Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1825
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were persuaded of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.” Hebrews 11:13,14.
“THESE all died in faith.” Believers constitute a class by themselves—“These.” They are the people that dwell alone and shall not be numbered among the nations. We see a great many distinctions in the world which God takes no notice of—there is neither Jew nor Gentile, bond nor free in His sight. But there is a distinction which men think little of, which is greatly observed of God, and that is the distinction between them that believe and those that believe not. Faith puts you across the border most effectually, for it brings you out of darkness into marvelous light, from death to life and from the dominion of Satan into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. It is the most important thing under Heaven that we should know that we believe in God. The Holy Spirit puts Believers by themselves and speaks of them as, “These.”
Believers are a class by themselves, even when they die. It is idle to think that we can mark out a spot in the cemetery where none but saints shall sleep, but yet there is a truth at the bottom of that folly. There is a separation even in death between the righteous and the wicked. The Lord seems to erect a mausoleum in which lie asleep the bodies of His people and He writes this epitaph across the front, “THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH.” As for those who died without faith, they indeed, died. But as for His people, a glorious resurrection awaits them—
“They sleep in Jesus and are blest, How kind their slumbers are.”
The characteristics of God’s people are peculiar to themselves. They are all alike in that they all lived and all died in faith. They were not all equally believers, for some were strong in faith, and others were weak—but they all had faith and it continued in them even to the end so that, without exception—“these all died in faith.” We will speak, first, of dying in faith. Secondly, of the faith according to which they died. Thirdly, of living by faith, for that is mentioned in the text, “They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” And then, fourthly, of the faith by which they lived—“For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.”
I. First, then, here is DYING IN FAITH. What does it mean? Does it not mean that when they came to die they had not faith to seek, but having had faith in life, they had faith in death? I will pronounce no opinion upon deathbed repentance. I have heard judgments far too sanguine. I have heard verdicts far too severe. Where we know little, we had better say little, but this much I may say—I would not like to lie upon a sickbed, much less upon my deathbed and have a Savior to seek there! The pains and dying strife are usually enough to occupy a man’s thoughts. It frequently happens that the brain is disordered by disease and he that was clear of judgment, before, is then scarcely able to think. You must, yourself, have often seen men departing out of this life to whom it was useless to speak. If conscious at all, they were barely conscious. Have I not pressed the hand and received no token of recognition from a familiar friend? Have I not spoken into the ear and yet there has been neither hearing nor answering?
Sometimes friends have said, “He seems to know you, Sir, though he knows nobody else.” And certainly there has been a lifting of the eyelids and a movement of the hand which made me feel that my voice had penetrated into those dark recesses into which the mind had retired. But what could I say of deep mysteries, or even of simple faith, when the person has been in such a case? It has been a great joy to feel that we could sing, in many instances—
“‘Tis done, the great transaction’s done,” for there was little hope that it could have been done at that hour. Dear Friends, if any of you are delaying, permit me to warn you not to do so! How can it be said of you that you die in faith if it cannot be said of you that you are living in faith? Not long ago, a friend of mine, who was apparently in robust health, fell dead in the busy streets of the city. Another came up to our religious meetings and on his return died in the waiting room of the railway station. Suppose that this had happened to any of you. It might have done so! Where would you now have been? I bless the name of the Lord that you are spared, or else you would have been where no voice of warning or of invitation could have reached you, but where darkness, death and despair would have enveloped you forever!
The saints mentioned in the text had not faith to seek. They had it when they came to die! They did die, however, although they had faith, for faith is not given to us that we should escape death, but that we may die in faith! I have met with one or two friends who have believed that they would never die, but they have died, for all that. One Brother has often favored me with a kind letter of protest when I have spoken about Believers dying, for he affirms that he shall never die and that if a Believer does die, it is his own fault, for he must have fallen into sin. It is rather awkward for his theory that all these saints “died in faith.” We believe that hundreds, thousands and millions of true and strong Believers have died—and we expect to follow through the same dark stream of death unless the Lord shall come.