Saved By His Faith Series

> Here is the patience of the saints; here are they who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

— Revelation 14:12

> I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

— Galatians 2:20

> For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God — not of works, lest anyone should boast.

— Ephesians 2:8–9

(Prayer)

“Father in heaven, may these words become more than verses on a page. Let them live in us. Let the faith of Your Son be born again in our hearts this morning. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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> > Introduction

There are passages we think we already understand until the Spirit whispers, “Look again.”

For me, one of those verses is Revelation 14:12: “Here are they who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.”

For years I preached that text as an identity badge — proof of who we were. But as life unfolded, as my own faith trembled, I discovered John wasn’t describing a slogan; he was describing survival.

These are people who endure because they live by the faith of Jesus — not merely faith in Jesus, but the faith that belongs to Him, the faith that carried Him through Gethsemane and Calvary. That same faith still carries us when ours runs out.

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> > Power That Flows

Do you remember the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years?

She was exhausted, broke, and out of options. The crowd pressed so tightly that the disciples said, “Lord, everyone’s touching You.”

But Jesus stopped and said, “Someone touched Me; I felt power go out from Me.”

That power didn’t drain Him — it revealed Him.

The faith of Jesus — the perfect trust He carried in the Father — became a living current that passed into her need.

She reached out in weakness, and His faith supplied what hers could not.

That’s what saving faith looks like.

It’s not my hand holding Him so firmly; it’s His heart reaching back.

The real strength in faith comes from the One we touch.

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> > Righteousness Rediscovered

There was a time when our own movement felt that same current again.

In the mid-seventies the church realized it had grown fluent in behavior and rules but vague about grace. Then came a deliberate turn back toward the gospel.

A special issue of our church paper appeared with three words on its cover: “Righteousness by Faith.” It reminded us that obedience is not the price of salvation but its fruit.

On campuses and at camp meetings, Pastor Morris Venden’s gentle humor and simple message revived a generation: “You’re saved by a relationship, not by behavior modification.” People believed him. Grace felt new again. The Spirit was moving — like that current that flowed from Christ when the woman touched Him.

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> > After the Storm

But springtimes can be short. The same message that set hearts free unsettled others who feared the church might drift toward “cheap grace.” Discussions turned tense. Questions echoed: “Can we still preach judgment if salvation is by grace?” “Does grace weaken obedience?”

Good people stood on opposite sides of the same gospel. And when fear drives theology, love grows quiet. Many of us, young and idealistic, stood in that crosswind wondering how to keep both truth and mercy alive.

For me, that storm came close. I was at the Seminary, studying, serving, trying to find my voice. I believed that if we looked closely enough at Jesus, the contradictions would fade. But the louder the debate became, the less anyone listened.

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> > The Researcher’s Dilemma

The timing of my research could not have been harder. It was the season when questions about Ellen White’s inspiration were shaking the church. A book had just been released claiming her writings couldn’t be trusted. In that noise, I was asked to examine every passage she wrote that might reveal her emotional or mental health — to see whether her stability changed over time and why.

I approached it as sacred, careful work. My background in psychological testing, including the Sixteen-Personality-Factor inventory, helped me look for evidence of instability or stress. What I found was not instability but resilience — a woman who endured pain, loss, and misunderstanding yet stayed centered in faith.

That study deepened my respect for her humanity and confirmed that prophets are still people, and that inspiration works through personality, not around it.

So when I was later asked whether I believed her writings were equal in canonical authority to Scripture, I couldn’t say yes — not out of defiance, but because the Bible alone must remain supreme.