Assurance
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On October 31st 1517 Martin Luther tacked the 95 thesis on the Wittenberg Door. And as many of you know the rest is history. Excommunications were being handed out like left over Halloween Candy. The problem for protestants that either were excommunicated by the church or simply left the church was the question … is there salvation apart from the church in Rome? If you were excomm-ed or left the church, according to Rome, you were no longer a part of the family of God, there was no salvation for you. This was a issue that was desperately in need of a remedy. The reality was the reformers push to understand that justification before God came by faith and by faith alone.
But then, people like me would come along as ask the simple but pertinent question. Are you sure? Can we be sure of our salvation? Here is some simple thoughts about this. Do we love Christ perfectly? Do we obey him perfectly? This deficiency gives us a sense of doubt. One of the the things that we see clearly in the scriptures is our propensity for deceit.
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
We know that we are saved by grace through faith. So we say we believe that we have faith in Christ. Are you sure? Even the scriptures urge us to make sure.
So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.
Again, Are you sure? The reformers did a wonderful job in putting this to rest, but sadly over the years we have lost this biblical understanding that was started by the reformers and perfected by the puritans. So instead of going to the scriptures we come up with artificial ways to bring assurance.
The first way we do this is called universalism. No one is going to be judged. There is no punishment in hell. There is no accountability for our sins. The only thing you gotta do to get into heaven is die. Heaven is for everyone. And yet our Lord Jesus himself declares the reality and eternality of punishment in hell.
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands.
‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’
Well we got another way… Follow the rules. Pass the test. Lead a good life. Lots and lots of people believe this. In many evangelistic interviews when people are asked if they believe they will go to heaven. They say yes. And when asked why. I lived a good and moral life. I did my best. So as long as pretty much did good. I am heaven bound.
For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
But Shane if its so obvious why does it not go away? Because there is a lot of money to be made and a lot of control to be had with these false assurances. Scaring people with insecurity of heaven and hell is a motivator. Giving people false hopes for a better lifestyle and assurances that you can do what ever you want and not have to worry about punishment in the future deserves an earthly reward. We cannot find and have the peaceful and vital assurance of salvation necessary for true discipleship. Deception and ignorance is keeping us from true sanctification. Unless you are assured of your salvation you cannot do good works. Lets take a look this morning.
All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.
The grass withers the flower fades but the world of our God stands forever
Not Required
Produces
The Gospel
The first thing we will look at today is how we are saved by grace though faith alone. Second, we will look at the scriptural reasons for us to be assured. Finally, we will see the beauty of salvation and how it belongs to the living Lord of all.
Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause us to live our lives in sin because of the lack of assurance, it is the truth of the Scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause us to see that we are save by the power of the Spirit and it is the Spirit that will hold us, keep us, and purify us.
I. Not Required
- The Gospel does not require obedience.
A. I heard Voddie Bauchamn say once… the Gospel does not require obedience it produces obedience. We are saved by grace through faith right.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
B. The good news and all the benefits provided for us by the words and works of our Lord Jesus do not come because of our life record of obedience. Matter of fact, if our record was factored in, we would be condemned. And the grace of God continueds to amaze. And it is the (I like this description, I think by Michael Horton) Faith is the funnel by which we receive the grace of the living God. So we know that faith is how we receive the benefits. So if we have faith we are good. If we have faith in the Son of the living God we will have life in his name.
C. Yes Shane I believe. Are You sure? Yes. How? I just know… that’s not an answer. Or better yet, that is not the right answer. Your heart is deceitful above all things. We do not trust our hearts, we trust the Word of God. So how do you know you are not deceiving yourself? The answer is in AI. Almighty Intelligence. It is called the Bible. God wants us to rest assured of our salvation. Again, we cannot do good works unless we are assured. Know your Bible.
II. Produces
- It is the gospel that produces obedience.
A. There is nothing harder in life than for an unbeliever to live like a Christian. There is nothing harder in life than for un unbeliever to live like a Christian. This is why many professing Christians can become mean, contentious, and resentful after a while. Trying to be something they are not. And to make it even worse. After they died the will stand before God and Jesus will say depart from me I never knew you.
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
B. Here is the big moment. The problem here is that these are those who have false assurances of their salvation. They think that they are christians but they are obvious not. What are we gonna do. The Bible warns us about not being deceived, making our calling and election sure, and examining ourselves to see if we are in the faith. But God does indeed want us to know. Do not be deceived. So we go to the SCRIPTURES to do this.
C. Number 1. You will look to Christ and to Christ alone in faith for salvation. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The problem we have today is we are looking at our own heart to see if its looking at Christ. This is not salvation. Salvation is looking to Christ period. And we could not do this before.
D. Number 2. A Christian has been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
Ok… but how we do know we have the Spirit. We we have the Spirit we go from death to life. How does the Spirit register His presence? The Spirit grows things. We will see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),
The Holy Spirit will also kill things in us.
For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
In your life you will see the growth of the fruit of the Spirit and you will more and more see the death of sin in your life. If you see this, you will know that the Holy Spirit is in you. If not you should be concerned.
D. Number 3. Love for other Christians.
If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.
What is our attitude for those who you know love God? Do you want to be with them or are you repelled by them. True conversion is proven. It proves we have life. We know this because we love other Christians. This is important to note this in our awful evangelical bent to show more love to unbelievers than we do to believers.
Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
The biblical act of brotherly kindness is a clear demonstration of true faith and proof that we have passed from death to life. Do you love your brother. Do you show brotherly kindness to those of the household of faith?
E. Number 4. Childlike Humility of mind.
and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Did you receive the salvation given to us by God in the same humility that we have received other truths from God? Did you receive it because Jesus had to give us a detailed list of evidences, reasons, experiments. Did he have to show us video proof? Or is it like children, we believe it just because he said so?
In all of my theological and philosophical studies, I have found in the end, all there really is… is because God said so. Period. It is a true mark of a true Christian if your faith and assurance rests on the simple method of …because God said so. God said so is enough for truly converted professing Christians.
F. Number 5. Spiritual hunger.
Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
Babies that are living are hungry. Proof that something is alive. It eats. Some more than others. But you are hungry for the Word. And if you remember, babies they are hungry all the time. Did you not just eat?
Are you hungry to be fead the Word of the living God. Are you hungry for the Word and the things of God all the time. That thing that is all that we need for life and godliness. If you are really a Christian you will follow the voice of God. You will not follow anything else.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
G. Number 6. The veil has been removed. There are things of God that we did not understand before, but we understand it now. Especially the cross.
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.
If you are not of the Lord, things like the cross, communion, suffering, sacrifice, make no sense to you. If you really are a person who is alive in Christ, you will understand spiritual things. Many of this world in this culture assert that all there is… is matter. There is nothing spiritual that exists at all. Things in the scriptures make sense. You spiritual eyes have been opened. If you have been saved… the Lord opened your eyes. Was blind but now I see. We could not see the kingdom of God unless we are first born again.
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Can you see the kingdom of God? Then you are born again. You believe, you could not believe before.
He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:
‘When they see what I do,
they will learn nothing.
When they hear what I say,
they will not understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me
and be forgiven.’”
If you truly understand the teaching of Christ, you are truly his disciple. You can see with opened eyes. I see this clearly when I evangelize…they just cannot understand no matter what I say.
So if you are not a Christian you are and will remain in darkness.
Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
H. Number 7. Obedience to the law of God.
And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.
We know that we belong to Him because we obey Him. Now we do not do this perfectly, but it is our desire to obey what it is that Christ the Lord has commanded us. Before we were Christians we did not care. We could care less what the law of God was. Now we care to know what that is, and we want to follow the command. We care about the 10 commandments and we desire to do all we can to follow. We love the law of God. We see it as true justice. We see it as defining truly right and truly wrong.
When pointed out that we are not in obedience by not being or doing what God requires or doing what God forbids, a unbeliever shirks it, denies it, justifies it, thats your interpretation, walks away… believers repent. And we do all we can to not do it again. We do not want to sin against God.
I. Number 8. God spanks us. You know that you are truly His by what He does to you when you do not obey him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
This dynamic works closely with number 7. We obey him, but if we don’t He will discipline us so that we learn. So it shows that we will not obey him perfectly, but it will also show us a another mark. If we disobey He will discipline us. So you see, we know not what we do when our modern pulpits teach us about what suffering means and what it does. Avoiding it, denying it, being angry with God because of it, when the beauty of it is that the very fact that we are suffering discipline is proving to us that we are really His disciples. We are being prepared to be kings and queens of the kingdom of heaven as unbelievers a being prepared for judgement and wrath.
So when the world is looking at you going ha ha your suffering. You are getting spanked by God. Your a loser. Now you know better. God does not spank the neighbors kids He spanks His own. He is right now assuring you that you belong to Him. You are His own. If you are not suffering and not being disciplined for disobedience you should be concerned.
J. But these things as you can see are the result of salvation. Its not what we need to do to be a Christian, it is what will happen to us when we become Christians. God will work in our lives conforming us into the image of His Son. He did not tell us to just be yourself. Be true to your self. No He told us to be like Christ and he will do it for us. And if it is happening, it is because You are His own.
K. If this is not happening it is not because of your lack of effort. Effort will not get you anywhere. IT is not a problem with your effort, there is a problem with your faith. Faith without works is dead. We don’t build faith by doing works? Faith comes by hearing. We don’t go out and try harder, we get on our knees and say to Jesus what the disciples did. Increase our faith.
L. So you see. God wants us to be assured of our salvation. He has shown us so many things to prove it to us. If we know the Word we will see these… there are more but these are to me the most emphatic. And God wants us to be assured. Assurance is important because. You cannot truly obey God if you are not.
III. The Gospel
- We sin even when we are doing good things.
A. Puritan Walter Marshall in his book the gospel mystery of sanctification shows us how it is impossible for us to do good works. Why? Because if we are not assured, then the motivation for every “good thing” we attempt to do, will be motivated by works righteousness trying to win the favor of God. Trying to win His forgiveness. To win His attention. How can we really obey the Law of God if we are suspicious of how He really feels about us.
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.
B. We love because He first loved us. We need to know that He loves us to make our love real. Any suspicion of God could get us to see him as our enemy. How can we obey if this is what we think.
Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that my mouth may praise you.
C. We need the assurance before we can praise. We need forgiveness before we can truly be joyful of forgiveness. We need assurance to obey, praise, worship pray, love, fellowship. But again we do not look to see if our hearts are looking at Christ, we just look to Christ.
