What Is It To Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ?

I want you to take your Bibles
this morning and open them to the Book of Romans. The third
chapter of Romans, verse 19 through 26, will be my text. I have a two-fold topic for our
message. The first topic is this, what
is it to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? What is it? And
I'm going to give you four marks or four characteristics of belief.
I want you to hear the entire message. What is it to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ? And the other question is this,
do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe? Now, many people do not like
direct questions about their relationship with God. They do
not want to be asked, are you a Christian? Do you believe the
gospel? Do you believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ? I suppose it's like a dishonest
accountant having his books examined. It makes him uneasy for someone
to examine books that have not been kept honestly. And then
perhaps when you ask some people a direct question about their
relationship with God, it's like a thief having his house searched.
But now the true, honest, sincere seeker of God does not mind direct
questions like this. Do you believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ? In fact, a believer, an honest,
sincere seeker of Christ, delights to talk about the Master. He
delights to talk about his relationship with God. He finds great pleasure
in finding someone who wants to talk about the Lord. You know,
the Savior, when he was here on the earth, used these direct
questions. He asked his disciples one day,
he said, who do you say that I, the Son of Man, am? Who do
you say that I am? That's a direct question. And
then he asked another group of people one time, what think ye
of Christ? Whose son is he? And then to
Mary and Martha, he said this, whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Do you believe this? So our Lord
used these direct questions. I'm certainly bringing a scriptural
message today when I ask you the question, do you believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ? Our master asked people those
questions. Whom do you say that I am? Whom
do you say that Christ is? And do you believe this? Do you
believe this? What think ye of Christ? Whose
son is he? Now, I know few questions more
important than the one which arises out of our text found
in Romans chapter 3, and that is, do you believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ? Now, take your Bible there just
a moment with me and turn to Romans 3, first of all, verse
19. Now, look at verse 19. This verse is saying this, the
holy law of God has stopped every mouth The holy law of God charges
every son of Adam with sin. The holy law of God has written
guilty, guilty in bold letters on the record of every son of
Adam. We are guilty. What things whoever
the law sayeth, it sayeth to them who are under the law that
every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before
God. Now, that's the first thing we
read in this text. charges us with sin, and the
law pronounces us guilty, guilty, guilty. All have sinned and all
are guilty. Now look at the next verse, verse
20. The law cannot save. It says, by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified, religious or otherwise, preacher,
professor, unbeliever. It doesn't matter whose flesh
it is. By the law, or the deeds of the law, or the works of the
law, shall no flesh be justified in the sight of God. For by the
law is the knowledge of sin." In other words, that verse is
saying this, our deeds will not save us, our good works will
not deliver us. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified. Actually, without Christ, our
so-called good deeds only add to our condemnation. For our
righteousnesses are filthy rags in God's sight. That's what the
Bible says. The plowing of the wicked is sin. And we cannot
be redeemed, accepted by God, by our good deeds. The law does
not say it, it only reveals that we need to be saved. It's like
a mirror. It can reveal the dirt on your
face, but it can't do anything about it. And when I look into
the holy law of God, it reveals my evil thoughts, it reveals
my hasty words, it reveals my sins, my transgressions, but
it can't do anything about it. Now look at the next verse. But
there is a righteousness revealed, but now is the righteousness
of God revealed through faith in Jesus Christ, being witnessed
by the prophets, being witnessed by the Word of God. In other
words, there is a righteousness to be had, a holiness. a state
of perfection to be had. There is a perfect righteousness
before God, which was preached by the prophets, declared by
the Word of God. And it's not my righteousness,
my holiness, my piety, it is God's righteousness, which comes
to us through the perfect obedience to the law, not by me, but by
Christ. Now, the key words in that verse
is this, the key word is this, But now is the righteousness
of God revealed without the law. In other words, I have available
to me a perfect standard, a perfect holiness, a perfect righteousness,
but it's not based on my obedience to the law. It is the righteousness,
verse 22, it is the righteousness which is of God through Christ.
And this perfect holiness is God-given, it is God-provided,
And it is God accepted, and it is God performed. It is a perfect
righteousness which we can have through faith in Jesus Christ. Not by works, through faith in
Jesus Christ. Look at verse 25. God gave his
son to be the propitiation, the mercy seeker, the atonement.
God gave his son to become a man. to be clothed and be made in
the likeness of sinful flesh, to become a man and to obey every
jot and tittle of his holy law in the flesh as our representative. God gave his Son to go to Calvary's
cross, bearing in his body our sins and our iniquities, and
to be wounded for our transgressions, that we by his stripes might
be healed. And God gave his Son that he
might be just and justify the ungodly. Look at that and underscore
it in Romans 3.25, that he might be just and justifier of him
that believeth in Christ. What's that saying? That's saying
that this, that is saying this, that only through Christ can
God be holy and justify the ungodly. Only by perfect offering, by
perfect sacrifice, by perfect substitute can God be just and
righteous and let you and me go free." Now, what are we saying?
We're saying this, the believer in Christ is justified. You know what the word justified
means? It means just as if I had never sinned. It means to be
innocent. Now, when a man is pardoned from
the penitentiary, he's not justified. You pardon the guilty. When a
man is paroled from the penitentiary, he's not justified. He's paroled. because of good behavior, or
in the hands of someone who can be trusted, to whom he will report
regularly, that will oversee his behavior. But when a man
is justified, the state and the law and the government is saying,
he's not guilty. He's not guilty. And that's what
God is saying of every believer. In Christ, you're justified as
if you had never sinned. More than pardon, more than forgiveness,
more than parole. And in Christ, the believer has
a perfect holiness. In God's sight, he is holy, unblameable,
unreprovable. You say, how can these things
be? By faith in Christ, because of what he did. Now watch the
scripture. God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under
the law, in subjection to the law, under the requirements of
the law. And as a man, as our substitute,
as our representative, he did what we couldn't do. He obeyed
what we couldn't obey. He performed what we couldn't
perform. And by believing in him, this righteousness becomes
mine. It's imputed unto me. It's imparted
unto me. It actually becomes mine. I am
righteous, every believer. That's how important it is to
believe on Christ. Verse 22 is saying this, every
believer. has a perfect standing in God's
sight. And verse 25 is saying every
believer is justified, is innocent, as if he'd never sinned in Christ. Now, you can't get that by works
and religion and ceremonies and good deeds and these things.
It only comes by faith. By the deeds of the law, we can
never be justified, because when we measure ourselves by the law,
we are weighed in the balances and found wanting. We come short
of God's glory. But when we are engulfed in Christ,
when we become one with Christ, when God looks upon Christ, he
sees us in Christ. Apart from Christ, God is a consuming
fire. But in Christ, he sees us holy. John 3.16, For God so loved the
world. that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have eternal life. John 3.36, he that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life. Mark 16, Christ said, go into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth
not shall be dead. Sirs, what must we do to be saved,
cried the Philippian jailer. Paul said, on the Lord Jesus
Christ. See how important it is to believe. There's no question that I can
ask you that's more important. Do you believe? Now, what is
it to believe in Christ? Well, first of all, believing
in Christ is more than giving intellectual assent to certain
doctrines. It's more than giving mental
agreement, believing some facts about Jesus Christ. You say,
well, preacher, I believe a man called Christ lived on this earth
and died on a cross, was buried, and rose again. Those are facts.
The devil believes that. That's what James chapter 2,
verse 19 says. You believe in one God, you do
well. The devil believes in one God. The devil believes that Christ
died on the cross. He was there when it happened.
He believes Christ rose again. He fought it hard enough. So
believing on Christ is more than just to believe some facts about
it. Some things that you've been taught all your life, perhaps
accepted as custom, tradition, religious training. But faith
that saves is more than this. And then believing on Christ
is more than just believing in the power of Christ to work miracles. Nicodemus came to him one day
and said, Master, we know your teacher comes from God. No man
could do the miracles you do except God be with him. Here
was a religious Pharisee, religious leader, who believed in the power
of Christ to work miracles. And yet Christ said to him, Nicodemus,
you must be born again. This is not sufficient. This
believing in my power, in my miracle-working power is not
sufficient. You've got to have a faith that
goes beyond that. In John chapter 2, verse 23 and
24, the scripture says, when he was at Jerusalem, in the day
of the feast, many believed on him because of the miracles which
he did. But he didn't commit himself
to them. He knew what kind of faith this was. So believing
on Christ is more than just giving mental agreement to some facts
about Christ. Believing on Christ is more than
just agreeing that he can heal the sick, he can raise the dead,
he can give sight to the blind. And then believing on Christ
is more than just being associated with the church. Judas was a
member of the early church. It's more than holding an office
in the church. Judas was the treasurer. Believing
on Christ is more than being a preacher. Judas was an apostle.
Believing on Christ is more than being baptized or observing a
religious ceremony. Simon Magus was baptized and
made a public confession of faith in Christ, and Peter turned to
him and said, Simon, your heart's not right with God. So this faith
that saves is a faith in the heart. And I'm going to give
you four marks of saving faith, and I want you to think about
these carefully, and then when we finish our study in God's
Word, I want you to answer this question. Do you believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ? Do you really believe? Now, for
the man that believes, there's a righteousness with which God
will be well pleased. For the man who believes, there's
a clean record awaiting him. Justification, innocence, as
if you'd never seen it. First of all, believing in Christ
is coming to Christ. Our Lord said in Matthew 11,
28, Come unto me, all ye that labour in a heavy laden. I'll
give you rest. In John 6, 35, he said, He that cometh to me
shall never hunger. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. He said in John 6, 37, All that my Father giveth
me shall come to me. and him that cometh to me, I'll
in no wise cast out." So first of all, saving faith, believing
on Christ, is coming to Christ. What do you mean by that, Preacher?
Well, I mean this. It's coming to Christ as the
Canaanite woman came, as she cried, Lord, have mercy on me. It's coming to Christ for mercy,
seeking mercy. That's how she came, and she
was received. She came not seeking justice.
Not coming to bargain with Christ, she came seeking mercy. The only
plea that a guilty sinner has is, Lord, be merciful to me,
the sinner. That's what the publican cried
in the temple. He would not so much as lift
his eyes to God because he was ashamed of his sin. He smote
upon his breast and he cried, Lord, be merciful, be merciful,
be merciful to me. That's how you come to Christ.
You come seeking mercy. And then secondly, it's coming
empty-handed. It's coming like the woman with
the issue of blood. She had nothing to bring. She
came having spent all. She was bankrupt. She was helpless. She was hopeless. She'd tried
many physicians, and the scripture says she was no better. She was
only worse. So she finally came to Christ
after everything else had failed. Like Augustus Toplady wrote,
Lord, in my hands no price I bring. Sent thee to thy cross, I claim.
Could my tears forever flow? Could my zeal no longer know? These, for sin, could never atone. Thou must save, and thou alone. Christ is not a physician. He's
the only one. Christ is not a redeemer. He's
the only one. Christ is not a way to God. He's
the only way. He said, No man cometh to the
Father, but by me. Other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid, Christ the Lord. My hope is built on
nothing less than Jesus' blood and his righteousness. I dare
not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. It's coming to Christ empty-handed. And then it's coming to Christ
as the leper in Matthew 8. You know what he said when Christ
was come down from the mountain, Matthew 8, 1 through A leper
ran to meet him, fell down and worshipped him, and cried, Lord,
if you will, you can make me clean, if you will. It's coming
to him as the Lord of salvation. Salvation is in the hands of
the Lord, not in the hands of the preacher, not in the hands
of the pope, not in the hands of the priest, not in the hands
of the evangelist. It's not in the hands of the
denomination. Salvation's of the Lord. He'll have mercy on
whom he'll have mercy. The thief on the cross cried,
Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Lord, thou
shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, thou shalt
be saved. How is it to come to Christ?
It's coming asking for mercy. It's coming empty-handed. It's
coming as a sinner. And it's coming to the Lord.
That's what it is to believe on Christ. All right, secondly,
what is it to believe on Christ? It's coming to Christ, and then
it's receiving Christ. Now, this is very important.
John 1, 12 says, as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God. It doesn't say to as many as
received his servants. Now, a man who receives Christ
will receive his servants, that's true. Christ sent the disciples
out, and he said, if they won't hear you, they won't hear me.
If they don't receive you, shake the dust off your feet and go
to another town as a testimony against these people. But it
doesn't say here, as many as receive his servants or as many
as receive his commandments, a man who receives Christ will
receive his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.
It doesn't say as many as receive his word, although we will if
we receive him, we'll receive his word. Everything about him
will be precious to us if he's precious. They gladly received
his word, it says in the Book of Acts. But that's not what
it says here. It's not receiving his ordinances.
It says to as many as receive him. There's a difference. There are people who are great
followers of the Church, followers of doctrine, a denomination,
but they're not followers of the Lamb. It's to receive him. He said, Peter, do you love me?
Do you love me? We receive him. You know, the
scripture says in Luke that Martha received him into her house. I think that's a good illustration
of receiving Christ. Martha loved him. He was her
master. He was her prophet to reveal
God. He was her priest to atone for
her soul. He was her Lord to reign over
her. And when he came to the town, she opened her door and
she said, Lord, come into my home. You're an honored guest
in my home. I was down in Mexico a few years
ago, and my mother asked me to go by and see a friend of hers
in the little city of Progreso in the Yucatan in Mexico. Maria
Montez was her name. And so I went to Progreso, and
I knocked on this door. The address that I had with me,
and a very nice lady came to the door, and I told her who
I was and who my mother was. She said, come in. I had a couple
of missionaries with me. We went in and sat down, and
after we sat down, she got us some coffee and some cookies,
and she looked at me and she said, My home is your home. And one of the missionaries turned
to me and said, She means that. And when a Mexican tells you
that, My home is your home, that means that you can come to this
home any time you want to. It's just as if you're a member
of the family now. My home is your home. And that's
what it means to receive Christ. It's to receive him, not just
his word, or his servants, or his ordinances, or his church.
It's to receive him. He's my Lord. This is his world. My heart, my family, my body,
my soul is his. I've received him. And he has
made unto me all that I need. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. What is it to believe on Christ?
Thirdly, it is to look to Christ. In the book of Isaiah, chapter
45, verse 22, our Lord says, Look unto me, and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth, Jew, Gentile, for I am God, and there's
none else. In the book of Hebrews, chapter
12, Paul says, Let us run with patience the race that is set
before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith. My friends, when we talk of looking to Christ, We can
improve on the illustration which our Lord gave in John 3. As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him should
not perish, but have eternal life. What happened back there
in the wilderness? Well, Israel, the people of Israel
had been murmuring and complaining and finding fault with God's
providence. And God sent fiery serpents among the people down
in the camp, and the fiery serpents bit the people, and they were
dying. And Moses prayed for the people, and God said, Moses,
make a brazen serpent in the likeness of the serpents which
have bitten the people. Put it on a pole, lift it up
between heaven and earth. And everybody who looks to the
serpent, the brazen serpent, shall live. The serpent of sin
has bitten every one of us, every son of Adam. We're dying, dead
in trespasses and sin. Christ came down here and was
made in the likeness of flesh. That same serpent of sin which
is destroying us, flesh, the pride of the flesh, the lust
of the flesh, all these things, the flesh, that's what's destroying
us. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. And Christ became
a man. and was lifted up on a cross
between heaven and earth. And God says, whosoever looketh
to him shall live. Whosoever looketh to him. Look
to Calvary. There's very God of very God.
Look to Calvary. There's the man, Christ Jesus. Look to Calvary. There's our
substitute and our sins laid on him. Look to Calvary. There
the debt is paid. I've never traveled far around
the world. I've never seen the many thrills
and sights unfurl, but I've taken a journey of journeys for me.
I've been to Calvary, there my Savior to see. I've been to Calvary,
I can say I've seen the Lord. I've been to Calvary through
the witness of His Word, and each day at Calvary, what a thrill
of love divine, just to think that that Savior is mine. Believing
on Christ is looking to Him today, tomorrow, and every day. Keep
your eyes on Christ. Don't put them on me or anyone
else. Turn your eyes on Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the
light of his glory and grace. Fourthly, and I close, what is
it to believe on Christ? My friends, it's to come to him,
it's to receive him, it's to look to him, and it's to commit
our souls to him. In 2 Timothy 1.12, Paul said,
I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I've committed unto him. Now, I looked up the
word in the Greek New Testament, the word committed, and it is
this word, parakeetha, and it means to deposit as a trust for
keeping and for protection. And that's what we've done. My
soul's all I've got. My body's going back to the dust.
My family's disappearing one by one. My possession, my health,
everything's got to go except my soul. And I want it in safekeeping. I want it in somebody's hands
who can keep it. And the only one I know who is
able and who is willing is Christ the Lord. That soul that on Jesus
hath leaned for repose I will not, I will not desert to its
foes. That soul, though all hail, shall
endeavor to shake. I'll never, no never, no never
forsake. I've committed my soul to him.

What Is It To Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ?

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What Is It To Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ?

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