Salvation Through Faith

Ephesians 2:8

In this passage Paul is reminding us that salvation is wholly and entirely a work of God.
He emphasizes this even more by adding the phrases:
"And that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast."
(Eph. 2:8-9)

The source and origin of salvation is not in us; it is wholly and only in God.
As sure as a dead man can do nothing toward making himself alive,
so there is no way the spiritually dead can make any contribution toward obtaining spiritual life.

Self cannot save self.
God does not ask that unwilling self become willing self because it cannot.
God asks nothing from us because there is nothing we can give or do.
Salvation is "not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
God has devised all the means for receiving the gift of salvation.
Everything about us is a gift.
We totally live by what we receive: food, air, the floor beneath our feet, clothes on our backs, etc.
And in most cases something has died to give us life and sustenance.
And Christ has died that we might live.

It is by grace we are saved through faith.
Look at the word, "faith."
There is difficulty in translating the Greek verb, pisteuein.
The English does not have a verb "to faith. "
Much of the meaning is lost as we are forced to translate the Greek verb as "to believe."

The Biblical idea is that of confidence, reliance, and trust.
Faith brings a person empty to God, that he may be filled with the very life of Christ.
"It is not of yourselves."

Faith is not a work.
We must not try to turn it into "works."
Many try to turn their faith into a kind of works.
Some say that by believing on the Lord Jesus, a person saves himself.
That is to turn faith into works because it says that it is our action that saves us.
The Bible says, "Not of yourselves."

If it is my belief that saves me, I have saved myself; but Paul says that it is "not of yourself."
So, I must never speak of my faith in a way that it gives me some grounds for boasting.
Paul says, "Not of works, lest any man should boast."
My boasting or my possibility of boasting must be entirely excluded.

So, as we think of faith, we must be careful to view it in this light.

Faith is not the cause of salvation. Christ is the cause of salvation.
The grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ is the cause of salvation,
and I must never speak in such a way as to represent faith as the cause of my salvation.
Faith is not the source of the gift of salvation.
This salvation is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God.
Faith is not the reward of merit.
Salvation is not secured by good works, lest anyone should glory.
Good works are the fruit and the result of salvation; not the cause.
Faith is not something we can furnish toward our salvation,
but it is placed in our hearts by God to accomplish His purpose in us.
Faith is not a blind thing. Faith begins by knowledge.
Faith is not a speculative thing; for faith believes facts of which it is sure.
It is not a dreamy thing; for faith trusts and stakes its destiny upon the truth of divine revelation.
Again, faith is not a work of ours; any more than we see in Christ raising Lazarus from the dead.
Faith is not merit, but actually includes the idea of helplessness and hopelessness.

In faith one depends upon another to do that which one is unable to do for oneself.
A child is ill and near death.
The family doctor is called.
In calling the doctor, the parents are confessing their own inability to deal with the illness,
and they are expressing their confidence in the doctor.
There is no merit in calling the doctor.
Their faith in the doctor merely gives the doctor the opportunity to work.

So we are not saved by our belief; we are saved by Christ in whom we believe.
Faith is nothing apart from its object.

What Is Faith?

Faith is the instrument through which the grace of God's salvation comes to you and me.
"By grace are you saved through faith."
Faith is the channel through which this great salvation comes to us.
Faith gives God all the glory as all who are "in Christ" will.
Faith is a sure and certain knowledge of God's grace toward us;
founded upon the truth of this promise; "By grace are you saved through faith."
Faith is the birth and life of the new man who can and will do what is good and well-pleasing to God.
Faith is the apprehension and affirmation of God's great salvation.
Faith is the truthfulness in which we accept salvation as that which has truly taken place.

So, let us remember that faith is never the ground of justification, but only its channel.
All the New Testament references to faith indicate this in the clearest possible way.

Faith is more than belief, though it includes that.
Faith is trust. It is the openness of mind, heart, and life to receive what God has to give
and to yield to what He demands.

Faith is the trustful reception wrought in us by God and is clearly distinguished
from the subsequent activity of gratitude and works of faith.
Faith is confidence in God Himself. It is more than believing in the Bible; it is believing
in the God of the Bible.
Faith is the response of trust to God's gracious self-giving.
Trust implies dependence upon another and ceasing to depend upon ourselves.
Our trust is in God - not in ourselves.

With this all in mind - let us ask:

How do we experience what is beyond experience?
How do we know what is beyond knowledge?
How do we believe the impossible and the unbelievable?

Try these questions if those stagger you.

We eat food. How do you know that the food you eat will not poison you?
You sit down on a chair. How do you know that it will hold you up?
You... How do you know...?

The answer to all these questions is by faith.
We believe that a thing is what it appears to be and we react as to expect it too, and then,
we act by faith.
Faith is our God-given instrument.
How could we stay sane in this world without faith.
Without faith we would be hopelessly paranoid.

Faith is the acknowledgment of our inability and the admission of our need of another's ability.
Faith links us to Christ, and is the means by which we receive His merit.
Faith is to believe in Christ our Lord and to commit ourself to Him.
So, to believe in God is to commit ourself to Him.
In John 2:24 it is said that Jesus did not commit Himself to the Jews because He knew all men.

The Greek word, which is translated "commit" is the same Greek word translated "believeth" in John 3:16.
So, John 3:16 might correctly read, "Whosoever commits himself unto Him shall not perish,
but have everlasting life."

So then, faith is not merely to believe things about Jesus:

That He was a historical person.
That He was a great teacher.
That He was a good man.
Or even that He came to be the Saviour of the world. Even the devils believe and tremble.

Biblical faith means that there must be a personal commitment, trust, and dependence upon
the Lord Jesus to save.
There must be a commitment of oneself to Him.
He did not come into the world to help man save himself.
He came to save that which was lost.
He came to save us because we were beyond all human help.

Jesus gave a clear illustration of what faith in Him means.
He said to Nicodemus, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so,
must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believeth on Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life." (John 3:14-15)

The Israelite in the wilderness (Numbers 21:5-9) showed his faith by looking upon
the serpent of brass that hung upon the pole. In this one act of faith he expressed
an utter helplessness and at the same time acknowledged that God's provision was his only hope.

He did not understand the significance of the serpent, nor why it was made of brass.
He did not analyze his faith to see if it was strong or of the right kind.
He did not question the intensity of his look. So he could not claim any merit in his looking.
There was no work in the opening of his eye.

There were only two things in his mind:

His own absolute helplessness
And the sufficiency of God's provision - the object of his faith

This is the faith through which the lost are saved by God's grace.
The gospel of Jesus Christ does not say, " Trust God and He will love you."
The gospel says, "God already loves you, so trust Him."
Commit yourself to Him.

We must also be reminded that faith differs from mere thinking and believing and knowing,
or even from any other trusting, for faith is, in fact, an obeying.
The grace of God in Christ demands and evokes faith, confidence, and a trust in God,
which is in itself obedience to God.
The one who disobeys cannot believe.
Only he who obeys can believe.
Read Romans 1:5 and see the close connection between faith and obedience.
Faith is God's gift, and it must be a gift received.

The Puritans were accustomed to explaining faith by the word, "recumbency."
Here is what they meant by that term.
You see me leaning upon this pulpit.
I am leaning all my weight upon it.
Even so, lean upon Christ.
Fall flat upon Christ.
Cast yourself upon Him.
Rest completely upon Him.
Commit yourself completely to Him.
That is what is meant when Paul says, "through faith."

That responsibility of faith, of trust, of commitment, of leaning with all our weight is ours.
This faith is essential!
Any who do not have this faith in Christ are lost and condemned to an everlasting eternity
without God and without hope.
He will perish forever and ever.
He must receive by faith the salvation that God has provided in Christ.
He must receive Christ as His personal Saviour if he is to have life everlasting.

Man cannot see until he is born again -- John 3:3.
Man cannot understand until he has been given a new nature -- 1 Cor. 2:14.
Man cannot come -- until he has been made alive by the Spirit of God -- John 6:44

Rejecting Jesus as Lord and Saviour is not a non-action.

It is a deliberate rejection of the Lord.
It is to say, "no" to Christ, and to say "yes' to self and sin.
Unbelief is a faith just as is belief. Unbelief is faith in yourself.

All who know what it is to be "in Christ" and to have Christ "in us," know
that it is " by grace that we have been saved through faith."

Praise His name for:

"Christ has redeemed you from sin;
All of your debt has been paid.
Nothing remains but to enter
Into the peace He has made."

To you who have not received Christ as your Saviour - look away from self and look to Christ.

"Why should you struggle so hard?
All the work has been done.
Tis not your goodness or badness,
Tis only if you will trust His dear Son."

For:
"Jesus is all that you need.
All things are yours in the Lord.
Trust Him to cleanse and keep you;
Trust Him and rest in His Word."

"Come every soul by sin oppressed,
There's mercy with the Lord,
And He will surely give you rest
By trusting in His Word.

Yes, Jesus is the Truth, the Way,
That leads you into rest;
Believe in Him without delay,
And you are fully blest."

"Only trust Him, Only trust Him now,
He will save you, He will save you now."

Sermon by Dr. Harold L. White