Why Heaven Won't Be Full of Boasters: Faith vs. Works

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Good evening, and once again it's good to have everybody back and all of you on television. I trust that you're taking your Bibles and do even as we do in our class, take a pencil and paper and write down some of these things and go back and study them and become a Bible student. See, this is why I think Christianity is in such trouble tonight, is because people will not study. Don't take anybody at their word, not mine, not anybody else, because, you see, humans are humans, and we have to come back and see what the book says. We were just talking during our break, you know, denominations are all alike. They all build a wall around their people, and if they happen to be unfortunate to be in a denomination where they don't hear these truths, where are they? They're out of luck. And so this has been my ministry, I think, for over 20 years, is that I get people from every denomination you can think of, and I just call it knocking down some walls and getting people to see not necessarily what some denomination says or thinks, but be able to discern from the Word by itself, as the Holy Spirit, of course, gives us wisdom. All right, let's continue on then in this age of grace, maybe at least for a few moments, and then we're going to be looking at how the age of grace will end, what's going to happen, and what's going to follow, because, like I mentioned a couple of days ago, several in their letters have asked that we would at least take a little time to point out end-time events before we go back to Genesis, and so we're going to try to do that, which again reminds me how we do appreciate your letters. I told some of mine, I read them all two, three times, and so they will not end up anywhere but in our own file, and we enjoy them. All right, Romans chapter 3, enough said, huh? Verse 25 now, continue on where we left off. "...whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation..." Now, that's a big, long word that throws a curve at a lot of people, and the best way I can define propitiation is that everything that was pictured in that tabernacle—now, we haven't come far enough here on our television program to get to Exodus, we'll be there someday if the Lord tarries—but everything that was depicted in that tabernacle experience, all the material that went into the building of it, all the furniture, the Ark of the Covenant, and the candlestick, and the altar of incense, and the table of showbread, the labor of cleansing, the brazen altar, every one of those furnishings, are all a picture of Christ in His work of redemption. And so that's really what propitiation is. It is just that complete, overall work that Christ accomplished by His death, burial, and resurrection. All right, reading on then, verse 25, "...whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation..." How? "...through faith," through our believing and trusting in His blood, "...to declare His righteousness," not ours, but His, "...for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God." And then verse 26, my, what a loaded verse, "...to declare," I say at this time, His, Christ's, righteousness, "...that He," the Lord Jesus, "...that He might be," what? "...just." See, God can never be anything but fair. A lot of people think, well, someone who has never heard, and they go to an eternal doom, lest you mean to tell me that God can do that in fairness? Absolutely. You know why? Paul writes to Titus in chapter 2, "...now the grace of God would bring us salvation, hath," past tense, "...appeared unto," how many? "...all men." Yes, everyone has had an opportunity, even though we like to think that maybe they haven't. But somehow or other, God can reckon that He is absolutely just in everything that He does. But this is the other side of the coin. He is going to be just by justifying what person? That sinner who believeth in Jesus. Now you see, I'm trying to point out these verses. How do we come to this point of salvation? By believing. And what's the other word for believing? Faith plus how much? Nothing. See? Faith plus nothing. That is for salvation. I'm not talking about now the Christian life or the Christian works or anything like that. I'm talking about salvation. It is faith plus nothing that He can be the justifier, verse 26 again, of him who believeth in Christ or in Jesus. Now look at verse 27. Why does it have to be that way? Where is? What's the word? Boasting. How many times haven't I said to some of you at least, if we could get to heaven on works, what would heaven be? The most awful place on earth, wouldn't it? Because you would constantly be listening to somebody tell you all that He did to get there. That's what it would be. It would be boring. You'd see somebody coming down that golden street and what would you do? You'd cross over so you wouldn't have to listen to him again tell you all that he did to get there. And so it can't be by works. It's going to have to be totally by the finished work of the cross so that none of us, as he said, where is boasting? What happened to it? It's excluded. What excludes it? The law of works? No, that would bring it in. But the law of faith and grace, see, that leaves no room for boasting. And now verse 28, therefore, since it's without works, it's without the law, therefore we conclude that a man is justified, how? By faith. Plus anything? It's not here. We're justified by faith without the deeds or the works of the law. Now verse 29, is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? And how does He answer? Yes, of the Gentiles also. All right, now then let's go over, turn a page to Romans chapter 4, because I'm stressing the faith plus nothing for a few moments, because if not in this half hour, then we certainly will in the next one. We're going to look at why we are not just saved to then go and live carelessly. I know that shakes up a lot of people when they hear that we're saved by faith plus nothing. Well, yes, we're saved by faith plus nothing, but what does God expect of us? Well, just like the example of that slave that was taken home to that beautiful Roman villa. What did that slave automatically feel he should do? Be the best servant he knew how to be because of what that master had done on his behalf. All right, now Romans chapter 4. Paul comes back and he uses the analogy of Abraham. And he says, what shall we say then that Abraham our father is pertaining to the flesh hath come? For if Abraham were justified by works, by doing something, then he also could what? He could boast. That's what it means to glory. Oh, he could brag. He could stop everybody on the golden strand and tell them all that he did to get there, see? But what does the Scripture say? He could never do it before God. God will never let anyone be a debtor to him. And you see, if you try to work for your salvation, that's what you're doing. You're putting God in debt. You're telling God, you owe it to me. And we'll never put God in our debt. Then verse 3, for what saith the Scripture? Abraham what? You see that? Now, of course, the law hadn't been given, but even so, Abraham didn't do anything but believe. And when God saw the man's faith, what did he do? He accounted it as righteousness. Not Abraham's, but the imputed righteousness of God, see? And then verse 4 and 5, and then we'll go to another portion. Now to him that worketh is a reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt, see? But, the flip side to that again, but to him that worketh not, but what? Believeth. Now, you see, all the things that I could put in there that aren't there, but to him that believeth on him who justifies what kind of a person? The ungodly. How many times haven't I heard, haven't my wife come home from work and she'll have had someone tell her, and I'm sure all of you have heard it, well, when I can get rid of this awful habit, when I can get rid of the booze, when I can get rid of this, when I can get rid of that, then I'll be able to let God save me. Haven't you heard it? Sure, when I can clean up my act, when I can live it, then I'll be ready to get saved. Listen, there isn't a man on earth that can do that. It's impossible. So where do we have to let God save us? Right where we are. And then he takes care of the things that have to be taken care of. So, to him that worketh not, but to the person who believes on him who justifies the ungodly, and what does it say? His faith. Now, again, we were talking at break time. Even the Jew, when they came out of Egypt and all the way up through their Old Testament history, they were under the covenant promises of Abraham, weren't they? I mean, God had promised that they were his covenant people. That was the umbrella. But under that umbrella of the covenant, what did it take for a genuine salvation of that Jew? A personal faith. It still had to be a personal salvation, even though they were under those covenant promises. See, and this is what threw a curve at so many Jews. They thought, well, we're of the seed of Abraham. We don't have anything to worry about. And they couldn't comprehend it had to be a personal faith. Now, even under law, even under all the ramifications of the system of even Judaism, what was the basic premise of their salvation? Faith. See? Faith. What prompted them to keep the sacrifices? God had told how to do it. And when they did it on the basis of faith, they were accepted. You go all the way back to Cain and Abel. What does Hebrews 11 say about Abel? By faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Why was it more excellent? Because Abel did what God said to do. Cain didn't. And it's that simple premise all the way through Scripture. And so now for us, we have to have a personal faith. Again, I have to remind myself and my hearers, before we left Iowa, and we'd been having a lot of home Bible classes up there, and we happened to have our last meeting before we left to come down to Oklahoma. In the home of a family who were with one of these denominations who did more or less teach that umbrellaism, I call it, where as long as they'd gone through the prescribed ritual that their church advocated, they were under the umbrella. And I was looking at one of their textbooks of Sunday school or whatever as we were having coffee at break time. And the gentleman of the home came over, and he said, now, last he said, you won't see anything there that interests you. And I said, well, I don't see anything amiss. I don't see anything I would disagree with. And then he pointed it out. Well, he said, we just sort of teach as though everybody, as long as they've gone through the prescribed ritual of membership and so on and so forth, they're in. But he says, it wasn't until we came to your class that my wife and I realized it had to be a personal salvation. And they're still walking with the Lord today. Now, that's exactly what I try to stress. You can be in the best of denominations, and you can be under their umbrella, but that by itself is not going to put you into the body of Christ. It has to be a personal faith in the work of the cross. Now then, let's go to Ephesians. Let's go to Ephesians. Chapter 1. And the reason I'm stressing salvation so much these last programs or two is that I've found over the years that really there are very few people who hear and understand the plan of salvation. I could stand here for the next 24 hours and give you examples of people who thought they were saved and what they had done to bring in that kind of thinking, and then they suddenly realized that they had never entered into a personal faith in the finished work of the cross. And I told my classes several weeks ago, my fervent prayer daily is that no one will sit under my teaching over any length of time, and if they should pass off in a heart attack or something like that and go out into eternity lost. Oh, that would just strike me if I could think such a thing. And all I can ask is God let no one sit under my teaching without coming to a true knowledge of this tremendous salvation. All right, Ephesians chapter 1. Drop down to verse 13, and again only for sake of time. There's tremendous verses up ahead of this. But coming in at verse 13, he writes, "...in whom," that is Christ of verse 12, "...in whom you also trusted." Now, the word trusted is italicized. It's been added by the translators, but it's implied faith. Trusting and faith and believing are all synonymous. So, "...in whom you also trusted," or placed your faith, or in whom you believed, "...when, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, the good news," and remember that's death, burial, and resurrection. So he said, "...we believed when we heard the gospel, and in whom also," that is in Christ also, "...after you," what? See? Not after you joined the church, not after you went through catechism, not after you were baptized, not after you became a communicant, but after what? After you believed. See how simple it is? How that after you believed, you were then what? Sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Now here comes the new Pauline doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit. You don't see this taught in the Old Testament. You don't see it taught in Christ's earthly ministry that a believer is suddenly not only sealed by the Holy Spirit, but he's indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That's all Pauline doctrine, see? And that's why we have to always come here for our basics, and then we can go out and we can understand all the rest of Scripture. All right? After that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Now, you're in Ephesians, just come on over to chapter 2, verse 1. I'm always stressing, Paul always writes to what class of people? The believer. And so to the believer he says, "...and you he hath," past tense, "...he hath quickened, made alive." You he hath made alive who were, past tense, what? Dead, spiritually dead. Remember what I told you? We're born as sons of Adam, we are spiritually dead, and we have to be regenerated. One of my classes the other night I used for the first time the illustration of what does it mean to have our spirit dead. Well, I like to use the analogy, simple as it may be, and maybe ridiculous to some, but it made sense to me, and so I shared it. You take the battery in your car. If you left the lights on when you came in, when you go home after a while, what's happened to your battery? It's dead. How much use is it? None. And that battery is dead until you do what with it? Charge it from an outside source. You regenerate it. All right, that's where we are as sons of Adam, that that spirit part of us is dead by virtue of sin, but it's not gone. It's not annihilated, but what does it need? It needs regeneration, see? And that's the work of the Spirit in salvation, and the Bible uses the word. We're regenerated, and we're made alive who were dead. Now, when you charge that battery up, now what is it? It's useful. See, it can perform its task. Then verse 2, wherein, in times past, see, before we were saved, and we're all in this category, even if you've been living in a sheltered home life, yet we are all potentially in that kind of an environment and an attitude, a lifestyle, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. Who's that? The old devil, Satan, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had, all of us. Paul did, you did, I did. We had our manner of living, in times past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, and we were by nature. What does that mean? That old Adam nature, see? Remember the old popular song, those of us who are older, way, way back, doing that which, what? Comes naturally. Why does it come naturally? It's just part and parcel of that old nature, and that's exactly how Paul is using the word here, that we were fulfilling that nature that we were born with, as children of wrath, even as others. And then verse 4, what's the first word? But, the flip side, see? Oh, the flip side of that is that God, not you, not me, but God who is rich in mercy, for His great love were with, He loved us, even when we were, what? Dead in sins, He hath quickened, or made us alive together with Christ. Why? By grace are you saved. And then come down to verses 8 and 9, verses that I think that most of you learned as kids in Sunday school or Bible school. For by grace are you saved, how? Through faith, see? Not by works, through faith. And that not of yourselves, salvation is the, what? The gift of God. Now, for a true gift, how much do you work? Nothing. There's nothing you can do, because as soon as you work to pay somebody for giving you a gift, it's no longer a gift, see? It becomes payment for something. And so salvation is a gift. We cannot work for it. Now, we can work after it, and we're going to see that, but you can't work for it. Verse 9, not of works, lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship. Now, in the Greek, you know what that word really is connected to? It's poema in the Greek, from which word you suppose we get? Poem, see? Now, what is a beautiful poem? Oh, it's somebody who has the ability to put all this together in beautiful words and communicate it in rhyme or however you want. It's a work of art in itself, and that's what we are. We are his workmanship. God has formed us. I tried to find it in my Greek lexicon, because I heard years ago a Bible teacher maintain that another word that comes, and maybe it does, I wasn't able to find it, so I'll take his word for it. Another word that comes out of the root of this is symphony. Now, not many people anymore like symphony music, but I still do a certain degree of it. And what is a symphony? It's that whole group of instruments that come together in beautiful harmony, in major and minor chords, and just comes out with all that beautiful music. But what did it take? Boy, it takes some doing to get it all put together, and that's what God has done with us. All right, so we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto what? Here it comes. Of course a believer is to live a different life than the lost person. We are to live and practice these good works, because God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. All right, now since we're here, I'm going to continue on with verses 11, 12, and 13, because I just made the statement, if not in this half hour, in the last one, that beginning with Abraham and all the way up through the Old Testament and well into the New, who did God deal with? Jew only. Jew only, with an exception here and there, but it was Jew only. Now look how Paul puts the frosting on the cake. Wherefore, remember that you, being in times past Gentiles in the flesh, non-Jews, not part of the Abrahamic family or covenant, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision. Now in plain English, what's it saying? The circumcised Jew would call a Gentile what? Uncircumcised. And usually they would add another word, uncircumcised dogs. That was their favorite expression. All right? Verse 12, that at that time, what time? While God was dealing with His covenant people Israel. That at that time, before the age of grace came in, you Gentiles were without Messiah or Christ, aliens, now watch the language, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Now what's a commonwealth? We usually think of it as a nation, an entity. Someone who is not a citizen of that entity is a what? He's an alien, and he's subject for deportation almost at any time. That's where we were while God was dealing with Israel. We were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. We were not Jews. We couldn't partake of those covenant promises. And we were strangers, that is, we Gentiles, strangers from the covenants of promise. We were outside. And what was the lot of the Gentile? Having no hope, see, and without God in the world. Not a very pretty picture, is it? That's for the lot of the Gentile, because God was dealing with those people that He had made different. But now, since He has come to the point that there is no difference, look at the next verse. But now, see, oh, that's not the state now, but now in Christ Jesus, see, once we are in the body of Christ as a result of God's tremendous salvation, His plan of redemption, we've been bought out of that slave market of sin, we have been cleaned, we've been given a new set of clothes, we've been brought into a villa, and now what? Oh, we want to serve Him, see? All right, but now in Christ Jesus, you who at one time were far off, that is, from God and from a spiritual relationship with Him, you who were far off are made nigh how? By the blood of Christ. You see how Paul is constantly bringing everything back to the work of the cross? And now we as Gentiles have been brought into the body. We are part of that bride. Now, what's the whole idea of a bride? Who is she preparing herself for? The groom, see? Christ is going to call the bride to Himself. But before we look at it, we want to remind ourselves, what did Isaac do when he saw the caravan coming, and he saw the dust rolling over that Middle Eastern landscape? He went partway to meet the bride. And you remember that as he met the bride out there in that Middle Eastern field, he took her back home, and there he consummated the marriage, and he what? He loved her. Now, in our next half hour, we're going to see that that's exactly the setting when Christ gets ready to call His bride home. We're going to see how that all of a sudden, that vessel that we looked at a couple weeks ago here on the board will be full. The last person has been saved. The body is complete. What's going to happen? Oh, the trumpet will sound. Christ will leave heaven, and we're going to have that great resurrection of all the saints, and then we'll go and meet Him in the air. We'll see it in our next half hour program. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you, and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.