Right Object of Faith - Why Believing Should Have the Right Object
This sermon explains the "right object of faith," because "it is not enough that you believe; you must believe in the right thing." The speaker warns that without the correct object, it is possible to "have believed in vain," as there are "false apostles" and "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." The central question answered is, “What is the gospel of your salvation?” The speaker clarifies that the saving message is not Christ's birth, but that "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures." The right object of faith is to view the gospel—Christ's death, burial, and resurrection—as "complete... with nothing for you to add." Many believe the facts, but not the effect of the gospel: that "Christ paid for our sins in full" and His work is sufficient. Using a "not-so-common Romans Road" through Romans 1-5, the speaker establishes that "a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law," not by his own works, but through the "righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ." This is the only way to move from having "come short of the glory of God" to being able to "rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
Published: 7/6/2025
As Christians, we should not be offended when someone asks us about our faith. If someone asks, “Are you saved?” as a saved person, you should answer with confidence: “Yes, I’m saved. I’m sure.” And if they follow up with, “Are you sure you are going to heaven?” your answer should be, “Absolutely sure, 101% sure.” But it is not enough to just be sure; you must know why you are sure. Many people are sure, but perhaps God is not so sure about them. You might be sure you are going to heaven, but God might be in doubt about you, as if to say, “I don’t think I know you. You know me, but why don’t I know you?” That is the terrifying part: we know God, but God does not know us. The Lord said, “I never knew you: depart from me.”
The Right Object of Faith
So, the topic this morning is the right object of faith. Faith must have a correct object; that is, it must be placed in the right thing. You don’t just believe; you believe in something specific. If someone asks, “Why are you saved?” and you answer, “I believe,” what did you believe in? If the answer is just, “I just believe. I simply have faith,” those kinds of answers are not sure. They are like copied answers. When we are asked how to claim the promise of eternal life, and you know the answer is to believe, you might say, “I just believed, that’s all I did.” But when asked, “What did you believe in?” you might say, “I believed in God,” or “I believed in Christ.” Is there more? If that is all we know how to answer, it means we do not understand the gospel of Christ.
Our study has this subheading: Why Believing Should Have the Right Object. The premise of this study is that it is not enough that you believe; you must believe in the right thing. It isn’t enough to know the answer is “just believe.” If someone asks, “What did you believe?” and you reply, “Oh, is there more to it than that?” yes, there is. You must believe in the right object. You have correctly understood that faith, belief, and trust are necessary, but you must also know what that belief is resting on.
We can believe in something worthless. Look again at the passage we read in 1 Corinthians 15, specifically verse 2. We can believe in vain. The Bible would not put that there if it were not possible. You can be a believer, but in something vain—something worthless, something wrong. It’s like on a computer when you press the wrong key and an “ERROR” message appears. You can grasp the correct action—to be saved, one must believe—but where must you believe? What have you believed in? That is the question. It is vital that you not only get that faith is sufficient, but that you also know why what you have believed in is sufficient. You must know what your faith is resting on. Perhaps your faith is resting on a preacher. What happens if I, the preacher, turn out to be a fraud? You won’t be saved. What if you believe in something we did? It is crucial that our faith rests on the right foundation, on the right object. To believe means you believe in something; what matters is, did you believe in the right thing? Because if you believe in the wrong thing, that is what verse 2 calls believing in vain. Think about how scary that is. You got the action right—to believe—but you believed in vain, meaning it’s worthless, without value. As the Preacher says in Ecclesiastes, “Vanity of vanities... all is vanity.”
After hearing and learning that God’s ordained method to claim the promise of eternal life is to believe—that’s from Romans 4, let’s not forget—we must not miss that believing requires an object. First Corinthians 15:2 tells us it is possible to believe in vain. Therefore, when it comes to our trust, think about it: you are entrusting your soul. Your soul is eternal. The only question is where it will spend eternity: either with God or not with God. With God is what we call heaven; not with God is what we call eternal punishment in hell and the lake of fire. It is a choice. That is why, when it comes to this matter, it is very important to be serious. Talk of the soul, of heaven, of hell, is not a laughing matter. This is a very serious discussion, because we don’t want to just almost make it to heaven; we want to be sure we are going to heaven. Who wouldn’t want to be saved? But it would be incredibly sad if the message you received was one of almost being saved.
The Danger of Deception
We should acknowledge that deceptions exist. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 14 says, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” I just want to prove to us that deceptions are real. There are deceptions, and there are deceptions that come from places you would never expect.
Second Corinthians chapter 11, verses 13 to 14 says, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Would you be surprised if deception comes from the pulpit itself? Would you be surprised if deception comes from within the church? Verse 13 tells us there are false apostles, deceitful workers, people transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. There are many of them even today. And it’s no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Last night, I was looking through my books and picked one up—a book of punchlines by Curtis Hutson, a preacher from America. It contained one-liners and truths delivered with humor to make them easier to grasp. I remember one related to this: Why should Satan hinder the church when he could run it? This is exactly the point of the verse we are reading. If Satan were a pastor, he would be so eloquent. He would be so skilled, having memorized the verses, that you would be left in awe of his biblical knowledge. But not everyone who knows the Bible is serving the risen Lord.
The point is, that’s why it’s called deception. Has anyone ever been deceived while knowing it was a deception? A person gets scammed because they don't know it's a scam. That's the nature of deception; you don't realize it's wrong. Therefore, if you don’t know from the start that something is wrong, you can be deceived into thinking it is right. This is what verses 13 and 14 are telling us. There are people who prey on others. Verse 15 continues, speaking of Satan's ministers also being "transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." No wonder Satan is running churches today. You might say, "Preacher, that's a harsh thing to say, that Satan is running churches. Name them!" You should be the one to name them. You should be wise enough that when you know the truth, you can identify them. When we know the truth, we become wise and cannot be deceived. But unless we study and search the scriptures, we will be deceived. And sadly, with deception, you don’t know you’re being deceived. The tragedy is when the deception is about the gospel—when you think you are saved, but you are not.
Many are deceived because the ministries look good and the people there are nice. But regardless of their motives, if what they are teaching is wrong, it is wrong. Romans 16:17-18 says, "for they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." You might say, "But preacher, he uses good words." "Preacher, he gives fair speeches." And what is the result? They "deceive the hearts of the simple." Who gets deceived? The simple-minded, the people who, as Proverbs says, "believeth every word." They will believe anything you teach them.
That is why we are taught to study. We are taught to study the Bible, to read the Bible. You know, in Europe long ago, they refused to translate the Bible into English from Latin. Why? They didn't want the common people to learn what the Bible contained. To control people, keep them ignorant. If people are ignorant of the word of God, you can control them. But once the Bible was translated into various languages, including English, people began to read it and say, "Wait a minute! You've been enslaving us all this time! We are actually free in Christ!" They discovered they had liberty in Christ, so they left that church, the "mother church," which the reformers called the "mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." Because they knew the truth, they left. Praise God for that.
And you know, those were our forefathers. They were the people who sacrificed their lives so that you could have a King James Bible today. Our King James Bible didn't just appear from the clouds as "the Bible from heaven." This book is a blood-stained book. Many shed their blood. Our Lord Jesus, of course, is the one to whom we owe everything for our salvation, no question. But for this book to reach us, He used people. This book came to us through men who were willing to give their lives. Think about it: a man would translate the Bible, and he would be killed for it. Why did they not want the Bible to be known by the common people, the farmers? William Tyndale, if I'm not mistaken, upon realizing this, said that the time would come when a common plowboy would know more about the Bible than the Pope. They were infuriated by that. But for the common people who were being enslaved by religion, it was a message of hope.
Sadly, mankind has not learned its lesson. People are enslaved by religion. Please take note of that. The simple answer to find freedom is that you need the grace of the Lord and the Bible. Freedom is in this book, the "perfect law of liberty." Knowledge is power. If a person thinks that to be saved he must perform all the sacraments, he is a slave to that system. He is a slave because for his entire life, he thinks, "I have to do this, I must always receive communion, I must be baptized correctly," and even at death, a priest must read over him for his departing soul. If a person thinks he needs to do sacraments to be saved, he is a slave. Are you free? Thank God, I am free. You may be free as a Filipino, but is your soul free from the bondage of sin?
Deception Within Denominations
Deception is successful when you don't know it's a deception. If you know, you're not naive. Many people today still think that to be saved, they need to do a list of things prescribed by a church. They are still deceived.
This might sound deep, but it isn’t: would you be surprised if there are Baptists who are not saved? If this is the first time you are hearing this, you might be shocked. "What? I thought being a Baptist saves you!" No, being a Baptist does not save you; Christ does. So when I say there are Baptists who are not saved, it is an extreme statement of truth. Many children of pastors only get saved later in life. They'll say, "I was a pastor's kid for so long, I always sang in the choir, I always did this and that, but I only just now realized I was never saved." So it's a fair statement to say there are Baptists who are not saved. The reason some are shocked to hear this is because they are Baptists. It's like if we were formerly Methodists and someone told you, "Did you know there are Methodists who aren't saved?" You'd have the same reaction because you are endeared to that group.
What if I told you that not only Baptists are saved? Some might want to crucify me for that! But let me repeat: did Christ die only for the Baptists? No, Christ died for all. Therefore, your salvation is not dependent on a tag, but on the object of your faith. Did you believe in the right thing? Even if you don't call yourself a Baptist, if you just say, "I'm a Christian," I'm fine with that. We're on good terms. But if I ask you, "How were you saved?" and your answer is that you believed in the correct gospel, the Gospel of Christ, then you are my brother.
The point is, it’s not about the name. We are Baptists, no doubt, amen. And thank God for the Baptists; our predecessors passed on many good things because of their stand. Baptists are known for being separatists. We should be separated from the world and from sin, glory to God. But you are not to be so separated that you refuse to talk to people, telling them "Go to hell, depart from me!" We are not separatists to the point that we refuse to reach the perishing. We are separatists, yes, meaning we don’t fellowship with evil. It would be sad for a Christian to be seen jumping up and down at worldly concerts. But we are not separatists to the point that we won't reach sinners or that we have a bad attitude toward them.
Remember, you yourself did not immediately accept the grace of God. You likely rejected it at first. But when it was presented to us, while we were still rejectors, we were given a chance for our understanding to be opened. Praise God, we believed. So give others a chance. Don't shut the door on them when God Himself is opening it.
The Gospel of Your Salvation
Satan is a master deceiver. The moment he realized he was defeated when Christ was nailed to the cross, and understood the effect of what the Lord Jesus did at Calvary, his goal has been to cover up that message. The message that allows people to turn from darkness to the light of the glorious gospel of Christ has been his target since it was first proclaimed.
Today, the gospel has been modified, corrupted, added to, discounted, and perverted. There are so many forms of it floating around. A simple question like, "What is the gospel?" will get different answers. But that question is incomplete. I could give you four different answers about "the gospel." I could say the gospel is "the gospel of the kingdom" and then deceive you by saying you need to repent—turn from your sins—to be saved, because it says in Acts 2:38, "Repent, and be baptized... for the remission of sins."
The question needs to be more specific. The Bible itself asks it this way: "What is the gospel of your salvation?" This is a shocking statement for some, but there is not just one "gospel" in the Bible. The word "gospel" is a generic term meaning "glad tidings" or "good news." Is there only one piece of good news in the Bible? When Christ was born, that was glad tidings, good news. But is that the gospel that saves you? Will you be saved by believing that Christ was born in a little town of Bethlehem? No doubt, the birth of Christ is good news, but that is not what you believe to be saved. Why? It's not his birth; it's his death. I have never read in the gospel that "Christ was born for our sins." What I read is that "Christ died for our sins." That is an important distinction.
So, what is the gospel of your salvation? Where did I get that phrase? From Ephesians 1:13: "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." You must know the gospel of your salvation and what you believed in to be able to say you are saved. The gospel of our salvation today has been perverted. There are so many different messages on how to be saved, and they often don't even agree with each other, except that they are all against salvation by belief alone.
However, only the true gospel will preserve the right teaching of grace. Grace only attaches to the right gospel, because that is the only message that can receive the righteousness of God.
The Romans Road to the Right Object of Faith
Now, let's go on a journey through the "not-so-common" Romans Road. For most churches, the Romans Road consists of about five verses taken from throughout the book. But the book of Romans, from chapter 1 through chapter 5, actually presents the complete Gospel of Christ, explaining how it saves. Many people jump to Romans 10, not knowing that Romans 9, 10, and 11 are passages primarily concerning Israel.
Here is a simple structure of Romans:
Chapters 1-5: The Gospel, explaining justification.
Chapters 6-8: The Christian walk, explaining sanctification.
Chapters 9-11: A parenthetical section on Israel's past, present, and future.
Chapters 12-16: Practical application of doctrine.
If you take someone through Romans 1 through 5, they should surrender to the righteousness of God. Let's begin in Romans chapter 1, verse 16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” There is nothing else to believe in but the gospel of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation. Is it our skill in persuading people, or is it the gospel of Christ? The gospel is God’s power for salvation to everyone that believeth.
Verse 17 continues: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Where is the righteousness of God revealed? It is in the gospel. It is contained within it, so let us not belittle the gospel. You might say, "You just have to believe the gospel and you'll be saved?" Hold on. The righteousness of God is contained within it. Verse 17 says "therein," meaning inside it, is the righteousness of God revealed. The method is revealed in verse 16: believing. No other methods are involved, present, or entertained.
Jumping to Romans chapter 3, Paul proves that both Jews and Gentiles are sinners. Verse 9 asks, "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin." No matter your race or origin, we are all under sin. As verse 10 says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." Verse 19 continues, "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." The law was given to make everyone guilty. Verse 20 concludes, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Who can boast that they will go to heaven because they followed the law? No one.
But then comes verse 21: "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets." The phrase "but now" signifies something recent, something Paul was revealing. Verse 22 clarifies: “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.” Let me slow down to follow this. It does not say "by faith in Jesus Christ." It says by faith of Jesus Christ. Whose faith is it when I use the word "of"? It is the faith of Christ. If I say my faith in Christ, that is different. One belongs to Him, the other to me. The verse says the righteousness of God is by the faith of Jesus Christ. This faith of Jesus Christ is the faith that works. This is what James refers to when he says faith without works is dead. Was Christ's faith without works? No, it had works.
Some will argue, "You Baptists say you don't have to do anything to be saved. Your faith is dead!" But they miss the point. Our faith has Christ as its working part. Christ did the work, so it is free for us, and it is not a dead faith because someone did the work—it just wasn't me, and it wasn't you. It was Christ alone who did it. The faith of Christ produced the righteousness of God. How do you receive it? The verse continues: "unto all and upon all them that believe." It is available by believing because Jesus Christ worked for it.
The Bible speaks of the "simplicity that is in Christ." All you need to understand is that Christ has already done it. Our only part is to believe. It is simple. But self-deception is terrifying. You claim to be saved, but you are not, because you did not believe in Christ alone. You added something. If you add anything to Christ, you must ask, "Is my addition equal to Christ?" That is self-deception. Believing is simply acknowledging, "Lord, You did it all. I trust in You." That's all believing does. It believes in the work of Christ. Where are the works? They are with Christ.
Let's continue. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Verse 24, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Verse 25 explains that God set forth Christ "to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." God the Father was satisfied by His Son's sacrifice. It is complete. Verse 26 says this was "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Where is boasting then? Verse 27: "It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith." Verse 28 gives the conclusion: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
In Romans 4, verse 5, it says, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” And verses 23-24 tell us this was written not just for Abraham, but "for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead."
This brings us to Romans 5, verse 1: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Then look at verse 2: "...and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Let's compare this. In Romans 3:23, we "come short of the glory of God." But in Romans 5:2, we "rejoice in hope of the glory of God." What happened between those two verses? Something happened between Romans 3:23 and Romans 5:2. Before, the soul came up short. Now, the glory of God is its hope, its aspiration, its treasure. It is certain. What happened in between? The person believed. If you read all of chapter 4, it is about believing, about the righteousness of faith that is claimed by the person who simply believes. That is the drastic change from the power of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son.
Verses 8-10 of Romans 5 say, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
And finally, consider the comparison in Romans 5. Verse 12 tells us that by one man, Adam, sin entered the world, and death by sin. Verse 17 says, "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one..." But it continues, "much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." Adam's one offense brought death, but Christ's work paid not just for one sin, but for all sins, which is why it is greater. Verse 19 makes it perfectly clear: "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Amen. That is the gift of righteousness by Jesus Christ.
Conclusion: A Complete and Sufficient Work
A message as simple as the gospel—that Christ paid for our sins when He died on the cross—paid for your millions of sins. If your bill at a restaurant was incredibly long, and the waiter said, "Sir, it's already been paid," you would have nothing left to pay. Our debt of sin is so large, and Jesus Christ paid it. Is it dependent on us, or is it dependent on Christ? It is dependent on Christ. How do we receive that forgiveness? By believing on the right object.
When we believe the gospel, we must not believe a perverted gospel. We believe that what Christ did is sufficient. The gospel—the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ—must be viewed as complete, with nothing for you to add. He did it once and for all to pay for all our sins. That is the right object of one's faith. If that is not the gospel we have trusted, then we have believed a different gospel, another gospel.
Finally, many people will say they believe in the death, burial, and resurrection. They believe Christ died, was buried, and rose from the dead. But they will say the death, burial, and resurrection in itself is not the gospel. They are missing the effect of the gospel: that through His work, Christ paid for our sins in full. That is what many people do not believe—that it is finished, that it is sufficient. And that is the good news we must proclaim.
For those who have not yet trusted in Christ, who are not yet sure of eternal life: Christ has done everything necessary to bring you to a place you could never get to on your own. Salvation is not going to church. Salvation is believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
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