I feel impressed this morning
to bring you a message on the subject of assurance. I call
this message blessed assurance. You know, both the Old Testament
and the New Testament scriptures are written to encourage God's
people, to comfort the Lord's people. and to give them assurance
of their hope in Christ Jesus. For example, turn to Isaiah chapter
40, Isaiah 40. And the Lord says to his prophet
Isaiah in chapter 40 verse 1, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Comfort my people. Speak to them
about assurance and confidence and hope. Speak ye to the heart,
comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, her warfare is
accomplished, the battle's over. The captain of our salvation
has won the victory. He says, it's finished. The battle is over. He's conquered.
Sin, Satan, death, and hell. The battle's over. The warfare's
accomplished. Her iniquities pardoned. Your
sins are forgiven. They're put away. Christ bore
them to the cross in his body and paid the debt. It's over. It's paid. It's finished. And
she, my people, my church, She, my bride, she hath received of
the Lord's hand double for all her sins." The debt wasn't just
barely paid, just paid abundantly, paid in full. I like the story
of that old man that pulled into the drive-in bank and gave them
his Social Security check for $747.50, and the girl cashed
it. And he just kept sitting there
counting it. Count it once and count it twice, count it a third
time. She said, well, isn't it all
there? He said, it just barely is. Well, that's not the way
he redeemed us. No, abundantly. He hath received,
we hath received from the Lord's hand double. Much more, much
more, much more. and is necessary and needful.
We have all things. Be ye comforted. Turn to John
20. Listen to the Scriptures here. John chapter 20, verse
31. These are written. These things
are written. It says in verse 30, Many other signs truly did
Jesus in the presence of his disciples that are not written
in this book. had all been written that he said and did, the world
couldn't contain the books John said. But these are written,
these words, these promises, that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God. And believing, you might have,
have life through his name. It's not honoring to our Lord
to doubt his mercy. is not honoring nor pleasing
to our Savior to entertain doubts and fears concerning his willingness
to save and his ability to save. I know you who are familiar with
some of the old writers and the old Puritans. Some of those fellows
didn't set a good example in this matter. They were always
doubting their interest in the Savior. You know, Newton, I love
John Newton, but I think he was taken up with the trend of the
times. I hope to be saved. I hope that
everything's all right. I hope to be in glory. I do too,
but my hope is an expectation. It's not a hope, a hope, a hope.
It's not just a wish. It's an expectation based on
the blood of my Savior. I'm confident if He died on that
cross, I'm saved. Not because of who I am, or what
I've done, or what I've given, or what I wish. It's just, if
he died for me, I'm safe. And John Newton wrote that song,
"'Tis a point I long to know, and oft it gives me anxious thought. Do I love the Lord, or do I know? Am I his, or am I not? Now wait
a minute. Our Lord asked the apostle Peter,
do you love me? He said, Lord, you know I love
you. You know all that. You know I
love you. That's not complimentary to Christ. Try that on your wife sometime.
Come in from the field and say, honey, here's the point I often
long to know, and often it gives me anxious thought. Do I love
you or do I not? She said, well, why don't you
go home to your mama till you decide whether you love me or
not. That's not complimentary. It's
not honoring to Christ. It's not glorifying to doubt
His ability to save, or His willingness to save, or His power to save. It's glorifying to Christ to
believe Him, to trust Him, to rest in Him, to have confidence
in Him. Not in yourself. We have no confidence
in the flesh, but in Him. 1929, my dad lost his job in a steel
mill in Birmingham, and we went back to the country,
back where he was raised. There wasn't any work down there,
but there was food down there. I was just four years old, 1930
and 31. But we lived on a big plantation. Some folks there, the Starrs,
maintained a huge farm and plantation, big old house like y'all have
up here in these, on 220 of these big, well, that's the way he
lived. And he had a bunch of houses
around for folks that worked for him, sharecroppers and black
people. And we lived in one of those
for two or three years. We always had enough to eat.
We had chickens, and we had eggs, and we had pigs, and we had milk,
and we had those things to eat. There's some black people on
the property that were worse off than we were. One family
I remember in particular, I don't remember the black man's name,
but the woman's name was Laura. She spent a lot of time at our
house helping my mother and helping the other ladies. Had a little
girl named Pearlie May. Pearlie May was about my age,
about five or six. Every morning, we was up eating
breakfast, and Laurie would come to the house and bring Pearlie
Mae, the little girl. And my mother would have breakfast.
We always had hot biscuits for breakfast. Biscuits and gravy
and eggs. And Pearlie Mae would stand there
and watch us eat. This went on every morning. Same
thing every morning. My mother was tender-hearted
and gracious, and she turned every morning to Pearlie Mae
and said, Honey, do you want something? Never fail the same
statement evermore. Yes, I know what I want, but
I just know you ain't gonna give it to me. Now, that's not complimentary
to my mother's grace or mercy or kindness. Well, what do you
want, honey? I want some eggs. Well, she always
got one. But evermore, it's the same thing.
It wasn't, I know what I want, I know you're kind and gracious,
and I know if I ask for it, you'll give it to me. No, she'd say,
I know you ain't gonna give it to me. But my Lord is gracious
and kind and merciful, and He gives. He delights to show mercy. Ask, He said, I'll give it to
you. Seek, you'll find. Knock, He'll come to the door. Isn't that right? That's what
He promises. All right, look at our text. 1 John 5. 1 John
5. And we can have confidence and
assurance not because of who we are, what we've done, or what
we've given, or these things, but in Him, in His willingness
to say. In His, you know that song we
just sang? I thought, what a prophetess
that Brother Paul picked that one out. Let me just read you
these words again that you were singing. Tell of His wondrous
faithfulness. sound his power abroad, sing
the promises, the sweet promises of his grace, the love and truth
of God. That's what I'm talking about.
His very word is strong. It's as strong as that which
built the skies, the voice that rolls the stars along. speaks
all the promises of God. That's who I'm talking about.
He's able to save. He's willing to save. He delights
to save. And bless your heart, He will
save all that come to the Father by Him. He will. You can rest assured of that.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but His promises will never pass
away. Look at 1 John 5. I want to begin with verse 13.
Our pastor read down to verse 12. Now let's start with verse
13. And these things have I written unto you that believe on the
name of the Son of God. To whom is he writing? Well,
he's writing to me because I believe on the name of the Son of God.
He's writing to you. John, you believe on the name
of the Son of God with all my heart. This is written to you. This is written to everybody
who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he came down from heaven
sent by the Father to be the representative of a people. He
walked this earth in human flesh, very God of very God. Behold
the man, fulfilled perfectly every jot and tittle of God's
Word, went to the cross as our substitute and died. Well, people,
was buried and victoriously rose again and ascended to the right
hand of God, where he is seated, till his enemies be made his
footstool. You believe that? I believe that. You boys and
girls, you believe that? I was preaching a few Sundays
ago, and I got to talking just like this, and I pointed out
something about Christ, and I said, Do you understand that? One little
boy said, yep. Yep, everybody around him heard
it. Boy, what a blessing. He understood.
And I'm asking you this one. You believe on the Son of God?
Well, these things are written to you. All right, read the next
line. And these things are written
that, in order that, having believed on the Son of God, you may what?
Doubt? Question? Fear? No, sir. No. No. That you have, what? That spell's
got it. H-A-V-E, got it. Have spiritual
life, eternal life. You have eternal life. Faith
comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, and assurance
comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. These things
are written that you may know." How did Abraham know he was a
friend of God? He believed God's Word. That's
what it said. It said Abraham was strong in
faith, not doubting, believing, believing that God was able to
do all that he said. I believe God. I have eternal
life. That's what it said. I have eternal
life. that you may know you have eternal life. And look at the
next line, and that you may believe, that you may keep on believing,
keep on believing on the name of the Son of God. These things
are written to every one of you who believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of sinners, and that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may keep on believing.
Keep on believing. You see, this thing of salvation
is not an isolated experience. Somebody says, well, I accepted
Jesus. No, I'm still receiving Christ. I didn't. It's not an isolated
act. Somebody says, well, I repented.
We still are repenting. Well, I believed on the Son of
God. We still are believing. You see, this is the way the
Bible talks. Looking unto Jesus, doing what? I've looked to Christ,
I'm still looking, and I'll keep on looking. Looking to Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith. To whom coming as unto
a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, rejected of men, but
chosen of God and precious, to whom coming? If I were to describe
this experience of grace, I would say it's believing, it's repenting,
it's confessing, it's looking, it's leaning, it's learning,
it's trusting, it's waiting on the Son of God. Isn't that right? I have been saved by His grace. I'm being by His grace. And one of these days, He's going
to take you and me and hold us up before the whole universe
and say, look at what I did. He's going to show forth the
riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. I'm
not going to hold the trophy. I am the trophy. That you may keep on believing
on the Son of God. That, you say that, no use going
any further if we don't see that. These things are written, and
all that God's written, that through patience and comfort
of the Scriptures we might have hope. These things are written
to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know you have eternal life, and that you may keep on believing
on Christ. Our Lord said to Peter, will
you go away? Have you changed your mind? Will
you leave? Depart?" He said, Lord, to whom
shall I go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and I believe and I'm sure you're the Christ, the Son of
the living God. That's the way the Old Testament
saints died in the faith of Christ—believing, trusting, All right, verse 14. Now listen to this. This is the
confidence, this is the assurance that we have in Him. We don't
have confidence in ourselves, in our profession, have confidence
in Him. Isn't that clear? This is the
confidence and assurance of life that we have in Him, in Him.
That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. Now
listen to me. What's this saying? If we ask
anything, the most difficult thing, the boldest thing, the
greatest thing, anything, if we ask anything according to
His will, He hears us. Well, let me tell you something. It's difficult to know the will
of God about a lot of things. About a lot of things. Now, I
prayed for people who were very sick, for God to make them well. He didn't do it. It wasn't his
will. I prayed for certain things that
I felt like would be good for all of us, but evidently they
weren't because he didn't hear me. He didn't hear me. If we ask anything, the most
difficult, the hardest, if it's according to his will,
he hears us. And I'll tell you, most of the
things by which I pray, I'm just not sure it's the will of God.
I have to wait to see. But there's one thing I know
that is the will of God, unquestionably, absolutely, without doubt. The
preacher, what's that? Turn to John 6. John chapter
6. Now come on, turn to John 6 and
listen. Verse 38. John 6, 38, For I came down from
heaven, not to do my will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which has sent me. that all which he had given me
I'll lose nothing but raise it up again at the last day. That's
according to his will. God save your elect, he will. God save your people, he will. If I ask that, he'll do it. Save
your children, he will. All right, look at the next verse.
And this is the will of him that sent me also, that that seeth the Son, and believes
on him, may have everlasting life. Go on, ask him. The publican did. Lord, be merciful
to me, a sinner. He did. He's merciful to every
sinner that asks him. If you ask anything according
to his will, well, I'm sure of one thing that's his His will
is to save everybody who believes on Christ, who sees Christ, who
trusts Christ. That's right. The thief on the
cross. Here's a nobody from nowhere
being an outcast to outcast cast out. You can't get no lower than
him. He looked at the Savior, and
he asked the impossible. He asked the most difficult thing
that any sinner can ask of a holy God. Lord, you're not going to stay
dead. You're coming into a kingdom. I'm getting what I deserve. Would
you remember me? Would you think on me? I sure
will. That's his will. Now you ask
him. Is that clear? That's what he's
saying there. He said, I'm writing this to you who believe on the
Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life, and you
may keep on believing, because we ask anything. The thing only
which God can do to save a sinner, to put away our sins, to put
our names in his book, to save our souls, ask him! That's his
will. That's his will. Now, a lot of
things, I don't know whether it's his will or not. I'm going
to keep asking. And we'll say, if it be thy will.
But I don't pray that way about soul salvation. If it be thy
will. It is his will. That's exactly
right. It is his will. Turn to Hebrews
10. Let me show you something else over here. Hebrews chapter
10, verse 9. This is the Master talking. The
Lord Jesus said in Hebrews 10, verse 9, Then said he, Lo, I
come to do thy will. That's why he came, to do the
will of God. And he takes away the first,
the first covenant, the first tabernacle, the first nature,
the first Adam, that he may establish the second. By the witch will. Whose will? God's will. We are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all. That's his will. It's his will. God is long-suffering
to us who believe, not willing that any of us should perish,
but all come to life. That's just with the Lord. Go
back to the text, verse John 5. That's why God gave us the
word that we may, to those that believe, that we may know we
have life and that we may keep on believing. And this is our
confidence, that if we ask that we have in Christ, in Him and
His power and His willingness, that if we ask anything according
to His will, He hears us. Come on, He will. Verse 15, and
if we know that He hears us, we know He hears us. We know
all the promises of God are in Christ. Yea and amen. We know that Christ is the only
way to God. I am the way, the truth, and
the light, no man cometh to the Father but by me." We know that
Christ is our only high priest. We know other foundations can
no man lay. We know there's none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. We
know that. We know that. Therefore, we know
we have eternal life. If we know that He hears us whatsoever
we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desired of him,
not because we deserve it, not because we earn it, not for anything
we do, but because his word and his will and his promise to his
son is to save a people. You know, Psalm 130, let me just
quote it for you. David said, Out of the depths,
out of the depths of sin and misery, fear and darkness, I
cried unto thee, O Lord, hear me, hear my voice." You know
that the secret of prayer is not the words I say. The secret
of prayer is that God hears me. That's the key to it. Hear me,
David said, and clam your ear. Hear me. Lord, hear my voice. If you should mark iniquity,
who would stand? But, watch it now, there's forgiveness
with thee. God delights to show mercy. There
is forgiveness with thee, that thou mightest be feared, worshipped,
believed, trusted. There's forgiveness with thee,
that thou mightest be feared. So let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord redemption. Trust Him. That's right. All
right, let's go to verse 16. Now here, John says, If any man
see his brother sin of sin, which is not unto death, he shall ask,
Pray for him, and he shall give him life for them that sin not
unto death. But there is a sin unto death.
I do not say you should pray for. What is this sin unto death?
There is a sin unto death. Well, John Gill said this, the
sin unto death, the sin that deserves death, and the sin that
will certainly bring death is denying that Jesus is the Christ. It's not believing on the name
of the Son of God. That's the sin unto death. What
did it say about Israel? They could not enter in. Talked
about the promised land. They could not enter in, not
because of their murmuring, not because they made the golden
calf, not because they committed fornication, not because they
could not enter in because of unbelief. They did not believe
God. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be found in you the sin of That's the sin under death that deserves
death and will result in death, and there ain't no use you praying
about it. If a man rejects Christ, there's
no hope. Pray for any brother, that all
manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven. Man, I don't care
what the sin is. that can be forgiven in Christ,
can be put away by the blood of Christ, can be forgiven because
Christ loves us and died for us and he's our righteousness.
But to reject him, not to believe him, is to have no refuge. It's to call God a liar. We read
that a while ago. And that, don't pray for, don't
try to be more merciful than God. That's what John Calvin said,
this, the sin unto death is not a partial fault. Peter denied
his Lord. David murdered his friend. Extreme
acts of violence and sin. But this sin unto death that
deserves death and brings death and will result in death is not
a transgression of a single commandment. It's apostasy. It's denying Christ. It's apostasy and denying Christ
by which a person denies of their person and glory and work of
God's Savior. And there's no remedy. Now he
says, we pray and receive forgiveness
for all manner of sin, but the man who refuses and denies the
gospel of Christ is condemned. And don't be contending with
God's justice. And don't try to be more merciful
than your Heavenly Father. Ephraim has turned to his idols. Leave him alone. Isn't that what
he said? Leave him alone. So that's the sin under death.
If you see a man Sin, doesn't matter what it is, a brother,
a believer, pray for him. Pray for him, restore him, love
him, be kind to him, consider him yourself. But if you see
preachers and other people who deny this gospel, who will not
believe this Redeemer, who will not embrace this precious Savior,
there's no remedy. There's no way. No man cometh
to God but Christ. Now look at verse 17. All unrighteousness
is sin. In all unrighteousness, the thought
of foolishness is sin. And there's a sin not unto death.
All sin is not unto death because of the grace of God. All sin
is not unto death because of the blood of Christ. All sin
is not unto death because of the mercy of our Lord. But if
you don't have the Lord, and you don't have the grace of God,
and you don't have the mercy of the Savior, it's unto death,
eternal death. And verse 18, a believer will
not commit this sin. We know that whosoever is born
of God, he doesn't sin this sin. You know, we can't say who's
favorite born of God sinned. Not because we've sinned since
we've been here this morning. In mind, in thought. Everybody,
even born of God, sins. I know we talk about there's
a nature of God that does not sin, the nature of flesh that
does nothing but sin. But this is talking about this
sin unto death. The believer does not commit
this sin. He that's begotten of God keepeth
himself. He that is begotten of God, that
wicked one, can't touch him. They do not fall from the grace
of God. Satan cannot touch them. He cannot take them away from
Christ. He that hath begun a good work
in you will complete it, will finish it, till the day of Christ.
And that person born of God, who's begotten of God, who has
the life of God, cannot deny Christ. He cannot. He cannot. He cannot commit this
sin. Let me read you a scripture in
Jeremiah, chapter 32. People say, well, I believe on
the Son of God, but I hope I never I hope I never stop believing.
What you believe on, you never will stop believing. That's what he's talking about. You're not going to deny him
whom to know is life. Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah 32, 38. Listen, and they shall be my
people, and I'll be their God. And I'll give them one heart
and one way. that they may fear me all their
days, for the good of them and their children after them. And
I'll make a covenant, an everlasting covenant with them, that I will
never, I will not turn away from them. I will not turn away from
them to do them good. I'll put my fear in their hearts,
and they shall not depart from me." It's preservation kept by
the power of God. It's perseverance, continuing
in faith. And I won't leave. John said,
if there hadn't been all of us, they no doubt would have continued
with us. That's one of the evidences and
marks of true faith. It continues. Keeps on believing. It's born of God. All right. The last part of this chapter
now, look at verse 19. We know some things. What do
we know? We know we're of God. We know
we're of God. We know we're loved of God. We
know that we're chosen of God. We know that we're redeemed by
God. We know that we're called with a heavenly calling by God. Now we know that we're sons of
God. Isn't that what John said? We
know we've passed from death into life. We love the brethren.
Beloved, now are we sons of God. It does not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we'll be like
Him. We'll see Him as He is. We know we're of God. We know
we're risen with Christ. We're seated at the right hand
of God. If God be for us, who can be against us? Who can lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? We're different. We're
peculiar people, chosen people, a royal priesthood. We know we're
of God. What else do we know? Verse 19,
we know this whole world lies in wickedness. The whole world
about us is under the power of Satan. That's right. He's called
the prince of this world, the god of this world. We know that
this world's under the dominion of Satan. So we do not hesitate
to shun this world. We do not covet the honors of
this world. We do not seek the praises of
this world. We do not covet the applause
of this world. We do not fear the enmity of
this world, because we are God, and this world lies in wickedness,
and this world is marked for destruction. He shall destroy
every enemy, and the last enemy He's going to destroy is death.
But this world is going to melt with a fervent heat. It's going
to pass away. So we don't covet the friendship
of this world. We covet the love and fellowship
and friendship of other believers. This world is in wickedness. It's under the judgment of God
and the wrath of God. That's the reason Paul said,
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of my Lord
Jesus Christ, by which this world is crucified to me and I unto
the world. As far as they're concerned,
I'm a dead man. And as far as I'm concerned,
they're dead men. I don't covet their fellowship
anymore, and I covet the emperor of Baghdad over there, his fellowship. Wickedness. Third thing I know. I know that the Son of God—I
know here's what made the difference. We are God, and the whole world
lies in wickedness, and here's the difference. And we know it. We give him the glory. The Son
of God has come. The Lord Jesus Christ, very God
of very God, he has come. From heaven to this earth, he's
come. And he has given us an understanding
of head and heart, mind and soul. He's given us an understanding.
Just like when he's walking with those two disciples on the road
to and He opened their understanding that they might understand the
Scripture. I don't understand these things
and believe these things because I'm smarter than somebody else.
I'm not smart. I understand them because He's
opened my eyes and I've seen Him. He's opened my ears and
I've heard His voice. And He's opened my understanding
to the wisdom of God, not the wisdom of this world. Doris and
I were talking last night in that big bookstore about all
this trying to prove our origin. I know my origin. I was created
in Adam. I didn't come from a monkey. I know my origin. They spent
millions of dollars in science and brilliant men have tried
to find our origin. It's blind men seeking our origin. It's men whose hearts are closed. When God opens your eyes and
He opens your heart, you understand your origin. God made us. It's God who made us, and not
we ourselves. We're His people, the sheep of
His pasture. The Son of God has come and given
me an understanding. Why? That I might know Him that's
true. Not just have religion, or have
a God, or have a church, that I might know Him that's This
is the true God. Eternal life is to know the true
and living God, not just to have a God. People say, well, my God
wouldn't do that. I expect you're right. In fact, your God wouldn't, just
God will. Salvation is not to know a God,
it's to know the true and living God. And the Son of God has come
and given us understanding that we may know Him. No man knows
the Father but the Son, and He to whom the Son will reveal Him.
No man has seen God at any time. The Son hath declared Him. Show
us the Father. He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And we are in Him. Confidence,
assurance, in Him. My hope is in Him. My hope is
Him. Salvation is in Him. Even in
His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God. This is
eternal life. Rest in Him. I know whom I have I don't believe like I want to.
I don't believe like I ought to. I don't believe like I'm
going to. But I believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Can you say that? It's not how much faith. It's in Him. When there's a vine
hanging on to a post, it's not the strength of the vine, it's
the strength of the post. It's the strength. Little children,
keep yourselves from idols. Keep yourselves from false religion.
Keep yourself from folks that are promoting themselves and
their causes and their organization. Just keep yourself from them.
Look to Christ. Keep on looking. Keep on trusting. Keep on waiting. Keep on believing. Keep on coming. That's eternal life. Our Father,
thank You for the promises of Your Word. Thank you for your
Word. Thank you for the incarnate Word. Thank you for the confidence
we have in Christ our Lord. In Him alone, strengthen, comfort
your people. Use this message, this Word this
morning, to give us blessed assurance and confidence, not in ourselves
at any time, in any way, but in Him, our Lord and Savior. For His glory, I pray. Amen. Him number 255. Not but one song to sing or hymn
to sing after that blessed message. 255. We'll sing the first and
last verse. Let's stand. 255. Last. Day. This is my story. This is my
song. Praising my great God. This is my story. This is my
song. day long. Perfect condition,
all is at rest. I and my Savior am happy and
blessed. Watching and waiting, looking
above. The. The. ♪ So lead me in that light ♪ ♪
Bring me my way ♪ ♪ All the way home ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ you. uh uh I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Thank you very much. I'm. Okay.