Series: Things That Accompany Salvation
Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
Message 10: Sixteen Signs of a True Believer (Part VI)
(2 Cor. 13:5; 1 Jn. 3:24)
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
• “Examine” - peirazo = to test, to scrutinize.
• We are to examine our faith.
• But with what are we to test it?
• We are to examine ourselves by the revealed word of God.
• 28 times in 23 verses John tells us that we can “KNOW” that we are saved!
• We cannot afford to ignore what John, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is telling us!
• There is the danger that we may be “reprobates.”
“reprobate” - to be tested by God and rejected as unapproved, found to be worthless and cast away.
ILLUS: These are the gauges on the dash of your life!
NOTE: These tests are not for you to judge your fellow church member’s salvation. They are to be applied by each person to himself!
REVIEW: Thus far, we have considered:
1. The Companionship Test: Do I demonstrate that I love the fellowship of the Father, the Son and the Saints?
2. The Comfort Test: Am I sensitive to sin?
3. The Cleansing Test: Have I experienced and accepted the forgiveness of God?
4. The Commandments Test: Am I keeping God’s commandments?
5. The Conformity Test: Does my life conform to the will of God?
6. The Conduct Test: Am I doing rightousness?
7. The Coming Test: Am I showing that I am looking forward to the coming of Christ by living in such a way that I would not be embarrassed by His coming? “He that hath this hope ... purifieth himself.”
8. The Conquering Test: Am I winning the battle over habitual sin?
9. The Charity Test: Am I demonstrating by my actions and attitude a genuine love for my brothers and sisters in Christ?
10. The Conscience Test: Am I free from the plague of moral guilt?
11. The Communication Test: Have I experienced true answers to prayer?
• TODAY: Sign # 12: The Counselor Test (3:24)
• Do I have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit?
1 John 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
I. The Witness of the Spirit is Essential
A. Because the Holy Spirit is God!
Acts 5:3-4 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
• Being saved means giving yourself to God.
• And God gives Himself to you!
• Specifically, it is the Holy Spirit of God that indwells the believer.
B. Because the Holy Spirit is the Agent of Salvation
1. He Convicts
John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
• Both in Salvation and after Salvation, the Holy Spirit convicts.
ILLUS: Pastor's Sermon Aimed At ME
My pastor shapes his sermons
From A to final Z
In clear and forthright language,
And aims them straight at me.
And when he gets to preaching,
I look around to see
If there might be another
Deserving more than me.
But every soul looks saintly
Their hearts to heaven turn
While I, in my conviction,
Can only sit and squirm.
You know, I often wonder
If I should miss a day;
Would he, without his target,
Have anything to say?
—Author Unknown
2. He Regenerates
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
• In salvation, the Holy Spirit makes us a new creature.
• He gives us a new life.
• Everything that God intended that man should be, the Holy Spirit puts back into us.
• Even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, He made us alive!
3. He Indwells
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
• Unlike the OT where the Spirit came upon men ...
• He now lives within us!
4. He Baptizes
1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
• There is no water in this baptism.
• This is the placing of the believer into Christ.
• And that is what the Holy Spirit does.
5. He Seals
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
• A seal is an authoritative stamp.
• They are still used today for deeds and official documents.
• A seal was attached to a letter or package to insure that whatever was inside the document when it was sealed, would be the same that was in it when it arrived.
• And it assured that no one had tampered with it.
• That is what the Holy Spirit does for the believer.
ILLUS: The crossing guards at the Mexican border. (feeling for Notary Public’s seal)
In Summary, Salvation was ...
PLANNED by the Father.
PURCHASED for by the Son.
PROCURED by the Spirit.
II. The Witness of the Spirit is Evidenced
Where the Spirit of God is present in the life of the believer, it will be ...
A. Evidenced in My Ability in the WORD of God
An awareness of the Truth of God WORD
John 16:12-15 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
ILLUS: I have heard some accuse teacher’s of teaching over their head. I too have heard those that seem to be trying to impress with a million-dollar vocabulary. But I have heard some that can’t follow basic Bible teaching. And they blame the teacher. Well, OK, but 5 years from now, will you be right there with that teacher, following and understanding? Or will you still not understand the Word of God? This ought to be a grave cause of concern for you.
B. Evidenced in My Awareness of the WILL of God
An awareness of the Will of God WILL
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
• The Holy Spirit guides the true believer!
Ephesians 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
C. Evidenced in My Assurance of a WALK with God.
1. In Salvation Assuring (Romans 8:16).
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
2. In Supplications An awareness of Answers from God
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
• The intercession of the Spirit turns weak formality into powerful reality!
3. In Sanctification
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
• The Holy Spirit will not allow the believer to continue in sin!
• Sin grieves the Spirit, and the Spirit convicts the sinning believer.
• My walk with God is assured in my sanctification.
D. Evidenced in My Anointing in the WORK of God
1. By the Gifts that Are Given
1 Corinthians 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
1 Peter 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Romans 12:6-8 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
• Time does not permit a discussion of each of the gifts of the Spirit.
• But suffice to say that each believer has at least one.
• The words “idle” and “Christian” are incompatible and should never describe the same person!
• The evidence of salvation is the presence of the Spirit.
• And that Spirit gives gifts.
• And those gifts are to be used to serve!
2. By the Power that is Given
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
ILLUS; "O God, Help!"—Spurgeon
God's strongest saints realize their weaknesses, and appeal to Him for strength. One Sunday morning, as Charles H. Spurgeon passed through the door back of the pulpit in the Tabernacle, and saw the great crowd of people, he was overheard saying, "O God, help!" Strong as he was, he realized that he was insufficient for so great a task as preaching the Gospel in power, unless God should be his Helper. —A. C. Dixon
ILLUS: Moody's Experience
One day in New York—what a day! I can't describe it! I seldom refer to it! It is almost too sacred to name! I can only say God revealed Himself to me! I had such an experience of love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand! I went to preaching again. The sermons were no different. I did not present any new truth. Yet hundreds were converted. I would not be back where I was before that blessed experience. —Dwight L. Moody (TAN)
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
ILLUS: 5073. Filling Is Answer
Paul tells us to live victoriously and to avoid excesses of the flesh. Moody once illustrated this truth as follows: "Tell me," he said to his audience, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man said, "Suck it out with a pump." Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After many impossible suggestions, Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then went on to show that victory in the Christian life is not by "sucking out a sin here and there," but rather by being filled with the Spirit. (Ephes. 5:18) —Mrs. Ruby Miller — TAN, Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
CONCLUSION:
1 John 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
• There is one other thing I must point out.
• Where the Spirit is present in the heart of believers, there will be unity!
Ephesians 4:1-3 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
ILLUS: Called-Held-Kept!
Frances Havergal, the song writer, lived and moved in the Word of God. His Word was her constant companion. On the last day of her life, she asked a friend to read to her Isaiah 42. When the friend read the sixth verse.
"I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee,"
Miss Havergal stopped her. She whispered, "Called—held—kept. I can go home on that!" And she did go home on that. — Pentecostal Evangel
• Yes, the Holy Spirit called us.
• He holds our hand and guides us.
• And He will keep us unto the coming day of the Lord! He seals us!
