word believe in Genesis
15, 6, and Abraham believed in the Lord and it was counted to
him for righteousness. That's the first time that That
salvation is dealt with on that principle of believing in the
Lord and receiving, because of it, a righteousness. And he's
talking about Abraham. Now listen to this. Romans 4.11
calls Abraham the father of all that believe. Abraham. And Romans 4.12 exhorts us to
walk in the steps of our father, Abraham. So this Abraham, when
we preach about faith, we nearly have to go back and pick up Abraham. Because he's the father of the
faithful, he's the example of faith, and the first time that
God talks about believing, he talks about Abraham. Now, he
wasn't the first believer by any means. But the first time
that God talks about believing in the Bible, he talks about
Abraham. But I can assure you this, now
listen, I can assure you this, that this faith of Abraham, which
is our example, is a whole lot more than lip service. Now, this
faith of Abraham, that brought righteousness before God was
a whole lot more than lip service. You call me Lord, Lord with your
lips, but your hearts are far from me. It's a whole lot more
than that. It's not just walking down an aisle on Sunday night
while the choir sings Just As I Am and saying, I believe in
Jesus, I accept Jesus as my personal Savior, and calling him Lord
with our lips while our hearts are still in materialism in the
world. And in selfishness and self-righteousness, it's a whole
lot more than that. And this faith of Abraham is
a whole lot more than the observance of days set aside one day out
of the week and act pious, or set aside 10% of my income in
order to gain God's blessings. It's a whole lot more than the
observance of rituals and ceremonies and Sabbath days. In Isaiah 1,
our Lord said, your new moons and your Sabbaths And your feasts
are a trouble to me, they're an abomination to me, they're
iniquity. Away with them, away with them.
God's talking about all of the observances of Sabbath days and
new moons and feast days and rituals. He said it's iniquity. Just do away with them. When
your heart's not in these things, just do away with them. This
faith of Abraham is a whole lot more than doctrinal orthodoxy
or outward reformation. The Pharisees were orthodox.
Oh, how orthodox they were. They were orthodox and dead,
dead as a hammer. And Saul of Tarsus was a moral
man, but an unrighteous man before God. So this faith of Abraham
is more than orthodoxy. It's more than fundamentalism.
It's more than believing in the blood, the book, and the blessed
hope. It's a whole lot more than lip service. It's a whole lot
more than doing good works. It's a whole lot more than fasting
and tithing and praying and doing good work. Listen. The Pharisee
said, prayed thus with himself, Lord, I fast, I tithe, he was
making an effort to pray, and I give alms to the poor. He was
doing all of those things. He was fasting, praying, tithing,
and giving alms to the poor, and our Lord Jesus Christ left
him unjustified. That's what he said. Unjustified. Saving faith. Now listen to me.
Saving faith. This faith of Abraham. It has
something to do with God Himself. Not just the things of God or
the possessions of God, this thing of saving faith, this thing
of the faith of Abraham. Abraham had none of these ritualisms,
none of this ritualism, no ceremonialism, he had no cathedrals, he had
no temples, he had no steeples, he had no beads to count, he
had none of these material things, no stained glass windows, none
of these things. No pin to wear on his lapel.
He had none of these things. He believed God. You see what
I'm getting at? He had none of the visual aids
of religion. He believed God. This thing of
saving faith, the faith of Abraham, now listen to me, has something
to do with God Himself. God Himself as revealed in Christ. And this saving faith of Abraham,
and we're told to walk in the steps of our father Abraham,
We're told over here in my text, listen, it says, Know ye therefore
that they which are of faith, of saving faith, the same are
the children of Abraham. And this thing has to do with
God himself, the person of God as revealed in Christ. And it
has something to do with the heart, not just the form, not
the ceremony, not just the outward deeds. This thing of faith has
something to do with the heart. Abraham had none of these He
didn't go on a Thursday night visitation. No, he didn't. Abraham
didn't have a training union. He was out there in the desert.
He was out there in the desert alone with God. And yet he's
called the example of faith. He's called the father of the
faithful. He's called the example of the believer. And the very
things that are written of him are the things I want. And it
has to do with the heart. And it has to do with the attitude,
the attitude and conduct of the believer. And it has to do with
a living union. God spoke to Abraham face-to-face
as a man with his friend. He had a living, vital, personal,
intimate union with the living God. Not with just his associates,
not just with his possessions, but with God Himself. We'd better
get a hold of what I'm talking about. We'd better get a hold
of what I'm talking about. We've mechanized faith. We've
brought faith down from God clear down to the earth. We've based
it on human wisdom, how to do this, and I've got all kinds
of books, how to do this, and how to be baptized with the Holy
Ghost, and how to win souls, and how to lead the victorious
life, and how to do this, and we've got God down here where
any natural man can understand Him. But this thing of saving
faith, if you'll go back with me to the desert, And you see
that man Abraham, who was the friend of God, the friend of
God, a man who walked with God, a man of whom God said over a
whole period of 6,000 years, walk in the steps of Abraham,
have the faith of Abraham. He is the example of faith. I'll
tell you this about faith. I'll tell you this about this
saving faith. It's the work of God and it's the gift of God.
Now scripture says, for by grace are you saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves. Faith not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. The scripture says it's given
unto you to believe. It's given unto you to believe.
Abraham was a miracle of God's grace. That's right. The gift
of faith comes from God. Every good gift and perfect gift
cometh from above. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from above. Who made Abraham to differ? The
same one who makes every man to differ. Who maketh thee to
differ? What dost thou have that thou didst not receive? It's
God that worketh in you both the will and the do of His good
pleasure. Salvation's a work of God. Salvation's
of the Lord. And this faith is the gift of
God. It's a miraculous gift of God.
It's a wonderful gift of God. He's the source of faith. Faith
is not the product of the human heart. Faith doesn't grow in
the soil of human depravity. It comes from heaven. It's a
gift of God. Secondly, faith is a living principle. A living principle. It's the
single motive for all that a believer does. Faith is the single motive
for all that a believer does. The just shall live by faith. By faith. He has hope because
he believes. And he believes God, and therefore
everything he does is motivated because everything Abraham did,
he did because he believed God. He believed God. He believed
God. It's a living principle. It's not just a dead, isolated
act, one soul's single act. Faith is not an isolated act.
Men believe, they are believing, and they shall believe. It's
a living principle. And then faith is not only a
living principle, but it's a producing principle. That's right, it's
a producing principle. It's not dormant, it's not dead,
but it actually produces that which glorifies God. True faith
does. James says, your faith without
works is dead. A man says, I believe in God,
and yet he doesn't love God. He doesn't love the commandments
of God. He doesn't love the Word of God. He doesn't love the people
of God. He doesn't love the house of God. He doesn't love the fellowship
of God. He's a liar, and the truth's
not in him. Because this faith, this gift
of God, this living principle is a producing principle. And
it produces the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, kindness,
meekness, gentleness, and all these things that are glorifying
to God. It's a producing principle. That's exactly right. Show me
your faith without your works. Can't be done. I show you my
faith by my works. It's Christ that justifies the
soul. It's works that justifies our
faith. And then faith is a persevering
principle. It's of a persevering nature.
It never quits. It continues until it gives way
to reality. Faith continues until it gives
way to reality. Hebrews 3 says, we are of the
house of Christ if we hold fast our confidence steadfast to the
end. And we're redeemed by the blood
of Christ if we continue in faith. You see, all these Old Testament
believers died in faith. Paul said, the time of my departure
is at hand. I've kept the faith. I've kept
the faith. I've finished my course. Henceforth
there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me in that day. And not me only,
but all them that love his appearing. So I tell you, this thing of
faith, it does more than walk an hour. It does more than accept
Jesus as personal Savior. Anybody does that, anybody that's
a fool, it doesn't do that. If all the things they say are
so, just walk the aisle and go to heaven when you die, accept
Jesus as your personal Savior, and live in a mansion in a suite
by and by, man, be a fool not to take a preacher up on that.
But this thing of living faith has to do with God. It has to
do with the heart. It has to do with the attitude
and conduct of a believer. It has to do with a living union.
It has to do with a persevering, producing principle in the heart. And it does more, faith does
more than just act religious on Sunday. It does more than
set aside ten percent for religious purposes. It does more than quit
a few bad habits. Saving faith believes God. It believes God in the sunshine
and the rain. It believes God in success or
failure. It believes God in youth or old
age. It believes God in sickness or
health. It believes God in life or death.
But saving faith believes God. Like Job said, the Lord gave
and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
It's like old Eli said, it's the Lord, let him do what he
will. It's like Paul said, the Lord worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will. Praise ye the Lord. It believes
God. And faith loves the Lord God.
Loves Him. Loves Him with a genuine heart.
Their faith walks with God. Faith glorifies God. Faith trusts
God. Faith worships and praises God. And faith dies believing God. The hymn writer put it this way,
O for a faith that will not shrink, though pressed by many a foe,
that will not tremble on the brink of any earthly woe, a faith
that will not murmur or complain beneath God's chastening rod,
but in the hour of grief and pain that faith will lean upon
God. Lord, give me such a faith as
this. And then whatever may come, I'll
taste even now the happy bliss of thy eternal home. In closing
this message, I want to give you five brief facts about Abraham's
faith. Now, I've tried to show you from
the Word of God that Abraham is the example of faith. Abraham,
our example of faith. And this faith, this faith is
not a play pretty. This faith is not just a religious
idol. This is a living principle. This
is a producing principle. This is a persevering principle.
This is a heart attitude and heart relationship in union with
a living God. Come what may, I believe God. I believe God. Now, Abraham had
that faith. He believed God and it was accounted
to him for righteousness. Now, how do we know that Abraham
believed God? How did Abraham know that he
believed God? Huh? How did Abraham know he
believed God? How do you know he believed God?
Well, his faith was revealed by trial. That's right, by trial. Trials don't produce faith. Trials
reveal faith. And in the many trials of Abraham,
we see his faith loud and clear. Now let me give you just five
of them briefly. Number one, Abraham's faith separated him
from unbelievers. That's right. In Genesis 12-1,
now the Lord God said to Abraham, Get thee out of thy country,
from thy kindred, from thy father's house, to a land I'll show thee,
so Abraham departed." Now, Abraham's father and all his kinfolks and
all the people of his tribe were idolaters. That's right, they
weren't worshipping God. Not down in Ur of the Chaldees,
they were idolaters. You read that in the Scripture.
They worshipped false gods. And God came to Abraham and said,
you've got to separate yourself from these idolaters and these
unbelievers and go to a land I'll show thee. So Abraham left. Abraham left. Abraham could find
no fellowship and no peace among people who did not worship the
living God. Now let me show you something.
When a man or a woman today comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ,
if he comes to true faith in the true Christ, and his heart
and life is changed by the grace of God, he's going to experience
some division and problems with his former associates and with
his family and with his relatives who do not believe. Now, I'll
show you that in Matthew 10, verse 32. Our Lord said, Whosoever
shall confess Me before men, him will I confess before My
Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before
men, him will I deny before My Father. Think not that I am come
to send peace on this earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. For I am come to set a man at
odds with his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemy shall be they of
his own household, but he that loveth kindred, father, mother,
brother, sister, husband, wife, more than me, he is not worthy
of me. True faith will stand against
any opposition. Come apart, be ye separate. What
fellowship does darkness have with light? What communion does
Baal have with Almighty God? And what will happen if you come
to true saving faith in a true living Christ and believe the
principles of the Word? You're going to have some trouble,
some division, some opposition. And what you have to do is leave
it and depart from it, just like Abraham did. He was 75 years
old nearly. He lived there all his life.
I can't leave my friends and family. I've got to stay here.
Faith believes God and takes sides with God against anyone.
Secondly, Abraham's faith delivered him from selfishness. In Genesis
13, if you'll read it, Abraham's nephew Lot was with him, and
God blessed them both. They became very rich, had a
lot of cattle and oxen, sheep and goats and all these animals.
And after a while, they both got so prosperous that their
service began to have conflict. And Abraham said, now we're brothers,
let's not have conflict. And he stood one day and he told
Lot, he said, now Lot, you pick out any land you want. I don't
care where it is. You pick it out and you can have
it. You can have it. You go that way and I'll go whatever
way opposite from where you choose. Now Abraham could have pulled
rank on Lot. He could have said, now son,
I'm the oldest, and I'm your elder, and I'm the leader of
this outfit, so I'll just take the preferred land and give you
what's left. The faith of God had delivered
Abraham from selfishness and greed. And that old man could
stand there and tell Lot, pick out any land you want, and I'll
take what's left. And of course, Lot did what most
of us would have done. He took the well-watered plains. He took the bottom 40 and left
Abraham the mountains. But Abraham, in giving Lot his
choice, fulfilled the purpose of God for himself. And yet he
showed his faith in God to supply his needs. True faith does not
seek her own. True faith depends on God. Another
illustration of this, when he looked to God to supply his needs,
Lot and the kings of Sodom were captured and taken off by wicked
kings. And Abraham took 318 men and
rescued them and were bringing them back. And the kings of Sodom
said to Abraham, they said, now Abraham, You take all the gold
and silver and all the jewels and all the precious stones and
all these other things, you take it, we'll just take the people.
Listen to Abraham. Abraham looked at that old wicked
king and he said, you listen to me. I've lifted my hand to
the Lord, the Most High God, the Possessor, the Owner of heaven
and earth. I've looked to God. I will not
take anything from you, lest you say I've made Abraham rich.
If Abraham's rich, God will make him rich. That's faith. That's
faith. True faith looks to God for salvation. True faith looks to God for help.
True faith looks to God for every need. True faith looks to God
for protection. True faith believes this verse
of Scripture, Philippians 4, 19. But my God shall supply all
your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Our
God cares how you acquire your possessions. He cares how you
get them. And our God cares how you look
upon those possessions. The love of money is the root
of evil. And our God cares how you use your possessions. But
faith looks squarely at all these material things. Abraham, they
had piled out there in front of him the wealth of Sodom, the
wealth of that world. And they said, Abraham, take
it. He said, I don't want it. I don't want it. I've lifted
my hand to God, and it's an empty hand, and God will fill it, and
I'm trusting Him." Are you trusting God? That's faith. It waits on
the Lord. And then I'll tell you another
thing. His faith was willing to part with his works and look
to grace alone. One of the hardest trials he
had is when God came to him and said, put Ishmael out. Now, you
know Hagar was the bondwoman who represents the law, and Ishmael
is the bondwoman's son who represents our fleshly works. Abraham's
one brought that fella into the world Contrary to God's commandment
and God said he's got to go and when he's 14 years old Abraham
took him put a bottle of water on his mother's shoulder and
kissed him goodbye because Isaac represents grace and Ishmael
represents works and Abraham knew that grace and works can't
thrive and exist together So works has to go and with all
the pain it caused him He put Ishmael out and kept Isaac alone
the son of the promise the son of grace, the son of God's sovereign
power, to be his heir. And then last of all, his faith
yielded to God the most prized possession, his son. God came
to him and said, Abraham, take that son, thine only son, whom
thou lovest, to Mount Moriah, and sacrifice him as a burnt
offering to me. And Abraham departed. He didn't
question, didn't argue against God. He believed God. He believed
God. God said that his seed would
be through Isaac, and Isaac would be his heir, and he believed
God. And he knew that if he killed him, God would raise Isaac from
the dead. But he withheld not his only son, and God said, I
know now that you love me because you have not withheld from me
your only son. If you love God, your prized
possession will not be withheld from him, because he loved you
and didn't withhold his prized possession, his only begotten
son. As I said at the beginning of
the program, this message, Abraham, Our Example of Faith, and the
message, Jesus Christ, Our Eternal Savior, is on one tape, two sermons
on one tape. Send two dollars, we'll mail
it to you by return mail. Until next week, may the Lord
bless you, everyone.