SALVATION FROM A TO Z
Bob Marcaurelle
freesermons@homeorchurchbiblestudy.com
Website: Yahoo search homeorchurchbiblestudy.com bob marcaurelle
Copyright 2005 by Bob Marcaurelle
2014 Revision by Bob Marcaurelle
Message 5
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
1 Jn. 5:13
“These things I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so you may know that you have eternal life”
2 Pet. 1:10
“Be eager (diligent) to make your calling and election sure.”
2 Tim. 1:12:
“I know in whom I have believed and I am positively persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have commit¬ted unto Him until that day”
These verses tell us three things; (1) We can have peace and assurance about our salvation. (2) A true believer may not have this assurance. (3) God us to have it. Adrian Rogers used to say: God does not want us to have a think so, hope so, maybe so, salvation; but a know so salvation.
NOT A NECESSITY
John writes to those who "have eternal life" so they might know they have it. Some who stress a vivid, memorable conversion experience, go on to say that if a person does not know he is saved, he probably is not. There song is, “I was there when it happened / And I guess I ought to know.”
This not only goes against John’s vwords but it harms weak believers. They end up trying to have some experience they cannot conjure up and spend their lives tortured by doubt..
We are not saved through strong faith or assured faith but through faith. Jesus, the object is the One who saves. If we trust an experience with the strongest of faiths we are not saved. If we trust Him with the weakest of faiths we are.
A. H. Strong says, “It’s getting into a boat that saves us, not our comfortable feelings about the boat. The boat is what saves us. Spurgeon pictures two men crossing an ice covered lake at night. On is scared and crawls over inch by inch. Another drives across as fast as he can in a wagon pulled by four horses, singing all the way. They both get across because each put their faith in the ice. The strength of the ice saved them whether their faith was weak or strong.
THE REALITY OF ASSURANCE
Lutherans, Roman Catholics (who make their church the arbiter of salvation) plus all denominations that teach we can lose salvation deny that anyone can know it. Some say they should not know because this might encourage them to sin- The truth is a believer can sin all he wants to; but since we are changed believers we don’t want to. sin. In fact we are distressed, like Paul (Romans 7:14ff) because we sin more than we want to.
THE PRIORITY OF ASSURANCE
The Bible makes assurance a priority. An entire Bible Book (1Jn.) and he Holy Spirits command through Peter to make our calling sure mean that God wants us to have assurance.
1. Assurance gives us peace
It is having peace about our eternal destiny. There are few burdens more unbearable that to believe in heaven and hell and wonder if we will make heaven. Satan has a field day when all we think about is our condition. We need to be out doing the will of God. A worried believer will waste his energies thinking about his own spiritual state. He will be a spiritual hypochondriac obsessed with his own ailments, doubts, questions, conflicts and corruptions (J. C. Ryle).
2. Assurance makes us strong
In the face of temptation we say “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4) In the face of trouble we say “trouble produces character” (Rom. 5:3, 4). In the face of death we say, “I will fear no evil for Thou art with me” (Ps. 23). In the face of eternity we can say with Paul:
2 Cor. 5:1
“We know we have a building from God, eternal in
the heavens, not made by human hands”
We grow strong in our prayer life, saying,
Heb. 10:22
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and full assurance of faith / Let us hold fast and retain without wavering (Ampl.), the hope we profess, for He who has promised is faithful.”
3. Assurance helps our witness
1 Pet. 3:15
“Be ready at all times to give an account to anyone who asks you of the HOPE that is in you; but do it with humility and reverence.”
A doubting believer will not even want to talk to others until he is sure about himself. And if he does witness, he will be a poor example of what he is trying to give. This weary world is waiting and longing for some words of hope and certainty. I like a dogmatic pilot who says we will get home safely.. I like a dogmatic surgeon, not one who hopes he can help me. To give people hope we need to give them something solid to stand on.
We admit there are many things we do not know, but when it comes to our salvation we do. The blind man Jesus healed in John 9 could not answer all the theological questions of the learned Pharisees but he knew where he stood with Jesus. He said, “One thing I do know. Once I was blind but now I can see” (Jn. 9:25).
THE DIFFICULTY
Mark 9:24
“Lord, I believe; please help my unbelief.”
1. Doubters by Nature
Almost all Christians have doubts from time to time. And for most of us this is good, because it leads us to study our Bibles more and pray more. Others, sadly, are chronic doubters by nature. They are chronic worriers who wonder if their husband or wife or children or God loves them. Not being loved by God is unthinkable so they blame themselves asking, “Have I repented? Have I believed? What if Christianity is not true? What if the Catholics or Mormons are right and I need to be baptized by them?
Such people, JC Ryle says, are born again in doubt, live in doubt, die in doubt and go to heaven in a kind of mist. The great Scottish Reformer, John Knox was such a man, and even on his death bed he was worried. Luther was a doubter and was tempted to call for a priest when he was dying. Spurgeon said his doubts were as strong as his certainties.
2. Spiritual Laziness - Ignorance
2 Pet. 1:10
“Be eager (diligent) in making you calling and
election sure.”
Eph. 4:14
Paul spoke of growing:
“So we will not be like children tossed back
and forth by every changing wind of teaching.
Jesus said -Jn. 8:32
“The truth will set you free.”
Too many people today do not take the time and effort needed to know their Bibles through prolonged, planned, study, combined with persevering prayer and discussions with others, to find and know truth.
Tony Evans says if you want a biscuit, you won’t get one lying in the bed wanting for it, praying for it, or whining because you don’t have it. You have to get up and go into the kitchen.
3. Looking for a feeling
Some doubt because they are looking for a feeling instead of standing on the truth. The Bible never tells us to have a feeling.
I witnessed to a lady with a Church of God background who believed she needed some “feeling” to hit her to “really” be saved. I kept telling her God’s order was: (1) Facts (2) Faith (3) Salvation (4) Feeling. I did this for months, all to no avail.
One day at her kitchen table, I read, “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” (1 Jn. 1) I asked her if she had repented. She said yes. I asked her if she had put her trust in Christ. She said yes. Then I said, “Upon the authority of God’s Word I tell you; your sins are cleansed.”
She didn’t budge so I told her to read it and said read it again every time she stopped. Right in the middle of the fourth or fifth time she jumped up, said, “Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! ” as she ran through the house. Her husband looked at me and said, “Preacher, I think she got the feeling.”
4. No One Experience Remembered
Some doubt because they can’t look back at any one experience when they remember when became true Christians. We discussed this under “conversion” but I remind you again it is not the experience that matters, but the expression; not remembering the birth, but seeing the life; not wondering if we really repented and believed; but repenting and believing today and every day.
5. Awareness of Sin
In seminary I doubted I was converted because as I read the Bible God was showing me how sinful I really was. Peter had been following Jesus for a year, when he said one day, “Go away from me Lord, because I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8). As we saw under the New Birth one paradox of Christian growth is that the growing Christian sometimes does not think he is growing. The closer we get to Jesus, the more we see His love and how far short we fall. We sin less and less but confess more and more.
It is this awareness and hatred of sin that lets us know we have truly been born again- Lost people are not burdened over their sins. Their thoughts are on material things and pleasure; not whether or not they are saved, and not on serving God.
6. Tolerating Willful Sin
Peter lists eight qualities that should be in every Christian’s life (2 Peter 1) and says:
“If anyone does not have these, he is blind, nearsighted, and has forgotten he has been cleansed from past sins.” (v. 9)
The great Puritan, Richard Baxter says the cause of distress over salvation often comes when we secretly maintain some known sin.
THE AVAILABILITY
2 Peter 1:10
“Make your calling and election sure”
1. Ask God for It
Rom. 8:16
“The Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God.”
2. Study the Scriptures
“The truth will set your free.”
Prayer without Bible study is an insult to God. Find verses and stand on them.
3. Stay at the Cross
Isaiah 53:5-6
“He was pierced for our transgressions / “He was bruised for our iniquities / “The punishment (NIV) that brought us peace was upon Him / “The Lord has laid on Him the sins of us all.”
Many committed Christians who live for the Lord, obey His commands, and repent and pray; wonder if they are obeying enough, repenting enough, praying enough. In doing this we take our eyes off of Jesus and get them on ourselves. As long as we look at “us” we will have doubts because we don’t like what we see.
This was my condition the first year in seminary. As a young Christian (One year old) the mature Christians stood head and shoulders above me. They got up at 6 AM for prayer and I had trouble making my 8 AM class. They witnessed on the streets and I was mustering courage to witness to my own mother. All I could think of was how could someone like me be truly saved.
My doubts, thank God, drove me to prayer, to the Scriptures, and to godly men for advice. No peace came until one night the Holy Spirit, using all this, led me to get up in the middle of the night and pray. In the bathroom, the only place you could be alone after midnight.
I read Isaiah 52:12 through Chapter53. Chapter 52 says Jesus didn’t look human. I thought of the scourging. Chapter 53 said,
“With His stripes we are healed / The Lord has laid on Him the sins of us all.
In the nearest thing to a vision, I saw Jesus lifted up full of bruises, blood and scars and I knew all of my sins, past, present and future were laid on Him. And for me to doubt would be to doubt the saving power of His sacrifice. From that day to this, I have never had the slightest doubt about my eternal destiny.
4. Look honestly at your life
2 Cor. 13:5f
“Examine (evaluate) yourselves to see if you are
really in the faith.”
Awareness of how sinful we are should not make us doubt. It is our attitude towards it and out action about it, Do you hate it when you do wrong (Romans 7). Do they make you sick (Psalm 32). Do you confess, repent and ask for forgiveness and power to live right (1 John 1:7-10).
Do you see total faith in the sacrifice of Jesus as your only way to heaven? A true Christian would no more believe he could enter the presence of a holy God without Jesus than he would believe he could lie down on the surface of the sun and live.
5. Be faithful without assurance
Until God gives you assurance keep on serving Him. I challenge you to do what I did, the whole year, I feared I was lost. Every morning I repented and believed and thanked God for salvation. Every time I sinned during the day I repented and believed; asked God for forgiveness and deliverance and thanked Him for my salvation.
Every night, getting into bed, I repented and believed, and thanked God for His salvation if I died during the night. I told myself if I went to hell I would go there clinging to the cross believing Jesus blood would get me to heaven. I kept doing this until I found peace at the cross.
THE POSSIBLE CALAMITY
Matt. 7:15-23
“Look out for false prophets (preachers). You will know them by their fruits. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit and a good tree cannot bear bad fruit / Many will say to me on that day (Of Judgment), Lord, Lord, we preached in your name. I will say to them, Depart from me. I never knew you, you evil doers.”
For some, having peace about salvation can be a calamity. Far too many people calling themselves Christians are not concerned about the disobedience that characterizes their life and trust in a past experience, and the fact that they “believe” in Jesus.
In the 1960’s a popular teaching was that there are two kinds of Christians, carnal and spiritual. Coupled with this was the call to “Be filled with the Spirit” so you would be “spiritual”.
Men like Charles Ryrie taught that we can make Jesus Savior at conversion and make him Lord later on. They took repentance out of the gospel and make it “a change of mind” where we make up our minds to trust Christ as savior. The result is seen in the George Barna report around 2001 where he found that those who attend Evangelical churches have the same morals and ethics as those who don’t. The only difference is their religious activities. The world sings about this kind of Christianity:
They go to church on Sunday
In fine clothes attired
They’ll be alright on Monday
Its just a little habit they’ve acquired
. Vance Havner used to say, “If your religion has not changed your life you’d better change your religion.” Jesus said orthodox, conservative preachers who call him “Lord! Lord!” will not make it at the Judgment. They are not deluded and confused, they are disobedient. They are “doers of evil”. (Matt. 7)
In my first year of seminary I was having more trouble with my anger than anything else. One night I was mopping the café floor and a group of preachers came in just as we were closing. I had studying to do and this would make me late, so I was not a happy camper. They spilled something and when I went over to clean it one of them made a smart remark. Before I knew it I let him have a little “Mill Hill” remark and walked away.
As always the Lord told me I needed to do what I hated more than eating nails- apologize. I kept giving excuses but finally went over and apologized. He snarled, “Kind of makes you wonder if you are really saved doesn’t it brother.” I said, “No it doesn’t! It makes me thankful that Jesus could love and die for someone like me.” The conversation ended.
Fast forward 15 years. That preacher, one of the “big men on campus” pastored a huge church in the South. He had an affair with a lady in his church and was dismissed in shame. It did not surprise me. There is an old saying, “You cannot carve rotten wood”. To me, then and now, that man’s actions to me revealed a rotten heart. I’m not his judge but I would hate to have that kind of character when I stand before God.
