Welcome you all to the Lord's House this morning. It's good to see each one gathered with us, and especially those that are visiting. We give you a very special welcome. It's lovely to see those that have joined with us today. We trust the Lord will minister to all of our hearts. Normally, the last Sunday of the month, we have lunch after the meeting. That arrangement has changed today. Normally, the Lord's Table is next Lord's Day, but we're having the Lord's Table today on account of my trip to the Philippines, so God willing, I'll be away the next two Lord's Days. I appreciate your prayers for that trip, that the Lord's blessing be upon that. But on account of that then, there's no lunch today, but rather, We'll have the Lord's Table following the preaching of the Word of God. The sacrament five will be the afternoon meeting. God willing, I'll be here to minister this afternoon. Then the meeting on Wednesday will be at seven. My brother Chris will be here on Wednesday to minister during the prayer meeting. I seem to have made a mistake in the bulletin. There won't be a men's prayer meeting over the next few weeks, so no men's prayer meeting while I'm away, but that will recommence then when I'm back again. But there will be the Wednesday night meetings, and while I'm away, Chris will be looking after all of the Wednesday evenings. Next Lord's Day, in the morning time, Pastor Richard Raven will be ministering God's Word, and then in the evening, Our brother Bevis will be ministering the following Lord's Day. Our brother Pastor Alan Beardmore will be ministering in the morning time, and again Bevis in the evening. And we do appreciate all of these men helping during the time that I am gone. The Friday night meetings and the Wednesday morning time for the babies and toddlers, all of these will continue. And we trust the Lord will bless each of those particular meetings. I'm going to read from Romans chapter 3, Romans chapter 3, the last Lord's Day of October. It's often regarded as Reformation Sunday, although we've been looking at Reformation themes both last week and today. And we come here to words, of course, the entire book of Romans was instrumental in opening the eyes of Martin Luther, but we come to words that lie at the very heart of the gospel. Romans chapter three and verse 23, for all who sinned, and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at this time, His righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. And what great words we have here as we're brought to all that Christ has done for us. He is the propitiation. It is through him that there is satisfaction. And so he alone could provide that propitiatory sacrifice. He is the one that has brought that great justification for God's people, and yet his righteousness has not been undermined. He might be just, and yet the justifier. He is just, and yet the justifier. Our God remains absolutely just, and yet at the very same time has demonstrated his great eternal love. what a God we have to worship today. We seek your Lord's face in prayer. Our gracious Father, we thank thee for the opportunity to come and to meet in God's house today. And we give thee thanks for all that have been able to come and gather with us. And we pray that thy great help will be granted throughout the meeting. We pray that our attention will be fully taken up with our Lord Jesus Christ and the glories of the gospel of grace. Come and meet with us, we do pray in our Lord's great name. Amen, amen. We're going to turn to the hymn 533. 533 on page 391. So the hymn 533, page 391, a mighty fortress is our God, a boulevard never filled. These, of course, are the words of Martin Luther, and I'd like to sing these words out to the Lord's praise, please. Almighty God, who saves our God, our Lord, our Heavenly King, our Almighty and Everlasting King, I'm on our ♪ As the student may be ♪ ♪ Does Jesus need this day ♪ ♪ Or shall we lose this day ♪ ♪ From age to age the same ♪ ♪ And he must win the battle ♪ we will is is You may be seated. We will seek the Lord's face together again, please, in prayer. Let us look to the Lord in prayer, please. Our gracious Father, I will thank thee that we have a mighty fortress in our God. We thank thee, O Lord, that today we come in that all-worthy name of the one who is the man in thy right hand that we have been singing of here, the man of thine own choosing. We thank thee, O Lord, I just ordain that thy dear son would take true human flesh, that he would be born of the Virgin, that he would fulfill his ministry, fulfilling all righteousness, that he would go to that cruel death We thank thee that while he died and was buried, that the grave can not hold him. We thank thee that our Saviour has risen triumphant, that he sits today enthroned at the Father's right hand. We thank thee for the acceptance that we have in him. We cry to thee, O Lord, that this day that we will know a fresh meeting with our God. We cry to thee that this day we will truly know that encounter with the Almighty. We cry to thee that every weary soul today will be fed upon the living manna of the living word of God. O Lord, we cry to thee that no one will come and go away saying there was nothing there for my soul. Lord, we cry unto thee, feed us with bread from heaven. We thank thee for every soul gathered into the meeting today. Lord, thou knowest the hearts of everyone. O Lord, for every believer, strengthen them in the things of Christ, we pray. We cry unto thee, that they will know that equipping for daily Christian living. Oh Lord, we lament our sin and our sinfulness. We lament our frailty. We lament our proneness to leave the God we profess to love. We cast ourselves out at thy feet. We pray, dear Lord, that thou wilt come and that thou wilt mold us today into the people that thou wilt have us to be. O Lord, we do pray for any in our gathering today without thee. O open their hearts to thy gospel, we pray. We pray that there will be those that have their eyes open to their great need and the great provision that there is in our Lord Jesus Christ. Have mercy on souls, we pray. O Lord, open the hearts of the unconverted, we ask. O Lord, we remember those that can't be with us today. We pray very especially for the sick. And Lord, we do pray for those that are so faithful And yet today, they're unable to be among us on account of sickness. Oh Lord, be pleased to put thy mighty hand upon them, and Lord, raise up the sick, we pray, to a fuller measure of health and of strength. Oh Lord, we remember all those in the congregation passing through times of trial, and we pray that thou will sustain each one of them, and we pray that in the midst of valley experiences, that thou wilt be that joy unto thy dear people. O Lord, we do pray, Lord, that thou wilt have mercy upon our nation. As we are reminded today of that great event all of those years ago when the 95 Theses were nailed to the church door in Wittenberg, what a mighty reformation followed O Lord, our land is in need of a mighty move of God. O Lord, all around us, we see those that have adopted the religion of materialism, the religion of atheism, the religion of good works in order to accomplish salvation. O Lord, we cry to thee, that whether souls are under the blindness of a particular false religion in that outward sense or whether deluded by the things of time, we cry to thee that we will see the word of God go forward afresh and that we will see many souls being turned to the living God. Oh, come then and work here in our midst today. Give us a little reviving in this meeting, we pray. May the Lord's name be that which is honoured and glorified in our saviour's name. Amen. We're going to turn again in our hymn books. We're turning to the front of the hymn book, the Psalm 46. At the front of the hymn book, the Psalm 46. It's found in page 42, the first version. God is our refuge and our strength in straits at present aid. This was one of Martin Luther's favourite psalms, as he saw great tides of opposition, but he was assured the Lord was on the side of his own cause. Psalm 46, we're singing the first five verses, and then verses 10 and 11. The first five verses, and then verses 10 and 11, as we start. Yes. God is our refuge, and our strength, and strength to Far above the earthly world, there will not be a fray. Long is the mist that saves the dust, and waters no rain. ♪ And shrouded me in all the hills ♪ ♪ Or shall I cease to shake? ♪ ♪ And in the midst whose streams may flood ♪ the city of our God, the holy place wherein the Lord, O Son of Isaac was born. Verse 10. I am God, above, beneath, and I will be exalted I on earth will be exalted The cross is on our side, a safety to maintain. The God of Jacob died for us, a refuge I remain. You may be seated. On account of having the table today, there won't be Sunday school, so I'm going to ask Brother Bevis if he will come and bring a message for the boys and girls. Good morning, all, and a special welcome, especially to the young people and the children that gathered in. We wish there were more children coming in each week, Not only do the children have a special place in the church, they have a special place in the kingdom of God. And in Matthew chapter 18, the Lord Jesus says, unless we be converted and become as little children, we shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Unless those of us who are older in age become more like the little children, we can't even enter into heaven. It is estimated that between 70 and 80 percent, or the vast majority, is before the age of 20. So it is so important for young people to come to the Lord in their younger years, not to think we can have our fun and then when we are old we will come to faith. You cannot promise yourself that. In Matthew chapter 18, this is where that verse is from, In Mark's account of the same conversation, we are told that the disciples had been arguing along the way as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. We are not told who started the argument, but one can suspect that James and John, if they didn't start it, formed a great part of the discussion. Lord Jesus called James and John the sons of thunder. They were like modern Australians today. They were not backward coming forward. And not long after this, they came to the Lord Jesus and asked him, could we at least sit one on your left hand and one on your right hand? And so it was obviously in their minds as to who could be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They were asking the wrong question really. We all know who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. It is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. It's none of us. The real question they should be asking is, how can we enter the kingdom of heaven? And that is what our Lord Jesus said to them, unless you become as little children, you cannot even enter in to the kingdom of heaven. When our Lord says we ought to become as little children, I'd like us to think of five characteristics of children that we should all seek after. And as we think of these five characteristics, you'll see that as we get older, even through adolescence, even through the teenage years, and especially through the adult years, you'll find all five of these, try as you might, they will start to fade. they will decrease over time. The first of them is obvious. It is children are humble. The Lord Jesus says, whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, they shall be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The children are humble of heart. They're not motivated by worldly pride, by ambition, by recognition, or at least they weren't. until the increase of social media. They didn't worry what everyone thought of them until social media came along and everyone starts to worry about how many likes they got. But children by nature are simple and honest and humble. And because of that, they are not offended by the gospel. When they are told that they are sinners and they need a savior, that does not offend them like it does adults. Like an adult will say, you're saying I'm not good enough, I need someone better. Exactly, but a child is not offended by that message, that they are sinners, but there's one who is not a sinner, no sin in him at all, and they need him. Because of their humble hearts, they take no offense at that. Secondly, when children are trusting. If you're asking our child, do you believe your mom will give you some food today? I know my mom will give me something to eat today. They don't have to know all that is involved in the mother feeding them, but they believe that she will. They don't know how much it's going to cost, where she gets the money from, where she finds the time to cook, where she has the energy to do it three times a day. They can't answer all that, but I believe my mom will give me food today. It's that simple, trusting faith. that we have a great need of as adults. They might not understand all the great doctrines of grace, the doctrines of the faith, but this they can understand. Jesus loves them, and he loves them enough that he died for them and for their sins. And so children are trusting. Thirdly, children are forgiving, and they're easily forgiven. Children do not harbor bitterness. They don't wait for a chance to get revenge. When they do something wrong, normally quite quickly they will come and say they are sorry. And if you tell them they are forgiven, they will believe it, they will receive it. The Roman Catholic inventions of purgatory and penances would mean nothing to a child. They don't ask, how much must I do for you to know that you forgive me? Nothing like that. If the Word of God tells them that they are forgiven by faith in the Savior, they will believe it. And they are forgiven, and they could be forgiven. Fourthly, the children are tenderhearted. You often look at elderly people and wonder, don't they know they only have so many more years, a few more years before they meet the God who made them? Are they not afraid? Are they not concerned? But the truth is most people's hearts become harder and more calloused as they get older, not like the child. The tender heart of a child is drawn to the tender and gentle, the Savior. And so in this discussion in Matthew chapter 18, Our Lord Jesus goes on to warn the adults. Be careful how you treat the little children. If you do something that causes them to stumble, it's better for you that a millstone was hung around your neck and you cast and drowned in the depth of the sea. Our Lord Jesus says, it's inevitable that stumbling blocks and offenses will come upon the little ones. But woe to you who do it. Woe to you who abuse, the tender trust of the child, who cause their hearts to be hard, because children are tender-hearted. And finally, children are honest. They don't pretend to be something that they're not. I've read most of the writings of John Knox, the Scottish reformer, and it seems there was something he hated even more than the Roman Catholic mass. He hated what he called dissimulation. Now, a child doesn't even know what that word means. And he doesn't need to, because he doesn't do it. Dissimulation is pretending. It's a falsehood. It's a pretense, a concealment, or a play acting. And John Knox had to deal with much of that in his time. But a child is not like that. If you want an honest opinion, ask a young child. He will tell you if you look good or not. He'll tell you if you have behaved yourself well or not. So our Lord says, you are to become more like the little children. Romans chapter 12, verse three, the Apostle Paul says to us, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. And even as a child is small in stature, small in size, normally small in terms of their worldly status and position, so we are to think little, small thoughts of ourselves before God and before men. The less we think of ourselves, the lower we esteem ourselves. Our Lord Jesus says, the greater you are in the kingdom of heaven, the greater you are in the sight of God. The Lord said, in this fallen world, the kings of the earth they dominate, they exercise lordship over people. But He says, I am among you as He that serves. And so we ought to learn from His example, and especially when it comes to thinking of the characteristics of a child. Come, let us pray. Our loving and gracious Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the truth of God's word. We thank you, Lord, that our Savior came among us, as the dominating Lord, although he is the only begotten Son of God, who reigns in glory forever, and of the increase of his kingdom there is no end, yet he comes among us as he that serves. We pray, O Lord, that you would help us to learn from the example of children that we may become indeed more like our Saviour. We pray for any amongst us who do not know the Lord Jesus as Saviour, that, O Lord, they may be given for his tender and humble hearts of a child that are able to believe the truth of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask this in Jesus' name and for his word. Amen. Thank you, Bevis, for that message for us all and for the boys and girls. I'm going to read from the book of Ganesans, Galatians and the chapter three. Galatians chapter three and the verse 10. Galatians chapter three and the verse 10. For as many as are off The works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. That no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident for the just shall live by faith. The law is not of faith, but the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, and made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men. Though it be but a man's covenant, yet of it be confirmed no man disannulleth or addeth thereto. Not to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not unto seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. This I say, that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul that it should make the promise of no effect. It is no more a promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made, and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God's one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid. But if there had been a law, a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them with that belief. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. And after that faith is come, we are no longer as under a schoolmaster, for we are all the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you has been baptized into Christ and put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you're all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ's, then you're Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. And we'll end there, knowing the Lord will bless the reading of his precious word. We're going to turn again in our hymn books, please. We're turning to the hymn 307. The hymn 307. And as we sing these words, we're going to remain seated, and the offering for the work of the Lord will be received. If you didn't come prepared for an offering, please just let it pass by. So it's the hymn 307, remaining seated, at the beginning of the hymn, yes. ♪ I'm gonna find a countless place ♪ ♪ To be as they may know me to be ♪ I am. God is setting things to be even in my heart I know. I am stop please A big reason for me. The fear he brings, the cold and death before his face I see. I know not when my Lord will come I know not of no dread, If I shall pass the hill of death, Or meet Him in the air. But I know, I believe Him, And I'm persuaded that He is able, You may be seated. Let's turn in the Scriptures again this time to Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter one and the verse 16. Romans one, verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. as it is written, the just shall live by faith. We'll take the Lord's face in prayer, please. Let us look to the Lord that he helps us to come to the ministry of his word. Our gracious father, we do thank thee for these glorious doctrines that the reformers brought to the attention of the masses through Europe in the time of the Reformation. Thank me that these great Sola statements were not something that they had invented, but they found these glorious truths in the Word of God. Things that had long been concealed from the masses were preached afresh. We pray that we will ever hold on to these great truths of the Word of God. We need that help. And so come, we pray, and minister to all of our hearts. In our Lord's name we pray. Amen. Amen. During the period of the Reformation, there were five great sola statements that the reformers heralded throughout that period. And last Lord's Day, we were looking at the first two of those. In the morning we looked at the sola scriptura, the scriptures only. Then last Lord's Day afternoon, sola gratia, thy grace alone. And this morning we want to come and look at the very one of these statements then, sola fide. by faith alone. And as I mentioned last week, these statements are really a brief form of a longer sentence. And so we say by faith alone, we are saying a sinner is justified by faith alone. A sinner is justified by faith alone. So we do not say that a sinner is justified by faith Rather, justified by faith only. We do not say a sinner is justified by faithfulness. That is, he's not justified by his own faithfulness, or faith plus faithfulness. Rather, it's by faith alone. And Thomas Watson said, justification is the very hinge and pillar of Christianity. An error about justification is dangerous, just as a defect in a foundation. Justification by Christ is a spring of the water of life. To have the poison of corrupt doctrine cast into this spring is damnable. In other words, if we go wrong on this issue of what is justification and how is someone justified, then We have not attacked some secondary issue, but rather we have attacked what is the very heart of the gospel. As Spurgeon said, the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the essence of Protestantism and the soul of the gospel. When Martin Luther was appointed as a lecturer at the new University of Wittenberg, he studied there and he taught the scriptures. And so he had done some teaching from the first chapter of Genesis, from the Psalms, and he came then to the book of Romans. And as he was studying the book of Romans, he was greatly troubled. And so through his training, he was a man that was under great conviction. He was greatly troubled. And as he came to study the book of Romans, He was troubled greater still. And he came to these words in Romans 1, 17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed. And those words cast terror into the hearts of Martin Luther. The righteousness of God. And he was saying, this is my problem. How can I dare? Stand before the righteousness of God when I am so unrighteous. He had no squabble then with these words, the righteousness of God. But he came then to these words in verse 17. It is written that just shall live by faith. And he said, but here again is my problem. I am not just. I am not a righteous man. And so if it's the just that live by faith, where is the hope for a man like me? He couldn't understand it. And so as he understood it, The religion of Rome was based around works, trying to work your way to God, keeping various commands, and he's saying, but I can't do it. I'm not just. But in time, the Lord opened the eyes of Martin Luther, and he came to understand the meaning of these words, the just. The just shall live by faith. The man that's described here as just is not one that has lived such a life that he has now earned this title. Rather, the just are those that have been justified. Those that the Lord has made a declaration of. And this is what justification is. Justification is a legal term. And so it's the opposite of Condemnation. And Martin Luther was right. He was condemned. You can't be condemned and justified at the same time. So the sinner in his natural state is condemned, Luther, and that much was right. How then can we be just? We have to have the righteousness of another put to our account. We have to be declared right. That is, we need the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And this is what Luther then came to understand as the Lord opened his eyes. I am not saved by my works. I'm not justified by my works. But rather by faith I come and I take hold of the one who is truly the just one, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, and that the book of Romans is full of this great truth that salvation, justification, is by faith only. In Romans 3, verse 26, to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth. Not the justifier of the one that has earned it, but he justifies those that would believe, in other words, justification by faith alone. In verse 28 of chapter three, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. In other words, a man is justified by faith only. In verse 30, saying, it is one God which shall justify circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith. Again, no matter whether someone has come from a Gentile background or a Jewish background, the message is the same. You must come by faith. And you'll be justified by faith. Chapter four in the verse five, but to him that worketh not, so it's not his effort, but believeth on him that justifieth in godly His faith is counted for righteousness. Chapter five, verse one, therefore, being justified by faith. And equally in the passage that we read earlier, Galatians chapter three, it's repeated over and over there again, the same emphasis, it's not by works, it's not by the deeds of the law, but it is by faith. Acts 13, verse 39, and by him are all, sorry, all that believe are justified from all things, from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses. And as Paul was emphasizing in Galatians chapter three, it's not that there was some fault in the law of Moses. The law was never given to bring about justification. The law was to teach that we are sinners in need of the Lord Jesus Christ as the just one, yet the justifier. Now, if we were to point out all the verses I've just mentioned to a devout Roman Catholic and say, these are showing justification by faith, they would absolutely agree. They would say it's true. We are justified by faith. What is the squabble then? What is the difference? It's this word Hello. So the Roman Catholic believes, yes, I must have faith. In many ways he redefines what faith is, but nonetheless, he says, I must have faith. Then I also have to have my adherence to the church. I must make confession. I must partake at the mass. So all of these things in order. to be justified. But the Reformers were saying it's faith only. Faith only. So in Roman Catholic theology, righteous works are considered as merit. Merit in addition to faith. And so those good deeds then are necessary to obtain. But as I've said, No, it's by faith alone. Now did Rome understand what the reformers were saying? They absolutely did. Because in the Council of Trent, as they replied to the teaching of the reformers, they said, if anyone said that by faith alone the impious is justified, and such wise as to mean that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to be obtaining the grace of justification. Let him be anathema. If someone is to claim that you're justified by faith only, not by works, Rome says in the Council of Trent, let him be anathematized, let him be cast out, let him be Cursed. It also said, in Canon 9 of the Council of Trent, if anyone said that by this faith alone, absolution and justification are expected, let him be anathema. And so is there a distinction between what Rome teaches today and what the Bible teaches? Absolutely. For Rome still holds on to Trent, it has never rescinded what it said there, where it would condemn us to hell. We believe in the very truth of what the scripture teaches. Rome detests the doctrine of faith alone. And of course, this gives us every reason to go forward with the gospel. The two blinded Roman Catholics today, Brother Bevis earlier mentioned John Knox in the closing moments of Knox's life, he referred to how, while many had misunderstood his message as being one of hatred, he had a heart of love even for those that opposed him. He longed that Roman Catholics would come to understand the truth of the gospel. So we're looking at justification by faith alone. Why is it by faith alone? Why is it not faith plus my works? Well, faith alone, because I have nothing to offer. Faith alone, because I have nothing to offer. In the life of the Christian, there are other graces, but we are never said to be justified by our love alone. We're not said to be justified by our peace alone, or by our obedience alone. So all of those things in the life of the Christ are important. But why is it that it is justified by faithfulness? All those other matters follow, we'll see that later. But why did God not ordain that sinners would be justified by love? Sadly, There are many professed evangelicals, and I think that's what they believe the gospel is. I love Jesus, so therefore I'm a Christian. It's faith. Why is this? Well, Robert Traill, I believe, explained it. He said, love brings a flaming, burning heart to God. Repentance brings a bleeding, broken heart to God. Obedience brings a working hand to God. Poor faith brings just nothing, but the poor man's bare hands. You see, when the sinner comes by faith, what is he saying? He is saying, I have nothing to offer. I come. to receive. And here is the great emphasis then the reformers were making. The sinner is not coming saying, I offer my love and so I have earned this. No, he comes saying, I have nothing to offer. I've come empty handed. I've told the story before. of a homeless person that was walking through a city looking for somewhere to stay. And they saw the sign over a particular boarding house for the destitute. And the homeless person was thinking, this is exactly the place where I should go. Here is somewhere where people like me can find a bed. So he knocked on the door. And the landlady came to the door and he explained the situation. I'm homeless. I have nowhere to sleep for the night. And so I come asking, can you provide me a place to sleep? And she said, well, what can you offer me for your night's stay? And he put his hand into his pocket and he offered a few coins. And he said, this is all I have. This is all I can offer. She came out and she stood and she pointed to the sign. She said, the sign says, for the destitute, but you have something to offer. You see, if the man had come and said, I have nothing, there would have been a welcome. And that's a pure illustration of how the sinner is to come. I have nothing to offer. I'm destitute. So Rome says, offer your sins. God says, offer nothing. And this fits perfectly with the other words that the Bible uses to describe faith. The Bible describes faith as a look. Remember how in the wilderness There was the servant of brass. And what were those that were bitten by the deadly snakes to do? It was not a potion plus a look. Just let me know. Remember how Jesus then taught Nicodemus that the serpent and the pole points us to Jesus Christ on the cross. What is the sinner to do? He's to look. In Zion 45 verse 22, look unto me and be saved. Faith is like a look. But then faith is also described as receiving. In John chapter one verse 12, for as many as received him, to them give he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe. On his name, faith is like receiving. And perhaps we were talking earlier about children. So as the mother calls to the child, here is your evening meal. The child doesn't say, what can I give in exchange? The child receives what the mother gives. Faith is this open hand, receiving what the Lord gives. Faith is also described as eating. Following the feeding of the 5,000, in John chapter six, the Lord had a long sermon for those that came back wanting more bread. And Jesus spoke about the manna in the wilderness. And he spoke of the The bread, the day before, and the manna be in a picture of himself. John 6, 54, who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life. Now that doesn't mean, of course, we have to literally eat the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ. What was Jesus talking about? Just as you come to the table and you eat, You receive that food into your body. Receive Christ. Eat. Faith is also described as coming. Matthew 11, verse 28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden. Remember when Noah built the ark? Noah and his family, they went in. They heard the call. Come in. Simple faith. faith is also described as fleeing on to refuge. So in danger you run to the place of safety. The sinner is in danger is to run to the place of safety in our Lord Jesus Christ. So this faith then to offer. Remember in the book of Genesis, Abraham is spoken of as being justified. He believed it was counted on to him for righteousness. But do you think of the background of Abraham? Abraham came from idolatry. What did he have to offer to Almighty God? But he was to come taking God in his word, resting on the promise of God. And Abraham then is the example for all of us. Every true convert is a child of Abraham in this sense we come by simple faith. Now this faith is not merely head knowledge. This faith involves And so there are different ways in which the Bible describes faith. Not all that might come under the very broad umbrella of faith is the faith that is being described in Romans chapter 3. Now there is what we might call dead faith. So James warned about how it's possible to believe things that are orthodox in your head, but you've never actually rested upon them for your soul's salvation. And so James spoke in James chapter two, the verse 19, of those that would say, I believe there is one God. James says, very good, very commendable, very orthodox. The devils, the demons, they believe that too. But they're not converted. So there's a dead faith. Believing orthodox truth in the head, but not having received it in the heart. But then there's also temporary faith. That is, it's possible, for someone to make a profession of faith, a profession of Christianity, a profession of salvation, and that actually be truly converted. Jesus warned of this in the parable of the sower and the seed. It's possible to be moved emotionally. It's possible to say, yes, I would like to be a Christian, and even to tell other Christians that you are, But then when difficulties and trials come to turn away, temporary, then there is what the Bible describes as saving faith. And that is the faith then that takes hold of Jesus Christ. It follows that great hard work performed by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 2 verse 8, for by grace are you saved through faith. and that not of yourselves, so that even the faith is not of ourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And as the Holy Spirit comes and opens the heart, does a work in the heart, as there is that saving faith, there is justification, justified by faith alone, because I have nothing to offer. But then I want to say, secondly, that we're justified by faith alone because of the great object of faith. Because of the great object of faith. We must understand that when we speak of being justified by faith, we are not saying that there is some merit in our faith. We're saved by faith. in so much as that faith is the instrument by which we take hold of Jesus Christ. So what is it that actually justifies its Christ and his righteousness? So there is merit needed in order for you to be justified. And there is merit needed in order for you to be declared righteous. But you say it's Christ's righteousness. It's Christ's merit. justifies. And so in Romans 5, verse 9, it says there, much more than, be now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. As St. Paul has said, you're justified by faith. Is it a contradiction now when he says that you're justified by Christ's blood, saved from wrath through him? No, it's not a contradiction at all. It's a, it's Christ that is the great justifier. By faith we take hold of him who is this justifier. So perhaps I could use an illustration from secular life. If someone at home was having chest pain and they dialed 000, the ambulance comes and takes them to hospital. And as they are brought to hospital, they are brought straight to the cardiac ward and the staff there recognize that this man is having a heart attack and immediately they begin to give treatment. And he survives. Now as he reflects on that, he might say, by dialing 000, my life was saved. Of course, in a sense, that's absolutely true. But the nurses and the doctor in the cardiac ward are saying, your life was spared because you got the treatment. Now both are absolutely right. He would have never had the treatment unless he dialed 000. So it's Christ that justifies. Faith is the hand that reaches out to take hold of what Christ offers. So it's Christ that saves, but sinners never experience salvation without faith. Now sadly, the faith of most Roman Catholics, and even many that profess Protestantism, is grounded firmly in their trust of the Church. So they will talk, yes, I have faith, But they're really resting upon what the church can do, and what the priest can do, upon what the minister can do. But no, our faith has not been that. It's Christ alone. Charles Chinookay, he wrote about 50 years in the Church of Rome, and as the title suggests, he had spent many years within Rome, even as a priest, and he had studied various parts of Romanism and in his latter years within Romanism he set himself this study, both of the early fathers and of the scriptures, but chiefly the scriptures, and he was hoping that by that study that his faith in Romanism would be strengthened. but had the opposite effect. His faith in Romanism was broken, but he was brought to faith in Jesus Christ. And he referred then to the great words of 1 Peter 2, verse 7. Unto you therefore which believe, he is precious. Now do we love the church? Of course we love the church. Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. But our first love is to be after Christ himself. Unto you which believe, he is precious. And the value, the merit then, does not lie in our faith, but in the one that we have faith in, the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. And what is the duty of the unconverted in this meeting then today? Your duty, dear sinner, is believe repent and believe the gospel John 6 29 this is the work of God that ye believe on him that you would believe in that your whole trust would be in If you're unconverted, oh dear sinner, it's our longing that you would see that you will never be in God's heaven on account of your effort. You're to come in obedience to the command of Jesus Christ himself. Believe on him. Faith alone, because Christ is the great object of our faith. But then we want to see thirdly, faith alone, yet not remaining. Faith alone, yet not remaining alone. When we say faith alone, we absolutely do not believe that the only thing the Christian ever has is faith. So we're not saying that all I have is faith only and there's nothing else in my Christian experience. The Scriptures do contrast faith and works, and so we saw that in Galatians chapter 3, the Scripture reading earlier. We're not justified by the deeds of the law. We are justified by faith only. But when there is faith, when man is justified by faith alone, that faith will be accompanied and manifested by this. This is something that James stressed in his little epistle towards the back of the New Testament. And at first glance it might seem that the words of James contradict the words of Paul. Some have even made that claim, falsely. There's not a contradiction between James and Paul. they're actually dealing with two different errors, and thereby making different emphasis. So in the book of James, what James is emphasizing is that if someone says, I fail, but there's actually no demonstration of a transformed line, then there has to be a question mark put over that profession. James chapter 2, 17. Even so, faith, if it had not works, is dead. Being alone. And so there you have the word alone. What's alone? The profession of faith. And the profession is not accompanied or demonstrated by works. James 2, 18. Yea, a man may say, God is faith and I am works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. So it's not that we are given a choice, are you going to choose faith or works? It's faith only. But I show you my faith by my works. And seeing those great statements enables us to understand what James is talking about when he says, In James 2 verse 24, you see then how by works a man is justified and not by faith only. What is James saying? It's this sense of declaration again. A man's faith is declared not by faith only, but by faith accompanied And so, the example that James gives in that chapter is that of Abraham and also Rahab. That as Abraham believed, as Abraham, for example, brought Isaac to Mount Moriah, there was the evidence that he did believe. As Rahab looked after the spies, there was the evidence that she did believe. And so I love how Douglas Bond put it, grace works. Grace works. Grace brings a transformation. Grace, this faith only, brings an outworking. In our time, there are preachers who cry out against churches that teach the necessity of repentance. And these preachers will say, if you preach repentance and the necessity of it, you're adding to the gospel that you're saying it's salvation by the work of repentance. Absolutely not. Christ preached repentance. John the Baptist preached Repentance. The apostles in the book of Acts preached repentance. Where there is no repentance, there is no true faith. If there has been faith, there is repentance. Those two things go together. But you're not to trust in repentance. But at the same time, those that have never repented are in the snare of the devil. So faith is not alone in the sense that it's unaccompanied. There is repentance. When Paul wrote to the Galatians, he was countering a different error than the error that James was dealing with. Paul was countering the error of those who believe that you're justified by faith in Christ plus Jewish rituals. So yes, it's good to believe in Jesus, but you need to be circumcised. You need to partake of the Passover and so on. The same error is made by those who say we're saved by faith plus baptism. And baptism is absolutely important. The Lord has commanded his people to be baptized. But it doesn't save. So again, Paul's answer then to the Galatians was, it's faith only. But the faith is not to remain alone. Faith in Christ is also accompanied in time with peace and joy. As we come to a close in Romans chapter five and the verse one, It says there, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace. If you're not converted today, you lack peace. Your heart is full of trouble, deep concern. Legally speaking, you're not at peace with God. You're in enmity with God. Written within the heart of some of the unconverted, they come to recognize their alienation, and there's certainly no peace within. What does the gospel bring? Well, justification brings us into peace with God. Abraham was even called friend of God. The friends of God not only have what I call a legal peace, for they also come to enjoy peace of soul, peace of conscience. That is, this great doctrine of justification brings assurance. You see, if you're always looking inward and always looking back to the words that you said when you profess salvation, you will have done this. If you're always looking inward saying, do I have this son? Or did I say the right words? Well, you will have done it. But our assurance doesn't lie in you saying this. Our assurance lies in the one that we have taken hold of. Was your faith weak? Yes, it was. Was your faith trembling? Yes, it was. But is there perfection in Jesus Christ? Yes, there is. Rest in him. As your focus is on him, there is then the enablement to all of those other things that are to accompany and follow. We're not saved by our work. Trust the Lord, and bless His Word. So we'll bow together in prayer. In a few moments, I'll go to the door for any that aren't able to stay for the Lord's Table, and then we'll have the Lord's Table and the receiving of a new member into the membership of the congregation. If you're not converted, you are welcome to remain with us at the table, but of course, you're not to partake at the table. And if you're not converted in these moments before the Lord, I appeal to you, recognize today your great need. Recognize that while you have many questions, Christ has all the answers. to him. Our gracious Father, we thank thee for help given today and Lord we look to thee that thou will be pleased to give that gift of faith to each one in our gathering and Lord we pray that those that have been unconverted that their eyes will be opened that they will be brought to that saving knowledge of thyself. Linger with us at the table, we pray, for those that must go, and the Lord be with thee. Amen.