The Just Shall Live By Faith

I'm going to speak to you today
on the subject that just shall live by faith, and our text will
be taken from the third chapter of Galatians, verse 11. But before
I bring the message, I want to talk to you just a little bit
about something that is on my heart. I wish you'd listen to
me very carefully. Mr. Spurgeon told about a little
boy who was heard to pray at a Saturday night devotional prayer
meeting in this manner. He said, Lord, help my pastor
to say something to Mara that I can understand. Help my pastor
to say something to Mara that I can understand. Paul was concerned
about this. He wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter
1 verse 17, Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the
gospel. Now listen, not in words of man's
wisdom, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. And then he wrote in 1 Corinthians
2 verse 1 through 5, Brethren, when I came to you, I came not
to you with excellency of speech, or wisdom, declaring unto you
the testimony of God. My speech was not with enticing
words of man's wisdom, but in the demonstration in the power
of the Holy Spirit. Now I know that preachers are
scolding the people today, but I'm going to be different. I
declare unto you that our problem is not in the pew. Our problem
is in the Our problem's not in the pew. Our problem's not with
the people. Our problem's in the pulpit. Our problem today is with the
preachers. This is where God speaks to his
people. God speaks from the pulpit. God
speaks to his people through his servants, and this is where
our problem is. We are facing today apostasy
in the pulpit. That's where the problem is.
The word of God is being denied. Modern thought is being substituted
for the inspired word of God. Creation, the fall, what happened
in the garden, Holy Spirit conviction, substitution, blood atonement,
what happened on the cross, the new birth, righteousness, what
happens in the sinner's heart when God saves him, a real experience
of grace, original sin, God's sovereignty, these things are
not being preached. Our people know nothing about
them. These things are being outrightly denied from the pulpit,
and that's where the problem is. We're facing in the pulpit
not only apostasy, but we're facing compromise. Compromise
in the pulpit in an effort to gain numbers, in an effort to
gain public approval, in an effort to gain crowds, the pulpit has
resorted to jokes, entertainment contest, prizes, people are actually,
believe it or not, and I know you believe it, people are actually
being given rewards to come to the house of God. They're actually
being given prizes to worship God Almighty. This is compromise,
this is admitting that the word is not enough. We've got to have
entertainment. We've got to have contests, we've
got to have rewards, we've got to have prizes. This is admitting
defeat. This is saying the word of God
is not sufficient to accomplish what God sent us to accomplish.
That the Holy Spirit is not able to do what God sent him to do,
that we've got to do his work for him. We're not only facing
apostasy and compromise in the pulpit, but we're facing absolute
deadness in the pulpit. Now, most preachers will not
deny that a state of deadness exists in the Church today, but
instead of crying, O Spirit of the Living God, breathe on these
dead, dry bones, O Spirit of the Living God, give them life,
instead of praying for the Spirit of God to give life, instead
of preaching the Word of God to those dry bones as God commanded
Ezekiel to do, we're trying to resurrect these dry bones with
socials. We're trying to bring them alive
with ball games and contests and relays and fleshly activities. We're trying to do with these
socials and fleshly activities what only God can do, and that
is give life to dead sinners. Compromise, apostasy, deadness. No, it's not the people who need
the Reformation. It's the pulpit. We need, once
again, to reform the pulpit. That's what happened in the days
of Calvin and Zwingli and Luther and Knox and these great men.
The pulpit was revived, the pulpit was reformed. And it went out
to the people. We must return to the power of
the early church. You know where the power of the
early church was? Preaching. Their power was in their preaching. God raised up preachers. God
didn't raise up organizers and musicians. He didn't raise up
promoters and ear-ticklers, he raised up preachers. And he sent
those preachers forward, men who prayed, men who studied,
men who got a message from God. And that message burned on their
hearts until they emptied themselves of it, until they delivered it
to the people. Like old Richard Baxter once
said, I preach as one who may never preach again. what we would
preach on Sunday morning if we knew that we would never preach
again. This was it. This was our last
message. But that's what Baxter said.
I preach right now, in this given moment. I'm preaching as one
who may never preach again. I'm preaching as a dying man
to dying men. My friend, we are preaching to
men who have one life to live, one death to die, one judgment
to face, and one long eternity to live. And I'll tell you this,
like one great old preacher said, nothing will do a helpless sinner
good except the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing that
I have to offer him, nothing that I can say, nothing that
I can contribute, only the gospel of Jesus Christ will do the sinner
good. And you know, we don't have many
shots to fire. We don't have many opportunities
to pray. We don't have many opportunities
to reach the heart of the sinner. And those shots that we fire
must be fired with purpose and they must be fired with aim in
order to accomplish the greater glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we need a reformation, but
not in the pew. We need a reformation right here
in the pulpit. We need to do what God sent us
to do. We need to cry out before the throne of the living God
for a message, for a word from the King. As ambassadors for
Christ, we go forth to preach a message, but we must not preach
our message, or the church's message, or the denomination's
message, but God's message. We need to cry out to God, give
us a message, and give us the boldness and courage to preach
it, and give us a people with ears to hear and hearts to receive,
that which God has burdened us with, a message. I'm going to
give you an example of what I believe that we need to preach in this
day. Now, four times in the scripture, you have this one verse of scripture,
four times. In Habakkuk, in Romans, in Galatians,
in the book of Hebrews, this same statement is made four times
in the word of God. The just shall live by faith. Four times. The just shall live
by faith. Now, any message that's so often
repeated must be important. Any message so often repeated
ought to be preached. Any message so often repeated
in God's Word ought to be received. I'm going to deal with these
four verses of Scripture one at a time. Now, first of all,
if you turn to the book of Habakkuk, that's in the Old Testament,
turn to the book of Habakkuk, chapter 2, verse 4. And you read
there, the just shall live by faith. Now this first text, found
in the Old Testament, shows that God has never redeemed sinners,
but one way. That's what it shows. It's in
the Old Testament, it's in the New Testament. It's the same
message, it's the same gospel. In the Old Testament, men were
saved not by law, not by ceremony, not by works, but by faith. By faith in Jesus Christ. In
the New Testament, they're saved the same way. It's the same message
in the old and the same message in the new. Paul said, I am an
apostle of Jesus Christ. I'm separated unto the gospel
of God, which he promised before in the holy scriptures by the
holy prophets. And it's concerning his son,
Jesus Christ. The just of the Old Testament
live by faith. The just of the New Testament
live by faith. The just of the Old Testament
lived by faith in the coming Redeemer who was to die. The
just in the New Testament lived by faith in the Redeemer who
did come and who died. Go to the oldest book in the
Bible. You know what the oldest book in the Bible is? It's the
book of Job. And Job wrote in the oldest book
in the Bible, I know that my Redeemer liveth. And though he's
going to stand upon this earth, And the worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh I'll see the Lord, whom I shall see for myself,
and not another." My Redeemer. The same Redeemer Paul talked
about and Job talked about. Job, who lived before Moses,
who lived before Abraham. And our Lord said of Moses, he
said, Now you claim Moses is your father. If you had believed
Moses, you would have believed me. Moses wrote of me. When Moses told about the Passover
in Egypt, how that Israel slew the lamb and put the blood on
the doorpost and the lintel. That Passover was Christ. That's
what the scripture says. Christ is our Passover. When Moses smoked the rock out
there in the wilderness, the people were thirsty. God told
him to smite the rock. He would give forth water. When
he smoked that rock and he gave forth water, that rock was Christ. That's what the scripture says.
That rock was Christ. Our Lord spoke of Abraham. He
said, Abraham saw my day. Abraham saw my day and rejoiced. Abraham saw how that God would
give a Savior, how that God would send a Redeemer, how that God
would provide himself a sacrifice. Those words came out of Abraham's
own mouth. God shall provide himself a sacrifice. Abraham preached the gospel,
the same gospel I'm preaching, the gospel of substitution, the
gospel of blood atonement. the gospel of Christ's sacrifice.
That was Abraham's message, the same message we're preaching.
Isaiah, read Isaiah 53, verse 4 through 6, he was wounded for
our transgressions. By his stripes we're healed.
Who's he talking about? Well, the Ethiopian eunuch asked
Philip that very question, of whom is the prophet Isaiah speaking? Does he speak of himself or some
other man? And Philip replied, speaking
in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ. He began at that
same scripture and preached to him, Jesus Christ. That's who
saved sinners in the Old Testament, from the first blood offering
of Abel to the last blood sacrifice before Calvary. Every drop of
blood in the Old Testament was not a means of salvation, but
was a means through which people could see the Savior. Every drop
of blood was a type of Christ. Every drop of blood pointed to
Calvary, pointed to the cross, pointed to the one who would
die on the cross and save sinners. So Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 4,
Old Testament scripture, before Christ was ever born in Bethlehem,
before he ever went to the cross of Calvary, before he was ever
buried and rose again, before he ever ascended back to the
Father, the scripture says that Josh shall live by faith. All right, now turn with me to
the book of Romans, chapter 1, verse 17. And this second text
shows faith in Christ in the midst of a crooked, perverse,
and wicked generation. Confidence and faith in Christ.
Sometimes take that first chapter of Romans and read it, and you'll
blush at the depravity of the human race. In fact, it says
three times in that first chapter, God gave them up. God gave them
up. You have in that chapter people
who were unthankful, people who were idol worshipers, nature
worshipers, homosexuals, murderers, haters of God, without natural
affection. This is a terrible chapter of
the cesspool of human corruption and the depravity of the human
race And right in the middle of it, right in the middle of
all this vile depravity and corruption, you have the Apostle Paul standing
forth saying, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. One
bright spot, one brilliant light, one great testimony, in the midst
of all this cesspool of human corruption, comes forth the testimony
of one man, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the
power of God of the salvation, for therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith, and the just shall live
by faith. Even in the days of apostasy,
even in the days of perversion, even in the days of the greatest
depravity, even in the days of the greatest corruption, when
the sentence of God comes upon the human race, God gave them
up. Leave them alone. They've turned to their idols.
God turned them over to do that which is inconvenient, but one
man, by the grace of God, is enabled by the Holy Spirit to
look to Calvary and say, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. For
in that gospel is the power of God unto salvation. In that gospel
of a crucified Savior, the righteousness of God is revealed. Amid all
the unrighteousness of man, shines forth the perfect holiness of
God. And in that gospel, the wrath
of God against sin is revealed. In Christ, God justifies the
sinner perfectly. In Christ, God sanctifies the
sinner wholly. In Christ, God glorifies the
sinner eternally. Thirdly, turn to Galatians 3,
verse 11. And here in Galatians 3, 11,
if you read it carefully, you'll find that the message and the
strength and the purpose of this text, right here, the just shall
live by faith, the message of it and the purpose of it is found
right here in the first sentence. Now just before he says the just
shall live by faith, he says this, no man, no man is justified
by the law in the sight of God. Now a man might justify himself
by his deeds. And he may even be justified
in the eyes of his friends by his deeds. And he may be justified
in the eyes of the community by his deeds, but not in the
sight of God. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified in God's sight, for in God's sight the
just shall live by faith. Now let me ask and answer four
questions about the law. Now this will help you if you
listen. four questions about the law of God. It says here,
no man is justified by the law in the sight of God. All right,
first of all, what is the law? Well, the law is the character
of God. The law is a summary of the holiness
of God. The law of God reveals God's
holiness. God is holy, saith the law. And
then the law of God gives us the requirements of God upon
all of his subjects, angels and me, heaven and earth. All of
God's subjects are under the law of God. That's right. This
law of God is the law of his holiness and the law of his universe,
and everybody living in that universe, whether you like it
or not, you're under the law of God. You say, I'm not under
the law of God. Oh, yes you are. Everyone that is in this universe
is under the law of God Almighty who owns this universe. The law
of God is the perfect standard of holiness which God has set
forth for every one of his subjects. All right, second question. Now
listen. What does the law require? It requires more than you see
on the surface. That's where the Pharisees missed
it. It says, Thou shalt not kill. Well, they thought just because
they never took a a sword and took the life of an individual,
that they weren't guilty of murder. But Christ said this, you've
heard it said, thou shalt not kill. I say unto you, to hate
in your heart is to be guilty of murder already. The law says
thou shalt not commit adultery, but Christ said to lust in your
heart is to be guilty of adultery. The law says thou shalt not covet. Christ said to be dissatisfied
with what you have. is covetousness. So the law of
God, if you that would be perfect, you that would be under the law,
don't you hear the law? Don't you hear what God's law
says? God's law says to love God with all your heart, mind,
soul, and strength. God's law says to love your neighbor
as yourself. God's law requires not only perfect
outward obedience, which you can't produce either, but it
demands a perfect inward obedience. God's law demands perfect love. perfect thought, perfect motive,
perfect attitude, perfect deeds, at all times, the perfect law
of God, which reaches the heart, the mind, the imagination, the
very innermost being of every individual. Third question. Can
any human being meet the holy requirements of God's law? A
big capital N-O exclamation point. No way. That's right, the scripture
says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
The scripture says from the sole of our feet to the top of our
heads there's no soundness in us. The word of God declares
there's none good. Now you can keep on talking about
how good your mother is, and how good your father is, and
how good your sister or brother is, and how good your children
are, and how good this man is, and how good that man is, and
compared with other people there may be some being commendable
about them. But in the sight of God, there
is none good, no, not one. That's what the scripture says.
Not compared to the holy law of God. We're talking about holiness. We're talking about perfection.
And anybody out there that claims to be without sin, it doesn't
matter how you spell your name. The scripture says, if any say
he hath not sin, he is and he's a liar, he makes God a liar,
and the truth's not in him. Now that's so. Now you can build,
you can jump over a barn if you build a barn low enough, and
you can keep the law of God if you lower the standard of God's
law enough, but you can't touch God's law. God's law demands
inward perfection. It demands not only that you
abstain from evil, but that you produce love, and that can't
be produced by an evil heart. Now the fourth question. Has
any human being ever met and kept these perfect requirements?
Capital Y-E-S. You mean some human being did
keep that holy, perfect law of God? Yes, he did. His name was
Jesus of Nazareth. He was the God-man. He was God
in human flesh. And he came down here as our
representative, and he met that holy law head on, and he obeyed
it perfectly. The Father said, this is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. As our representative, he kept
that law. He obeyed that law. And by Adam's
disobedience, we fell. Death and judgment and sin and
condemnation came upon all flesh. And that's all it is. In the
flesh dwelleth no good thing. In the flesh no man can please
God. But one man did. Our representative,
Jesus Christ. He perfectly obeyed that law.
He, in the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son, made
under the law, made of a woman, to redeem those who were born
under the law, those who couldn't keep the law, those who were
slain by the law, those who were under the condemnation and judgment
and penalty of the broken law. Christ came down here in human
flesh, tempted, tried, tested, in every point, in every jot
and tittle of God's holy law. He never broke that law, not
in one point. He obeyed it perfectly. And the
just shall live by faith in him. By the law shall no flesh be
justified, but by faith in Christ, by confidence in Christ, by vital
union with Christ, you can live. Better listen to that. By Christ. Here is the fourth text in Hebrews
10, verse 38. The just shall live by faith.
Now listen to 38 and 39, Hebrews 10. the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them that
draw back unto perdition, but of them that keep on believing
to the saving of the soul." Now, what does this deal with? This
text shows this, that the very life of perseverance is faith,
not Works is not the life of perseverance. Faith is the work,
is the life of perseverance. We begin this journey by faith
that just shall live, shall begin to live, shall start life, shall
start the journey by faith. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish but have everlasting life. He that believeth on the
Son hath life. That's how we start. That's how
we begin. That's how our sins are put away.
That's how we start the journey. Now we keep on the journey by
faith. The scripture says in 1 Peter
1 5, we're kept by the power of God. Yes, in the hand of God.
By the grace of God we're kept. Not by our works, not by our
efforts, not by our merit, but by his grace. We're kept by the
power of God through faith. Not apart from faith, not without
faith. Faith grows, faith continues.
And then in the last place, we complete this journey the same
way we began it, the same way we continued it, we complete
it by faith. Listen to Paul in 1 Timothy. He says, the time of my departure
is at hand. I fought a good fight. I finished
my course. I've what? Kept the faith. I've
kept the faith. I've kept the faith. Henceforth
there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness. which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give to me in that day, not to me
only, but to all those who love his appearing." Yes, the soul
is the life of the body. Faith is the life of the soul,
and Christ is the life of faith. Did you get that? The soul is
the life of the body, and faith is the life of the soul, and
Christ is the life of faith. The just shall live by faith. Now if you want this message
on cassette tape, they are available. You write to me. The address
will be given to you in a few moments. There is a small charge.
Until next week at the same time, I bid you a very pleasant good
day.

The Just Shall Live By Faith

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The Just Shall Live By Faith

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