The Oberlin Evangelist

January 16, 1839

Lecture II.

FAITH

by the Rev. Charles G. Finney

Modernized by Cliff Collins

“Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent’.” (John 6:28,29)

The following is the train of thought I will pursue:

I. I will discuss several wrong answers, commonly given to the question proposed in our passage today, which is; “What shall we do that we may work the works of God”?

II. I will show that Christ gave the only proper answer under the circumstances in which the question was asked.

III. I will show that, under other circumstances, another answer might properly be given.

I. Several wrong answers are commonly given to the question proposed in our passage.

1. Should this question be proposed to a Jew, “What shall I do that I may work the works of God”, the Jew would answer, “keep the law, both moral and ceremonial”, in other words, keep the commandments.

2. To the same question, an Armenian would answer, “improve common grace, and you will obtain converting grace”, in other words, use the means of grace according to the best light you have, and you will obtain the grace of salvation. This answer does not assume that the one who asks “what shall I do” already has faith and is using the means of grace in faith. But, this answer assumes that he is still unrepentant, and is asking about converting grace. This answer is basically saying that “you must get converting grace by your unrepentant works; you must become holy by your hypocrisy; you must work out sanctification by sin”.

3. To this question, most professing Calvinists would basically make the same reply. They would reject the wording, and keep the idea. Their response would imply, either that the inquirer already has faith, or that he must perform works to obtain it, that is, he must obtain grace by works.

Neither an Armenian nor a Calvinist would formally direct the inquirer to the law as the ground of justification. But most of the Church would give directions that would suggest that justification comes through the law. Their answer would be a legal answer, and not a gospel answer. For any answer that is given to this question, that does not distinctly recognize faith as the foundation of all virtue in sinners, is a legal answer. Unless the inquirer is made to understand that faith is the first grand fundamental duty; and without exercising faith, all virtue, all giving up of sin, and all acceptable obedience to God is impossible, he is misdirected. He is led to believe that it is possible to please God without faith; and that he can obtain grace by works of law. There are only two kinds of works: works of law, and works of faith. Now, if the inquirer does not have the “faith that works by love”, directing him to any course of works in order to get faith, certainly directs him to get faith by works of law. Whatever you may say to him that does not clearly convey the truth that both justification and sanctification are by faith, without works of law, is law, and not gospel. The only thing that the unbeliever can do before or without faith is works of law. His first duty, therefore, is faith; and every attempt to obtain faith by unbelieving works, is to lay a foundation of works and make grace a result of works. This is the direct opposite of gospel truth.

Let us look at some facts that take place in our everyday experience to show that what I have said is the experience of almost everybody today. Whenever a sinner begins to seriously ask the question, “What shall I do to be saved”, he resolves to break off from his sins, even though he is still in unbelief. Of course, his reformation is only outward. He determines to do better. He determines to reform in this, that, and some other thing; and this is the way he prepares himself for conversion. He does not expect to be saved without grace and faith, but he attempts to receive grace by works of law.

The same is true of millions of anxious Christians who are wondering what they must do to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. They overlook the fact that “the victory that overcomes the world” is “our faith”, (I John 5:4) that it is with “the shield of faith” that they are “to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”. (Eph 6:16) They ask, “Why am I overcome by sin? Why can’t I get above its power? Why am I the slave of my appetites and passions, and the sport of the devil?” They look around for the cause of all this spiritual wretchedness and death. At one time, they think they have discovered it in the neglect of one duty; and at another time, in the neglect of another duty. Sometimes they think that the cause of their spiritual misery lies in yielding to one sin, and sometimes they think their problem is because they yield to another sin. They put forth efforts in one direction, and then in another direction. They patch up their righteousness on one side, while they make a rent on the other side of their garment. (See Matt 9:16-17)

And so, they spend years running around in circles and making dams of sand across the current of their own corruptions. Instead of immediately purifying their hearts by faith, they spend their time trying to stop the overflowing of its bitter waters. “Why do I sin?” they ask; and looking around for a cause, they come to the solemn conclusion that it’s because they neglect to do a certain thing that they are continuing to sin. But, how shall they get rid of sin? The answer is by doing their duty, which is stop sinning. Now the real question is, why do they neglect their duty? Why do they commit sin at all? Where is the foundation of all this mischief? Will the reply be that the foundation of all this wickedness lies in the corruption of their nature, in the wickedness of their heart and in the strength of their evil tendencies and habits? But all this only brings us back to the real question once again: “How can we overcome this corrupt nature, this wickedness, and these sinful habits”? The answer is, “by faith alone. No works of law has any tendency to overcome our sins; but rather it confirms our soul in self-righteousness and unbelief.

The great and fundamental sin, which lies at the foundation of all other sin, is unbelief. The first thing we must do is abandon our unbelief. We must believe the word of God. There is no breaking off from any sin without believing in the word of God. “Whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23) “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) Thus, we see that the backslider and convicted Christian, when trying to overcome sin, will usually resort to works of law to obtain faith. They will fast, pray, read, struggle, and outwardly reform. This is how they try to obtain grace. Now all this is in vain and wrong. Do you ask, “Shall we not fast, pray, read, and struggle? Shall we do nothing, but sit down in Antinomian security and inaction?” My reply is that you must do all that God commands you to do; but you have to begin where He tells you to begin, and do it the way He commands you to do it, which is by exercising that faith that works by love. Purify your hearts by faith. Believe in the Son of God. “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven’? (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss’? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach).” (Romans 10:6-8)

Now these facts show that, even under the gospel, most of those who claim to be religious, although they reject the Jewish notion of justification by works of the law, have adopted a disastrous substitute for it, and believe that, in some way, they will obtain grace by their works.

II. Christ gave the only proper answer, under the circumstances in which the question in our passage today was asked.

In order to understand how appropriate Christ’s answer was, we must understand the meaning of the question. The context of our passage shows that the question was asked by certain unbelieving Jews, who asked what they could do to work the works of God. In other words, they wanted to obtain the favor of God. Christ understood them as asking, “What works would be acceptable without faith?” Jesus therefore answers: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (John 16:29) It was as if Jesus had said, “nothing is a work of God which you would recognize as such. Faith is the first great work of God, without which it is impossible to please Him.” To a Jew, this answer would imply that Jesus believed that He was the Messiah foretold in the scriptures. And to everyone, the answer implies not only a general confidence in the character of God, but a trust in His atonement and saving grace, in opposition to all works of law for justification.

To show that this is the only proper answer that could be given to anyone in a state of unbelief, I will state,

1. What I DON’T mean by what I just said; and

2. What I DO mean by it.

1. I don’t mean that this is the only proper answer because there is no good and acceptable work but faith.

2. Nor do I mean that faith without works is acceptable to God.

3. Nor do I mean that faith voids the law, and sets aside the obligation and need for good works. James discusses the need for works, as the result of faith, in a strong light. “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works’. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble! But, do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness”. And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. (James 2:17-26)

4. Nor do I mean that other directions can’t be given to an inquiring sinner or Christian that, if followed, wouldn’t amount to the same thing in the end that this passage mentions. In chapter eighteen of my “Revival Lectures”, I said, “You may give the sinner any direction, or tell him to do anything that includes a right heart”. All the directions that are given to accomplish repentance, submission, and giving your heart to God, imply faith. If I were to preach that sermon again, I would place a greater emphasis on faith, and show that the exercise of faith is the first thing to be done; and that repentance, submission, love, and every other grace depends on the exercise of faith.

5. However, by my above proposition, I mean that no works are good works, or are in any sense acceptable to God, unless they proceed from faith. Never forget that “without faith, it is impossible to please God”, and “whatsoever is not of faith, is sin”.

6. This is the proper answer, because both justification and sanctification are by faith alone. Rom. 3:30 says, “since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith”, and 5:1: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” also, 9:30-33, “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For, they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame’.” But, perhaps you will not clearly see the truth of this unless I make a remark or two concerning the nature of faith.

The first element of saving faith is a realizing sense of the truth of the Bible. But, this is not saving faith alone, because Satan has this realizing sense of truth, which makes him tremble.

The second element in saving faith is the consent of our heart or will to the truth that our mind perceives. Our mind cordially trusts or rests in those truths, and we yield up of our whole being to their influence. Now it is easy to see, that without the consent of our will, there can be nothing but an outward obedience to God. A wife, without confidence in her husband, can do nothing more than outwardly perform her duty to him. It is a contradiction to say that without confidence, she can perform her duty from her heart. The same is true of parental and all other governments. Works of law may be performed without faith; in other words, we may serve from fear or hope, or for some selfish reason; but without the confidence that works by love, obedience from our heart is naturally impossible. In fact, the very term, obedience from the heart without love, contradicts itself.

7. What I was just trying to say was that to seek the grace of faith by works of law is an abomination. It is just as abominable to try to purchase the Holy Ghost with money. It sets aside what God says about our total depravity, and tries to palm off our unbelieving, heartless works on an infinitely holy God. It is an attempt to bribe God’s favor, instead of accepting grace as a sovereign gift.

8. Seeking faith through works is as preposterous as it is wicked. It is seeking to please God by our sins. It is trying to purchase the grace of faith by making God a liar.

9. To give any other answer to anyone who does not believe, and to direct him to perform any work with the expectation that, by that work, he will obtain faith, will only strengthen him in self-righteousness, prolong his rebellion, and lead him either to settle down in a self-righteous hope, or to produce, in the end, discouragement and blasphemy.

10. Repentance, faith, love, and every other holy exercise, both imply faith and proceed from faith. Without confidence in the character and requirements of God, it is impossible to repent. Repentance is heartily justifying God, and condemning us. Therefore, it is impossible to exercise a satisfied love for God without faith. Submission to God also implies the exercise of confidence in God and in His requirements.

11. This is a proper answer, because all right affection and all good works will naturally proceed from faith. Christ was not afraid of producing a lawless spirit by laying so much stress on faith. He knew full well, that true faith naturally and necessarily produces every other inward grace, and all outward good works in the same way that a cause produces its effects.

12. This is the only proper answer, because faith is the only exercise that receives Christ with all His powerfully sanctifying influences into our heart. The Bible everywhere represents the sanctified soul, as being under the influence of an indwelling Christ. Now the exercise of faith opens the door by which Christ is received to reign in our heart. Who will pretend that any works are properly good, or that any true faith exists in the mind, except as the result of the operation or influence of Christ in our mind? Now if this is true, the proper direction to take must be to do what receives Christ. Once you receive Christ, everything else will be done. If you neglect this, you will neglect everything else.

III. Under other circumstances, you might be able to properly give another answer to the question, “what shall I do to work the works of God?”

1. It might be important and proper to direct the careless, un-awakened sinner, who knows nothing about his depravity or helplessness to the law of God as his rule of duty. You don’t do this to expect to directly promote holiness, but to convict him of sin. Thus, we find Christ telling the young man who was wrapped up in self-righteousness, “to keep the commandments”. Thus, the way Christ approached this young man revealed to his mind his supreme love of the world. This produced regret and discouragement in him; and when he was required to “part with all that he had”, and follow Christ, he “went away sorrowful”. (See Matt 19:16-22)

2. To the anxious sinner who is seeking for answers, I have already shown that Christ gave the only appropriate answer. Also, this is the only appropriate answer for the Christian who is inquiring after sanctification. In short, to anyone who is convinced of his true character, this is the proper, and the only proper answer.

3. But, to someone who is already full of faith, love, and the Holy Spirit, we may give another answer simply because his question really means something different. When he asks, “what shall I do to work the works of God”, his heart is asking, “what shall I do to honor and glorify God”, not “what shall I do to be saved”? Let this person be directed to those glorious Biblical instructions. Do this, and avoid that, is just the instruction that he needs, and on which he will eagerly seize to glorify God with all his heart. Such a mind needs instruction, not commands and threats. To him Biblical instructions are just what his circumstances and state of feeling demands. The commands of the Bible will not produce in him a legal spirit, and thus become a stumbling block to his soul. He will not perform these duties self-righteously; but his heart goes forth to meet his responsibilities, and perform the requirements of God.

REMARKS

Romans, Chapter 9:20-32:

(20). But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” (21). Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? (22). What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, (23) and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, (24) even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (25). As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved. (26). And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people’, there they will be called sons of the living God.” (27). Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. (28). For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.” (29). And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah”. (30). What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; (31) but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. (32). Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. They stumbled at that stumbling stone.

1. Can you see, from what I have said, how to understand the above passage? “What shall we say, then?” The Jews sought by their own doings to please God without faith; but all their righteousness were as filthy rags. While the Gentiles, who had lived in open rebellion, when they heard the gospel, believed it immediately, instead of resorting to works of law; and thus they exercised faith that works by love, and they attained to the righteousness which is of God by faith.

2. Can you see why the church is not sanctified? They overlook the importance and need for faith as the only thing that can produce acceptable obedience to God. The church is engaged in efforts to obtain faith by works, instead of first exercising that faith which will produce within them a clean heart. In this way the church seeks sanctification in vain. It is common to see people full of bustle, outward efforts, and works; fasting, praying, giving, doing, and struggling; and after everything they’ve done, they don’t have the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against which there is no law. They have accomplished all these works, but they have not crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts. They don’t live in the Spirit, and they don’t walk in the Spirit. Their own experience does not reveal the truth of that saying; “(Lord) You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3) Without that trust, they can’t have peace; they can’t be sanctified.

Others try to force themselves to exercise the various Christian graces. They try to exercise things like love and submission without faith, overlooking the fact that it is faith that works by love, and that repentance and submission imply faith, and are the results of faith. Repentance and submission are the result of surrendering our wills to God’s will. But this certainly cannot happen without confidence in God’s character. In short, every Christian grace implies the exercise of faith as its foundation.

3. Can you see why the Bible places so much importance on faith?

4. Can you see what the problem is with those who are constantly complaining about religion? They seem to know they are wrong; but they don’t understand where the source of their error lies. They sometimes think that a neglect of this duty is their problem, and sometimes their mind focuses on something else that may be the prime difficulty in their situation. They determine to break off from one sin or another, and practice self-denial here, and perform works there, and everything they do is without that faith that fills the heart with love. Thus they go around and around in circles, and don’t see that unbelief is their great damning sin; and if unbelief is not removed, they can’t truly repent of their sins or be forgiven of their sins. All their efforts are completely legal, hypocritical, and useless until they exercise faith.

5. Can you see the error of so many professing Christians today, who set aside all religious instructions, and believe that obeying the commands of God is legalism? They fail to see the following: If people without faith, in an unsanctified state, set themselves to obey the commandments of God, their efforts must be legal, self-righteous, and ruinous. To them the precepts of the Gospel, as well as the commandments of the law, are horrible pits of quicksand. You throw a man into quicksand, and the more he struggles, the deeper he sinks. Now to a person without faith, the precepts of the law and gospel are appropriately compared to quicksand. Every effort to obey without faith is sin; and since these efforts to obey strengthens self-righteousness, the person sinks farther and farther from God, and from any rational hope. And the more violently he struggles, the more desperate and alarming his situation becomes. The quicksand surrounds him. It clings to him; and it finally suffocates and kills him. In the same way, the commands of God to an unbelieving heart are a snare and a pit. They are like quicksand. Without faith, there is ruin and damnation in them.

6. Can you see how the commandments of God are a stumbling block to the Jews, as well as to all unbelievers? All outward conformity to the commandments is useless; in fact, it is disastrous. Love without faith is impossible. As a result, the merciful direction and instructions contained in the instructive sections of the Gospel, are made the food of the self-righteousness, and becomes a death trap. But to those whose souls are full of faith and love, the commandments of God are just the instruction that they need, when, in their ignorance, they honestly seek what they should do to glorify God. Do this, and avoid that, and the like, are just the things that hearts full of love will seize on, as the needed directions of their heavenly Father.

7. However, someone may ask, “don’t men learn to exercise faith, by what you call legal efforts, and by obedience to legal directions”? No! They only learn by experience that all such directions are useless, and that they are totally depraved and dependent, which they should have believed before. They determine to pray, read, and struggle, expecting, at every meeting they attend and every prayer they make, to obtain grace and faith. But they never obtain any grace and faith until they are completely discouraged, and they lose hope of obtaining any help through their efforts. And the history of every self-righteous sinner’s conversion, and every anxious Christian’s sanctification would develop this truth: that deliverance does not come until their self-righteous efforts are proved, by their own experience, to be totally worthless, and abandoned as useless, and the whole subject thrown on the sovereign mercy of God. This submitting one’s self to the sovereign mercy of God is that very act of faith, which they should have put forth a long time ago, but they wouldn’t do until every other means had been tried in vain.

8. But perhaps you will say, “if by this self-righteous struggle they learn their depravity and dependence, and this is how they come to prove, by their own experience, the truth of God, why not encourage them to make these efforts, as, at least, an indirect way of obtaining faith”? My response is that blasphemy and drunkenness, and any of the most shocking sins, may be, and often have been the means of working conviction, which has resulted in conversion. Why not encourage these things since sometimes that is their indirect effect? The truth is, when a sinner’s attention is awakened, and he is convicted, and puts forth the question, “what shall I do” and when a Christian, struggling with his remaining corruption, puts forth the same question, why should they be thrown into the horrible pit that I’ve mentioned? Why not tell them immediately, “This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent”. That’s what Jesus did.

9. Let me say to you who would ask that same question, “what shall I do to that I may work the works of God”; don't wait to fast, read, pray or do anything else; don’t expect to break off from any sin in your unbelief. You may break off from the outward commission of those sins. You may substitute praying for swearing. You may substitute reading your Bible for reading novels. You may substitute outward industry and honesty for theft and idleness, sobriety for drunkenness, and anything you please; and it is only exchanging one form of sin for another. It is only varying the method of your warfare. But remember that in unbelief, no matter what your conduct is, you are in high-handed rebellion against God. Faith would instantly sanctify your heart, sanctify all your doings, and render them, in Christ Jesus, acceptable to God. Unbelief is your great, your crying, and your damning sin against which the heaviest thunderbolts of Jehovah are hurled.

10. Don’t wait for any particular view of Christ before you believe. When people in this state of mind hear those who live in faith describe their views of Christ, they say, “Oh, if I had such views, I could believe; I must have these views before I can believe”. Now you should understand that these views are the result and effect of faith. These views that you mention are that which faith discovers in those passages of Scripture that describe Christ. Faith apprehends the meaning of those passages, and sees in those passages, the same things that you expect to see before you exercise faith, and which you imagine would produce it. Take hold, then, on the simple promise of God. Take God at His word. Believe that He means exactly what He says. And this will immediately bring you into the state of mind that you are seeking after.

11. Let what has been said be an answer to that sister in New York, who inquired, by letter, what she should do to obtain the blessing of sanctification. My dear child, you ask whether you shall obtain it by reading the Bible, or by prayer, or fasting, or by all these together. Now let this sermon answer your question, and know that by neither, nor by all these, in the absence of faith, are you to grow any better, or find any relief. You speak of being in darkness, and of being discouraged. No wonder you are so discouraged, since you have clearly been seeking sanctification by works of law. You have “stumbled at this stumbling stone”. You are in the horrible pit and quicksand that I have just talked about. Right now, exercise faith on the Son of God. It is the first and the only thing that you can do to rest your feet on the Rock, and this will immediately put a new song into your mouth.