If you have your Bibles, I'm going to read the first three verses of Hebrews chapter 11. And if you want to keep the bulletin there close by, we will walk through chapter 14 together in just a few moments. The author of the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 1, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." It is important to know what faith is. One of the reasons that this chapter is included in this concise version of The Christian faith of our faith that we believe as a church is because saving faith is important. It's important for us to know what it is and what it is not. It's important for us to know that saving faith is not implicit faith. Implicit faith would be that you don't really have to know what you believe, but you trust that the church that you're a part of does know what it believes. We do not promote implicit faith. It is what is commonly practiced and expected in the Roman Catholic Church. But we expect that we should know as Christians what we believe, not because we think it's a good idea, but because that's what's expected in the New Testament. It's important to know that saving faith is not the act of the will, but saving faith is often assumed that it is merely an act of the will. Therefore, everybody has the ability to decide to have faith. but that's not what saving faith is. Saving faith is not something that every person has received and then it is up to them to then therefore act on it. During the second great awakening, a man by the name of Charles Finney made popularized this that it was a mere act of the will, and many moderns follow in his footsteps, that it is merely a decision that you make. It's an act of your will to believe. But that's not saving faith, not according to the Bible. Some would say that saving faith is mental assent, mere mental assent, acknowledging that Jesus died for you or that he rose again. But this is not saving faith either. That would be easy-believism. Or we could call it demon-believism. Even the demons believe that Jesus was and that he died for his people. It's important to know what saving faith is. Faith is the conviction of the truth of the gospel. It is conviction in our hearts and in our minds that the gospel is true. It's knowing what the Bible says about God and the gospel. And it's knowing that what the Bible says about God in the gospel is true and accurate and right. So saving faith includes a commitment to the Christ of the gospel. It's not just to a commitment to a list of truths, no matter how true they may be, but it is a commitment to Christ precisely or especially. This commitment results in us entrusting ourselves to him, wholeheartedly entrusting all of who we are to this person. And that entrusting ourselves to him includes abandoning any confidence in our own ability or our own resources. Saving faith is important. because the presence or absence of saving faith is a matter of supreme and eternal consequence. So as we consider chapter 14 together, may God help us as we walk through the chapter to determine whether or not we have this faith and to help us be more assured if we do have this faith. and to grant us grace to fan the flame of faith not only in ourselves but in one another. Let's begin with the first sentence of chapter one, paragraph one of chapter 14. The grace of faith by which the elect are enabled to believe so that their souls are saved is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts. The grace of faith is the beginning. Saving faith is a grace. Or we can say it this way. Saving faith is a gift. Anyone who believes, there's a reason why they believe. Something has happened in us and through us inside of us, which results in us having faith. We don't just decide to believe. 1 John 5, 1 says it this way. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Listen to the order of that. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Now, this is where grammar is helpful because the order of the sentence makes it sound like, well, if you believe, then you're born of God. But that's not actually the way that the sentence is written grammatically. It is all those who have been born of God believe that Jesus is the Christ. So something has to happen to us before we believe. Something happens to us before saving faith is evidenced. We are birthed into God's family. is what happens. That is the prerequisite. The prerequisite for saving faith is being birthed into God's family, the new birth, being saved. We cannot believe on our own. We do not have the capacity. We lost that capacity to merely trust in God whenever we sinned against him in the garden. We lost the ability to do any spiritual good The way that Paul says it when he writes to the church at Ephesus is that we are spiritually dead. We are lifeless until God breathes life into us. We cannot trust him. We will not trust him. We will not believe him. We are absent of saving faith until God brings us to life through the new birth. That's how saving faith is imparted to us. It is a gift that is given by the Holy Spirit in regeneration. And it has to be this way. I mean, if love or good works or obedience were the means of us receiving salvation, we would be so prone to think that our efforts somehow earned our salvation. But we know we can't earn salvation. So as a result, we know that good works and obedience or love are not the means of us receiving salvation. Because saving faith is a gift and a grace from God, it focuses all attention on Christ and his grace. It takes attention off of us in order that he receives all honor and all glory. Everything is geared towards him. Let's pick up with the next sentence here. This faith is ordinarily brought into being by the ministry of the word. This saving faith is ordinarily brought into being by the ministry of the word. That is the preached word of God. The Bible being open and read and explained and taught, evangelizing our friends and family and coworkers and classmates. conversing with one another about the truths as they are in Christ Jesus. James 1.18, in the exercise of his will, he brought us forth by the word of truth. It is the word of God that brings life. The spirit of God comes down, joins the word of God going forth. In a setting like this or sitting across from one another, at a coffee shop or open air preaching or around the dinner table, in the exercise of God's will, he brought us forth by the word of truth. The word is the instrument that God uses to bring about saving faith. The spirit is the agent that is used in that. Ordinarily is an important word for us to notice. This faith is ordinarily, not exclusively, but ordinarily this is the way that God brings about ministry. Now there are some extraordinary ways and we can consider those, but that's not what we have set this time aside for this evening. Let's continue reading. By this same ministry, That is the ministry of the word. So by the ministry of the word and by the administration of baptism and the Lord's supper, by prayer and by other means appointed of God, this faith is increased and strengthened. So not only are we granted saving faith when God changes our hearts, when he removes the heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh and he breathes life into us when we are dead spiritually and he makes us alive unto him. He doesn't just breathe life and then let us go, but he has created a way for our faith to be increased and strengthened. And the primary ways that we see here listed are the public means of grace. The public means of grace strengthen our faith. The word, the reading of the word, the preaching of the word. Peter says it this way, that we should long for the pure milk of the word in order that we grow up in Christ. The public means of grace listed here of baptism, experiencing baptism initially after we put our faith in Christ, and then witnessing baptism as we see others joining with the local church. Our faith is increased and strengthened as we experience and witness baptism. And the Lord's Supper, acknowledging our union with Christ and the communion that we have one with another, But as we put our faith in Christ, our faith is increased and strengthened. It's helpful to point out here, we do not get saving faith from the waters of baptism. We do not get saving faith from the elements that are available at the Lord's Supper. But our faith is increased and strengthened as we put our hope and our trust in God continually, seeing the picture, the portrait, the sermon that's being portrayed as it were, but not just the administration of the sacraments or ordinances, but by prayer. Seeking God collectively increases our faith. It strengthens our faith one with another as we come alongside each other and seek the Lord together. And fellowship, assembling with one another, provoking one another to love and good deeds, These means are evidence that God intends for our faith to be strengthened in the context of the local church. That's where the reading of the word and the preaching of the word happens. That's where baptisms happen. That's where the Lord's supper is designed to happen. That's where we seek the Lord together collectively. So we see what the original authors of the confession are doing here is putting an emphasis on the fact that the saving faith isn't an isolated faith. We aren't saved by God to be lone rangers out there running here and there, but we are saved for our faith to then be increased and strengthened. We are saved as individuals, but God has designed us to live out our faith in the context of a local church and for our faith, that measure of faith that each is given, Romans chapter 12, might be increased and strengthened through these public means of grace. Now, what is not stated, but certainly implied with regard to our faith being increased and strengthened is that if faith may be increased, then it also may decrease. And if faith may be strengthened, then it also may be weakened. So let's go back and ask the question, how does faith increase? How is faith strengthened? Through gospel obedience. The acts of baptism, the Lord's Supper, and prayer is the way that the Confession says it here. So if that's the case, then how does our faith decrease or weaken? It declines by forsaking obedience in the acts of baptism, the Lord's Supper, and prayer, in the acts of obedience, of gospel obedience, particularly through the public means of grace. It happens privately as well. But the ministry of the word and the ministry of baptism and the Lord's supper and prayer that this paragraph in this chapter are emphasizing are the public means of grace. Acts 20, 32, now I commend you to God, Paul writes to the elders at Ephesus and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." Paul knew exactly how the church at Ephesus would be built up and how their faith would be increased and strengthened. I commend you to God and to the word of his grace. If our faith is going to be increased, if our faith is going to be strengthened, it will only be increased and strengthened through the ministry of the word, through the sacraments of baptism in the Lord's supper, and through prayer. What we see here being emphasized, these public means of grace, these things that we do week in and week out, month in and month out, the local church is not built on the spectacular. The local church is not built on days like Pentecost. That's the extraordinary. Let's go back to the ordinary means. The local church is built on a steady diet of God's word. Steady gospel obedience by God's people in the context of a local church. All right, paragraph two. First sentence, by this faith, a Christian believes to be true whatever is revealed in the word, recognizing it as the authority of God himself. All right, what does this saving faith do? God gives it, it's a grace from him. And now paragraph two is, what does this faith do to us? What does it look like? How does it express itself in us as individuals? Well, it looks like believing to be true, whatever is revealed in the word. Based on that, we can confidently say that a Christian believes in the word of God, that the scriptures are the word of God. and that they recognize it as the authority of God himself. So when God saves us, he convinces us as his people of the truth of his word. All of it. Not the convenient parts, not the parts that make us feel good. We must be careful not to marginalize any of it. Recognizing that when God gives us this saving faith, he is giving us the ability and the capacity to trust him and to trust his word. We could say it this way. When the Bible speaks, God speaks. It is his word to us. Faith does not and cannot exist outside the scriptures. It is impossible to have faith in God without trusting in his word. Continuing, he that is the Christian also apprehends or discerns an excellence in the word that is above all other writings and everything else in the world because it displays and declares the glory of God in his attributes. The excellence of Christ in his nature and offices, and the power of fullness of the Holy Spirit in his works and operations." Again, this is historically important for us to note because, again, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Bible has a derived authority. Whatever the church says is true about the Bible is what is true. But that's not what we believe about the Bible because that's not what the Bible says about the Bible. The Bible is its own authority in the true church. The Bible itself is self-authenticating. So we believe the Bible because God has given us faith to believe the Bible. Let's think about it like this. How do we know light from dark? by seeing. How do we know the difference of a taste? Think incredibly sweet and incredibly sour. How do you know that difference? By being able to taste. When God gives us faith, it's like him giving us sight. to see light and dark. It's like him giving us taste buds to know the difference in sweet and, what illustration did I use? Sour? Okay, sour. I think my notes say something else. Sweet from bitter in my notes. So sour, bitter, salty, savory. You could go on and on. The point is the contrast. There are inherent objective realities about what light is and what dark is, or what sweet is and what sour is. When God gives sight and taste, we know light from dark and sweet from sour. In the same way, when God gives us faith, we believe the truth of his word and we know the difference between true and false. Not only that, notice here that faith is also a Trinitarian faith. Saving faith from God is a Trinitarian faith. We discern the excellence of the word, that it is above all other writings and everything else in the world, because look what it does. The word displays and declares the glory of God and his attributes, the excellence of his son in his nature and offices, and the power and fullness of the spirit in his works and operations. Why are we Trinitarian? because God has given us saving faith to believe what he says about himself, that he is one God who is in three persons. The next sentence, in this way, a Christian is enabled to cast his soul to rely entirely upon the truth he has believed. So because we are able to discern, because God has given us saving faith, we can now discern the excellence of the Word of God, seeing the display and the declaration of the glory of God, the excellence of Christ, and the power and fullness of the Spirit, and we are then enabled. We have the capacity the willingness, the desire to cast ourselves completely on the truth that we have believed, on what God says about himself. So faith not only gives us the ability to believe these true things, but faith includes the ability to fully believe all the truth of God, to believe it to the point of acting on it, of repenting of our sins and turning completely to him and trusting in him as our all in all. Next sentence. A Christian also makes an appropriately different response to what is contained in any particular passage of the word. This is really a fascinating portion of this chapter. A Christian makes an appropriately different response to what is contained in any particular passage of the word. So before we get to those different responses, not every passage in the scriptures will elicit the same response. And every individual is not going to respond in the same way to these different passages. Look at the different ways to respond. Offering obedience to the commands. trembling at the threatenings, embracing the promises for this life and the life to come. These are all different responses. Not only are they different, they are appropriate. What do you do to commands? You shouldn't tremble at them. Commands aren't made to tremble at, but they're made to obey. The warnings, however, we tremble at them. Because they're true. Because they're from God. Because we run the risk of falling short and not finishing. What do you do with the promises? Do you obey promises? No. Do you tremble at the promises? I hope not. But you embrace them. Promises for this life and the life to come. What are some of the promises that are worth embracing? Can anybody name a promise of God that's worth embracing? I know this throws you for a loop because we don't do a lot of conversation. Yes. Eternal life. We can grasp that and hope in it. What's another one? I will never leave you or forsake you. What a wonderful promise. Any other promises? Christ died for our sins. What a glorious promise that we can bank our life on, this life and the one to come. Another promise? Forgiveness, full, final and free forgiveness because of Christ. I will be your God. You will be my people. Luther called one the mother of all promises that we haven't hit. Romans 8, 28. Yeah, all things work together for the good of those who love God, those who are called according to his purpose. Obedience to the commands, trembling at the warnings and embracing the promises, promises that are worth knowing and embracing for this life and the life to come. We live as children of God on the promises of God. So we should store them in our hearts, which we obviously have to some degree. Embracing the promises. It's not just picking them up and putting them in our pockets. It is a willing, enthusiastic, closeness, holding them tightly and closely to our hearts, keeping them on the forefront of our, keeping them on the forefront of our minds. Second Corinthians 1.20, as many are the promises of God, in him they are yes. Therefore also through him is our amen to the glory of God through us. All the promises of God, we think of it, I say we, by we, I mean me. I think of this verse in the old King James, the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. And so we seek to embrace them knowing that they are absolutely true and that they are ours because he is ours. All right, let's keep reading. The next sentence begins with, however, three lines up from the bottom, if you're following along there in the bulletin, the bottom of that paragraph, that is. However, the principle that is the first and the greatest acts of saving faith directly concern Christ. Accepting, receiving, and resting upon him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of the covenant of grace. the principle acts of saving faith. That is the embracing of the scriptures, of their infallibility, of their excellency, their responding appropriately to everything in the scriptures culminates or is capped off with trusting exclusively in Christ alone for salvation from sin. So it's not that the things that have been discussed up until this point are unimportant. But it is that believing the Word of God, trusting all of the Word of God, obeying the commands of God, trembling at the warnings of God, embracing the promises of God, all culminate in us trusting exclusively in Christ. Everything centers on Him as the pinnacle of our faith. The most basic act of saving faith is receiving and resting fully in Christ. We could say it this way. Saving faith is always preeminently focused on Jesus Christ. He came to his own, John 1 11. And those who were his own did not receive him. They did not believe him. They did not have faith. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born Here's how they believed. They were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. They were born of God. They received Christ by faith, repenting of their sins, which we will look at together next week in chapter 15, being justified as we've seen already and being adopted into his family, the right to become children of God. There are propositions with regard to the Christian faith that must be believed but they must not be these propositions, facts, they must not be separated from believing in the person of Jesus Christ. We must believe that he is eternal and that he became man in the incarnation and that he lived a perfect life. and that he died a sacrificial atoning death and that he experienced a bodily resurrection and that he will return. These are all truths that we must believe and trust in and hope in. We must believe in him as the person. I mean, it's the way that Paul and Silas said it to the Philippian jailer, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. Not just you, but everybody in your house that believes will be saved, they exclaimed to him. He's on the verge of killing himself. And Paul says, simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust in him and you will be saved. This is eternal life. This is the way Jesus himself says it. To know Jesus Christ, John 17 three. So here thus far we have eight expressions of saving faith. If you want a good list to take home, here's a list. I'll try to walk through it slowly so that you can note it. Eight expressions of saving faith. Faith believes the word of God. Faith believes the word of God. Secondly, faith believes in God. Faith believes in God. Faith embraces, number three, faith embraces the person and work of Jesus Christ. Faith embraces the person and work of Jesus Christ. So this belief in the word of God and belief in God and embracing of who Jesus is and what he's done for us then leads to, number four, faith leads to gospel obedience. That is obeying the commands of Christ. Faith also trembles at scriptural warnings of the coming judgment. The warnings about the judgment to come are not only or even primarily geared towards those who do not belong to Christ. The Bible is written especially for believers. Faith causes us to tremble at the warnings that we have in scriptures with regard to the judgment to come. Number six, faith accepts Christ as Savior. Christ and Christ alone as Savior. Number seven, so six is faith accepts Christ, seven is faith rests upon Christ alone as the only means of salvation. And actually it's the only way to adequately rest. Luke made this clear two Sundays ago. Faith will only rest if we're resting about Christ alone. To attempt to rest on Christ plus anything or Christ minus anything is tossing and turning spiritually. We're never settled, but faith can rest fully and freely and finally when it rests upon Christ alone as the only means of salvation. And then number eight, faith relies on Christ for justification, for sanctification, and for eternal life. Faith relies on Christ for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. I probably could have just walked through the two paragraphs there and had you underline those eight things, right? They're just taken right from there, but some of you like to write, so it's good. If I tried to write it that fast, I wouldn't be able to read it. All right, third paragraph. This is such a wonderful addition to this chapter because it proves not only with regard to this chapter, but the entire confession that it is not some cold theological document. but it is warmly pastoral. And it gives us an insight into those men who initially put this confession together, that they too were not cold theologians somewhere who were separated from the people or separated from the reality of their own hearts. And so they include a paragraph in this chapter that is really warm and pastoral. The first sentence, this faith may exist in different degrees and may be weak or strong. This faith may exist in different degrees. It may be weak faith, it may be a strong faith. Now, notice what is not said. This is not an indictment against those who have a weak faith. There's no indictment against them. It's just simply saying it's different. He's already told us how to strengthen our faith, how to increase our faith. And as we're about to see, there are bigger problems than having a weak faith. There are some really dangerous and damning issues with not having a weak faith or a strong faith. And let's just continue reading there. Nevertheless, to the least degree, the weakest expression of such faith is like all other saving grace of a different kind or nature from the faith and common grace of temporary believers. And here's where we see why it is completely okay to have a weak faith. Because the other alternative is to have a different kind of faith. which is the same as not having faith at all. In Peter's second letter, in verse one, he begins right from the outset, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, a like precious faith, he says literally. Remember, faith is a gift and God is the one who has given it. And he's given to each, Romans chapter 12, a measure of faith. And if God has given it, not only is it a gift or a grace, it's a permanent gift in grace. Not only is it a permanent gift in grace, but it is of the same substance of the faith that God gave to Peter and Paul and John, who were apostles. And so here we have this faith may exist in a weak degree or a strong degree, But even if it's the least degree, even the weakest expression of true faith is completely different than that common grace or lacking faith altogether. To boil it down, the weakest expression of faith and the biggest doubts imaginable is better than a temporary faith, right? An everlasting weak faith is better than a strong temporary faith. Why? Because it only takes a weak faith to grasp a strong savior. The degree of our faith, the amount of our faith is not what matters. What matters is, is it saving faith? Because saving faith takes hold of Christ and holds him and trust him. It's not the strength of our faith that saves us. It's the strength of Christ who saves us. And the weakest expression of faith can take hold of Christ. In fact, weak faith is oftentimes, as we see in the gospels, weak faith is the target of Christ's gentle shepherding. And weak faith can and does grow stronger. That's why in Luke 17, five, we have recorded, increase our faith. And that's our desire. God, increase our faith. Weak faith is not temporary faith. Saving faith is eternal faith because it is a gift from an eternal God. God who is eternal grants nothing that is temporary, but he gives us saving faith that saves us even to the uttermost. What does temporary faith lack? Temporary faith is counterfeit faith. What does it lack? This is important for us to note. Counterfeit and temporary faith lacks a supreme attachment to Christ over all other commitments or attachments. How do you know if your faith is temporary or counterfeit? You do not have a supreme attachment and attraction to Jesus over everything else. Counterfeit, temporary faith lacks universal obedience or holiness to all of Christ's commands. How do you know if your faith is counterfeit or temporary? You aren't given to obedience in every area of life. You aren't seeking holiness with regard to all of Christ's commands. Counterfeit and temporary faith lacks persevering fruitfulness. How do you know if your faith is counterfeit or temporary? You just aren't persevering in fruitfulness. And then finally, the last sentence. of this chapter. Therefore, though it may be often attacked and weakened, this faith gains the victory, maturing in many until they attain a full assurance through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith. Again, how Warmly pastoral. What hope they give us here in the confession. What confidence we have in this God who has given us saving faith. What assurance that even in the midst of the battle for our souls, the victory is ours. 1 John 5, 4, this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. God has given us by granting us this gift or gracing us with saving faith all that we need to overcome this world. We are absolutely guaranteed to finish the race. He who began a good work in you, one of those promises that we can embrace, He who began a good work in you, will he almost complete it? Is he going to do half of it and then help those who help themselves for the other half? Not a chance. He will complete it. This God has never left anything incomplete. He's finished everything he set out to do. And not a single one of us will be the first one that he doesn't allow or calls to cross the finish line in the end. If you're in Christ, you will be glorified. You will meet him. You'll see him face to face. We have hope. We have confidence. We have assurance. Even though our faith is attacked, even though it suffers a weakening at times, it gains the victory. The victory has been won. And as a result of us hoping there and keeping our eyes on him who ran the race before us, who is the author and the finisher, we keep our eyes on him. and we mature. We are made like him. We gaze at him though through a mirror dimly now. We gaze at his glory and we are transitioned, transformed from one degree of glory into another, into the likeness of him who sits enthroned in the heavens. This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. So that even in the midst of the battle, The war has already been won. Every battle may not be won, but the war has been won. Christ won it on our behalf, and he has given us the faith in order that we might walk with him all the days of our lives, trusting and believing, obeying him, trembling at his word, and embracing his glorious promises. Now, faith is a lot easier to read about It's a lot easier to teach about. It's certainly a lot easier to listen to teaching about. I'm not suggesting that the teaching is so good it's easy to hear. But it's much easier to do all those things than to actually apply. Faith is hard to apply because our hearts and our minds don't always fall in line with what saving faith ought to be. And our feelings are just so stinking strong at times. And so we don't feel the way that we ought to. Brownlow North in the 1700s was a past preacher and evangelist. I have several copies of his biography if you're interested in one. I highly recommend reading it. It's a fascinating read. But he put together six short rules for young believers at some point. And one of those rules, I believe it's number six in his list, is really helpful. And that's where I want to leave us this evening with regard to trusting and having faith in God and the word of God. Brown Low North says this, never believe what you feel if it contradicts God's word. Ask yourself, Can what I feel be true if God's word is true? And if both cannot be true, believe God and make your own heart the liar. And fight to be content with that. Fight to believe that God's word is true and to trust him until our fickle feelings come more in line with the truth of his word. And may God help us to believe him and to trust him, to believe the word of God, to believe in God, to embrace the person and work of Jesus Christ, to seek to live obedient lives to the commands that we find in the scriptures, to tremble at the warnings that we find in scripture, to accept Christ as our savior and rest on him alone as the only means of salvation. and to rely on Jesus exclusively for our justification, our sanctification, and our final glorification. May God help us to exercise the saving faith that he's given us. And may he expose, if you don't have saving faith, run to him and find forgiveness for your sins. Faith is a free gift available to all who desire to come to him for salvation. Let's pray together. God, we thank you for your word and we pray that you would help the truths about the saving faith that you give to your children to impact us, that they would be far more warm in our hearts and in our minds, in our lives than they appear to be through the teaching or on paper. God, we pray that as we open up your word, that we would believe you and it, that we would trust that The scriptures are your word. That is you speaking to us. And we would give our whole selves to the reality of who Christ is for us. God, we thank you for the forgiveness of sins. And we pray God that you would grant us the grace to appropriate the gift of faith that you've given us as your children, that our faith might be increased and strengthened as we seek to exercise those means of grace that you've provided for us. God, we pray that you would make us more like your son who is worthy of all honor and worship both now and forever. We pray in his name, amen.