The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his101/believe.arj/BELIEVE.TXT

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The following message was delivered at Grace Community Church in Panorama
City, California, By John MacArthur Jr..  It was transcribed from the tape,
GC 80-56, titled "True Belief."  A copy of the tape can be received by
writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412.

I have made every effort to ensure that an accurate transcription of the
original tape was made.  Please note that at times sentence structure may
appear to vary from accepted English conventions.  This is due primarily to
the techniques involved in preaching and the obvious choices I had to make in
placing the correct punctuation in the article.

It is my intent and prayer that the Holy Spirit will use this transcription
of the sermon, "True Belief" to strengthen and encourage the true Church of
Jesus Christ.

Scriptures quoted in this message are from the New American Standard Bible.


                                 TRUE BELIEF


I. INTRODUCTION

     It is my special privilege to receive mail from all around the world.
     And its a joy to sit down from time to time and just go through it, and
     see how God is using the extended ministry of our church in the lives of
     many folks.

     Yesterday, I was here studying through the day and I opened a letter that
     found its way to my desk.  It was sent on the 21st of this month, just a
     few days before Christmas, and this is what it said:

     "I am writing to you to ask, 'How I can be saved?'  I know that I am a
     sinner and will go to Hell forever unless someone helps me.  I know that
     the Bible says, if I believe on the Lord Jesus I will be saved, but I
     don't know what believe means.  Could you possibly write to me as soon
     as possible and tell me what I must do?"

     I thought to myself, "that's a long way to go to find an answer to a
     fairly simple question."  What does it mean to believe?  He says, "I
     know that I am a sinner, and I know that the Bible says that, if I
     believe on the Lord Jesus I will be saved, but I don't know what believe
     means."

     You know, a lot of times, we throw around words that we don't know what
     they mean.  If someone came to you and said, "I want to know how to
     saved," and you said to them, "Well, you must believe."  And they said,
     "Well, what does believe mean?"  What would you say?

     Certainly, we should be very adept at answering that question, because
     that's the most substantive question in the process of evangelism, "What
     does it mean to be believe?"  That simple letter really haunted my heart
     all day yesterday, and so I felt sort of pushed by the Spirit of God, to
     address that question this morning.

     We will often say to a person, "Well, believe on the Lord Jesus," and
     that's right.  After all, the Philippian Jailer, in Acts 16:30 said,
     "What must I do to be saved?"  And Paul said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus,
     and you will be saved . . ."  And though it isn't recorded in the text, he
     might have also said, "I don't know what believe means?"  Because in the
     next verse, Paul spoke to him of many things, so maybe he didn't even
     know what believe meant, and had to be instructed.

     The first time you or I ever heard about "believing in the Lord Jesus
     Christ," it probably entered our minds, "What do you mean believe?"  And
     so, we need to address that question.  As we come to the Lord's Table,
     to celebrate His death, to celebrate our salvation, this morning, its
     imperative that we understand the essence of what that salvation re
     quires.

     It requires that we believe, and what does it mean to believe.  I want
     to help all of us this morning to understand this.  For those of you who
     may not be Christians, this may be the most important definition you've
     ever heard in your life.  For those of us who are already Christians, we
     trust that this will arm us for usefulness as we go out to speak to
     other folks, encouraging them to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," and
     needing to be able to define exactly what we mean by that.  So I want to
     address believing two ways, objectively and subjectively.

II.  OBJECTIVELY

     First of all, from an objective, that is an outward, concrete
     perspective, "what does it mean to believe?"  I want you to look in your
     Bible, at the tenth chapter of Romans.  And I would draw your attention
     to two familiar verses, verses 9 and 10.

     And I believe that we have here, a simple statement of the "Objectivity
     of Faith," that is its concrete, observable character.  In verses 9
     and 10, Paul says this, "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus as
     Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
     will be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteous
     ness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

     Now Paul tells us how to be saved.  And he says, to be saved you must
     believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and you must
     confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.  Such belief results in
     righteousness, such confession results in salvation.  May I say quickly
     to you that salvation and righteousness are two sides of the same thing.
     Righteousness is a positive term defining our new life and salvation is
     a negative term defining our new life.  We use the term salvation so
     often that we think of it as positive, but it isn't, its a negative
     term.  It means to be rescued from something.

     It does not necessarily emphasize what we become, it emphasizes what we
     have ceased to be.  To be delivered, to be rescued.  So the positive
     term of salvation is righteousness, the negative term is, in fact,
     salvation.  Two sides to the same thing.  Having been delivered from sin
     and death, we are now made right with God.  Righteousness means to be
     right with God, salvation means to be delivered or rescued from Satan,
     and sin, and death.

     So Paul says, "Here are the two elements, the two very objective,
     concrete, observable elements, with regard to this new life in Christ.
     One is, to confess with the mouth, the other is to believe in the
     heart."  But I want us to look at those because they are very basic.
     Look at verse 10 for a moment, "For with the heart man believes."

     Now what does he believe in?  Well, it says it in verse 9, "He believes
     in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead."  So we are asking
     here for a belief in the resurrection of Christ.  Now you say, "But why
     only that?  How can you say that if you believe in your heart that God
     raised Him from the dead, you'll be saved?  Isn't there a lot more to
     the Gospel; isn't there the Incarnation, God becoming man; isn't there
     the life of Christ, His miraculous work; isn't there the great teaching
     of Jesus; isn't there His substitutionary death on the Cross as a payment
     for your sin and mine; isn't there His ascension into Heaven; what about
     His intercessory work as High Priest; what about His Second Coming as
     KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS returning in glory to rule the world?
     What about all of that?"

     Is it simply enough to believe in your heart that God raised Him from
     the dead?  To believe the objective historical fact of the resurrection,
     is that all?  Why only this?  And the answer is very simple, because the
     Resurrection, is the focal point of everything else in the life and
     ministry of Christ.  And if you believe in the Resurrection, it is a
     foregone conclusion that everything else "falls into place."  For all
     that Christ is and all that He has done and will do is bound up in the
     glorious reality, "That God raised Him from the dead."

     God raised Him from the dead, because He was worthy of resurrection.
     Why?  Because He lived a perfect life.  God raised Him from the dead.
     Why?  Because He had accomplished a perfect redemption.  It assumes that
     the work on the cross was perfect; it assumes His perfect life; it
     assumes His perfect atonement, His perfect work on the cross.  The
     resurrection of Christ by the Father, was the Father's "stamp of
     approval" on His life, His ministry, and His death.

     Furthermore, the fact that God raised Him from the dead, indicates that
     God then raised Him that He might exalt Him to His own right hand, where
     He now sits in the seat of authority, interceding for the Church, from
     which He has sent the Holy Spirit, and from which someday He Himself will
     return as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.  The resurrection then was
     God's accreditation of all that went before, and God's preparation for
     all that would come after.

     The resurrection then becomes the peak in the life and ministry of Jesus
     Christ.  If I say, "I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the
     bodily, literal resurrection," that means I believe that He actually
     died.  If I believe in His resurrection, I believe that God raised Him
     because He had accomplished in His death what God wanted Him to accom
     plish.  And what did God want Him to accomplish?  The atonement of the
     sins of the world.  If God raised Him from the dead, and I believe it,
     it is because God affirmed His perfect life, and His worthiness to be
     exalted to God's own right hand.

     And if God raised Him from the dead, then I affirm that He is seated at
     the right hand of God interceding, and He is there awaiting the return
     that is promised.  So everything focuses on the Resurrection, and when
     Paul says, ". . . to believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
     dead, you will be saved," he meant that is so believing, you affirm the
     deity of Christ; the death atonement of Christ; not only the
     resurrection of Christ; His ascension; His priestly work, and His coming
     glory.

     Its all there in the Resurrection.  That was God's "stamp of approval"
     on the life and ministry of Christ.  That was God saying this is indeed
     my Son; this is indeed the Savior; this is indeed the High Priest; this
     is indeed the Coming King.  And so, that is very objective faith.  Its
     not just "Believing in God" vaguely.  People say, "Oh I believe in God,"
     or "I believe in Jesus."  There were people in the time of Christ who
     believed in Him, but He didn't commit Himself to them, because their
     faith was not genuine "Saving faith."  There are people today who
     "Believe in God," who "Believe in Jesus."  I hear of people who, "Be
     lieve in Believing."

     But Paul says, "Believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the
     dead," which sets Him apart as the Savior, the Messiah.  That's very
     objective faith.  Salvation then is, really produced by believing.
     Believing in what?  Believing in the person and work of Christ as
     culminated in His resurrection.  That's essential, that is an objective
     element in saving faith.

     Secondly, there is another objective element in it, and he says in verse
     10, "With the mouth he confesses."  Now here is a very public testimony
     in fact.   And what does he confess?  Verse 9, "Jesus as Lord," here is
     another objective element, that is, an outward, verbal, confession that
     Jesus is Sovereign; that Jesus is Ruler; that Jesus is in charge; that
     He is Lord, and Lord means, "You're in charge!"

     Now follow this thought with me, when I say, for my salvation, "I be
     lieve that God raised Jesus from the dead," I am saying, I believe that
     He accomplished salvation on the cross."  Why?  Because that's the only
     way that God would ever raise Him.  God would not exalt Him to His right
     hand, if He hadn't accomplished salvation.  So when I say, "I believe
     God raised Jesus from the dead," I am saying that, "I also therefore
     believe that He accomplished my salvation on the cross,"  I am therefore
     saying that, "I am dependent on someone else to accomplish my
     salvation," and I am confessing that, "I am unable myself to do that."

     Did you get that?  That's very important thinking.  When you confess in
     your mouth, "Jesus as Lord," you are affirming His authority, and His
     sovereignty, and His rulership.  When you say, "I believe in my heart
     that God raised Him from the dead," you are affirming that He is the
     source of salvation.  On both counts, you are acknowledging your
     humility.

     You are humble when you say, "He is the authority, I'm not."  You are
     humble when you say, "He provided the salvation, I can't."  So the
     "bottom line" attitude in this matter of believing, is humility.  There
     is a self-effacing mentality here.  There is a self-rejection here.
     There's no pride here.  And I believe that the basic attitude of true
     faith is humility.

     Your saying on the one-hand, "I believe in the Resurrection," which
     means, "I believe that Christ accomplished my salvation, because I
     couldn't do it myself," so you reject your own inabilities, and your own
     abilities.  You reject "works-righteousness."  When you confess, "Jesus
     as Lord," you are thereby saying, "I'm not in charge of my life, I
     humble myself to His authority."  In both cases, humility stands out as
     the virtue.  And that is precisely why Jesus said, in Matthew 18:3,
     "unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter
     the kingdom of heaven" (NASB).

     The only kind of attitude the Lord responds to is one of humility.  And
     humility says, "I can't save myself, I trust Christ."  Humility says,
     "I'm not in charge, He is."  That is humility.  And it is very objective
     in that sense, because it affirms the work of Christ as historic and
     valid, and it affirms the Lordship of Christ as historic and valid.  But
     the "bottom-line" in this believing is humility.

     It is not saying, "Oh, I believe in Jesus, and I'm sure He's real happy
     to get me."  Not that attitude.  "Oh yes, I believe in Jesus, but I'm
     also working my own salvation.  I'm trying to be a good person.  I'm
     trying to do right on my own, I want God to like me."  Now there is none
     of that, it's just the opposite, "I have no good thing in me, I cannot
     save myself, there is nothing in me worthy of salvation, I cast myself
     totally on the mercy of Christ, as provided in the cross, and verified
     through the Resurrection."

     The one who does not trust in his own works, but in the work of Christ;
     the one who does not lead his own life, but gives the authority to
     Christ, that is the one who demonstrates the humility of true belief.
     That's the object.

III.  SUBJECTIVITY

     Now what about the Subjective?  And for this I want you to look at
     James, chapter 4.  As we probe a little more deeply into this matter of
     believing, what is it like below the surface?  In its most obvious form,
     it is an affirmation of the work of Christ and His person as Lord.  But
     what is it, down under the surface.  What is the subjective attitude
     that lies deep down in a really humble heart?  What is the stuff down
     inside that true faith is made out of?

     And this takes us deeper into the subject of humility, which is the
     basic attitude.  In James, chapter 4, I believe that we have one of the
     greatest Gospel invitations in Scripture.  It has largely been
     overlooked as such, unfortunately, tragically, to be sure, because it
     may be the most comprehensive one given anywhere on the pages of
     Scripture.  And since James is probably the oldest of the New Testament
     Books, it was maybe the first one ever given.  It is certainly a
     priority invitation to salvation.

     I would call your attention to verses 6 through 10, and let me read them
     to you, speaking of God, James writes, "He gives a greater grace . . ."
     that is, greater than your sin, great enough to cover your sin,
     ". . . Therefore it says," and he quotes Proverbs 3:34, "God is opposed
     to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."   Now, James is saying
     something very important, "If you want saving grace, you get it by being
     humble, not by being proud."  It comes to those who are humble.  God
     gives His saving grace to humble people.

     You say, "Well, how do you know that he's talking here about saving
     grace?"  "How do you know he's talking here to people that aren't
     saved?"  Very simple, verse 8, they are called, "sinners" and they are
     called "double-minded."  And nowhere in the Bible is the term "sinner"
     ever used to refer to a believer, never!  It is always used of
     unregenerate people, non-Christians.  Always used of wicked people, who
     disregard the law of God, who disregard the will of God, who ignore
     God's desires.  In fact, it is used to speak of openly wicked, openly
     bad people.  Not even very subtle people.  It is combined with Publicans
     and Prostitutes and other terms like that, the riffraff of society.

     So he is calling to sinners, the unregenerate.  But a certain kind of
     sinner, notice they are called double-minded.  These are the kind of
     unregenerate people who are religious.  We could call them the
     "religious unregenerate."  They go to church, and maybe they're involved,
     they were involved in the church, to which James writes.  He really
     pinpoints them, verse 22, of chapter 1, he says, "Prove yourselves doers
     of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (NASB).

     And he knew that there were people in the church who were only hearers,
     just hearers, not doers.  As far as their "doing side," they were in the
     world.  Their "hearing side" was in the church.  So they were double-
     minded.  They had a mind to "hear" the things of God; they had a mind to
     "do" the things of Satan.  They were the double-minded, they were the
     religious unregenerate.  Religious, but lost; religious, but unsaved.

     In chapter 2, he further identifies them, not only by what they hear,
     but by what they claim, in verse 14, "If a man says he has faith, but
     he has no works?  Can that faith save him?" (NASB).  Verse 17, "Faith,
     if it has no works, is dead" (NASB).  Now here were some people who
     would say, "We hear, and we believe," and the "hearing" and the
     "believing" side was in the church, but the "doing side" was in the
     world.

     In chapter 3, he addresses them again, in verse 11 and 12, he says about
     this double-mindedness, "Does a fountain send out from the same opening
     both fresh and bitter water?  Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce
     olives, or a vine produce figs?  Neither can salt water produce fresh"
     (NASB).  You can't have both.  If you have one side of you in the
     "hearing and believing" and the other side in the "doing," you are
     merely religiously lost.

     And then he really says it in no uncertain terms in chapter 4, verse 4,
     look at that, "You adulteresses . . ." you prostitutes, you fain a
     relationship to God, but you prostitute yourself with relationships to
     the world, ". . . do you not know that friendship with the world is
     hostility toward God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the
     world makes himself an enemy of God" (NASB).  If you are double-minded
     my friend, and you got one side of you in the "hearing and the
     believing" in the church, and the other side in the "doing" in the
     world, you're the enemy of God.

     You may be religious, but you're unregenerate; you may be religious, but
     you are lost; you may be religious, but you're not saved.  And James is
     so burdened for this person, that he says in verse 6, "Look, God will
     give grace to the humble."  The point is if you'll humble yourself, God
     will save you.  If you'll humble yourself, God will save you.

     And then he goes into the subjective elements of a real humility.  And
     these are ten commands, ten straightforward statements that are really
     unequaled to any part of Scripture, other than this passage.  Beginning
     in verse 7, he says this "Submit therefore to God . . ."  You ask the
     question, "How do you humble yourself?"  He just said, "God gives grace
     to the humble."  How do I humble myself?  How do I have that humble
     belief.

     First step, submit yourselves to God.  What does that mean?  That means
     that you are willing to enlist under His command.  You have already
     objectively said, "He is Lord," now you are subjectively saying, "I
     submit my life."  That's a corollary.  You have already affirmed that He
     has all authority, you are now saying, "I willingly come under that
     authority."  "I subjectively submit."

     The "Rich young ruler came to Jesus, called Him 'Master,'" that is,
     objectively, he affirmed His state, His position, His exalted position.
     He said to Him, "Master, Good Master, what must I do to have eternal
     life?"  He was objectively affirming Christ's superiority to Himself, by
     asking the question, by calling Him "Good Master."  But when the Lord
     said to him, "Take all your goods, sell what you have, and when you get
     your money, take it and give it to the poor," he went away, and he
     wasn't willing to do it.

     He would objectively affirm that Christ was the master, but subjectively
     he wasn't about to submit to His mastering.  And the subjective element
     of believing is when I "line up" my heart with what my mind tells me,
     "Yes, Jesus is Lord, and Yes I submit to that authority."  Submit your
     selves to God!

     And then there is another statement, in that same verse, "Resist the
     devil and he will flee from you."  And what he is saying there is that,
     "When you have affirmed you allegiance to God, you have disavowed any
     allegiance to Satan.  You have transferred your allegiance.  You were the
     children of wrath; you were under his domination, Ephesians 2:3, but now
     you have been made in Christ Jesus, as His workmanship, created unto
     good works."

     You have changed masters.  You have severed allegiance.  So when you
     submit to God, you then resist the devil and he leaves.  You transfer
     your allegiance.  So those two phrases tell us the first subjective
     element in "humble faith," and it is this, "It is an attitude of
     submission of allegiance to God."  He is Lord, not only objectively by
     definition; He is Lord subjectively, by relationship in my life.

     So when someone says, "What does it mean to believe?"  I say,
     Objectively, it means to believe that Jesus is Lord, and Authority, and
     Sovereign.  And it means to believe in His resurrection, which means
     you believe in all the rest of His life and work.  But subjectively
     what does it mean?  First of all, it means you transfer your allegiance
     from Satan, the world, the flesh, to God.  And you are bringing your
     life, and offering it to His control.

     Secondly, in verse 8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
     Now here is the second major principle in these ten commands.  "Draw
     near to God," means that you are pursuing an intimate love relationship.
     True belief in Christ is not saying, "Well, I believe the facts, and if
     that will get me out of Hell, I'll be glad to say, I believe it."  This
     is not a "Hell Insurance" kind of thing.

     There is in true, humble, saving faith, a pursuit of God.  A pursuit of
     a relationship.  I think there are a lot of folks who believe they are
     Christians because they have said, "Well, I believe Jesus died, and I
     believe in that, and if it will get me out of Hell, I'll believe
     anything and I'll confess it."  But there has never been a pursuing of
     God.  There has never been a longing in the heart for God, like Peter
     said, "To those who believe, He is Precious."  There has never been that
     longing for personal communion.  There's not that compulsion for loving
     worship.  There's not that strong desire for adoration and praise.

     I know in my own life, one of the most frustrating things that I endure,
     is the constant feeling that I cannot adequately give expression to what
     I feel about God.  I can't translate what I feel into praise that seems
     to fit what He deserves.  But there is a longing in my heart, to know
     God.  Paul says, "That I may know Him."  There's a longing to have
     intimacy with God; to have fellowship with God; to worship God; to sense
     His presence; to have Him draw near to me.  Which was such a foreign
     thought in a pagan world, where people wanted to stay as far away from
     any deity as they could possibly stay.

     So what he is saying here is, "That believing that is truly humble
     believing, saving believing, draws near to God.  It longs for
     fellowship, communion, intimacy, love, and worship."  There is a deep
     relationship sought after, and pursued, and developed.  And the
     corollary of course, "And He will draw near to you."  And that is the
     longing of all true faith, that God would draw near.

     So the dimension of loving fellowship, personal knowledge of God,
     personal communion, is what makes prayer an inevitable reality in
     the heart where the faith is real.  Why?  Because you can't have a
     relationship without communication.  Pray is that communication.

     Then he moves to another dimension, a third dimension, in the series of
     ten commands, in that same verse 8, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
     and purify your hearts, you double-minded."  Now, we already noted those
     two references to the people he's addressing, "double-minded sinners."
     But he says to them, "Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts."  These
     are very clearly distinct calls to repentance, on two fronts--externally
     and internally.

     When he says, "Cleanse your hands," the hands have always been symbols
     of conduct; symbols of behavior; symbols of action, activity, what you
     do.  The heart is the place of thoughts, and intents, and motives, and
     desires.  So he says, "The kind of faith that is genuinely humble,
     saving faith, cries out to be cleansed on the outside, and to be
     cleansed on the inside."  "Cleanse your hands, purify your hearts."
     These two have to do with repentance, with an act of rejecting sin on
     the inside and on the outside.  To a person who is placing faith in
     Jesus Christ, "genuine humble believing faith," there will be a revul
     sion about sin.

     There will be a desire for a purged inside and a purged outside.  You
     can't say, "Oh, I believe, I believe, I'm a believer in Jesus," and then
     go on enjoying a life of sin.  You can't do that, that is contradictory.
     There will be a longing for purging on the inside and cleansing on the
     outside.  That too is an element of saving faith and is produced by the
     Spirit, according to John 16, "He convicts of sin."  When God is saving
     a person, there is an over whelming revulsion about sin, and a desire to
     have that dealt with.  Not just in the sense of future consequence, but
     in the sense of present reality.  You see when you come to Christ and
     your faith is real, it isn't just saying, "Save me from the consequence
     of my sin."  It is saying, "Save me from my sin."  Not just what it will
     do in the future, but what it is doing in the present.

     Then he goes to a fourth dimension, in verse 9, most interesting, this
     is really "kind of a downer" this whole verse, "Be miserable and mourn
     and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to
     gloom."  That's a pretty pathetic verse.  You certainly wouldn't put
     that on next year's birthday card.  But "what in the world" is he
     saying?  I thought "when you came to Christ" it was a happy time, I
     thought there was sort of an exhilaration, isn't this a joyous and
     wondrous occasion?  Well, it is "on the other side" of your salvation,
     but going into it, dealing with what's in your heart, we understand what
     he is saying.

     Three commands at the beginning of verse 9, "Be miserable, mourn and
     weep."  "Be miserable" means that, feel wretched, feel miserable.  Why?
     Because of your shame over your sin.  Because of the personal misery
     that your sin has brought about in your life.  This is part of what we
     would call "brokenness."  This is your emotional reaction to repentance.
     This demonstrates the rejection of the flesh, if we can say it that way.
     The "spirit of penitence."  The misery that you feel over sin.

     So, James says, "If God saves the humble, then here's how to be humble."
     The first way, the first element of humility, is that you transfer your
     allegiance completely from Satan to God.  You resist the devil and you
     submit to God.  The second element of this humble faith, is that you
     have a strong, and almost passionate desire to draw near to God, and
     have Him draw near to you, that you might enjoy a relationship with Him.
     The third thing is repentance.  You have a revulsion over your own sin.
     You long to be cleansed on the inside, motives and desires, and you long
     to be cleansed on the outside, actions and deeds.

     And then you have a certain brokenness over the misery, of which you
     exist, because of sin.  There is just a sort of brokenness in realizing
     that you are a victim of the flesh.  And you desire deliverance in your
     brokenness.

     And then the last thing, I already read to you, "Let your laughter be
     turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom."  You would think it would
     be reversed, "If you want to be saved, let your mourning be turned to
     laughter, and let your gloom be turned to joy."  But it isn't!

     What do you mean "laughter?"  Well, it is only used here, there are
     other words for laughter, this one is only used here.  Whenever it is
     used in secular sources in Greek, it always means the lowly, common,
     base, laughter of people indulging in pleasure.  It's the frivolous,
     worldly laughter, the ugly laughter of the wicked, as they indulge in
     their wickedness.

     He says, "Let all that trashy fun turn into mourning."  In other words,
     another factor, "Not only do you want to be cleansed on the inside, and
     cleansed on the outside; not only do you want to [be free from] the pain
     and misery of your sin, but also there is an overwhelming sense of
     longing to be delivered from the world, in which you live; the folly;
     the foolishness; the indulgence; the pleasure madness."

     And he says, "Let your joy be turned to gloom."  In other words, you look
     at the world completely different.  Instead of looking at it as fun and
     frivolity, and happiness and "live it up," and "grab all the gusto," and
     "do your own thing," and "live it up" every way you can, you begin to
     have this heavy, oppressive, feeling about the world.

     And I will tell you very honesty, there is something in every Christian,
     every true Christian, that views the world with a sort of morbid
     gloominess.  Right?  You get sick of its encroachment on you.  You get
     weary of all of its pressures, and all of its temptations.  And you want
     to set aside all of its foolishness.  There really is, in James' mind
     here, seriousness.  That's the idea, "You get serious about life."
     Instead of living for fun, you get serious about life.

     So what is the character then of subjective believing?

     First, it submits to the authority of God, it switches allegiance from
     the devil to God.

     Secondly, it longs for a personal and intimate relationship with God.

     Thirdly, it desires to repent, and turn from sin, and be cleansed on the
     inside and on the outside.

     Fourthly, it knows a certain shame, and guilt, and misery, that brings
     about a brokenness, that longs for healing.

     And fifthly, it begins to view the whole world and all of life much more
     seriously than it ever did before.

     And you can't quite "get into" the giddy foolishness of the wicked
     pleasures of the world, because life is so much more serious, and you
     now want to live to the glory of God, and you know that you're in a
     great battle to endeavor to do that by God's grace.

     And he sums all of that up in verse 10, summing it all up, "Humble
     yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."  That's
     it.  How do you humble yourselves?  I just told you how; submitting to
     His authority; drawing near to Him for a relationship; repenting of your
     sin; having a sense of misery over your own wickedness; and looking at
     the world differently, no more in the familiar fun of life, but seeing
     it seriously for the tragedy that it really is.  And in all of these
     areas you humble yourselves.

     Do you know who the classic illustration of this is?  The Prodigal Son.
     A perfect illustration.  The Prodigal Son is a picture of an unregener
     ate, unsaved person.  He was created, as it were, in the world of God.
     He had a lot of available resources, that the Puritans used to call
     "Gospel Privileges."  But he decided that he would walk away from God,
     turn his back on God, as the son did on his father.  And he went off
     into a far country and he lived and wasted all of his substance, and he
     just "lived it up."  "Wine, women, and song."

     He wound up in a pig pen, eating "pig slop."  He had all the world's
     fun, he engaged in all the world's sin.  But he said, "I don't need to
     do this, I am going to go to the father."  And he pictures the sinner in
     the midst of his sin, who is devastated by what he finally has come to
     understand.  He is bankrupt; he is devastated; all the world's pleasure
     brought him no satisfaction; he is sinful; he is hopeless; he has
     nothing to show for all of his energy and effort.

     He goes back to the father and he is very humble.  He comes back to the
     father and says, "Father, forgive me!  Just take me back and make me
     like one of your hired servants.  Make me a slave.  I don't deserve
     anything more than slavery.  Just take me back!"  What is he saying?  I
     tell you what he is saying, he's saying, "I submit to you!"  Isn't he?
     "And I break my allegiance to my past master."

     Secondly, he is saying, "I long for a relationship with you, I want to
     draw near to you!"  Remember he ran up to his son, and what does it
     say, "His father saw him, ran up to him, threw his arms around him" and
     did what?  Kissed him.  The son longed for that relationship.  And then
     what did he say to his father?  "Father, I have sinned against you."
     And what he was saying was, "cleanse my hands and purify my heart."  And
     then as he looked at the misery of his life, he said, "I am worthy only
     to be your slave."  There was a man who humbled himself in the presence
     of God.

     That's the picture of the sinner.  Having wasted his life and come up
     with nothing, he comes back, and he says, "I want to give you my life,
     you control me, I am the servant, you are the master.  I want a
     relationship with you."  He longed for the embrace of the father and the
     kiss of love.  "I want to be cleansed of the wretchedness of my sin.
     I'm done with the frivolity of life, I want to take it seriously and I
     want to do my part to serve you, in your house."

     And, do you remember what the father did?  Did the father say, well
     reluctantly, "You've been such a wretched guy, but I will let you in."
     No his father took him in, and what did he do?  He said, "Not only will
     I take you back, you'll not be a slave, I'll take you back as a son."
     He said, "Get the ring, put it on his finger, get the best robe, put it
     on his back, call the musicians, get the festival ready, kill the fatted
     calf, we are having the biggest party we have ever thought of having,
     because, this my son, who was lost, is now found."

     And what is that in James' words?  Look at verse 10, "Humble yourselves
     in the presence of the Lord, and he will tolerate you!"  Is that what it
     says?  "He will what?"  "He will exalt you!"  You see He resists the
     proud, but He gives grace to the humble.  He gives grace to the humble.

     Do you remember the proud Pharisee, Luke 18, "I thank you that I am not
     as other men, even as this Publican.  I tithe.  I fast twice a week."  He
     was a religious man.  And over in the corner is the Publican.  He won't
     even lift his eyes because he is such a wicked man.  He does not even
     dare look at God.  He is bent over, bowed, looking down, pounding his
     chest, "God be merciful to me a sinner!"  And Jesus said, "That man went
     home saved, not the other one."  Why?  God resists the proud and He
     gives grace to the humble.  To the humble.  And we all come that way.

     So what is humble saving faith?  If someone wrote you a letter and said,
     "I don't know what believe means."  What would you say?  "Well, believe
     objectively means, that I believe in the historical truth that Jesus
     lived and died and rose again for me, and accomplished my salvation.  I
     believe those facts.  And I believe that He is Lord, and I acknowledge
     that with my mouth."  From the subjective side, what does that mean?
     That means that, I submit to His leadership and rulership in my life.
     I pursue a loving personal relationship with Him.  I hunger to turn from
     sin and to pursue holiness.  I am broken over the guilt and the stench
     and the shame of my miserable sin.  And I now view life seriously, not
     in the frivolity of the foolishness of my former ways.  In other words,
     I reject myself and everything about me.  That's humility.  And he will
     lift you up.

     When it says that "He will exalt you,"  have you ever thought about what
     He wants to make you?  Have you ever thought about that?  You remember,
     as a kid, reading the story about the "Ugly Duckling?"  He was larger,
     more awkward and less attractive than the other ducklings.  He was just
     "flat" ugly by their standards.  They made fun of his clumsiness.  They
     made fun of his bizarre "gawky" appearance.  And he was crushed, and he
     was forlorned.  So he left the ducklings and sought refuge with a cat
     and a chicken, do you remember that?  But they didn't accept him because
     he couldn't "purr" and he couldn't "lay eggs."

     "You don't understand me," he complained.  They only mocked him all the
     more.  One day while he was out paddling around the pond, trying his
     best, to be like the other ducks, he caught sight of some graceful and
     elegant swans, creatures he had never seen before.  He thought they were
     the most beautiful birds in all the world.  And as he watched the
     beautiful movements of the swans, a strange feeling came over him.  He
     couldn't take his eyes off of them, and he couldn't shake the newness of
     destiny that overwhelmed him.

     Well the swans flew off, and as he stretched his neck, to try to follow
     their flight, he thought that he had loved them more than anything he
     had ever loved before.  Winter came, and all during the cold months the
     "Ugly Duckling" thought about the lovely birds he had seen.  He had no
     idea what they were called or where they came from, but he hoped someday
     to be able to see them again.  And at last, Spring had melted the ice on
     the pond, and the "Ugly Duckling" was able to swim again.  And one day
     while Spring was still very young, he was swimming and he saw two of
     those beautiful birds.

     They swam straight towards him, and fear gripped his heart.  He was
     embarrassed to have such graceful creatures to see how ugly and clumsy
     he was.  As they approached him he bowed his head in humility, and he
     covered his face with his wings.  When he did that, he was amazed to see
     for the first time his own reflection in the water, which had just
     thawed.  He was exactly like those beautiful creatures!  He was never
     meant to be a duck in the first place!  He was one of them.  He was a
     swan.  And as he removed his wings from his face, he lifted his head,
     not straight up like an ostrich, but slightly bowed in gratitude and
     humility.

     Do you see an analogy of your own life in that?  My own experience as a
     Christian is like that, and so is yours.  My first look at Christ, would
     be that of an Ugly Duckling looking at a swan.  Enamored with the
     majesty and the loveliness, and the grace and the beauty of that
     creature.  And feeling ugly and sinful and unworthy.  And yet being
     irresistibly attracted.  And then one day in humility, to bow our heads,
     as it were, cover our face in humility before the swan of all swans.
     And then when we see ourselves in the water, we note that we are being
     made in His very image.

     That's what it means to humble your selves and be exalted.  When Christ
     exalts you, and this is the wonders of wonders, He makes you like
     Himself.  And someday you will be like Him, for you will see Him as He
     is.  That is how far you will be exalted.  If you humble yourselves
     beloved, the Bible says he will exalt you.  To what level?  To the very
     beauty of Christ Himself.  Second Corinthians 3:18, "You are being changed
     from one level of glory to the next, by the Holy Spirit," until sometime
     you will find yourself in the very image of Jesus Christ.

     You start out in ugliness, when you finally see in Him the destiny you
     long for.  And when you are humbled in the face of the beauty of Christ,
     and you see your sin and unworthiness, it is at that point He saves you
     and sets you on a path to be like Him.

     What does it mean to believe?  That's what it means.  And may it be the
     experience of every heart this day.

This message transcribed by the ministry of:
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