"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our FAITH..." Hebrews 12:2
Introduction: To please God and to glorify His name should be the main purpose of man. The goal of every man in this life, and certainly in the life to come, should be to please God our Maker. Pleasing God brings happiness to the individual. While on the other hand if we do not please the Lord, he inevitably brings sorrow upon himself. There is a great guard and shield against sorrow and suffering when we please God.
Now, here is our Scripture: "But without FAITH it is impossible to please him:..." Hebrews 11:6 And here is the question: How can I please God?
The two words "But without," takes in a multitude of thoughts. It simply means though that a person can do a lot of great things and perform a number of duties, but unless he/she has faith you can not please God.
But without in this contexts says to us, we may strive as earnestly as we can, live as good outwardly as we can, make a number of sacrifices, love good things and reject the bad, yet none of these things are pleasing to God unless they be mixed with faith. You see friend, with all our doings we must bring faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Faith that lays hold of eternal life is obedient faith and it is that faith that does the will of God. Without it we can not please God.
"And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:40
Let us look at Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel had wonderful parents. They both had been trained and brought up in the same religion. And the time came for them to erect their altars. Cain brought the fruit of the ground, but Abel brought a lamb from the flock. Both sacrifices were laid on the altars, one accepted by God and the other rejected. Why? Cain’s sacrifice was rejected not because he did not have faith, but rather because he had the wrong faith in the wrong sacrifice. Genuine faith, true faith, is never placed in the wrong object. Faith that lays hold on the saving object (the Lord Jesus Christ) is never directed toward an object that can not save. An offering accepted by God will always be seasoned with true faith. Genuine faith - acceptable sacrifice.
Now, in this sermon, "FAITH" let us look at three great Biblical truths:
I. Explanation - What is Faith?
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1
In the context of Biblical salvation there are two things having to do with faith:
Faith is substance and faith is hope. Genuine faith then has a substance and saving faith has the hope of eternal life.
A MAN AND HIS CHURCH: The man was asked, "What do you believe?" The man replied: "I believe what the church believes." "What does your church believe?" Again, the man gave his comment, "The Church believes what I believe." "And pray tell me what do you and the church believe?" And the man said, "Why we both believe the same thing." This poor man believed nothing. He had no faith. Not only that, but he did not know what his church believed. The man is blinded spiritually. His need is the same as so many religious people in our day. He needs knowledge as to what to believe. He needs knowledge as to where faith should be placed. There is wrong knowledge - Wrong information and then there are multitudes of wrong objects.
1. Faith is not our SAVIOR: While faith is an absolute essential, it is not the Savior from sin. Faith did not die for us. Faith is one thing and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior. Faith lays hold on the object and the object is the Lord.
2. Faith is not SATISFACTION to God. By faith, we lay hold to the ONE, the Lord Jesus Christ and through Him, we have peace with God and the law and justice of God are satisfied. During His life, on the cross, in the tomb and because of His resurrection the law was satisfied and Jesus is declared to be the Son of God by His resurrection.
"Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the RESURRECTION from the dead:" Romans 1:3-4
3. Faith is the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the entire absence of all goodness in us. It is also the acknowledgment and the recognition of the cross as the Substitute, the atonement, the Lamb of God giving His life for you and me.
Let me illustrate the thought of faith laying hold to the object.
NIAGARA FALLS: Niagara Falls, all of us have heard or seen this great wonder. The legend is given of two men in a small boat and it came to the place and time near the Falls drop off that the men could not manage the boat. The boat was being carried so swiftly down the current that the men were in danger of losing their lives. They were near being dashed to pieces. At last, a man on shore threw a rope into the water and floated it to the men. One man very quickly grasped the rope and about that same time a log came floating by and the other man thoughtless and confused instead of seizing the rope laid hold on the floating log. It was a fatal mistake. Both men were in danger, but the one was drawn to shore because he had a man on shore holding the rope. A man holding the rope anchored him on shore. He had a connection with the man on shore. The other man holding onto the log went to his death. Friends, we must have faith in the right object. That object is the Lord Jesus Christ. We are anchored in Christ. He is holding the rope and we are safe and secure on the other end.
II. Expression - Faith In Action
"But without faith it is impossible to please him..." Hebrews 11:6
Notice please, these two words in our text: "But Without..." It is inferred here and certainly reasoning will tell us that something else is meant in those two words. The two words would teach us to do what you may, strive as earnestly as you can; live as good as you can and give all you can. With all your goodness you must bring faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
These Individuals Had Faith:
Abel: "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain..." Hebrews 11:4
Enoch: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death..." Hebrews 11:5
Noah: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet... prepared an ark to the saving of his house..." Hebrews 11:7
Abraham: "By faith Abraham... obeyed and went out,..." Hebrews
11:8 "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:" Hebrews 11:17
"By faith" is used 15 times in Hebrews 11. The word "FAITH" is used 24 times in Hebrews 11.
Faith is necessary to salvation, because works cannot save us. Faith is the good key that unlocks the door. Faith is the key that touches the Savior. Perhaps you might be asking, "are our good works useless?" No, not after the key of heaven touches the Savior. Take heed then of all our good deeds. We must get them after we have used faith to unlock heaven’s gates. The way to be saved is to get to the Savior.
Remember the woman who touched the hem of His garment?
The story is found in Matthew 9:20-26. There are a number of lessons from the healing of this woman:
"For she said within herself, if I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole." Matthew 9:21 This dear woman had her mind set on Him. Not the crowd and not even the garment. Her faith was in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Here Are 5 Things That Cannot SAVE US:
And now, let us look at the third point of the sermon.
III. Extended Faith - What Faith Does
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." James 2:17-18 "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead." James 2:20
While faith works and while faith will justify us in the eyes of the World, these works of our own righteousness can never move one small spot of sin from our lives. The Lord Jesus Christ does it all by Himself completely, or he does nothing at all. Christ takes no half-way stand on the salvation of the Lost. He must be a whole Savior or no Savior at all. We are the sinners. He is the Savior.
Faith is always lifting up the Name of the Savior. This without faith the writer of Hebrews is writing about is the faith that glorifies the Lord. It is the faith that expresses, "For His Name’s sake."
Do you love Christ? Could you die for Him? Do you seek to serve Him? Do you love people? Can you say? "Jesus I love your charming Name, it is sweet music to my ear..." To believe in the Lord Jesus, this without subject of faith is to love Him. Faith begets love. Love for God and love for people.
"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." Isaiah 45:22
Please allow me another thought, another comment. We look to Jesus when we come to Him for our initial forgiveness. That is called Justification. We look to Jesus as we journey through this life. That is called Sanctification. As the time comes for us to be laid to rest, we look to Jesus for the resurrection of the dead at His Second Coming. That is called Glorification. So, whether we live or whether we die we are always looking to Jesus.
In the book, Life and Works of Spurgeon, published in 1890, Mr. Spurgeon gives the following account of his conversion:
It pleased God in my childhood to convince me of sin.... My heart was broken in pieces. Six months did I pray - prayed agonizingly with all my heart, and never had an answer. I resolved that, in the town where I lived, I would visit every place of worship in order to find out the way of salvation. I felt I was willing to do anything and be anything if God would only forgive me.
I set off, determined to go round to all the chapels; and I went to all the places of worship; and though I dearly venerate the men that occupy those pulpits now, and did so then, I am bound to say that I never heard them once fully preach the Gospel. I mean by that, they preached truth, great truths, many good truths that were fitting to many of their congregation - spiritually minded people; but what I wanted to know was, How can I get my sins forgiven? And they never once told me that. I wanted to hear how a poor sinner, under a sense of sin, might find peace with God; and when I went I heard a sermon on "Be not deceived: God is not mocked," which cut me up worse, but did not say how I might escape. I went again another day, and the text was something about the glories of the righteous: nothing for poor me....
At last, one snowy day - it snowed so much I could not go to the place I had determined to go to, and I was obliged to stop on the road, and it was a blessed stop to me - I found rather an obscure street, and turned down a court, and there was a little chapel.... I wanted to know how I might be saved.... At last a very thin-looking man came into the pulpit and opened his Bible and read these words: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." Just setting his eyes upon me, as if he knew me all by heart, he said, "Young man, you are in trouble." Well, I was, sure enough. Says he, "You will never get out of it unless you look to Christ."
And then, lifting up his hands, he cried out..., "Look, look, look! It is only look!" I saw at once the way of salvation. Oh, how I did leap for joy at that moment! I know not what else he said; I did not take much notice of it - I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, they only looked and were healed. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard this word "Look!" what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh, I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away! And in Heaven I will look on still in my joy unutterable.