WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN
SERMON TITLE: THE ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
“For God so loved the world , that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
TEXT VERSE: 2 TIMOTHY 2:19 “NEVERTHELESS THE FOUNDATION OF GOD STANDETH SURE, HAVING THIS SEAL, THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE HIS. AND LET EVERYONE THAT NAMETH THE NAME OF CHRIST DEPART FROM INIQUITY.”
Let me say this, The Lord knows whether or not you’re saved by His grace. We should know. I want to preach to you this morning on the assurance of Salvation. If you don’t know Christ today as your personal Savior, you might as well mark it in your books that you’re lost and on your way to a devils Hell. The most important thing in this life is to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re saved by His grace. Everybody here might be saved and I hope that’s the case but I’m only preaching what God said to preach. There might be somebody here missing out. There might be somebody here that thinks their saved and their not.
1 TIMOTHY 1:15 “THIS IS A FAITHFUL SAYING, AND WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION, THAT CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS; OF WHOM I AM CHIEF.”
MATTHEW 18:11 “FOR THE SON OF MAN IS COME TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST.”
JOHN 12:47 “AND IF ANY MAN HEAR MY WORDS, AND BELIEVE NOT, I JUDGE HIM NOT: FOR I COME NOT TO JUDGE THE WORLD, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD.”
I want to share three things this morning for you that are lost and don’t have the assurance of salvation. These three things are sure to those of you that are lost.
NUMBER ONE: Sin is sure. Ecclesiastes 7:20 “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” The Bible says in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” There’s no way we can get the glory of God because we’ve all sinned. If you’re here and you’re lost without Christ, Sin is sure in your life.
Numbers 32:23 “...be sure your sin will find you out.”
We don’t have sin in our lives because of things that we’ve done or because of the lifestyle we chose to live. We don’t have sin in our lives because of the color of our skin or our nationality, size or age. Sin came into this world by one man named Adam. But thank God Salvation came into the world by one man and that man is Jesus Christ. Read Romans Chapter five and you’ll get a blessing out of it. If you’re here without Christ, Sin is sure in your life. The only antidote for sin is Jesus Christ. You know why he was crucified? He was crucified for our condemnation. But he was raised again for our justification. We’re justified only if we have the blood of Christ applied in our lives.
NUMBER TWO: Death is sure. James 1:15 “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
If sin is sure in your life you can mark it down in your book that death is also sure. You cannot escape death unless you know Christ as your Savior. You’re living a miserable life this morning if you’re trying to live it without Christ. If you’re Lost without God, sin is ruling in your life and it will lead you to death one day after awhile.
NUMBER THREE: Hell is sure. The Lake of Fire is bad enough but we’re just going to stick with hell.
Isaiah 14:9 “Hell from beneath is moved for thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.”
The Bible says that Hell has enlarged itself because of the lust of men, the lust of flesh and the lust of the eyes and people are dying every day without Christ and Hell is running over with souls and heaven don’t have enough. There’s room in heaven for you today. If you’re here today and you’re lost I want you to know that Hell is sure in your life.
Psalms 9:17 “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
We’re living in a day and time when people are forgetting about Him. Worldly gain will not get you anywhere. Read Luke 16:23 “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
The Bible says the rich man died and in hell he lift his eyes. You’re heading down the wrong road this morning if you’re lost. You’re going down instead of up. You cannot make it without Christ.
Are you sure today if you’re saved by the Grace of God. You can’t get saved just by saying the sinners prayer. Let me tell you what the sinners prayer is. When the Holy Spirit of God convicts their heart and let’s them know that their lost and on their way to hell, then they step out on faith and repent of their sins and ask God into their hearts as Savior and confess it with their mouth, then you shall be saved. You can’t get saved just because somebody tells you how. You have to be convicted by the Holy Spirit of God. I believe there’s a whole lot of people in the world today that thinks their saved and their not. I believe the devil has them tricked so bad that they really believe their saved. I believe they have the head knowledge of being a Christian but they don’t have the heart knowledge. I believe a lot of them will wake up in hell and say, “God what happened?” You must be born again.
We need to know the assurance of our Salvation. Job 19:25 “For I know that my redeemer liveth.” He didn’t think I think so, no maybe so....He said I know.
2 Timothy 1:12 “..I know whom I have believed.”
Now I want to share with you three ways that you can know or prove to yourself that you belong to Christ or to Satan.
NUMBER ONE: You’ll know that you’re saved by His Spirit. 1 John 4:13 “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” If you ain’t got His spirit, you don’t have His Salvation. There’s a lot of people in this world that gets the Spirit of god mixed up with earthly emotions. Just because you can stand up and shed a tear, it does not mean that you are saved. I used to shed tears when Daddy spanked me. That didn’t mean I was saved. The Spirit can bring tears when it’s good and when it’s right but that is not what the Spirit of God is. The Spirit of God starts on the inside. I had a woman tell me the other day that they liked those old preachers who got fired up and jump around. I can get fired up and I can get to jumping around sometimes but I stay in the word of God. But If I just got up here and did that and never opened my Bible and shared the word of God, there would be no edification. If you have Jesus Christ in your life, you’ll have some Spirit every once in a while. And it won’t be a Spirit of just making you feel good. It’ll be a Spirit of making you live good. There’s a lot of people who can feel good but I wonder are you living good? Even in the valley you’ll still feel the Spirit of God. You’ll still live like a Christian and you’ll know you’re saved. There’s a lot of people who turn their Christianity on and off like a light bulb. Then they go around talking about everybody. The Spirit of God will not lead you to do that.
John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” You can’t just obtain the Spirit of get the Spirit. You can not generate the Spirit when your emotions are feeling good. I’ve seen people come to the house of God on Sunday and live like the devil the rest of the week and then come back in the house of God Praising God and act like their full of the Spirit. Their not full of the Spirit, their full of the devil. God’s not going to let you live like the devil and then worship him.
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.” If you don’t have his Spirit, you’re not saved.
Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” We need to be led by the Spirit of God. If we’re a child of God, we ought to know His Spirit. It’s not just emotions. It’s not just feeling good. I found that being a good Christian, you will usually suffer in the flesh. The Bible says that he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. People don’t like to suffer. They like to have everything they want. They like to go where they want to and say the thing they want to say. The spirit of God is not like that.
NUMBER TWO: You’ll know that you’re saved by His commandments. 1 John 2:3 “And hereby we do know him, if we keepeth his commandments.” That tells me if you’re born again, you’ll live like a member of God’s family. You’ll not be birthed into the family of God and live like the devil. There’s a lot of dead Christians in the all the churches today. Their all over. Why do you think the Bible talks about false prophets and false doctrines and you’ll know a tree by the fruit it bears. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The flesh is weak. If the devil can get up there where the Lord was at, he can get to you too.
1 John 3:24 “He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.” A lot of people don’t study his word enough to even know what his commandments are. You can’t live any old way you want and expect to get by with it. The Bible says if you don’t have chastisement from him then you’re a bastard and not a son. When I don’t live right the Lord convicts me and chastises me. I turn around and head in the right direction. There’s a lot of people who don’t even know what the right direction is.
Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” You’d be surprised at how many people don’t even know who John the Baptist is. I’m not saying you have to be a Bible Scholar but you ought to know enough to be able to tell somebody how to get saved.
NUMBER THREE: You’ll know you’re saved by His Love. As a Christian we have no choice but to love everybody. 1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
It makes me sick to see a Christian trying to live a Godly life and not living his brothers and sisters in Christ. You’re either lost or you’re so far backslid that you don’t know it. There’s people out there that will only love you if you gain their merit. If you do something their pleased with and proud of they’ll love you. If I have to do something to you or for you to gain your love I don’t want it. I didn’t have to anything to gain it from God. I was a sinner and God loved me.
1 John 4:21 “He that loveth God love his brother also.” We’re not always going to agree, we’re going to differences in opinions, but we still have to love one another. Don’t just love in word or deed but also in truth.
John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
If you don’t have his Spirit, His commandments or His love, you can be sure you’re lost and on your way to Hell. You say Preacher, I’m lost, how can I be saved. Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 1 John 5:1 “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Hebrews 6:19 “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.”
Is your soul anchored in the rock of ages. Has your soul got an anchor from here to heaven to when you pass away, God will just carry you on home?
LET US PRAY: Father, I feel your Spirit drawing me. I know that I am lost and I have heard your words and ask you Lord to save me. I repent of my sins and believe that God sent you, his only begotten son to die on the cross at Calvary and that you arose on the third day and ascended back into heaven where you are now at the right hand of God. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
