Check Your Life Boat
TEXT: 1 John 5:13
Sermon by Kenny McKinley
In 1st John were given principals for a spiritual check up that will either lead to assurance of salvation or expose false assurance. Now this is important because there are many, many Christians who are not walking in victory and who are not effective for Christ because of doubt.
Now there are three views on assurance. The 1st is a false confidence. False confidence is when a person learns that salvation is a gift and so they conclude that self-examination is unnecessary, even if there is no evidence of spiritual fruit. The Bible says that these are hearers of the Word and not doers, and they have deceived themselves. The 2nd group are those who constantly beat themselves up with anxiety and doubt. They’re never able to enjoy their standing with Christ, and the more they look at themselves the more they see their flaws. And the more they see their flaws the more fears, worries, and doubts they have, because they are looking too much at themselves and what they are capable of doing, and not looking enough at Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. The 3rd group is a combination of the other two groups and is the right group to be in. So if you will turn with me to 1st John 5:13 (read).
On April 12, 1912 the largest ship ever built set out to sea. It was as long as three football fields, 11 stories high, and weighed 46,000 tons. That’s over 9 million pounds. Most of you probably know that the name of the ship was the R.M.S. Titanic. At 9:40 PM on April 14th the Titanic received a warning about icebergs, but the warning was ignored. Five more warnings were received and all five were tossed aside. At 11:40 PM the Titanic hit an iceberg that ripped a 15 foot gash in the ships right side, and out of the 2,226 people on board, only 753 were saved.
Just like the Titanic this world was traveling along full speed ahead, ignoring all the warnings, and then it hit the iceberg of sin. The only question is, who will heed God’s warning and get into the lifeboat of salvation?
The greatest thing in the world is to be saved. The only problem is that there are many in the Body of Christ who have no assurance. Christians everywhere seem to be wrestling with the question of assurance. “Am I saved? Am I truly forgiven and right with God? Will I go to heaven?” Well one book in the Bible was written for the specific purpose of giving the believer assurance, and it’s the book we have taken our text from today. John wrote this book to help us check ourselves. To help those who say they are Christians see if they really are.
I have a Denver Broncos jersey that I will occasionally wear. But just because I might put that jersey on from time to time, it doesn’t mean that I’m part of the team. In 2nd Corinthians 13:5 were told to test ourselves. To examine ourselves as to whether or not were in the faith. And Jesus said in Matthew 7:22 “Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in Your Name, cast out demons in Your Name, and done many wonders in Your Name? And I will declare to them, I never knew you…” the Bible is clear when it tells us that there are some who claim to be Christians, and some who even think that they are Christians who really aren’t. And then there are some Christians who, as we just discussed, have trouble with assurance.
There are several key words that John used in our text and if I can I’d like to go over them today. The first, is the word “know”. Now it’s important to note that John addressed this to “you who believe”. This tells us that God wants those who truly believe to have a firm assurance of their salvation. He wants us to know that we belong to Him. The great British preacher Charles Hadden Spurgeon said he was so sure of his salvation that he could grab a cornstalk, swing over the fires of hell, look into the face of the devil, and sing “blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.” Now that’s assurance!
The 2nd key word in this verse is the word “written”. 2nd Timothy 3:16 tells us that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God…” most of you have heard me say this before and you’ll probably hear me say it again. The Bible is absolute truth. If one part of it is a lie, then it all is, and we are wasting our time being here. The problem is that there are many want to gauge where they stand with God by what they think and their feelings. Let me just tell you that those who base their assurance on their feelings end up riding an emotional roller coaster. One day they will be up, the next day they will be down. We can’t trust our feelings, but we can trust God’s Word.
The 3rd key word from our text is “believe”. What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ? Well in a nutshell we have to realize that we are sinners in need of a Savior and Jesus Christ is that Savior. Then we must accept that salvation through Christ and through Christ alone. What if I trust in Christ and something else to save me? What if I look to Him and my baptism to get me to heaven? Or what if I depend on Him and my church membership, or my morality, or my good works? If that’s the case, then I have not yet come all the way to Christ. If my trust is 90% in Christ and 10% in anything else it stands to reason that I haven’t put 100% faith in Jesus. Saving faith is a complete trust in Christ alone to save us. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the confidence of things not seen.” If you believe in Jesus Christ then assurance can be yours.
The 4th key is actually two words, “eternal life”. Eternal life is Christ Himself coming to live within us and giving to us the very life that He possesses, (read 1st John 5:20). He is in us and were in Him. That’s eternal life! Eternal life is life forever and ever. Other wise it wouldn’t be eternal, it would be temporal. But that’s not what God says. The Bible tells us that when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we have eternal life, and when that happens there is a radical change that takes place. When a person is truly born again there is a change that takes place in their lives. That’s not to say that a Christian won’t stumble from time to time. The Bible is clear in showing us that from time to time believers will give into temptation and sin, but it’s also clear that believers will not live lifestyles of sinfulness. The change that takes place in a believer’s life influences him in such a way that he will no longer practice sin as a lifestyle, or sin habitually.
Now some people will say that God will not dominate ones free will, and I agree with you, but God can and does influence our free will, and salvation does influence us to the point that we will chose to never reject the Lord. Let’s just say for example that it’s 20 degrees below zero outside, now you and I have the free will to wear what ever we want to wear but since it’s cold we will chose to wear a coat. Our free will wasn’t dominated by the weather; it was however influenced to the point that we made a certain choice. There are all sorts of things in our lives that influence our free will. Parents, children, friends, weather, state laws, I could go on and on, but that is sort of how it is when we become a Christian, we are influenced to the point that we will chose to never reject Jesus Christ.
The Bible also shows this to be true. Adam and Eve didn’t want to leave the Garden of Eden but their will was influenced by God driving them out. They may have possibly wanted to return but their free will was influenced by the cherubs that stood guard over the entrance. Those who had gathered at the Tower of Babel didn’t want to stop their building project, but God influenced their free will by confounding their languages. There are many scriptures that prove this point and were going to be covering them in the next few weeks so you might want to bring pen and paper. But the point I’m trying to get across is that, true saving faith will influence the believer in such a way that he or she will never reject Jesus Christ, and that is one of the many reasons why we can have assurance of salvation.
Assurance is knowing in whom you have believed. It’s knowing that you belong to an all mighty, all powerful, all knowing God, who is the sovereign Lord of the universe, and who loves you with a never ending love. Assurance is knowing that, “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” It’s knowing that Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith, and He has never failed in what He has set out to do. In-fact it’s impossible for Him to fail because He is God. Assurance is knowing that you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. Not until the day you slip up and make a mistake, not until the day you commit several sins, not until the day you have doubts about your salvation, but the day of redemption. That’s the day we are given glorified bodies. And assurance is knowing that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, died on the cross, and rose from the dead just for you, and when you receive Him as Savior and Lord, you belong to Him. You’re bought with a price, you’re not your own, and there’s nothing you can do to thwart the work of Christ.
Now the question I have for you today is; have you believed in Jesus Christ? Not just in Jesus as a historical figure, but as your Savior? Have you trusted in Him alone to be your Savior and Lord? If not then you can today. You can experience that change in your life, and have the assurance that when you go to meet the Lord you will get to spend eternity in heaven with Him. So if you would like to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior I invite you to come.
