I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome this evening. Let us come before the Lord,
let us ask his blessing in prayer. Lord God of heaven and of earth,
you grant us a true spirit of worship this evening. Grant us
thy Holy Spirit's aid, that we might have thy word rightly divided,
thy people be comforted. Those that are found in a false
way in comfort might be delivered. and that those grant us that
good hope through grace. Make thyself precious to our
souls. Help us to sing thy worthy praise. We ask through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen. Hymn 698, Tune Dismissal, 671. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, the 10th chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans. Romans chapter 10. We have one of our free Bibles
and joining with that it's page 1052. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the
law, for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses
describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the
man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness
which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thine heart,
who shall ascend into heaven, that is, to bring Christ down
from above, or who shall descend into the deep, that is, to bring
up Christ again from the dead. But what saith he? The word is
nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is, the
word of faith, which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference
between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they
call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they
believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath
believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. But I say, have they not heard?
Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their
words unto the ends of the world. But I say, did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke
you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish
nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold and saith,
I was found of them that sought me not. I was made manifest unto
them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, all day
long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and
gainsaying people. Lord bless to us that reading
of his holy word and help us in prayer. Let us pray. O thou most merciful and gracious,
loving Heavenly Father, we seek that entrance before thy throne,
through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Lord, thou hast
said, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. And we seek, dear Lord, to come
by thee, to plead thy name and thy merits and thy blood. Lord,
we do acknowledge our need of thee. Without thee, we cannot
be saved. without Thy precious blood shed
for us. Lord, the debt is still laid
upon us. O Lord, do show, show to each
one gathered this evening that their debt, their sins are put
away. And Lord, do grant a true token
of that, to grant that faith of which we have read Do grant,
Lord, that life that is in thee. Lord, do grant those things that
cannot possibly be given to a poor sinner, except thou hast put
away their sins upon Calvary's tree. O Lord, thou hast said,
I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out. of mine hand. O Lord, thou hast
died for thy people, thou hast suffered in their place, thou
hast endured the wrath of God for them, thou hast paid their
debt, thou hast redeemed them, thou hast finished the work on
Calvary. But Lord, in the day of grace,
do make known to those for whom thou hast died what Thou hast
done for them. Lord, set us free, grant us to
know Thee, to delight in Thee, to follow after Thee, to feel
those things that rise up against our souls, those things that
belong to our old nature and the world, and to have that desire
to resist and to seek those things which are above, even pressing
towards them and striving to enter in the straight game. Lord,
do grant us an apprehension of the need of salvation, the blessedness
of an interest in Christ that does move us, profoundly affect
us in our lives, our prayers, our hearing, and all that we
do, Lord, may there be that new creature in Christ. All things
passed away, all things become new. Do you pray a special help
this evening that we might be able to rightly divine thy word. Leave us not to be the means
of putting any of thy dear children in bondage, but Lord, may we
be the means of delivering any from a false comfort and false
tokens but Lord do grant also we might be the means of making
it clear to thy people whose they are, whom they serve, who
has wrought in their hearts that which has been wrought there.
O Lord we see thy blessing upon the ministry we have read about
the word that is preached, that is in our hearts. Lord, do grant
that it might be so, that that set forth through the ministry
is not a strange thing to thy living family on earth. Lord, that there might be that
flowing together, that witness of thy spirit with our spirit,
that we are the people of God. Lord, Thou knowest the path of
each one here. We thank Thee, Lord, for visiting
friends. We thank Thee for our dear young
friends and the children. We pray Thy blessing upon each
one. We seek, Lord, that Thou wouldst
remember us as a church and people and strengthen us and bless us
and build us up and make us a blessing to this town. Again, pray for
those that will have been prayed for by parents and grandparents
and yet are not now any desiring of walking in thy ways. And Lord,
those that recently moved into the town, Lord, be pleased to
bring them and draw them to come and worship with us here. Those
that we have been able to speak to, And Lord, the many houses,
the new houses that have been built in the area, O Lord, do
grant that there might be some that contain those that are Thy
people, that must be brought and must hear Thy word, that
they might bless Thee that ever they chose to live in this area. O Lord, we seek Thy blessing
upon Thee, Bibles, As they go forth, thy word. And Lord, that
thou hast be pleased to bless the preach word that goes forth
in the chapel here and also online. O Lord, do remember those at
this time that are in bereavement. We pray for those at Tenterton,
the Pont family, do comfort them. Do remember Jabe and comfort
him concerning his sister, and do help him when he must attend
the funeral. And O Lord, do be pleased to
be with our dear friends from South Chard, and comfort them
and help them through the loss that has been in their midst.
O Lord, do sanctify these things, cause that they might work for
good, and make it that it makes it more important with us, and
laid upon our hearts, how is the case with us? Lord, plagues and deaths around
us fly, but we know that to loudest bid we cannot die, but Lord,
make us to be a prepared people for a prepared place. We pray
for those in affliction. We pray for those recovering
from operations, especially our dear sister in faith in Holland. Do be with her now at home. Watch
over, keep her, bless her with increased strength and do grant
health and strength to her dear husband. We do commit unto thee
many that are unwell at this time. We do seek to thank thee
for every measure of health and strength. O Lord, be with any
others that are laid aside. Lord, we do pray that we might
be in health as we are spiritually. Lord, we think of how the Apostle
John wished and desired those to whom he wrote that they might
have that mirror of health in their bodies as what was in their
souls. O Lord, may we truly be healthy
in our souls as we have sung to live a life of faith and prayer. Do deliver us, Lord, from the
constant oppositions that are within and without our old nature,
the lusts of our flesh, desires of the mind, the world within,
the vain thoughts and the empty thoughts. Lord, do deliver us
and save us from our old nature. Save us from Satan's wiles and
snares. when he comes in as a roaring
lion, or when he is as an angel of lion. Preserve and keep us
from that way that seemeth right unto a man, for the end thereof
are the ways of death. Deliver us from making excuses
for sin, may we clearly know what sin is. Deliver us from
subconsciously minimising it, or putting those things as not
sin or not bad that we want to keep on doing. We confess before
Thee a deceitful, wicked and evil heart. Lord, we feel it
day by day. O Lord, truly Thy word is true,
that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? O Lord, save
us from it. and do work in us to will and
to do of thy own good pleasure. Grant us a pure appetite. Grant
us, Lord, to relish thy word, love thy word, delight in thy
word, delight in reading good books and the lives of thy dear
people, to hear the testimony of those who have known the life
and power of God in their souls. O Lord, we seek thy blessing
on others that gather for worship this evening. Bless that already
attended today, whether for Australia or in other churches. And we do pray for our brethren
in America that will be worshipping after us and no doubt already
have had one service. We seek, Lord, thy blessing upon
them. Be with thy dear servants that
hope in the coming year to take up pastorates and all the arrangements
that are needing to be done now, to go before them, especially
where they seek visas or ability to move from one country to another.
Oh Lord, help them in that path. May they know the blessing of
having shut doors opened and the way made clear before them.
Here with thy dear aged servants, we thank thee that many are able
to preach even into their 90s, and Lord, do bless their ministry
and help them. We do pray for those in authority
over us. Do give them wisdom. We pray
that thou hast overturned the designs of those that wish to
bring in assisted dying bill and other legislation so contrary
to thy word, O Lord, do save us from wicked and unreasonable
men. And Lord, do return again in
this land and do grant a spiritual revival who turn us unto thee. Lord, we are reaping our godless
state and condition as a nation. Lord, we do seek for grace and
help to serve thee in our day and in our generation, to be
not silent, but speak of thee and point sinners unto thee.
Lord, help us to be true Faithful shepherds and those that warn,
Lord do help us in our day to be what those who have been before
us have been in their day and have been such a blessing. O
Lord do forgive our many sins, wash us in thy precious blood,
feed our souls this evening, strengthen and encourage us and
in the week that we've entered upon may thy blessing be upon
it. Help thy dear servant engaged
to come to us on Thursday we pray thy blessing on that day
of our Thanksgiving services. Lord may it be a good day and
Lord do constrain many to come and join with us. We pray also
that same blessing and I hope to preach at Red Hill the following
day. Lord, do bless them, thou hast
blessed them as a church and people. We thank thee for them. And Lord, may it be a good day
there as well. Lord, do be pleased then to help
us and grant us day by day to live that life of faith and prayer. Give us thankful hearts. We thank
thee for our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for the gift of
Him, Emmanuel God with us, Thy own beloved Son, whom Thou hast
not withheld, but offered Him up for us all. We thank Thee,
Lord, for that offering acceptable unto God. And Lord, that Thou
didst know those for whom Thou didst die, Thou didst bear our
sins in Thy body on the tree. And we do thank Thee for that
empty tomb, a risen Saviour, and the witness of Thy Spirit
sent from heaven. Lord, do bless us then with faith
in Thee, and may we ever have set before us our Lord Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. We ask now this help and blessing
upon the preached word. We ask through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen. Announcements, God willing, I'm
expected to preach here next Lord's Day at 11am and 6.30pm. On Thursday we hold our Harvest
Thanksgiving services here at 3.30pm and 6.30pm where Mr Stephen
Hyde is expected to preach. and the following day at four
o'clock and 6.30 I'm expected to preach at Shaw's Corner Red
Hill at Stephen Hines Church. May the Lord be with us on those
times of assembling and times of thanksgiving. Hymn 1149, Tune. Gabriel 741. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Paul's second epistle to the
Corinthians and chapter 13. to Corinthians chapter 13 and
verse 5. Examine yourselves, whether ye
be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves,
how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates. 2 Corinthians 13 verse 5. The Apostle says in verse 3 that
the Corinthians were seeking a proof of Christ speaking in
him. And he says, which to you, Lord,
is not weak, but is mighty in you. Although he was crucified
through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also
are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of
God toward you. And the apostle then turns it
about and challenges them to examine themselves, whether they
were in the faith or not. Now, there are some occasions
when it is not good all the time to have an introspection, to
be looking inwards to try and find some evidence or some token. But the Scriptures are very clear
that we are to examine ourselves. The Apostle challenged the Corinthians
in the first epistle, when they came to the Lord's Supper to
examine themselves whether they really were worthy to sit down
there. And there's two sides to this,
because as we examine ourselves by the word and through the ministry,
a searching ministry, those that are resting on a false foundation
They have that discovered them in the day of grace before it
is too late. It's a solemn thing to go through
to eternity, resting, trusting that we are saved when we're
not. Bunyan portrays this with his Christians and one called
Ignorance that was walking in the way with them. And they kept
trying to tell him where he was wrong. that his trust was a false
trust and he wouldn't listen. He kept on and he was lost at
last. So on one way, it is good that
we be discovered while there is time from any false way that
we are trusting in. By also identifying those false
ways, it makes it more clear to those that are the people
of God, those that have a true faith, that theirs is a true
faith. Many things are seen much clearer
by a contrast. If we have white on white, there
is no contrast, you can't see clearly. If you have black on
white, then you can very clearly see the contrast. And the Word
of God is full of contrast. We've mentioned many times before,
right from the beginning, where you get Cain and Abel, two worshippers,
Not just one, but two. One is worshipping wrong, one
is trusting in his own works, his own fruits, and the other
is worshipping according to God's plan. Right at the very start
of the Word of God, you've got this examination, what is wrong
and what is right. And you have that right through
the Word, when our Lord speaks about the two, going into the
temple to pray. We don't have one, we have two. We have the publican, and he's
speaking pleading mercy, God be merciful to me a sinner. You
have the Pharisee who is telling God of all of his good works
and he is standing in need of nothing in his own eyes, but
lifting himself up before God. And our Lord clearly saying that
it was the publican that went down to his house justified or
accounted free from guilt, not the other. And so it is good
for us to look at what is false evidences or false things and
rest and what is that which is right. This is why we read Romans
10, because the apostle desired those of his countrymen to be
saved. And he was looking at them and
he was seeing that they had a zeal for God, but not according to
knowledge. They would not be saved going
the way that they were. They were seeking it by the deeds
and works of the law, not by faith. And then later in that
chapter, he sets forth the path by faith. And these things are
in the inspired word of God. That is the Holy Spirit setting
his seal upon what is a true evidence, as God is saying it,
not what man says. We can easily drift in a denomination
or over the years In doing exactly what the Lord charged the Jews,
they were teaching four commandments, the traditions of men. And we
can raise up to ourselves some evidences or things that we think
and has been told us that is true evidences that do not have
a scriptural foundation for them. And that then can put God's true
family in bondage when they find that they don't have these things
and they think that they should have them, but the scriptures
don't say they should have them at all. And we need to be careful
like that, that we don't add to the word of God and really
put hindrances and burdens and stumbling blocks in the front
of God's people so that they don't have the assurance and
comfort that they should have. How vital it is then to be ripe
for eternity. We've had funerals lately and
those who've been taken suddenly by the hand of death, one in
South Chard, we've had early on in the year in Attleborough,
and these things should have a message to us that we really
search and try our own ways. How is it with us. And so I want to look this evening,
and I really have prayed that I might give a true scriptural
message. I do not want to put any in bondage,
and although I identify later on when I speak of some of those
things that are not to be trusted in, but many of them They are
elements in true faith. They are aspects of true faith. But they are not the sole thing
to be rested upon. So I want to look firstly at
trust for salvation that is not saving. I want to look at that
first. And then secondly, trust that
is saving. Now I've used the word trust
instead of faith. that really faith is a trust. And then lastly, the effects
of knowing on who and what our salvation rests on. And I want to really note on
that, that it is very scriptural, it's very right that God's people
can have and do have assurance and comfort. There can be, in
our denomination and others, almost if someone says that they
are sure that they're Lords and that they know that the Lord
has blessed them, then people question and say, well, you don't
be so sure. You should be humble. You should be, I hope it is well. And the idea is to damp or to
take away assurance and the joy of salvation. The scripture is
very clear that God's dear children, when the Lord blesses them, his
spirit does bring them to know that they are the Lord's and
to really enjoy and have the comfort of it. And maybe never
settle down short of that, but desire that and want that. So
on to look then firstly at those things that are trusting for
salvation, but that is not saving. And I had 10 points, I have,
I will bring them forth, but as I was coming along I thought,
well there's another one I haven't put on my list. And that one
is just a nominal knowledge, just reading the word and just
giving an intellectual assent to it, just in the mind, and
just trusting in that alone. Just like a schoolboy would learn
his task and say, I know that, I can tick all these boxes, I
can go through the catechism, I can answer all the questions,
and therefore I'm saved. and there's no heart work, there's
nothing, it is just in the mind. And again, I would say, God's
dear people, they do, the mind is the channel to the heart. And they do know the things of
God with their mind, but it's not that on its own. It's not
just something that you can just As some books, they'll say, well,
you read through all of these things, and at the end, you can
accept Christ, and you can say that sign that you're a believer.
And if you can't, you start at the beginning, you read again,
and you read through until you really grasp it, and then you
can be saved. And the books actually will say
that this is how you can come to save and be saved, and no
doubt there's many that think that that is saving faith, that
is not what we can trust in. But then coming to those that
I had in mind, the first one is our works. And I put this
first, this is what the Apostle Paul could see, those in Romans,
we're doing, and it is the one that we are, all of us, most
likely to lean to because we are born under the covenant of
works. That is where we are. It is a
natural thing for man to think if he has to get something, then
he must work for it. He must be worthy of it. He must
do something praiseworthy. It can't be just given and it
can't be just on this he's got to do something for it and so
this is what the apostle could see they had a zeal for god but
not according to knowledge and we should be very mindful of
that it can be a very subtle thing and if we are thinking
smug about how we're walking and keeping ourselves or we could
be we're trusting in our charity works or we're trusting in our
chapel going, or our private devotions, or we might even just
be comparing ourselves with other people and saying, well, we're
a lot better than them. They don't even go to the house
of God. I remember when our children
were young, very young, three or four, just learning to talk,
I suppose, and we were driving to chapel, and they're looking
out and roundly condemning everyone else for working on the Lord's
Day. And you want to bring up your
children as to what is the right way, but the natural thing is
to say, I'm doing what's right, they're not doing what's right,
therefore I'm right, and they're wrong, I'm saved, and they're
not. And so beware of that when we might think, well, we've got
a title for heaven, because we're not quite so bad as others round
about us. If we're trusting in our own
works, the Apostle is very clear to those in Ephesians, not of
works, lest any man should boast. By grace, you say, through faith,
and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Now, I'll say
on the other side of this, to be careful, God's true people,
they're not trusting in their works for salvation, but they
do have works, they do have good works, because it is the fruit
of what God has wrought in. but they're not looking to those
works as their title for heaven. And this is where we got to rightly
discern. Don't condemn people for walking
in a right and upright way and be very diligent of it if what
they're doing is out of love and not thinking in any way that
this is their title for heaven. is when we're resting in our
works. The second way is when we have family connections. It's
easy to think, well, our parents are saved. They're members of
a church. My dad's a pastor. Whatever it is, we can subconsciously
think, well, we are in some better position because we're in the
denomination we are in, because we've been born into the family
that we're in. And this is why John is very
clear when he begins the gospel. According to John, he says that,
which we're born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God. We're not born naturally
to be a Christian. And again, let's put it the other
way, lest there be any doubt. It is a great privilege to be
born into a family where the Word of God is, and we have godly
parents, and very often, well, we think of the promise of the
Lord. The promise is unto you and your children, even as many
as the Lord thy God shall call. And so it is something to be
really pleaded before God. You know, if we were to send
a child to stay with someone else, as a responsible parent,
you'd want to get them to stay with someone that was going to
look after them and teach them right and bring them up. And
for the most part, that is how the Lord does with his chosen
people from eternity, He puts them in families where they shall
come under the sound of the truth. Don't ever listen to Satan when
Satan says, oh, there's nothing miraculous or wonderful about
God's calling his people, don't you see? Don't you see it's only
those that are in families and they come to faith and they believe.
If they're only just being brought up, if they're a Buddhist, if
they're in another religion, if they're Muslim, they'd end
up Muslim because that's what they're brought up under. So
it's not a wonder that they become a Christian when they've got
Christian families. And that's what the devil will
say. But you call him a liar because we have a God that loves
his people from eternity. And when he puts them into this
world, he puts them where they shall hear the word. There are
those who are in other families. There are those who don't have
parents that teach them the way. And we know those that are like
that and have been like that. They're in our churches. And God gives us those, like
the Ruths and the Rahabs that are taken out from idolatrous
nations and people. and called to be his. It is a
great privilege to sit under the sound of the truth, but never
make that your title for heaven. Make it to be a reason why you
plead with the Lord. Lord, thou hast put me in this
family. Call me by grace. Cause me to
hear thy voice. Thou hast already given me a
token of a favour. but seal that, seal that with
calling. But don't let us just trust in
that family connection. The third thing will be opinion
of men. If we have someone that is a
minister, elder, or someone that thinks well of us, they speak
well of us, they might praise us up, as always attending the
chapel, always helping and doing things, and we subconsciously
rest on the opinion of men. We can do that in the ministry
too. It's always nice to get a pat on the back and say, well,
that was a good sermon, we got on very well. And instead of
just preaching the word for the honour and glory of God and to
be faithful, We're preaching it to get a pat on the back and
to get approval of men and to get a lot of listens on the sermon
audio. How easy, how very deceitful
the heart can be. And we must be careful that we're
not resting on that instead of the approval from God and a close
walk with the Lord. And as far as your salvation
is concerned, don't rest on men. No, it's not the minister that
puts a person in heaven. The minister that takes the committal
for a funeral, he's not the one that puts that person in heaven
or hell. He's no power to do that. Don't
rest on men's opinion. The fourth one you might think
is a strange thing. Don't trust in mercy alone. There are those that will say,
I am trusting in the mercy of God. And their lives don't reflect
grace at all. What they are really saying is,
I want to live how I like. I want to indulge my sin. I want
to go on just in the way I like. But I trust God is a merciful
God. And He will just overlook my
sins and He will show mercy. Many, many people are doing that. They're ignorant of God, His
righteousness, His way of salvation. Most people are like that, even
if they say they're not religious. They've got this little thought
in their head that at the last, well, He's a merciful God and
you just overlook all my sins and all my transgressions and
all my lack of faith and He'll have mercy upon me. Now here's
where the It comes close, isn't it? Because the republican is
pleading for mercy. Those that really plead for mercy,
that feel their sin, that groan under it, that feel their need
of it, and they desire to live godly, upright lives, but they
know they don't, and they feel their sin. That's a very different
thing. than one that is just living
a careless, loose, ungodly life, and yet just trusting that at
the last, God will be merciful. Don't rest in that thought for
salvation. Now the other points I want to
bring up, and I want to be careful on this, but I would say they're
more unique to our own denomination, the danger that we have. And one of the reasons is because
we do insist on, and the scriptures insist on it, the experience
of the truth, that it be something that is known and felt in the
heart. But that then leads to ways that
we can be trusting in something that is not biblical. It doesn't make the true feeling,
life and experience of the truths to be wrong, it is right, it
is vital. But when we come to this, the
first one I'd mention is this, having words from the Lord. And
some people will say, have you got a word? I've got a word for
this, to do this or to do that. Or a word from the Lord that
I'm saved or that I'm one of the children of God. And they're
coming to the house of God and they want a specific word blessed
to them. And they're going to rest on
that word that they are a child of God. Now there we must be
very careful because many of God's people have had words,
have had particular scriptures. I have, that the Lord has really
blessed through the ministry, a verse or a word of scripture,
and it's been very precious. But that has not been on its
own. It's not been isolated with no
effect on the life at all. And it's not being looked for
as I want this word, Lord give me this word and then I'll know
that I'm thine because nowhere do you read in the word of God
that God is saying to his people you must have a word from the
pulpit or from my word before you can know that you're a child
of God. Many do this as well with guidance in providence will
put a tremendous weight on what they feel is a word. Many have
made terrible mistakes. The Lord's never told them to
do it, or they think they're doing something that is right,
and anyone that looks on can say, you may say you've had a
word from the Lord, but that is not right at all. It's leading
to a wrong walk, a wrong conduct at all. So be very careful, because
it's one of those things that is, It says, we're grown up in
the denomination. It's easy to drink into it. This is what I want. If I'm going
to be called, if I'm going to go forward to baptism for church
membership, I want a word. Well, you find the foundation
in the word of God if you can. Rather, you want to see those
true marks of a child of God. The Lord may give. may bless
a word, a particular word to you, and under that blessing
you go forward. But that's a different thing
than just wanting a word as it were on its own. The next thing
I bring up is exercises. Some may say, well, because someone
is exercised, someone is burdened, they think upon the things of
God, They're concerned whether they're a child of God or not.
They are troubled about their soul. We read about exercises. It's vital for a child of God.
You think of those under chastening. No chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous but grievous, but nevertheless afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that
are exercised thereby. Exercise is when you don't just
go as a stoic through life with no feelings or no trying what
we're doing here, examining ourselves or no going over the scriptures
or watching providence and being concerned about it, burdened
about it. But some will put those exercises
as if that on its own is a title for heaven. Don't do that. Again, he's looking inwardly
and judging by ourselves and those exercises rather than as
scriptural tokens. God's people will be exercised,
but we don't want to say, well, that then is our title for heaven. Another thing is taking things
like unbelief, felt sinnership, and making that as an evidence
to rest upon. Again, you must be careful because
it is God's dear people that feel their unbelief. They feel
their sinnership. It is only God's people that
really feel that they are sinners. But some will almost make their
hope for heaven on these things, that they are sinful. Unbelief
is nothing to be proud of, nothing to revel in, nothing to think,
well, because I am an unbeliever, because I feel unbelief, I must
be a child of God. Unbelief is a sin. In a child
of God, they've grown 100, they want to be free from it, delivered
from it, have joy and peace in believing. And they never bring
up unbelief as a badge or a hope for heaven. And yet God's children
do labour under unbelief. And so in some ways it can be
part of the experience, part of the life of a child of God.
It's a very sad thing when people who are sick for years and years
under ministry, you ask them how their soul is, and immediately
they come out with all their unbelief and their sinnership
and their unworthiness, and you get the impression they're resting
on that for salvation. They're not wanting to be free
from it, not wanting to be delivered from it. They just go on their
way and think, well, I've got something. that one of the Lord's
people of God, and therefore it must be my title for heaven.
It is not. Not on its own, not at all. It
really is an evidence quite the other. If we're sinners and don't
know the Saviour, if we're unbeliever, never brought to believe, then
all men most miserable. Another one is feelings. Again, how much we must be careful
because God's people are living souls. They do have feelings,
but feelings we do not rest upon for salvation. They change constantly. We had, well, for Australia this
morning in Psalm 107, and you have there the people going down
into the valleys crying unto the Lord and then blessed and
brought up and delivered. And the changed feelings right
through that psalm. Our feelings do really change. And they can also be very deceptive
as well. It's a blessed thing to feel
the love of God, to feel the peace of God. But we're not resting
our salvation. on that. Otherwise, one day we're
saved, and the next we think we're lost. One day we think
we're one of God's children, and the next day we think not.
One day we'll sit at the Lord's table, and the other will say,
no, we can't, because we're not one of God's children. And there's
no stability in it. You know, we sing in our hymns
once, in hymn, in hymn forever, thus the eternal covenant stand. And the Lord testifies clearly
that nothing shall separate between him and his people, and he that
hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day
of Jesus Christ. We have all the assurances that
where God begins and where God works, his people aren't one
moment saved and the other moment lost. He has died for his people
on Calvary's tree, and that is done And when he calls them by
grace, that is done. He doesn't change his mind and
say, I made a mistake. I didn't die for that one. I'm
going to uncall them. No. And we testify that that
work of God is a work that has its origins in the eternal love
of God in heaven. So then to judge of our salvation
by just how we feel, Instead of the clear declarations of
the Word of God, we're not going to have the comfort assurance
that the people of God have. Another will be unbiblical tokens. Again, we must be careful because
there are biblical tokens. Remember Rahab, and she said,
give me a true token. The children of Israel were coming.
The city was going to be destroyed. And she wanted a true token that
she'd be saved. And they gave her the equivalent
of the Passover lamb, the scarlet line in the window. And it was
a true token. God honoured that token. And we think of scriptural tokens. We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. where the love
to the brethren is in the heart, that is a true token. But if
we were to say, well, in prayer, if I'm one of the children of
God, it's raining outside, if it suddenly stops, then I know
I'm a child of God. Give me a token that the rain
will stop. When the rain stops, you say, I'm a child of God.
The Lord's answered my prayer, he's given me my token. There's
no scriptural foundation for that whatsoever. Nothing at all. Don't ask for unbiblical tokens. If you seek a token of the love
of God, faith, and belief, and love of the people of God, those
biblical tokens, they are right. They're what you look for, want
to look for. But to ask for unbiblical, tokens. Just ask for the Lord to do this
sign or this and that just to prove you're a child of God.
Don't rest in that. And the last one I'll mention
is resting in former blessings and leading an ungodly life. The apostle deals with this in
Romans 6. Let us not sin that grace might
abound. And our hearts are very deceitful.
We can think back and think back to true tokens, true work of
God, true evidence of God's work in our lives and may truly be
God's children. But to actually be resting on
that and not living a present life of faith and prayer, then
At that point, we were really undermining the real evidence
of work in us. The word says, he that endureth
unto the end shall be saved. It is a constant thing. I remember
when I was in one year at school, secondary school, we had to do
book reviews. And in the first part of the
year, I think I did 40 book reviews. I was a bookworm, read and read
and read, did all these reviews. Then thought, oh, I've done my
work, I've done my reviews, and the rest of the year I didn't
bother. Well, I didn't get very good marks at all. The teacher
said you should have been consistent right through the year, not all
do at the beginning of the year and then just forget it the rest
of the year. And that's the same with our
spiritual life, is to be consistent. not all at the start and then
a careless ungodly life later on. It's better to be just a
humble, patient continuance in walking in the ways of the Lord
than all at once and then just resting on what was done before. I want to come then to our second
point, and that is trust that is saving. And I do want to be
very careful to be scriptural on this. This is why we read
Romans 10, because the inspired word of God is very, very clear
on that. And the Apostle contrasts what
Moses has as a righteousness. The man that doeth those things
shall live by them, but there is none that doeth good, no,
not one. and he says in verse six and
seven, righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise
say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven that is to
bring Christ down from above. You know the two contrasts here
it's as if it is saying Don't look for heights of experience
or heights of blessings. You could go to the Apostle Paul,
he says, I went into the third heaven, heard unspeakable things. But he doesn't say to every believer,
you've got to have this wonderful experience to be saved. He points
them to the grace that God gave him to bear his weakness and
sin and the thorn in the flesh. The Apostle Peter, he doesn't
point to the Mount of Transfiguration, he points to the Word of God.
We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well to take
heed. So we need to be very careful
we're not looking for heights of experience or depths who shall
descend into the deep. How many that are exercised concern
for their souls will say, I don't know my sin enough. I haven't
really felt what a sinner I am. I haven't known the depths that
others seem to have had that I've read of their experience.
It is not heights, it is not depths, and may be delivered
from that, but what it is, is the word that is neither even
in thy mouth and in thy heart, which is the word of faith which
we preach. What a responsibility on us that
preach the word. But we preach the word. We preach
Christ crucified. Paul says, I determined to know
nothing among men, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And what is it that is preached?
This is what is preached. This is the inspired word of
God. This is God's word to us, that
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. Now notice, It is not saying
that if thou shalt believe that thou art a child of God, thou
shalt be saved. The belief is in Christ, what
Christ has done. And then he says, for with the
heart man believeth. So the Lord begins at the heart. Believeth unto righteousness.
He believes in a way that leads to a righteous living, a change
of living, a new creature in Christ, still a sinner, a sinner
now that really feels their sin. but their life has changed. Paul's
life had changed. It was a different life. What
I am, I am by the grace of God. I'm a new creature in Christ.
The word of God has had an effect upon my life. Remember the story
when the little maid was asked, what effect has the grace of
God had with you? When you were converted, what
difference did it make in your life? And she said, well, before
I was converted, I only cleaned where people could see. And now
I clean everywhere just the same. Because she knew that God was
seeing her. And she gave that simple illustration
of a difference in her life. And this is the effect when it
is in the heart. It's not just trying to deceive
men. It is living in the light of
God. God has put his fear in the heart,
thou God seest me. And so with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. Again, there's many, and maybe
in our denomination. And the secret thought is we
are saved. Well, why don't you sit at the
Lord's table? Why don't you come to the church
and confess that the Lord is your saviour? and they can't
do it, or they won't do it, either because they do not have the
true faith or the fear of man, or they think that they can be
a private Christian and have an assurance of heaven without
an open profession. The Lord says, whosoever shall
be ashamed of me before this adulterous generation, crooked
and perverse generation, them my father shall be ashamed before
the angels. It is vital if the work is real
with us it will become and here all you that fear God I will
tell what he had done for my soul and the Lord says to those
that believe go home to thy house tell what great things God hath
done for thee. The true grace of God will open
the mouth It will speak well of the Lord and what He's done
for them. And that, the Lord says, out
of the abundance of the heart man speaketh. And as much as
coming out of the heart is evil or wrong things by nature, so
when the Lord changes the heart and renews the will, turns the
feet to Zion's hill, beautiful hymn that, Hymn 76, then part
of that will be a confession, a owning that to the people of
God and to the church of God. And that is a scriptural thing,
a vital thing that is here. We have then in verse 13 of Romans
10, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved. What was said with Paul was,
behold, he prayeth. All God's people will be a praying
people. What a difference. The Apostle
Paul was a Pharisee. By nature, they were praying
people. They prayed at the corner of
the streets. The Lord told the parable of the Pharisee that
Paul's prayers after he was really called by grace were very different
prayers, real prayers. flowing from the heart. If you
and I are saved as a true witness, that will be like the Lord said
to Ananias, behold, he prayeth. Then we think of the case that
we've got of the eunuch. And we have with the eunuch already
evidence that he had been born again. It's vital that there
be the new birth spiritual life, spiritual ears, an appetite and
a desire for the things of God. And we find the eunuch, he'd
been to worship and he was coming back and he was still reading
his Bible, even in a place he couldn't understand. He wasn't
just a person that just went to church, went to chapel and
then went home and just forgot what he was reading and didn't
make it a matter of prayer and didn't mind whether he was brought
to believe or not, no, he was like the Bereans, that after
they heard the preached word, they searched the Scriptures
daily, whether these things were so, therefore many of them believed. We are told in Romans, faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But the eunuch
then, the Lord uses his providence, and these things are, you know,
all things work together for good to them that love God. The
eunuch could know, and Philip could know, It wasn't chance
that brought them together. It wasn't chance that made the
eunuch to be reading the very passage that had Christ in it
and Christ's sufferings, Isaiah 53. And he asked him, understandest
thou what thou readest? How can I except some man guide
me? And Philip, he began at the same
scripture of where it spoke of the lamb that was led to the
slaughter of the sheep before as sheer as it is dumb, and he
preached unto him Jesus. He preached unto him Jesus. And it was through that one sermon
he was brought to know who was in that chapter, to be brought
to faith in Christ. And so when he came to the water
and he said, see, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? Philip says, If thou believest
with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Again, he's not saying,
I believe I am a child of God. He is testifying what God has
shown him concerning Christ. The witness and profession of
a child of God is what God has revealed to them of himself. what he's shown to them. And
the eunuch, he was baptized on that profession. He clearly professes,
I believe, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. It's vital that we do have a
faith, a trust in Christ. Without faith it is impossible
to please Him. The Lord is the author and foundation
of our, finisher of our faith, and we are saved by faith in
Christ. Trust in His finished work, that
He bear our sins in His body on the tree, and that He rose
again for our justification. Our faith is that that debt is
paid, that therefore He has made that known to us by calling us,
by opening our eyes, by opening our ears, by revealing Himself
to us, showing us Himself, showing how needful He is, how precious
He is. A true faith to rest on for eternity
is that which centers on what God has made His beloved Son
to us. And to you which believe, He
is precious. He is precious. And if Christ
is precious to you, it is not flesh, it is not your own self
that's made Him so, it is the Holy Spirit alone makes Christ
precious. Yes. And so He's trusting in
His blood, His words, And in his righteousness, we read in
Romans 10, for those going about to establish their own righteousness,
the people of God, they stand before God faultless in Christ's
righteousness. In Christ's obedience clothe
and wash me in his blood. So shall I lift my head with
joy amongst the sons of God. There's the two sides to it.
Our sins are put away through the shedding of His blood and
we are made fit and meet for heaven by His righteousness,
His perfect life and obedience put on our account as if we lived
the perfect life that He lived. Our sins put on Him, His righteousness
put on us. And this is the faith then of
God's elect. The Apostle speaks in Romans
8 as well of the following the conflict he had in verse 7 between
the old nature, between sin and the law of sin in his members.
And then he speaks of the deliverance. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. Now look at the token he gives
here. who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. We all have the flesh, wanting
its lusts and desires and ways. And by nature we walk after it,
we go after it. But where the Lord has put in
that true faith and principle of faith, there'll be a conflict.
I do not want to walk after that way. And he speaks later on. If ye through the Spirit do mortify
the deeds of the body, ye shall live. And right through, you
can read at your leisure that chapter, to be calmly minded
is death, to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Many of us,
we prove that. We prove that the way to peace,
the way to assurance, is actually in walking after the Spirit. So now, I must be very quick.
just to mention our third point, which is the effect of knowing
on who and what our salvation rests. Again, I do want to be
careful to keep to the scriptures. In Romans 15 and verse 13, we
have, Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing. that ye may abound in hope through
the power of the Holy Ghost. The peace of God, which passeth
all understanding. Keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. You know, the effects, the Lord
says, in the world you shall have tribulation, in me you shall
have peace. The opening verse in chapter
five of Romans, therefore, Being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans 8, there is
the Spirit's witness, bearing witness with our spirit that
we are the children of God. And these blessings of peace,
assurance, and comfort, and often it is with the contrast. We find
those burdened with sin, Then, blessed with faith in Christ
and that burden is gone, you find Bunyan's pilgrim coming
up to the cross, and as he views the cross, his burden of sin
drops off his back. It is known by the effect. Those
that were healed, the one with the issue of blood, immediately
knowing that she was healed. Those that were lame, immediately
they were leaping, the effect of the power of God. The difference
with the Philippine jailer putting the apostles in the stocks and
then believing with all his house. The difference of the blessing
of God. It is to be known, it is to be
felt. God's people do have comfort,
assurance. And it's a blessed thing when
we have that. But when that is withdrawn, perhaps
where the feeling of it goes, it doesn't mean we're not a child
of God anymore. The Lord will visit again and
bless again, and we'll enjoy those blessings again. But the
more firmly that we're able to see the scriptural way that God
works, and the true tokens, then as we go through life, we know
we have a Heavenly Father that cares for us, that watches over
us, that preserves us. We know that all things will
work together for good for us. We know that we have an eternal
home. We need not fear what man can
do unto us. There's so many blessings for
a child of God when they really believe and have the comfort
and joy of believing. Well, may the Lord grant us those
blessings and deliver us from false tokens and make us to truly
know where the Lord has given us true ones to then walk in
his ways and confess him before men. Amen. Hymn 125, Tune St. Michael 61. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.