Our Lord shows His hand in how
we decide certain things. Kathy had chosen the songs somewhere
Tuesday or Monday or somewhere there. She works on the bulletin
throughout the week. And I usually don't have a message prepared, even
know what my title or where I'm going to preach from until sometimes
Saturday, sometimes Sunday morning. as it was this morning. And she
chose that song we just sang a few minutes ago. Faith is the
victory. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
that's our victory. A faith that was given to us
by the gift of God. Not something that we decided
to just someday start doing, but a faith, a belief, in who
the Lord is, God Almighty in the flesh, Jesus Christ, what
He's done. He provided Himself an atonement
for His people, a payment, a propitiation. He is our blessed Redeemer. Oh, what a joy that is. Would
you turn with me this morning to 2 Corinthians chapter 13.
2 Corinthians chapter 13, and the
title for my message this morning is Our Faith. Our Faith. And it is Our Faith. Something God has given to each
and every one of His chosen people under the preaching of His Gospel. Faith cometh by hearing, and
by the Word of God. In 2 Corinthians chapter 13,
look with me if you would at verse 5, Paul writes these words,
examine yourself whether you be in the faith. Know ye not
your own selves, how that Christ dwelleth in you, except you be
a reprobate. Paul says, examine yourselves. Sometimes religious people are
a bit harsh with one another, aren't they? They're a bit cruel. I've heard this said. I've experienced
it a little bit. Some of those who claim to be
Christians can be the most cruel people in the world. Many religious people are quite
sure that they are saved, but when they examine another, Look at this one. This one's
not saved. Look what they do in life. Do you know what our Lord tells us in His Word? To remove the log in our own
eye before we look to another. Do you know what that means? It means remove your own sin. Many like to examine others and
see if they can find evidence of salvation in them. They're
quick to judge another man's relationship with God, but they're
usually very slow to examine their own hearts. Salvation,
folks, is a personal relationship with God. It's a communion with God, a
personal matter of the heart. It's so personal, in fact, that
it's quite impossible for you or I to know whether another
person is saved or not. We know that the Apostle Paul,
for instance, was saved because God told us he was, and only
because of that. He said, he is a chosen vessel
unto me. But I haven't heard the word
of the Lord say that to anybody else yet. Salvation is a personal matter.
Oh, I've already said that part. Excuse me. I've done that twice
today. We know that Jeremiah was saved because God said this
about him. Before he formed him in his mother's
womb, before he came out of the belly, the Lord said, I knew
him and sanctified him. Set him apart. Made him holy. We know that there are some in
scriptures that are saved, but it is impossible Impossible,
I tell you, for you to know another person's heart. You just cannot
tell. And if it's impossible for you
to be sure that another person is either saved or lost, it is
because it's a very private and personal matter. But now, it is not only possible
for us to know our own state before God, but we are commanded
to know it. Turn over to 2 Peter 1, verse
10 for a moment, will you? 2 Peter 1, verse 10. This is our Lord's command to
each and every one of His beloved children. Wherefore, the rather
brethren give diligence, give care, Take care to make your calling
and election sure, for if you do these things, you shall never
fall. You cannot know about someone else's, but God exhorts us, encourages us through his word,
lays upon our very own hearts. Make your calling and election
sure. When you come to the Lord's table,
when the bread and the wine is set forth, representing the broken
body and the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle
Paul delivered these words to us. He said, what I received
of the Lord, I deliver unto you. Our Lord said this, He said,
Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat. Speaking of the
table once again, you cannot examine anyone else, but you
can examine yourself. You can try your own heart. You
can try your own soul. You can try your own relationship
with God. You can see if you have any understanding
of the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen
to this, Scripture in 2 Corinthians 13.5, let's read it once again. Examine yourselves whether you
be in the faith. Salvation and communion with
God is such a personal and private matter that it is impossible.
I know I said this a moment ago, but I wanted to repeat it. It
is impossible for us to know beyond a shadow of doubt whether
another person knows God or is saved. We cannot look on the
outward continents and tell Our Lord looks on the heart. God
looks on the heart. And you yourself can determine
your own relationship with God. We are commanded to examine ourselves.
We are commanded to give diligence, to make our calling and election
sure. We all know of some believers
in the Old Testament and the New Testament who are quite certain
of their salvation. For instance, Job. Job said this,
he says, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and though I die and
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I will see the Lord.
Well, how did Job know? What gave Job such assurance
of his knowledge? David, another one, he said this,
he said, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever." Paul the Apostle knew his relationship
with God when he said, 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. So we know that there are some
who have definitely got a knowledge of what their faith is, a definite
knowledge of where their salvation lies. The Apostle John said this, he
says, we know that we have passed from death unto life. How do you go about examining
yourself, you might ask? How would a man go about testing
his faith? How would one go about determining
if they really know the Lord, or if they have a false, hypocritical
profession, or just a church member, maybe? On what ground
can we determine our relationship with the Living God? When I ask you or tell you to
examine yourself and to determine your relationship with God, what
I'm telling you is on the basis of Scriptures. What God says
in His Word. Not talking about your feelings. Not talking about I'm saved because
I feel like I'm saved. Or I'm saved because I was there
when it happened. I'm saved because I turned over
a new leaf maybe. The day I quit smoking. The day
I quit drinking. The day I did this or the day
I did that. This is what God's Word says.
A man is not saved, a man is not a Christian who has not been
born again. Our Lord says you must be born
again. This is how we can examine ourselves. It doesn't matter if you are
the most religious person An elder, a deacon, or a Sunday
school teacher, a person is not a Christian unless, and they
are not saved if they have not been born again. This is what
the Bible says. And we're going to go by what the scriptures
say. If we don't go by what the scriptures say, then we're left
to believe anything. And we know by all the examples
of all the different religions out there that men can come up
with whatever they want out of their imagination camp. Here's
what scripture says. Isaiah said this concerning scriptures.
If they speak not according to the Word of God, it is because
they don't have any light in them. How do you speak? How do you speak? Do you speak
about the sovereignty of God when somebody asks you about
Him? A God who rules over everything? Do you speak about God who became
a man? A perfect man who walked perfectly
in this world, fulfilling every bit, every dot of the law. Do you speak of God as Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, the Son of the Living God, who comes
in the Spirit and gives life to the dead? Isaiah says, if they speak not
according to the word of God, it is because they do not have
any light in them. Our Lord said this, Nicodemus,
except a man is be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God. And then he said again, except
a man is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. The answer to the question is
plainly, forcefully, and simply, as it can be put from the scriptures,
I do not care who the person is, or what they claim, or what
kind of life they live, if a person has not been born again, they
cannot see the kingdom of God, and that's God's word. It's important to note to whom
our Lord is speaking when He said that, though. He is not
speaking to a publican, a harlot, or a drunk. He's speaking to
a religious man. Nicodemus was one of the religious
leaders of that day. We can all relate to what a harlot
is, can't we? We can all relate to what a publican
is, a sinner is. Because the Lord God has shown
us what that truly is. But this man that our Lord told
these words to was one who thought he had a righteousness of his
own. One who thought he was fulfilling
the law himself. This one Nicodemus was a ruler
of the Jews, a teacher of scriptures. He was a moral Pharisee. God
was speaking to a man with all the outward form, all the outward
ceremony, legalism, and separation of religion. Yet he is saying
to him that salvation is a heart work. It's not the dress that
you have on. It's not the works that you do.
It's not what you're going out into the corners and praying
before everybody that you can do. It is a heart matter. It's
something God has to do and God alone. I can't speak to your
hearts. No man can. But God turns the
hearts of His people as He sees fit. Because He's God and He
can. He's saying to this one Nicodemus
that salvation is a heart work. It's not an outward form of ceremony. It's not something you can claim
from your lips. It's a condition. It's a condition
of your heart. were to examine ourselves, to
see if we are of the faith, if we are of the Christian faith
of Scriptures. Our Lord is saying to one of
the most prominent moral and religious men of His days, you
must be born again. That which is born of the flesh
is of the flesh. You were born of human parents
and you became a human being of a fleshy nature. Now you have
to be born from above. You have to have a new heart,
a new nature, a new life. You have to be born of God, born
of the Spirit of God, born through the Word of God. That is what
the scripture teaches. You have to be born of God, born
of the Spirit of God, born of the Word of God, made a new person,
and made a new creature in Christ Jesus. Salvation is not a reformation,
it's a regeneration of the heart. Salvation is not an education,
it's a revelation of the truth. Salvation is not a form without,
it is a life within us. Does Christ live in you? Salvation is not performing religious
duties. Salvation is a real, sincere,
spiritual devotion to who God is. And I'm not talking about
your works. I'm talking about your heart. You folks have come out of this
world, this very day, when we are advised to stay home. Why are you here? You have dedicated
yourself to hearing the Word of God because that's where your
peace is. Do you get what I'm trying to
say? Test yourselves. Examine yourselves. Examine your
heart. Why am I here today? Am I here
because I feel I have to be at church? Or am I here because
I want to hear the Word of God? That's how we examine ourselves.
Where are your desires? There are many in the world today
who go about doing their good works, because that's what they
think that their salvation lies in. Are you here today for the Word
of God, or are you here today for yourself? It says, if any man hath not
the Spirit of Christ, the life of Christ then is not of his.
So we know that this is true when we are examining ourselves.
If a man has not been born again, he is not saved. He is not a
believer. He is not a Christian. The new
birth is a work of God. It is a gift of God. The new
birth is the very life of God, and it is a new creature. It
is supernaturally given to us by the power of God. That's what
the Word of God says. except a man be born again, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Secondly, a man is not
saved or a Christian, no matter what he claims, who has not heard
the true gospel of Jesus Christ and believed in it in his heart. He may be the highest religious
officer, but if he has not heard the true gospel of Jesus and
believed in his heart, then he is not saved. Can we make good on that? Listen
to this. Listen to this, Romans 10 verses 13 through 15. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on Him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
Him in whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? How shall they preach except they be sent? In the 10th
chapter of Romans verse 17 it says this, Faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. There's no doubt, no question
about it, Christ is the gospel and the gospel is Christ. And
Paul says in Romans 1 verse 16, This gospel of Christ is the
power of God unto salvation. Every man who is saved has heard
the gospel. Listen to me. He hasn't just
heard it with the ears that we have on our head. He's heard
it with the ears of the heart. With the new life that was given
to Him. The born again life that God gives His people. When Lazarus came forth from
the tomb, he was born again. He was dead in trespasses and
sin. The Lord gave him new life. And
he came forth. That's exactly how God has saved
each and every one of his people. Coming to them when they are
dead in trespasses and sin, and giving them life. Born again
to hear the true gospel. Christ Almighty, God Almighty,
standing in the flesh said, Lazarus come, and Lazarus came, didn't
he? Roger, when the Lord said to
you the first time in His Holy Word, come, you came. You had no choice. You came because
God gave you a new life. You were born again. And that
goes for every one of us. Every one of us. Our Lord said
to His disciples, blessed are your eyes, they see in your ears,
they hear your hearts, they understand. And He also said this, speaking
to the damned, I speak to them, speaking of them, in parables,
stories, because they have eyes, but they can't see. They have
ears, but they can't hear. Who ever heard of a man having
ears, but not hearing? He can hear with a natural ear,
but he doesn't hear with a heart. They have hearts, but they do
not understand, for their hearts are still in darkness." Listen
to what it says in 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 4, Paul writing to the
church at Thessalonica says this, Knowing brethren, beloved your
election of God, because our gospel came not unto you in word
only, but it came to you in power. The very same power that it had
when it came and spoke to your heart, the new heart that God
gave you. I'm going to use my wife as an
example of that. She came to church with me often,
not every day, but a few times during the five years between
the time that the Lord called me and the Lord called her, but
it wasn't until five years later, five years later that God gave
her a heart to hear His truth. The very same truth that He has
given you a new heart to hear. It did not come in word alone,
but it came in power. We all know what power is, right?
Electricity is the kind of power that goes through the wires.
I bring that up first because we just dealt with that over
there next door. Dynamite is a power. A jet engine, that's quite a
bit of power there. There's a power that men have,
though. Our president has certain powers. Our congressmen have
certain powers. Our mayors have certain powers.
Our police have certain powers. We know what power is. But the
scripture says this. This gospel came to you in power,
in demonstration of the Holy Spirit, and you became followers
of us and the Lord. Something took place. Something
dynamic. Something unusual. Something
supernatural. The Word came, but it came not
in word only. That's how most people have heard
the Gospel. It's just words, words, words, words, words. That's the reason they argue
and debate about it. They quarrel and bicker and ask
questions. It's just a doctrine. It's just tradition. It's just
ritualism. It's just words. But to the true
believer, we're examining ourselves. Can you say, it comes with Word
and power? God's Word came to me in power. It arrested me. It took that
old dark heart that used to say, I shall not have this one rule
over me, and it gave me a new heart, new life. Can you say
this about yourself? Did God come to you in power
and arrest that old soul that we used to have? Our Lord says, He that heareth
my word, and believeth on him, that sent me hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from
death into life. Our gospel came not to you in
word only, it came in power. Thirdly, A man is not saved who
does not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And you might say,
do you mean to tell me that I have to believe on this Jesus, this
Jesus of Nazareth? And I tell you, yes, you do.
Our Lord said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt
be saved. There's no other way. He says, I am the way, the only
way, and any other way is but a thief. Listen to what it says
in 1 John 5 verse 10. It says, He that believeth on
the Son of God hath a witness in himself, and he that believeth
not God hath made God a liar. Our Lord has set His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, on the throne above all things. All power in
heaven and earth belong unto Him. This is the record that
God hath given unto us, eternal life, and this is the life in
His Son. He that hath the Son of God hath life." We're examining
ourselves. We're looking into our own hearts.
Do we believe God's Word? We're talking about eternal life
and salvation. He that hath not Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, hath not life. Folks, I'm not making this up.
This is what scripture says, as many as received Jesus Christ
to them, gave he the power to become the sons of God. That's
in John chapter 1 verse 12. One cannot be saved who does
not believe the Lord Jesus Christ. Does man have to believe in Jesus
Christ in order to be saved? The answer to that is yes. It
says in Scripture, He that believeth on the Son of God hath life. He that believeth not the Son
of God shall not see life. The wrath of God abideth on him. Now you can argue that if you
want, but don't argue that with me. Go to the book of God and
argue it with Him. What do you believe about Jesus
Christ? Let me tell you what I believe. I believe, first of
all, that He is God in human flesh. In fact, He said, every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is of God. And every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is anti-Christ and
not of God. That's what the scripture says.
Can you say that about yourself? Every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ has come, he has come into this world in the flesh,
he is God Almighty in the flesh, and every spirit that confesses
not is anti-Christ. I can tell you I believe that
Jesus Christ is the prophet for whom Moses wrote of. Moses said,
in Moses' gene, God will raise up among them the brethren a
prophet like unto myself, and him ye shall hear. Then the voice of heaven said
this of Jesus Christ, this is my son, hear him. He is the priest
that offers a perfect sin offering and a sacrifice. Jesus Christ
is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. Jesus Christ is the
one mediator between God and men as the word says. Folks,
when you argue, you argue with scriptures. A man is not saved
who does not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You have to believe
on Him and who He is. You have to believe on what He
did. You have to understand to some degree why He did it. So
that God may be just and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. Why did He go to the cross? So
that He would be just. Sin can't just be whiffed away.
It has to be paid for. This is why Christ was known
as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. It had
to be done. Christ became a man for that
very purpose. God became flesh for that very
reason, that He could be made sin, and that we would be made
righteous in Him. We are to search the Scriptures.
The Berean search the Scriptures to see if these things be so. And I'm telling you, he that
believeth on the Son of God hath life. Fourthly, a man is not
saved if he is not a Christian who does not love the Lord Jesus
Christ, as revealed in the Word of God. A lot of people say they
love Jesus. A lot of people declare that
they love a Jesus. And then they make up a Jesus
to fit their own needs, don't they? It's important, folks,
like I said a little while ago, we must examine ourselves according
to what God's Word is, not according to men's. I'm reading a book
on the history of Christianity. One of the things I was considering
as I was reading this book was how it's talking about the Catholic
Church and how Catholicism grew out of Augustine, and it grew,
and it grew, and it became such this big thing, and it finally
took over the whole world. There was not even any mention
of true Christianity. It was all about the Catholic
rituals and stuff like that. And I got to thinking to myself,
I'm not learning anything new here. We see it in God's Scripture,
don't we? Look what Israel did between
the time the Lord brought them out of Egypt and the time God
walked in the flesh. They became so ritualistic in
everything that they did. Wearing their fancy robes, praying
on the street corners, doing all the things. That's what men
do by nature. We have to examine ourselves according to Scriptures. We search the Scriptures to see
if these things be so. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath life. If any man love not our Lord
Jesus Christ, it says in 1 Corinthians 16.22, let him be anathema maranatha. And what that saying is this,
let him be accursed when the Lord comes. Salvation, my friends,
is not just to accept Jesus. Salvation is not just to believe
that such a person lived and died and rose again. Salvation
is to love Him and worship Him. How often does it cross your
heart How often does it cross your
heart of the grace that God has given
to you? We sing the song, Amazing Grace,
and I'm not ashamed to admit this. To this day, twenty years
later, I think of those words and they move my heart to a point
of emotion. I know what I am in the flesh.
I know the sin that I have committed against my God. I see the grace in Him shedding His mercy upon
me. and I can't help but love him
for it. When was the last time you saw
his grace in such a great manner for you? Over in Philippians
chapter 3 Paul says this, he tells them beware of dogs, evil
workers, and beware of the coccision. Beware of false preachers and
circumcisors of the flesh and merchandisers of the soul. Those
who tell you that you have a part in salvation. Those who encourage
you to add your works to His grace. He also says this, we
serve the true circumcision who worship God in spirit, who rejoice
in Jesus Christ, and who have no confidence in the flesh. A poem, and I'm not sure who
wrote it, says, My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine. For
Thee all the follies of sin I resign. I love Thee in life, I love Thee
in death, I love Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath. You
see, a man is saved only when he comes by the grace of God
to love the Lord Jesus Christ. We're examining ourselves. Can
you say, I love the Lord in your heart? Do we see Him at the right
hand of God? Are we glad that He is there?
Do we see Him bearing our sins on the cross and rejoice in His
shed blood? Do we see Him there ruling and
reigning over all of His kingdom and rejoice in peace in our hearts
because of Him? Do we rejoice that God has exalted
Him and given Him a name which is above every name? That at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue should
confess in heaven and earth and under the earth that He is the
Lord of glory, of God the Father? Fifthly this, and I won't be
much longer, a man is not saved who is ignorant of the righteousness
of God. You might say, I don't quite
understand, Pastor, what are you talking about? I'm talking
about this. In order to be in the presence
of God, we must be as righteous as God himself. Our Lord says there are none
righteous. We must understand that God's
Word tells us there is no righteousness in us. That's a hard thing to
understand at times, because our natural human instinct is to say, well, I'm
doing good. Look at what I've done over here.
Have I not done this? There are going to be people
in hell saying that, and our Lord is going to tell them, depart
from Me, workers of iniquity, for I never knew you. Well, that
doesn't seem right. God's ways are not our ways.
We must understand the righteousness of God is perfect in every way. The only righteousness that you
and I have that can put us in front of God forever and ever
and ever throughout eternity is the righteousness of our Savior,
Jesus Christ, who has made sin for us. It's not our righteousness, but
it is our righteousness. He has imputed it to us. We are
as wide as snow right now before our Lord and Savior. Our God looks on each and every
one of His people, even those who aren't born yet. And He sees
them as white as His Son. Because every sin has been laid
on Him at the cross. Oh, how I wish I could get that
in my mind better. Man is not saved who is ignorant
of the righteousness of God in Christ. Without a holiness, no man will
see the Lord. If you don't know anything about
His righteousness, His provided righteousness in Christ, then
you have to go about to establish your own. That's what Paul said
about these people in Romans chapter 10. He said this, he
said, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel
is that they might be saved. I bear them record, they have
a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. They are ignorant. Paul is saying that he wants
them saved. But they are not saved because
they are ignorant of God's righteousness. And they are going about to establish
their own righteousness. And they've not submitted to
the righteousness of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. We're examining ourselves. Do
you believe that our righteousness is in Him alone? Is that where you put your faith?
Because if you put your faith in anything else, anything that
you have done, then you are in a false hope. A false religious
state. A state of death. Let's see if
I can try to be a little more plain about this. We have no righteousness. There is none righteous, no not
one. That's scriptures. We have to have a righteousness,
a perfect righteousness. Our Lord says this. He says,
except your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees,
you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Those people were
pretty religious back then. They thought they were pretty
good. And some of them were probably better than my grandmother. But if they're not doing it for
the Lord Jesus Christ and because of His righteousness, then it's
nothing but an abomination to God. We cannot produce a righteousness
of our own. Our Lord says in His Word, it
is not by works of righteousness which we have done. God has provided
a righteousness for His people. It says, by one man's disobedience
we were made sinners, but by another's obedience we were made
righteous. In 2 Corinthians 5.21 it says
this, He who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might
be made the righteous of God in Him. God has provided a righteousness,
well where is it? I don't see it. Our righteousness
is in Christ. Stop looking to you. Stop looking in that mirror for
something that I can do that is righteous in the eyes of God,
for nothing I can do is righteous in the eyes of God. Either our
righteousness is in Christ or we have none of our own. A person
is not saved who does not continue in the faith. Colossians 1 verse
21, it says this, you hath he reconciled in the body of his
flesh to present you holy, unreprovable in his sight, if you continue
in the faith and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. So you see, this thing of salvation
is, we have been saved, we are being saved, and by the grace
of God, we shall be saved. Examine yourself. Are you in
the faith? Repentance and faith are not
isolated acts. They are a state of being. Do you love Christ right now?
Do you believe Christ right now? These things are not isolated
acts. They are a state of being. They continue over and over again.
They have been and are being and shall be. Christ is the son
over his house, whose house we are if we hold fast our confidence
firm unto the end. Amen.