Well, let's turn to Acts chapter 20. For a Bible reading, Acts of the Apostles chapter 20. We'll read from the 17th verse of the chapter. Acts chapter 20, the verse is the verse number 17. Let's hear God's word. And from Miltas, he, speaking of Paul, sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, ye know from the first day how I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the line and weight of the Jews, and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but I've showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, Testifying both to Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself. so that I may finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And I behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take ye therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Amen, and we'll end our reading just there at the end of verse 28. Let's unite in prayer. Our Father, we thank thee for thy precious word. We think of the day and generation whenever the only Bible Within a church building was found chained to some reading desk, written, dear God, in a language not understood by the common man. And yet here we are with copies of thy word before us. Within the English language, faithfully translated from the original manuscripts, men who gave their life, their very life's blood, O God, that we may be able to come around the Word of God. We cry, O God, that there might ever be an appetite within this congregation and within the denomination. O God, only for the book. O God, that the cry would be. to bring the book and Lord help us to hear from it therefore. Grant dear God a true understanding of all that happens in salvation as we have been considering. Grant oh God us to be biblically grounded in the things of God so that whenever error would come and whenever men who we read off here in the book of Acts who would come in like wolves in sheep's clothing to bring division and to sow, oh God, the seeds of corruption, as with respect to doctrine, that we might be fully aware and guarded and forearmed, that we might understand what the Bible teaches. So therefore, help we pray, send thy Spirit, grant, O God, much of his ministry among us, even as we sit on to the Word, We pray these are petitions and prayers in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Well, you know that last Lord's Day we commenced at looking at the subject matter of conversion. And as we thought about that, we gave you really a definition of what conversion is. It is really a moral revolution that occurs within a person's soul that leads a sinner to leave their sin, to forsake their sin, to abandon their sin, and to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to the sinner in the gospel. Now, the scripture speaks of conversion and pictures conversion in various ways. It is seen as a turning from one's own righteousness and on to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In Daniel chapter 12 verse 3 we read, And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. There is a turning to righteousness, a forsaking of one's own righteousness, a deficient righteousness, a righteousness with its faults and with its flaws, unto a perfect righteousness. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is also pictured as a turning from darkness to light or as a turning from Satan on to God. In Acts chapter 26 and the verse number 18, we read these words, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan on to God, that they may receive the forgiveness of sins. and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." There is a turning from darkness to light. a turning from Satan and on to God. It's also pictured as the sinner turning from idols to serve the living God. 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 9, For they themselves show us of what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Now notice that when a person turns from idols, when they turn from sin and when they turn from God, then they will serve God. That is the automatic outflowing of a true conversion experience. When God saves a person, that person will then automatically find some way of serving the God who has saved them. Christian service always flows out of conversion. The evidence a person has been saved is that they now serve the living and the true God. Seven days ago we also considered what it means, or the means of conversion, and we saw there that it is the Holy Spirit who is involved in bringing a person to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God is actively involved in a person's conversion. And as we said, that truth brings much assurance to the person who would maybe doubt their salvation, because if God is involved in our conversion, and He is, then we are assured that a good and an eternal work has been wrought within and has been done within the life. And then we concluded by thinking about four different types of conversion that are presented within the Word of God. We thought about national conversion, that turning back to God, We saw it happening in the book of Judges, but we reminded you that such conversion experiences were merely but superficial, because soon after that godly judge died, the nation turned back to their sin and found themselves again wallowing in the mire of their sin. We thought about temporary conversion, we thought about what a true conversion was, and then we thought about repeated conversion, simply meaning really a turning back to God when a Christian falls into sin and fails, even in their Christian life. Well, this Lord's Day, we move just a little bit on. I want to consider a number of other matters related to this matter, the subject matter of conversion, namely the matters of faith, and repentance. Now it has been said that repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin, the coin being conversion. Repentance involves a turning from sin unto God, while faith enables the sinner to embrace Christ as the only hope of salvation and of righteousness. While it is true that faith and repentance are distinct concepts, they do not occur independently of each other. They cannot be separated. Therefore, whenever there is true faith, there is always accompanying true repentance. And when there is true repentance, there is always the presence of true faith. And so although conversion is to be seen as a single truth, it has two distinguishable but inseparable aspects to it. repentance and faith. Because in biblical conversion, both repentance and faith are absolutely necessary. One without the other falls short of a true biblical conversion experience. Now there are a number of scriptures that marry faith and repentance together, and I believe they are worth just mentioning at this time. It was the Lord Jesus Christ who first united repentance and faith together. If you turn to Mark's gospel, chapter number one, we read there in the verses 14 and 15 these words. Mark chapter one, verse 14 and 15. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Christ is preaching the gospel. What are the tenet truths? What are the fundamental truths of the gospel? Well, he goes on to speak what they are. And saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye and believe the gospel. Repent ye and believe the gospel. Clearly the Son of God expected his hearers to repent and to believe. Or as we would say to the children in children's meeting, to turn and then to trust. to tease, to turn from sin, and to trust in the Savior. Acts chapter 11 is another occasion where we see faith and repentance married, united together. as it were, in sacred matrimony in the eyes of the Holy Spirit, the author of the book. Acts chapter 11 and the verse number 21. We're reading here about what happens in the city of Antioch. Some men have preached the gospel to the Grecians about the Lord Jesus Christ. And in Acts chapter 11, verse 21, we read, and the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed. and turned unto the Lord." They believed and they turned unto the Lord. We are told that a great number believed, that is faith. And they also turned unto the Lord, that is repentance. We read in Acts chapter 20 and the verse number 21, the words of the Apostle Paul, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Whether it was a Jewish congregation or whether it was a Gentile congregation, it mattered not to Paul because the same problem was existent within every heart, the problem of sin. And the same remedy. The remedy of repentance and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. You see the gospel doesn't need to be changed just because a missionary would go to Uganda or go to Australia or go to China or go to India. The message is the same because the problem is the same. The problem of sin. And the sinner must exercise faith in Jesus Christ and turn from their sin. One final reference that brings these two aspects of conversion together is found in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 6 and the verse number 1. Hebrews 6, the verse number 1, the writer said, Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God." Repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. Two distinct, inseparable truths brought again together by the inspired writer. Repentance and faith. Now today, I'm not going to get into the debate of which comes first, faith or repentance. If any of you are well-read with respect to theological books, you'll know that this is a debate that has raged throughout the centuries among some of the greatest of theologians with respect to which comes first. What comes first? It's a bit like the chicken and the egg, which comes first? Well, it's the same with respect to this. Does faith precede repentance? Or is it the case that repentance first comes and then a person exercises faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? As I say, we're not going to get into that debate today because greater minds than this mind of mine or that mind of yours. have still not come to a conclusion which comes first. You see, on one side of the debate that puts repentance before faith are men like John Calvin and W.G.T. Shade. On the other side of the debate that puts faith before repentance are men like Burkoff and Hodge and Dabney, Thomas Watson, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. And so among Reformed preachers and theologians, there is no agreement as to the order of these two constituent parts within this matter of conversion. Maybe the answer lies by looking at faith and repentance as simultaneous acts. In other words, they happen at the same time. As soon as the soul exercises faith, it repents. And as soon as the soul repents, it exercises faith. But it matters not, just as long as the two constituent parts of conversion are present within the life or have occurred within the life of the repenting and the trusting sinner. Now today I want to confine my remarks to just one of the two constituent parts, the matter of faith. That is not to say that I believe that faith comes first. It's just the way that it has been set out today. Now you will be aware that not all faith is saving faith. Not all faith is saving faith. You know, whenever you challenge people, maybe on the street or when you challenge them on the doors, what they'll often say to you whenever they get into a little tight spot, in order to get you off the door or to get you away from having a conversation with them, they'll say something like this, I have my faith. I have my faith. But the question that they need to ask and the question that you need to ask them is, is it a faith that unites them? to Jesus Christ. Is it a saving faith? Because that's the only faith that really matters. To have a justifying faith. To have a faith that saves us from our sins. Now let me quickly bring to your attention the various faiths that are spoken within the Word of God. I've mentioned them before. We'll do it quickly. There is what is known as historical faith. Historical faith is a faith that rests entirely within the intellect, within the mind of an individual. It has no effect upon the heart, no effect upon the will, no effect upon the soul. What the sinner does is they read the Bible, they read the facts within it, they read it just like any other book, like a newspaper or like some novel. They would maybe even give some mental assent to the doctrines and to the truths and the facts contained within the Word of God. But that faith, that belief, does not affect the heart, does not affect the will, it does not bring them out of a life of sin and cause them to exercise faith in Jesus Christ. And we have an example of that type of faith in the life of Kinegrippa. Remember that man, Paul stands before him, there in Acts chapter 26. And as Paul speaks to him in Acts chapter 26, these are the words that Paul says to Kinegrippa, Kinegrippa, Verse 27, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Here's a man who has faith in what the prophets said. Obviously, Paul is speaking about the Old Testament scriptures, the prophets that are found there. It was one of the sections within the Old Testament scriptures, the prophets. And Paul said, dost thou believe? He said, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. And yet Agrippa goes on to say these words, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Those words evidence and they indicate that he wasn't a Christian. He was, yes, being persuaded to be a Christian, almost persuaded, but he had yet not come to a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So despite him having an intellectual knowledge of what the prophets had written, though he had a belief in what they had written, yet this was not a saving faith. This was but an intellectual faith, a faith that resided within his mind. And how many there are like that? They'll say that they believe the Bible, they believe that Jesus Christ came and lived, was born of a virgin, lived a perfect sinless life, died on a cross, was raised again from the dead, but they have never come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. There is mental ascent to biblical truth, but yet not a justifying faith. There is what is known as a temporary faith. that this is a faith that goes a little further than historical faith. It not only touches the mind, but it can cause a disturbance within a person's emotions. There can be the stirring of heart, the stirring of affections, the troubling of conscience. We think of that type of faith represented, pictured in the parable of the seed or the parable of the sower. We read there in the scriptures that the seed was sown And as the seed is sown upon the stony ground, it springs up for a little time and then the sun comes up and it withers away. And Christ gives the explanation of the parable. He speaks about those who received the word with joy, and yet the sun comes up, scorches, and it withers away. It seems to take on the appearance of something that is genuine, something that is real. But soon, whenever troubles and trials and persecution comes, that faith is seen to be a superficial faith, a faith that really is not a genuine faith. That is known as temporary faith. There is something else known as demonic faith. James speaks of that kind of faith in James 2 verse 19. You think of that, the devils believe. And yet they tremble as well. It touches the intellect, it touches the emotions. And yet no one could argue that demonic faith, that which devils believe in, is a kind of faith that brings a person into a right standing before God. It's not genuine faith. None of these faiths, whether it be historical, temporary, demonic, is a faith that would savingly unite a sinner to Jesus Christ. It's not a faith that is a justifying faith, not a saving faith. Let me give you the larger catechism's definition of justifying faith. Now, it is a little wordy, but I believe it's worth just thinking about. Justifying faith is a saving grace. brought within the heart of the sinner by the Spirit and the Word of God, whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures, to recover him out of his lost condition. That simply means he's convicted of sin, and that sinner also realizes that they or anyone else cannot deliver them out of a life of sin. not only assenteth to the truth of the promise of the gospel, but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his righteousness therein held forth for pardon of sin and for the accepting and accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation." A simpler definition of saving or justifying faith is a hearty assent to the truth and a trusting alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ as Savior. Or to put it another way, faith is belief in the inspired Word and trust in the incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is belief in the inspired word and trust in the incarnate word, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, theologians have made a distinction, a two-fold distinction in justifying or saving faith. There are two elements to it. First of all, there is the seed of faith. The seed of faith. Now the seed of faith is implanted in the heart when the sinner is regenerated by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God comes and implants the seed of faith within the heart of the sinner. That seed grows, that seed germinates, bringing us to the point that the sinner then exercises faith. So there is the seed of faith and then there is the action of faith, the outworking of a faith that resides within the soul. It is the faith being exercised. And by the action of faith the sinner, because the well is now inclined to God as we thought about, That sinner now appropriates or makes Christ their Savior. When faith is in action, the sinner takes a personal trust in the personal work of the Lord Jesus Christ, they relinquish their sin, and they receive Him and His perfect righteousness. And so there is a seed of faith implanted there by the Spirit, And then that seed germinates and enables the sinner to exercise faith, whereby the sinner is enabled to receive Jesus Christ as Savior. Now, there are a number of truths that I want us to think about today. That's only the introduction. First of all, the origin of saving faith. Where does this faith come from? Well, the Westminster Divines They were convinced where it came from. It did not come from within the heart of man. No, it comes from outside man. They said that justifying faith is a saving grace wrought in the heart of the sinner by the Spirit and the Word of God. You see, as I've said, the Holy Ghost, He conveys faith to the sinner at regeneration. You remember what it tells us there in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2? That Jesus Christ is what? He's the author and he is the finisher of our faith. He is the author, he is the first cause. We would say the efficient cause of saving faith. You see, all men by nature are without faith. It's not in any man's power to believe. It therefore takes the work of an omnipotent God to make a faithless being into a person of faith. Elsewhere in Scripture we are told that faith is a gift. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, It is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast. What is the gift of God? Well, there's great debate. Salvation, some would suggest. Some would suggest grace. But many believe that grace and faith, they're all gifts of God, bundled up in God's great salvation. As it comes down from above to this heart and to this life of mine and yours, God gives faith. It's a gift. It's a gift. You see, whenever we come to understand, when we come to apprehend the things of God, when we understand that the carnal mind is at enmity with God, we come to appreciate that no person can exercise faith until that faith comes from outside the individual implanted there in regeneration, and then called into activity as the heart is regenerated, and then as the regenerate sinner responds to God in the gospel. To say that faith lies dormant within the sinner's life is an absolute falsehood. It is not biblically true. Faith is a gift bestowed upon the sinner Because according to 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 2, all men have not faith. It isn't that faith lies dormant in every man or woman's life. That is not the case. Faith that saves a sinner comes from outside the sinner into the very life of that individual. Dr. Gill, commenting on that statement, all men have not faith, he said, no man has faith of himself. It is the gift of God and the operation of His Spirit, and it is only given to the elect of God who are ordained on to eternal life, and therefore it is called the faith of God's elect. All mankind have it not, none but Christ's sheep. The reason why others have it not is because they are not of His sheep. No infant is born into this world with saving faith. writer to the book of Hebrews. He speaks about us having an evil heart of what? Unbelief. Now unbelief is the opposite of faith. And he speaks about this heart of the sinner being a heart full of unbelief. Our natural faithlessness, for use of a better word, will continue to remain unless God bestows saving faith. And so we must never think that salvation is a kind of transaction between God and us in which He contributes grace and we contribute faith? No, because as we have seen, saving faith is a gracious gift of God that enables the sinner to embrace Jesus Christ as He is offered in the gospel. We contribute nothing to salvation, nothing. It's not our faith, it is a divine faith implanted within. And so how we need to pray. How we need to pray that God will give the sinner. the gifts of faith and repentance. I'm sure you've heard that prayed in public prayer meetings. Lord, grant the sinner the gifts of faith and repentance, and that's what they are. They are gifts from God. Unless the sinner is bestowed or unless God bestows upon the sinner these particular gifts, the sinner will remain in a faithless state. They must be given the gift of faith. All other graces, They make us like Jesus Christ. The grace of love, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness. But the grace of faith unites us to Jesus Christ. All other graces make us like Jesus Christ, but the gift of faith unites us to Jesus Christ. Christ is the anchor. Faith is the chain. Without the chain, an anchor is useless. Faith is a chain that unites the anchor to this vessel of mine. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. And so the origin of this faith that brings me into saving union with Christ, it comes from God. This is God's gift. God has saved. God has given me the gift of faith. The second truth I want you to notice is the focus of saving faith. Now this is a vital truth that we need to understand. When a sinner exercises faith, they find a worthy object, a point of focus upon which their faith rests upon. That particular object is the Lord Jesus Christ. Because it is when the sinner exercises faith They receive Christ and they rest upon him for salvation. There are passages of scripture that affirm that Jesus Christ is the object of the Christian's faith. John 3 verse 15 and 16, that whosoever believeth in him. should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him. should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3, verse 36, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 6, verse 40, 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 them up in the last day. Acts 16 verse 31, in reply to the question, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. In every verse, there is a believing on Him, a believing on Christ, indicating that saving faith has Christ as its object. As a result, faith is often expressed in these terms. Looking to Jesus. Looking off to Christ. A coming to Christ. A committing of the soul to Christ. What do we say in the gospel? Come to Christ. Look away to Christ. There's an object for my faith that my eye is to rest upon. It's upon Jesus Christ. He is the object of the Christian's faith. And so be in no delusion. Be under no delusion about the object of saving faith. The object of saving faith is not a creed. It is not a church. It is not a confession of faith. It is not a pastor or a preacher, it's not a minister, it's not a set of rules, it's not a set of ceremonies, but Christ alone is the object of saving faith. And this truth, the truth that Christ is the object of the Christian faith, I believe can be a tremendous help to maybe those who would have doubts about their salvation. Now there are many reasons why people have doubts about their salvation. But one of the reasons is because they look at their face. They look at their face. And they think in their minds, my faith is not what it should be. It's not to the standard that it should be. It's not to the degree that God expects it to be. And so they concern themselves that their faith is weak, that their faith is faulty in some way. And therefore they could never be savingly united to Jesus Christ. But folks, what happens when a person thinks along those lines is this. They make their faith the object of faith. Our faith is not the object of faith. Christ is the object of faith. It's like them trusting the chain without looking at the anchor. to steady the ship. What good is but a chain hanging over the side of a ship whenever the storm arises? It's not looking at the chain, it's looking at the anchor. And thank God as we look away from ourselves and our own faulty faith, because folks, our faith will always be faulty. Our faith will never reach the degree or standard that God expects it to be until the day our faith gives way to sight. And we'll find the fullness of faith when we come into the presence of our God and King. But folks, the object of our faith is not our faith, but Christ. His work. His work for me. That's where my faith rests today. Not how much I'm trusting, not how much faith I have compared to others, but Christ has done the work for me. Christ has done the work. And folks, let me say that Jesus Christ and his person and work will never be found to be deficient or faulty in any way. He has done all that is needed. One Christian writer, he put it like this, your salvation comes not because your faith saves you, but because it links you to the Savior who saves. Your believing is nothing but the link. Daniel Crowdery, he was a Puritan, he said, in the act of justifying faith and Christ have a mutual relation, I must always concur. Faith is the action which apprehendeth. Christ is the object that is apprehended. Someone has put it simply, faith is the hand that reaches out to Christ. and takes Christ as Savior. It's Christ who saves. William Nicholson said, the faith of the Christian rests not in flesh and blood, not in sand, not in a broken reed, but on the rock of ages, against which the gates of hell can never prevail. How precious then must be this faith that has so firm a basis, that will support in every trial, in every season, a foundation firm and invincible. Look away to Christ, doubting saint. Look away to Christ. Look away from your faith. Look away to the Savior. I wonder today are you able to say, we sang the words, my faith has found a resting place, not in devised decree, but I trust the ever-living one. His wounds for me shall flee, because I need no other argument. I need no other plea, it is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me. It's a looking away from self. Don't make your weak, faulty faith the object of saving faith, but rather make Christ the object because he will not feel nor be discouraged. Thirdly and finally, the nature of saving faith. Saving faith is more than simply believing that Christ died on the cross. It's more than that. Many believe that he died, and yet they do not have saving faith. You see, saving faith goes further than giving a consensual nod to the truth. In saving faith, there is an element of confidence that moves the sinner from a mere mental assent to the truth to a committing of themselves to the truth. That's maybe a little hard to understand with an hour less in bed and maybe a little difficult for you to grasp. Let me use an illustration, familiar, well-known, Charles Budden or Blunden. was a French tightrope walker. He came to fame on the 14th of September, 1860, when he was the first person to cross the Niagara Falls on a tightrope that stretched 11,000 feet across and 160 feet from above the falls. The Frenchman didn't only traverse the tightrope once, but he did it several times, each time with a different daring feat. Large crowds gathered on that day to watch him, walking across slowly, one step, one dangerous step after another. On one occasion, he actually pushed a wheelbarrow holding a sack of potatoes across the tightrope. Upon reaching the end of the tightrope, the crowds cheered. They cheered enthusiastically. Bolden addressed the audience, He said, do you believe that I can carry a person in the wheelbarrow? The crowd enthusiastically yelled, yes, you're the greatest tightrope walker in the world, we believe. Okay, said Blunden, who wants to get in to the wheelbarrow? At that moment, the crowd's enthusiasm waned. No volunteer was forthcoming to get into the wheelbarrow. See, the real life story, it illustrates for us what real faith actually is. The crowd, they said they believed, but by their actions, they proved that they really didn't believe in him at all. It's one thing to say that we believe in God. However, it's true faith when we not only believe in God intellectually, but whenever we put our faith and trust in his son, Jesus Christ, experimentally, True saving faith in its nature has an element of belief and then commitment to it. You take the words of Romans chapter 10, verse 13 and 14, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? You see, a faith in Christ will lead a person to calling upon Christ. They will call upon Christ. It doesn't stop short in just believing in Christ. No, they will then call upon Christ because they believe that Christ can save. Christ can save me. Christ can save me from my sin. To simply believe in God is not sufficient for a person to be saved. We've seen that already today. The devils believe and tremble. But alongside that belief in God, there must then be the committing of a person entirely to God. It really is the moving of intellectual knowledge and belief from the head for it to rest or reside within the heart. As one Reformed preacher put it, saving faith is not just believing that Jesus lived and died. Faith that saves is a confident, continuous confession of total dependence on and trust in Jesus Christ to meet the requirements on your behalf, to give you entrance into God's eternal kingdom. It is the surrender of your life in complete trust to him to do what you cannot do. To trust him to do for you what you cannot do. You would say, preacher, I believe. But my question is, have you believed to the saving of your soul? Because there are steps there. Not just believing, but have I believed to the saving of my soul? Have you, in the words of 1 Peter 4, verse 19, committed the keeping of your soul to him and well-doing as unto the faithful creator? Has faith moved from consent of truth to a commitment to the truth? Saving faith is beyond intellectual agreement. There is trust. There is a commitment. There is a willingness to stake one's eternity upon Christ and his work for sinners. This is saving faith. This is saving faith, a willingness to give your life and all to Him, a forsaking of sin, a trusting in Him. Faith is the first side of the coin of conversion. It's the first constituent part, but quickly on the heels of faith, there comes the other, and that is repentance. A term that is out of vogue, even in the evangelical circles today. But without it, no sinner has experienced a biblical conversion experience. There must be repentance and there must be faith. If I am ever to be converted, if I am ever to be a child of God, But that's for next week in the will of God. In the will of God, we'll look at repentance, what it is. We could spend weeks on it, we'll not be doing that. It is a big subject, what it is, what it's not. May God lead in the study of it. But ask yourself the question, is my faith but simply a mental assent to truth? Or have I allowed that truth to take me to Christ and bring me to the place where I rest my soul upon Him for my salvation? May God search all of our hearts today. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Our Father and our God in heaven, we come before Thee, the Savior's holy name. We bless thee today that thou hast given to many in this congregation the precious gift of faith. O God, we look within our own hearts prior to conversion, and we can certainly say that there was no preexistent faith within. There was nothing but unbelief. O God, there was nothing but faithlessness. We rejoice in that moment when faith was given. And then that faith enabled us to reach out in an act of faith and take Christ as Savior to appropriate Him, to make Him ours by an act of faith. And Lord, we cry that if there be one here today, and there is no saving faith, no justifying faith, Will God give them faith today? Lord, bring them to that place where they come to understand that they're leaning upon some false profession that really has no biblical warrant to. Oh, do thine own work, we pray. Bestow to the sinner the gifts of faith and repentance. Challenge our hearts, search us out, we pray. And may dear God thy word may be a blessing to every waiting soul. For we offer prayer in and through our Savior's precious name. Amen and amen. Thank you.