Modernized by Cliff Collins

“How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” (John 4:44)

The question of the text is equivalent to a strong assertion, that as long as individuals receive honor from men rather than from God, they can’t believe. This is a very common way of speaking. When we want to express a very strong negative, we throw our remarks into the form of a question, as in the text, “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” This is equivalent to saying that you can’t believe while you do this.

In speaking from this passage, I propose to show--

I. WHAT FAITH IS NOT

II. WHAT FAITH IS

III. WHAT IS IMPLIED IN FAITH

IV. WHAT IS INTENDED BY RECEIVING HONOR FROM MEN

V. THAT THE STATE OF MIND THAT SEEKS HONOR FROM MEN, MAKES FAITH IMPOSSIBLE

I. WHAT FAITH IS NOT.

There is hardly any word in the Bible more common than the word Faith. Few things are mentioned more in the Bible that are considered to be as important as faith. The greatest emphasis is placed on it everywhere; it is always mentioned as being most important; and yet, surprisingly, there is hardly any word in the Bible, perhaps, that people have so many loose and vague ideas about. Many individuals have used this word without really knowing what they mean by it; much less have a clue as to what the Spirit of God means by faith. If there is anything important in the Scriptures for us to understand, it is that we should have a right idea of the proper meaning and importance of faith. Yes, there are other terms probably just as important, such as ‘love’ and ‘repentance’. Now, it is extremely important that we should have the clearest ideas of what these terms mean, for, observe, they are all designed to express a state of mind. What is this state of mind? Now, the Scriptures deal with the states of mind indicated by these terms. The Scriptures, from beginning to end, always use language designed to represent certain states of mind; sometimes it refers to the mind of God, sometimes to the minds of saints, and sometimes to the state of mind that sinners are in. Sin is nothing more than a state of mind; and holiness is also a state of mind; so that, unless you understand what these terms mean and what particular states of mind they are designed to represent, you will never understand anything about religion. Therefore, when I speak on the subject of faith, I am in the habit of trying to make myself understood, and, if possible, to develop in you what I believe is the true idea represented by faith, and also to reveal to you what faith does not mean.

Before I define the meaning of the word ‘faith’, I would like to say that there are three distinct operations of our mind; our intellect, which thinks, our sensibility, which feels, and our will, which acts. (Note: this is similar to the common modern view of our soul, which is commonly divided into 1) our mind (intellect), 2) our will, and 3) our emotions. Now, we are aware of possessing these three faculties, and we are aware of exercising these three classes of action. We are aware of thinking and reasoning; we are aware of willing to put forth action, to do some things in preference to others; and we are aware of feeling. We know that we have sensibilities that can feel, and have all kinds of desires and emotions. We also know that our thoughts and intellectual affirmations are often unavoidable, that often, they are not voluntary. We all know this; and we affirm without any hesitation, that something can’t be and yet be at the same time. We are also perfectly aware that the whole of a thing is equal to all its parts, and that we cannot possibly believe the opposite of this, or go beyond this. We all know that we are irresistibly compelled, under certain circumstances, to make certain declarations. The same is true with our feelings. We all know that we must have certain feelings, and can’t possibly feel otherwise. For example, if we put our hand into a fire and burn ourselves, we will feel pain. This is irresistible. Therefore, you can suppose that, under certain other circumstances, we will have various feelings and emotions that we can’t possibly avoid, because they are completely involuntary.

But, we also know just as well, and we know it in precisely the same way, by our own consciousness, that this is not true with our will, but on the contrary, our will is perfectly free. We will something in one direction or another, and we act as we will. We may will to go to the meeting or will to stay at home, to go about our business, or to refrain from going about our business. We all know with the same certainty, and in the same way, that our will is free, as we know that we exist. Now, suppose that someone in this room were to seriously call into question whether his will is free, whether he is able to will in one direction or another. Suppose we should say to him, “do you intend to go home when this meeting is over”? “I don't know”, he would say, “whether any such motives will be presented to me as will make me willing to go: I am not free, I can’t will to go myself, and whether anything will take place to make me willing, I can't tell”. Now, we say that every man assumes his own liberty; and if he was not free to act as he chooses, should there be a post in the street he would be just as likely to walk into it, and be knocked down, as he would be to pass on either side of it. The truth is, no man can practically call into question the freedom of his will, and if a man ever does this in words, he does not know what he is talking about. Every man knows that he is free as certainly as knows that he exists, and he bases almost everything that he does on this assumption; if men were not free, they could do nothing of themselves any more than a machine can.

Now that I have made these remarks, I will show you what faith is not. Faith is not thought. It is not a positive judgment. It is not an intellectual perception. It is not an intellectual conviction. The devil can have that kind of faith. In fact, he has it. The Bible declares that the devil believes, and his belief makes him tremble. But his belief is only an intellectual conviction. We often find sinners deeply convinced, so that they tremble, but that is not faith. Faith, then, does not consist in simply believing with our mind. Something that God says. A man can believe God’s word intellectually, and yet have no faith. Let me say again, that faith is not a mere feeling. Thoughts and feelings, as anyone knows, are in a sense involuntary; moral character does not attach itself directly to them. Because they are involuntary, they are not connected with actions of the will. We do not deny that people are, in a sense, responsible for their thoughts and their feelings, but listen; it is because their thoughts and their feelings are placed in such a relation to their will, that their will can, in a certain sense, modify or control their feelings. Man is responsible only for the actions of his will. This leads me to say that faith is also represented in the Bible as virtue. It is called a holy faith. It is represented as obedience to God.

Faith must not only be voluntary, but it also implies, as a condition of its existence, that the mind perceives something to be believed. Faith always implies that there is something to be believed, and that which is to be believed must be recognized by the mind. The mind sees, and then the will chooses or rejects what the mind sees. Faith, therefore, implies the perception of some truth by the mind. But if all you have is only a perception of truth, no matter how clear it stands out in your mind, with all the vividness and brightness of a living reality, it is not faith; and the clearer the conviction of an unbelieving man, the greater will be his mental agony. That’s the reason why an unbelieving conviction disturbs the guilty and makes them tremble. The clearer, I say, the mind sees while the person refuses to believe, and when the heart does not yield to the truth, the more intense is the agony of that mind, when these truths relate to God, and his relations to eternal things.

II. Let us now look at WHAT FAITH IS.

First, that which constitutes gospel faith is our heart or our will committing itself to the truth that our mind perceives, and yielding our whole will to the truth, to be influenced by it. Observe, then, the following things are properly in faith: First, there is an intellectual perception, realizing that the thing presented to you is true. Then the mind commits itself to the truth, or embraces it, or yields itself to the truth, to be molded and governed by it. Faith is coming into sympathy with, yielding yourself to, and embracing the truth that you perceive.

Let me illustrate this if I can. Sometimes you see people convinced of something they don’t want to be convinced of for one reason or another. We often see that when certain truths are pressed on an individual, he is unwilling to believe. For example, suppose a man who has a sick wife, sees that she is pale and haggard, perceives her sunken cheek, and hears her hollow cough, and he fears that she may have tuberculoses. However, he is unwilling to believe it, and he tries to convince himself that her lungs are not affected. Maybe even the doctor tells him that it is a nervous condition and not tuberculoses. But day after day he sees the pale appearance of her face and the red, burning eyes, and all the other symptoms of tuberculoses. As time goes on, the physician says, “I must give her up, she has advanced tuberculoses I’m sure she can only live a little while”. Now, listen! Suppose the man does not recognize the hand of God in this event. He now sees the naked reality,. It stands out clearly before him. In a few days or weeks, he will be without his wife, and his children will be without a mother. Oh, what agony that is. He doesn’t have enough confidence in God as to be able to see the hand of God in this affliction. He doesn’t have the confidence to yield his little ones without any misgiving to his heavenly Father. The reality has finally come upon him; his mind must yield; his wife must die; his children must be left without a mother; and he himself must go on alone. But to all this, his will does not consent. He is unhappy with the order of providence. He murmurs, and is in agony when he realizes the fact that his wife must die. If you tell him that, in all this, God is acting wisely, his mind will admit that all the actions of God are both wise and good, but his heart does not agree, his will does not receive it. Do you see the difference between faith and a mere intellectual conviction? Take the Bible and show him the promises of God, bring before him evidences of the goodness of God, of the universal care that God exercises over all His creation; “I know it”! He says, “I know it”! But how he agonizes and smarts under it! But that night he becomes a converted man. You left him last night in the greatest distress; and you see him this morning, and he meets you with a smile. You ask, what happened? Oh, he never was better. You ask, how is his wife? Oh, the Lord is going to take her home. There is a great change. He now says, “I have no wish nor desire but that God’s perfect will should be done”. He can now embrace that fact with his heart; he sees in it the hand of his Father and Savior; he can yield his mind to God’s ways without a murmur. Now, this is faith in God’s providence.

Now, can you see what faith in Christ is? Faith in Christ is the soul yielding itself up to Him, and this implies that there must first be a conviction of sin. That is, the person realizes that he is a sinner. It also implies that his mind is convinced that Jesus Christ died for sinners; it also implies that his mind agrees and consents to the understood relationship of Christ to man as a Savior, in that Christ died to save him. But look at that man, what ails him? Why, he has a clear conviction that he is a sinner, but his will does not yield, and he is wretched; and the clearer his conviction is of the truth, the more miserable he becomes. The Bible tells him to believe. He says, "I believe”, yet he finds no comfort in it. He is told to pray; he says he prays, and that he prays in faith; but does he receive answers to his prayers? No? The fact is, he knows about these things intellectually, but his heart will not yield and come into sympathy with them so that it embraces these truths, and so, he is often in agony when he thinks about them. All at once, while some thought passes through his mind about Christ and salvation, he instantly yields his will and heart to the truth, and his soul becomes like the chariot of Aminadab! He finds himself in sympathy with the truth; and he completely gives his heart up to embrace it. The truth does not distress him now like it did before. He has now set his heart on the truths of the Gospel; he sees a glorious reality in them, and they settle on the soul with such sweetness, that he feels that his soul is in the element in which it was designed to “live, move, and have it’s being”! All is joy and peace.

III. Next, I will mention SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPLIED IN BELIEVING IN JESUS.

First, of course, it implies a supreme concern for His will, committing our mind to Him, and yielding up our whole life to live in sympathy with these truths concerning Christ. Furthermore, it implies forsaking everything that is inconsistent with Christ’s will. We cannot love Him, and at the same time sympathize with his enemies.

It implies a supreme regard to what He does or wills concerning us. For example, an individual who really believes in Christ has a supreme regard for His good opinion, and desires to please Him; and desires to have the approval of Christ infinitely more than the approval of the world. Believing in Christ, then, implies a supreme desire to please Him; a state of mind that will say things that will please Him; that whatever he does, and however he aims to please Him, he considers any token whatever of Christ’s approval as being infinitely more valuable than the approval of all the creatures in the universe. Of course, it implies that there must be no regard for any opinions or admiration from men that interfere with the mind’s supreme love to and confidence in God, and the opinion and approval of Jesus Christ. Of course, if this is true, it implies a change of life; a change concerning the great end for which men live. Instead of living for themselves, they live for Christ; instead of living to please men, they live to please God; instead of regarding men, they regard Christ; and it is not important to them what men may think about them.

IV. This leads me to share WHAT IT MEANS TO RECEIVE THE HONOR OF MEN.

How can you accept the honor that comes from men, and not seek that honor which only comes from God?

First, it implies a disposition to be honored by men. To “receive” honor from men, implies that the mind embraces that honor, and agrees with it. Now, a man can be honored by his fellow men, without receiving the honor that is meant here. Receiving honor is not necessarily wrong. He may not seek honor; and he may feel that it is not important enough to sacrifice any principle of right and truth to get honor. To “receive” it then, in the sense of our text, implies that the mind regards the public sentiment, or the opinion, good will, and favor of men in some particular thing, more than the opinion and favor of God. It implies a state of mind, in fact, that has no sympathy with God; a selfish state of mind that considers the approval of men as a great thing, and seeks to secure the favor and applause of men. That state of mind, I say, is selfish; it has the spirit of self-seeking in some particular form. For example, some men seek money. That is the form in which their selfishness manifests itself; others seek power; others seek their own reputation among men; they aim to secure popularity, so they may control and rule; and they have such a regard for the praise of men, that they will not sacrifice it for the honor and approval of Christ.

V. This leads me to say THAT THIS STATE OF MIND MAKES FAITH IMPOSSIBLE. This is clearly stated in the text. Christ does not mean to say that we have no power to put away that selfish spirit and feeling, but as long as we have that form of selfishness, we cannot believe. Do you ask, “Why is faith impossible”? Why? Because there is no fellowship between Christ and the world. The apostle James says, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4-5)

Christ and the world have a spirit completely opposed to each other.

There can’t be any sympathy between the world and Christ.

If people seek to please the world and to have it’s sympathy, favor, approval, and good will, they are in a state of mind which is directly opposed to the state of mind that will please God and secure the good will, approval, and favor of Christ. These two states of mind are completely opposite. But, listen! They are both voluntary states of mind. We can choose whether to love the world or to love God, whether to have the favor of the world or the favor of God; but we can’t have both at once. We can’t walk in two opposite directions at the same time. We can’t will to love God, supremely, and yet will to seek the applause and honor of man at the same time. It is absurd to think that such a thing is possible. I have known people to have such a supreme regard for the opinions and approval of an individual, that they fall into perfect bondage to him. The approval and favor of that individual was more important than the favor of the rest of the world, or perhaps more important than Christ Himself. Now, a man who is in that state of mind can’t be in Christ. If he is in bondage to man, he can’t have a supreme concern for the will of Christ.

It is easy to see the strength of the application of these words of Christ that were uttered to the Jews. It was extremely unpopular to believe in Christ while He was on earth. The whole current of public feeling and prejudice was strongly against Him; the religious teachers of that day were the first to oppose and denounce Him, and they sought to prevent the people from exercising faith in Him. “Now”, says Christ, “how can you believe while you are always asking, ‘Have any of the rulers believed on Him?’ and are so anxious to know how it will affect your reputation with men if you become my disciples? I know very well if you become my disciples what it will cost you, and I tell you plainly that if you have that much regard for those around you so that you seek their approval and honors, you can’t believe in Me; if you come into sympathy with Me, you must turn your back on them. You cannot love Me and the world too."

A few remarks must close what I have to say this morning.

First, there are many people in the state of mind indicated in our text. When the Gospel is presented to them, they hold back from accepting it and connecting themselves to it because of the opinion of some individual, or because of public sentiment, or something else. There are men who have certain relationships with them, and they don’t want to displease these people. I have repeatedly known men maintain political, commercial, or business relationships with people they were in complete bondage to. They can’t believe and accept the Gospel, but they would sacrifice everything for the good opinion, or the friendship or favor, of this particular individual. Now, they can’t believe the Gospel, because believing implies tearing away from this unholy relationship, and giving up everything that would prevent the individual from obeying Christ. One man, perhaps, maintains a political relationship to someone who has interest and influence, and expects to get him elected to a certain office. You call on him to believe, and he does not accept the invitation; his mind is closed against it because doing this would offend his friend. Another man maintains certain business relationships with an individual who has the power of damaging his worldly interests if his views are thwarted; the question about believing in Christ comes up, but he can’t commit himself to Christ, until that man’s opinion, views, and good will has been consulted. Perhaps some of you, who now hear me, are in this very predicament. Perhaps there is some garment of self-seeking in which the devil has wrapped and bound your soul so that you are in bondage because you have given yourself up to be influenced by some man or group of men. Now, let me ask, will you come forward, and shake off this unholy garment? Will you break this degrading yoke? And now that the Gospel is presented to you, will you say, with all your heart, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears. It is a small thing for me to be judged by man’s judgment. My God, let me have Your approval, if the entire world condemns me! It is God who justifies, then who is he that condemns?”

My observation has led me to acknowledge the fact that political aspirants very seldom become truly pious. It is the most natural thing in the world that this should be true. Political ambition is among the greatest snares in the world, and the greatest hindrance to receiving the Gospel. In popular governments, such as the United States, this is especially true; you are surrounded by political ambition. I have seen it now for thirty years, and have noticed the influence of political ambition on the minds of men. A man becomes politically ambitious, he tries to be in good standing with his party, and in a short time he becomes a perfect slave to his party. This is true in the United States, and I suppose the same thing is true in England, that politically ambitious men have sold themselves to their party. But what will become of them. May we not ask, concerning them, “How can you believe the honor that comes from men, and not seek that honor which comes from God only?” Let me tell you, friend, that if you are aware of any influence that is keeping you from God, you must remove it, you must break it off; you must pluck out a right eye if need be, or cut off a right hand! Some individuals, who are in business, don’t become religious lest they should offend their customers. In short, how many of these snares has the devil placed at every street corner, and you find men falling into them everywhere, and when God’s truth comes home to them, how can they believe?

Let me ask you, friend, don’t you know something about these facts in your own experience? How many of you can say today, that there is no human influence, no fear of man, no regard to the good-will or opinion of any living being, that keeps you back from a whole-hearted consecration to God? How is it?

You can see from this subject why so many professing Christians have little or no faith. How can they believe if they consider the opinions of the world, instead of committing themselves to God no matter what men might say. Many people fail to be saved because they regard public sentiment. They ask, “How will it affect my reputation? How will so and so think? Instead of asking, Lord, how will it please You? If this describes any of you, it is impossible for you to be saved. Let me say, once more; one of the greatest and most important steps that men can take is to break away from this snare, and immediately commit themselves to God without regard to what anyone might say. They must break right away from the fear of man, and regard only what God will think, what God wishes, and what will please Him, and immediately commit their whole being to Him. This is a great and most important step for a man to take. Will you take this step? Are you prepared to do it this morning? No doubt, many of you know that you should do it, and therefore I don’t need to spend time telling you what you should do; but I ask, do you have enough guts to do it? Do you have enough strength of character to do it? Or are you so deprived of strength, so weak, that you can’t? Have you gone so far in the other direction that you can’t make up your minds to do your duty, and commit yourselves to God? Isn’t it remarkable how such things weaken the mind.

Look at that drunkard! Watch him as he goes shuffling along the streets! He has been a “temperate drinker”, as he called himself; then after a little while he became intemperate, and eventually, he became so degraded and debased that he hates himself, and everybody abhors him, and he is shunned even by his own family and friends. He has become a miserable wretch! See how weak he is! Sometimes after he has been drinking, and comes to his senses, he wants to spit in his own face, if such a thing were possible. He abhors and despises himself; but set a cup of strong drink before him, and you’ll see his weakness. He is a perfect slave, he has sold himself, and he will drink even if it means his eternal ruin!

Many a man has, in a similar way, sold himself to ambition, and become a complete slave to the influence of certain men, or to the opinions of certain individuals. They dare not do anything without consulting them! They dare not take such any great and important step that would break off their sympathy with them, in order to enter into sympathy with God! They are so weak that they have lost all their self-reliance. You ask them to believe in Christ, and you give their consciences a twinge, but they slink away, like the drunkard who cowers before his cup; even while he picks it up to drink its contents, he trembles and almost curses himself. This may be true with some of you, beloved, that you are seeking honor from men, and despising yourselves all the time.

Let me ask, are you prepared to look God in the face? Oh! If I knew your name, perhaps I might tell a truth about your life that would make you blush, so that you would not dare lift up your head. Perhaps I could share something that has kept you from entering into sympathy with God, and committing yourself to Him. Perhaps your wife could tell this tale, or others who may be intimately acquainted with you. I will tell you who can tell the tale! Your conscience can tell it! Or, perhaps it cannot speak just now! Perhaps you have abused its cries time after time, so that now it takes a dignified and indignant position of silence, and says not one word. But it will speak eventually! It will tell the story someday! You may only hear the rumblings of your conscience now because you have smothered it for so long, but it will speak someday. Your deathbed is coming. Ah, but perhaps before that, your conscience will assert its claim and reproach you for your folly. But let me ask, will you turn now, and enter into sympathy with Christ, and believe in Him? When do you expect to be converted? Dear soul, do you ever expect to be converted? Do you ever expect to be, until you break with the world; until you come to cast off the regard of men, and regard God supremely? How is it? You must do it some time, if you will be saved; when will you do it? Do you think a future time will be better? As reasonable and dying men, think! You will break off the world and sin at some future time!!! Do you believe that there will ever be a better time to break off the favor of man and escape destruction, than the present? None! None! Then will to come to Jesus now? Are you saying, “up until now, I have played a foolish game, but I will now turn my back on the world and sin, and commit myself to Christ, no matter what men may say”. Will you do this? Then do it now, right here, in this house! Let the question be settled right here! Oh, do not postpone it! For the sake of your own immortal soul, decide now!

Shall we ask the Lord to intervene and break off your chain? Will you stretch forth your fettered hands and let those chains be broken? Hold them out! Hold them out! Stretch forth your fettered hands, and we will ask the Lord to break your chain, to bring you out of your present state of slavery, and assist you to commit yourself to Christ!