Paul's Definition of Saving Faith

Book of Second Timothy. The Apostle
Paul was in prison when he wrote this epistle to Timothy. He was
in prison in Rome, and this was just prior to the time that he
was brought before the Emperor Nero. And it is believed that
at this time he was actually, literally chained to a soldier,
daily in danger of execution. And besides all this, he had
been forsaken and disowned by most of his friends. If you look
at verse 15 of 2 Timothy, chapter 1, Paul says to Timothy, This
thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from
thee. He had been forsaken by his friends. He said, all in Asia have turned
away from me. And then look at chapter 4. Turn
over to the 4th chapter, verse 10. And he tells about some more
friends forsaking him. He says in verse 10, Demas hath
forsaken me. When he was writing another epistle,
he mentioned this man Demas as being a close friend, a close
associate, a companion. But he said, Demas hath forsaken
me, having loved this present world. And he departed unto Thessalonica. Then look at verse 11. Only Luke
is with me. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark
and bring him with you. He's profitable to my ministry. Then look at verse 16 of 2 Timothy
4. Verse 16 of 2 Timothy 4. At my
first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be
laid to their charge. So this man Paul was not only
in prison, not only chained to a soldier, not only awaiting
a hearing before a cruel Roman emperor, but he had been forsaken
of his friends and those upon whom he had counted and depended.
And the chain didn't trouble Paul nearly so much as the loss
of these friends. So in verse 8, he exhorts Timothy,
verse 8 of 2 Timothy He exhorts Timothy to never be ashamed of
two things, three things in all. First of all, he says, don't
be ashamed, verse 8, of the testimony of our Lord. Don't be ashamed
of the gospel. In Romans 1, Paul said, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation,
to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles. He says twice in
Romans chapter 9 and 10, whosoever believeth on him will never be
ashamed. Don't be ashamed of the gospel.
And then in verse 8, the second thing, he says, don't be ashamed
of those who preach it. Don't be ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, Timothy. Don't be ashamed of
the gospel, and don't be ashamed of those who preach it. And verse
3, don't be ashamed to be a partaker. a partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel. Don't be ashamed to be identified
with the gospel. To stand up and be counted, to
preach it and be ready to share in the afflictions and the persecutions
that come as a result of believing this gospel. And then in verse
9 and 10 he identifies that gospel. Now watch it. Here he is sitting
in prison, chained, waiting execution. forsaken by his friends, all
that are in Asia turned against me. Only Luke is with me. Demas
hath forsaken me. All the brethren in Asia turned
against me. When I first spoke, no man stood
with me. They all forsook me. But Timothy,
don't be ashamed of the gospel. Don't you be ashamed of the gospel.
And don't you be ashamed of me, the preacher of the gospel. And
don't be ashamed to be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel.
Be ready to preach it. and to stand for it wherever
you are. And then in verse 9 and 10 he
identifies this gospel of which he's not ashamed. Now here's
a clear-cut definition, here's a summary of his message, verse
9. First of all, he says this gospel
is a work of God for us. Salvation is not something we
do for God, it's something God does for us. Today from the pulpit
about all you hear is what we're doing for God, what our denomination
is doing for God, what our particular church is doing for God, what
I as a preacher am doing for God, and what you as an individual
can do for God. We used to have a little sign
on nearly everybody's wall, only one life will soon be passed,
only that which is done for Christ will last. Well that's just not
true. It's not what I do for Christ
that shall last. The people at the judgment in
Matthew 7 said, Lord, we've preached in your name and prophesied in
your name and cast out devils and we've done many wonderful
works. He said, I never knew you. Depart from me ye that work
iniquity. It's not what I do for God that
shall last, it's what God has done for me. Why don't we change
that and say just one life will soon be passed, only what Christ
has done will really last. And here it says in verse 9,
He saved us, He called us. We didn't save ourselves. We
didn't call ourselves. We didn't seek God. He sought
us. He saved us. He called us with
a holy calling. Paul said, this is my gospel.
First of all, it's a work of God for us. It's something God
does for me. He lifted me from sinking sand. He lifted me. with tender hand,
He lifted me. From shades of night to planes
of light, O praise His name, He lifted me." We are His workmanship
created in Christ Jesus. Then what's the next line? It's
a work of God for us, and it's not because of our works. It's
not according to our works. This salvation, this holy calling,
is not according to our works. But what is it according? It's
according to His purpose. It's according to His grace.
What is grace? It's unmerited favor. Grace is
God Almighty giving us what we don't deserve. Mercy is God not
giving us what we do deserve. He saved us, He called us with
a holy call, not according to our works. God is not waiting
to see what you do before He acts. God is not waiting to see
how you respond before he blesses. He blesses and then you respond. He sought us. He loved us first. This is the message, not that
we love God. He loved us and gave himself
for us. Now watch the next line. It's
an eternal gift which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. It was an eternal gift. God never
does in time anything that he didn't decree in eternity. The Scripture says, known unto
God are all his works from the beginning. I declare the end
from the beginning, he said, and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand. It's
an eternal gift. It's a work God does for us.
It's not based on our works. It's not because we've earned
it or bought it or sought it or deserved it. It's because
of his free grace. And it's given us in Christ before
the world began. In Christ, not apart from Christ. Apart from Christ, our God's
a consuming fire. God's love, God's mercy, God's
grace is in Christ Jesus. Now watch the next line. but
is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. It's
the gospel of divine visitation. It's the gospel of divine revelation. God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself. Christ came into this world to
redeem us, and all promises and all purposes and all types are
fulfilled in him. It is manifested now. Now this
salvation, is something God does for us, and it's not according
to our work. It was given to us before the
world began, and it was typified, exemplified, symbolized by all
of the ceremonies and the priesthood and the types of the Old Testament.
Now Christ has come and manifested this grace and manifested this
purpose and revealed unto us this gospel by his appearance. Now what's the next line? And
it's a gospel of an effectual work. He has abolished death. He has abolished death, spiritual
death, eternal death, death for sin. He has abolished. And he
has brought life and immortality to life through the gospel. It's
an effectual work. He did it. He did it. He doesn't stand in
the wings and wait for you to help him do it. He did it. It's
the gospel of substitution. It's the gospel of an effectual
work. And there you have, my friend, the place where natural
man reveals his rebellion and his embarrassment where the gospel
is concerned. There you have the five areas
where you have the most conflict. Right there. Paul says, Timothy,
don't be ashamed of the gospel. Those in Asia have forsaken the
gospel. Demas has forsaken the gospel. He loves the world. When I first
preached, all these men forsook me. I pray God will not lay it
to their church. Don't you forsake the gospel.
Don't be ashamed of the gospel. And don't be ashamed of those
who preach it. Be ready to be identified with
it. Be ready to pay the price for believing it and preaching
it. Be ready to be identified with this gospel so that you
too will be a partaker of its affliction. And this is the gospel. It's the gospel of human inability. It's the gospel of human depravity. He saved us. We were lost, dead
in sin, and needed saving, and we couldn't help ourselves, and
He saved us. It's the work of God. Salvation is not something you
do for God. It's not something you come down
an aisle at the front of the church and receive from a preacher's
hand. It's not something you receive in return for doing good
deeds. It's something God supernaturally,
mysteriously, by His grace, does for you. Human inability. And the second
area where men show their rebellion and their embarrassment is the
denial of human religious works. Our works, our righteousness,
God says, are filthy rags. In the flesh dwelleth no good
thing. When I've done everything God
commands me to do, I'm still an unprofitable servant. And then divine grace, eternal
grace in Christ. Men will show forth their hatred
and their rebellion right here at this particular point. Salvation
is not a time work, it's an eternal work. God knows all things from the
beginning. God knows all things from the
foundation of this world. Before God ever set out to create
this world or to create man, Christ was the Lamb slain, the
covenant of grace was already secure in Christ, who right then
was the surety of the redeemed. And divine revelation, the deity
of Christ, God was in the flesh. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth." Who is Jesus of Nazareth? He's God Almighty. God was in Christ. He that hath
seen me hath seen the Father, Christ said. He's not a representative. He's not just a messenger. He's
not a religious reformer, he's not just a martyr, he's God in
human flesh. That's what the Scripture says.
Thomas said, My Lord and my what? God. And then effectual substitution. Men want a gospel, men want a
salvation that is partly paid by God and partly paid by them. They don't mind giving God some
of the glory, but not all of the glory. They want just a little
of the glory for themselves. But this thing of salvation is
a work Christ has effectually accomplished. When he said, it
is finished, he meant my redemption. My justification, my sanctification,
and my glorification was finished in Him. In Him. Don't be ashamed of this gospel.
Verse 11, I'm appointed a preacher of this gospel. I'm appointed
an apostle of this gospel. I'm appointed a teacher of this
gospel. This message of human inability,
this message of the God's sovereign grace in redemption in Christ,
this message of a divine visitation and a manifestation of God's
very presence in human flesh, this gospel of effectual substitution,
don't be ashamed of it. Here was a man in prison. Here
was a man facing a cruel death. Here was a man facing the powers
of Caesar Nero. Here was a man facing the powers
of the Roman Empire. Here was a man facing the loss
of friends, the desertion of those closest to him, standing,
as it were, alone. Yet with the boldness and courage
and fearlessness, how could he have this type of strong faith? How could he have this type of
confidence? Well, he tells us in the next
verse, which cause I suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not
ashamed." He doesn't say, I know what I
believe. If you go to the men out at the steel mill and the
oil refinery and the stores downtown and the park benches and the
other places and you sit around and talk, people are willing
to tell you what they believe. I know what I believe. Other places you go, they're
willing to tell you when they believed. Tell me your experience.
When were you saved? Well, back at the old country
church in 1937 or 1948. God did a great work for me,
and I remember that day. They're glad to tell you when
they were saved or when they believed. And a lot of them will
be willing to tell you how much they believed. But you don't
hear many people talking about whom they believe. There is a
difference. Here is the first and important
key to saving faith. Paul didn't talk about what he
believed, he didn't talk about when he believed, he didn't talk
about how much he believed, he didn't rest in a doctrine, an
experience, a law, a ceremony, but a person. A person. Turn back to Romans chapter 1
just a moment. Let me point out something here
that when I saw it years ago, it was a special revelation and
a special blessing to me personally. Romans 1, verse 1. Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the
gospel. Whose gospel? Not the Baptist
gospel or the Methodist gospel or the Presbyterian gospel, the
gospel of God. I'm separated to the gospel of
God." Now, verse 2 is in parentheses, which means that it can be lifted
out without doing any damage at all to the sentence. He's
just identifying this gospel of God. He said it was promised
by his prophets in the Holy Scripture, this gospel of God. But verse
3, look at it, he picks it up here. He says, "...I am separated
to the gospel of God concerning his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord,
which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
In the flesh he was the heir to David's throne. In the flesh
he was a Jew. In the flesh he was the son of
David, but declared to be, determined to be, the Son of God. That's
who he is. He's the God-man. His divine
nature, he's God. His human nature, the Son of
David. But this gospel, what I'm pointing out to you here,
this gospel is concerning not a law, not an experience, not
a religious ceremony. This gospel is concerning a person. It's concerning who he is, and
what he did, and why he did it, and where he is now, and what
is the future in regard to him. The whole scheme of salvation,
the whole plan of redemption is built around a person, Jesus
Christ. And Paul says, here's the key
to faith, here's the definition of faith, here's why I'm not
ashamed, here's why I'm willing to suffer and to die, here's
why I'll tackle the whole Roman Empire, here's why I stand firm
though forsaken by all men, I know whom I have believed. I know he's very God of their
God. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. unto the Son, he saith, Thy throne,
O God, is forever." Paul said to the church at Antioch, speaking
to the elders, you feed the church of God which he purchased with
his own blood. Whose blood? God's blood. He
said, God can't die. In the flesh he can. As a man
he can. My soul can't die, but my body
can. My soul will never die, but my
body will. And God wrapped in human flesh,
encased in human flesh, that body can die, of course God can't
die, God is a spirit. But when Christ became a man,
as God, he could obey and fulfill the law, as man he could suffer
under the broken law. Paul said, I know who he is,
he's very God of very God. I know what he did, he came to
save sinners. This is a faithful saying, it's
a true saying, and it's worthy of acceptation by all men that
Jesus Christ came into this world not to die as a martyr, but to
save sinners of whom I am chief. He's the friend of sinners. He
loves sinners. He delights to show mercy. I
know that he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bared
the sin of many. I know he died for my sins. He
bore my sins in his body on the tree, Peter said. I know that he was buried, I
know that he rose again victorious over all his enemies, conquering
sin, death, judgment, hell. I know that right now he's at
the right hand of God as our mediator and our advocate. I
know that we are seated together with him in the heavenly. I know
that he will come again. He said, if I go away, I will
come again and receive you unto myself. Here's faith, I know whom I have
believed. Do you know a real person? Do
you know a living representative? Do you know a living substitute?
Or do you have a religious profession? There's a great deal of difference.
Paul, how can you bear such reproach? How can you bear this forsaking
of your closest friend? How can you bear that which is
set before you, how can you bear to be beheaded and wait death? I know whom I have believed.
I know whom I have believed." Now watch the next statement. What Paul knew. Now second, what
he was persuaded of. He said, I know whom I have believed
and I am persuaded. I am persuaded that this one
whom I know This One who is my Redeemer, I'm persuaded that
He is able. He is able. He's able to do what? Well, I want you to take your
Bible and turn to some Scripture, and I'm going to give you time
to turn. First of all, to Hebrews 7, verse 25, and I want you to
go with me and look at these. What Paul knew, he knew a person. what Paul was persuaded of, that
this person was able. Able to do what? Well, first
of all, Hebrews 7.25, "...wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost
them that come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them." Oh, he's able. Find me the blackest heart,
find me the most depraved sinner. Find me that individual forsaken
even, yea, by father and mother, and I'll tell you that our Lord
is able, he is able to save to the uttermost them that come
to God by him. To the uttermost extent of sin,
to the uttermost extent of trial, to the uttermost extent of sorrow,
to the uttermost extent of temptation, to the uttermost extent of judgment
and eternity, he is able, he's able to save all who come to
God, not to the church, not to the doctor, not to the priest,
not to the priest, to God. How? By him, through him, because
of him. through faith in Him. You can't
leave Christ out. He's the way. He said, I'm the
way to God. No man cometh to the Father but by me. He's the
only Mediator. One God, one Mediator between
God and men. That's the man Christ Jesus.
Don't go around Christ. You'll miss God. He's able to
say, now turn to Romans 4.21. Paul, you're mighty confident. Yes, I am. You have a lot of
assurance. Yes, I do. I know whom I have
believed, Romans 4.21, and I am persuaded that he's able, he's
able to save me to the uttermost. Now watch this, and being fully
persuaded, this is talking about Abraham, that what God had promised,
God was able to perform. What God promises, take any promise
in this word, the hardest promise, the most impossible, as far as
man is concerned, promise. He says God's able. When Saber's
womb was dead, when Abraham was nearly a hundred years of age,
when they were barren and had no children, God said, you'll
have a son. And Abraham believed God, being fully persuaded that
God was able to bring life from the dead. Do you believe that? I do. I'm fully persuaded that
he's able to do everything he promised. Not one jot or one
tittle shall pass from this word shall all be fulfilled. I'm fully
persuaded that he's able. All right, turn to Hebrews 2,
verse 18. I am fully persuaded. For whom
do you believe, my Lord Jesus? Of what are you persuaded? I'm
persuaded that he's able to save me, I'm persuaded that he's able
to do everything he promised, and I'm persuaded that he is
able to pity me, to pity me, to aid me, to succor me. Look at Hebrews 2, verse 18.
Hebrews 2, verse 18, it says, For in that he himself hath suffered
being tempted, And brethren, our Lord was tempted in all points
as we are, yet without sinning. He was tried in all points. Christ
knew what it was to hunger, to thirst, to grow weary. Christ
knew what it was to be in sorrow, to weep. He knew what it was
to hurt. In all things, He was tempted,
and He Himself, being tempted, He is able to pity, to understand,
to enter into. to succor, to aid them that are
tempted. He'll never leave you nor forsake
you. He is able to enter into your
every trial, your every heartache, your every need. He enters right
in. Lord, I'm with you always. Cast
your cares on Him. He careth for you. Don't bear
it alone. You don't have to. You insist
on doing it, Go ahead, but you don't have to. Cast your cares
upon Him. He cares for you. And then in the next place, Jude
24. Turn to Jude verse 24. It's next
to the last book in the Bible. Verse 24. I'm persuaded. Paul said, he's able to save
me. He's able to do everything he promised me. He's able to
pity me, to enter into my temptations, my trials, my needs. He's able
to enter right into them because he's been there. Nothing like
talking to somebody who's been there. And then he's able to
keep me. Jude 24, look at it. Now unto
him that is able to keep you. Not the Jewish nation, not the
Gentile believers. you, you. Now unto him that's
able to keep you from falling, and to present you, the least
of the believers, the frailest of the members of the body of
Christ, the smallest of the lot, the most insignificant of the
whole kingdom, you! He's able to present you, the
chief of sinners, faultless faultless, think of
it, before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." What
is he able to do? I can't do that for you. I can't
do that for you. I'm rejoiced to be your pastor
and to try to teach you the Word of God, but I can't present you
faultless, because you're not, and I'm not. And Mama can't do
that for you. Mama can pray for you and she
can love you and she can fix you ham and eggs for breakfast,
but she can't present you faultless before the presence of His glory. Mary can't do that for you. She
doesn't have the power. No, she doesn't. She can't do
that for you. And if you look to her and depend
on her and plead to her, Mary, pray for us poor sinners, mother
of grace, mother of God, she can't do it. She doesn't have
the power, she doesn't have the authority, she doesn't have the
position, she isn't ordained to that particular office, that's
Christ's business. He, wherefore He is able to keep
you, you can walk the most treacherous precipice and He keeps you. You
can walk through the darkest night and He keeps you. You can
walk through the most terrible trials and He keeps you. You
can walk among the enemies of the gospel and he'll keep you.
He is able, he and only he is able, to take you into the presence
of his Father with exceeding joy and present you double-dyed
with sin, scarlet with transgressions, having broken every law, he's
able through his righteousness and his blood to present you
heartless. That's who I want to know. I
want to know Him who is able to save me. I want to know Him
who is able to do everything He promised. I want to know Him
who is able to picket, to aid, to succor me, to supply my needs.
I want to know Him who is able to keep my soul. Now watch, I'm
not through. Turn to Philippians 3. Oh, how
important this is. Someday I'm going to die. Someday
they're going to bury my body. Someday it's going to go back
to the dust from whence it came. The worms are going to devour
it. I want to know somebody that can raise it. Somebody who can raise it. You
say, well, my faith in my church. The church can't raise you. It'll even hire somebody to bury
you. It won't raise you. Can't do it. Well, my faith in
my doctrine can't raise you. Look at Philippians 3.20, our
conversation, our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also
we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. who shall change
our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue
all things unto himself." All things. Oh Lord, with such a
heart as mine, unless you hold me fast I feel I must, I shall
decline, I'll turn from thee at last." But Paul said, I am
persuaded he is able. He is able. He is able to save
me, He is able to do everything He promised, He's able to pity
me, to supply my need, He is able to keep my soul, and He
is able to subdue all things under Himself. Everything responds
to His Word. Lazarus, come out of that tomb!" And Lazarus came out at the Word
of Christ. All the powers of the Roman Empire
couldn't raise him. His beloved sisters, Mary and
Martha, couldn't raise him. His friends could weep, but they
couldn't raise him. But one word from Christ, and
he which had been dead four days came out of the tomb. I am persuaded. All right, what Paul had done.
Go back to the book of II Corinthians again, now chapter 1, verse 12. What Paul knew, I know whom I
have believed. what Paul was persuaded of. I'm
persuaded he's able, he is able. To do what, Paul? To keep that
which I have committed to him. What had Paul done? He had committed
his soul to Christ. Sitting there in prison awaiting
execution, forsaken by his friends, believed to be mad The learned
men of his day said, Paul, you're crazy! You've studied too hard. Much learning hath made thee
mad, ridiculed by the multitude. Paul confronts the whole world
with a holy boldness, and he says, I've committed it to Christ.
What have you committed, Paul, my soul? My sins, oh, the bliss
of that glorious thought! My sins, not in part, but the
whole, are nailed to the cross, and I bathe them no more. It's
well, it is well with my soul. Though Satan should buffet, though
trials should come, Let this blessed assurance control that
Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and he shed his blood,
his very own blood, for my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. I've committed not only my soul
to Christ, but I've committed my body to Christ. The Apostle
Paul had suffered shipwreck, hunger, cold, beatings. He was
awaiting death, but he knew that Christ had redeemed his body,
and that someday, as he said in 1 Corinthians 15, that which
has been sown in corruption shall be raised in incorruption. That
which is sown in weakness shall be raised in strength, and that
which is sown in shame shall be raised in glory. It is sown
a natural body, it shall be raised a spiritual body. I've committed my possessions
to him. What I have is not mine, it's
his." Job summed it up, he said, the Lord gave and the Lord hath
taken away, it's all his anyway. Eli said, when Samuel told him
that God was going to kill his two sons, he said, well, it's
the Lord, let him do what he will. I've committed my possessions
to him. I've committed my life to him.
I've committed my character to him. Let men say what they will.
Let them do what they will. I'll go where you want me to
go, dear Lord, or mountain or plain or sea. I'll say what you
want me to say, and I'll be what you want me to be." Now, last
of all, what Paul was concerned about. He says, "...I know whom
I have believed. I am persuaded he's able to keep
that which I have intelligently and willingly and sincerely committed
to him, my soul, my body, my life, my possessions, my family,
committed it to him, against that day. What days is he talking about?
Look at verse 18. He's talking about a friend that
stood with him while all forsook him, and he said in verse 18,
"...the Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord
in that day." Well, that day is coming. It's
the day of death. It's the day of death. I don't
know why that we pretend that it's not there, that it doesn't
exist, Our friends and our loved ones
are leaving every day. It's the day of death. That day
shall come. God said it's appointed. It's
an appointment you will keep. It's appointed unto me and wants
to die. The instrument of death, God said, is already prepared. Man that is born a woman is a
few days and full of trouble. He's coming forth like a flower.
He's faded. The place that I'll remember
him no more. But man's days are in God's hands.
He has set his bounds. He cannot pass. The number of
his months are with the Lord. It is determined. That day's
out yonder. That day is the day of resurrection. It's the day when The trump of
God shall sound when the voice of the archangel shall shout,
when the heavens shall roll back, Christ shall appear, and all
that are in the grave shall come forth, some unto the resurrection
of life and some to the resurrection of death. It is the day of judgment.
Every man shall give an account of himself to God. That's what
the Scripture says. All men shall stand before the
judgment seat of Christ. That's as sure as God's throne.
That's as sure as a morning sun. That's as sure as there's a God
in heaven. Every man shall stand before
God, and the books will be opened. That's the day, the day of judgment. Somebody asked that great old
black preacher in Richmond, Virginia, John Jasper, who preached during
the Civil War. People came even from Europe
to hear him preach. Didn't have any education, but
he knew God. Somebody came to him one day
after he'd finished his message and said, John Jasper, you expect
to go to heaven? He said, yes, I do. Well, the
person said, John Jasper, when you walk through the gates of
Pearl and get on the other side and someone asks you, John Jasper,
what right have you got to be here? What right have you got to be
here? Well, he said, I'm going to say
I've got no right at all to be here. I'm not here on my righteousness. I'm here on the righteousness
of another. Lord Jesus Christ. I'm here by
divine invitation. My Lord invited me to come. Somebody
asked an old pilgrim one time, what if after all these years
of believing God and believing Christ and resting in the cross
and trusting in the blood, what if after all these years you
find out, when you stand in the judgment, that after all, you're
lost? Well, the old man answered quickly.
He said, God would lose more than I'd lose. I said, man, you
blaspheme. No, he said, no, you be patient.
If after I have believed God's word, my guilt, my sin, if after
I have trusted Christ with my heart and believed on him and
rested in him alone, and trusted His blood, and trusted His merit,
and trusted His mercy, and rested in Him alone, if after that I'm
sent to hell." I'll lose my soul, that's true, but God Almighty
will lose his honor, because he said, He that believeth on
the Son hath life. And God would lose his honor,
God would lose his righteousness, God would lose his truth, God
would lose his justice, he said, and I believe him. And I've committed
it to him against that day, whatever that day brings. Whatever that
day of death brings me when I'm called upon to die, if it brings
me suffering, if it brings me the forsaking of all, whatever
that day brings, when I stand before Him, I trust Him. And though He slay me, I still
trust Him. How about you? That's faith. What Paul knew,
he knew a person. What was he persuaded of? That
person was able to keep him. What had he done? He'd committed
everything to Christ. But guess that gave. Our Father
in Heaven, we thank Thee for every promise of the Word. We're
not left alone. We're not left to our own human
wisdom and our own human righteousness. Men have trusted these things
and perished without hope. But we are left to Christ, given
to Christ before the world began. Accepted in the Beloved, redeemed
in Christ, washed in the blood. We have a righteousness without
spot or blemish. We have an inheritance undefiled
that fadeth not away, not because of who we are or what we've done,
but because Christ loved us and gave himself for us. And he's
our hope. He's our confidence. He's our
beloved shepherd. And we pray that thou would bless
the word that has been preached today and use it for thy name's
glory and for the honor of Jesus Christ. In his name we pray.
Amen.

Paul's Definition of Saving Faith

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Paul's Definition of Saving Faith

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