Saving Faith Vs. Religious Profession #1

It is not true, it is not true
at all, that a person must wait until the judgment to find out
if he's saved. The Apostle John said, Beloved,
now are we the sons of God. Our Lord commands us to settle
this matter of saving faith, to determine whether or not we
are redeemed, whether Christ dwells in us. Examine yourself
whether you be in the faith. Examine yourself. Not examine
the other person, but examine yourself. And then Peter wrote
this in 2 Peter 1, 10, give diligence, diligence. Nothing else is of
such great importance. Give diligence to make your calling
and your election sure. And then when we come to the
Lord's table, our Master tells us, let a man examine himself. to see if he discerns the Lord's
body, understands the sacrifice of Christ, and so let him eat.
And so let him eat. Those in the Old Testament and
those in the New Testament who are our examples were sure of
their interest in Christ. Job said, I know that my Redeemer
liveth. That doesn't sound like uncertainty,
does it? I know that my Redeemer liveth. was sure of his saving
interest in the Lord. He said, the Lord is my shepherd.
In Psalm 27, verse 1, he said, the Lord is my refuge. The Lord
is my salvation. Paul knew it. Paul said in 2
Timothy 1, verse 12, I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded
he's able to keep that which I've committed to him against
that day. They knew it. They knew it. And
this knowledge of our interest in Christ, this knowledge of
a saving interest If a man has that knowledge, it encourages
him to leave all to follow Christ. Uncertainty of our position in
Christ leads to indifference, but confidence begets a willingness
even to die for Him. Uncertainty leads to indifference,
carelessness, but confidence in Christ begets a willingness
even to die for him. Turn to the book of Acts, chapter
21. Listen to Paul. Acts 21. Reading
verse 13. Acts 21. Listen. Paul answers. Acts 21, 13. Paul answers. What mean ye to
weep and to break mine heart? I am ready not to be bound only. but also to die at Jerusalem
for the name of the Lord Jesus. I'm not only ready to be bound,
I'm ready to die. Now, the only way in the world
a man can come to that position is to have a certain, sure knowledge
of his interest in Christ. That's where it leads. That's
where it leads. Uncertainty leads to indifference. Confidence in Christ begets a
willingness even to die for And to deny that a man may know his
interest in Christ is to deny the Holy Scriptures. Moses, speaking
to the children of Israel, said, This is your life. To know God
is your life. To walk with God is your life. To have an interest in God, that's
your life. Christ in you, Christ in you,
that's life. If a man does not have Christ,
he doesn't even have life. So let that be established, first
of all, as we approach this subject of saving faith. Our saving interest
in Christ may be known. First, because God commands it.
Secondly, because those in the Old Testament and New Testament
who were our examples were sure of their saving interest in Christ.
It wasn't a, perhaps I'm saved, or maybe I'm saved, or there's
a possibility I'm saved, or I'll wait until the judgment and find
out. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. I know whom I have
believed. I know my Redeemer lives. Certainty. And this certainty leads a man
to the place that Paul, where Paul came who said, I'm not only
weeping for him, don't go to Jerusalem. He said, why do you
weep and break my heart? I'm not only ready to go to Jerusalem
and be bound, I'm ready to die for the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm
willing to give my life for Christ. All right, this faith. This faith
must be determined by the Word of God. Now listen carefully.
This is where most people make a fatal mistake. Building our
hope for eternity, basing our hope for salvation on feeling, is fatal. Basing our hope for
eternity, our hope for salvation, on experience I don't mean to be rude here,
but it scares me to death when someone starts telling me their
experience. Something that happened way back
yonder. Something that happened way back yonder. Some encounter
which they had with God. If you base your hope for eternity
on an experience that you had, I tell you, it could be fatal.
It could be fatal. Or on morality. a person who
bases their hope for eternity on their outward conduct. I thank
thee, Lord, I am not like other men. You're not like other men
on the outside, but you're sure just like them on the inside,
just exactly. Or on ceremonialism, I haven't
missed a Sunday in church and Sunday school since 1928. Well,
that's wonderful. Have you heard anything at all?
Have you heard anything at all? Our faith must be determined,
it must be based upon the Word of God. Faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God. We must not draw our hope from
an experience, from a feeling, from a standard of living, from
a ceremony. It must come from the Word. Isaiah
said in Isaiah 8.20, if they speak not according to the law
and the prophets, it is because there is no light in them. Turn to John 20 and let me let
you read this with me. John 20, verse 30 and 31. John
20, verse 30 and 31. Many other signs truly did Jesus
in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this
book. Now look at 31, John 20, 31. But these are written that
you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
and that, believing, he might have life through his name. That's
why this is written. The Apostle Paul on the ship,
the people, the mariners, began to get ready to jump over the
side, and he said, Now, you men listen to me. You stay in the
ship. God, whose I am and whom I serve,
stood by me this night, and he said that this ship will be destroyed,
but not one life will be lost. and every man is to stay on the
ship, and brethren, be of good cheer, I believe it shall be
even as he told me." Even as he told me. This is the foundation
of faith. Not how I feel, not some experience
that I've had, not how I conduct myself outwardly, not going through
the ritualism or ceremonialism or legalism of religion. and
saying mumbo-jumbo like a voodoo witch doctor in the heart of
Africa, but what saith the Lord? It distresses me, oh how it distresses
me that people do not read the Word of God. Some people think it does not
matter what a man believes, it really doesn't matter what a
man believes as long as he's sincere The average person thinks
that all religions are partly right. Isn't that right? You go to your church, and I'll
go to mine. You believe what you think is right, and I'll
believe what I think is right, and we'll all meet together in
heaven. That's the general tolerance of this day. Well, my friends, we cannot all
be right, not when we contradict one another so. And it behooves
you and me to search the scriptures for ourselves and see what God
has to say. A doctrine is true not because
I believe it, but because God said it. A doctrine is true not
because my church teaches it, but because God said it. A doctrine
is true not because my mom and dad blessed rest their souls,
as people say, sweet, wonderful people, thank God for them, but
a doctor's not true because they believe it. It's true because
God said it. You see that? If they speak not
according to the Word, it's because there's no light in them. And
it behooves every one of us for our eternal soul's well-being
to search the Scriptures I'm not afraid to submit my belief
in God's sovereignty to this book. I'm not afraid to submit
my doctrine of original sin to this book. I'm not afraid to
submit my doctrine of the grace of God and believer's baptism
to this book, or my belief in election, or divine calling,
or sovereign mercy, or particular redemption to the book, to the law, to the testimony
I'm not afraid to submit my confidence in the effectual, substitutionary
sacrifice of the Son of God, who enabled God to be just and
justifier to the book. I'm not afraid to submit my belief
in the eternal good providence of God to the book. This is where
we'd better come. I don't ask you whether you believe
those things or not. Perhaps you don't. I'm a human
being, I can be wrong. But I ask you this, and I ask
you this kindly, have you searched the scriptures? Have you searched
the scriptures? A man is an out-and-out fool
who condemns something that he knows nothing about. Isn't that
right? He's an out-and-out fool, especially if it has to do with
God. I don't ask you whether you believe
these things. Perhaps you don't, but I'm asking
you this. Have you searched the Scriptures? Have you submitted
your faith to the Word of God? I know what Mom believed, I know
what Dad believed, I know what Old Brother Brown believed, and
Old Brother Jones believed, and Old Brother Smith believed. I
know that. I know what Baptists believe, and Methodists believe,
and Nazarenes believe, but does the Word say that? Does the Word
say that? I'm not going to be a Baptist
in heaven. nor Methodists, nor Nazarenes, nor Catholics. There
are going to be some redeemed people there. There won't be
a name tag on anybody, I guarantee you. I don't know but what this
is one of our greatest failures. Have I submitted my faith to
the Word of God? I dare not advance one foot beyond
this word. Happy is the man whose faith
is founded on the Word of God. I don't understand it. God Almighty
didn't call me to understand his word, he called me to believe
his word. And if you wait to understand
everything in this book before you believe it, you'll find yourself
under God's judgment someday. That's what the crowd in his
day said. Show us a sign. He said, No sign, O foolish and
wicked generation, no sign shall be given but the word. I saw the article in the paper
yesterday or the day before about homosexuality and how they say
there are some people who believe the Bible from cover to cover.
Well, here's one, and I'm not ashamed of it. Here's one. I believe the whale swallowed
Jonah. You can call me a backwoodsman
if you want to, but my God who is able to make Jonah is able
to make Jonah a whale big enough to live in, too. I believe the Pharaoh's army
drowned in the Red Sea, and I believe the Israelites walked through
on dry land. He who made the sea can divide it, and he who
dampens the soil can dry it up quick, too. You women take a
hairdryer and dry out your hair in about 30, 45 seconds. I reckon
God could dry up a sea if he wanted to. Yes, I believe God
created the earth in six days, and I'm willing to submit that
to the Are you willing to submit your beliefs to the book? This
is where faith comes from, right here. Right here, the Word of
God. Yes, I believe homosexuality
is evil, and those who participate in it are reprobates. That's
what the Word says. And I'm willing to submit what
I believe to God's Word. This is where faith comes from,
the Word of God. Here's the thing that amazes
every true believer here. Now you listen to me a minute.
That Almighty God, that Almighty God, you talk about this thing
of faith, that Almighty God should condense sin to dwell with me. That's amazing to me. That's
amazing that Almighty God should condense sin to save me. to make
my body his temple, to dwell within me, that God should be
pleased to receive me into his presence, is a miracle of his
grace. When Solomon built that huge,
mighty, glorious, grand and beautiful temple, you know what amazed
him about the whole thing? You and I would have been amazed
by the gold and the silver and the beauty of it. You know what
amazed him? You know what he said? That God,
whom the heavens cannot contain, should be pleased to dwell in
this house is beyond my understanding. It's beyond my understanding.
You know what, David, God blessed David's household. God made David
the greatest king that ever lived, the most powerful, the most respected
You know what amazed David about it all? He says, who am I and
what is my house, that God should condense him to dwell with me. You know what Paul said about
belief? He said, great is the mystery
of godliness. God manifest in the flesh and
believed on in the world. Paul put faith as a miracle right
alongside incarnation. It's a miracle. It's a miracle
that you and I should believe what the whole world calls foolishness.
That we should be willing to die for what men are not even
willing to consider. that we should be willing to
give our possessions and our children and our lives, and that
men like Gruber and Pledger should be willing to leave their families
and homes and country and go to a desert of disease and want
and poverty and live there and raise their children there and
preach there, that we should be willing to do that for something
that most people don't even consider worth getting up on Sunday and
coming out and listening to it. And twice in one day is too much,
isn't it? And whoever heard of going to church on Wednesday
night, I love you, Jesus, but I don't love you that much. Now,
after all, what do you expect of a fellow? The mystery of it
all, oh, the mystery of it, that God Almighty should condescend
to have anything to do with me. And some of you think God ought
to save you. But if we're as good as you are,
maybe we'd think things. Some of you feel like that God
ought to be honored to have you in his church or in his family
or in his kingdom. But oh, Solomon, the greatest
of all, said that God should condescend to dwell down there. David, the mightiest of all,
who am I and what is my house? Have you ever thought about that?
You know what Spurgeon said? Now listen to this. We need to
learn from these. When I came to Christ, when I
came to Christ, I had no knowledge whatsoever of any personal or
saving interest in the Lord Jesus Christ. All I knew was that it was written
in God's Word that God hath made him to be sin for us who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
So I looked to Him, and I trusted on Him, and I believed His promise,
and I said, sink or swim, I'm casting myself on Him, and I
cried, Great Son of God, Thou hast lived and died and made
atonement for those who will trust thee, great Son of God.
I do trust thee. Enable me to trust thee more." Now, sir, I don't know why we
don't talk that language. I guess we never learned it.
I'm serious. I'm serious. We're Baptists and
we believe what Baptists believe. We've made a profession, we've
cried a little over our sins, and we accepted Jesus, and we
joined the Church, and we've assumed some responsibility.
We've given a little and built a building, teach Sunday school
and do this, that, and the other. We serve the Lord with all the
language of worship and the language of faith. Old Barnard said one
time to one of us, he said, You've got it up here. If you ever get
it down here, you'll be something else. This is where I want it,
don't you? down here. And oh, if he ever
gets down here, I'll be amazed, I'll be amazed that God Almighty
should condense him to dwell within. What's this fourth thing? Saving
faith. Faith, if it is saving faith,
it always stands alone. It has no rival. It has no allies. It has no assistant. It has no
We're saved by faith alone, not by works, not by deeds, not by
arms of the flesh, not by dedication, not by determination, not by
consecration, not by rededication. We're saved by faith alone. For
by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it's the gift of God, not of works, not of works, not of works. By works of the law shall no
flesh be justified. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified. Turn to Jeremiah 17. I want all
of us to look hard at this verse of Scripture. Jeremiah 17, verse
5 through 7. Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be
that man that trusteth in man. and make it flesh his arm, and
whose heart departed from the Lord. He'll be like a heath,
a shrub in the desert, like a person naked in the desert, shall not
see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in
the wilderness, and a salt land, and not inhabited. Blessed is
the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord
is. He shall be as a tree planted
by the waters that spreadeth out her roots for the river,
and shall not see when heat cometh. But her leaf shall be green,
and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall
cease from yielding fruit." Cursed is that man that makes anything
other than the Lord his trust. God doesn't require you to produce
a righteousness, He commands you to receive one. God Almighty
doesn't require you to create life, but to receive it. To receive
it. That's what faith is, to receive
it. God does not require you to live up to a standard, but
to believe a person. A person. God Almighty does not
require you to understand him, but to believe him. Without faith there can be no
approach to God. He that cometh to God must believe,
must believe. There is no entrance, no opening
into the presence of God except by faith. Without faith the gospel
profits you nothing. Hebrews 4.2 says the gospel was
preached to them, but it did not profit them, not being mixed
with faith. Without faith there can be no
salvation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
He that believeth not shall be damned. Without prayer, faith
is useless. If any man lack wisdom, let him
ask of God, but let him ask in faith, not wavering. For the
man that wavereth is like the trouble-tossed sea. Let not that
man think he'll receive anything of God. When you pray, believe. When
you pray, believe, Christ said. But faith stands alone. It has
no support. It has no allies. It has no assistance. My interest to the presence of
God is by faith alone. That's how important it is. Last of all, we'll continue the
message tonight. Saving faith has to do with a
person, a person. It is not believing doctrine.
It is believing a person. It is not receiving religion.
It is receiving a person. It is not obeying a law. It's
obeying a person. It's not a relationship with
a way or a principle. It's a vital living union with
a person. And this is where 98% of religion
has missed faith. The sole object of saving faith
is a person, and that person, and this is so important, that
person is the Lord Jesus Christ. That person is not Jesus, it's the Lord Jesus. Now I'm
serious here, and you listen to me, and listen carefully. Jesus Christ, who died on Calvary,
is Lord. He is complete sovereignty. It
is in that character that those who receive him, receive him
as Lord. He is not a doormat named Jesus. He is not a fire escape named
Jesus. He is not a way called Jesus.
He is the Lord Jesus Christ. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth Jesus to be Lord. When Peter and James and John
stood at the gate, beautiful, and told that lame man to stand
up and walk, they said, In the name! In the name! of Jesus Christ rise up and walk. What does that mean? God has
given him a name which is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue shall confess
that he is Lord. Now listen to me. Three questions. In what character
did the people reject Jesus Christ when he was here on this earth?
In what character? Did they reject him as the preacher?
No, sir. Why, even the soldiers came back
to the Pharisees and said, nobody ever spoke like that man. The
people said he speaks with authority, not like the scribes and Pharisees. Even Nicodemus said no man could
do the miracles you do except God be with him. They didn't
reject Jesus the healer. They brought people to him to
be healed. They tried to get under his shadow
as he passed by. They thronged him and pressed
him. They didn't reject Jesus, the Reformer. In fact, when he
was out there feeding that multitude, why, they followed him, went
around to the other side of the shore, waiting on him when he
got there. Come on now, in what character
did they reject him? Here the Pilate says, Behold
your King! And they said, we have no king
but Caesar, crucified. We will not have this man reign
over us. We'll let him feed us. We'll
let him clothe us. We'll let him heal us. But we
ain't going to bow to him as Lord. Now you examine today's
religion. What are they preaching? What
are they believing? Jesus the good man, Jesus the
healer, Jesus the Savior. You go forth and preach Him as
Lord, and you see what happens. That's the reason these preachers
right here in Ashland, Kentucky, won't preach the sovereignty
of the Lord Jesus Christ. They know where to lose their
churches, because they won't have Him as Lord. No, sir, not
as Lord. That thief confessed to him what?
Lord! Remember me when you come into
your kingdom! And our Lord took him to glory. He didn't walk down an aisle,
he didn't join a Sunday school class, he didn't join a ball
team, he didn't get baptized, he didn't take the Lord's table,
and he didn't go out and knock on doors, and he didn't do any
of these things. He confessed Christ as his Lord! Let me ask
you, Come on now, would you trade places with him? Boy, I would. Man, to hear the Lord say, today
thou shalt be with me in paradise, that's all I want to hear. And
he heard it. He owned him as Lord. I'm telling
you, the world is accepting Jesus as their Savior, but somebody's
my God. Somebody's my Lord. Who is it? Is it me or is it Jesus Christ? Who's your Lord? I know who your
Savior is. You've accepted Jesus as your
Savior, but He, boy, I'll tell you, is He your Lord? Is He your
Lord? He's a Lord down at your house. Does He rule over you? Are you
His? Are your possessions His? Can
you say with Eli, when the Lord--" Now listen to me! God said to Eli, I'm going to
kill your sons. That's all right, you're the
Lord, do what you will. Joe, everything's gone! Well,
the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name
of the Lord, the Lord. That's the same Lord that I'm
talking about over here. And he's the same yesterday,
today, and forever. And He, let me tell you, I'll
be honest with you now, and honest with myself, He's not going to
be your Savior if He's not your Lord. Now, you can run around
here talking about all you believe and all you've done for God,
but you don't know Jesus Christ until you know Him as Lord. My
second question, in what character did the soldiers mock Him? Come
on now. In what character did they mock
Him? In what character did the people reject him as Lord, King? We won't have him reign over
us. In what character did those soldiers send him down in that
soldier's hall and mock him and spit upon him? They went out
and got a crown. You're a king? Give you a crown. They shoved that crown of thorns
down on his head. You're a king? You ought to have a royal robe,
and they put that old red rug around him. You're a king? You ought to have a scepter,
and they put a reed, a hollow reed in his hand, and there he
sat, bleeding. dripping with the gore from his
own head and back running down on the floor with that reed in
his hand, and they got on their knees in front of him and said,
Hail, King of the Jews. His greatest humiliation. They rejected him as king. Wait
a minute. For what crime was he crucified?
Come on now. For what crime was he crucified?
You know, when they crucified a man on a Roman tree, they put
a sign right over his head listing the crimes of which he was guilty.
Turn with me to John. Turn with me to the book of Matthew
27. Watch this, Matthew 27. Matthew 27, verse 37. Listen
to it. And set up over his head his
accusation. over his head, his accusation
written, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews, the King of Israel. That's why they nailed him to
a cross. That's exactly why they nailed him to a cross. And I'm
asking you this this morning, has the authority of Jesus Christ
been settled in your heart? I don't see how in the world
I can claim to be saved till that's been settled. I don't
see how I can claim to be a son of the king if his authority
has not been established. Every kingdom's got to have a
king. Is this truth? Lord Jesus Christ. Every kingdom's got to have a
king. And I don't believe I'm a subject of his kingdom till
that has been established, till that authority has been established.
That's what I talked about to you ladies in the Sunday school
class this morning. I know we talk religion with the best of
them. But has his authority, has his kingship, has his lordship
been established? You don't do that down here and
you don't do that in there. You do that right here. What will you happen to do? That's
where he brought Paul. That's where he brought Paul.
He's prophet, Lord Jesus, that's his name of humiliation, the
God-man. Lord Jesus Christ, priest, anointed, yonder amazing sight
I see, the incarnate Son of God, dying on a cursed tree, shedding
his own precious blood. Faith, saving faith. Oh, it can
be known, it ought to be known, it has been known. It ought to
be known by this word, amazing faith, that God shall let me
have it. But here it is. The object is
a person, and that person in his name, whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Son of God, shall be saved. We'd better learn
what that word, name, means. Who is he? Who is he? Who is this name on which we
call? It's the name which is above
every name. Our Father in Heaven, be our
teacher, break our hearts, humble us in the dust, make us willing
to be taught. No man, Christ said, can come
to me except my Father which sent me drawing, and they shall
all be taught of God. He that hath learned of the Father
cometh unto me." Make us disciples, learners. Lord, teach us. Speak
to us again tonight. Let us establish, let the authority
of the Lordship of Christ be established in my heart. Give
me saving faith. In his name we pray, amen.

Saving Faith Vs. Religious Profession #1

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Saving Faith Vs. Religious Profession #1

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book