What determines faith to be true or false is not anything in the faith itself. If your faith rests on a true object, it is true faith; if it rests on a delusive object, it is delusive faith; but in either case the faith is the same-the difference lies in its object. One man believes in the stability of a certain bank, and invests his money there; the bank fails, and his money is lost. Another with equal certainty places his elsewhere, and receives it again with interest. The confidence in both instances was identical; but how vastly different the result!
The individual who believes the gospel believes God; for the gospel is "the gospel of God,... concerning His Son Jesus Christ" (Rom. 1:1-31Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; (Romans 1:1‑3)). Now "God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" Numb. 23:1919God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Numbers 23:19). And again, "God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." Heb. 6:17, 1817Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: (Hebrews 6:17‑18). The man therefore who believes God may justly have the firmest assurance, seeing that with Him there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning
But it is evident that before a soul can believe the gospel he must know what that gospel is, for "How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?" Rom. 10:1414How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14). Many think they know it, but a few moments' conversation with them reveals the appalling fact that they are entirely in the dark as to the gospel of God. In the sacred Scriptures this gospel is set forth in words which the Holy Ghost has chosen, and by the mouth of His messengers, be it from the pulpit, the public platform, or the printed page, God proclaims His good news to all. What is it? Listen! "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Rom. 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9). Pause, dear friend, and go over that verse again; read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest it. What news it contains! What a joyous proclamation! What a blessed report! How suited to your actual need! And this report reaches you sealed with the seal of the true and living God, whose Word shall abide though heaven and earth shall pass away.
But what is to be believed? This: that God has raised up the Lord Jesus from the dead. Mark, that GOD has done it. Not simply that Christ is risen, but that GOD has raised Him from the dead. What a testimony on God's part to the perfection and all-sufficiency of the work of atonement wrought out in suffering and death upon the cross! For it was there that Jesus was forsaken of God, there God hid His face from Him, and there He was left alone to bear the full weight of divine and holy wrath against sin. And now that solemn work is ended, and in raising up the Lord Jesus from the dead God bears witness that what divine Justice required, Justice has received. But what has become of the sins the Savior bore? They are gone even as a debt is gone when full payment has been made. To believe this, to believe it with the heart, is to be saved.
Faith is the eye of the soul; without it the precious things of God's Word cannot be seen in their truth and beauty. But who thinks of his eyes? You may not have thought of yours since you began to read this paper, yet without them all would be dark. Do not then be occupied with your faith, and puzzling your poor, weary brain as to whether you believe aright. After all is said that can be said about it, faith is not your savior, though no one is saved apart from faith. Christ is your Savior.
To be always peering into one's own heart to ascertain whether ours is true believing, is like a person constantly examining his eyes before a mirror to find out whether his sight is good. Had you the most convincing proof of the soundness of your faith, and rejoiced on that account, your joy would proceed from what you found your faith to be, and not from what Christ is.
Thus self, and not Christ, would be the spring of it.
Fix your thoughts on an object outside yourself, and forget your faith in thinking of that which the soul should believingly receive and rest upon, even the sure Word of the Lord. Think of Him whose love has been shown in the gift of His only begotten Son (John 3:1616For 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 3:16)), and who commendeth His love to us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:88But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)). Think of Him who came into the world to save sinners, even to save the chief of them (1 Tim. 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)), and who once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1 Pet. 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)). Think of Him who was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification (Rom. 4:2525Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Romans 4:25)). Behold Him now in heaven without our sins. See in the very fact of His being there the great proof which God sets before our eyes that our sins have been put away according to the requirements of the eternal throne. Search into these things, and blessing after blessing shall flow into your soul. Self will be displaced by Christ, and your faith will be forgotten in the joy and peace which you will have in being engaged with the true Object of faith, even God, and the precious revelations of His Word concerning Christ and His work.
Finally, dear friend, if you believe Jesus to be the Son of God, and put your whole trust in Him, and in His precious blood, YOU ARE SAVED. The knowledge of a present salvation is a different thing from a hope of being saved one day, however sure that hope may be. That blessed knowledge His blessed Word imparts. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life." John 6:4747Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47). Receive this short and simple verse as spoken for you by the Lord Himself. Believe it because He says it. He that believeth on Me hath, HATH, HATH everlasting life.