( PDF ) Sermon I: Salvation by Faith

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John Wesley: SERMON I: SALVATION BY FAITH

PREACHED AT ST MARY'S OXFORD, BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY,

ON JUNE 18, 1738.

By grace are ye saved through faith. - Eph. ii. 8.

ALL the blessings which God hath bestowed upon man are of His

mere grace, bounty, or favour; His free, undeserved favour; favour

altogether undeserved; man having no claim to the least of His

mercies. It was free grace that 'formed man of the dust of

the ground, and put all things under his feet. The same free grace

continues to us, at this day, life, and breath, and all things.

For there is nothing we are, or have, or do, which can deserve the

least thing at God's hand. 'All our works, Thou, O God, hast

wrought in us.' These, therefore, are so many more instances of

free mercy: and whatever righteousness may be found in man, this is

also the gift of God.

2. Wherewithal then shall a sinful man atone for any the least

of his sins? With his own works? No. Were they ever so many or

holy, they are not his own, but God's. But indeed they are all

unholy and sinful themselves, so that every one of them needs a

fresh atonement. Only corrupt fruit grows on a corrupt tree. And

his heart is altogether corrupt and abominable; being 'come short

of the glory of God,' the glorious righteousness at first impressed

on his soul, after the image of his great Creator. Therefore,

having nothing, neither righteousness nor works, to plead, his

mouth is utterly stopped before God.

3. If then sinful men find favour with God, it is 'grace upon

grace!' If God vouchsafe still to pour fresh blessings upon us,

yea, the greatest of all blessings, salvation; what can we say to

these things, but, 'Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!'

And thus it is. Herein 'God commendeth His love toward us, in that,

while we were yet sinners, Christ died' to save us 'By grace' then

'are ye saved through faith.' Grace is the source, faith the

condition, of salvation.

Now, that we fall not short of the grace of God, it concerns us

carefully to inquire, -

I. WHAT FAITH IT IS THROUGH WHICH WE ARE SAVED.

II. WHAT IS THE SALVATION WHICH IS THROUGH FAITH.

III. HOW WE MAY ANSWER SOME OBJECTIONS.

I. What faith it is through which we are saved.

1. And, first, it is not barely the faith of a Heathen.

Now, God requireth of a Heathen to believe, 'that God is; that

He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him'; and that He is

to be sought by glorifying Him as God, by giving Him thanks for all

things, and by a careful practice of moral virtue, of justice,

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mercy, and truth, toward their fellow creatures. A Greek or Roman,

therefore, yea, a Scythian or Indian, was without excuse if he did

not believe thus much: the being and attributes of God, a future

state of reward and punishment, and the obligatory nature of moral

virtue. For this is barely the faith of a Heathen.

2. Nor, secondly, is it the faith of a devil, though this goes

much farther than that of a Heathen. For the devil believes, not

only that there is a wise and powerful God, gracious to reward, and

just to punish; but also, that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ,

the Saviour of the world. So we find him declaring, in express

terms, 'I know Thee who Thou art; the Holy One of God' (Luke iv.

34). Nor can we doubt but that unhappy spirit believes all those

words which came out of the mouth of the Holy One, yea, and

whatsoever else was written by those holy men of old, of two of

whom he was compelled to give that glorious testimony, 'These men

are the servants of the most high God, who show unto you the way of

salvation.' Thus much, then, the great enemy of God and man

believes, and trembles in believing, - that God was made manifest

in the flesh; that He will 'tread all enemies under His feet'; and

that 'all Scripture was given by inspiration of God.' Thus far

goeth the faith of a devil.

3. Thirdly. The faith through which we are saved, in that sense

of the word which will hereafter be explained, is not barely that

which the Apostles themselves had while Christ was yet upon earth;

though they so believed on Him as to 'leave all and follow Him';

although they had then power to work miracles, to 'heal all manner

of sickness, and all manner of disease'; yea, they had then 'power

and authority over all devils'; and, which is beyond all this, were

sent by their Master to 'preach the kingdom of God.'

4. What faith is it then through which we are saved? It may be

answered, first, in general, it is a faith in Christ: Christ, and

God through Christ, are the proper objects of it. Herein,

therefore, it is sufficiently, absolutely distinguished from the

faith either of ancient or modern Heathens. And from the faith of

a devil it is fully distinguished by this: it is not barely a

speculative, rational thing, a cold, lifeless assent, a train of

ideas in the head; but also a disposition of the heart. For thus

saith the Scripture, 'With the heart man believeth unto

righteousness'; and, 'If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord

Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from

the dead, thou shalt be saved.'

5. And herein does it differ from that faith which the Apostles

themselves had while our Lord was on earth, that it acknowledges

the necessity and merit of His death, and the power of His

resurrection. It acknowledges His death as the only sufficient

means of redeeming man from death eternal, and His resurrection as

the restoration of us all to life and immortality; inasmuch as He

'was delivered for our sins, and rose again for our justification.'

Christian faith is then, not only an assent to the whole gospel of

Christ, but also a full reliance on the blood of Christ; a trust in

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the merits of His life, death, and resurrection; a recumbency upon

Him as our atonement and our life, as given for us, and living in

us; and, in consequence hereof, a closing with Him, and cleaving to

Him, as our 'wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and

redemption,' or, in one word, our salvation.

II. What salvation it is, which is through this faith, is the

second thing to be considered.

1. And, first, whatsoever else it imply, it is a present

salvation. It is something attainable, yea, actually attained, on

earth, by those who are partakers of this faith. For thus saith the

Apostle to the believers at Ephesus, and in them to the believers

of all ages, not, Ye shall be (though that also is true), but, 'Ye

are saved through faith.'

2. Ye are saved (to comprise all in one word) from sin. This is

the salvation which is through faith. This is that great salvation

foretold by the angel, before God brought His First-begotten into

the world: 'Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His

people from their sins.' And neither here, nor in other parts of

holy writ, is there any limitation or restriction. All His people,

or, as it is elsewhere expressed, 'all that believe in Him,' He

will save from all their sins; from original and actual, past and

present sin, 'of the flesh and of the spirit.' Through faith that

is in Him, they are saved both from the guilt and from the power of

it.

3. First, from the guilt of all past sin: for, whereas all the

world is guilty before God, insomuch that should He 'be extreme to

mark what is done amiss, there is none that could abide it'; and

whereas, 'by the law is' only 'the knowledge of sin,' but no

deliverance from it, so that, 'by' fulfilling 'the deeds of the

law, no flesh can be justified in His sight': now, 'the

righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, is

manifested unto all that believe.' Now, 'they are justified freely

by His grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.' 'Him

God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood,

to declare His righteousness for (or by) the remission of the sins

that are past.' Now hath Christ taken away 'the curse of the law,

being made a curse for us.' He hath 'blotted out the handwriting

that was against us, taking it out of the way, nailing it to His

cross.' 'There is therefore no condemnation now to them which'

believe 'in Christ Jesus.'

4. And being saved from guilt, they are saved from fear. Not

indeed from a filial fear of offending; but from all servile fear;

from that fear which hath torment; from fear of punishment; from

fear of the wrath of God, whom they now no longer regard as a

severe Master, but as an indulgent Father. 'They have not received

again the spirit of bondage, but the Spirit of adoption, whereby

they cry, Abba, Father: the Spirit itself also bearing witness with

their spirits, that they are the children of God.' They are also

saved from the fear, though not from the possibility, of falling

away from the grace of God, and coming short of the great and

precious promises. Thus have they 'peace with God through our Lord

Jesus Christ. They rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And the

love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, through the Holy Ghost,

which is given unto them.' And hereby they are persuaded (though

perhaps not at all times, nor with the same fullness of

persuasion), that 'neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor

things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,

shall be able to separate them from the love of God, which is in

Christ Jesus our Lord.'

5. Again: through this faith they are saved from the power of

sin, as well as from the guilt of it. So the Apostle declares, 'Ye

know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no

sin. Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not' (I John iii. 5, &c.).

Again: 'Little children, let no man deceive you. He that committeth

sin is of the devil. Whosoever believeth is born of God. And

whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed

remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.'

Once more: 'We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but

he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one

toucheth him not' (I John v. 18).

6. He that is, by faith, born of God sinneth not (I) by any

habitual sin; for all habitual sin is sin reigning: but sin cannot

reign in any that believeth. Nor (2) by any wilful sin: for his

will, while he abideth in the faith, is utterly set against all

sin, and abhorreth it as deadly poison. Nor (3) by any sinful

desire; for he continually desireth the holy and perfect will of

God. and any tendency to an unholy desire, he by the grace of God,

stifleth in the birth. Nor (4) doth he sin by infirmities, whether

in act, word, or thought; for his infirmities have no concurrence

of his will; and without this they are not properly sins. Thus, 'he

that is born of God doth not commit sin': and though he cannot say

he hath not sinned, yet now 'he sinneth not.'

7. This then is the salvation which is through faith, even in

the present world: a salvation from sin, and the consequences of

sin, both often expressed in the word justification; which, taken

in the largest sense, implies a deliverance from guilt and

punishment, by the atonement of Christ actually applied to the soul

of the sinner now believing on Him, and a deliverance from the

power of sin, through Christ formed in his heart. So that he who is

thus justified, or saved by faith, is indeed born again. He is born

again of the Spirit unto a new life, which 'is hid with Christ in

God.' And as a new-born babe he gladly receives the adolon,

'sincere milk of the word, and grows thereby'; going on in the

might of the Lord his God, from faith to faith, from grace to

grace, until at length, he come unto 'a perfect man, unto the

measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.'

III. The first usual objection to this is,

1. That to preach salvation or justification, by faith only, is

to preach against holiness and good works. To which a short answer

might be given: 'It would be so, if we spake, as some do, of a

faith which was separate from these; but we speak of a faith which

is not so, but productive of all good works, and all holiness.

2. But it may be of use to consider it more at large; especially

since it is no new objection, but as old as St. Paul's time: for

even then it was asked, 'Do we not make void the law through

faith?' We answer, first, all who preach not faith do manifestly

make void the law; either directly and grossly, by limitations and

comments that eat out all the spirit of the text; or indirectly, by

not pointing out the only means whereby it is possible to perform

it. Whereas, secondly, 'we establish the law, both by showing its

full extent and spiritual meaning; and by calling all to that

living way, whereby 'the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled

in them.' These, while they trust in the blood of Christ alone, use

all the ordinances which He hath appointed, do all the 'good works

which He had before prepared that they should walk therein,' and

enjoy and manifest all holy and heavenly tempers, even the same

mind that was in Christ Jesus.

3. But does not preaching this faith lead men into pride? We

answer, Accidentally it may: therefore ought every believer to be

earnestly cautioned, in the words of the great Apostle 'Because of

unbelief,' the first branches 'were broken off: and thou standest

by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. If God spared not the

natural branches, take heed lest He spare not thee. Behold

therefore the goodness and severity of God! On them which fell,

severity; but towards thee, goodness, if thou continue in His

goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.' And while he

continues therein, he will remember those words of St. Paul,

foreseeing and answering this very objection (Rom. iii. 27), 'Where

is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but

by the law of faith.' If a man were justified by his works, he

would have whereof to glory. But there is no glorying for him 'that

worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly'

(Rom. iv. 5). To the same effect are the words both preceding and

following the text (Eph. ii. 4, &c.): 'God, who is rich in mercy,

even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with

Christ (by grace ye are saved), that He might show the exceeding

riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of

yourselves.' Of yourselves cometh neither your faith nor your

salvation: 'it is the gift of God'; the free, undeserved gift; the

faith through which ye are saved, as well as the salvation which He

of His own good pleasure, His mere favour, annexes thereto. That ye

believe, is one instance of His grace; that believing ye are saved,

another. 'Not of works, lest any man should boast.' For all our

works, all our righteousness, which were before our believing,

merited nothing of God but condemnation; so far were they from

deserving faith, which therefore, whenever given, is not of works.

Neither is salvation of the works we do when we believe, for it is

then God that worketh in us: and, therefore, that He giveth us a

reward for what He Himself worketh, only commendeth the riches of

His mercy, but leaveth us nothing whereof to glory.

4. However, may not the speaking thus of the mercy of God, as

saving or justifying freely by faith only, encourage men in sin?

Indeed, it may and will: many will 'continue in sin that grace may

abound'; but their blood is upon their own head. The goodness of

God ought to lead them to repentance; and so it will those who are

sincere of heart. When they know there is yet forgiveness with Him,

they will cry aloud that He would blot out their sins also, through

faith which is in Jesus. And if they earnestly cry, and faint not,

it they seek Him in all the means He hath appointed; if they refuse

to be comforted till He come: He will come, and will not tarry.'

And He can do much work in a short time. Many are the examples, in

the Acts of the Apostles, of God's working this faith in men's

hearts, even like lightning falling from heaven. So in the same

hour that Paul and Silas began to preach, the jailer repented,

believed, and was baptized; as were three thousand, by St. Peter,

on the day of Pentecost, who all repented and believed at his first

preaching And, blessed be God, there are now many living proofs

that He is still 'mighty to save.'

5. Yet to the same truth, placed in another view, a quite

contrary objection is made: 'If a man cannot be saved by all that

he can do, this will drive men to despair.' True, to despair of

being saved by their own works, their own merits, or righteousness.

And so it ought; for none can trust in the merits of Christ, till

he has utterly renounced his own. He that 'goeth about to stablish

his own righteousness' cannot receive the righteousness of God. The

righteousness which is of faith cannot be given him while he

trusteth in that which is of the law.

6. But this, it is said, is an uncomfortable doctrine. The devil

spoke like himself, that is, without either truth or shame, when he

dared to suggest to men that it is such. It is the only comfortable

one, it is 'very full of comfort,' to all self-destroyed, self-

condemned sinners. That 'whosoever believeth on Him shall not be

ashamed that the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon

Him': here is comfort, high as heaven, stronger than death! What!

Mercy for all? For Zacchaeus, a public robber? For Mary Magdalene,

a common harlot? Methinks I hear one say 'Then I, even I, may hope

for mercy!' And so thou mayest, thou afflicted one, whom none hath

comforted! God will not cast out thy prayer. Nay, perhaps He may

say the next hour, 'Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee';

so forgiven, that they shall reign over thee no more; yea, and that

'the Holy Spirit shall bear witness with thy spirit that thou art

a child of God.' O glad tidings! tidings of great joy, which are

sent unto all people! 'Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the

waters: come ye, and buy, without money and without price.

Whatsoever your sins be, 'though red like crimson,' though more

than the hairs of your head, 'return ye unto the Lord, and He will

have mercy upon you, and to our God, for He will abundantly

pardon.'

7. When no more objections occur, then we are simply told that

salvation by faith only ought not to be preached as the first

doctrine, or, at least, not to be preached at all. But what saith

the Holy Ghost? 'Other foundation can no man lay than that which is

laid, even Jesus Christ.' So then, that 'whosoever believeth on Him

shall be saved,' is, and must be, the foundation of all our

preaching; that is, must be preached first. 'Well, but not to all.'

To whom, then are we not to preach it? Whom shall we except? The

poor? Nay; they have a peculiar right to have the gospel preached

unto them. The unlearned? No. God hath revealed these things unto

unlearned and ignorant men from the beginning. The young? By no

means. 'Suffer these,' in any wise, 'to come unto Christ, and

forbid them not.' The sinners? Least of all. 'He came not to call

the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' Why then, if any, we are

to except the rich, the learned, the reputable, the moral men. And,

it is true, they too often except themselves from hearing; yet we

must speak the words of our Lord. For thus the tenor of our

commission runs, 'Go and preach the gospel to every creature.' If

any man wrest it, or any part of it, to his destruction, he must

bear his own burden. But still, 'as the Lord liveth, whatsoever the

Lord saith unto us, that we will speak.'

8. At this time, more especially, will we speak, that 'by grace

are ye saved through faith': because, never was the maintaining

this doctrine more seasonable than it is at this day. Nothing but

this can effectually prevent the increase of the Romish delusion

among us. It is endless to attack, one by one, all the errors of

that Church. But salvation by faith strikes at the root, and all

fall at once where this is established. It was this doctrine, which

our Church justly calls the strong rock and foundation of the

Christian religion, that first drove Popery out of these kingdoms;

and it is this alone can keep it out. Nothing but this can give a

check to that immorality which hath 'overspread the land as a

flood.' Can you empty the great deep, drop by drop? Then you may

reform us by dissuasives from particular vices. But let the

'righteousness which is of God by faith be brought in, and so shall

its proud waves be stayed. Nothing but this can stop the mouths of

those who 'glory in their shame, and openly deny the Lord that

bought them.' They can talk as sublimely of the law, as he that

hath it written by God in his heart To hear them speak on this head

might incline one to think they were not far from the kingdom of

God: but take them out of the law into the gospel; begin with the

righteousness of faith; with Christ, 'the end of the law to every

one that believeth'; and those who but now appeared almost, if not

altogether, Christians, stand confessed the sons of perdition; as

far from life and salvation (God be merciful unto them!) as the

depth of hell from the height of heaven.

9. For this reason the adversary so rages whenever 'salvation by

faith' is declared to the world: for this reason did he stir up

earth and hell, to destroy those who first preached it. And for the

same reason, knowing that faith alone could overturn the

foundations of his kingdom, did he call forth all his forces, and

employ all his arts of lies and calumny, to affright Martin Luther

from reviving it. Nor can we wonder thereat; for, as that man of

God observes, 'How would it enrage a proud, strong man armed, to be

stopped and set at nought by a little child coming against him with

a reed in his hand!' especially when he knew that little child

would surely overthrow him, and tread him under foot. Even so, Lord

Jesus! Thus hath Thy strength been ever 'made perfect in weakness'!

Go forth then, thou little child that believest in Him, and His

'right hand shall teach thee terrible things !' Though thou art

helpless and weak as an infant of days, the strong man shall not be

able to stand before thee. Thou shalt prevail over him, and subdue

him, and overthrow him and trample him under thy feet. Thou shalt

march on, under the great Captain of thy salvation, 'conquering and

to conquer,' until all thine enemies are destroyed, and 'death is

swallowed up in victory.'

Now, thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our

Lord Jesus Christ; to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be

blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and

power, and might, for ever and ever. Amen

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