SAVING FAITH.
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved, and thy house.--ACTS xvi. 30,31.
This is one of the most abused texts in the Bible, and one which,
perhaps, has been made to do quite as much work for the devil as for
God. Let every saint present, ask in faith for the light of the Holy
Ghost, while we try rightly to apply it. Let us enquire:--
1. _Who are to believe_? 2. _When are they to believe_? 3. _How are they
to believe_?
I. Who are to believe? To whom does the Holy Spirit say, "Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved?" Now mark, I answer,
_not_ to all sinners indiscriminately. And here is a grand
mistake in a great deal of the teaching of this age--that these words
are wrested from their explanatory connexion, and from numbers of
other texts bearing on the same subject, and held up independently of
all the conditions which must ever, and did ever, in the mind and
practice of the Apostles, accompany them; indeed, it has only been
within the last sixty or seventy years that this new gospel has
sprung into existence, preaching indiscriminately to unawakened,
unconverted, unrepentant sinners--"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."
It seems to me, that great injury has been done to the cause of
Christ by thus wrongly dividing the Word of truth, to say nothing of
the unphilosophical character of such a course, for how can an
unawakened, unconvicted, unrepentant sinner, believe? As soon might
Satan believe. It is an utter impossibility. Thousands of these
people say, "I do believe." My dear son, only a little time ago, on
the top of an omnibus, was speaking to a man who was the worse for
liquor, and using very improper language; trying to show him the
danger of his evil, wicked course, as a transgressor of the law of
God. "Oh!" said the man, "it is not by works, it is by faith, and I
believe as much as you do." "Yes," said my son, "but what do you
believe?" "Oh," he said, "I believe in Jesus Christ, and of course I
shall be saved." That is a sample of thousands. I am meeting with
them daily. They believe there was such a man as Jesus, and that He
died for sinners, and for them, but as to the exercise of saving
faith, they know no more about it than Agrippa or Felix, as is
manifest when they come to die, for then, these very people are
wringing their hands, tearing their hair, and sending for Christians
to come and pray with them. If they had believed, why all this alarm
and concern on the approach of death? They were only believers of the
head, and not of the heart; that is, they were but theoretical
believers in the facts recorded in this book, but not believers in
the Scriptural sense, or their faith would have saved them. Now, we
maintain that it is useless, and as unphilosophical as it is
unscriptural, to preach "only believe" to such characters; and
Christians have not done their duty, and have not discharged their
responsibility to these souls, when they have told them that Jesus
died for them, and that they are to believe in Him! They have a much
harder work to do, and that is, "to open their eyes" to a sense of
their danger, and make them, by the power of the Spirit, realize the
dreadful truth that they are sinners, that they are sick, and then
they will run to the Physician.
The eyes of the soul must be opened to such a realization of sin,
and such an apprehension of the consequences of sin, as shall lead to
an earnest desire to be saved from sin. God's great means of doing
this is the law, as the schoolmaster, to drive sinners to receive
Christ as their salvation.
There is not one case in the New Testament in which the apostles
urged souls to believe, or in which a soul is narrated as believing,
in which we have not good grounds to believe that these preparatory
steps of conviction and repentance, had been taken. The only one was
that of Simon the sorcerer. He was, as numbers of people are, in
great religious movements, carried away by the influence of the
meeting, and the example of those around him, and professed to
believe. Doubtless, he did credit the fact that Jesus died on the
cross. He received the facts of Christianity into his mind, and, in
that sense, he became a believer--in the same sense that tens of
thousands are in these days--and he was baptized. But when the
testing point came, as to whose interests were paramount with him,
his own or God's, then he manifested the true state of the case, as
the apostle said, "I see thy heart is not right with God." And nobody
is converted whose heart is not right with God! That is the test. If
Simon had been converted, his heart would have been right with God
and he would not have supposed the Holy Ghost could have been bought
for money. And Paul added, "For I perceive that thou art still in the
gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." And what further
did he say to him? "Therefore, at once believe"? No; he did not.
"Therefore, repent, and pray God, if, perhaps, the thought of thine
heart may be forgiven thee." Repent first! and then believe, and get
this wickedness forgiven, and so we get a double lesson in the same
passage. This Simon was the only person we have any record of, as
believing, where there is not in the passage itself, taken with the
context, a reasonable and rational evidence, that these preparatory
steps of conviction and repentance, were taken before the teaching of
faith, or the exercise and confession of faith. Simon had this faith
of the head, but not of the heart, and, therefore, it ended in defeat
and despair.
Some have written me this week that they had believed. They had been
persuaded into a profession of faith, but no fruits followed. Ah! it
was not the faith of the heart: it was the faith of the head--like
that of Simon's--and it left you worse than it found you, and you
have been groping and grovelling, ever since. But do not think that
was real faith, and that therefore real faith has failed, but be
encouraged to begin again, and _repent_. Try the real thing, for
Satan always gets up a counterfeit. Therefore, don't go down in
despair because the wrong kind of faith did not succeed. That shall
not make the real faith of God of none effect--God forbid!
Look at one or two other cases--the three thousand in a day. Surely
this is a scriptural illustration. Surely no one will call that
anti-Gospel or legal. What was the first work Peter did? He drove the
knife of God's convincing truth into their hearts, and made them
_cry out_. He awoke them to the truth of their almost lost and
damned condition, till they said, "What must we do to be saved?" They
were so concerned, they were so pricked in their hearts, their eyes
were so opened to the terrible consequences of their sin, that they
cried aloud before the vast multitude, "Men and brethren, what must
we do to be saved?" He convinced them of sin, and thus followed the
order of God.
Again, the eunuch is often quoted as an illustration of faith; but
what state of mind was he in? Was he a careless, unconvicted sinner?
There he was--an Ethiopian, a heathen; but where had he been? To
Jerusalem, to worship the true and living God, in the best way he
knew, and as far as he understood; and then, what was he doing when
Philip found him? He was not content with the mere worship of the
temple, whistling a worldly tune on his way back. He was searching
the Scriptures. He was honestly seeking after God, and the Holy Ghost
always knows where such souls are; and He said to Philip, "Go, join
thyself to that chariot: there is a man seeking after Me; there is a
man whose heart is honestly set on finding Me. Go and preach Christ,
and tell him to believe." That man would have sacrificed, or done, or
lost anything, for salvation, and, as soon as Philip expounded the
way of faith, he received it, of course, as all such souls will.
Saul, on his way to Damascus, is another instance. Jesus Christ was
the preacher there, and surely, He could not be mistaken. His
philosophy was sound. Where did He begin? What did He say to Saul? He
saw there an honest-hearted man. Saul was sincere, so far as he
understood, and if, in any case, there needed to be the immediate
reception of Christ by faith, it was in his. But the Lord Jesus
Christ did not say one word about faith. "Saul, Saul, why
_persecutest_ thou Me?"--tearing the bandages of deception off
his eyes, and letting him see the wickedness of his conduct. When
Saul said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" He repeated the accusation. He did
not come in with the oil of comfort; He did not plaster the wound up,
and make it whole in a moment; but He said, "I am Jesus of Nazareth,
whom thou persecutest." He ran the knife in again, and opened Paul's
eyes wider, and his wounds wider, too, and sent him bleeding on to
Damascus, where he was three days before he got the healing. He had
to send for a poor human instrument, and he had to hear and obey his
words, before the scales fell from his eyes, and before the pardon of
his sins was pronounced, and the Holy Ghost came into his soul. I
wonder what Paul was doing those three days! Not singing songs of
thanksgiving and praise. That had to come. Oh! what do you think he
was doing? He neither ate nor drank, and he was in the dark. What was
he doing? No doubt he was praying. No doubt he was seeking after this
Christ, who had spoken to him in the way. No doubt he was looking
with horror upon his past life, and abjuring forever his accursed
antagonism to Jesus Christ, and to His Gospel. Of course, he was
bringing forth fruits meet for repentance, according to the Divine
order--Acts xxvi.: And then came Ananias, and preached Christ unto
him, and he believed unto salvation, and the scales fell off, and his
mouth was filled with praise and thanksgiving to God.
Cornelius, is another instance, but what was the state of his mind
and heart? We know that he feared God and wrought righteousness, as
far as he was able. He gave alms to the people, and prayed day and
night. That is more than some of you ever did, who live in the Gospel
times. You never prayed all night about your souls. No wonder if you
should lose them--not half a night, some of you. But Cornelius
did--he was seeking _God_. He honestly wanted to know Him. He was
willing, at all costs, to do His will: consequently, the Lord sent
him the glorious message of the revelation of Jesus Christ.
I might go on multiplying instances, but I must stop. We have said
enough to show who are to believe. Truly penitent sinners, and they
only.
This text is to a repenting, enlightened, convicted sinner. Now,
some of you are enlightened, convinced, and so wretched that you
cannot sleep. You _do_ repent. You are the very people, then, to
whom this text comes--Believe. You are just in the condition of the
gaoler.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved," and now
let us look what state of mind the gaoler was in. We see, from the
whole narrative, how his eyes had been opened. The earthquake had
done that. Some people need an earthquake before they get their eyes
opened, and it has to be a loud one, too. The gaoler's eyes were
opened, and he made the best use of his time. He was lashing their
backs a little while before! Talk about a change--here was a change.
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved? I am ready to do anything, only
tell me what." And when a soul comes to that state of mind, he has
nothing more to do but to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And he
came in, trembling, and went down on his knees, and washed their
stripes. When you get to that state of mind, you will soon get saved.
You will have nothing more to do but to believe. You will find it
easy work, then.
II. When is a sinner to believe? When he repents? Here again I am
going to answer some of your letters. One writes: "I am afraid I do
not realize my sin sufficiently. I have no particular agony on
account of sin, but I do see my whole life to have been one huge
error and sin." There is nothing more common than for souls to delude
themselves on this point of feeling. That gentleman confounds feeling
with conviction. He thinks because he has not this extreme agony
which some have, therefore he is not sufficiently convinced, while
the Holy Ghost has opened his eyes to see that his whole life has
been one huge error and sin. He is convinced that it has been
_all_ sin--not one isolated sin here and there abstracted from
his life, but such a perception of his true character that he sees
his whole life to have been sin. Surely, my friend, you are convinced.
What else but the Holy Ghost could have shown you _that_? Now, the truly
repentant soul first sees sin; secondly, he _hates_ sin; thirdly, he
_renounces_ sin. Now, let me try you by each of these tests. Don't let
Satan deceive you, and make you belie the exercises of your own mind.
Face the facts, and when you have come to a conclusion, don't allow him
to raise a controversy, but stick to your facts, and go on from them, or
you will never get saved. Satan is an accuser of the brethren, and, I
suppose, of the sisters too. I will be as honest and as searching
with you as I possibly can. I will not spare the probe, but when we
have probed and found the truth, stand on it, for Christ's sake, and
don't let it go from under your feet, because Satan will try to cheat
you out of your common sense, conscience, and convictions.
You _see_ sin. An entirely unawakened soul does not see sin;
that is, in its true character, in its heinousness, in its
consequences. He admits that all people are sinners. Oh! yes; but he
does not see the deadly, damning character of sin. He does not see
what an evil and bitter thing sin is in itself. Now, the Holy Ghost
alone can open the soul's eyes to see this. Without Him, all my
preaching, or any other preaching, even the preaching of the angels,
if they were permitted to preach, might go on to all eternity, and it
would never convince of sin. If you see sin, it is the Holy Ghost who
has opened your eyes. Praise Him, and take encouragement, my friend.
If God has thus far dealt with you, and opened your eyes to see the
character and consequences of sin, does it not augur well that He
desires also to save you from it? He has opened your eyes in order
that He may anoint them with eye-salve, and cause you to see light in
His light.
Now, have you got thus far? You have told me that your life has been
one great sin; others say, one particular form of sin. Whatever it
is, if you are convinced of sin, it is the Holy Ghost who has
convinced you; therefore, thank God, and take courage thus far.
Further, the true penitent _hates_ sin; that is, his feelings
towards sin are quite different to what they were in the past. There
was a time when you could commit sin, almost without notice, without
concern. People do not realize the great change that has taken place
in them in this respect. They are brought gradually to it. Translate
yourself back into your unawakened state. How did you live then? The
very things that now cause you such distress, you practised every
day, and they gave you no concern. The things that horrify you now,
in the very thought or temptation to them, you then were daily
practising without compunction. You had no hatred to, no dread of
sin. You were willing bondslaves of Satan. Now, you are his unwilling
slave. Then, you _ran_ towards sin, now, he has to drive you,
and when you fall, it is against your will. You hate sin. Now, mind,
this is not being saved from it. This is not saying you have power to
save yourself from it. In fact, this is the very difficulty
personified by the apostle, when representing the ineffectual
struggles of a convicted sinner. The things you would not, those you
do, and the things you would, those you have not the power to do.
Nevertheless, you _desire_ to do them. There is the difference.
Once you did not desire to do them, and, perhaps, those who did, were
a pack of hypocrites, in your estimation. Now, you feel quite
differently, and you struggle, and strive, and pray, and watch. Some
of you have told me so, and yet you say, "I am again and again
overcome." Of course you are, because you are not _saved yet_!
But don't you see, you _desire_ to be. You hate the sin which
enthrals you. You struggle against it. You watch against it and you
are not overcome half so frequently, perhaps, as you were before.
People do not see what a great deal they owe to the convincing and
preventing power of the Holy Spirit helping their infirmity, even
now, to cut off and pluck out the right hand and the right eye, and
bringing them up in a waiting attitude before God, like Cornelius and
the eunuch. You, my hearers, some of you, are following after God.
You are longing for deliverance, are striving against sin.
Take an another illustration. I don't mean that the soul has power
to save itself from its internal maladies. That you will get when
Jesus Christ saves you. But, I mean this: here is a soul convinced of
sin. Here is a man who is daily addicted to drink. He is a drunkard.
He becomes convinced of sin. Now, then, the Spirit of God says, "Will
you give up the cup?" Then commences the struggle. Now, the question
is, are you to teach that man that he is to go on drinking, and
expect God to save him? Are you to keep putting before him faith, and
telling him, "Oh! never mind your cup, but believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and you shall be saved"--or, are you to tell him, "you must
put away your sin, cut off that right hand, pluck out that right eye,
renounce that drink forever in your heart, in your purpose, in your
will, and until you do, you cannot exercise faith on the Lord Jesus?"
Here is another person addicted to lying. He, when he is convinced
of sin, sets a watch over his lips, that he may not offend with his
mouth, and he does succeed in so guarding himself, or the Holy Spirit
so helps him to guard himself, that he does not lie as he used. He is
overcome now and then, because he has not yet found the power, but he
is resolutely, and as far as his will is concerned, cutting off this
outward sin, and waiting in the way of obedience for full deliverance
and salvation.
There is a servant systematically robs his master's till. He goes to
a religious meeting and is convinced. "Now," the Spirit of God says,
"you must cut off that dishonesty. You cannot come to this meeting
night after night pretending to want to be saved, while you are going
on every day robbing your master! You must cut off that right hand,
and give up that pilfering, and resolve that you will make
restitution, and wait for Me in the way of bringing forth fruits meet
for repentance." You see what I mean. Now, you are just here, some of
you--you know you are. If you are addicted to any evil habit, it is
just the same. Jesus Christ wants you to forswear that habit in your
will, determination, and purpose. You have not the power to deliver
yourself from it. You may struggle, as some of you tell me you are
doing, but it overcomes you, and down you go. He knows all about
that, but He approves of the struggle, and the effort, and the
watchfulness, and the determination, and when He saves you, He will
give you the power, and then you will stand and not fall, for He will
hold you up.
Now you know that you go thus far, and you know that at this moment,
if you had the power in yourself to extinguish the force of that evil
habit over you forever, you would do it without another moment's
hesitation. You say, "Oh yes, I would indeed. Would to God I had the
power." That is repentance; that is _genuine_ repentance. Now,
what you cannot do for yourself, He meets you just where you stand,
and says, "I will do it for you; I will break the power of that
habit; I will deliver you out of the hands of the enemy; I will save
you out of that bondage. Only throw your arm of faith around me, and
I will lift you up; and I will inspire you with my Spirit; you shall
stand in Me and by Me; and what you are now struggling to do for
yourself, I will do for you."
Then you have got thus far that you hate sin? "Yes, I have." You
have said it in your letters to me, and there are others saying it
who have not written to me. "Yes," you are saying, "I desire to be
saved from it. I would save myself this very instant if I could, and
never sin again." Would you? Is not that repentance? What else is it,
think you?
Suppose you had a disobedient and rebellious son, and he had been
living irrespective of your law and will, wasting your money and
trampling under foot your commandments. Suppose he comes back, he
sees the error of his course. His eyes are opened, perhaps, by
affliction, perhaps by want, or ten thousand other things. At any
rate he sees it, and he comes home and says, "Oh! father, what a fool
I have been; how wicked I have been. I see it all now--I did not see
it when I was doing it. I see my evil course, my sins that made you
mourn, and turned your hair grey. Oh! how I hate it all. I repent in
dust and ashes. Father! I forsake it all! I come home to you!" What
would you say? Would you say, "My son, you have not repented enough.
Go! begone! Wait till you feel it more!" No, your paternal heart
would go out in love and forgiveness, and you would put the kiss of
your reconciling love upon his cheek. "Even so there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that _repenteth!_"
as there would be joy in that family circle over the return of that
wandering child.
But suppose that lad were to come and say, "Father, I do thus
repent; I do thus forsake my sins; but there are some companions who
will follow me so closely that I am afraid I shall again fall under
their power, and there are some habits so terrible that I am afraid
they will again conquer. Let me, then, be always by your side. You
must strengthen me." What would you say? Would you not say, "Then,
come in, my son; sit by me, live with me, and I will shield you--I
will deliver you? Thou shalt never cross this threshhold without me.
I will live with you; I will hold you up." And, as far as a human
being could shield another, you would shield your son; he would never
lack your sympathy or your strength day or night. Your Heavenly
Father lacks neither sympathy or strength. His eye never sleeps. His
arm never tires, and you have only to go and lay your helpless
weakness on His Almighty strength by this one desperate leap of
faith, and He will hold you up, even though there were a legion of
devils around you.
Lastly, you _renounce_ your sins, that is, in will, purpose, and
determination. You say, "I never wish to grieve Him again." You
sing it, and you feel it. "I never want to grieve Him any more;" and
if you could only live without grieving Him, you would not much mind,
even if it were in hell itself. Is not that penitence? You know it
is. You renounce sin. You do not say, "Lord Jesus, save me with this
right hand, with this right eye; Lord Jesus, save me with these
forbidden things hanging about my skirts." No; you say, "Lord Jesus,
save me out of them. Make me clean." That is penitence. You see it.
You hate it. You renounce it. Now then, believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh, Holy Spirit, reveal the simple way of faith.
III. You say, "How am I to believe?" Some despairing soul asked me
this in large letters, "How am I to believe?" How does a bride
believe in her husband when she gives herself to him at the altar?
She trusts him with herself. She believes in him. She makes a
contract, and goes home, and lives as if it were true. That is
_faith_. How do you trust your physician when you are sick, as
you lay in repose or anguish upon your bed? You trust him with your
case. You commit yourself to him. You believe in his skill, and obey
his orders. Have faith like this in Jesus Christ.
Trust and obey, and expect that it is going to be with you according
to His Word.
Instead of this, the faith of many people is like that of a person
afflicted with some grievous malady. A friend tells him of a
wonderful physician who has cured hundreds of such cases, and gives
him abundant evidence that this doctor is able and willing to cure
him, if he will only commit himself to his treatment. The sick man
may thoroughly believe in the testimony of his friend about this
physician, and yet, for some secret reason, he may refuse to put
himself into his hands. Now, there are numbers like that with Jesus
Christ. They believe He could cure the malady of sin on certain
conditions. They believe He is no respecter of persons. They believe
He has done it for hundreds as bad as they, and yet there is some
reason why they do not _trust Him_. They hold back.
Now, what you want is to give your case into His hands, and say,
"Lord Jesus, I come as Thou hast bid me, confessing and forsaking
sin. If I could, I would jump out of it now and forever. Thou knowest
I come renouncing it, but not having power to save myself from it;
and now, Lord Jesus, Thou hast said, "Him that cometh unto Me, I will
in no wise cast out." I do come; Thou dost not cast me out; Thou dost
take me; Thou dost receive me. Blessed, Holy Father, I give myself to
Thee. I put my sins upon the glorious sacrifice of Thy Son. Thou hast
said Thou wilt receive me, and pardon me for His sake. Now, I roll
the guilty burden on His bleeding body, and I believe Thy promise, I
trust Thee to be as good as Thy word." _That is faith_. "Oh!" said a
dear lady, "I do not feel it." No: you must trust first. Mark, not
believe you are saved, but believe that He does now save you.
"What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them." That is the law of faith. Believe that
ye receive it before you feel it; when you receive it then you shall
feel it. God shall be true, and every man or devil who contradicts
Him, a liar. Throw your arms around the Crucified. Take fast hold of
the hand of the Son of God. Put your poor, guilty soul right at the
foot of His cross, and say, "Thou dost receive; Thou dost pardon;
Thou dost cleanse; Thou dost save;" and keep using the language of
faith. I have seen numbers of souls step into liberty repeating these
precious words in the first person, "He was wounded for _my_
transgressions, He was bruised for _my_ iniquities, the chastisement of
_my_ peace was laid upon Him, and by His stripes _I am_ healed." Keep
using the language of faith all the way home to-night. Go into your
closet and say, "I am determined to be saved, if there is any such thing
as salvation." Resolve that if you perish, you will perish in that room,
at the foot of the cross, suing for pardon, and you will get it. I have
never known a soul come to this who did not soon get saved. Get into the
lifeboat. Put off from the old stranded wreck of your own righteousness
or your own efforts; step right into the lifeboat of His broken,
bleeding body. Take fast hold, and resolve that you will never let go
until the answering Spirit comes into your soul, crying, "Abba, Father,"
and you shall know of a truth that you have passed from death unto life.
The Lord help you. Amen.