John Stott
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Everything by Faith
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Faith is never meant to be a one-time experience. In our circles, it is tempting to fall into that trap because we put so much emphasis on being saved by faith. We talk about accepting Christ, receiving Christ, trusting Christ, and giving your heart to Christ. We challenge people to respond in faith to the gospel invitation. This is well and good, but sometimes we leave the impression that having been saved by faith, the rest of life is up to us. Not so! The same faith that saves us is the faith that carries us from day to day as we make the journey from earth to heaven. That’s why the Bible says, “The righteous will live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4) and we are told that the gospel reveals a righteousness that is “by faith from first to last” (Romans 1:17). The whole Christian life is a life of faith. We are saved by faith, kept by faith, and we walk by faith, endure by faith, rejoice by faith, serve by faith, love by faith, sacrifice by faith, pray by faith, worship by faith, and we obey by faith. We get married by faith, and we have children by faith. All that we do, we do by faith.
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Why is faith so important? I jotted down this short list as a way to focus my own thinking. Faith is the . . .
1) Condition of justification (Romans 5:1).2) Way we receive everlasting life (John 6:47).3) Means of access to God (Ephesians 3:12).4) Only way to please God (Hebrews 11:6).5) Victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).6) Key to answered prayer (Matthew 21:22).7) Title deed to all that God has promised (Hebrews 11:1).
Because God himself is entirely faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9), he honors those who love him enough to trust him completely. The question before us in this sermon is both simple and profound: What is faith and how does it work? This is a crucial topic because I think we often don’t appreciate how precious and how precarious is the life of faith.
Why is faith so important? I jotted down this short list as a way to focus my own thinking. Faith is the . . .
1) Condition of justification (Romans 5:1).2) Way we receive everlasting life (John 6:47).3) Means of access to God (Ephesians 3:12).4) Only way to please God (Hebrews 11:6).5) Victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).6) Key to answered prayer (Matthew 21:22).7) Title deed to all that God has promised (Hebrews 11:1).
Because God himself is entirely faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9), he honors those who love him enough to trust him completely. The question before us in this sermon is both simple and profound: What is faith and how does it work? This is a crucial topic because I think we often don’t appreciate how precious and how precarious is the life of faith.
