Short Beds And Small Blankets

Many people select the short bed and narrow

blankets of:

II. GRAND PROFESSIONS

Some people are very fond of curling up in the short bed of an empty profession of faith. Some trust in a decision they made a number of years ago – a decision that was the result of a mere fleeting emotional moment. However that profession has never resulted in any lasting change in their lives.

Matthew 7:21,22

A. Notice the claim of the lost (v.22)

They claimed He was their Lord, but calling Him Lord does not make Him Lord.

They had truth. They were able to say the right things about Him, but they were still not saved.

They were also fervent and zealous, and you notice this in their speech “Lord, Lord.” However, being fervent, zealous, or sincere does not save.

Here is a false assurance. There is the tendency to base our assurance upon certain statements which we ourselves make or how we make them. There are those who say, “Scripture says, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’” They interpret such verses as meaning that as long as they acknowledge and say certain things about the Lord Jesus Christ, they are automatically saved. Their error is surely this: the man who is truly saved and who has a genuine assurance of salvation does make, and must make, these statements, but the mere making of these statements does not of necessity guarantee, or assure, a man of salvation.

The very people with whom our Lord is dealing do say: “Lord,Lord,” but, as James reminds us in his Epistle that “the devils also believe, and tremble.”

If you read the Gospels, you discover that the evil spirits, the devils, recognize the Lord. They know who He is; they say the right things about Him. But they are devils, and they are lost.

Though the believer, the Christian, does say the things, he does not stop at merely saying them. We must not put our trust in our own belief but in the Lord Jesus Christ must our faith rest. We should not rely on our own belief, or our on mere assertion of it.

There is the terrible danger of basing our assurance of salvation upon a repetition of certain statements, a formula, or a prayer.

What is the difference between what we have just described and basing our assurance of salvation upon the fact that we are members of a church, or that we were baptized. There is no difference.

A faith that goes no further than the head can never bring salvation. Ro 10:10 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.”

There are some people who will think they are saved, but who, in fact, are still lost and headed to Hell!

B. Notice the condemnation of the Lord (v.23)

Jesus had no knowledge of their pardon of sin, and He had no knowledge of their possession of salvation. 2 Timothy 2:19 “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.”

Being religious means nothing. Religion without faith in Christ is form without the power.

Many people select the short bed and narrow

blankets of:

III. GROSS PRESUMPTION

Proverbs 27:1

Multitudes are depending on a tomorrow to get saved. To provide for tomorrow is our duty, to boast of it is sin. Only a fool would dare to do so; for we may be ushered into eternity without Christ before the sun goes down or rises again. The rich fool’s soul was required of him the very night he gloried in the fullness of his barns.