What Does it Mean to Believe?

Romans 3:10-19

Pastor Martin expounds on the nature and actings of saving faith, using Romans 4:4-5, John 3:16, and Acts 4:12 as foundational texts. He argues that true faith involves bringing nothing but one's sin to Christ, receiving a whole Christ, and withholding nothing of one's heart from Him. The sermon applies these truths by urging listeners to examine their faith, distinguishing it from mere intellectual assent, and emphasizing that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

3 illustrations in this sermon

First Aspect of Saving Faith: Bringing Nothing But Sin

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The Serpent in the Wilderness

Driving home: Now to him that works, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of life. But to him that does not work, but believes on him, that justifies the ungodly.

The Israelites bitten by serpents needed only to look at the bronze serpent lifted by Moses to be healed. This illustrates how sinners need only to look to Christ, bringing nothing but their bitten condition.

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes, that whosoever believes on Him. Those Israelites who had been bitten by the serpents as a judgment from God upon their murmuring against Moses. What did they need to do when Moses lifted up that serpent of brass? They brought nothing to that serpent of brass but their languid eyes as they were heading down to an untimely death.

18:05 - 18:34 Read in full sermon

The Tax Collector's Faith: A Model of Bringing Only Sin

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Pharisee vs. Tax Collector

In this part of the sermon: The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector highlights the difference between self-righteousness and true faith. The tax collector, bringing nothing but his sin, was…

The Pharisee brought his 'brownie points' (fasting, tithing, self-righteousness) to God, while the tax collector brought only his sin, crying 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' The tax collector was justified.

And then think of that public in in Luke 18. What does he bring to God? Beautiful example of this. The Pharisees stands off.

24:26 - 24:33 Read in full sermon

Second Aspect of Saving Faith: Receiving a Whole Christ

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Benevolent Benefactor and Destitute Individual

The point: Walk in Christ as you have received Him, rooted and built up in Him.

A wealthy benefactor offers to care for a destitute person. The needy individual magnifies the benefactor's kindness not by boasting or standing off, but by casting himself into the benefactor's care, thus receiving all provisions.

Christ by groveling in a constantly reiterated sense of your sin and your unworthiness try to imagine a man a woman a boy a girl brought to filth and squalor because of irresponsible parents in the case of a child or irresponsible personal living an adult who through drunkenness and gambling came to utter destitution public shame poor a cast off from society and a wealthy beneficent man sees this man in his filth and squalor and says with no conditions other than his willingness to commit himself to the care to the constant nurture to the provisions of this wealthy benefactor he says come into...

36:22 - 37:51 Read in full sermon

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