Rev. D. Patrick Ramsey, of Nashua Orthodox Presbyterian Church, preached on Romans 10: 9-13 this evening and in the process, he explained the elements of saving faith. His outline consisted of 4 points: act of faith; content of faith; expression of faith and subject of faith.
I had not previously heard faith explained so well and believe that many others may appreciate the content of this sermon.
I think it is essential to have an understanding of foundational doctrines of Christianity, to ensure that our salvation is established rightly. Not that one needs to have an intricate understanding of all aspects of his faith if he is truly saved; but I think that many wrongly believe that they are saved. Therefore, if one has a clear understanding of the elements of faith and other basic doctrines of Christianity, then he might more correctly assess his own status during self-examination, for example.
The following sermon is 29 minutes in length:
Following are the main points of the sermon:
Faith affirms, withreligious conviction certain truths about the gospel on the basis of God’s word:
believes Jesus is Lord and was raised by God
committed to these truths
there is a difference between knowing the truths of the gospel and knowing AND believing them; saving faith knows and believes and that shows in the behavior [see, categories, Justification, Study Helps post, videos on faith and justification]
faith derives from the intellect, the will and the emotions
An example was given of a man that was prejudiced against Canadians and claimed not to be. To be sure, the man would have to examine his behavior–if he left the room when a Canadian came in,…then he might be prejudiced.
[That illustration was intended to clarify that one must examine his own behavior to see for sure what he really believes: true saving faith will reveal itself in one’s behavior. In other words, what one really believes is apparent in his [thoughts, feelings, and] behavior.]
[The above statement indicates the great worth of self-examination in the Christian walk. Beatitude Life posts contain much information about examining oneself: posts 1d and 5 in particular.
But here are some general points to consider:
Do you see a difference in your lifestyle, conduct…since you were born again?
Do you abide in God’s appointed means of grace (see categories, Christian Walk and post by that title)?
Are you grieved over sin?
Are you being humbled by the Holy Spirit: are you seeing that you are not all that you once thought you were, the first two beatitude life posts say much on that?
Are you examining yourself, owning your sin, confessing it to God and with at least one Christian confidant?
Are you seeking grace to walk with God when you pray about your sins? (See categories, Justification, Study Helps, all 5 very short videos)
Listening to sermons about affliction, self-denial and the beatitudes at sermonaudio.com may also help you to understand how God uses it to conform His children to the image of His Son.
Affliction hurts very much, because therein, our pride is beaten down; our lusts must be mortified…and we must learn to deny self. But there is more than the pain of loss, as we grow in grace, we learn to love Christ more because of His work in our behalf; his patience towards us…and our getting a very clear sighting of our wretchedness in the process of sanctification.]
Back to the sermon points:
FAITH IS A GIFT FROM GOD:
Saving faith will ACT, it will confess Jesus as Lord as a result of the Spirit’s work in our hearts.
Faith is deeply personal: we believe in the God / Man Jesus, not in a proposition [a truth statement of logic that is merely words].
It is an error to think of faith as an experience. Faith involves the intellect, the will and the emotions, but one can be born again without having some emotional experience. [see, categories, Church Community, Sentimentalism…trending in the church; therein a 6 minute video speaks to that.]
CONTENT OF FAITH:
The statement, JESUS IS LORD, comprehends the whole of saving faith:
That is, to be able to say that Jesus is Lord you must believe in His atoning work on the cross; that He is the Lamb of God; the word made flesh; Lord of our lives–that He reigns over all and has conquered all.
The Westminster Shorter catechism question #86: Q. What is saving faith?
A. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace by which we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation as he is freely offered to us in the gospel. [There are longer clarifying statements about this answer online.]
He discussed the Lordship controversy of the 20th century at this point. Preachers…saying that you could be saved and that Jesus did not necessarily have to be Lord of your life. Not so, that is another error in evangelicalism.
EXPRESSION OF FAITH:
To express faith, one has to believe with his heart and confess with his mouth [see, categories, Beatitude life, Beatitude post 6]
To confess, is to speak your belief to others. True saving faith will overflow into our daily lives in our behaviors and relationships.
Those who say they have faith and it is not apparent in their behavior and relationships are likely mistaken. (But faith starts out small in all of us and grows via the Holy Spirit’s work in us.)
We should examine ourselves to see how we are confessing Christ!
SUBJECT OF FAITH:
Saving faith is how we are made right with God: by believing God’s promise to save us via Christ, we are justified [like Abraham Gen: 15:6].
Salvation is by faith so that nobody is excluded [Romans 3-8 and Galatians 3 speak to this matter clearly].
[I have a final comment on Q. 86: It seems to me that during our sanctification, the Holy Spirit reveals to us one idol after another and takes them from us. We have formerly trusted in these idols, and we still are to some extent. The Holy Spirit reveals this to us and moves us towards trusting / resting in Christ. At glorification, this process will end. So, in self-examination, you should be learning about your idols during the weeks and months of each year you walk with the Lord. This learning and turning from idolatry is a big part of sanctification; the tribulation we experience causes pain, like the lancing of an infected boil; afterwards, holiness–see Hebrews 12, e.g. If this process is not occurring in your life, then something is wrong. Get in the word and prayer; and talk to your elders, pastor….]
If you’d like to hear more of Pastor Ramsey’s sermons, then please visit sermonaudio.com and search by speaker, his most current sermon will be first.
[All comments in brackets are mine. I attempted to rightly interpret some above points; hopefully I have done so. That is, Pastor Ramsey did not say those words.]
