Now, the Bible plainly tells
us that all religious faith is not
saving faith. If you'll turn to the second
chapter of the book of James, James chapter 2, verse 17, James
2, 17, the apostle says, Even so, faith, religious faith,
if it hath not works, is dead. It's not saving faith, it's dead
faith, being alone or by itself. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast
faith, I have works. Show me your faith without your
works. Is it possible to show faith
without works? Show me your faith without your
works. I'll show you my faith by my
works. You believe there's one God?
Is that your faith? You believe there's one God?
You believe that Jesus Christ is His Son? You believe that
Jesus Christ died on a cross? You believe that He was buried
and rose again? You believe that? Is that your
faith? The devils believe that and tremble. Will thou know, O vain man, O
deceived man, O religious man, that faith without works is dead? There's a difference in religious
faith and saving faith. If you will, turn to John, chapter
2. Now this is what the Word of
God teaches in John, chapter 2, verse 23. I want you to read
this. James says, You believe there's
a God in heaven? You believe that His Son came
down to this earth and died on a cross? You believe that He
was buried and rose again? That's nothing that the devils
don't believe. They believe that. and they even
tremble. When our Lord once approached
a man possessed with demons, the demons cried out, We know
who you are. You may have a few doubts about
who he is and where he came from and what he came to do, but the
devils know who he is. They said, We know who you are.
You're the Holy One of God. And they know their future. They
said, have you come to torment us before our time? They know
that there's a judgment awaiting. They know there's a hell. They
know their final place of habitation. Look at John chapter 2, verse
23. Now when Jesus Christ was in
Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed
in his name. when they saw the miracles which
he did. Oh, preacher, I'm convinced,
I'm convinced there's a God in heaven. I was sick and the Lord
healed me. Is that your faith? Oh, I'm convinced, I'm sure,
I'm sure that there is a God in heaven. I'm sure Jesus Christ
has the power to heal because my sister was sick with cancer
and the preacher prayed for her and she was healed. Is that your
faith? That's the reason these people believed here. They believed
in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. Oh, I believe, yes sir, I believe
in religion. I believe in Jesus. I believe
in God because God answered my prayer. Is that your faith? That's
not saving faith. Because the next verse says,
but the Lord did not commit himself to these people. these people
who believed in him because of the miracles which they saw,
he did not reveal himself to them, he did not commit himself
to them, because he knew them. He knew all men. And he didn't
need anybody to tell him what was in man, he knew what was
in man. You see, this miracle religious
faith is not saving faith. There's a lot of it on the television
and the radio today, and people are astounded by the so-called
miracles which are being performed. I believe in God because I saw
before my very eyes a young man who was dead, and now you hear
it. That's not saving faith. That's not my opinion. That's
the Word of God. These people believed when they
saw the miracles. Up until then, they didn't believe.
And that's the only reason they did believe. is because they
saw some signs and they saw some wonders and they saw some miracles.
Did you know that the heathen philosophers of Moses' time were
able to duplicate many of his miracles? When Moses threw down
his rod and it became a serpent, they did the same thing. They
did the same thing. Many miracles can be performed
even by evil spirits. Evil spirits. Turn to Matthew
7. Religious faith is not necessarily
saving faith. Miracle faith is not necessarily
saving faith. To believe there's one God, and
to believe Jesus Christ is His Son, and to believe that there
was a death on the cross is not necessarily saving faith. Matthew
7, 21. Listen to this. Not every one
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
It's not everybody that meets together in the church and sings,
Oh, how I love Jesus, that's going to enter the kingdom of
heaven. It's not everyone that stands behind the pulpit and
preaches, or occupies the office of a deacon, or teaches Sunday
school, or sings in the choir, or plays the instruments that's
going to enter the kingdom of heaven. But he that doeth, he
that hath a faith that doeth, he that hath a faith that produceth,
He that hath a faith that honoreth the will of my Father which is
in heaven. For many shall say unto me in
that day, Lord, have we not preached in your name? Why, we preach
every Sunday for years and years and years. Lord, we cast out
devils in your name. The demons of drink and the demons
of alcoholism and the demons of all these other things, we
cast them out. We reformed people. We made them
over again. They came to our religious services
and then they went out different people. We cast out demons in
thy name. We did many wonderful works in
your name. And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you. I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. Now when this truth becomes evident
to you, that religious faith is not saving faith, that miracle
faith is not necessarily saving faith, when this truth becomes
evident When we can see the hypocrisy of modern religion, when we can
see the emptiness of so-called modern worship, and it's empty,
it's so empty, meeting together on the Lord's Day to play church,
to go through the motions of worship, when we detect the shallowness
of modern preaching, When we see the ignorance, the doctrinal
ignorance, the theological ignorance of modern church members, they
know absolutely nothing about the Word of God. They can recite
a few verses that they learned in Bible school when they were
children. They can quote the 23rd Psalm. They can quote John
3.16. But outside of that, they have
no knowledge of the Word of God. When you see this hypocrisy,
when you see this emptiness, this sounding brass and tinkling
cymbal sound of modern preaching, and when you see the ignorance
about you, if you're a thoughtful person, if you have any concern
for your eternal well-being, if you have any concern for your
immortal soul, You will ask yourself this question. Is my faith saving
faith? If so many are deceived, why
can't I be deceived? If, as our Lord said, many shall
say unto me in that day, Lord, and I'll say to them, I don't
know you, why is it that I can't hear the same word? Is my faith
saving faith? Perhaps I am deceived. Do you
ever entertain that thought? Does it ever occur to you that
perhaps you won't be in glory? Does it ever occur to you that
you are not a child of God, but that you are a phony, that your
heart is deceived, and that you do not know God? Well, it occurs
to me I give this careful and serious thought. I want to know
the Lord. I don't want religious faith.
I want saving faith. I don't want a hypocritical profession. I want a possession of the King
of Kings and Lord of Lords. I want to know the Lord. Now,
I can tell you this, that I But of that I'm sure,
religious faith is not necessarily saving faith, and let that be
established. This so-called miracle faith
is not necessarily saving faith. And I am tired, and I know you
are, and I just don't want any more of this emptiness and deadness
and shallowness and hypocrisy. called religion today and the
entertainment. Our churches have gone into the
entertainment business. The second thing of which I'm
sure, is my faith saving faith? Only two persons know the answer
to that question. Only two. As you ask that question
right now in your own heart, is my faith saving faith? Only
two persons know the answer. That's you and God. Turn with
me to 1 Corinthians 11. Now listen to this, 1 Corinthians
11. In the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians,
verse 28, it says, But let a man examine himself. Now this is coming to the Lord's
table. This is approaching the wine. which represents his blood,
and approaching the bread, which represents his body. And before
man comes to eat, it says, let him examine himself, not his
neighbor. It's not my business to examine
you. It's not my business to determine
your faith and your Christianity. It's your business to examine
yourself. You're the only one who knows.
if you know the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and
so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." Now turn
to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 13. There
are only two persons who know the answer to that question,
is my faith saving faith? And that's you and God. The preacher
doesn't know. You sit down and tell your experience
to some preacher and say, do you think I'm Pastor, do you
think I'm saved?" If he says yes, he's a bigger fool than
you are. That's right. If he says yes. He doesn't know. He doesn't know. He can say, well, from all indications,
you may be a saved person, but he can't say yes. He may say,
I think you are, I hope you are, but he doesn't know. In 2 Corinthians
13, listen, verse 5, examine yourselves whether you be in
the faith. Examine yourselves whether you
be in the faith. Prove your own self. Know you
not your own self? Don't you know yourself? Don't you know yourself? How
that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be a reprobate? And
Peter said in 2 Peter 1 10, give diligence to make your calling
and election sure, for if you do these things you shall not
fail. Now brethren, eternal life, eternal
life is to know God. In John 17, our Lord Jesus Christ
was praying that high priestly prayer. He is our high priest.
He was praying for his own. And he prayed in John 17, verse
3, and this is life eternal. And this is life eternal. This
is it. Only two can know whether or
not you have it. That's God and yourself. Let
a man examine himself. Know ye not your own self? This
is life eternal. that they might know thee, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Now, my
friend, you know whether or not you know God. You know whether
or not you know God. You know whether or not you know
the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not talking about knowing
about Him, knowing of Him. Pilate knew about Him. Caesar
knew of Him. All of these so-called pagans
and atheists of past years had an historical knowledge of the
person Jesus Christ, but do you know Him? And the word know there
is to approve of and to love. Do you know God? Do you know
the Lord Jesus Christ? Christ said this is eternal life,
that they might know God. Do you know God? The living God. Not a God, the God. Do you know
Christ? In 1 John 5, turn there with
me, 1 John 5, verse 11. Eternal life, John says, is to
be in Christ. Eternal life is to be in Christ,
in 1 John 5. Not in the church. It's easy
to get in the church. All you have to do is walk down
the aisle, shake the preacher's hand, you're in, you're in. or
move your letter, come by statement, any way you want to come. All
the churches are after members. How many did you have last Sunday?
That's what they're interested in. How many? But our Lord says
in 1 John 5, 11, this is the record that God hath given us
eternal life, and this life is where? In the sun. Now you know whether or not you're
in the sun. You know whether or not your
faith is in Christ, or your faith is in your good works, or in
your church membership, or in your good moral life. Is it in
Christ, or is it in something else? You know that. I don't
know that about you. But you know it. You know it. Is your faith in an experience,
or in Christ? Is your faith in works, or is
it in Christ? Is your faith in your faith,
or is it in Christ? He that hath the Son hath life. He whose feet are planted on
the rock, Christ Jesus. He who is leaning strongly upon
the everlasting arms of Christ. He who's resting in the work
of the Savior, who confidently rests in the mediatorial pleas
of Christ. If he's in Christ, he's saved.
If he's not, he's lost. Turn to Isaiah 53. Eternal life
is in the substitutionary work of Christ. You know whether or
not you're resting in the substitutionary work of Christ. You know. I don't know. You know. Brother
man, do you think I'm saved? Well, you look like a pretty
good fella, but salvation's not in pretty good fellas. It's in
Christ. And you attend church faithfully,
but salvation is not in attending church faithfully, it's in Christ.
And you give to support the missionaries, to support the work of God, but
salvation is not in giving, it's in Christ. And your life is pretty
clean, and you pay your debts, and you treat your family right,
but salvation is not in paying your debts, it's in having your
debt paid by Christ. And that I don't know. All I
can do is look at the outward countenance, but God doesn't
look on the outward countenance. He looks on the heart, he said.
That's where it is. It's in the heart. And I don't
know whether you're saved or not. I know Judas deceived the
whole tribe of the apostles. I know Judas sold his Lord for
$18 and he fooled the whole outfit. They thought he knew the Lord.
They thought he was saved. They elected him treasurer of
their group. He kept the money, paid the bill,
did the buying. He was a trusted member of the
early church. They didn't know the Lord. On
the outside, I'm sure his life was one that was lived above
reproach. But salvation is in the substitutionary
work of Christ. Look at Isaiah 53, verse 5. But
he was wounded, he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and by his stripes we're healed. Not by works, by
his stripes. Not by faithfulness, by his stripes. not by honesty, by his stripes.
There it is. Now you know whether or not that's
your confidence. I don't know about you. I know about myself. I know that
I can read that this way. He was wounded for my transgression.
He was bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement of my peace
was upon him, and by his stripes I am healed. And my only hope,
my only plea, is that when Jesus Christ died on that cross, he
died for me. And that's the only hope I have. And that's salvation. Now, you
know whether or not that's your hope. You can look as pious as
you want to, and you can run around talking about how holy
you are and how good you are, but salvation's in Christ! And if you're not in Him, you're
not saved. Because your righteousness will not measure up to His perfect
righteousness, and that's what you've got to have. You've got
to have what He gives, not what you produce. And then turn to
John 1, 12. Salvation. Salvation is to receive
Christ. It's to receive Christ. In John
1, verse 12, listen to this. as received Him. He was in the
world, and the world knew Him not. He was in the world. He came to His own, and His own
received Him not, but as many as received Him. To them gave
He the right to call themselves children of God. Nobody else.
The man who intelligently and lovingly and consciously and
willingly has received Christ, Christ the prophet to reveal
the Father, Christ the priest to offer a sacrifice, to plead,
Christ the mediator to intercede, and Christ the King to reign
over him, the man who has received Christ, well, he's got a right
to believe he's saved. not the man who's received Christ's
doctrine, not the man who's received Christ's law, not the man who's
received Christ's minister or Christ's church, but the man
who's received Christ himself. Now, he's got the right to call
himself a child of God. Nobody else. Nobody else. No matter how righteous a man
might appear to be, He's got no right to call himself a child
of God if he hasn't received Christ. Now, you know whether or not
you've received Christ. You know whether or not you've
done business with the King. You know whether or not your
old stiff knee has bent. You know whether or not your
stiff neck has bowed. You know whether or not your
stubborn will has been broken. And Christ reigns. You know that? I don't know that. You do. Anybody can march in the religious
procession and carry a candle. Anybody can come down now and
say he doesn't want to go to hell, he'd much rather go to
heaven. I had to. Anybody can join the church and
straighten up his life. There's nothing to that. It's
just like when a fella gets too fat, he'll die. Anybody can do
that for good health. And if a fella sees he's going
to hell, he can straighten up and work his way to heaven. Anybody
can do that. But this thing of receiving Christ,
that's something else. Receiving Him, bowing to Him,
surrendering to Him, becoming a bond-slave of Christ! That's where this thing of salvation
is. That's where, and if our church
members ever bow to Christ, the preacher can quit begging them
to come to church, they'll come. And the preacher can quit begging
them to give, they'll give. And the preacher can quit begging
them to forgive one another, they'll forgive one another.
And the preacher can quit begging them to try to be good and religious,
they'll walk with the king, if they ever receive him. You won't
have to have pledge cards anymore. You won't have to have discipline
committees no more. You won't have to have people
go out and beg folks to come to church and see what they got
their feelings hurt over anymore if they receive Christ, if they
become a bond slave of Christ. And then next of all, 2 Corinthians
5, 17. Salvation, saving faith, is to
become a new creature. Now you know whether or not you're
a new creature. I'm talking about inside. I'm
talking about in attitude. You know whether or not you're
a new person in attitude, in outlook, in motive. You know
that. If any man be in Christ, therefore
if any man be in Christ, he's a new person. He's a new person. He's a new creature. He's got
a different attitude toward other people. He's got a different
attitude toward God. He's got a different attitude
toward himself. He's got a different attitude
toward death. He's got a different attitude toward judgment. He's
got a different attitude toward eternity. If any man's in Christ,
he's a new person. He's not the same old person.
He's a new person. And old things are passed away,
and he's got a brand new outlook, and he's got a brand new attitude. He's got a brand new spirit.
There are a lot of moral people who have mean spirits. There
are a lot of moral people who have envious, jealous, greedy,
self-righteous spirits. If a man's in Christ, he's a
new person. He's got a new spirit. He's got
a new attitude. That's what he's talking about
here. I know there are a lot of preachers who get up and stomp
on the pulpit hit on the Bible and scream, if a man's in Christ,
you quit going to the picture show. That's not what he's talking
about here. That's not it. Anybody can quit going to the
picture show. All you got to do is lose your eyesight. Ain't
nothing to it. Anybody can quit drinking. Ain't
nothing to it. All you got to do is get your
liver burned up. You'll quit. But if any man's in Christ, he's
got a new attitude. He's got a new spirit. He's got
a new outlook. That's what it is. It's in here. A new person. Not a new dress. Not a new suit. Not a new outward
garb. A new creature. And it starts
in here. That's what he's talking about.
If he's in Christ. Now you know whether or not you're
a new person. Are you that same old ornery,
contrary, envious, selfish, greedy fellow that you were before you
put that black religious outfit on, huh? Are you the same fellow?
Well, then you're not saved. You don't know the Lord. But a man who knows the Lord
can wear the same clothes and be a new creature, because the
work takes place inside. He can live in the same house
with the same eat at the same table, worship in the same church,
but he's a new person on the inside. He didn't get a pious
grin on his face and fold his hands and make everybody think
he's religious. He got a new heart. And now let
me show you this. Turn to 1 John, chapter 3. Now what I'm saying is, examine
yourself. Is my faith saving faith? Is
it? I don't know whether you're faith-saving
faith or not, but I'll tell you who does know. You know. You know. And at the judgment,
nobody's going to be there but you and God. And you've got to
do business with Him either now or then. You make up your mind
when it'll be. When it'll be. You can do business
now at the throne of grace, or you can do business then at the
throne of wrath. You can do business now on your
knees before God willingly, or you'll do business on your knees
before God in the judgment, because every knee is going to bow and
confess that he's Lord. That's right. And eternal life
is to love the brethren. 1 John chapter 3, look at this. 1 John 3 verse 14. Now you know whether or not this
is so of you. In 1 John chapter 3. It says, We know that we have
passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.
He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whoso hateth
his brother is a murderer. You know that no murderer hath
eternal life abiding in him. Anybody who has got half-sense
knows that. You know that. John said, you
know that. A man doesn't have to stand and
tell you that. You can't love God and hate people. It doesn't
matter what color their skin is. It doesn't matter what denomination
their religion is. It doesn't matter what capacity
their intelligence is. It doesn't matter whether they're
male or female. If you hate people, you don't
have the love of God in you. Now let's just face it, you know
that, I know that, God knows that, everybody knows that, why
fool yourself? Why go to hell swearing on a
stack of Bibles that you're saved when you know you're not? Hereby perceive we the love of
God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren. That's what it says, doesn't
it? It doesn't say cut his yard, it says lay down your life for
him. You're willing to lay down your life for him, you're willing
to do anything else for him. Well, let's turn to 1 John 4.
Now this is, he says, my faith, saving faith, have I got a religious
faith or saving faith? Am I in the church or am I in
Christ? Am I a new creature? Have I got
a new attitude? Have I got a new spirit? If I haven't, I'm not saved,
I'm just whistling by the cemetery, that's all, just playing church.
In 1 John 4, verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another, for
love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and
he knows God. He that loveth not knoweth not
God. He doesn't know God. He's got
a God, but not the God of the Bible. For God is love, and in
this was manifest the love of God toward us, because that God
sent his only begotten Son in the world, that we may live through
him. Now turn to 1 Corinthians 13,
and here is an illustration of that comparison between religious
faith and saving faith. It's amazing how far religious
faith can take a person and what it can lead that person to do
without love, without saving faith. Now watch it. In 1 Corinthians
13, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, that man's
bound to be saved. Did you ever hear him preach?
Oh, he can preach like an angel. Did you ever hear him pray? He
can pray like an angel. Did you ever hear him give his
testimony? He can bring down the stars. I may do that with
the tongues of men and angels and have not love? Well, somebody
might as well sound a brass or clang on a cymbal. That's all
it amounts to. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and I understand mysteries, and I have all knowledge, and
though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains and
have not love, I'm nothing. And watch this. Somebody says,
don't you believe those martyrs were saved who were burned at
the stake? Some of them were. Some of them may not have been.
That's what Paul said. I'm not saying Paul said it.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and give my
body to be burned, and have not love, I let you read it. It profiteth me nothing." Now,
brethren, is my faith saving faith? The only two persons who know
that are you and God. I will tell you this, I cannot
give you a magic formula that will fix you up spiritually and
change you from a child of wrath to a child of God, but I can
point you to the path that saving faith usually travels. Now I'll
give you this in closing. If you're wrestling over the
truth of this matter, and I would if I were you, I'd wrestle over
it. I wouldn't go to hell playing church. I wouldn't go to hell
professing and defending Baptist doctrine. I wouldn't go to hell
if I were you defending an old experience that happened years
ago. I wouldn't go to hell defending an owl walk I took one time shaking
a preacher's hand. I'd find out if I knew the Lord.
And I can tell you the path that saving faith usually walks. I
can't give you, as I say, a recipe or a formula, but I can tell
you the way saving faith, according to the Bible, usually walks.
This is the path. Number one, the sinner becomes
a seeker. In our text, which I read, Acts
16, here was a man, a jailer, keeper of the prison, who came
in to Paul and Silas, trembling. and cried out, says, What must
I do to be saved?" The sinner has become a seeker, a seeker. Now, we see very little of sinners
seeking the Savior today, don't we? Anybody here seeking the
Lord? How long has it been since you've
heard a man? A man came up to you and said, where can I hear
the gospel? I want to hear the gospel. I want to be saved. Where can I go and hear Christ
exalted? When will your church be having
services next? All these churches around here
advertising the paper, they advertise over the radio, they advertise
everywhere, sinners come to us! I'd sure like to meet me some
sinners that were seeking the church and seeking the Lord. The opposite is true, though.
The churches are using every gimmick, every trick, every method
that they can concoct to get people to come to the service,
and then when they get them there, they use everything they can
to keep them. And they're trapping audiences into making professions
of religion, and then they organize committees to conserve the results,
with follow-up campaigns to conserve the results. Where are the seekers?
Where are the people that you can't preach too long? They'll
sit and listen. Where are the people who are
so hungry for the Word of God that you just, you've got to
hurry and open the door and let them in? old Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed
up a tree so he could see the Lord. The Greeks came to the disciples
and said, Sirs, we would see Jesus. Jeremiah said, Seek ye the Lord
while he may be found. You'll seek me and find me when
you search for me with all your heart. You'll never experience saving
faith until you want it badly enough to seek it. You'll never be brought into
a saving union with Jesus Christ until you want Him badly enough
to seek Him. What must I do? Tell me what
to do. Where is my Lord? How can I find
Him? Preach to me. Teach me. Exhort
me. The average person today is looking
for every excuse they can find not to hear the Word. Not to
hear the Word. And the seeker is looking for
every opportunity he can to hear the word. Secondly, the sinner becomes
not only a seeker, but he becomes a hearer. In verse 32 it says, And they
spake unto him, the word of the Lord. Here was this sinner, lost,
going to hell, trembling. What must I do to be saved? And
Paul sat him down, and he began to teach him the word of God.
He began to teach him. He spake unto him the word of
the Lord. And that man sat there and listened
and listened. We're listening to everything
and everybody but the word of the Lord. Now brethren, faith
cometh by hearing the word of the Lord. Not hearing the arguments
of men, and the illustrations of men, and the reasoning of
men, and the recipes of men, and the ways and plans of men,
but by hearing the word of God. Paul said, Timothy, from a child
you have known the holy scriptures that were able to make you wise
unto salvation. Why do I read so much of the
Bible in our services? Why do I continually ask you
to turn to different scriptures? Because, brethren, faith cometh
by hearing the Word of God. We'll never know God except by
the Word. We'll never know sin, Paul said,
except by the Word. We're never going to be quickened
by the Spirit except by the Word. We're never going to know Christ
and His work except by the Word. We're never going to have a reason
for our hope except by the Word. And if you're not a student of
the Word of God, you'll have no saving faith. Faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. As newborn babes
desire the sincere milk of the Word of God that you may grow, Preachers are not preaching the
Word of God. Our churches have become three-ring
circuses. But I'm telling you here on this
Sunday morning, June 10, 1973, if you want saving faith, you're
not going to find it reading what you're reading. You're going
to have to get into the Word of God. And you're not going
to find it going where you're going. You're going to have to
go where the Word of God is preached. And you're going to have to become
a hearer of the Word of God. Somebody's going to have to teach
you the Word of God, because we are born of the Word, quickened
by the Word, saved by the Word. That's right. Of His own will
began He us through the Word of truth. Now, I advertise Bible school
starting in the morning. And I said that I was going to
be teaching the young people the confession of faith, and
if anybody's interested, they could come and sit and listen.
I don't expect a whole lot to come, because there ain't many
interested. I know a lot of people are busy,
but a lot of people are not busy. And on Wednesday night, we have
prayer meeting here, and I'm teaching the Word of God. I'm
going verse by verse. Romans 1, 2, 3, 4, already gone
through the book of Hebrews, the book of Galatians, both books
of 1 and 2 Peter, and there's not many folks who come and hear
it, because they're not interested. And the reason they're not interested,
they never did become a seeker. They got fixed up back yonder
years ago by some preacher who told them that if they believed
in Jesus, they'd go to heaven, and that's what they're resting
in, they're going to hell. Because they've never become
a seeker, and they've never become a hero. And saving faith is only
given to the seeker. You'll find me when you seek
me with all your heart, the Lord said. When you quit seeking everything
else but God. If you gave half as much attention
to finding the Lord as you have to making a living, you'd be
going to heaven sure as shooting. But you're not interested in
your soul, you're interested in your body. Your God is your
belly. And you're not interested in God, and when you become interested
in Him, you'll have saving faith, but not until. And when you become
a hearer of the Word of God, you'll get saving faith. This
is where it is. It's right here. It's right here
in this book. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word
of God. Then, in verse 34,