Faith is
essential.
According to the Christian religion, faith is
the great essential thing. “Without
faith it is impossible to please God.”
Whatever we may do or may be, we cannot be acceptable with the Most High
unless we believe in him. Even prayer
can only be a mockery if it be not the prayer of faith. “He that cometh to God must believe that he
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
him,” or else he does not really pray.
The Lord Jesus Christ died to save men but it is certain that no man
will be saved without faith. Even the
blood of Jesus Christ does not save any except those who believe in it. “God so loved the world” is a very wide
expression, but remember how the verse goes on, “God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not
perish but have everlasting life.”
Without faith, Christ is not ours.
His blood cannot cleanse us; his life cannot quicken us. We must have faith to get at the blessings of
salvation.
Faith is
continuous.
Suppose we could be brought into touch with
Christ without faith for a while, yet, if we had not continuous faith, we
should not have a continued connection with the Savior, and consequently should
not abide in eternal life; for it is written: “the just shall live by
faith.” They not only begin to live by
faith, but continue to live in the same manner.
In our holy religion, everything is by faith, faith for life, and faith
for death. Even the first tears of repentance must be salted with faith, and
the last song on earth shall be full of faith. Ye must have faith, or ye must
perish. “He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned,” is the
declaration of Jesus Christ the Savior Himself.
Faith is
relying on Christ.
We have [already] seen that it is
essential. It is [also] very important
to understand its nature. Well, faith
with regard to God is the same as faith with regard to anything else. It is the same act of the mind, though it
differs as to its object. When I believe
in God, it is the same kind of mental act as when I believe in my friend. I believe with the same mind. Tis true that all
saving faith is the work of the Holy Ghost in us; but be it always recollected
that we ourselves believe, and that the Holy Ghost does not believe for us.
What has the Holy Ghost to believe about?
It is not written that he is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. No, but we are to believe in him. He leads us to faith, but the faith is our
own act and deed. If I understand aright
the faith which saves, it is just this.
God has revealed such-and-such truth, I believe
it to be true, and I so believe it to be true that I act upon it. God has said that he has laid sin upon Christ;
I believe he has done so. He tells me
that, if I trust Christ, I may be assured that my sin was laid upon
Christ. I trust Christ, that is, I rely
upon him, and the reliance which springs out of belief is the essence of faith.
Faith is
evidenced by its actions.
When a man believes a bank to be safe, he will
put his money into it if he has need to do so; when a man believes in the
honesty of another, the practical issue of it is [that] he takes his word and
trusts him. Now, mark, if I really do
rest in Christ, I shall do what Christ bids me.
Faith must lead to obedience. He bids me forsake sin, and I do it by his
help. He bids me follow him, and I shall
do it if I really believe in him. A
doctor says, “Now, trust me, my man, and I will cure you.” I trust him. He sends me medicine and I take it. But suppose I do not take the medicine; well,
then, I never trusted him; my neglect proves I have not done so.
Faith
includes obedience.
The only trust that saves the soul is that
practical trust which obeys Jesus Christ.
Faith that does not obey is dead faith—nominal faith. It is the outside of faith, the husk of
faith, but it has not the vital corn of faith in it. Sinner, if thou wilt be saved, thou must give
thyself up to Jesus Christ to be his servant, and to do all that he bids
thee. Thou must rely alone upon him;
trust not in fiction, but in reality, not by profession merely, but with thy
whole heart; and thou must continue to lean, rest, and lie upon him, trusting
alone in him. This is what saving faith
is.
Faith is a
gift of God.
Now, there are some who say they wish they could
get this faith; they declare that they would do anything to get it. They earnestly long to believe, but somehow
they cannot get a grip of faith, cannot quite make out what it is; or if they
know what it is, they are still puzzled, they cannot exercise it.
Albeit faith is the gift of God, it is always
the act of man— while faith is a privilege, it is always a natural duty. Men are bidden to believe in Jesus, and are
sinful if they do not believe in Jesus.
Where faith does exist, it is the gift of God; but where it does not
exist, it is because men will not believe in him, but shut their eyes to his
light. If they would but see it, that
light would convince them.