In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of believing in and resting in the word of God. He highlights that God's current message to the world is one of mercy, but warns that judgment will come in the future. The preacher encourages the audience to read Romans 4 and 5 and memorize the definition of faith. He also mentions a book called "Bone of His Bone" that will be discussed in the next week's lesson. The sermon concludes with a reminder that the ministry's messages are freely available and encourages support through free will offerings.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Oh, nice this morning. Man, that's all right. There's something very orderly and disciplined about your appearance today. That is good. I know that some of you are maybe a little more minded to the casual Christian attire, but there's something very nice and orderly about the way you look today. Can I just say that and bless you? All right. All right. Let's see. Where are we going here this morning? My mind on my work here. Okay, the definition that I want you to memorize tomorrow is the definition of faith. That's a short one, so you'll be glad for that, eh? Also, I want you to read Romans 4 and 5 again. We're going somewhere. And I want you to stay in those two chapters, if you could go through those twice again for tomorrow. And this is just on the side, but all of you received your other book that goes along with this course. And that is the book, Bone of His Bone. You got that yesterday. That's for next week, because we're going to drop down. You know, we're looking at the entrance into salvation. We're laying all that foundation and framework through these last two weeks. And we're going to get this guy born again by Friday, so relax. But that's not the end. Amen? That's just the beginning. And so, we want to finish next week. You know, and that's the reason for the other book. He gets right down into the depths of the reality of a vibrant Christian life, which is what God is after. So, that's why that book. So, if you have any spare time, you can start reading there, because it'll be about 20 pages a day for five days. So, if you have any spare time. Let's get into our lesson this morning. We bow for prayer. Father, again, we come to you in Jesus' name, acknowledging that you are the author and finisher of salvation. You know what is in your heart for man. We are only weak men here upon this earth, God. We thank you for your word, that you have given to us a revelation, a declaration of salvation that is in Christ. And we have it in the Bible, and we thank you, God. But we do acknowledge again this morning that we need the illumination of the Holy Ghost in order for us to see it, and understand it, and rightly divide it. Oh God, we ask you to do that this morning. Lord, we acknowledge our own needs, God, and we pray that you'll wash us in the blood of the Lamb this morning, fresh and new as we are here this morning, sitting in this class, Father. And we ask you also that you would fill us with the Holy Ghost, Lord. That we may be able to speak your word in the power of your Spirit. Oh Father, in Jesus' name, we ask you also to rebuke the enemy away from us, and away from this place this morning. Lord, let every lying spirit, let those voices be silenced today. Let us hear the voice of your Spirit only, in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Alright, this morning, the title of the message this morning is, Saving Faith. We want to look at faith. I believe it is time to consider this element of faith in salvation, in the salvation of man's soul. As we said in the beginning, we're going to take this whole matter of salvation and break it down into pieces. But we're going to put it all together again, I trust, by God's grace on Friday. But right now, we're just taking it apart in pieces. And faith is no little part of that. Paul said these words, by grace through faith. Therefore, we must grasp, get a grasp of this principle of faith. Now, faith is a powerful word in the Bible, and a more powerful dynamic. Its influence is seen from Genesis to Revelation. Now, in this our day, this word has become almost commonplace, and its meaning has degenerated into a meaningless mental assent of agreement. And thus, today, we would have 40 million Americans claiming to have the faith. Well, there must be a difference in their faith than the one that I have. There must be a difference between their faith and the one that I see in the Bible. Because obviously, this word faith, if it is in fact the most powerful dynamic, surely it's going to change people. And yet, we have 40 million claiming that they have faith. But somehow, it doesn't change their life. This is a problem. The one that I have and see brings about a total transformation of heart and life. The Bible calls it regeneration, or re-Genesis, a new creation. So, if salvation is God's provision for man's deliverance from his sinful condition, through the person and work of Christ, if salvation is deliverance from the penalty of sin past, and the power of sin present, and the presence of sin future, and this glorious deliverance is by faith, then we must learn what biblical faith is. We must learn. Please note again, brethren, the importance of words. The word believe and the word faith are very close to the same word in the Bible. In fact, they come from the same Greek word, the root Greek word. They both come from the same word. So, they're very much the same. In the New Testament, you find the word believe 150 times. And the word faith 247 times. And, oh, by the way, you'll only find the word faith one time in the Old Testament. And I'm not sure if you'll find the word believe in there at all. But you find instead of that the word trust. That's about 250 times in the Old Testament. But, here we are again. We find that the Spirit of God, who breathed out the word of God, Amen? Holy men of old spake as they were brothers moved by the Holy Ghost. Up here. Up here. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And as the Spirit of God moved upon them, He inspired them to use the word believe 150 times. And the word faith 247 times. We better figure out what they mean. Amen? And if we don't have the right interpretation of what those words mean, we are off the foundation majorly. And may I remind you again, brethren, that in this day and age that we live in, the word faith and the word belief is simply a mental assent to a group of doctrines. Oh, I believe that. Oh, I believe that. Oh, I believe Christ died for my sins. Oh, I believe that. I believe that. That's not what believe means. But if that's what we think it means, we are so far off the foundation, there's no way we're going to end up in the right place in the end. Do you see that? So we had better get a grip on these words. And the reality of these words. Our whole Christian life depends upon it. And by the way, the Christian lives of many other people also around us. I think the Philippian jailer is a good example of the power and the simplicity of this word faith. He must have been listening for a while before the earthquake. Amen? He must have been hiding there in the shadows and listening to Paul and Silas as they prayed and sang songs and worshipped God. And I can only imagine that the sweet presence of God settled down upon that place because where Paul went, an atmosphere went with him. He testified of that many times. And that atmosphere was the sweet smell of the presence of God. And so this jailer is probably listening in on their song and worship service and hearing them pray these prayers knowing that they've just been beaten profusely. And those fellas are in there singing. You know what we said the other day? He must have thought, you guys have something that I don't have. So he must have been coming under conviction. Then all of a sudden came this earthquake. That settled the whole deal. I mean the fear of the judgment of Almighty God came upon that man. And the Bible says, he came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And Paul and Silas made it very, very difficult. Oh my, they just really made it difficult for him. They said to that man, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. I mean, this thing is going to be on a roll. Not only are you going to be saved, but your whole household is going to be saved. And sure enough, that is exactly what happened. So this word believe is a pretty powerful word. Isn't it? Yet so simple. Turn with me now in your Bible to Ephesians chapter 2. I want to notice what Paul says about salvation in relation to faith here in Ephesians chapter 2. Now we looked at Ephesians chapter 2 already a couple of times this week. But we were looking at the first three verses there as Paul is describing the depravity of man. The sinfulness of man. That he's dead. That he's dead in trespasses and sins. That he's walking according to the course of this world. That he's in bondage to the devil. And he's in bondage to his own flesh and his own sinful mind. But oh how we thank God that Paul didn't stop there. He moved ahead from there with these beautiful words in verse 4 of chapter 2 of Ephesians. He said, But God, who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in sin. Now he's saying to them the same thing that he said to the Romans there in Romans chapter 5 in verse 8. But God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He's saying the same thing in this verse. He just turned it around a little bit. For His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in sins. But God, who is rich in mercy, hath quickened us together with Christ. And he puts this little parenthesis in there. By grace are you saved. By grace are you saved. And I wrote down here and just want to address this for a moment. What the word grace means. Now many theologians today say that grace means unmerited favor. And okay, it does. It does mean unmerited favor. But come let us reason together this morning. When God unleashes His favor upon me, is there no power that comes along with that favor? Of course there is. Now let me just give you my definition of grace. It is God's unmerited favor and the power that is released along with that favor. It is favor and it is power. And you, if you truly have gotten the favor, you will see it evidenced by the power that moved upon your life. If there is true favor, there will be a release of power. And that's why when you study in the New Testament, there are times when you read the word grace and you think, okay, that's talking about favor. And there are other times when you read it and you say, no, now that's talking about power. One of the brothers quoted it here this morning. There's 2 Timothy 2. Be strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, he said. Now what does he say? That's not favor. Be strong in the favor of God? No. He's talking about the grace, the power of God. So, again, my interpretation, whenever you find this thing going back and forth, righteousness, sometimes right standing, sometimes it seems right living. When you find this word grace, know this. Those two words go together. Yes, it is God's unmerited favor. But that favor produces a power in your life. And that power changes you. And it's very evident by reading this. He hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are ye saved. That's right. Now that quickening is a powerful thing, by the way. Is it not? It is a powerful thing. So, yes, by God's unmerited favor are ye saved. And we'll be parking on that one all day tomorrow. I mean, all. My session tomorrow. It goes on to say, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now, if that's not a release of power, I don't know what is. That in the ages to come, He, God, might show the exceeding riches of His grace. The exceeding riches of His grace. That being His unmerited favor and the release of power that came with it to totally transform a life. That is the exceeding riches of His grace. That in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. It is not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Now again, we see the beauty of a transformed life that is flown out of this. Even though this is the text that a modern evangelical would use. Oh, he just uses the one phrase there, you know, by grace are you saved through faith. But again, that unmerited favor has such a release of power upon it that it makes you a new creation. And oh, by the way, unto good works which God hath before ordained that ye should walk in them. Good works, righteousness, right living, which flows out of a right standing with God. And here again we can see that it was in the heart of God, before the foundation of the world, that He would transform man through Jesus Christ from an evil sinner going his own way, having nothing on the inside, to a man who's been regenerated by the Spirit of God and made a new creation in Christ Jesus, a man that produces a righteous life in his everyday life. That's what God was after. And that beautiful transformation will exalt His grace and mercy and show the exceeding riches of that grace for all of eternity. And all you've got to do is drop in there in Revelation chapter, what is it, 4 and 5 in there, to see that all of heaven is excited about the redemptive work of God in the soul of man. And all the angels are praising the Lord Jesus and praising God for His mercy and His grace, how He redeemed us to God by His blood out of every nation and kindred and tongue and people. There they are. But I want us to notice this morning that it's by grace, yes, God's unmerited favor which releases power upon my life, but it's also through faith. And that's our part. We must believe. We must believe. So, what is faith? Hebrews 11 gives us the only definition, literal definition of faith in the Bible. The only one. And I thought about that. Okay, only one verse to give us a literal definition of faith. But as I pondered that, I realized that the Bible is filled with examples which give also definition to what faith is. Now that, there are definitions all the way from Genesis to Revelation of what faith is. You can tell a lot about what faith is by what faith produces. So, what is faith? Well, the Hebrew writer says to us, Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. It's interesting also to note, if you have your Bible open there, that that word follows chapter 10, verse 38 and 39. Where the Hebrew writer says, Now, the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. And we'll come back to that verse next week. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. Substance? That's something solid, isn't it? Faith is substance. Now, it may not be substance like we think, you know. This is substance. And this is substance. And this pulpit is substance. And this ground that I'm standing on, it's substance. But this is a different kind of substance. It's in the spiritual realm. And in the spiritual realm, faith is substance. It's the substance of things hoped for. Paul said it so beautifully this way. In Romans, in Romans chapter 8, he said it this way. Verse 24, For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. Don't forget that. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for it? He's reasoning with us and it's pretty simple and easy to understand. If you see something, you don't hope for it. You know, I've been hoping to see my son Daniel and his wife Christi and their children. I'm hoping to see them. Because they're coming home from Africa. But when they walk through the door of my house tonight, about 7 o'clock, I won't be hoping to see them anymore. I'll be seeing them with my eyes. Right now, I hope to see them. But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. So, when we talk about this whole matter of faith, we're talking about invisible things. Things that we're hoping for. He goes on to say that faith is the evidence. That's also another good, strong, solid word. Something that you can stand on. Evidence. It is the evidence of things not seen. Like Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, For we walk by faith and not by sight. That's what Paul said. And we go on in the next verse and find out that by it, by this faith, which has substance and is evidence, and it's a hope to it, it's a lively hope, by this faith the elders obtained a good report. As you look back over the history, the biblical history of the Old Testament, these elders obtained a good report because they believed through faith. We understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. And which, by the way, we all believe that here today, don't we? We believe in creation. We believe that God spoke and it was so. We believe that God created this world out of nothing. But by the way, you have no proof of that except the witness of it in your own heart. Amen? God made all of this. By faith we understand that the worlds were made by the Word of God. By faith, Abel, offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts. By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him. And I believe what that is saying there is simply this. God said to Enoch one day, just like he said to Abraham one day, he said to Enoch one day, Enoch, you're not going to die. I mean, it was one of those days and Enoch was out there walking with God. And God spoke to him. And Enoch didn't have a Bible, but he had God. And he was out there walking with God and God spoke to him so clearly and profoundly that he knew it was God and God said, Enoch, you're not going to die. You look around you, you see people dying. But Enoch, you're not going to die. I'm just going to take you one day. And Enoch believed that word. And the Bible doesn't say how long. But I believe he believed that word for a while as he just kept walking with God, day after day, walking with God, fellowshipping with God, God fellowshipping with him. And one day, God just took him. And he was knocked. For God took him. How did that happen? He believed the word of the Lord. That's how it happened. Sometimes this element of faith is a saving word and sometimes it's not a saving word. For Noah, it was a saving word, wasn't it? I mean, God said to Noah, I'm going to destroy the earth with a flood. Build an ark. And that was a saving word to Noah and a saving word to Noah's household, was it not? And Noah believed it. How do you know he believed it? Go look at the ark. He believed it. And it was a saving word to Noah. And it saved him, his wife, his three sons and their wives. It was a saving word. But it's not always a saving word, is it? This element of faith is not always a saving word. But we are all called to a life of faith, aren't we? Notice Abraham. He was called to go out and he went out not knowing where he was going. Look at verse 6 and then we'll move on to other things. But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, God. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He, God, is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Brethren, we need to get a hold of what faith means because without this kind of faith, it is impossible, impossible to please God. See, again, just that statement in itself so clearly witnesses to me that salvation is way, way more than to believe a little set of doctrines over here and go live my own life from there on out. How foolish to think that I'm going to go to glory because I gave a mental ascent to something back here, shook my head, uh-huh, three times, prayed this little prayer, and now I'm living my own life from here on out. What a foolish, utter foolish thing to think that I would go to glory after that. When without this faith, it is impossible to please God. Impossible. Faith. When a heart hears the Word of the Lord and believes that Word to the point of action, that's what faith is. When the heart, first of all, is in the place to hear a Word and that heart believes that Word to the point where actions take place, that is faith. Thus, the term Paul used a few times there in the book of Romans, the obedience of faith. Wow, that's good. And one place where I was reading, it said, uh, it used the word, oh, it's in John 3.36. He that believeth on the Son hath life, but he that believeth not the Son hath not life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. I was studying that word, believeth not. You know what some of the translations wrote in there? Instead of believeth not, they wrote disobeyed. Disobeyed. He that believeth on Christ hath life, but he who is disobedient hath not life, and the wrath of God abideth on him. Faith is when the heart is in the place to hear and hears a saving word and believes that word to the point of action. And thus Paul uses the term the obedience of faith. And also in the book of Hebrews, we see so much action listed with this word faith. Don't we? He hears the word. He believes it. And leaning with his whole heart upon God and His Word in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness, he goes forward with what he heard. That was your definition of faith that I threw in there. Let me give you a definition of the word believe. It means to rely upon, to rest in, to trust in, to lean wholly upon, and to commit completely to. That's what the word believe means. That's very different than a mental assent. Oh, I believe that. Oh, I believe Christ died for us. Oh, I believe that. Oh, I believe that. Do you? The saving word comes from God. And man must yield to it. Man must believe it. Man must lean with confidence upon that saving word. And it will save him. Look at the Philippian jailer again. He heard the saving word. Look at him. His heart was in the place to hear the saving word. He was under conviction. The earthquake came. And he trembling fell down before Paul and Silas and cried out and said, What must I do to be saved? Is he ready to hear a saving word or not? He is ready to hear the saving word of the Lord for him. Paul and Silas just simply said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And he was. And all of his house with him. Let's look at an example of the opposite of this in John chapter 20. You want to turn over there. The opposite of this faith that we're talking about. In John chapter 20, verse 24, look at this. But Thomas, one of the twelve called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. Now look at the obedience of faith there or the disobedience against faith. I will not believe. You know, like they say, it's a little proper if they flip this thing around here in America. I've got to see it to believe it. That's what he was saying. I've got to see it to believe it. And after eight days again, his disciples were with him and Thomas was with them. Then came Jesus. The doors being shut and stood in the midst. Walked right in there without even going through the door. Whoa! Whoa! I think he got Thomas' attention. What do you think? And he said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands. Reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God, Good Thomas. Good Thomas. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. Yeah. It's a good example of the opposite. And how it is. And how the human heart is in the natural. I'll see it before I'll believe it. That's not the way that God works. Mark that one down. This is not on the doctrine of salvation. This is on the reality of life with God. That's not how God works. Let's look at a positive example. One that Christ pointed to in his sermon to Nicodemus in John chapter 3. Turn with me there. A beautiful positive example of faith. In John chapter 3. Oh, what a powerful saving word we have here. In John chapter 3 and verse 14. We're breaking in to the middle of what Jesus is preaching to Nicodemus. And he said in verse 14, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 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. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned. But he that believeth not, there it is again, that disobedience. But he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. What a saving word! And what a warning also! Now the Lord Jesus here is talking to Nicodemus and He knows that Nicodemus knows His Old Testament. He knows this illustration. So He turns and points Nicodemus back to this Old Testament illustration where Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole. Let's turn there. Numbers 21 In Numbers chapter 21 We'll start reading in verse 5. What a revelation this text is. And the people spake against God and against Moses. And this is what they said. Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water. And our soul loatheth this light bread. My, such complaining. I don't like the way things are around here. And you, why are you doing this? And who do you think you are to do that? And I don't like the food. And all of that. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people. And they bit the people. And much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned. For we have spoken against the Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that He take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass in him. Now that was their saving word, wasn't it? That was a word out of the mouth of God. That was one of those men shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. That was a saving word out of the mouth of God to those people. Oh, the simplicity of faith, huh? We can see the elements of true faith so beautifully in this Old Testament illustration. The one that Christ lifted up there just before that world famous verse. John 3.16. Amen. But I want you to imagine just a little bit how this went. I mean, the news goes out across the camp. God said through Moses, I'm going to put a serpent on a pole and set it up in the midst of the camp. And everyone who looks at that serpent, that brazen serpent hanging on a pole, will be healed. As human nature is, probably many different responses came from that. Don't you think so? Don't you think for a minute that everyone ran to that serpent on the pole? Any more than everyone runs today. Maybe there was an old man laying in his tent dying of serpent bites. And he hears the news. Moses said, you can be healed. You can be made whole. God will release you from the punishment of your sin. Go look at that serpent on the pole. And the old man says, I'm too old. I don't think I can make it. Maybe there was a lady there. And the lady says, God can do it right here. Why do I have to go find a serpent? Maybe another one hears and says, What? That's too simple. That's a ridiculous thing. And they didn't believe it. Maybe an elder hears this and says, I'm not sure if that's sound doctrine. You know, we were told that you're supposed to slay an animal when you've sinned. And he doesn't go. And another may say, I don't want the others to know that I was one of them bitten by the serpents. They'll know that I was criticizing God and God's man. And so he doesn't go. But glory to be God, some of them will say in their utter desperation of their soul, they will say, I am bitten! I am bitten! I have sinned against the Lord and against Moses, God's man. I am sick and I'm dying and I need help. Now some of them are going to do that. Amen? They're going to do that. And to those that are in that heart and that posture, they're ready to hear the saving word. Amen? I mean, they're ready to hear the saving word. And they hear that saving word and in their desperation and conviction and their desire to repent, they hear that saving word and faith begins to rise up in their heart and they get up off of their bed and start acting upon that saving word. He rises up from his bed and out of his tent he goes staggering down through the aisles that is made by all the tents and how they're placed and he's going down through there. And he sees someone and he says, where's the serpent on the pole? And he says, oh, it's down that way. And he sees another one coming and he says, where's the serpent on the pole? And the man says, oh, it's down there and it works! I looked and I've been healed! Oh, something rises up inside of that man's heart who is ready to hear that saving word! And he gets more courage in his heart even though he's stumbling and staggering because he's dying slowly from snakebite. His courage rises up and he keeps moving toward the direction of that serpent on the pole. He finds that serpent on the pole and looks up onto it and there he goes and looks up in faith at the serpent on the pole and we already know what happened. He was made whole. Now, brethren, that's faith. And that's how you and I got born again. And I know it's to a greater and a lesser degree and, you know, some of you knew more than me. You know, I didn't know anything. I didn't have a whole lot of understanding about I didn't have any theology of salvation underneath me. But I came to grips with the fact that I had been victim and I was sick and I was dying. And in that condition of heart, I heard the saving word. And that saving word to me was Christ, die for your sins. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved! And I did it! And it worked! So what's our saving word today? Paul said it this way in Romans chapter 3, verse 20 and following. Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now, the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. They've been telling us that it's coming. He's coming. Even the righteousness which is of God, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, the serpent on the pole, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. That's our saving word. Believe it. Rest in it. Commit your heart to it. Verse 22 Unto all and upon all them that believe. Can you see, brethren, this morning how all of this begins to flow together? Can you see why? I'm not even sure you can believe the saving word if the heart has not been prepared to see its need. I'm not even sure you can believe the saving word unless the heart has been prepared and is under that conviction. And in that desperate condition, man believes what God said. See? For there is no difference. God saves the hippies that way. God saves an Amishman that way. God saves a Hutterite that way. God saves every man, every soul that way. It is God's saving word. Isn't it? For we know that in sundry times and in divers manners, God spake unto us by the prophets. But in these last days, God has spoken unto us by His Son. Jesus Christ is God's saving word to the world. What will man do with God's saving word? Believe it. Rest in it. Commit your heart unto it. It is God's last message. The next message that God has for this world is spelled judgment. Right now, God's word, God's message to this world is mercy. But the next word that God speaks, and it will be His word, remember, He shall come riding on a white horse with a vesture dipped in blood, and His name shall be called the word of God, and out of His mouth shall come a two-edged sword. It will be God's word to this world. But right now, God's word to this world is a saving word, which He has spoken unto us by His Son. And whoso ever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. What a saving word! Hear Paul's word on this subject. In Romans chapter 10, he says these words, The righteousness which is by faith is on this wise. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, that Jesus is the Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, whoso ever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Did you get it? Did you get it? Do you see how simple it is? But do you see the condition of the heart of that one who needs to be calling on the name of the Lord? See, you can't just take Romans 10.13 and let it stand by itself and go around telling people, look, do you realize you're a sinner? Yes, I do. Do you realize that Christ died for sinners? Oh, yeah, I've heard that. I believe that. Good. Pray this prayer. The Bible says, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ask the Lord to save you. Lord, save me. Is that going to change anybody? Listen, every now and then someone does get converted that way. But I guarantee you it's because God has already been doing work inside of that heart to where that heart is in the position to hear that saving word. That's how it happens. But what utter foolishness to give them that little word without all the rest. Oh, call on the name of the Lord and he'll save you. The Bible says so. See it? No, that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says a whole lot more than that. But yes, if you are in that place in your heart where you see, I have a need. I am undone. I have sinned against God. What am I going to do? Oh, yes. Then it's beautiful to be able to say to that hurting heart, that hungry heart, that seeking heart to be able to say, Christ died for your sins according to the Scriptures and was buried and rose again on the third day. Call on Him and He'll save your soul. And He will. He will. You can be sure of it. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him, leaning, trusting, yielding, committing all to Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life. Think about it, brethren. Deliverance from bondage is in Him. Deliverance from the bondage of sin is in Him. Deliverance from the bondage of the law is in Him. Deliverance from the bondage of fear and death is in Him. Deliverance from the bondage of the devil is in Him. It's all in Him and more. Forgiveness is in Him. Sanctification is in Him. Reconciliation is in Him. He is God's saving word in these days. Wow. What are we going to do about it? We know this saving word. In fact, we know it intimately, deeply, experientially. We know this saving word. We're one of those fellas who already looked at the serpent on the pole and we're coming back through the camp and there they are wandering around, stumbling around, bitten by the serpents, not knowing what to do, and we have the saving word plus the reality that it is in fact the saving word so much so it saved me. And now we're going back through the camp. And what are we going to do with this saving word? Just kind of walk down through the camp and not look up because if you look up you'll be more responsible so you just kind of walk through the camp. We all know. May God help us. And quicken this faith in our own hearts today. Amen? Amen. Let's stand for prayer. Oh Lord, I have a split heart this morning, Father. My heart does thrill and rejoice over this beautiful saving word and the faith that was quickened in my own heart 35 years ago and how it so beautifully did save me. God, I'm thrilled. Lord, I hang my head this morning as I ponder how many times I walked through the camp and said nothing. Oh God, forgive me. Lord, we do trust our hearts to your Spirit. God, we pray you'll continue to illuminate us, Father. God, you know the end result of all of this is a bunch of soul winners, God. I pray that you'll make us a bunch of soul winners. In Jesus' name. Amen.