The sinking sun sets behind the
hill. Darkness surrounds me. It's terror I feel. There's none quite so helpless,
so needy of light, as one who is wandering in nature's dark
night. Nature's night. nature's night. Once I was lost in nature's night,
but Jesus found me and gave me light. He put an end to my nature's
night. I was by nature a child of selfishly
wandering down Satan's path. I knew not, nor cared not, that
all was not right. So thick was the darkness of
nature's night. Nature's night. nature's night once I was lost
in nature's night but Jesus found me and gave me light he put an
end to my nature's night But God, who but speaks and the
light appears, has shined in my heart His Son to reveal. I'll plead to the Savior with
all of my mind, for He can deliver from nature. Nature's night, nature's night. Once I was lost in nature's night. But Jesus found me and gave me
light. put an end to my nature's night. Now this morning I'm going to
do things a little different. I know that if God will enable
me to preach the message he has given me. I have a message. I do have a message that will
be a benefit to your soul. I know that's so. And this morning
I'm going to preach my message and then give you my text. So
just listen carefully. Just hear what I say. Now I know
that God has chosen a people in eternal election, a people
whom he will and must save, a people whose names have been from all
eternity written in the book of life of the land. Those disciples
our Lord sent out those 70 came back to him and reported how
that the demons were subject to them And he said he said so
I've given you that power, but don't you rejoice in this? Don't
you rejoice in what you've experienced? Don't you rejoice in what you've
seen don't you rejoice in your power, but rather rejoice that
your names are written in heaven My great concern is this, I want
to know that my name is written in that book. I want to know,
I want to know that my name has been inscribed in the book of
life of the Lamb before the world began. I want to know that I
am one of God's elect. I want to know that I am one
of those whom God chose, whom God predestinated to eternal
life before the world began. I want to know that. And I have
some hope that I am. I also know that the Lord Jesus
Christ redeemed that elect multitude. I'm fully aware that Christ has
redeemed all of God's elect from the curse of the law when he
died as our substitute upon the cursed tree. Jesus Christ, the
son of God, shed his blood not in vain. Every sinner for whom
he died shall be with him in everlasting glory. He has borne
the sin of many and put their sin away. I know that. My hope
is, my desire is, my great concern is that he bore my sin and put
my sin away. I want to know with certainty
that Jesus Christ had my sin imputed to him. If my sin was
imputed to him, it is impossible for sin to be charged upon me. I want to know that Christ put
away my sin For I recognize payment God cannot twice demand First
at my bleeding surety's hand and then again at mine. I We
also recognize the fact that God the Holy Spirit, according
to Holy Scripture, effectually regenerates, calls, and saves
every one of God's elect. Those who were chosen of God
in eternal election, whose names were written in the Book of Life
of the Lamb, were sealed by God with a seal in their foreheads
before the world began. Christ redeemed them he redeemed
every one of them and the Spirit of God calls them effectually
to life everlasting Oh Spirit of God come today and speak with
that voice that awakes the dead and calls the dead here to leave
and Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causes to approach
unto thee thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power
It is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy we know that we know that and We
recognize that when God the Holy Spirit calls, He calls by the
almighty, irresistible power of His grace. And those who are
called, He effectually brings to life repentance and faith
in Jesus Christ. Salvation is not by the will
of man, but by the will of God. Salvation is not by the design
and purpose of man, but by the design and purpose of God. Salvation
is not the result of man's work, but the result of God's work.
Salvation is not by man's decision, but by God's decision. We are
fully aware of those things. But my desire is that I may know
now That I am truly called of God. That my faith stands not in the
words of man, but in the power of God. That I believe not because
of something that I have seen like the men in Galilee we had
in our lesson this morning who believe because of the miracles.
I want to believe because God has spoken to my heart and caused
me to believe. I want to know that my faith
stands in the power of God. And I know this, I know this.
Every sinner in this world, every sinner in this world who believes
on the Lord Jesus Christ has everlasting life. That's the
word of God. That's the word of God. I say
to you here today without reservation, young and old, men and women,
I say to you plainly, as plainly as I know how, God help you to
hear me, if today You believe on Jesus Christ. If today you
call on the name of the Lord, if where you sit right now, God
gives you faith, believe in Christ, you have everlasting life. I
know that. I know. I preach this message
around the world to men wherever I go. Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and you have everlasting life. That's the promise of God. It's impossible for a man to
trust God and perish. Sometimes we speak in hyperbole,
that is, we make exaggerated statements and make statements
like, well, like Job, though he slay me, yet will I trust
him. Well, that's a statement of confident faith. but it's
a statement about an impossible thing. You can't trust God and
God slay you. You cannot cling to Christ and
God cast you into hell. You cannot believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and be lost. Faith in Christ brings everlasting
salvation. That's the word of God. Everybody who reads the Bible
with any measure of spiritual discernment understands and knows
these things Election Redemption regeneration
effectual calling these things are not Deep profound mysteries. They are simple elementary truths
of the gospel plainly revealed in Holy Scripture who are chosen
by God in election were redeemed by Christ at Calvary and Shall
be called by the spirit of God in time and all who are called
by the spirit believe and all who believe live Now I can safely
say I believe that everybody here has some interest in these
things I Everybody here some of you have only a vague fluctuating
interest some of you have a deep abiding interest But we all have
some interest in these things We are all many women who entertain
some hope that we are among the number of those sinners whom
God loved with an everlasting love for whom Christ died and
redeemed and whom the Spirit of God regenerates by his almighty
grace We all hope that we are those whom God will bring to
heaven at last. Is there anybody here? Is there
anybody here who has no desire and no hope that God will bring
you to everlasting glory? Anybody here who has no desire,
no hope that you're one of God's elect, one whom Christ redeemed,
one whom the Spirit calls, one to whom faith is given? Anybody?
Didn't think so I can safely assume that everybody here has
some interest in these things now let me ask you another question
and This is the title of my message this morning. You're taking notes.
This is what I'm preaching about Where is your evidence? Where is your evidence? Let's
put ourselves on trial on trial in our own consciences. Many
of you, along with myself, claim to have a saving interest in
Christ. We claim to have title to life
everlasting. But what evidence do we have
that our title is good? If you have a piece of property,
you go to the bank and buy a piece of property, it will be searched
out on legal grounds. Searched out upon grounds that
must be answerable to law to prove that your title to the
property is good. If the title is not good, you
can't do anything with it. Now I'm telling you, we claim
to have a title to everlasting life in Christ Jesus. Where is
the evidence? Where is the evidence of your
title and of mine? Some of you want nothing more in this world than to know that that title
is good. For some of you, This is a matter
of constant, tender concern. Your soul is continually vexed
and continually troubled. You may not discuss it much because
it doesn't sound good to discuss it in some circles. In some circles,
it sounds very good to discuss it, but you constantly are vexed
with this question. "'Tis a point I long to know. Oft it causes anxious thought. Do I love the Lord or no? Am I his or am I not? Now, I want to search the evidence
and find out. How about you, Merle? I want
to know. I want to know. Am I his or am
I not? If we can rightfully lay claim
to that eternal salvation which Christ Jesus has accomplished
by His obedience, if we can rightfully lay claim to that faith which
is the possessor of everlasting life with full assurance and
confidence, we must be able to prove that it's ours by the evidence
God has given in His Word. If we would have assurance of
eternal life, we must be able to prove that eternal life is
ours by that evidence God has given in his word. The assurance
of a saving interest in Christ must be built upon evidence,
evidence that is acceptable both to the court of God in heaven
and to the court of God in my own conscience. Do you understand
what I'm saying? If we would have assurance, we
must have it on grounds that is acceptable with the court
of God in heaven and acceptable with the court of God in my own
conscience. We claim to be Christians. We
hope that we are the children of God. We hope that we are the
heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Where is the
evidence? Where is your evidence? Where
is mine? I'm going to make four statements
and on the last statement I'll show you my text, but I want
you to hear what I say No experience of grace, this
is number one no experience of grace Feeling of spirituality
our work performed by me past or present is Evidence that I'm
a child of God No experience, it matters not
how deep, it matters not how greatly it is remembered, it
matters not how life-changing it is, no experience of grace,
feeling of spirituality, or work performed by me, past or present,
is evidence of eternal life. I know that those who are born
of God experience regeneration, conversion, and repentance. Those
who are born of God experience faith. I know that every true
believer feels things. Every believer feels remorse
for sin. He feels the conviction of sin. He feels inner conflict in his
soul. He feels love and joy and peace. I know that everyone who is born
of God does maintain good works those things are plainly spoken
of in the scriptures But a man may possess all of those things
and not possess eternal life So there's no evidence that I
have life Good works in the tenor of my life do not prove that
I'm a Christian I Experiences that transform my life do not
prove that I'm a Christian a man may have life-changing experiences
So that he he ceases to be an adulterer and becomes moral he
ceases to be a drunk and becomes sober He ceases to be a thief
and becomes an honest man. He may have life-changing experiences
and not know the Living God and Experience is no basis of assurance
feeling is no basis of assurance good works are no basis of assurance
Answer me this question What evidence do you have that you're
a child of God? When your conscience disturbs
you how do you silence it? How do you silence it? When you
examine yourself, if you're honest enough to examine yourself, how
do you prove to yourself that you're one of God's? When doubts
arise, how do you settle them? Does your heart go back to an
experience you had when you were a boy, or you had when you were
a girl, or you had when you were a young man, or had when you
were a young woman, or an experience you had yesterday or this morning? Does your heart go back and remember
a feeling or hold forth some work that you have performed
and say there I know that I'm saved because if I were not saved
I could never have experienced or done or felt these things
Now hear me if your assurance of saving interest in Christ
is Built upon this foundation. I've got to tell you this one
of two things are so Either you're a very proud, self-righteous
hypocrite, deceiving yourself with a false refuge or refuge
of lies, or else you have no real peace of heart, assurance
of faith, and confidence before God. One of those two. If you base your hope of life
on what you felt, experienced, or done, you're either a proud,
deceptive, deceiving hypocrite, or you have no peace before God.
You may pretend to have it, but you don't have it. You may want
it, but you don't possess it. You rest on that which is a foundation
of sand, and you find no rest there. In your inmost soul, you
cannot say with Paul, I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day. The evidence you offer to silence
your conscience will not hold up in the court of conscience.
Is that true or not? Is it true or not? You lay on
your bed at night, in the wee hours of the morning, and you
hold up to your conscience experiences of grace and feelings of spirituality
and good works and say, do not these things, but give sufficient
proof that I'm a child of God, and conscience says no. No. You see, the conscience is like
the law of God in your soul. It demands perfection. Your conscience,
buddy, won't let you rest without perfection. It won't do it. It
won't do it. You see, these things can't give
assurance because any grace that I experience may be a counterfeit
work of Satan. Any of it. Only feelings of,
or any feelings of spirituality, feelings of inner conflict and
remorse and guilt and conviction, those feelings that I have may
be no more than natural emotions. I'll give you an example. My daughter, when she was little,
and it's still true today, she's tenderhearted, If she did something
of which I disapproved, I need only speak to her sternly and
plainly. And she begins to weep with remorse
for what she's done. She begins to be greatly sorrowful
because she's offended her dad. And that's an emotional feeling
of nature, not of grace. Men and women when they when
they are confronted with sin and confronted with judgment
and confronted with the law of God and confronted with the love
of God in Christ may have great emotional experiences that have
nothing to do with spirituality Secondly Those graces and works which
convince other men and women that I'm a child of God and Can
never convince my own heart and conscience Even the fruit of
the spirit is no sure evidence that I'm one of God's elect Let's
see now turn back to Matthew chapter 5. I want you to see
some things I Know that there are many things By which others
are convinced that we belong to God both in the world and
in the church and Our Lord said to his disciples in Matthew 5
in verse 13 Ye are the salt of the earth salt preserves and
God's elect are the ones who preserve this world the world
is preserved for the sake of God's elect But if the salt have
lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted it is henceforth
good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of
men and You are the light of the world. You, you who believe,
are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be
here. In other words, if you got light
in you, somebody gonna see it. If you got light in you, somebody
will recognize it. Neither do men light a candle
and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick that it giveth
light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine
before men. That is, live before men by faith,
uprightness of heart, and conduct in such a way that men may see
your light, and by your good works, that seeing your good
works may glorify your Father which is in heaven. Now that's
a fact. God's people are known by their
works, known not to themselves but to others. That man or woman
who makes the flattering opinion of others the evidence of their
salvation is a fool. Now, we look upon one another
and esteem that if a man's faithful to the gospel, and a man is a
man of moral principle, and a man of evident doctrinal persuasion,
and a man who behaves in a manner that's consistent with the gospel,
we say, well, he's brother. He's of God. And we look upon
things that way because we judge by sight. We judge by outward
things. But those outward things, they'll never convince your conscience. What about the gracious influences
of the Spirit of God in the believer's life? Does not the fruit of the
Spirit prove that a person is truly born of God? Again without
question all who are born of God have the Spirit of God and
the Spirit of God bears fruit in them Galatians 5 22 verses
22 and 23 tell us that we have fruit toward God Love joy and
peace we have fruit toward man long-suffering gentleness and
goodness and we have fruit within faith that is faithfulness meekness
and temperance and But let's hold these things up. Let's hold
them up. Let's bring them up here. I'm
laying in my bed now. My wife's asleep. My daughter's
asleep. House is quiet. And I go to bed
and my mind and my conscience raises the question, am I or
am I not in the faith? Am I or am I not a child of God? Well, the Word of God says that
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Now, do I have those things or
do I not? Yes, I have them. Yes, I have
them. I can say that with honesty.
I do have love, joy, and peace toward God. I do have long-suffering,
gentleness, and goodness toward you. I do have faith, faithfulness,
meekness, and temperance. Oh, well, now that's enough.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. No, that's no
evidence. That's no evidence. That won't
satisfy my conscience. Because my love, joy, and peace
toward God at best are fluctuating. Sometimes hot, sometimes cold. Sometimes fervent, sometimes
lanquid. My long-suffering at best is
impatience. My gentleness at best is awfully
hard. My goodness at best is terribly
selfish. My faithfulness at best is unpredictable. My meekness at best is full of
pride. And my temperance at best lacks
evidence, or lacks discipline, and so it lacks evidence that
I am a child of God. My conscience won't accept those
things. My conscience will not look at that fruit of the Spirit
and say, this is sufficient. Because my conscience demands
perfection. Perfection. Now let me tell you,
if you look to the fruit of the Spirit in you, as evidence of
your election, redemption, and regeneration, one of two things
are so. One of two things are so. Either you're a proud, self-righteous
hypocrite deceiving your own soul, or you have no assurance,
no peace, no confidence before God. One of those two. One of those two. You may sing,
blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. And you may protest vehemently
against the possibility that you're not yet saved, that you're
not yet a child of God, that you're not yet an heir of salvation.
But in your inmost soul, in the quiet, lonely watches of the
night, your conscience torments you and says, you have no evidence
of life! You're lost! You're dead in sin! You're a hypocrite! Your conscience
says so. And all I'm doing is I'm telling
you what your conscience says. If it doesn't say it, don't pay
attention to me. If your conscience doesn't tell
you that when you're by yourself, don't you hear me? Don't you
hear me? If your conscience doesn't speak
as I speak to you, then don't pay any attention to what I'm
saying. And I know this. Even my love for you, my brothers
and sisters in Christ, is no sure evidence of saving faith
in Christ. But pastor, don't all of God's
people love each other? Oh, yes. Oh, yes, they do. God's people love one another.
If a man doesn't love his brethren, he doesn't love God. I don't
deny that at all. Our Lord said, by this shall
all men know that you're my disciples, if you have love one for another.
But the issue is not what other men know. The issue is not what
you know about me or what I know about you, because we don't know
anything, really. Not really. We don't really know. We judge only by the outward
appearance. And that's the only way we can
judge. He loves his brethren. That man loves them. Now, I believe
that. I believe that. But Bob, I don't
know that. I don't know that. I don't know. I think that's what motivates
you. I think that's what governs you. I think that's what dictates
your manner of life. But I don't know anything. I
don't know anything. I just deal with you on the basis
of what I see. And that's the way you deal with
me. That's the way you deal with me. That's the only way we can
deal with things. But that can't be an evidence
of salvation. Not to suit our consciences.
That cannot be proof that we have life everlasting. I want
evidence that will satisfy my own conscience and heart. I know
Wes Rosenblum esteems me as a faithful man, a believer, a child of God.
I know you esteem me as such. But that doesn't give me any
peace. That doesn't give me any peace. I know my wife and daughter
esteem me as a man who is born of God, who follows God, who
walks with God. I know they do. But that doesn't
give me any peace. That won't satisfy my conscience.
Really, in this issue, honey, it doesn't matter what you think.
It really doesn't. In this issue, it doesn't matter
what anybody thinks. This is an issue to be settled
in my soul. I want evidence. to satisfy my
own conscience and heart. Evidence that will answer to
the word of God that I'm one of God's elect. I want evidence
that will answer to the word of God that my sins are the sins
that were put on Jesus Christ. I want evidence that will answer
to the word of God that I am called and born of the spirit
of God and have faith in Jesus Christ. I do love you. I can say with honesty that I
love the Lord Jesus Christ. I do love Him. But my love for
you and my love for Christ is not sufficient evidence to convince
my heart and my conscience that I have a saving interest in Christ.
Because my love for you and my love for Christ is shot plum
full of sin and self-love. I heard some Bibles turning.
Heard you turning the pages. And I can almost guarantee you
that somebody turned over to 1 John chapter three. Let's look
at it. 1 John chapter three, if you
didn't find it, it's verse 14. What about 1 John 3, 14? We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. Isn't John telling us that our
love for the brethren is the basis of our assurance of eternal
life before God? I don't think so. I don't think
so. You read the 14th verse in connection
from verse 10 on down, and you'll see that John is telling us that
we know one another to be the children of God by our love one
to another. This is the way we judge between
men in this world. The children of God love one
another and do righteousness. The children of the devil are
malicious and are wicked, but love toward the brethren. can
never be a basis of personal assurance. I'll give you two
reasons. Two reasons. I cannot know with
certainty who my brethren are. I can't know that with certainty. I've committed my heart to some
men and committed my heart to some women and loved them and
cherished them Proved not to be my brethren. I Don't know who my brethren
are So that can't be a basis of assurance And more than that
my love for my brethren simply does not measure up to the requirements
of scripture Let's turn back to first Corinthians 13 first
Corinthians 13 You may be protesting in your conscience right now
and saying, but I love my brethren and I look to my love for my
brethren to be proof that I'm a child of God. Let's bring your
proof. I dare say the highest proof
there is, the highest evidence there is, if you could find any,
it would be right here. It'd be love for your brethren.
Let's read 1 Corinthians 13, beginning at verse four. And
then let's see whether or not we love our brethren, if our
love measures up. Love suffereth long and is kind. What does that mean? That means
love suffers long to a point, no. That means it always suffers
long. Always suffers long. That means, Bob, you don't really
love Sally, much less me. That means Sally don't really
love you, much less me. Our love just is not that...
Is your love perfectly long-suffering? I wish it were, but it's not.
It's just not. Love is kind. Always perfectly
kind. Love has no envy. Well, that just... That blew
it for us, buddy. We hadn't got any. No envy. Love never vaunteth itself. Love is never rash. Never rash. Love is never proud. Never puffed up. Love never behaves
in an unseemly way. Love never seeks anything for
itself. Do I need to read further? Love
seeketh not her own. Love is not easily provoked. Love never thinks an evil thought. Love never rejoices in iniquity. Love always rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things. Love believes all things. Love hopes all things. Love endures all things. Love never fails. Is there anybody in this building
whose conscience will allow you to say, I love another human
being like that? Nobody. If you'd raise your hand,
I'd stand on my feet and tell you right now you're a liar,
you're deceiving yourself. Well, Don, how on earth can you
read this passage of scripture and find any hope? I'll tell
you what, this is the way we ought to love. And if we don't
have this kind of love, we don't have life. I know that. And the
only way I can possibly find any Any consolation for any human
being on this earth, in this scripture, is to read it like
this. Christ suffereth long, and Christ
is kind, and Christ envieth not. And if any man have not Christ,
it profits him nothing. For only Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, loves like this. He's the only one who ever fulfilled
the law. If you make your love toward
your brethren the basis of your assurance and the evidence of
your salvation, one or two things are so. Either you're a proud,
self-righteous hypocrite deceiving your own heart, or you have no
assuring evidence of a saving interest in Christ. Now that's
right. The lack of these things sure
evidence that a person is not born of God. But the presence
of these things is no evidence that we are born of God. Do you
see what I'm trying to tell you? evidence drawn from personal
experience, evidence drawn from spiritual feelings, evidence
drawn from gracious attitudes, evidence drawn from good works,
when it is fairly and honestly examined, is no evidence of a
saving interest in Christ. And if these things are not evidence
of salvation, then legal evidence certainly is not evidence of
salvation. and come and bring their legal
works their tithing and their Sabbath keeping and their obedience
to the law and they say here's my If that's your proof you've
got no proof you've got no proof Let me ask you again Where is
your evidence? Where is it? Is it all destroyed Have I torn down your refuge?
Are you now naked, defenseless, without hope and exposed to the
wrath of God in your own conscience? If you've been hiding in a false
refuge, I hope it's destroyed. But I want every child of God
here. I want every true believer. I want for myself and for you. I want so very much that we have
the full assurance faith the full assurance of a saving interest
in Christ I want you who are gods to have an assurance based
upon evidence that arises from the Word of God and satisfies
the enlightened conscience But where on earth can such evidence
be found? Look in Hebrews chapter 11 now. Here's my text Hebrews chapter
11 Verse 1, now faith is the substance of
things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Is it that simple? It's that
simple. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. and the evidence of things not
seen. The only evidence, the only evidence,
the only evidence I have of my saving interest in Christ is
faith in Christ. Now you can mark that down. Mull
it over, meditate on it, study it, search out the word. The
only evidence I have of my saving interest in Christ is faith in
Christ. Satan accuses me just like he
does you. He throws my sin in my face and
he says there, and you claim to be a child of God. He throws
up my evil heart and he says, there, take a good look. You
claim to be one of God's children? How can a man think and do and
say and feel such things as you think and do and say and claim
to be a child of God? You know, you have no evidence. My conscience torments me at
times, just like yours. I have doubts, just like you.
I have struggles, just like you. But when those things arise and
my own heart may condemn me, I find comfort, peace, and assurance. I silence Satan with his accusations,
and I silence my conscience and its accusations, and I silence
my heart and its disturbances, and I silence my mind with one
word, Christ. That's all. That's all. That's all. I have no evidence of a clear
title to heaven, but faith in Christ. that faith in Christ
is enough God says it's enough and my conscience says it's enough
look over in Hebrews 9 and verse 10 our verse verse 13 rather
if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashing of ashes
of an Heth for sprinkling the unclean, sanctifyeth to the purifying
of the flesh. That is, if these things ceremonially
sanctify, how much more shall the blood of Jesus Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself to God without spot,
purge your conscience? Do you see that? Do you see that? Purge your conscience. Now let me show you three things
about this faith and I'll send you home to meditate upon the
message and to seek that faith which is the evidence of life.
Number one, faith is the gift of God the Holy Spirit. Unto you, you can read it later,
Philippians 1.29, unto you it is given to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Unless it's given, you can't.
Unless it's given, you won't. Faith is not natural to man.
No man can believe on Christ unless God gives him faith. Now
you're responsible to believe. We won't argue about that. I
had a fellow recently argue with me whether or not man's responsible.
That's tomfoolery. Of course you're responsible
to believe. God commands you to do it. You're responsible
to believe, but you have no ability to believe. Unless God the Holy
Spirit gives you faith, you will of a certainty go to hell, clinging
to your own works of righteousness, clinging to your own goodness,
clinging to your own morality, clinging to your own uprightness,
clinging to your own sense of self-worth, you'll perish trusting
yourself. So if you have good sense, hear
what I say. And I mean that, I'm not belittling
anybody. If you have good sense, hear
what I say, and if you have good sense, you will. For God's given
you good sense. Seek faith from Christ. He's
the only one who can give it. We read earlier that story about
Peter. The Lord Jesus came to him. He came to him when he was
in the midst of a terrible storm. Son of God by your spirit come
here today And when Peter saw that he was there the Lord said
it's I'd be not afraid the Lord spoke to him God speak today
to dead sinners Peter said Lord if it's you did me come to thee
on the water and bid me come to thee, walking on that water
that would else overwhelm my soul and bring me to destruction. If it's you who's there, bid
me now to walk across the deep waters of my sin to you. Bid
me now to walk across the deep waters of divine wrath and come
to you. Bid me now to walk across the
troubled sea of my tormented conscience and come to you. You're
the only one who can bid me come. And out he went. You know what
he did? Buddy, he walked across the water.
He walked across the water. Irreverent infidels can make
jokes about it if they will. Son of God said, Peter, come
to me. He said, Peter, come to me. Oh, may he speak to you that
way. Come to me, come to me, come
to me. Just as I am without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me and that thou bidst me come
to thee, O Lamb of God, I come. And along the way, along the
way, Peter, he got looking at the storm. God help you not to do that.
God help you not to do that. Quit looking at the storm. Quit
looking at the storm. Keep your eyes fixed on him.
Looking at the storm, he began to sink. Lindsay, every time
I look at the storm going on in here, I sink. Every time. Every time I look out here, I
sink. I cry again, Lord save me, I
perish. And immediately Jesus pulled
him into the ship. That's what faith is. It's the
gift of God. So seek it from him. Faith in
Christ is the gift of God. But secondly, it's born in the
hearts of God's elect only by the preaching of the gospel.
Now listen to me. Faith without knowledge is nothing
but foolishness. It's a delusion. It's impossible. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God, which by the gospel is preached unto
you. Romans 10, 17, 1 Peter 1, or
2, 1 Peter 1, verse 25. What do you say, pastor? Faith
that is based upon false knowledge is false faith. Faith that is
based upon a false savior is false faith. Faith based upon
a false god is false faith. True faith is based upon and
is born of the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ our substitute
the son of God our Savior My friends quit trying to convince
yourself that you were saved before you learned the gospel
now you weren't You weren't. Do you think I was lost back
then? My soul, there's no thinking about that. Anybody in false
religions lost, you or me. Anybody. Anybody believes salvation
by works. Anybody believes salvation is
in some way conditioned on them is lost, utterly lost. Don't try to convince yourself
that you're saved in that mess. Come out of it. No one will trust
Christ. No one can trust Christ until
he sees these things. He must see his need of a substitute. Now, if you never saw that, you've
never trusted Christ. If you've never seen that you
must have somebody to stand in your stead to satisfy a holy
God, you've never trusted Christ. And he must see, secondly, how
that God can now be just and justify the ungodly through Jesus
Christ. That's what this whole religious
world doesn't know. They've utterly missed it. They
think, this religious world thinks that walking down an aisle, coming
to an altar, kneeling at a mourner's bench, praying through, getting
in the baptismal pool, changing your life, can somehow or another
make up for your sin. And somehow or another, man,
by his great free will decision, makes up with God. That's foolishness. That's foolish. That's idolatry
is what it is. A man, well, you got to know
that justice must be satisfied and has been satisfied. Man's
got to know that. Say, well, you preach like a
man's got to be a theologian. Nobody's got to know God. You
act like a man's got to know the Bible inside out. Nobody's
got to know something about it. He's got to know its message. And a man must see that salvation
is by grace alone. The Apostle Paul spoke so plainly
concerning this. He said, Merle, if it's of grace,
it's not of works. If it's of works, it's not of
grace. And he said, if it's works, you've fallen from grace. If you're circumcised, if you
do something by which you hope to win or gain or keep God's
favor, Christ profits you nothing! Nothing! Nothing! We are helplessly
dead, guilty, depraved sinners. We must have somebody who can
repair the law of God that we've broken, take away our sins, and
satisfy divine justice. Jesus Christ has done it! And
he saved sinners by his free grace. Do you see that? Do you
see it? In your soul, do you see that?
Then trust the Savior. And thirdly, faith in Christ
is the sure, certain, infallible evidence, proof, and assurance
of eternal life. Faith isn't the cause of anything.
Faith isn't the cause of grace, salvation, justification, or
life. Faith is not the cause of a saving
interest in Christ, but faith is the proof and the evidence
of these things. proof, evidence. I went a while back over to the
car dealership, bought a car. I've been doing that every two
or three years since I was 16 years old. And I obtained a title. Got it in my hand. Got it in
my desk drawer at home. I've got a title to the car.
Now, that title didn't buy the car. That title didn't buy the
car. That title had nothing to do
with the purchase of the car. That title is the proof that
the car has been lawfully purchased. Do you see what I'm saying? Faith
doesn't justify, faith does not put away sin, faith does not
accomplish redemption, faith does not satisfy justice, faith
does not make us righteous, but faith is proof, it's the title
that justice has been satisfied and salvation is mine. Faith's
the title. Look at the scripture here again,
Hebrews 11 verse 1. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. That word substance, I looked
it up in the concordance. It means the essence, the assurance,
or the certainty of things hoped for. Now that's a strong word. Faith is the essence, the assurance,
the certainty of what we hope for. Mr. Gill said, faith possesses
beforehand what God promised to give. Therefore, our Lord
said, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me
hath in possession everlasting life. Now wait a minute. Jay, you're not gonna live forever
on this earth. You're gonna die. But if you
have faith, you right now possess everlasting life. He's got it
in his hand. God hath everlasting life. That is, faith possesses beforehand
what God promises to give. What do you mean? I believe God. Judy sang a song
a few weeks ago. Concerning if I shall if I will
also go and the last line of the song goes I answer humbly
no Well, how can you be sure you're
gonna persevere I believe God I believe God and Believe in
God I cannot perish I'm gonna be raised from the dead This
body going to the grave And it doesn't really matter
how soon. It doesn't even matter how it goes. This body's going
to the grave, and that's all right. This body's coming out
of the grave. I'm coming out of the grave.
Well, you're going to rot and decay, and the worms will eat
your flesh. You may be destroyed at sea and
cast overboard, and sharks eat you up. And you'll be cast out
into the draft, and other sharks come along and eat that shark
up. I'm going to be raised from the dead. I'm going to be raised
from the dead. How do you know that? I believe
God. I believe God. And when I stand
before God in judgment, and God demands perfection, and God demands absolute holiness,
And God demands complete satisfaction for sin. And God demands that
I stand before Him, whole as God Himself. God will look on
me in the person of His dear Son and smile with approval and
say, well done. That's what's gonna happen. That's
what's gonna happen. How can you say that? Faith is
the substance, the evidence, the certainty, the proof, the
assurance, the possessor of things hoped for. Secondly, faith is
the evidence of things not seen. Now you know what the word evidence
means? You have a case in trial, And the jury is set. And the
prosecuting attorney begins to present evidence. And the defense
attorney presents evidence. And the evidence is weighed and
examined to see what evidence is true. And that evidence which
is true is the proof of the case claimed. By faith in Christ, I cannot read the book of life, but I can read one name in that
book. By faith in Christ, I read my
name, not write my name. I read my name in the book of
God's election. That's it. That's it. Faith is the proof. It's the
proof. The proof of things not seen.
Not proof to you. Proof to me. Not proof to God. Proof to me.