Let's read the text again from
Hebrews 11, the 6th verse of the 11th chapter of Hebrews. And my subject is this, why is
faith necessary? Why is faith necessary? Hebrews 11, 6 says, without faith. But without faith, it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh
to God, we're talking about whether we come for faith, for mercy,
for blessings, for in the realm of prayer, or if we come in any
way, he that cometh to God for fellowship, for communion, for
help, he that cometh to God must, notice these words, impossible,
must, must believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently, diligently seek him. Now I'm interested in certain
subjects in which I'm more interested than in other subjects. I sent
a bunch of sermons up to Zondervan Publishing Company some years
ago. I thought I had some pretty good
sermons on the gospel, redemption, substitution, these things. And
I sent them to Zondervan and I got a letter back from one
of the Zondervan's, Pat or somebody, I forget his name. But my messages
had to do with why Christ died and how does a sinner approach
God in order to receive mercy and messages of this type. You know the type I try to preach,
like tonight. And the word came back to me
that people just won't buy books. with those kind of titles. He
said if you want to write and print something that gets people's
attention, that'll sell, you can put on the shelf and move.
He said, write a book on the Holy Ghost, or how to be baptized
with the Holy Ghost, or write a book on prophecy, or write
a book on what the future holds, or write a book on some questionable
subject. That's what he was implying.
People are interested in the mysterious. People are interested
in the unanswerable. People are interested in the
mystic. People are interested in this type of thing. That's
what I was told. honest, perfectly honest with
you. And I think some of you, many of you, probably most of
you could say the same thing. I'm really not. I'm not the slightest
bit interested, and I had the joy of going downtown to the
Christian bookstore yesterday and looking over some of the
titles, and 90% of what I saw I wasn't even interested in.
I'm not interested in any book on the millennium or the future
or or prophecy or these things, but you know what catches my
attention? You know the subject? When anybody announces that he's
going to speak on faith, I tell you, my ears just prick up, and
my attention is aroused. My interest is kindled. I'm interested
in anything anybody says or writes or preaches on faith. On faith. And to tell you the reason for
that, in the first place, I don't claim to know a lot about faith.
I really don't. I can be totally honest with
you tonight and say this, I speak like the centurion of old. Lord,
I believe. I do believe. I believe this
is the Word of God. I believe that. I believe that
God speaks through His Word. I believe the heavens and earth
were created as the Bible says they were created by God. I believe
that we're sinners. I believe what happened in the
garden is true. I feel the results of it, don't
you? I feel, I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is
the only Savior, that he died on the cross for our sins, was
buried and rose again. I believe what God says about
himself and about me and about Christ and about salvation. But
I wish I believed it with a greater faith, don't you? I say, Lord,
I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. So I don't claim to know a great
deal about faith. I couldn't write a book on how
to attain faith. I wouldn't want to approach the
subject how to cause your faith to grow and these things. And
I'll say this, any man who boasts of his faith, It doesn't matter
who he is. Any man who claims to be an authority
on the subject of faith is most likely a stranger to that very
grace. Don't trust the man who claims
to have great faith. I cannot find in the word of
God any of those who had great faith boasting of it. I find
them boasting of their Lord. I find them boasting of his faithfulness,
but not theirs. And I worry about the fellow
that has all the faith, you know, and claims that he has great
faith. But there's some things I do know. I do know these things. I sat and thought about this,
about this subject of faith. I don't claim to know a lot about
it. I don't claim to have great faith.
I want great faith. I'd be much obliged if God had
given me great faith. But I do know that if you come
to the place where you think you have faith, great faith,
the good possibility you're the farthest one from it. It's like
humility. The man who thinks he's humble
is the man that's farthest away from it. But I do know five things
about faith. I do know this. Number one, I
know that faith is the foundation grace. You say, now hold on,
what about love? Love may be the greatest of these.
And hope may be the most comforting grace, but faith is the foundation
grace. That's the reason Paul said,
how shall they call on him in whom they've not believed? You
don't call on one in whom you don't believe. You don't love
one in whom you don't believe. You don't trust one. in whom
you don't believe. You see, everything springs from
faith. Faith is the foundation grace.
If I don't have faith, I don't have anything. That's the foundation
grace. That's the source from which
every grace comes. I know that Christ is the source
of all grace, but I'm saying the source of our graces is faith. Faith is the foundation grace. Without me, Christ said, you
can do nothing. Anything you do or have is counterfeit
without faith. So that's where I have to start.
When our Lord told Peter that he would deny him, he said, but
I prayed for you that your faith fail not. Whatever else fails,
your confidence may fail, your assurance may fail, your courage
may fail, your love may fail. But Peter, I prayed for you that
your faith fail not. He said to the centurion, do
you believe? All things are possible to them that believe. So my friends,
I do know this about faith. Without question, it is the foundation
grace. Now the second thing I know about
faith is this. Turn to Ephesians 2. I do know
this. I do know that faith is the gift
of God. Now that, of that, I'm positive. What I'm giving you tonight are
the things I know, not what I think, not what I read. I heard somebody
say, this I know. Faith is the gift of God. Faith
is not the product of the human heart. Faith is not something
that is produced by the human heart. It's the gift of God.
Now you watch it, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9. For by grace
are you saved or have you been saved through faith. And that,
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest
any man should boast. What's the gift of God? Faith
is the gift of God. For by grace, we know grace is
not of ourselves, for by grace are you saved. We know that's
not of ourselves. Some people think faith is. But
Paul says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that,
not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Turn to
Philippians chapter 1. That's just over a couple of
pages. Philippians chapter 1 verse 29.
Listen to this. For unto you, for unto you it
is given, unto you it is given. What is that? Well, anybody knows
what that means. That means this is given to you in the behalf
of Christ. Not only to believe on Christ,
but also to suffer for his sake. Faith is the gift of God. That's
the reason the disciples were led to pray, Lord, increase our
faith. That's the reason the centurion
was led to pray, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Faith's the
gift of God. You can put a man in thumbscrews
and lift him up by his arms, and you can't make him believe.
There's no way in this world that you can generate faith,
that you can produce faith, that you can give a man a recipe so
that he can produce faith. Faith is the gift of God. Thy
people shall be worthy in the day of thy power. David Brainerd
saw this. He saw that the law of God was
holy and he could not keep it. He saw that God required faith
and he could not produce it. And I'll tell you this, you can't
either. If you have the grace of faith, God gave it to you.
It also is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, faith also. It's produced by God's Spirit.
I know that. I know, number one, faith is
the foundation grace. Above all things, I want faith. Because from faith springs every
grace. From faith springs every grace. You cannot call upon him in whom
you've not believed, you cannot love him whom you've not believed,
you cannot trust him, you cannot preach him, you cannot do anything
unless you believe on Christ. And faith's the gift of God.
Now know this, turn to Romans 4. I know that we're justified
in God's sight. What does it mean to be justified?
It means to be forgiven. It means to be pardoned. It means
to be cleansed. It means to be redeemed. It means
to be sanctified. It means for your sins to be
put away, for your name to be in the book of life justified.
No charge, no condemnation, no guilt. No curse of the law, no
penalty of the law, no punishment of the law, no power of the law. It's gone. We're justified. And that by faith. Look at verse
1 of Romans, or verse 20 of Romans chapter 4. Romans 4, 20. Abraham, it says, staggered not
at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strong in
faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what
God had promised, God was able to perform. That's faith. That's
what he believed. And therefore it was imputed
to him, reckoned, or charged to him for righteousness, in
whose sight? In God's sight. Now, it was not
written for his sake alone that righteousness was imputed to
him, but for us also, to whom? It shall be imputed, charged,
reckoned, given, if we work, if we serve, if we confess, if
we pray, no sir, if we believe. on him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised
again for our justification. Believe God. Verse 1, Romans 5. Therefore,
being justified, being forgiven, pardoned, how? By faith. We have peace. The war is over. with God. Now brethren, I want
to say something here that will send some folks out rejoicing
and others may be confused. But this faith is not faith in
a work. It's faith in a person. Now Abraham
believed God. Noah believed God. Moses believed
God. How much did Abraham know about
the death of Christ on the cross, James? How much? Just how much? I know
Abraham saw my day, but he saw it dimly. He saw it in a shadow. He saw it in a picture. How much
did David, man after God's own heart? I hear preachers say,
just trust the finished work of Christ. And I say this, and
you'll miss heaven. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You're not trusting the work.
You better trust the person. The work of Christ is not the
object of faith. Christ is the object of faith.
Now stay with me. This is critical. This is a crisis. This is the reason most religionists
have and are and will miss salvation. This is the reason they come
down the aisle. I've always believed Jesus Christ died on the cross.
Because it's a historical fact. But I haven't always believed
Him. Believed Him. Abraham believed God. Abraham
believed God. I believed Christ. How much?
How much did the thief on the cross know about total depravity? How much did he know about sin?
How much did he know about what this man on his left or right
hand was doing? Now just how much did he know
about that? I'll tell you what he knew. He
knew Christ was Lord and he believed Him. He looked to Him. He wasn't looking to a block
of wood. He wasn't looking just to a work.
Now listen, let me tell you something. The redemptive work of Christ
is not only his sacrifice, it's his life, it's his mediatorial
office now, it's his chivalrity ship in eternity past. I believe
God. Listen to this passage of scripture.
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe
God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Nothing
in there about a finished work. is believe in God, whatever God
does. Whatever God does. This is what
I'm saying. This is the starting of faith. This is the heart of
faith. It's not just trusting a work.
It's not just looking to an event. It's not just resting in a transaction. It's confidence in a person.
I believe God. Abraham believed God. If God said leave your father's
house, Abraham left it. That's the reason we got so many
religious rebels. That's the reason folks don't
pray and don't worship and don't witness and don't give and all
these things. They're trusting a finished work.
They're not believing in a person, loving a person, enthroning a
person, loving a person, worshiping a person, bowing to a person,
walking in union with a person. They're trusting a word. And
a work can't motivate anybody but a person can. A marriage manual won't motivate
any young man but a lovely girl whom he loves well. And you can read all the facts
you want to about it, and doctrine, and facts, and all these things,
and give mental assent to it, but till you meet, and marry,
and are united with Christ, your motivation's dead as a hammer.
And that's what's wrong. That's exactly what's wrong.
Everybody came down now and shook the patriot's hand and said,
I'm trusting the finished work of Christ. Don't know anything
about him, but I'm trusting his work. Well, there are a lot of
folks who never saw him and loved him. There are a lot of folks
who never read about the cross, but they read about him and they
knew what he promised he'd carry out, he'd perform. And they say
they're redeemed by trusting Him. Whatever He does, I trust
Him. It's the Lord. Let Him do what
He will. Though He slay me, I'll trust Him. That's faith. That's
what I'm talking about. We're justified by faith alone. This faith will produce righteousness. It'll produce love. It'll produce
obedience because it is a union with a person. A person. A person. Oh, I believe God. Not, I don't believe there is
a God. The devil believes there's a God and trembles. The devil believes Christ died
on the cross. He knows it for a fact. He motivated
those that nailed him there. But he doesn't trust him, love
him, know him. never been brought into union
with him, and he doesn't believe him. This is the key. I hope you get hold of it. I
hope I do. Abraham believed God. He believed God. And there's
a difference. This faith that saves has one
object, Christ. This faith that saves is a faith
that continues. Yes sir, it continues. John said
they'd been of us, they no doubt would have continued with us.
It continues. This faith gives assurance. This
faith which saves is a loving faith. This faith that saves
is a victorious faith. Now here's the fourth thing I
know about this faith. It's foundation grace. I know, secondly, it's the gift
of God. I know, thirdly, that I'm justified
by faith alone, faith that embraces a person, whatever he's pleased
to do. If I can go forth and call men
to bow to the Lordship of Christ, the Lordship of Christ, that's
the key. And then, fourthly, there are imitations of faith. that will not save. I've got
to be careful. Turn to James chapter 2. Faith
the devil, my friend, that Satan is the great imitator. He's a
counterfeiter. And the place where he does his
devastating work is in religion. That's where he likes to work. Somebody said, boy, that fella
can really quote scripture. Satan quoted scripture too. I
tell you, that fellow is a real minister of righteousness. The
Scripture says that the ministers of Satan are ministers of righteousness
and an angel of light. So it's deceptive. The Apostle
Paul warned the church to be on guard against the subtlety
of Satan, the craftiness of Satan, the deceitfulness of sin. It's a deceitful thing. If you
knew all about it, you wouldn't be deceitful. Satan is crafty. He's a spiritual
person. Don't look for him with a horn
and tails and a pitchfork. Look for him coming to you in
a deceptive manner, talking about religion. That's the way you
got to eat. God says, does God say you couldn't
eat of that tree? Well, God knows when you eat
of that tree, you'll be like God. You'll be like God. Now listen to James 2. What doth
it profit, verse 14, James 2, verse 14. What doth it profit,
my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and hath not works,
or hath not the product of faith? I got me an apple tree. Where
are your apples? Well, I don't have any apples,
but I've got an apple tree here. You don't have much of an apple
tree if you don't have any apples. And he says, this man says, I
have faith, but he has not the fruit of faith. He has not the
product of faith. He has not the result of faith.
His life does not produce those things which faith produces.
You see what James is saying? And then he says, can that kind
of faith save him? The Amplified Version says, can
such faith save him? Can faith like that save? And
the answer comes back, no, it won't save. It's a false faith. It's an imitation faith. It's
a counterfeit faith. Sure, it is a faith, but it's
a false faith. Turn to John 2. In John 2, and
this is frightening. This is frightening, and the
scripture talks about people being under strong delusions,
believing a lie, convinced. My friends, the Pharisees were
convinced that they were the people of God. They were so convinced that they
were the people of God that they rejected the miracles of Jesus
Christ. Saul of Tarsus This man Saul of Tarsus who believed
the law, who was a moral man, a strict
religious man, a praying man, a fasting man, a giving man,
but yet he was so sure he was of the people of God that all
who opposed him he was willing to put to death. He would stand
and hold the coats of people that stoned a man to death because
he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how far religion
will take you. That religion is supposed to
produce love, hate. Saul of Tarsus, Jay, he was supposed
to be a moral man. The law said, I shall not kill,
but it's all right to kill a man who disagreed with him in religion. Oh, how convinced, how sure he
was. And this thing of imitation faith
has deceived many people. In John chapter 2 verse 23, now
when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover and the feast day, many
believed, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles
which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself
unto them. He knew all. And he didn't need
that any should testify of man. He knew what was in them. He
knew it was a false faith. Oh, they believed the miracles.
They were convinced. They saw it with their own eyes.
They were convinced. Let us beware of imitation faith. I know that. I know faith, true
faith, saving faith is the foundation grace. It's the gift of God.
We're justified by faith alone. And I know that it is imitated
and Satan is the one who tricks men. That's his program. If he
can make you religious without Christ, he may take you into
the religion. He may take you into the religion
of emotionalism, whatever appeals to you. He may take you into
the religion of orthodoxy. He may take you into the religion
of fundamentalism. He may take you into the religion
of phariseeism. He may take you into the religion
of orthodoxy. He may take you into the religion
of anything. It doesn't matter. There are many brands of it.
But his purpose is accomplished as long as you do not know, and
love, and trust, and believe, and are not brought to a living
union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he doesn't, he, in fact,
actually Where is a man safest in hiding from God? Where is he safest? In the church. That's the safest place. To hide
from God. That's the safest place in religion.
To hide from the gospel. To give him something to do.
That's what the Pharisee said. He stood and said, Lord, I thank
you I'm not like other men. Which one of these men would
you like to preach the gospel to? Two men went up to the temple
to pray. One of them was a Pharisee. He
said, I thank you, Lord, I'm not like other men. I tithe,
I fast, I give alms, and I'm not an adulterer, I'm not an
extortioner, I'm not like this. Would you like to preach to him?
Wouldn't be any use. But here's a fellow over here
that wouldn't even come in. He stood far off. He wouldn't
come down to this. The Pharisee was right down at
the altar. But this fellow was back in the vestibule, he wouldn't
even, he stood afar off, and he just smote upon his breast,
and wouldn't even lift his eyes, let alone his hands, and he said,
God be merciful to me, a sinner! Which one would you want to preach
the gospel to? Well, you say, let me preach to that fellow.
I believe he wants to hear. That's what I'm saying. That's
exactly what I'm saying. The best place to hide from the
gospel is in the church. Give a man a book on orthodoxy,
Get him all straightened out in the doctrine, and you'll never
reach him with the gospel. Never will. Give him a standard
to live by, give him a leaf to turn over, give him a profession
to make, give him an office, give him a Sunday school class,
give him something to do for God, you'll never touch him with
the gospel. Boy, you find you a sinner, a
man who knows he's a sinner, who knows that he's the chief
of sinners, and knows he's lost. And you can reach him with the
gospel, because he's got an open heart, he's got a needy heart,
he's got a broken heart, he's got a humble heart. All right,
I know this. In the fifth place about faith,
saving faith is a growing grace. Turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter
1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 3. It's a growing grace. Somebody says anything that's
alive grows. That's good thought. This poor
pit will never grow. Don't expect it to grow. That
table will never grow. But everything else grows if
it's got life. Trees, flowers, anything that's
got life grows. Saving faith is life, and it
grows. In 2 Thessalonians 1, 3, Paul
said, We're bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as
it is meat, because that your faith groweth exceedingly. and the love of every one of
you all toward each other abounded. It grows. It grows. And greater faith means greater
assurance of our hope in Christ. Greater faith means greater love
for Christ and for one another. Greater faith means greater willingness
to witness, to give, to pray, to glorify Christ. Greater faith
means less interest in the material things of this world. Greater
faith means less fretting and care under trial. Greater faith
means less concern for the flesh and more for the spirit. Faith
groweth. What does faith grow on? This
right here. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. Now let me give you three things
in closing. I promise that I won't be long,
but I want you to listen to these three things, three questions.
Number one, what is saving faith? Number two, why is it necessary? Number three, do I have it? Number
one, what is saving faith? The old timers He used to say
that faith consists of three things. Spurgeon says you need
to begin at the beginning. That's smart, isn't it? Begin
at the beginning. But everybody doesn't. A lot of folks start
over here. They graduate before they ever
start school. Let's begin at the beginning. A man just cannot
believe what he doesn't know. Now you might as well face it,
a man just cannot believe what he doesn't know. The first thing
in faith is knowledge. I've got to know something about
this book. I've got to know something of
the author of this book, the character of God. You see, God
has some attributes. I know somebody says, just preach,
don't give us doctrine. Now, doctrine is teaching, and
you can't separate Christ from his teaching. And our Lord reveals
something about Himself. He's holy, He's sovereign, He's
love, He's righteous, He's truth, He's omnipotent, He's omniscient.
These are attributes of God, and God never acts contrary to
His attributes any more than you do yours, or anybody else. So we got to know something.
If we're going to believe, how can they call on Him in whom
they've not believed? And how can they believe in Him
of whom they have not heard? I've got to believe something
about the book, I've got to know something of the character of
God, I've got to know something of the sinfulness of sin. Do
you know I'm persuaded, the longer I preach, and I've preached a
while, the longer I preach the more convinced I am that people
do not know God, most religious people, They have a God, but
not the God or the gospel, but here's one of the greatest problems.
The average person does not know what sin is. He doesn't have
the slightest conception of what sin is. My friend, if I could
just get across to you, sin is a principle. Sin is a law. Sin is a nature. Sin is a root. All of these things that men
do outwardly come from the root of sin. That's the reason Christ
said, you've heard it said by them of old, I shall not kill.
But I say unto you, to hate is to be guilty already of murder.
The sin is not just in using the knife or firing the gun or
taking the life, it's the motive or the principle. or the nature
that hated in the first place and desired that person's death.
That's the sin. It's envy and jealousy and malice
and lust and pride and it's a principle. And I've got to know something
of the sinfulness of sin. Most folks don't. They've got
sin bottled up in four or five things that didn't even exist
back so many years ago. When Adam and Eve stood in the
garden, these things you call sin weren't even there, and yet
they sinned. How did they sin? They sinned
enough to damn a race. Satan, Lucifer sinned enough
to damn an angelic race. What on earth did they do? They
must have done something horrible. They did in God's eyes. P-R-I-D-E. A desire to be like God. Rebellion
against authority. God's authority. This was in
a principle. We've got to know something about
sin, and this is an area where preachers just aren't preaching.
They just aren't touching it. I've got to know something about
who Jesus Christ is. Who is Jesus Christ? What did
he come to do? What did he do? Why did he come
down here to do? Where is he now? I've got to have somebody
tell me about him. Now what's there? Brethren, knowledge is not enough. There's got to be agreement or
somebody said assent. In other words, I read the scriptures
and I know what it says about sin, but do I acknowledge or
agree with what it says? I know what it says about God,
who He is. He inhabits glory. Do I agree
with it? Now here's where you run into
a snag. A lot of religious people agree with what they want to
agree with in here. They pick out this, that, and
the other, and agree with it, and then they turn down the rest.
But now this agreement, I know my guilt and inability. I see
God's righteousness, and I agree with it. I see Christ as the
only way. I give assent to it. I see the
atonement and I rejoice in it. There's no way to have saving
faith and put a question mark on the scriptures. I agree with
it. That's the reason I question
whether a man can be saved and know God, who has some portion
of God's word revealed to him as being what the scripture teaches,
the very basis, the foundation on which redemption is laid.
And he says, I don't believe it. Now, wait a minute. The Holy
Spirit is the spirit of truth. He might say, I don't understand
it. He might say, it gives me a struggle and trouble. He might
say, it grates against my flesh. He might say, it seems unfair.
But he better not say, I don't believe it. He better say, I'll
look into it. I'll look into it. Because if
it's God's word, it doesn't come up for your agreement or disagreement. It's his word anyhow. So faith
agrees. Thirdly, there's a third word,
trust. What is faith? It's knowledge,
it's agreement, and it's trust. Our Lord said, come unto me. He didn't say come to a doctrine.
He didn't say come to a position. He didn't say come to a denomination.
He said, you come to me. O everyone that thirsteth, come.
To as many as receive Christ. The Apostle Paul said, I know
whom I have believed. Now notice he didn't say I know
what I believe or when I believe, he said I know whom I believe.
And he didn't say I know in whom, he said I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded he's able to
keep that which I've what? What? Committed to him. I've committed to him myself,
my home, my happiness, my health, My heaven, my future, it's all
in his hands. Sink or swim, I leave it with
him. Trust. That's faith. Why is that
necessary? Well, briefly, number one, because
without faith, it's impossible to please God. That's what it
says. I read that to you. Without faith, but without faith,
it's impossible. Without this saving faith, it's
impossible to please God. You read in the Bible, every
man who ever pleased God, he did it how? By faith. Read this
chapter. By faith, Abel offered. By faith,
Enoch was translated. By faith, Noah. By faith, Abraham. By faith, Saber. By faith, Hagar. By faith, Jacob. By faith, Joseph. By faith, David. By faith. See
that? Now men have humbled themselves
and not pleased God. Ahab did. Men have sought repentance
like Esau and not pleased God. Men have made restitution like
Judas and not pleased God. Men have confessed sin like King
Saul and not pleased God. Men have done many wonderful
works in the name of Jesus Christ and not pleased God. But when
men believe, it pleases God. What did our Lord complement
when he was here on the earth? faith all the way through. Our Lord marveled. He said, Woman,
great is thy faith, thy faith. Faith is a humbling grace. No
man will be saved who has not been humbled before Christ, and
nothing will humble a man like faith. Those who do not believe
are too proud to believe. They'll not yield their intellect
and become as a little child. They'll not surrender their works
and become a beggar. They'll not bend the knee and
enthrone Christ. A lack of faith is a clear evidence
of a lack of humility. Thirdly, faith is necessary because
works can't save. That's why faith is necessary.
Without faith, it's impossible to please God. Without faith,
it's impossible to be humble. And without faith, it's impossible
to be saved, because works can't save. By the deeds of the law
shall no flesh be saved, not by righteous works which we have
done, but by his mercy he has saved us. And then, fourthly,
what's this? Faith is necessary because without
faith, there can be no union with Christ. He that believeth
hath life. He that believeth not hath not
life. This is the record. God hath
given us eternal life. This life is in his Son. He that
hath the Son of God hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. I've got a little thing in the
bulletin today, four facts. There can be no blessings from
Christ without union with Christ. There can be no union with Christ
without faith in Christ. There can be no faith in Christ
without the word preached. There can be no efficacy associated
with the word preached without the Holy Spirit. That's so. The last question is this, and
I close. Do you, do I, do we have saving
faith? And I found these four questions. Is your faith a doctrine or an
experience? Does your faith lead you to renounce
your righteousness and look to his? Does your faith give you great
esteem and love for Christ? And last of all, is your faith
so valuable that you treasure it, feed it, seek to see it in
others, and would die for it? That's a pretty good question.
But that's the faith of God's elect. Our Father, use this message for whatever
purpose it pleaseth thee. We rejoice that you have spoken
to us through thy word. And much is here for us to consider,
to pray about, to wait before thee in regard to these things.
We pray that thou will enable every one of us to be most careful
about our spirit and comments and criticisms and opinions until
we have sought thy spirit and thy presence and a revelation
of thyself in regard to this matter of faith. Lord, make us
hearers more and talkers less. Work in our hearts more and on our emotions and feelings
less. Make us people who are grounded
on Christ and in Christ, vitally united with Christ. Be our teacher. May thy Holy Spirit reveal the
word more effectually to us day by day. We pray this in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.