“These
all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar
off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
—Hebrews
11:13
Four times in Holy Scripture, we
read, “The just shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). Our faith in Christ is as
is as essential to our salvation as his death for us. Our faith in God is as
necessary to the salvation of our souls as God’s election of us unto salvation.
Our believing by the Spirit is just as necessary to our everlasting salvation
in Christ as our being born of the Spirit. Faith is not our Savior. Christ
alone is our Savior; but we can no more be saved without faith in Christ than
we could live without breathing. “The
just shall live by faith.”
Be sure you understand the
doctrine of Holy Scripture. —Faith in
Christ is not the cause of our justification or of our regeneration. We are
justified by the grace of God through the redemption accomplished by the
shedding of Christ’s precious blood at Calvary (Rom. 3:24). It was the blood of
Christ that satisfied the justice of God, not our faith. It was the blood of
Christ that put away our sins, not our faith. It was the blood of Christ that
redeemed us, not our faith. In the matter of regeneration, too, the work is
altogether the work of God’s free, sovereign, omnipotent, irresistible grace.
Faith is not the cause of the new birth, but the result. We believe by the
working of God’s almighty power, by the operation of God. Yet, we must
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. “He
that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. He that believeth not
the Son of God shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
But faith in Christ is much more than most people imagine. Most vainly imagine
that since they decided to believe in Jesus, since they believed in him
(yesterday, this morning, or 30 years ago) they are saved forever. The
Scriptures never use such language. The testimony of Holy Scripture is, “The just shall live by faith.” Faith in
Christ is not an act of life, but a way of life.
All who live by faith shall die in faith (Job 17:9; Ps. 138:8; Isa.
46:4; Jer. 32:40). The house built on the Rock shall not fall. Those to whom
Christ gives eternal life shall never perish. The gifts and callings of God are
without repentance. The sons of Jacob shall never die, because our God cannot
and does not change. The seal of God’s Spirit cannot be broken. The merit of
Christ’s blood can never be made of non-effect. The power of God’s grace can
never be broken. The purpose of God’s love can never be overturned.