I call your attention to John, chapter 6, verses 28 and 29, verses 28 and 29. Those are the verses of focus, I will read to grab the context, however, from verse 26. Sorry for the hesitation. I keep meaning to buy some bifocals and every time I climb up here, I remember I didn't buy them. Beginning at verse 26. Jesus answered them, truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you are, you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that parishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you. For on him, God the Father has set his seal. Then they said to him, what must we do to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. The Lord bless the reading of his holy and inherent Word. One of the great pioneers in our denomination, and certainly one of the great speakers of the Christian faith was lost to us this September. On September 9, 2007, the Christian church celebrated the homegoing of Dr. D. James Kennedy. You might know Dr. Kennedy from either his prolific writing, in the many books that he has written, or perhaps as a television preacher, as those services were covered at Coal Ridge Presbyterian Church. In his funeral service that they had there at Coal Ridge, one of the men who stood up, I believe it was the director of evangelism explosion, stood up and gave testimony of how Dr. Kennedy ministered to him when he first came to the church. When he first came to the church, he assumed that he was a believer. He had been raised in a Christian culture and environment, and he came and he with confidence was going to the new members' class, really expecting that to be nothing extraordinary, but instead just a par for the course or a routine that you have to pass through in order to become a member of the church. In that course that he was in, that Dr. Kennedy was teaching, he heard a statement that James Kennedy made that shook him to his feet. And it was something along the lines of this, and I paraphrase, there are many people who assume that they are going to heaven, who believe that they have got it, but they will find that they miss heaven by 18 inches, by 18 inches. What a peculiar statement. Was this some sort of an illusion to the broadway and the narrowway? What was he meaning by 18 inches? I believe our text today illuminates it, and I think that what we have in our text ought to be one of those profound statements that is remembered by Christians. There are profound statements that if I just make the statement or read the phrase, you probably know to whom it would be attributed. For example, outside of the scriptures, I'm sure you recognize these. Give me liberty or give me death. Who has not heard that fabulous statement by one of our revolutionary pioneers? Because that's not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, a presidential quotation. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Again, a simple statement, but because of this profundity, it has stuck with us through history. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall, or perhaps one that ended the campaign and presidential hopes of a president seeking reelection, read my lips, no new taxes. I had one by the president previous to this one regarding a scandal that he was in that's been repeated over and over, but I'm afraid it probably does not merit repeating from a pulpit. From the Bible, hero Israel, the Lord thy God, the Lord is one, a phrase, a scripture passage that was meditated on and repeated by the Jews over and over and over again as they declared the fidelity to the one living God. The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear, a verse of comfort. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever. How many of us have not heard a verse such as this? You are the salt of the earth. Is that one unfamiliar to you? He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation, or perhaps this one. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If you've done any shopping in Christian bookstores at all, or if you get some of the catalogues, you may even have a bar of soap on it like I had at one time with this verse. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Now when I was little, I knew that washing my hands was hard, but I didn't know that I would need such inspiration on my bar of soap as that. I think we can add to these now, John chapter 6, verse 29. This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has set. Us believe that that passage merits our remembrance. This is the work of God that you believe in whom he has set. Again, placing this in context, Jesus had just fed the over 5,000 we've decided because 5,000 heads of household were counted. The people had recognized Jesus's miraculous work, Jesus not having even time to eat or sleep, essentially fled with his disciples to the other side of the sea of Galilee, six miles across and went up onto the mountain and the people recognizing it was gone, walked ten miles around, found him there, stayed under his teaching throughout the day, and at the evening came, without food, they found that they were in need of food and Jesus fed them by bringing to them the miraculous feeding of what is known as the feeding of the 5,000. That evening he sent his disciples across the water again. After about three miles, a tremendous storm struck and the disciples were fighting against the storm, Jesus walked to them on the water and Peter displaying great faith stepped out of the water to Jesus, but of course in his flesh and humanity lacked perfect faith and so had to call upon Christ for rescue, taking his eyes off of Christ and seeing the waves around him. Jesus then entering into the boat that the disciples were immediately on the other side, the folks on the 5,000, they've had their bread and they've had their fish, they had their evening sleep and now they're up in the morning. Maybe they were looking for breakfast, maybe they were looking for Jesus, but they couldn't find him, and not finding him, they saw that the boat was gone and so some other boats came to the shore, they boarded those boats, went across the sea and some I assume some would also be walking, but they made it to the other side of the sea and then they found Jesus there and asked Jesus as we mentioned last week, how did you come to be here or what are you doing here? And Jesus not answering that question says to them, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, now we might say they certainly did see signs with the eye, but they did not interpret or grasp the signs because the signs pointed to some heavenly truth that Christ was the bread of life, come from God, the man of from heaven, that would bring them salvation but they didn't see that, all they saw was the bread on their plate, their deliverance had come and all they saw was one who would provide food, but because you ate your fill of the loaves, that's why they were looking for it. It's almost lunchtime by now. They missed breakfast, Jesus wasn't there, he's on the other side, they get in the boats, they go across, it's got to be getting close to lunch, their stomachs are growling and they come up and they say where have you been? Have you ever fed a stray, have you ever had strays come by maybe some of you probably that guys, although I shouldn't say that, sometimes that's the other way around, but there's usually one in every couple who's sort of the hard core or not going to feed strays and the other one is the compassionate, oh, but they look so hungry. Look at the South skinny they are, we have to feed them and the one that's hard-hearted says, yes, you feed them one time, they'll be around here forever and the one that's solved says, oh, but if we just give them just a little bit to which we would then look at the scriptures and I won't tell you which one I am, but I'm telling you, the strays will not love you, they will only know that you are a source of food. They will not see your grace and your love and your compassion and your self-sacrificial giving of resources to them so that they might live yet another day, all that is in their mind is, well, I've been looking for food and finally I found a source and a home. Jesus had them coming to him, I don't want to call him strays, but with that same sort of a mentality, all they could see was he gave us something and we want some more and Jesus is scolding him and he's saying to them, you can't be seeking me only because you want material things. You came to me because you were seeking what you can get and you don't have any idea what I gave you that for. I didn't give it to you so you could get it, I gave it to you so you could see something else, but you're so focused on what I gave you that all you can do is consume that and then have nothing at all. He says to them, do not labor for the food that parishes. He's pointing directly to his meal, do not labor for that food. It parishes, it molds, it rots, it decays. We can say the same thing about everything in our material living. Everything you put your hands on will mold, rot, and decay. Do not labor for that, but the food that endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give you. For on him, God the Father has set his seal. Two things to point out that they missed and what Jesus said says, do not labor, the Son of Man will give it to you. He's saying it's not works. You can't work off to get this and it is something I will give to you freely. Do not labor for the food that parishes. The Son of Man will give it to you and then how did they respond? They said to them, well then, what must we do to be doing the works of God? What must we do to be doing the works of God? Jesus is just told them, you can't do anything, I'm going to give it to you and their immediate response is, well then what do we need to do to get it? Is it as clear to you as it is to me that either they are not listening or Jesus is speaking in a way that they cannot comprehend or maybe both. What must we do? Their faith is based on the context of their understanding, their frame of reference. Remember the Jewish culture was one of religious piety works theology. They believed that for obedience of the law, you got eternal life. That was what they knew. It's what they understood. It's all the religion that they knew. It's what they possessed. And so every comment that is made, every teaching that Christ gives them without the aid of the Holy Spirit, they will make fit in their frame of reference because it's the only religion that they have to work from. And so they'll keep trying to force the sayings of Christ, even those where he says contrary to their question, do not labor for the food that parishes. I will give this to you freely. And instead they say, well, okay, if we're going to get it, we must be obedient. We must display piety to be able to earn and merit this. And Jesus is saying to them, that's not the way this works. We also are subject to this same issue of the frame of reference. But this idea of works, theology might be foreign to us. But the whole idea of picking up on the truth of Scripture, we need to understand, we also work from what's called presuppositions that are the things that we suppose beforehand. How many of our decisions today are based upon issues in our past? How many of our direction we take today is based on misdirection or tragedy of the past? Not only events of the day, but on the issues of yesterday. How many decisions tomorrow are based upon what we learned before? When I was little to give you an illustration of this. When I was a little big sci-fi fan, I used to watch the Jetsons a little bit. We didn't really get that channel. And I used to watch Star Trek, the old one, the real one. In those, and my wife, that was, she even had a neighbor who swore up and down that everything on Star Trek was going to come true. Everything. Well, lo and behold, there are a number of things on there that actually have, but that's something else. Star Trek and the Jetsons, and the whole idea of getting rid of world peace, of eradicating disease, of hovering cars. Remember those old black and white movies that displayed future for us? And they showed strange architecture. All the buildings were sort of rounded off, and cars had canopies on them like jet aircraft instead of what we have now. Why was that? Why did people believe in picture that that was the future? Because from where they were, the natural evolution of technology, the natural progress of things led to that. Where did the canopy on the Jetsons car come from? We had just started flying jet aircraft. They had canopies. So naturally, that's progress. So therefore, all progress will continue in that same direction. Why the strange architecture? Go back and look at the houses built in the 60s and 70s by people that had means they were doing some interesting things with them. So those with a vision for the future exaggerated those elements of architectural style. They exaggerated all of the technologies. We were making progress in science. We were making progress in medicine. And so therefore, they exaggerated that to say we are going to eradicate all disease. They could think so. Polio, smallpox. All of these things were progress that were made. So naturally, when we approach religion, having the same sort of mind, although we live in a different future because reality is sometimes stranger than fiction, we don't live in the Jetsons or the Star Trek future. The disease has not been eradicated and there is not world peace. In fact, our last century was the bloodiest in history and it looks to continue. So this mindset where we build upon what we already know, we build upon what we already know restricts us in our understanding if we don't submit to the spirit when we come to the word. What must I do to be saved? The Jews did not lack for zeal. Just before the service today I was speaking with Susan in her Sunday school class and remembered a verse based on something we were talking with about rather in Romans 10, 1 and 2. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God. They have a zeal for the Lord. They have a energy. They want to serve the Lord but not according to knowledge, but not according to knowledge. They have a zeal for the Lord. They want to get in there and serve the Lord but not according to knowledge, not according to the truth of the Bible in other words. They want to be about the Lord's business but not the Lord's business but their business which they attribute to the Lord. For being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God's righteousness. This is the story of the Jews, Paul years lamenting the nature of the Jewish people. He's saying they wanted to establish their own righteousness so therefore they couldn't even see Christ the righteousness sent from God because they were seeking their own and not the righteousness of the Lord. The Philippian Jailer in Acts 16 displays the same sort of misunderstanding. He says to Paul, what must I do? What must I do to be saved? And Paul gives him the same answer we have here believe in the name, believe in the name, works theology or works attitude, a religious piety. Let's remove works because when we talk about works we tend to think of people who are just doing too much in the church or people who are trying to be saved by their moral conduct and that's really not the problem because there's not a whole lot of Christianity today that is too moral or too engaged in the church. So I don't think that we struggle with works theology for salvation. But piety we do. Piety is more personal. Piety is where people believe that they've internalized some sort of a religious scheme to where they themselves will be pious before the Lord, all by themselves in their own little world, that they will be faithful and they will practice certain religious disciplines and that God will be very well pleased with them and it's not works because they're not doing it in front of anybody but they are relying upon their own piety and it's not according to knowledge. It's not according to the counsel of the Word of God. It's not necessarily as if they're making it up. They might be good spiritual disciplines but they're not attached to that which God has revealed in his Word. Believing is Jesus described it here is the work. Believing is the work. What work must we do of God to be saved? Jesus said the work of God is that you believe. It's that you believe. Let's take a quick look at the anatomy of faith. Just what is faith? What is it to believe? Because I think that lies at the root of our issue. What does it mean to believe? We call people to do it all the time. We ought to know what it is. Just believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The people who were standing there with the Lord Jesus Christ having their bellies just emptied of bread and fish believed in Jesus Christ. He was standing right there. If you ask them do you believe in Jesus said, well yes he's right here. I see him. I believe in him. Do you believe that he can work wonders? Well yes. Why do you think that I walked 10 miles around the lake and why do you think that I've come all the way back over here? I saw him work miracles. I saw him heal people and I've seen him feed 5,000 plus out on the lawn from nothing. Of course I believe in his miracles but that seems to not be the belief that results in eternal life because Jesus is not commending them for that belief. He's not saying you believe in that sort of thing and that's just wonderful. I'm glad that you do. That I have miracle-making power but we find today especially and I know I've been rough on on preachers of the airwaves. Not all of them are terrible. I assure you but there is an entire religious cult made up of people whose faith is in miracles. Their whole religious conduct is oriented towards their whole focus is if I just believe enough I'll get my miracle and that's what these were coming to Christ for on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. They were approaching him and they said we have been chasing and chasing and chasing after you and Jesus is telling them all you see is the food that I gave you. You don't understand what it was pointing towards. The anatomy of faith. First of all and we've talked about it before I only mention it because we don't need to exclude it. The anatomy of faith begins with calling. The external call is the work of the word. The preaching and the teaching of the word, the reading of the word, the meditation, the study of God's word, the returning to the word of God so that we can understand the gospel. Sinclair Ferguson who was a contemporary of ours today. I believe he's in Columbia, South Carolina. He says this, however paradoxical it seems to our natural mind is one of the facts of spiritual reality that practical Christian living is based on understanding and knowledge. We have an aversion to study. We think that it is so unspiritual to study God's word because we've attached faith with emotion. We believe emotional outpouring is faith. We believe that's evidence of faith and as a church oftentimes people hear an appeal to an emotional response. Assuming and believing that that must be the work of the Spirit to move you to emotion as if we never shed a tear on any other occasion as if we never laugh as if we are never filled with joy as if we can never be happy as if nothing ever happens in our life to move us in any other way if we ever experience emotion it must be a religious event I suppose based upon that theology and so the study of God's word is diminished even viewed as unspiritual and I am not speaking out of school. I was approached by a member of a congregation as a chaplain who pled with me please stop studying the Bible so that the Spirit will use you and my response is for what? To do what? To tell people what? To guide them into what?
And this was considered to be one of the more mature ladies she was a leader of the women's ministries. The external call is the word we can equate it with the visible church that which we see the outward physical manifestation of the ministry of God then there's the internal call the internal calls what we studied in John 3 the being born again the work of the Spirit to breathe a life into a life with soul and only when these two are joined together can there be belief and faith. Study of God's word without the work of the Spirit without the calling of God on the soul results in nothing but knowledge abstract knowledge nosticism the work of God's Spirit without the scriptures has nothing to direct a person to believe in what will you believe? You just simply believe in belief I suppose what is it that you will believe our what's mr. confession of faith and again I lament because we have had access to the confessions of our faith since the beginning of our church
and yet we have accessed them so little that they remain unfamiliar to us most of our questions of the faith have already been answered and written down and here we find aptly titled in chapter 14 which is page 856 in your pure hymnal if you're interested of saving faith the grace of faith whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the word by which also and by the administration of sacraments and prayer it is increased and strengthened you've heard us refer to the means of grace and how it is through the means of grace that we minister to the word of God to the people of God the means of grace of the ministry of the word sacraments prayer and those when they are conjoined with the Spirit of God speak of eternal life that's why Paul would say how will they know if they do not hear and how will they hear if we do not go and preach the word of God to them so what is faith faith saying Augustine said faith is to believe what you do not yet see the reward for this faith is to see what you believe or perhaps Hebrews 11 serves us better now faith is the assurance of things hope for and the conviction of things not seen it's remarkable how many people are not sure whether what they have is saving faith how many people dwell in the church and the household of God on this earth and the visible church and they know they have something but in their heart of hearts they aren't sure if what they have is actually saving faith perhaps by looking at the elements of faith perhaps it is because they have a zeal but a lack knowledge of the things of God perhaps it can be fortified through a return to the word of God in Ephesians 3 17 we find that the object of faith is so that Christ made dwell in our hearts through faith the union of ourselves with Christ is the objective of faith faith is that we would be unified with Christ John 6 40 for this is the will of the Father that everyone who looks on the sun and believes in him should have eternal life looking at Christ and believing in Christ results in eternal life this idea of belief belief belief belief but what is belief what is belief if the people were standing there with Jesus and they still had the crumbs of bread on their lips and yet that was not the right belief then what is as necessary as Christ is the salvation faith is necessary to Christ we must have Christ to have salvation but we must have faith to have Christ it's a necessary and we cannot have it without it what is then what is the bond of our union with him is faith faith is the bond that which holds it together faith is the instrument of justification faith is the principle of sanctification faith is the means of salvation faith is this knowledge plus a scent or agreement which results in trust trust trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey knowledge of the scriptures with a scent or agreement or a grasping results and trust so there are two two essential ingredients then the first is an ascent to reveal truth the people again believed in Jesus they saw him they believed that he fed them he believed that he did miracles and yet their belief was not a saving faith in John 626 you are seeking me because you ate your fill of loaves again a belief in miracles a belief in something other than the substance of Christ ministry is not saving faith it is an apprehension of Christ and his salvation our generation is misunderstood the distinction between faith and feeling us again as one of one of my favorite authors actually us Guinness in his book I love the title too fit bodies and fat minds why evangelicals don't think and what to do about it it's a short book because of course we don't think so we can't read very much but it's a great book and he analyzes it very succinctly us Guinness says this there's some tension between heart and mind between intellect and emotion it's a recurring theme in Christian history yet despite this condition a hallmark of the Puritan mind was its commitment to the unity of truth and thus the integration of faith in life worship and discipleship faith in learning when the first great great awakening occurred religious experience was favored over over learning in a short mind there was a polarization between heart and head that existed and he gives a very cute way of illustrating this and I have to give him the credit it comes from the Wizard of Oz if you've seen that ten men scarecrow are talking together why don't you walk around the hole as the ten man I don't know enough reply the scarecrow cheerfully I had a stuff with straw you know and that's why I'm going to Oz to ask him for some brains oh I see said the ten man but after all brains are not the best things in the world have you any inquired the scarecrow nope my head is quite empty answered the woodman but once I had brains and a heart also so having tried them both I should rather have a heart all the same said the scarecrow I shall ask for brains instead of a heart for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one I shall take the heart return the ten men for the brains do not make one happy and happiness is the best thing in the world why does it have to be either or why is it that if you're smart you can't love if you love you must be stupid why is it that we cannot be intelligent lovers of the God why is it that we can't be knowledgeable of the scriptures and the scriptures lead us to commitment and devotion and being moved by our faith and love of the Lord certainly objective faith leads us to feelings of love feelings of security feelings of commitment but today religious speakers will press their listeners for those feelings without a foundation that is based on the content of truth rc sprawl said this and I know some of you have become familiar with him before I believe in I must believe that before I can believe in anything I must believe that it is something which is content oriented truth while you can be aware of something true but not have faith in it you cannot have faith in something that you do not know faith has to have an object faith must have a subject it must have an object it must have an orientation towards something it can't just be faith in faith that's why it rings so hollow to hear people say at least they believe in something what what did they believe in something all of these are some things that do not lead to salvation humanism is something the self is something works is something christ is the only thing that leads to salvation it is not adequate to say at least they believe in something as if just the virtue of a people who have belief is enough belief in faith in belief is not saving faith belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ is the only saving faith people in John 6 were ready to follow the Jesus of miracles but not Jesus their Redeemer John 173 this is eternal life that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent in Colossians 2 2 there it speaks of the assurance of understanding and it speaks of the knowledge of God's mystery see the scriptures are not silent on on exhorting Christians to know to hold on Timothy was told by Paul hold fast to the doctrines of the faith that were delivered to you he's telling him don't let go of the sound words of wisdom that have been passed on to you we don't know our confessions of faith because we have let go of the sound words of wisdom that have been passed on to us and we are satisfied with a faith in faith oftentimes but simply knowing an objective truth about Christ doesn't save yet in 1 Peter 3 15 we read always be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that's in you a defense of what a defense of what how can we defend something that we do not know and yet again I repeat simply knowing it doesn't save you simply knowing some objective truth even being convinced of it doesn't save you someone may know and agree about everything we would say about Christ but still lack saving faith hence is the era of nosticism James tells us as much in chapter 2 verse 19 you believe that God is one you do well it was even the demons believe and shudder so there is this cognitive aspect of faith which is often neglected today and today's focus on personal piety knowledge and a scent that objective data that is revealed and our agreement that it has persuaded us that it is true but then there is the act of refuge or the act of union that is part of faith these are spelled out by Francis Turton in one of his books which comes it's in our church history he's one of the writers of our church history what is the act of refuge in union being convinced that our only hope is found in Christ having now heard and seen Christ in full disclosure of who he is we desire him and flee to him alone we see ourselves as we are we understand our wretched estate we understand our helplessness and hopelessness and we know that only as we flee to Christ can we be saved that's conviction of belief we can believe a lot of things but we may not hold a conviction of belief we feel our own misery and we hunger and we thirst for the righteousness of Christ alone like the prodigal when he said at the verge of starvation I will rise and go to my father this is what we call receiving Christ when we let go of all that we think is our redemption in this life and rest in him alone I can remember growing up I went to public pool and there was a high dive and if you've ever done a high dive jumped off of a high dive if you did it when you were young you might remember the very first time it's a little traumatic I approached the high dive and I looked and I knew how high it was it's written on the side I saw the pool and I could see the depth of the pool and I knew the length of the pool I knew all the I knew the water was wet I knew everything about it I knew where the locker rooms were I knew about how many people were in the pool how many steps it would take to ascend the ladder to the diving board I ascended the ladder I walked out onto the edge of the diving board and looking there at the edge of the diving board down at the water it seemed twice the height that it said that it advertised it was on the side I kept looking and I kept looking now at that point I knew a lot about the pool and I could have learned more I could have learned about the chlorine and what the pH balance was and I could have walked off that diving board and taught classes on pool and high dive but I've never jumped from the high dive I have never committed myself to the pool I walked around it I knew about it I observed it I believed it was there I knew that it was wet and I knew there were people in the pool and I knew there were people jumping off the high dive but when I stood there myself the whole prospect of leaning into that where eventually I would fall I'm not equating this with a leap of faith I'm equating it with decisive engagement with committing ourselves without reservation no turning back no tether no line no safety cord back to the world because we lack any doubt that Christ can save nothing to save us I had no way on man high dive that I was going to jump and be able to stop midstream and say you know this was a mistake and turn and climb back up once I jumped I was committed how many Christians come and walk around the pool even as they sit in the pew and have yet have yet to be so fully convinced that Christ and Christ alone is their hope for eternity again as Beverly has told me to have an eternal perspective on all the decisions of life how many have lacked that sort of perspective and in lacking that have continued to circle and circle and circle 18 inches how do we miss having by 18 inches it's the distance between the head and the heart it's a difference between knowing and being 18 inches the difference between the head and the heart we must have the head I can't believe in something if I don't know it you have to introduce me to Christ if I'm to believe in Christ and if I'm to understand Christ you have to teach me of Christ and yet if the heart if the person if my whole person is then not committed and if I can't give myself totally over to Christ if I reserve part of that for me or for someone else then the 18 inches between what I have learned and who I have become is how much I will miss having by James Montgomery boys I'll end with this illustration James Montgomery boys in his commentary on John has the story of Philemon it's a beautiful story and then it's an educational story we often neglect the book of Philemon because it's only one chapter and it wouldn't take me but three months to preach it but it's an engaging story of a slave Onesimus who most likely has stolen from his owner and fled and we don't get any sense that Philemon pursued Onesimus but somehow Onesimus as he went off to Rome and he most likely got in trouble because he finds himself in jail and he meets Paul and Paul shares the gospel with Onesimus and he comes to believe totally a man of faith and Paul tells him you have to go back and you have to make right with Philemon and so he writes him a letter and he folds it he sends it with Onesimus who goes back to Philemon and Philemon must see him coming in the distance and he calls to his wife after he opens a letter because his wife has addressed as well and he says well look who is here old Onesimus and Onesimus probably says to him before you speak please read this letter it's from someone you know Paul Onesim Philemon loves Paul he must have been overjoyed to hear that Onesimus knew of Paul well how is he how is he doing well he's in prison is he well he's fine he sends you his greetings and he sends me with this letter now Philemon must be curious because not only has Onesimus returned and for an escape slave the penalty could very well be death so not only has Onesimus returned to his owner Philemon but he brings greetings from Paul so he opens a letter and he reads and in here Paul commends Philemon and he talks about their brotherly love for one another and then he puts here if you consider me a partner receive him that is Onesimus as you would receive me and listen closely if he has wronged you at all or owes you anything charge that to my account I Paul write this with my own hand I will repay it to say nothing of you're owing me even of your own self this is the message of the gospel Jesus said in John chapter 6 it's the work of God it's not your work it's the work of God that you would believe and we talked about the internal call but is the work of God the spirit of God that you would believe and what is this belief result in not that Onesimus will be received on his own merit but Paul is saying whatever this man owes you whatever it is that he has done I will pay none of us can do any work that will get us into heaven not a single work we can't get there through study it's commendable as that is and as much as I've encouraged it today we can't get there through faith and faith through pietism through sitting down and spending some time doing some personal devotions each morning through church attendance or the lack thereof only when we recognize that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags and we are helpless and hopeless will any of this make sense up until then it is moral teachings that are good for the family when we recognize that we are going to die and that we will go to one of two places and that what we desire is to be in God's presence in heaven forever for our soul cries out for salvation and recognizing that we have to know that God has told us the only way that you will get there is if I pay the price for you in Jesus Christ and then our response is to say then not me but Christ I follow Christ obey Christ I live for Christ all that I have belongs to Christ and I trust the sovereign hand of God even in this wilderness in which we travel for it is God who feeds me by the bread of life which is his son that's faith faith is not standing on a high dive faith is not speculating about what it would be like to dive faith is not pretending we have ever dove faith is committing ourselves to the Lord in whole knowing the object of our faith because we love the word and committing ourselves in our life don't miss having by 18 inches don't miss it by a mile don't miss it at all it's the work of God that you would believe