In a Bible conference years ago,
after a mighty song was sung like this one, to the glory of
God, the old preacher got up and said, well, well, well, well,
the devil's nervous now. I think that to be the truth. Still struggling a bit, so pray
for me. Who then can be saved? Jesus said to the rich young
ruler, go and sell everything you have. First of all, the rich
young ruler lied. He said, I've kept all these
commandments from my birth. I hope we have no liars here
today. You don't even know the 10 commandments,
much less kept them. And let me say that again. Do
you know the 10 commandments by heart? I doubt it. I've been thinking about this
for weeks. Thinking about some of the songs that we sing. I don't know that we enter into
them, but one of my old favorites is Blessed Assurance. Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory
divine. Heir of salvation, purchased
of God, born of His Spirit, and washed in his blood. This is
my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my
song, praising my Savior all the day long. Do you have blessed
assurance? Or maybe this one. Marvelous
grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our
guilt, yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured, there where the blood
of the Lamb was spilt. Grace, grace, God's grace, grace
that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that is greater than all my sin. Sin and despair, like
the sea waves cold, threaten the soul with infinite loss.
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold, points to the refuge,
the mighty cross. Dark is the stain that we could
not hide. What can avail to wash it away? Look, there is flowing a crimson
tide. Whiter than snow you may be today. Or how about this one? Wonderful
grace of Jesus. Greater than all my sin, how
shall my tongue describe it? Where shall my praise find end
or begin? Taking away my burden, setting
my captive free. Oh, the wonderful grace of Jesus
that reaches even me. I thought of this one this morning.
I saw one hanging on a tree in agony and blood, who fixed his
eyes on me as near his cross I stood, and never till my dying
breath will I forget that look. It seemed to charge me with his
death, though not a word he spoke. My conscience felt and owned
the guilt and plunged me in despair. I saw my sins, his blood had
spilt and helped to nail him there. But with a second look,
he said, I freely all forgive. This blood is for your ransom
paid. I died that you may live. Oh, can it be upon a tree the
Savior died for me? And the same man that wrote Amazing
Grace, How Sweet the Sound, wrote this hymn. Do you have blessed
assurance? I want to talk to you about it
just a little bit because for many years growing up in church,
this was my battle. All four Gospels, or all three
Gospels, three of the Gospels, ask this question, who then can
be saved? I mean, do you ever ask that
of yourself? Am I really saved? Am I really a child of God? If
the basis for being saved is sell everything you have and
follow Jesus, then I'm in big trouble, because first of all,
I have not done that. Or how about this passage? The
apostle said that, for I know that in me, this is a converted man in Romans
7, For I know that in me dwelleth no good thing. So my
question is, how can we have assurance? If it's the truth,
and do you know this to be the truth? And can you say this with
the apostle Paul? I know that in me, that is in
my flesh dwells no good thing. Nothing to appeal to God. No
reason for God to look your way. No reason for God to save you.
No reason for God to touch you. How is it then you can have blessed,
glorious, awesome assurance? Some questions need answering. Paul said, I don't even know
how to perform that which is good. I hear people all week
long talking about how good they are. all week long talking about
how good dad. And even folks who have had horrible
parents say things like this to me. I mean, they've already
told me about their parents, but it is most confusing to me
when they go like this, you know, basically I had a good mother
and father. And they've already told me that,
you know, mom was a crack dealer and dad was a numbers guy. If
what the Apostle Paul said is true, if there's no good thing
that dwells in me, that is in my flesh, that I have no knowledge
how to perform that which is good, who then can be saved? If there's none good, how are
we going to go to heaven? How can we have Blessed assurance. I mean, rock solid assurance. How can we have that? Here's
what the scripture said, and I used to hear this so many times
in the old church that I attended. If any man be in Christ, he is
a new creation. Old things have passed away.
Not for me. Not for me. Now, I know you are probably
going, pastor, are you contradicting scripture? I'm talking about
this. How are you gonna reconcile this?
And you know this is true. Is anybody in here sinned already
today? I mean, have you had some thoughts already today? I thought
old things had passed away. I thought all things had become
new. None of you guys had any lust
today? None of you guys in here looked upon a woman with lust
in your heart? The Bible says you commit adultery when you
do that. So Bephathra, I do think I'm
saved. Well, give a reason for the hope
that you have within you. Tell me, how can you? with no
good thing in your flesh, with not even knowing how to do something
good, how can you have assurance that you are truly the Lord's? Matthew 5, 48 says this, be you
therefore perfect. Now don't lie, I'm gonna ask,
are there any perfect people in here? Is there one? No, not one. No perfect people. Be mature, even as your father,
or be perfect, which is in heaven. Be as perfect as God, who then
can be saved. Matthew 24, 13 says this, but
he who shall endure to the end shall be saved. You know, sometimes
I don't feel so saved. I know, I know you're not like
me. You feel saved all the time. You got your head stuck in your
belly button seeing all those wonderful things that you're
doing and thinking. Some of you, I truly believe
many of you have come to faith in Christ. But things started
going sideways. You had only been saved for a
short time before Things started happening, and they weren't good. Old feelings returned. Relationships
fell apart, sickness, relapse. Somebody should holler, amen.
Relapse happened. Well, how can you be saved if
you've relapsed? Sounds like you haven't endured
to the end. The truth is we all have to deal
with our hypocritical selves and never in my lifetime have
I seen so much hypocrisy in the church. So ignorant of the glorious
gospel of God's free and sovereign grace as to strut and brag as
if they saved themselves. I can remember sitting in God's
house many, many times, doubting because of what was coming from
the pulpit that I could be a Christian. How could I be a Christian and
have these thoughts and want to do these things? Sometimes I would go to church
and it was so lifeless. And we'd sing, oh, how I love
Jesus. And I would be thinking about
99 bottles of beer on the wall. Who am I talking to today? I'm
not talking to myself. You have little or no blessed
assurance as long as you are looking to what you do, how you're
working your way to heaven, how you're building a bridge or looking
to your sanctification. No more, I'm a happy man. But
I have no confidence in King Clark. I have no confidence in
my flesh. I have no confidence in being
a Baptist or a Methodist or a Presbyterian. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I remember in the early days
of my life, my ministry when life was chaotic and dark and
depressive. I would hear the message of paupers
in heaven, if you make it. Fear and doubt reigned through
a message of judgment seat theater. I can't tell you how many times
I sat to the left in Grace Baptist Church and heard about how God's
going to show my life up on the big screen from the time I was
saved until I die. And I would think, then I don't
want to go to heaven. Everybody's going to see what
you've done. It was a message of sanctification
assurance. Your sanctification is not that
hot, folks, is it? You must have the very holiness
of God and you can't get that by works. That only comes by
imputation. Fear and doubt reign through
this message. Can you imagine? Just think,
I mean, everything that you have thought today being showed up
on the big screen. I mean, if we could just pull
up every thought that you had from nine o'clock till right
now and put it on that screen, it wouldn't be pretty. So early
on in my life, and I'm talking to somebody who I believe is
a child of God, but you, like me, have been mixed up in church-anity. And you don't have a real clear
view of this amazing grace. I knew something was wrong early.
I had no joy. My life was a lie. I had no assurance. And then I began to hear from God. I was reading his word in 1 John. I can remember it very well. And God began to teach me through
1 John about assurance and about a fear. I want you to turn to
1 John with me and let's read some scripture there. 1 John
chapter four and verse 15. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he's in
God. And I want you to know right
off, I said to myself, I confess, because I want to know God is
in me. And verse 16 says, and we have known and believed the
love that God hath to us. Do you? The love that God has
for us. God is love and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God and God in him. Herein is our love made
perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Right
there. Boldness in the day of judgment.
Put it on the movie screen. Put it up there. I've got holy
boldness. because the old account was settled
long ago down on Calvary's cross. There is no judgment for me.
There is no payment for sin for me because Jesus paid it all,
all the debt I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain.
He washed it white as snow. And this is what John says, that
we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is,
so are we in the world. I don't understand that, but
I receive it. There is no fear in love, but
perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. It
does. Fear has torment. You ever count
your many sins, name them one by one? It'll surprise you what
the devil has done. Fear, fear. How would you like
to face the things you thought? before a holy God up on the big
screen. He that feareth is not made perfect
in love. You know what your problem is?
You really haven't entered completely little child of God, little lamb
of God. You haven't entered perfectly
into this love of God. It's so amazing. Here in verse
19, John says, we love him because he first loved us. Now that's
something you ought to know right off. The reason you love God
is not because you love God. The reason you love God is because
He first loved you. And I began to hear those golden
bells of the gospel truth began to ring in my heart. He first
loved me. And I read over there in Jeremiah
31 3, yes, it's true. I have loved you with an everlasting
love. Oh, you mean you, you mean, Everlasting? You mean you never started and
you'll never quit? You mean you loved me when I
was in the pit? You loved me when I was in the crack house?
You loved me when I was in the adulterous bed? Everlasting. I know some of you
are going, that preacher is telling us we can live like hell and
still go to heaven. I don't know what I'm saying.
I'm saying there's something powerful about this love of God. And he said, in loving kindness
have I drawn you. Oh, you've come to Christ? Well,
you came with a rope around your leg. Somebody was drawing you
to Christ. My old grandmother would often
say to me, Kenna boy, go draw a bucket of water out of the
well. I'd go out there and grab that
rope and throw that bucket down in that well. I didn't have to say to the water,
you got to get in the bucket in order for me to get you up
here. I didn't say to the bucket of water, come on up here. I
drew it up. It was my power. I was drawing
the bucket up with my power. And God said, it was my power
that drew you to me. It was my love that loved you. Jeremiah 1.5, before I formed
you in your mother's belly, when you were just a twinkle in your
daddy's eye. I loved you before the sperm
hit the egg, before you were formed in your mother's belly.
I had already ordained you. Oh, I knew you'd be in the hair,
shooting up hair. Oh, I knew you'd be prostituting.
Oh, I knew you'd get drunk. Oh, I knew you'd be all churchy
and self-righteous. I knew all about you. The Lord
knows everything you've ever said, done or thought. And that's
what makes this so amazing. And yet he loved us. And there
was no cause in us that caused God to love us. It's called amazing
grace. And I know some don't like to
hear this, but the reason you chose God is because he first
chose you. And he chose you a long time ago before he flung the
Milky Way in the heavens, put the stars and the planets up
in the sky. Ephesians 1, 4, according as
he has elected, chosen, set his affections upon us before the
foundation of the world. I used to hear occasionally this
song, there's a new name written down in glory. My friends, there
are no new names written down in glory. They were written there
before the foundation of the world. God wrote them down. He knows his sheep by name, John
10 says. I know my sheep and I lay down
my life for my sheep. No man takes my life from me.
I lay it down that I might take it up again. And I give unto
my sheep eternal life. and they shall never perish,
my sheep. 2 Thessalonians 2.13 But we are
bound to give thanks to God for you. You know, I look across
here and I know many of you, and I know where God's brought
you from, and what I say is, Praise God from whom all blessings
flow. I know He's brought you out of
darkness into glorious light. to the praise of the glory of
His grace, according as He had chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, having predestinated us. That's an awesome and good
word. Predestination is an awesome
and good word. You didn't get here in your own
strength. You were predetermined and brought
here by the power of God to save you and deliver you. Oh, I didn't get nearly enough
amens on that. Predestination is not a bad word. It's a Bible word. For whom He
did for love, He also did predestinate. Whom He predestinated, them He
also called. Whom He called, them He also
justified. Whom He justified, them He also
glorified. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? I am persuaded that neither life,
nor death, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor any other creature shall be able to separate
me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. I remember in my early days reading
Romans 8.1, there is therefore now no condemnation. I did the happy dance all by
myself. There is no judgment to those
that are in Christ Jesus. Think about that. No, you're
not going to be judged. You've already been judged. The
old account was settled long ago, and it wasn't down on your
knees. It was at Calvary when Jesus
said, it's finished, it's accomplished, it's done. The debt is paid in
full. I read one day, and the word
became flesh. Word, the eternal Word. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Everything
that was created was created by Him, and the Word became flesh. Oh my goodness. There had to
be some important mission for God to become flesh and dwell
among us. That's because you can't save
yourself. Somebody had to come and save you all by himself. And that was the Lord Jesus.
And the scripture says that he was made sin for us. This one
who knew no sin was made sin for us that we would be made
the righteousness of God in him. And then I began to, a sweet
taste began to form in my soul. And I asked the question, how
can this be? And the answer came, oh, what
a wonder that Jesus found me. Out in the darkness, no light
could I see. He put his great arm under and
wonder of wonders, hey, he saved even me. For by grace are you saved, and
that not of yourselves. Here's where my assurance come
in. Kenneboy ain't going to heaven because of Kenneboy. I'm going
to heaven because of God's marvelous, infinite, matchless, sovereign,
free, unmerited grace. The Bible says His name shall
be called Jesus, for He shall save His people. I love the shalls
of the Bible. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. So I can say this to you today,
come on to Christ. Say, well, what if He turned
somethings down? He promised He wouldn't. Come to Christ just
as you are. The Bible says that He put away
sin. Either he did or he didn't. And
if he didn't, you're in a mess and so am I. If he did not make
an end of sin. Somebody said, you know, Jesus
died to give everybody the opportunity. Honey, you don't need an opportunity.
What you need is saving. You need somebody to pay the
price that you can't pay. Somebody to produce a righteousness
that you can't produce by your good works. I'm telling you today,
in my feeble effort, this is what's wrong with the church.
We have lost the message of the gospel, and the thrill is gone,
and the Holy Spirit is gone, and the glory to God is gone,
and it must be recovered. The Lord hath taken away thy
judgments. It became increasingly clear
to me as a young man that no man could save himself. The work's
idea was a fraud, a sham, a human invention. I saw the truth of
free justification, unmerited justification. You've been justified
without a cause. That boasting has been excluded,
totally. And I saw myself, and this is
the way I see myself this morning. I am the blessed man in the book
of Romans, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.
Isn't that something? Righteousness without works.
God charges to my account perfect righteousness. I'm as perfect
in the sight of God as God himself, because I have his righteousness.
It's been accredited to my account. My sins. You say, I'm such a
blessed man. Because blessed is the man whose
iniquities were forgiven and whose sins were covered. And
listen to this one. I'm the blessed man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Isn't this crazy? This is so
crazy. You bunch of rebels with a rebel
pastor. And our flesh dwells no good
thing. And every day we do all kinds of mess. And God goes,
nope. Nope, I'm not gonna charge him.
You ought to read that passage in Romans. Blessed is the man
to whom the Lord refused to charge sin with. Somebody's going, I don't believe
that. But then you're in a heap of
mess because you sin every day. Every single day. I'm talking
to those of you who are religious. You sin every day until you can
get to the point where you can see that I have a perfect righteousness,
that God has imputed to me a perfect righteousness. I have standing
and status. I've been justified before God. He's loved me with an everlasting
love. He chose me before the foundation of the world. He paid
the price for my sins at Calvary. God took my sins off me, put
them on him, pulled out his black snake whip of justice and beat
him. And by his stripes, I've been
healed and saved. And now it's time to go home. And we're going to go home singing
this. Well, we'll sing something, whatever you want to sing. But
in our hearts, we'll go home singing this. Blessed assurance,
Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory
divine. I'm an heir of salvation. I'm
the purchase of God. I've been born of his spirit.
I'm washed in his blood. Let's stand and sing together.
Without Christ, you've never trusted Christ. I hope you did
today.