Your arriving in heaven does not in the last analysis depend on the degree of confidence that you have in Jesus, but on the Jesus in whom you have placed your often stammering trust. Weak faith gets you there as much as strong faith becomes it is Christ who saves you not your faith. Welcome to open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and Colin I think today will be an encouragement for many people who feel they wish their faith was stronger. Yeah and the place to begin with that encouragement is if you are saying that you wish your faith was stronger than it is you are certainly not alone and Christ has a great gentleness towards all of us in the weakness of our faith. But I think of how Thomas was so full of doubts and the extent to which Christ went to win him to a confident trust and the gentleness of Christ when we are battered and bruised and have our doubts and our questions. He is not standing over you and demanding that your faith should be more than it is. He is offering himself to you he is drawing near to you through his word today to encourage you and strengthen you in faith. So today we’ll start to look at seven insights for increasing your faith so if you can, join us in Romans Chapter 5 as we begin the message, Rejoicing in the Work of Christ. Here’s Colin. Over these two months we’ve been asking of God one simple question I hope you’ve been praying this prayer with me. Lord, increase my faith. Lord, increase our faith. The whole purpose of this series has been to see how this can happen. We’ve discovered what faith is. We’ve used this definition that it is the bond of a living union in which a believer comes to love and to trust and to serve Jesus Christ. And having seen what faith is, we have focused on what faith does. And we’ve used the picture of an anatomy. Faith hears the word of Christ, serves with the love of Christ, feeds on the bread of Christ, declares the praise of Christ, prays in the name of Christ, and walks in obedience to Christ. So we’ve been learning about faith. I want to wrap up the series on this weekend, by focusing on what faith looks like when it’s fully grown. We’re asking God to increase our faith. I want us to think today, together, about the assurance of faith. It’s a very important subject. In the New Testament we find compelling descriptions of the joy, the freedom, and the confidence that a believer can have in Jesus Christ. Let me just read a couple of them to you. and ask how you relate to them. One is from the passage that’s just been read. Romans chapter 5 in verse 11. Paul says this, having laid out our justification by faith, he comes to this concluding point verse 11. He says, we rejoice in God. Now, could you say that? Could you say that? Is that a good description of you? Are you doing that? He says of the person who has grasped what this faith is and in whom this faith has become fully grown, he says, we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation. What do you know of that? Joy in God. Peter puts it this way, 1 Peter chapter 1, and in verse 8, Peter says of Christians, though you have not seen Christ, you love Him. And even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the goal of your faith, which is the salvation of your souls. Is that true of you? Does that describe you? Now these verses and many others in the Scriptures are describing the gift of assurance which to put it very simply is faithfully grown. That’s what assurance is. To define it in another way, assurance is the joy and the freedom of a confident faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is faithfully grown. And that is what this series has been about. How can you grow in your faith? How can you move in this direction and know more of what is described in the New Testament Scriptures? Now, we’re wrapping it up this weekend and I want very simply to offer seven insights for increasing your faith. I’m going to be noting things that I think are critical from the series as we’ve gone along and I want to pull them together this evening as we wrap this up. Seven insights for increasing your faith, for moving in the direction of assurance that is the wonderful, wonderful gift of Christ. Here’s number one. And it really is the place to start. If you want to be serious about increasing your faith, you need to begin by recognizing that Christians have different degrees of faith. The Scriptures are very clear on this and I think we have seen it throughout this series. Romans 4.20, Abraham was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God. Therefore, it is possible for faith to be strengthened. For Lord Jesus Christ speaks in the Gospels to Peter and He says, you of little faith – why did you doubt? Now, notice, Christ does not say to Peter, hey, you’ve got no faith. I actually rather admire Peter’s faith in getting out to walk on the water looking at Jesus. Don’t you admire that He did that? I’m not sure if I would have done that. Peter had great faith to do that, but then he takes his eye off Christ and Jesus says, oh, you of little faith. Matthew chapter eight and verse ten. Jesus says to a Roman, a person not of the Jewish race. I tell you the truth. I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. So there were many in Israel who had faith, but Jesus says this man has more faith. I’ve found anyone else who has such great faith. There are degrees of faith. Remember in Luke chapter eight and verse twenty-five, in the storm on the lake, Jesus turns in the boat to the disciples and He says, where is your quite clear that it’s possible to have faith and then not to use it for it just as it were to lie dormant. Remember in Mark chapter 9 and verse twenty-four, a man comes to Jesus and he says, I believe, help me with my unbelief. Which clearly indicates that true faith can be mixed with doubt and with many questions and uncertainties. On the other hand, in Hebrews chapter ten and verse twenty-two, we read these words. Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and full assurance of faith indicating that faith can come to God with great boldness and with great confidence. Now you see if you drift through a Christian life, simply saying, well I have faith and you know that’s really all that matters. You’ll never make progress. It is passive. But once you grasp that there are varying degrees of faith, that you can grow in faith, that there can be progress in faith, then you will have the mindset to move in the direction of the kind of assurance and joy that we read about scriptures. Here’s the second thing, Christ deals with weak faith gently and we should do the same. Now, lest any of us should become discouraged, this seems to me to be of great importance. Listen to the gentleness of Jesus in the Servant on the Mount, when he speaks to those he describes as of little faith, and he says this, do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Do you hear the gentleness in that? That’s how Jesus speaks to people with little faith, not clobbering over the head with great gentleness. A bruised read the scripture says he will not break and a smoking wick he will not snuff out. Which is why we’ve been saying in this series that you can come to Jesus Christ as you are. You don’t need to dress up in order to come to him. You don’t have to pretend to be something that you’re not that you’re not to draw near to Jesus Christ. For we do not come to Christ to give him something that we offer. We come to Jesus Christ to receive what he has for us. And since Christ deals so gently, so beautifully with those whose faith is weak. It follows that we, as his followers, must seek to do the same. And you find this in the new testament. For example Romans 14 verse 1. Accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters. Not everyone at the early stages of following Christ and trusting Christ is going to see everything that you see clearly, except him who is weak in faith. So Paul says in 1st Thessalonians that we are on the one hand to warn the idol, but we are to encourage the timid and we are to help the weak. You see there is a gentleness that is appropriate toward those whose faith is the weakest. Be patient with everyone. It’s good for us, especially if you have been a Christian for some time, you’ve experienced some growth, you’ve experienced some blessing. Please remember this, there is not one of us here today who has perfect faith. However much we grow in the Christian life we struggle with doubt and remnants of unbelief remain within us all. John Calvin says it so well, let me just read a paragraph to you, I think you will find it helpful, I have found it enormously helpful in my own life. He said, the Godly heart, notice this. The Godly heart, the godly heart feels in itself a division, because it is partly imbued with sweetness from the recognition of divine goodness but partly grieves in bitterness from its calamity. Partly rests on the promise of the Gospel but partly trembles at the evidence of its own iniquity, partly rejoices in the expectation of life, partly shudders at death. This variation, Calvin writes, arises from the imperfection of faith, since in the course of this present life it never goes so well with us that we are wholly cured from the disease of unbelief and entirely filled with and possessed by faith. That is very helpful, isn’t it? Oh, when faith is turned to sight, we shall know even as we are known, but until that day we do what by faith, not by sight. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and today’s message, Rejoicing in the Work of Christ and we’re looking at two ways in which we can increase our faith, and in a moment we’ll look at a third. So I hope you’ll stay with us. If you ever miss one of our messages which are in the series The Anatomy of Faith, you can always catch up or go back and listen again online. Come to our website www.openthebible.org.uk and you can also catch our messages as a podcast if that’s a better way for you to stay in line with Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching and you’ll find those on your regular podcasting site, just search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular updates. Back to the message now, we’re in Romans and chapter five and here’s Colin. So Christ deals with weak faith gently, aren’t you thankful for that? And we should do the same. Here’s the third thing. Christians are saved. Please remember this as we’ve been looking at faith for two months and we’ve been looking at how we can grow in faith, let us remember this, that Christians are saved not by the strength of our faith, but by the strength of our Savior. Thank God for that. I have a friend Charles Price who tells a great story about three people on an airplane. You’ll get this picture very quickly. In the seat by the isle is a businessman who flies all the time. In the seat in the middle is a student who is flying on her own for the first time. In the seat by the window is an old lady who has never flown in her life before, and already, before the plane takes off, is vowing that she will never do this again. You got the picture? The plane taxies to the runway. The businessman takes out his paper. The student is just a little on edge. The old lady is holding onto the seat white-knuckled with fear. The lunch comes. The businessman eats the lot. The student eats about half. The old lady can’t look near it. Her nose is already in the barf bag. Here’s the amazing thing. All three of the travellers arrive in the same place at the same time. Why? Because it’s not the degree of your confidence, it’s not the nature of your experience that determines your safety, but the trustworthiness of that in which you are making the journey. Now, I find that story to be very helpful because it reminds me that Christians are saved, not by the strength of our faith, not by how great my faith is, but how great the Christ in whom I have placed my faith is. Your arriving in heaven does not, in the last analysis, depend on the degree of confidence that you have in Jesus, but on the Jesus in whom you have placed your often stammering trust. If you are in Christ, to use the Bible’s phrase, your destination is secure, however fearful, however nervous, however timid a Christian you may be. Weak faith gets you there as much as strong faith, because it is Christ who saves you, not your faith. It is so important to know. Bishop Ryle puts it this way, simple faith in Christ shall save a man though he never attained to assurance. B.B. Warfield says it like this, the saving power of faith resides not in itself but in the almighty Savior on whom it rests. You may have weak faith but thank God you have a great Savior. That is of huge importance for us to understand in relation to our salvation. Now, having said that, here’s the fourth thing, assurance of faith is to be desired and pursued. Going back to our analogy of these three folks sitting on the plane, well they all arrived in the same place at the same time. But, they had an entirely different experience on the journey. And your experience on the journey matters too doesn’t it? The strength of your faith does not affect your arrival, but it makes a huge difference to your experience as you travel. Now, using that analogy, can you see that growing in faith is going to change your experience of the journey through life. Growing in faith is not going to make heaven more secure for you, it can’t because that depends on being in Christ. But here’s what it will do, growing in faith will change your experience of the journey. You will have greater peace. You will have greater hope. You will have greater joy. You will have greater love. It is one thing to believe that one day you may be accepted and to hope that all may be well. It is another thing in terms of Romans 5,11 to be able to say that you rejoice in God, why? Because of the peace, the hope, the love that has been shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit that you have found in Him. And you see, that is why throughout the whole of the New Testament, you find this emphasis on assurance, you find Paul praying in Ephesians chapter 1 for example, that God would open the eyes of Christians, this is not for unbelievers. Paul is praying for Christians in Ephesians chapter 1 and he says, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. He’s praying for the strengthening of faith, he’s praying for a greater grasp, a greater confidence. Why? Because that will make heaven more secure? No. Because it will change your experience now. Now, some of us may be asking this question. Is assurance, confidence before God not presumptuous? That is a huge question for thousands and thousands of people and I want to give as clear an answer as I possibly can today. Is assurance not presumptuous, is it appropriate? How is it possible for a sinner to be confident before God? When Wesley wrote, for example, Bold I approach the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own, would it really be appropriate for a person like you or me to sing that or to say it? Try to get this clear in your mind, it will help you greatly. If salvation rested on your work, assurance would be nothing but pride and presumption. If salvation rested on your work, on what you do for God, on the extent of your faith and so forth and so on, you’re serving, you’re praying, you’re ministering and so forth, if salvation rested on your work, assurance would be nothing but pride and presumption. It would be saying, I got what it takes God. Look at my Christian life. My friends, if you’ve been following in this series, you will have grasped, I hope by now, that precisely salvation does not rest on your work for God, but on God’s work for you in Jesus Christ. Not on the righteousness that is developing and growing within your life, but is always partial in this world, but on the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ made yours through the finished work that he accomplished on the cross. And because our salvation rests not on our work for Christ, but Christ’s work for us. Far from exalting ourselves, Christian Assurance exalts Christ. Because it is not confidence in what we have done for Christ, but it is confidence in what Christ has done for us. What a great reminder as we finish our time today, that it’s not the strength of our faiths which gives us assurance, but rather the work of Christ himself, what he has done, what he has accomplished on the cross by dying for us and rising again. Our message today is called Rejoicing in the Work of Christ, and it is part of our series the Anatomy of Faith. And if you missed any of the series or you want to go back and listen All of the messages which have been broadcast to date are available on our website openthebible.org.uk They’re also available as a podcast on your favourite podcast site. Search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular updates. And don’t forget there are many other resources on our website. You can find Open the Bible daily, a series of short 2-3-minute reflections based on Pastor Colin’s teaching and read in the UK by Sue McCleish. There’s a new one of those every day and many people find that’s a great way to start the day At Open the Bible we welcome contact with our listeners. If you’ve been blessed by Pastor Colin Smith’s teachings and you’d like to reach out to us there are several ways you can do that. You can write to us at Open the Bible P.O Box 1420 Cheltenham GL 50 9PG or you can phone us on 0330 335 8089. If we’re not available when you call, leave a message for us and we’ll return your call! All of these contact details are available on our website openthebible.org.uk. Open the Bible is supported by our listeners and this month if you’ve been considering setting up a new payment in support of Open the Bible we have a great offer for you. To say thank you, we’ll send you a copy of C. H Spurgeon’s book Encouragement for the Depressed. Colin how will C. H Spurgeon’s book help those who feel discouraged today? Well Spurgeon is really a very tender shepherd. He was a pastor and he spoke with great strength but also with great gentleness that arose really out of his own experience of suffering and especially what he sometimes referred to as the Black Dog. There was a darkness that sometimes came over him and it was a real struggle in his life. I mean, he says for example the strong are not always vigorous, the wise are not always ready, the brave are not always courageous and the joyous are not always happy. So this is a realistic view of the Christian life. He is speaking into the realities that we all experience and he is speaking out of his own personal experience. And what he brings is a wonderful encouragement to lay our burdens on the Lord and to trust his promises even in the darkest times. The strength of your faith doesn’t affect your arrival in heaven, but it makes a huge difference to your experience along the way.