Living by Faith or by Chance?

Romans chapter 14, we complete this evening our brief series on the will of God. Much, much more could be said, but we'll save it for some other time.

Our subject tonight is walking by faith or by chance. Romans chapter 14, I'm going to begin in verse 22 and read 22 and 23. Hath thou faith, have it to thyself before God.

Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is condemned if he eats. And of course, he's talking about the disagreement they had in the Roman church about what they should eat.

He that doubteth is condemned if he eats, because he eateth not of faith. For whatever is not of faith is sin. Christian life depends upon faith.

It begins with faith, obviously, for by grace are you saved through faith. And once we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we belong to him and he is faithful to keep what we've committed unto him. We are saved by faith and we are blessed by faith.

We grow by faith. We are effective servants of the Lord by faith. We discover the will of God by faith.

Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 4 says the just shall live by faith. It doesn't say the just get saved by faith. It says the just live by faith.

And I want to think with you this evening on this matter of living by faith. Now it's interesting that that little verse, Habakkuk 2, 4, is found three times in the New Testament. It's quoted in Romans and Galatians and Hebrews, and I've mentioned to you in previous messages that it takes all three of these books to explain that one little verse.

The just shall live by faith. Romans tells us who the just are, Galatians tells us how they shall live, and Hebrews tells us by faith. And so if you want to understand Habakkuk 2, 4, you have to understand Romans and Galatians and Hebrews.

Now what we'd like to do this evening is discuss with you the four tests of faith. How can you and I tell when we're doing something by faith or by chance? If I take a step, and that step is not taken by faith, I'm sinning. Because Romans chapter 14 and verse 23 says, for whatever is not of faith is sin.

Now we commonly think of such gross things as murder and lying and adultery and stealing as sin, and they are. But Paul goes so far as to say, if you as a Christian, if I as a Christian, will not walk by faith, we're sinning. So there are four tests of faith given in the book of Romans.

Now what I'd like to do tonight is look at these four tests from three different viewpoints. First of all, by way of explanation, what they are, I want you to know what they are. Then by way of illustration, I want to take you to, oh, four or five different events in the Bible showing you how they work.

Then finally, by way of application, what it is you and I must do if we're going to live by faith. First of all, by way of explanation, what are the tests of faith? How can I know whether or not what I'm doing is an act of faith or an act of chance? Test number one is found in Romans chapter four, talking about Abraham. I'm going to begin at verse 18, speaking about Abraham, who against hope, believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations.

According to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.

The first test of faith is this. Am I doing this for God's glory? Now if what I am doing is not being done for the glory of God, I cannot do it by faith. Now let's just study that for a moment.

Paul is dealing here with our motives. And when you start dealing with motives, you're dealing with the very heart of the Christian life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, it's not enough to pray.

Why do you pray? The Pharisees stand praying that they might be approved of men. But you, when you pray, go into your closet and pray privately and talk to your Father in heaven. Why do you give? Oh, the Pharisees give, blowing a trumpet before them that they might have the praise of men.

But he says, don't do that. Don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. Motive is important.

And Paul begins by saying our motive, if we're living by faith, is to give glory to God. The tragedy is too many of us live either for the approval of men or for our own selfish pleasure. Now when you read this verse, Romans 4.20, it reminds you of something that Isaiah said many centuries ago.

Isaiah chapter 43 and verse 7. God says this, even everyone who is called by my name for I have created him for my glory. Now God created us for his glory and God saved us for his glory. And one thing God will not do is give his glory to somebody else.

You're in Isaiah 43, look at Isaiah 42 and verse 8. I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to carved images. The context here has to do with idolatry, but the application is for us today. God says I won't give my glory to anybody.

I'll share my glory. That's the beauty of salvation. He has shared his glory with us.

We have his glory within and someday we shall behold his glory and someday we shall have his glory for eternity in heaven. But he says I'm not going to give my glory to anybody. I created you to glorify me.

I saved you, he says, to glorify me. Now if you do what you do for my glory, you can do it by faith. I think that immediately that cuts away a number of things that we do.

So often you and I just simply have to admit our motive is not the glory of God. Our motive is to work out our own plans, to fulfill our own selfish desires, or to please somebody else. Test number one, can I do this for God's glory? Now Romans chapter 10, we find a second test.

In verse 11, Romans chapter 10 verse 11, and having read this verse, we're going to refer once again to the book of Isaiah chapter 28. Romans 10, 11, for the scripture says, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Now this is the context of confessing salvation.

Verse 10, for with the heart man believeth on the righteousness and with the mouth confession is made concerning salvation. And if you truly have believed on him, you won't be ashamed. You find these people say, oh, I'm saved, but I can't tell anybody about it.

Well, there's a question mark there. Whosoever believeth in him shall not be ashamed. But the quotation here is from Isaiah 28, 16, and I want us to go back and look at the original because it applies to our text and our study tonight.

Isaiah 28, 16, therefore, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. Now you put these two verses together.

He that believeth shall not make haste. And therefore, because he does not make haste, he that believeth shall not be ashamed. Here's test number two.

Am I willing to wait? Now, Mr. Moody said something one day that needs to be interpreted. Some of his biographers have misinterpreted it. He said this, and Mr. Moody was often given to making comments, shooting from the hip, so to speak.

He said something like this. The best decisions I ever made, I made impetuously. Whenever I really considered something, I made a mistake.

Now Mr. Moody didn't make a great many mistakes in his life, I don't think. What he was saying was, I have prayed about matters. I have thought matters through.

But once I make a decision, I make a quick decision, and we follow through with it. Mr. Moody was not saying he impetuously made decisions. It took him 16 years to decide to start the Moody Bible Institute.

I'd hardly call that impetuous. Isaiah is saying, and Paul is saying, if I really am trusting God, I'm willing to wait. If I get impetuous about this, it's a sign I'm not really trusting God.

I've got to get my fingers in this thing. I've got to help God along. Now I don't have to tell you that the will of God involves God's clock.

God had his time. God had his time for Moses, and God had his time for Joseph. And God had his time even for the birth of Jesus, when the fullness of the time was come.

God sent forth his son. God not only has what he wants to get done, but God has when he wants to get it done. And there are some times when you and I seek to abort the will of God.

We get impetuous. Test number one, Romans 420. Can I do this for God's glory? Test number two, Romans 1011.

Am I willing to wait? I think this is why Hebrews 612 talks about those who through faith and patience inherited the promises. Not just faith, faith and patience. Now test number three is also in Romans chapter 10, verse 17.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Test number three, can I back this up from the word of God? Is what I am doing grounded in the word of God? Now if it isn't, I can't do it by faith. I have been saying from this pulpit for the last three Sunday evening that the will of God is revealed in the word of God.

Does that mean that I can find a verse that says you are supposed to marry Murgatroyd? No. Does that mean I can find a verse in here that says you are supposed to attend Northwestern University? No. What does it mean? It means that as the child of God, saturates his heart and mind with the word of God, he is tuned in to the mind and heart of God, and the receiver is off the hook, the switch is on, and God can talk to him.

And when God talks to him through circumstances and through the impulses of his heart, it is always backed up by the word of God. It means that you develop, if you'll excuse the phrase, a spiritual radar. It means that the spirit of God so reconstructs or renews the mind that we understand the will of God.

And if we're going to walk by faith, we have to base it on the Bible. That's amazing what people do that is directly contrary to the word of God. Oh, we're going to do this by faith.

That's not by faith, that's by chance. It's the thing the devil wanted Jesus to do. Jump off the temple, because the word of God says he'll take care of you, and Jesus says that's not living by faith, that's living by chance.

Now, the fourth test is over in Romans chapter 15 and verse 13. Romans 15, 13, Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. As I do this thing, do I have joy and peace in my heart? That's the fourth test.

Is there in my heart as I take this step a spiritual joy and peace? Now, of course, this parallels Colossians 3, 15, which says, Let the peace of God be the umpire in your heart. When you lose the peace of God and the joy of God down inside, you can pretty well be sure that you have stepped out of the will of God. Now, this doesn't mean that there is joy and peace on the outside.

Sometimes when you take a step of faith to obey the Lord, you find yourself in the midst of conflict, sometimes seeming chaos. Many of the people in the Bible, when they obeyed the Lord by faith, there was war on the outside and there was struggle on the outside, but there was joy and peace on the inside. That's what Paul's talking about.

These then are the four tests of faith. Romans 4, 20, Can I do this for God's glory? Romans 10, 11, Am I willing to wait or am I running ahead? Romans 10, 17, Can I back this up from the word of God? And Romans 15, verse 13, Do I have joy and peace in my heart? Now having explained these four tests, I want to illustrate them. I want to cite from the Bible four or five examples of people who either did or did not follow these four tests of faith.

In other words, when you walk by faith, you can tell it. When we are stepping out of the will of God and walking by sight, by the flesh, we can tell it. Abraham, of course, is a great man of faith.

I'm going to assume tonight, and I think rightly so, that you people know your Bibles. We don't have time to read all of the chapters involved in these stories. Genesis chapter 12, God had called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees.

He went down to Canaan, and when he gets to Canaan land, lo and behold, there's a salmon. Chapter 12 of Genesis, verse 10, And there was a salmon in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the salmon was grievous in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, Behold, now I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon.

Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, they shall say, This is his wife, and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee. Now, actually, she was his sister in a half-sister sense, and this was perfectly legal back in that day, but Abraham here is not walking by faith.

He comes to Canaan land, and God says, Here's where I want you, and a famine came. Now, this often happens. You obey the Lord, and you expect to walk into a feast, and you walk into a famine.

You expect to walk into beautiful circumstances, and you walk into difficulty. And immediately you say, Ooh, I must be out of God's will. Then Abraham should have said, Wait a minute, God told me to come here.

I'll starve here if I have to. The same temptation Satan gave to Jesus. Oh, you're the son of God, how come you're hungry? Turn these stones into bread.

Now, let's take these four tests. Abraham went down to Egypt. He almost lost his wife.

His scheme did not work. Instead of being a blessing in Egypt, he was a curse, and everything he picked up in Egypt got him into trouble. He got wealth and flocks and herds.

That got him into trouble. Lot was with him, and Lot got his first taste of Egypt. That got Lot into trouble.

He picked up Hagar, a maiden down there to be a servant. He got him into trouble. Everything that Abraham got from Egypt got him into trouble.

Test number one, did he do this for the glory of God? No, he did this to save his own neck. Number two, was he willing to wait? No, he got impetuous and said, You know, we better pack up and go to Egypt. Things are pretty bad here.

Oh, deflation, inflation, recession. We'd better move to Egypt. Of course, in the Bible, Egypt's always a picture of the world.

Whenever you go to Egypt, you go down. Test number three, was this based on the word of God? No. When you read the life of Abraham, it goes like this.

And the word of the Lord came to Abraham saying, and the word of the Lord said to Abraham, and God spoke to Abraham, but not here. He didn't do this according to the word of God. He did this according to his own scheming.

Was there joy and peace? Just the opposite. There was misery and war, and he lost his testimony. In other words, Abraham did not walk by faith.

Now, thank God in chapter 13, verse 1, Abraham went up out of Egypt, went back to Bethel, and there he restored his fellowship with God. Now, while we're talking about Abraham, let's move to chapter 16, his experience with Hagar. Back in Abraham's day, it was perfectly legal for a man, if he could not have children by his wife, to have children by a concubine or a handmaiden.

Perfectly legal. Not very scriptural. It wasn't in the will of God particularly.

In chapter 16, Abraham's wife has not given him a child yet, and he's 85 years old. When he was 75, Abraham heard God say, you're going to be the father of many nations. You're going to be a blessing to the whole world.

Ten years go by, no child. And so, Sarah says to him, look, why don't you marry Hagar? Now, strictly speaking, Sarah could have argued like this. Abraham, God has said you'll be the father, but he hasn't told us who the mother is.

And so, maybe it's supposed to be Hagar. You know, it's amazing when you want to do something wrong, you always sneak through. There's always a way of sneaking through.

So, what does Abraham do? According to his wife's suggestion, he marries Hagar, and she gives birth to a son. Son named Ishmael, who was a wild man. And the Jewish nation's been suffering for that ever since.

Did Abraham do this for the glory of God? No, he did it to please his wife. Did Abraham show that he was willing to wait? He was not willing to wait. He should have said to his wife, now look, God said it.

God has his calendar. God has his timetable. He'll work it out.

God did finally work it out. Several years later, when Abraham was 100 years old, Isaac was born. So, it wasn't for God's glory.

He wasn't willing to wait. Was it based on the word of God? No. We don't read in chapter 16.

And the word of the Lord came to Abraham saying, marry Hagar. Was there joy and peace? You read the rest of the story. Ishmael came into the home, and then Isaac came into the home.

And oh, there was nothing but trouble. Trouble, trouble, trouble. Fact of the matter is, the end of chapter 16, Abraham is 86 years old when Ishmael is born to Hagar, and not a word is said about Abraham's life between chapter 16 and chapter 17.

When you get to chapter 17, he's 99 years old. 13 years of silence. Let's take a third illustration, if I may, please.

This time we go to the New Testament. Acts chapter 27. Paul has been unjustly arrested.

He's on board ships. There are 276 people on this ship, and they're on their way to Rome. Now, you remember the story.

It's one of the great key stories of the Bible. Acts chapter 27. In verse 4, they had contrary winds.

That should have been a signal to them. Verse 7, we sailed slowly, the wind not permitting us. They finally had to move over to another direction.

Verse 8, passing the island with difficulty, we came onto a place which is called Fairhaven. So here they are now, 276 people on this great big grain ship on the way to Rome. Verse 9. Now, when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous because the fast was now already past, it was very dangerous to sail between September 14th and November the 11th, and after November to February, nobody sailed.

When I was past that period now, I was in that danger period for sailing. Paul admonished them and said unto them, sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with injury and much damage, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. Now, here's the word of God.

He says, let's wait here. God's word says, let's wait. Why was Paul concerned about this? He lived for God's glory.

Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatever you do, including waiting on a ship, do it to the glory of God. Let's see what happens. Verse 11.

Nevertheless, I'm always afraid of that word. Nevertheless, the centurion who was in charge of the whole enterprise believed the master and the owner or the pilot and the captain of the ship more than those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to winter and they weren't too comfortable there, the greater part advised to depart from there also, if by any means they might attain to Phoenicia and there to winter, which is in Haven of Crete and lies toward the southwest and northwest.

And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing from there, they sailed close by Crete, but not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind called Euroclidon. It's a word for typhoon. Now, let's just reconstruct this.

Paul says, don't go. I live for the glory of God and I obey the word of God and I'm willing to wait here. And God's given me peace in my heart about this.

Let's wait. And one of the sailors said, how many, how many, how many voyages you made, Paul? Well, he said, I've had a few wrecks in my day. Well, he said, you know what? You ever go to navigator school? No, no, never even took a navigator's course.

Well, can you read all these? No, I don't know anything about that. Well, how come you know so much about sailing? God told me. Oh, number one, they took a vote.

That's always the best way to determine anything, take a vote. Majority is always right, except in the Bible. And so they took a vote and the majority said, let's go.

Paul and his friends said, let's stay. They got expert advice. The owner of the ship, the captain, the pilot.

Oh, they said we've been on this ship many times. We know how these things are. I think we can go, said the captain.

Oh, I think we can go, said the pilot. Just about that time, the right wind came along. The south wind began to blow softly.

Have you ever seen the south wind in your life? Oh, it begins to say, oh, this is my golden opportunity. And before long, the south wind turned into a stormy wind and they lost everything but their lives, just the way Paul said. Was their motive the glory of God? No, their motive was their own pleasure and their own convenience.

They kept saying to the captain and to the centurion, you know, this is not a very comfortable port. There's just nothing to do here. This is a dull place to be.

You know, we've got to do something. They weren't concerned about the glory of God. They were concerned about their own comfort.

Were they willing to wait? No, they were anxious to get out. Did they have the word of God guiding them? No, they had the expert advice of the pilot and the captain. They had the majority vote of the rest of the passengers and they had a beautiful south wind.

Was there joy and peace? No, it was a tempestuous wind, a typhoon. And the whole thing fell apart. You see, what started out as a beautiful venture turned into a horrible, horrible experience.

Now, these three illustrations have been negative. I want to give you a positive illustration. Then we'll talk about the application of this.

John chapter 11. John chapter 11. The greatest illustration of walking by faith in the will of God is Jesus Christ.

He far outshines anyone in all things. He has the preeminence. You know the story of John 11.

Lazarus at Bethany was sick. His two sisters, Mary and Martha, sent a messenger to Jesus to tell him that Lazarus was sick. Verse four, when Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the son of God might be glorified by it.

Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And because he loved them, he hurried to their side. No, no.

When he had heard, therefore, that he was sick, he remained two days still in the same place where he was. Oh, how strange. If you love somebody, you run to their side immediately.

No. You see, Jesus gives us the clue in verse four. He did what he did for the glory of God.

Now, he says the same thing to Martha over in verse 40. Said I not unto thee that if thou would believe, thou should see the glory of God. Why did Jesus do what he did for the glory of God? Do you think it pained his heart to know that Lazarus would die and go to heaven where Jesus had come from? Then he'd have to call him back.

Test number one. Is it for the glory of God? Yes. Test number two.

You willing to wait? Yes. He waited for two more days. And I tell you, when you love somebody, it's awfully hard to wait.

Test number three. Was it based on the word of God? Certainly. Jesus says in the gospel of John, are there not 12 hours in the day? If you walk in the light, you know where you're going.

If you walk in the darkness, you'll stumble. His life was governed by the word of God. Now, I want you to keep a marker in John 11.

Turn back to Isaiah chapter 50 for just a moment. This will not take long, but it's an important detour. Isaiah chapter 50.

We're talking here in a messianic passage because, well, verse 6. I gave my back to the smiters, my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. We're in a messianic passage.

Look at verse 7. Therefore have I set my face like a flint. But now let's just back up a little bit to verse 4. Our Lord Jesus says, the Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned. That I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary.

He awakeneth morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear like the learned. The Lord God hath opened mine ear.

And I was not rebellious, neither turned backward. Every morning, our Lord Jesus woke up and he opened his ears. He said, Father, what's the message for today? What do I do for today? What our Lord did, he did by the word of God.

So it was for the glory of God. He was willing to wait. And it was guided by the word of God.

Was there joy and peace? Of course there was. Jesus stood there and said, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot.

He floated to the door of the tomb. When you're bound hand and foot, you can't walk. Jesus said, loose him and let him go.

And they loosed him and let him go. In the very next chapter, you find joy and peace. You have a banquet and Lazarus was sitting at the table and Martha is serving.

A beautiful experience of joy and peace. Now, my Lord Jesus walked by faith and you and I must walk by faith. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk you in him.

How's that? By faith. For we walk by faith, not by sight. Now, just quickly, a brief word of application.

And I have two applications to make. Number one, we must know the word of God. We must know the word of God.

How do you know what glorifies God if you don't know his word? How do we know what God wants us to do that glorifies him if we don't read the word? Where does patience come from? The word of God. It's called the word of his patience. If I don't know what his word says, I can't act upon it.

If I can't claim a promise or put my finger on a principle or obey a precept, if I can't lay my hands upon that which directs me, I'm going to go in the wrong direction. And yet it amazes me. It amazes me that Christians can spend more time with a television set than they can with a Bible.

They can spend more time with a newspaper than they can with a Bible. We must know the word of God. There's no substitute for it.

Secondly, we must test our decisions. Here we are praying about a matter. Should God say this to me or that to me? Does he want me to do this? Does he want me to do that? What does he want me to do? So I'm praying and I'm weighing the facts.

Remember, Paul doesn't just say knowing the will of God. He says understanding the will of God. You take the facts and you weigh them and you pray over them and you search the word and you wait before God and you're about to make a decision and you say to yourself, now before I do this, why am I doing it? Is this for the glory of God? Am I willing to wait or is there a carnal, impetuous spirit that's driving me? Can I defend this from the Bible? Do I have joy and peace in my heart over this? Now, if in one of these areas we can't honestly answer yes, we better wait.

We are either running ahead of God's time or we don't really have God's mind. Better wait. The beautiful thing about walking by faith is this.

You never have to be afraid. You take a step by faith and the whole world can cave in around you and you just keep right on going. Because walking by faith means we are not dependent upon outward circumstances.

Walking by faith gives you a deep joy down inside. Abraham stood there and laughed and said, how in the world can an old man like me with an old wife like that ever have a baby? It's wonderful to have that holy sanctified laughter that says, God, you can do it. Oh, how marvelous it is to stand by the Red Sea while the enemy is about to jump down on you and then by faith go right through.

They don't know what to do. How marvelous it is to march around your Jericho and just by faith, obey God and watch the walls come down. For we walk by faith, not by sight.

And if you walk by sight, you'll get what sight can give you. Nothing. The things which are seen are temporal, says Paul.

They aren't going to last. The things which are not seen are eternal. When you walk by faith, it's like Moses.

He saw the invisible God. He walked as him who saw the invisible God. And God got a hold of Moses and did great things for him.

Why? He endured as seeing him who was invisible. How do you see the invisible? By faith. Now, if you and I are unwilling to apply these tests, it's a pretty good conclusion that we aren't walking by faith.

We don't want to be tested. If we don't walk by faith, we don't get God's blessing. Thank you, Father, for sharing the word with us and teaching us by your spirit.

Forgive us when we have willfully, impetuously run ahead or stubbornly lag behind. May the spirit of God who wrote the word of God rise upon our hearts and give us all the grace that we need to walk by faith. If someone here tonight, Father, has never taken that first step of faith, may that one do so tonight.

Trust the Savior and be born again. If someone here, oh, Father, is wandering off in a crooked path of disobedience, bring that one back. Accomplish your will. For Jesus' sake, amen.