You, first of all, to open your
Bibles to the book of Genesis, chapter 15. Now, there's a lot
of religion in this world. We have an abundance of religion.
There's religion everywhere. Where you find man, you find
religion. And not only religion, but there's
a lot of talk about faith. There's a lot of talk about faith. Believing, believing, if you
can just believe, have faith, keep the faith. But I'm interested
in true saving faith. I don't want to miss faith in
Christ. I know without faith it's impossible
to please God. I know he that cometh to God
must, must, must believe. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
I don't want to miss saving faith. I don't want you to miss faith.
It's not just having religion. It's not just believing in God.
The devil believes in God and trembles. It's not just having
a faith. It's having saving faith. Saving
faith. Now, usually when a person preaches
about faith, when I was preparing the message for this morning
and talking to the Lord about a message on faith, usually when
you preach on faith, you turn to Abraham. Because in Genesis
15, 6, the first time the word believe is used in the Bible,
the first time that it's used in the Bible, believe. It's used
in reference to Abraham. It's talking about Abraham. It
says here in Genesis 15, 6, he believed in the Lord and he counted
it to him. God charged it to him, reckoned
it to his account. God reckoned to him righteousness. He believed God. He believed
God. Several times in the Scripture
it says Abraham believed God. Now turn with me to Romans 4.
And here's the reason why I selected Abraham as our example today
of this thing called faith. The law of first mention, the
first time in the Bible that the word believe is mentioned,
it refers to Abraham. That's the law of first mention.
Find out how a word is used when it's first used, and you'll get
a clue concerning that word all the way through the Bible. And
it talks about Abraham believed God. He believed God. Listen
to Romans 4, verse 11, and often we read in the Bible, Abraham
believed God. Here in Romans 4, verse 11, and
he received the sign of circumcision, Abraham is talking about, a seal
of the righteousness of the faith which he had being yet uncircumcised. Now watch this, "...that he might
be the father of all them that believe." That's talking about
Jew and Gentile, everybody who believes. Abraham is the father
of them that believe. He's the pattern. He's the father. Look at verse 12, "...and the
father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision
only." Watch this now, "...but who also walk in the steps of
that faith, who walk in the steps of that faith, that saving faith,
that faith of our Father Abraham. Now, you see why I chose Abraham?
Well, we're going to talk about the trial of faith and the response
of faith and the presence of faith and the reality of faith.
We just nearly have to go back to Abraham. Abraham believed
God. Abraham is called the father
of all who believe, Jew or Gentile. And we're exhorted to walk in
the steps of the faith of Abraham. Walk in the steps of the faith
of our father Abraham. But I do know this. I do know
this. This faith of Abraham is a lot
deeper than learning doctrines. Now turn to Titus chapter 2.
Now brethren, you know how strongly I believe in what we call the
doctrines of grace. We're beginning this week our
30th annual Sovereign Grace Bible Conference. Twenty-nine years
ago, in 1954, I was reading Volume of Spurgeon's MTP, 1861 edition. And I saw where he opened the
tabernacle, the Metropolitan Tabernacle, with what they called
a Sovereign Grace Bible Conference. And he had five speakers, and
the one on Monday night spoke on total depravity, Tuesday night
on unconditional election, Wednesday night on particular redemption,
and so on. I read that, all about that Sovereign Grace Bible Conference,
and I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if in this country
we could have a Sovereign Grace Bible Conference. So I got in
touch with Brother Herringbean up in Swingle, Pennsylvania,
Bible Truth Depot, and I told him what I had in mind. We had
met and been friends two or three years. Well, he said, it's great.
I'll send you my mailing list. the addresses of every sovereign
grace believer in the United States who has read Arthur W.
Pink. He said, I'll send it to you. And so that year we had
17 states represented. We had five speakers and we had
a great time talking about the sovereign grace of God, talking
about the doctrines of grace. I love the doctrines of grace.
I love sound doctrine. Sound doctrine is like the skeleton
of the body. You've got to have a good solid
skeleton or the body's going to be like jelly or jam just
running out like honey all over the floor. You've got to have
something substantial, a foundation. That's our doctrine. And Paul
said here in the book of Titus, chapter 2, verse 1, he exhorts
young creatures. He said, Speak thou the things
which become sound doctrine. I hear people say, Well, I don't
want to hear doctrine. I want to hear about Jesus. You
can't have Christ without his teaching. You can't have the
teacher without his teachings. You can't have Christ without
his commandments. You can't have Christ without
his truth. He is the truth. And so I'm not belittling sound
doctrine. Please understand that. A man
cannot trust an unrevealed Christ. He cannot believe the person
whom he does not know. You've got to know Christ to
believe him. But I'm saying that this faith of Abraham was deeper
than just learning doctrine. A man can have doctrine and not
have Christ. A man can't have Christ and not
have doctrine. You don't arrive at Christ through
doctrine, you arrive at doctrine through Christ. We've got this
thing backwards. We're going to teach men the gospel. The
gospel is revealed, it's not taught. It's revealed by the
Holy Spirit. Oh, and I know this, that faith
of Abraham is deeper than learning doctrine. That faith of Abraham,
I know this, is of a higher nature. a much higher nature than just
personal righteousness and personal morality. The Pharisee stood
in the temple and prayed thus with himself, God I thank you
I'm not like other men. I thank thee God that I fast
twice a week and tithe and give my alms to the poor. And I'm
not an extortioner, I'm not unjust, I'm not an adulterer, I'm not
even as that publican. This man had personal morality
and personal righteousness, but no faith. He had no faith. You
can have righteousness approved of men. You can have righteousness
that appeals to men. But that righteousness which
is accepted by God only comes by faith, and that's in Christ.
So this faith I'm talking about is deeper than learning doctrine. It's of a higher nature than
personal morality. And it's richer than lip service.
Our Lord said, you call me Lord with your lips. You sing, oh,
how I love Jesus. You know, everybody in here was
singing that song a moment ago, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. There's something about that
name. Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the
rain. Now, saying that's one thing, Walter, and embracing
that and meaning that And loving that is a white horse of another
color, Rock used to say. It's a white horse of another
color. And this lip service is not it.
I'm not talking about lip service. I'm talking about a heart faith
and a heart experience and a heart unity and a heart affection and
a heart relationship with a person. Not with a doctrine, not with
a law, but with a person. And it's not just saying it.
It's not saying it. You'd be better off if you didn't
say it, if it's not something you've experienced. And if you've
experienced it, you don't have to go around talking about it
all the time. I worry about folks that always saying, praise the
Lord. I love people who praise the Lord. But everybody running
around, well, hallelujah, well, hallelujah, well, praise the
Lord. There's something wrong with a fella that's got to always
remind himself that he knows God. and try to remind everybody
else that he knows God. There's a superpower about it.
There's a holier-than-thou. This thing I'm talking about,
this heart experience, if you love somebody, you don't just
have to keep saying it. You show it. You demonstrate
it. They know it. You know it. They know it. And
that's what I'm talking about. And this faith, this faith is
greater than all the endless activities and ceremonies and
rituals and programs of religion. I think sometimes the less activities
you can have in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the better
off you are. Somebody said, well, let's organize
a ball team. Let's organize a missionary society. Let's organize something. Generally,
when you organize, you organize the Holy Spirit right out. Let's
organize the churches. Let's get together so we can
do things together. I'll tell you this, all these
activities and ceremonies and rituals and programs generally,
and I don't mean to be harsh, but generally it's a substitute
for the presence of God and for the power of the Holy Spirit.
And that's not what we're talking about. I'm saying this, this
faith of Abraham, this faith I covet, this faith I call upon
God to grant. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. This faith I covet for you, this
faith of Abraham that saves the soul, this faith that brings
about a living, intimate, personal union with the Lord Jesus Christ,
my friends, this faith is the gift of God. Now let me show
you that in Ephesians chapter 2. This faith is the gift of
God. It's not something that the preacher can bring to pass
by proving that there is a God, and proving the Bible is the
Word of God, and proving this scripture means this, and through
his arguments and persuasion, bring you to some decision, this
faith is the gift of God. The gift of God. That holy thing
conceived in Mary's womb, without the aid of a human being, without
the aid of Mary, it appeared one day. One day she was without
that life, and one day that life was there. One day she was without
that Son, and the next day He was there. And it was by the
power of the Spirit of God. And that life was not there,
and that life was there, and that life was there because God
put it there. And I'm saying that this faith
and life of Christ and understanding of the Word is the gift of God
just as much as that unspeakable gift Jesus Christ, the incarnate
Son of God, conceived in the womb of Mary. You say that's
hardshellism, fatalism, all the other isms, whatever you want
to call it, call it. But faith's the gift of God.
Without the aid of a person himself and without the aid of any other
person. And without the persuasion and
logic of men, it's the gift of God, Ephesians 2, verse 8. For by grace, and brother, grace
is grace without any mixture of works. You can't have 98%
grace and 2% work. It's either all of grace or all
of works. And it's by grace you're saved
or you have been saved through faith. Through faith, not apart
from faith, not without faith. Through faith. is the gift of
God, not of works, lest any man should take it upon himself to
brag or to boast. Faith is the gift of God. It
is given unto you, not only to believe on him, not only to believe
on him, it's given unto you to believe on him, but not only
to believe on him, but to suffer for his sake. That also is the
gift of God. Alright? This faith of Abraham
is the gift of God. Now watch this. It's the fountainhead
of all hope. It's the fountainhead of all
hope. The Scripture says four times, the just shall live. Shall
live. He begins to live by faith. His
life is consummated in faith. But he shall live, day by day,
by faith. He shall live. He shall exist.
Without faith, he can't exist. Without faith, he doesn't exist
before God. And without faith, he can't exist.
He lives by faith. He thrives on faith. He grows
on faith. Faith is the very sustenance
of his life. It's faith. The blood that streams
through the veins in this body keep it alive. And I'll tell
you this, without faith, a man's dead. The just shall live, shall
live. He said, Peter, Satan can desire
you, and Satan can sift you, and Satan can use you, and Satan
can do all these things, and you're not gone, but I plead
for you that your what? That your faith fail not. If
that fails, you're gone. If that fails, it's the fountainhead
of all hope. And then this faith, watch it
now, this faith is a producing principle. I know this. I know
this. I know this faith of Abraham.
It's deeper than just learning doctrine. You can be a doctrinalist
and be a devil. It's higher than this personal
piety and personal morality and righteousness that brags about
my goodness. It's richer than this lip service.
A lot of people can talk about Christ a whole lot more fluently
than those who really love Him, those who don't even know Him.
They have natural gifts. But this faith is the gift of
God. It's the fountainhead of hope. It's a producing principle. James says, faith without works
is dead. It produces works. Our works
are works of faith. Our works are His works of faith. And then faith not only is a
producing principle. Turn to Hebrews 3. Hebrews chapter
3. I'm just telling you some things
that I know about this faith. I do know these things are true.
In Hebrews chapter 3, I know that faith is the gift of God.
I know, secondly, that faith is the fountainhead of all hope.
I know that faith is a producing principle. If any man be in Christ,
he is, not he ought to be, he is, not he should be, he is a
new creature. New in attitude, spirit, conduct,
conversation, he's a new creature. But also this faith of Abraham
is a persevering principle. A persevering principle. In Hebrews
chapter 3 verse 6, Christ as a son over his own house, whose
house are we, if, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing
of the hope firm unto the end. Look at verse 14, we are made
partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end. Turn to Colossians chapter 1.
Listen to this. It's a persevering principle,
this living faith. I'll tell you this. Saving faith
does a whole lot more than just walk the aisle and accept Jesus
as personal Savior. It does a whole lot more. Saving
faith does a whole lot more than just give God one day out of
supper. to observe in a Christian Sabbath
and act pious. It's an everyday God's day. Every dime is God's dime. Saving
faith does a whole lot more than set aside 10% of my possessions
for mission work. Somebody said 10% is the Lord.
You got that wrong. 100% is the Lord. Saving faith
does a whole lot more than quit a few outward habits while I
breathe inward rebellion and hate in my heart. Saving faith
believes God. Saving faith keeps on believing
God. In Colossians 1, listen to this,
Colossians 1 verse 21, And you that were one time alienated,
enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death, to present you to the
Father, holy, unblameable, unreprovable in God's sight, if you continue
in the faith. I'm not embarrassed at all to
say this. I'm not bashful at all to say
it. John said it clearer than I could ever say it. He said
they went out from us. They went out from us. And a
lot of folks do. I've been in the ministry a long
time, been a pastor a long time. I've seen people come and go.
John said they went out from us. They went out from us because
they never were of us. Boy, that's plain, isn't it?
They never were of it. I'm not talking about people
leaving us particularly. I can't pastor the whole tri-state
or the whole world. I'm not talking about folks leaving
a local group. I'm talking about folks leaving
the gospel. Leaving Christ. That's what we're talking about.
Leaving the gospel. A man leave the gospel to go
and hear another gospel. A man leave the gospel to go
and hear an Armenian gospel. A man leave the gospel to sit
at home and watch some fool on television. A man leave the gospel
and just sit at home and do nothing and not worship God to be identified
with the people of God. A man who's not identified with
the people of God doesn't know God. They went out from us, he
said, they never were of us. They never did belong to Christ.
For if they had been of us, no doubt, not a doubt in my mind,
he said. Christ said, my sheep, hear my
voice, they follow me, I give them life and they'll never perish,
no doubt about it, they'll never perish. No man can pluck them
out of my hand, no doubt about it. No man can pluck them out
of my Father's hand, no doubt about it. They would no doubt,
John said, no doubt, he said, have continued with me. I know
that. I know this faith. Turn to John
1 now. You're still John chapter 1.
Let me show you something here in John chapter 1. I'm saying
that this saving faith, I'm interested in this faith of Abraham. Genesis
15, 6, the first time God Almighty mentioned believe in the Bible,
He said, Abraham, believe Me. Abraham, believe Me. And it was
counted to him, charged to him, written to him for righteousness,
holiness. perfect, immutable, infinite
holiness. He had it. I want it. I want
it. And then I'm exhorted here to
walk in the steps of this man Abraham. I'm told in the Scripture
he's the father of everybody that believes. But I know, I
know this faith of Abraham is not a temporary thing. Abraham
believed God. He kept on believing God. He
died believing God. In John chapter 1, I brought
this message on television. It will be broadcast next Sunday
morning. But there are three marks here of a believer. There are three characteristics
of a son of God. We're talking about sons of God
now. Sons of God. Everybody is not a son of God.
It says in verse 10 of John 1, He, Christ, came into this world.
He came from heaven into this world. And this world was made
by Christ, but this world didn't know Him. This world, the heathen,
the pagan, they did not know Christ. If they had known Him,
they never would have crucified the Lord of Glory, but they didn't
know Him. They didn't recognize Him. And he came to his own.
What's that? That's the Jewish nation. He
came to the Jews, to the tabernacles, to the tithes, to the ceremonies,
to the very things that portrayed him, that pictured him, that
typified him, to the people who were supposed to know him, to
the prophecies, promises, and pictures in their scriptures.
And they wouldn't receive him. They said, we will not have this
man reign over us. We have no king but Caesar, crucifying. And in this darkness, and in
this death, and in this rejection, there's a but, verse 12, but
among Jew and Gentile, as many as received him. There's the
first mark. To them gave he the right, the
privilege to become sons of God. Secondly, even to them that what? Believed. That believed. on His name. These people receive
Him, they believe on Him, verse 13, and these folks that receive
Him and believe on Him, they weren't born of blood, that is,
they're not Christian because their mama and daddy's were.
We bring our little babies down the aisle dressed in the white
satin and silk and a godfather and a godmother on each side
and sprinkle water in their face and say, you're in the covenant
because your daddy was or your mama was. If your mama is and
your daddy's not, you're half a covenant. We're not born of
the flesh, we're not born of blood, we're not born of family
inheritance. That's not the reason a man's
saved. He's born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh,
not of the will of man. These people are born of God.
Now it says they received Christ. Now you watch this. I'm saying
that this faith that is being preached today and conned off
on people, And folks have gotten a hold of it and built a false
refuge and a foundation and a refuge of lies and a false foundation.
I'm saying it's not saving faith. Because saving faith is a whole
lot more than those things. A whole lot more. It says they
received Christ. Received Him. Now listen to me.
You receive the whole Christ. You can't receive a half of Christ
or a third of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ in the
Scripture is declared to be prophet, priest, and king. And you cannot
have Christ as your priest if Christ is not your king. You
see, as prophet, Jesus Christ reveals the Father. He said,
he that has seen me has seen my Father. Moses talked about
that prophet that should come. And you'll hear him. God said,
hear him. This is my son. Hear him. And the believer bows
to the word of Christ. The believer bows to the revelation
of Christ. The believer never puts a question
mark on the word of Christ. He receives Christ as his prophet.
He receives the words of Christ. He receives Christ as his priest. He's our great high priest after
the order of Melchizedek. He's not only the priest, he's
the sin offering, he's the mercy seat, he's the altar, he's the
one to whom the offering is presented. He's all things. And not only
is He our priest, He's our King, He's Lord. He died that He might
be Lord of the dead and the living. He's sovereign, supreme, eternal
Lord of His people. And they receive the whole Christ.
And they believe on Him. They believe on, not trying Christ,
not experimenting with Christ, they believe on Him. They believe
on Him. And they're born of God. by the
power of God. Saving faith receives Christ. Saving faith believes Christ.
Saving faith loves Christ. Peter said, you know all things,
you know I love you. Saving faith walks with God as
Enoch. Saving faith serves God, here
am I, send me. Saving faith glorifies God, it's
the Lord, let him do what he will. The Lord giveth, the Lord
hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. And saving
faith dies believing God. Turn to 2 Timothy 4 and listen
to some of the last words of the Apostle Paul. They tell me
this was the last epistle written from prison. Some of the last
words of the Apostle Paul. Saving faith dies believing God. These all died in faith. Paul
said in 2 Timothy 4 verse 6, I am now ready, I am now ready
to be offered, offered up. Offered up as a martyr, the time
of my departure is at hand. I'm leaving here. But I have
fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I've
kept the faith. I've kept the faith. Now, brethren,
I know this. I'm just confident of it. If
you're here this morning, somebody says, and you're saved, and you
know it, and you don't doubt it, and you're sure for heaven
as if you're already there, raise your hand. I just don't want
anything to do with that type of presumption, showmanship,
psychology. But I'm telling you this, I do
want something to do with this saving faith, this faith that
believes God with the heart, this faith that believes God,
this faith that loves God. Though He slaved me, I'll trust
Him. This faith that walks with God, not just on Sunday, not
just when somebody's around, not just to put on a show, not
just praise when somebody's hearing me pray, or bow my head in the
restaurant because I'm expected to, to show I'm a religious person
or a Christian. I'm talking about living, loving
faith. And that faith, it continues
through life. And that faith, it glorifies
God not only when the sun's shining, but when the clouds of the head
is. Not only when the road is smooth and velvet, but when the
road is so rocky and dark and foggy that you can't even see
a foot in front of your face. But the Lord will provide. That
faith that dies believing. Not that faith that gets old
and sits around and talks about, I used to preach, I used to witness,
I used to give, I used to be a Sunday school teacher. That
faith that says, I finished my course in the faith. The songwriter says, O for a
faith, 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, joy, or pain will lean totally
on my God, Lord give me such a faith as this, and then whatever
may come, I'll taste even now, even now that happy bliss of
my eternal home. I want a faith that doesn't just
talk about God, but that loves God. I want a faith that doesn't just
claim to believe something, but blessed God does believe it.
Huh? And that's what Abraham had.
And that's the reason we're exhorted to look at him and listen to
him and walk in the steps. And walk in the steps of Abraham. Now, let's turn to Genesis for
just a few moments. And I want to show you four or
five things. And then I'll quit. Genesis 12. Now brethren, there's
no doubt in my mind that Abraham was saved. He had faith, the
faith that God blesses, the faith that God honors. He was not a
tin can or a dead log. He wasn't a block of wood or
a piece of stone. He was an accountable, responsible man. Now God decreed
what he would do for Abraham. God purposed it, God planned
it, God predestinated it. It's all of God. Abraham couldn't
take any credit for anything that he was, anything that he
knew, anything that he had, or anything that he had in his future.
It's a gift of God. But Abraham was accountable and
responsible, and he must and did believe God. His faith must
be tried, as all faith must be tried, and all faith must be
proved. And God put Abraham through several
trials. Somebody said there were seven,
eight, or nine of them. I don't know, but I picked out five here
that I think are applicable to us right here this morning, this
preacher and to all of you. In Genesis 12, the first thing
is this, verse 1 through 4. Now, listen to this. Now, the
Lord said unto Abraham. Now, Abraham's call was a sovereign
call. Abraham was an idolater. I'm
not going to go back and read all this, but if you want to
write down the Scripture, it's Joshua 24, 2 and 3. Abraham's
daddy was an unbeliever, an idolater. Abraham's mama and all his kinfolks,
all his kinfolks, like most of your kinfolks, they're religious. Abraham's folks were religious.
They weren't worshiping the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. They
weren't worshipping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They
weren't worshipping the Supreme, the Eternal Creator of all things
and the Preserver and Provider of all things. They weren't worshipping
the only true and living God. They were worshipping idols,
like most of our kinfolks. They called themselves Catholic
and Presbyterian and Baptist and Camelites and everything,
but they were worshipping a false god. And Abraham was in a religious
home, but he wasn't saved. He was in a religious home, but
he didn't know God. And God sovereignly, personally
came to Abraham and said to him, listen, verse 1, Now the Lord
said to Abraham, Get out! Get out of your country, and
from your unbelieving kindred, and from your father's house
unto the land I shall show you. And I'll make you a great nation,
and I'll bless you. And I'll make your name great,
and you'll be a blessing. And I'll bless them that bless
you, and I'll curse them that curse you. And in you shall all
the families of the earth be blessed." And Abraham said, Well,
Lord, you can't expect me to leave my daddy, can you? You
can't expect me, Lord, to turn on my kinfolk. He can't expect
me. I've got to live in this world.
I believe in living and letting live." And also Abraham lived. It says, so, watch it, so Abraham
departed. Now brethren, I'm telling you
this. I wasn't born yesterday. I'm not a novice. I know that
the world and all your religious kinfolks, your mama and your
daddy and your brothers and sisters and your aunts and uncles and
all these other folks are religious. They're religious. I just came
from my hometown where I preached a meeting, and all of my friends
that graduate from high school, they're all religious. I love
them. I love them. Because you don't believe like
a fellow believes doesn't mean you hate him. I love them, appreciate
them, but they're religious. They're religious. All you kin
folks are religious. But you don't know the living
God. And when you come to know Christ, let me tell you this,
if you come to know the living Christ, If you come to worship
the true and living God, if you come to see a God of purpose,
and a God of promise, and a God of providence, if you come to
see a God who does all that he does on purpose according to
the good pleasure of his own will, a God who's not sitting
back waiting to see what man will do, but enabling man to
do what he does, When you come to know that God and love that
God and believe that God and praise that God and bow to a
sufficient, effectual Redeemer who didn't come down here and
try to save anybody, who came down here to save them. who came
down here not to put a down payment on our salvation so we can finish
it up through faith and good works, but who came and finished
it. Alpha to omega, beginning to end, and all in between is
of Christ. When you come to believe that
Christ and love that Christ, you're going to have trouble
out of your kin, folks. Now, you can just write it down.
Turn to Matthew chapter 10. Our Lord said that. Matthew chapter
10. Now, listen to me. I'm telling
you. Religious faith does not have
any problems. You see, 10,000 eras can walk
down the street together and not have any disunity. 10,000
eras can walk down the street together and have no conflict.
But you put truth in the midst of them, they'll all turn on
that truth, always. There's a division because of
him. In Matthew 10, verse 32, listen to it, "...whosoever therefore
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before
my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me,"
me, not his denomination, but me, "...before men, him will
I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Now don't
you think that I've come to bring peace on this earth, not peace
between men. I came to bring peace between
God and men. between God and the elect, between
God and my believers, my sheep. But I didn't come to bring peace
between men. I didn't come to send peace,
but a sword. I've come to set a man at variance against his
father. Now, what is the variance here? Not because they believe in different
political parties. I tell you, Republicans and Democrats
can walk side by side. They ought to. There's not too
much difference in it, is there? And I'll tell you this, whites
and blacks ought to walk side by side, and all these different
things, but truth can't walk with error, and grace can't mix
with works. It cannot be done. And that's
what he's talking about. I've come to say, listen, a daughter
against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and
a man's enemies shall be they of his own household because
of me, Christ said, because of me. because of the true character
of Christ, because of the true faith in Christ. But he that
loves his father, mother more than me is not worthy of me.
And he that can't kiss a son or daughter goodbye is not worthy
of me. And he that won't take up his
cross, the symbol of death and submission and committal and
follow after me is not worthy of me. And he that findeth his
life will lose it." You save your relationships and save your
jobs and save your connections and save your influential connections
and save your friends at the expense of the gospel, you lose
your soul. That's what he's saying. Well,
I got to get along. I'm in business. Not at the expense
of the gospel. Well, I got to get along with
my kinfolks. I can't offend them. At the expense of Christ? But
he that loses his life, he that submerges his life in Christ,
he that's willing to burn his body to the marks of Christ,
he who's willing to stand up. Had a preacher say not long ago,
well, I believe those doctrines of grace, but I can't preach
it. I'd lose my chance. Brother, it would be better to
go out and put on an old engineer's hat and a pair of coveralls and
some old broken boots and get you a pick and shovel and dig
a ditch the rest of your life and meet God in glory than to
stand in a pulpit on Sunday morning and compromise the honor of God
Almighty. I called a man in Cincinnati
recently, a man who's head of an advertising agency who handles
television, radio contracts, and we were talking, and I said,
what about that pastor over there in Covington that's supposed
to believe grace? I called his name. Oh, he said,
Henry, he doesn't believe the gospel of the grace of God. He
said, he'll talk it in the restaurant. He said, I'll go over and have
dinner with him in the restaurant. I said, my wife and I have been
going to that church. We've been going to that church a lot. And
he said, that boy, that preacher will talk in a restaurant right
down the line. But when he gets in the pulpit,
he gets locked down. He won't preach the grace of
God. I said, why? He said, they'll fire him. And
he knows it. You love your life more than
Christ. You love your friends more than Christ. You love your
job more than Christ. You love anything more than Christ.
You don't have Abraham's faith. God said, get out! And Abraham
left. Let me tell you something. And
bless your heart, that wasn't easy. You know how old that old
man was when he left home? Seventy-five years old. Time
to sit down and fish, wasn't it? He had to hug his mama and
say bye, and his daddy and say bye, and all his friends and
leave him. Where are you going? Going with
God. Ain't no other place to go, Richard. That's what the
disciples said. Our Lord said, will you go away?
And they said, to whom? I'd like you to answer that,
to whom? Everybody else is dying, rotten. To whom shall I go? Thou hast the words of life.
And evidently, now here's what I'm saying, faith is pride. And
this is the way it responds. Whatever it costs me, whoever
it costs me, I'm departing. Are you? That's faith. All right.
Secondly, turn to Genesis 13. Genesis chapter 13. Now listen
to this. Genesis 12, God said, get out
of your father's house. Get out of your father's house.
What communion does light have with darkness? Veil with God. It just won't, water and oil
won't mix, grace and works won't mix. Get out. And then it says
here in Genesis 13, now watch this. Verse 6, and Abraham was
wealthy. Abraham and a lot. And the land
was not able to bear both of them. They were out there roaming
around, dwelling in tents, living where they could, that they might
dwell together. The substance was great, so they
could not dwell together. And there was an argument between
the herdmen of Abraham's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle.
And the Canaanites and the Perezites dwelt there in the land. And
Abraham said, Lot, let's don't have any strife. Now, listen to faith talk here.
Faith leaves home. Secondly, faith denies itself.
Faith denies self. He said, Lord, let's don't argue.
Let's have no argument between me and you, between my herdmen
and your herdmen. We're brothers. Now, is not the
whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray from
thee. Now, here's what I'm going to tell you, Lord. I'm the oldest,
and I'm the one God called, and I'm the one that stood by the
truth. And you just came along with me. And you're really blessed
because I'm blessed. And so I tell you what I'm going
to do. I'm going to take this bottom, this bottom land here,
this well-watered, this plain, and I'm going to take this 175
acres, and Lot, you're a young man, and you stay with it, son,
and you'll make it someday. You go to the hillside. There's
some good shade up there and some good timber to build. Now,
listen to this old man. Lot, tell you what. If you take
the left hand, I'll give you a choice, I'll go the right.
Now if you go the right, I'll go the left." Somebody said one
time, in giving life his way, his choice, Abraham fulfilled
for himself God's will. Submit. Love, faith, submits. It submits to one another. That's
the reason I say you won't find A woman of faith who's a rebel
against her husband. No, sir. You won't find a man
of faith who does not love his wife and children. You won't
find, if you go out here on the job, the best workman you have,
the man who does his job, the man who has the company at heart,
the man who does not loaf, who puts in his eight hours, who
works as if the company belonged to him. That's a man of faith.
That loafer sitting over there, he's an unbeliever. I don't care
where he's a deacon. It doesn't matter. You find that boss that
knows he's got a master in heaven, he treats his people like he
wants to be treated, he treats his employees like he wants the
master to treat him, you've got a saved man. You've got a boss
who is obnoxious and hateful and loves his authority and browbeats
people, you've got you an unsaved man. I don't care where he's
this underskilled teacher. Faith, deny self. Old Abraham
stood out there with that boy Lot, a young man, younger than
him. And he said, Now Lot, just whatever you want, son, take
it. Just take it. And he did. Look here. And Lot
lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan. It was
well watered. And water meant a whole lot over there. It means
a lot here. It meant more there. It was watered everywhere. That's
before the Lord destroyed that outfit. In verse 11, Lot chose
all the plain of Jordan. And he journeyed there. And old
Abraham Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan. But bless your
heart, look at verse 14. The Lord said, Abraham, after
Lot was separated from him, he said, Now, son, lift up your
eyes, and look from the place where you are, and look north,
south, east, and west. Every bit of it belongs to you.
I wish we could learn that. We don't lose by giving. We don't
lose by giving in. Let me show you something in
Philippians chapter 2. You lose when you demand your way. You
lose when you're obstinate and unmoving and unbending. You not
only lose the battle, you lose the war. Turn to Philippians
2 verse 2 through 7 and watch this. We just learned faith,
faith surrenders, submits, gives in. In doing so it finds the
will of God. Philippians 2 verse 2, fulfill
my joy. that you be like-minded, having
the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind. Let
each esteem the other just as good as I am, better than ourselves,
better. Look not every man on his own
things, every man on the things of others. That's what faith
does. Faith, I've got to hurry. True
faith waits on God. When we plan our way and strive
to fulfill it and have our way, the Lord often lets us have it,
lets us have it. Don't you think for a moment,
if Abraham hadn't stood there and he said, I'll take that right
there, that God would have let him go on running. He'd have
let him, but he was a child, he'd have let him go on right
down there. We plot our course, He'll let us walk it. You draw
your blueprints and He'll let you build it. It may fall down
around your ears, but you can build it. You'll build it. You go rabbit-chasing, He'll
let you chase it. You may get out there and get
tired and hungry and weary and broken-hearted and everything
else and have to drag back, and you'll be back. But God'll let
you go. Let Him go. All right, Genesis 14, what's
it? He'll let you go. This way I'm going to do it.
It'll be all right. Israel said, Give us a king like all the other
nations. All right. Pick your one. Did they do it? They did it. He let them have
it. had waited on him and had gotten David. Faith looks to
God. Let me just briefly tell you,
Genesis 14, Abraham took something like 318 men. The wicked kings
had come into Sodom and Gomorrah and captured the people and all
the possessions and wealth and gold and silver and everything
else and left. And Abraham found out about it
and with 318 men he pursued them and whipped He ripped them. He
got all the possessions and gold and the spoils and the goods
back and all the people. And starting back, he rescued
them. And the old king of Sodom said
to Abraham, he said in verse 21, the king of Sodom said, Abraham,
just give me the people, all the people. And you take the
goods. You take all the gold and silver and the precious stones
and all the paintings and artwork and statues and sculpture and
all that. And Abraham said, I watch it, verse 22, I lift it up. My
hand to the Lord, the Most High God, the Possessor of Heaven
and Earth. That's the way these men identified their Lord. It
wasn't somebody up there likes me. It wasn't a good Lord or
the good man upstairs. It was the Lord Most High, the
Possessor of Heaven and Earth. And I will not take not even
a thread or a shoelatchet. I'll not take anything that belongs
to you lest you say, I made Abraham rich. I don't need, you say,
what you have. God will provide. God will provide. God will provide. That's what he said when he took
Isaac up toward that mountain. He said, God will provide. Jehovah-Jireh,
God will provide. Now let me tell you something.
Three things you ought to always remember. Faith, faith, true
saving faith will dictate how you get your possessions. It
will. It'll have everything to do with
how you acquire your possessions, the way you acquire whatever
you acquire. Faith will dictate it. That's what Abraham's saying
here. He said, you know, I'm not taking this from you. I know
we started, Paul, you remember when this church first started,
we were trying to get a little money to build a building. We
went down, some businessman downtown said, well, I gave some money
to that church. Paul said, no, you didn't. No, you didn't. God
provided it through the people. God will provide. We didn't go
out begging and bumming. And you put it down. All the
brick salesmen on TV, God's not in that. He's not in that. You write that down. God will
provide. We don't need to beg and bum
from people to support God's work. If it's God's work, He'll
support it. He'll support it. Miraculously through His own.
God cares how you get your possession. The methods you use. Secondly,
faith dictates how you look on them. How you regard them. The
love of money is the root of all evil. It's not money that's
the root of all evil. It's the love of money. We need
money here to keep television on, keep the missionaries on
the field, to have this Bible conference. Whatever you do,
it takes money. You've got to pay this air conditioning, all
these things. But it's the love of money. It's
looking on it in the wrong way. It's anxious care. It's greed. It's selfishness and this sort
of thing. That's what makes money evil.
A man that doesn't have a dime can love money to the destruction
of his soul. God cares how you look on your
money, and faith will dictate how you look on your money, and
God cares how you use it. And faith will dictate how you
use it. Yes, it will. That's Abraham. Faith looked
squarely. Old Abraham stood there. His
heart wasn't in Sodom and the plains, the well-watered plains.
He knew he had to have some sheep. to clothe his family. He knew
he had to have some cows to give milk to his babies. He knew he
had to have some camels to haul the possessions. He knew he had
to have oxen to plow the field. But Abraham looked for a city.
And his heart was set on God. And when they were looking, planning
all their future, where they were going to put their estate
and build their homes and graze their cattle, Abraham said, Lord,
take what you want. Son, if I've got something to
wear and something to eat, I'm happy. Having food and rain,
I'm content. Whatever state I am, I'm content. I'm not interested in these things.
Son, pick it out and go live where you want to. I'll take
what's left. If we could just learn in taking what was left,
God blessed him. Now watch it. He didn't take
what was left to get the blessing. He didn't sit down and say, now,
there's things for me to do. I believe I can finagle God a little bit
here. I believe I can work on God a little bit. I'll show my
humility, and God will bless me. I'll tithe, and God will
prosper me. I'll give, and God will return it. I'll live full
measure, pressed down, and God..." No, sir. Abraham was motivated
soul and completely out of a love and affection for God and a heart
relationship with God. And he did that instinctively. You see what I'm saying? He did
that. He gave life, his choice, instinctively because that's
what he felt. You see what I'm saying? It's
the heart of this thing. Today's religion has gotten the
thing rotted and corrupted by promising you this if you do
that, and this blessing if you do that. God doesn't drive a
Jew bargain with anybody. And Abraham just stood there
and it bubbled out of his heart. He didn't have any other choice.
That's what he would have done anyway. He said, look, son, take
what you want. That was his faith. That's his
new nature. It's just the way it is. Faith looks squalid, material
possession, and knows them to be vanity. They're vanity. Who
wants to fill his room full of vanity? Who wants to fill his
silo full of vanity? Who wants to fill his bank account
with soap bubbles? Set not your affection on things
on the earth, but on things above. Lay not up to yourselves treasures
on earth, but with God, where your treasure is, your heart
is, where your heart is, your treasure is too. No way to teach this has to be
revealed. Faith looks at everything material, and faith looks to Christ to
be everything. And that's the reason faith can say, the other
says, get out, goodbye. The fellow says, you can't have
that. Thanks anyway. The fellow says, I'm going to
get the best plot. Take your pick, son. I'm not interested. I've got a city and a mansion
and a dwelling place that everything, the best you've got down here
is slum, Nick. The best you've got is slum, darling. All right,
watch this in the fourth place quickly, Genesis 21. Now, this
gets heavy here. It's heavy. I've gotten heavy
too, haven't I? But this, I've got to give this.
This sort of thing just comes around once in a while. We get
a little liberty, we'd better camp a while. Barney used to
say, we ain't going nowhere but to heaven or to hell. Not many
folks in a hurry to get to either place. But in Genesis 21, you
know the story. Abraham, God promised him a son,
and he was old then, he was 86, and his wife was approaching
90. God told him he'd have a son, God blessed him through that
son, through that son all the nations would be blessed. Well,
it was a little while and the son didn't come, so Saber said,
why don't you go into my handmaid, Hagar, and have a son, that'll
help God out a little bit. And so he did, and Ishmael was
born. Now remember, this old man, 86
years old, had never had a son. Never, never, never had a son
or a daughter. That baby came into that home. Now you talk
about a silly old granddaddy. He was a silly old daddy. He
loved that boy. Now you can put that down. He
loved that boy. He loved him. He's 86 years old,
and that little old fella followed him around. Got so big, so big,
so big, got to be 14 years old. 14 years old. He taught him to
hunt and fish and shoot a bow and arrow and all these things.
They were inseparable. And then Isaac was born, son
of the promise. Son of the promise. Type of Christ.
Greats. Ishmael was the son of the bondwoman.
Ishmael was not the heir. Ishmael was not the seed. Ishmael was not the one God promised. And God said, Abraham, look at
verse 12, God said, Abraham, Genesis 21, let it not be grievous
in your sight because of the lad and because of the bondwoman.
And all that Sarah has said to you, what shall you say? She
said, that boy, Ishmael's got to go. He was mocking Isaac.
She said, he's not going to live in this house any longer. And
God said, she's right. Hearken to her voice now. In
Isaac shall your seed be called. Nothing can compete with Christ.
And also, of the son of the bondwoman, we'll make a nation, because
he's your seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, took
bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, and put
it on his shoulders, and the child, and sent her away. And
she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba."
Now, you stop and think a minute. You just think a little bit.
We read over these things sometimes and don't think. He loved that
boy. Isaac was just a little boy,
just getting weaned, still sitting on his mama's lap. And here was
this 14-year-old boy. Abraham had raised him. Abraham
had taught him to hunt and fish. He was his pride and joy. He
looked like his daddy. Abraham loved him. He looked
like his daddy because he was a product of his daddy. And God
came to him and said, put a bottle of water on his shoulders and
kiss him goodbye and send him out in the wilderness. Isaac
is going to be there. You see what God is saying. Brethren,
let me tell you something. God is showing us that our works
have to go. We raised them. They look just
like us. We taught them all to know they
are begotten of our flesh, our works, and we love them. We love
them. I worked my fingers to the bone.
I heard folks at Oak Pollen Baptist Church, and we left because of
the gospel. I said, I love these walls. We built them. We sowed
and worked and did all this thing. We're not leaving this place.
Gospel or no gospel. Grace or no grace. Abraham took
Ishmael. He had his arm over his shoulder.
That old man is crying. His heart is broken. He's suffering. But he had to part with his works.
He had to part with his flesh. He had to say goodbye to that
which was nearest and dearest to him because works and grace
can't exist in the same house. And one day the Apostle Paul
said, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews, tribe of Benjamin, circumcised
the eighth day, the Pharisee, blameless, all these things.
I'm 40 years old. I've given my life to religion.
I've given my life to theology. I've given my life to the seminary,
school of Gamaliel. I've given myself to all these
things. I've done these things. I've accomplished these things.
I've exceeded many of my equals. I can't help but know that I'm
a win cross. Can you do it? That's what I'm
talking about. Faith doesn't. Faith says, right
out the door in all my works. Oh, somebody brags on me, you
know, you sure are a good man. Right out the door. I know better
than that. My goodness is Christ. It's hard. I tell you it's hard. It's difficult. One of the most difficult. I
tell you, sending Ishmael away was almost as hard as taking
Isaac up on that mountain. and putting him on that altar.
Almost as hard. And I tell you, one of the most
difficult things in the world, in this modern religion, is to
get people to turn loose of I, and turn loose of my, and turn
loose of me, and turn loose of work, and turn loose of the law,
and turn loose of their righteousness, and kiss Ishmael goodbye. Brother,
only God can do it. And I tell you this, Ishmael
is not going to go until Isaac comes in. See what I'm saying,
Tom? When Isaac comes in, Ishmael
has to go. And you know the reason so many
people are resting in their works and their faith and their righteousness
to save them? No Isaac in the home. They're
the only one that got to Ishmael. He's been there all the time.
He's going to be there until they die. But if Isaac grieves,
if Isaac, God's giver, if Isaac, God's mercy, if Isaac, God's
Christ, comes in, Isaac goes out, Ishmael goes out, and faith
puts him there. It's hard, nothing easy about
it. Been with me a long time. And these preachers that learn
the gospel of grace and God saves them, and then they try to preach
their little works and their little grace, they'll keep Ishmael
and Isaac both, you know. Well, you can't make everybody
mad. No, sir. You stand up and tell them the
truth. Old Ishmael's got to go, go preach Christ.