Back in 1 John chapter 5, we'll take as our text verse
13. Let's read it together again.
This sums up the entire epistle. John says, these things have
I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God.
John tells us to whom he writes, and then he tells us why he wrote.
That ye may know, that you may know that you have eternal life,
and that you do something different? No. And that ye may believe on
the name of the Son of God. The title of the message is The
Sweet Assurance of Salvation. The Sweet Assurance of Salvation. John, you'll notice in this epistle,
time and time again refers to believers as little children.
The master, his master, did that as well, didn't he? John speaks
as a tender father to those children in the school of grace. And it's
worth notice how practical John's epistle is. When he writes, he
always has this in view, to comfort them, to comfort them, to help
them. He says, and we just read it, these are written, he says,
these things are written, and he explains the reason why he
wrote these things. These epistles, and what I say
concerning John's epistle here, is true of the entire Word of
God. They're not written to dazzle us. They're not written to lead
us into just matters of curious speculation. They're not written
to gratify our curiosity. These are written that you might
know that you have eternal life. Now, I need that. more than I
need to understand all prophecy. I need to have that blessed sweet
assurance in my heart right there by the operation of God himself
more than I need anything else. Is anything more important for
a believer than this to know that they have eternal life?
Will anything else comfort you more than that? Is there anything
else that will give you more hope more than that? Someone
said that an assurance of our salvation is like a little heaven
below while we wait to go to the heaven above. That's exactly
what Miss Fanny Crosby wrote in one of her many, many hymns,
a familiar one, Blessed Assurance. Remember how it goes? Blessed
Assurance, Jesus is mine. That lady had been blind by the application to her of some bad
medicine by a quack when she was six weeks old. She became
blind and was blind her entire life. She wrote thousands of
hymns. But she said, blessed assurance,
Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory
divine. A little heaven below. A little
heaven now. Oh, what a foretaste of glory
divine, heir of salvation, I'm a purchase of God, born of His
Spirit, washed in His blood. Blessed assurance. In Hebrews
10 verse 22 we read the same thing. Let us draw near, every
child of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance
of faith. In full assurance of faith. having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies
washed with pure water." Remember what our Lord said to that blind
man, well, the man that was blind, that he gave sight to in John
9? You remember that story? He's called before the Sanhedrin,
the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and they don't like his answers,
so they excommunicate him. They boot him out. That happens. They showed him
the door. I had that happen. Best thing
that ever happened to me. But our Lord heard that. He heard
that they had cast him out, we read in John 9, and when he had
found him, when he had found him, He says on down in the chapter
after that, that he's the great shepherd. He comes to seek and
to save his sheep. Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold, them also I must bring. And this poor man was
one of those sheep. He was one of those chosen by
the Father before the foundation of the world. Imagine that. Imagine
that. Who would have thought such a
thing other than the Son of God and the God of all grace? Jesus
heard they had cast him out, and when he had found him, When
he found him, not if he found him, but when he found him, he
said unto him, Do you believe on the Son of God? Do you believe
on the Son of God? That's the issue. That's the
issue. He answered and said, the blind
man answered, Who is it, Lord, that I might believe on him?
Who is it? And Jesus said unto him, Thou
hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And
he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. Oh, I hope that it happens today.
God, increase our faith. Help us once again to continue
to believe and to worship you. We have what I would call a natural
outline in the text. Very easy to see. The first thing
are those to whom John writes. He says very plainly. He's not
writing to everybody. This epistle is not for everyone.
It's only to those who believe. John said, these things have
I written unto you that believe. Oh, I like how John gives no
uncertain sound, doesn't he? He blows the trumpet the same
note over and over again, gives a clear distinct sound, and it's
refreshing. It's refreshing to hear a man
speak with the authority of sure knowledge. John's not passing
on hearsay. He's not dealing with speculation.
He's telling you things he knows. It's a remarkable thing, worthy
of our notice, that John uses the word know in this epistle,
just five verses, or I'm sorry, five chapters. You know how many
times he uses that word know? 27 times. 27 times, over and over again, throughout
this epistle, he strikes that same note. We know, we know,
we know. He does so in verse 19 and 20,
in closing the epistle, three times right there. John was inspired
by God the Holy Ghost to write this epistle especially that
we might, being taught of God, enjoy this assured, blessed knowledge
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This promise is to every
true believer, to every true believer, no matter where they
live, no matter when they live, no matter what condition they
might live in, unto you that believe. Oh, I like that. I like that. John does it right,
unto you that work. unto you that work, because the
word of God tells us plainly in no uncertain terms that salvation
is not by works. It can never be the labor of
my hands that can meet, that can fulfill God's laws demands. Otherwise, Jesus Christ would
not have had to die. Christ died in vain. If God could
have been satisfied by any other means, any other way, if his
satisfaction could have been rendered in any other way by
the sinner, then Jesus Christ died in vain. Oh, not so, not
so. Unto you that believe, not unto
you that labor, not unto you that work, not unto you like
the Pharisees going about to establish your own righteousness. When is it enough? No wonder. Anybody that seriously does that,
and I know there are hypocrites that profess to do it, don't
have a problem with it, never enters their mind that this is
never enough, that God won't accept this. No, no, they stand
and pray like the Pharisee, I thank God that I'm not like other men,
because I did, did, did, did. But someone that truly, out of
ignorance, thinks they can establish their own righteousness by their
own works, I would ask them this question, when is it enough? When's it enough? When can I
lie down at night and say to myself, it's enough. I've done
enough this day, this week, this year, to please God. It's enough. My works are a foundation for
my acceptance before the Lord God. It's enough. In truth, in
all honesty, that can never happen. That can never happen. That's
why when you see people attempting such a thing, regardless of what
their works might be, Whether it be baptism, whether it be
doctrine, whether it be attending church services, whatever it
may be, that's why, in all honesty, in their heart of hearts, they're
miserable because they can never have the sure, sweet assurance
that they're accepted before God. Not of works, who have saved
us, Paul wrote to Timothy. God who has saved us, salvations
of the Lord. God who has saved us and called
us, whom He did for no, then He also called. Called us with
a holy calling, not according to our works. Oh, I'm glad to
hear that. I'm glad to hear that, aren't
you? That it's not according to your works, but according
to His own purpose and grace. That sounds much better. That's
sweeter. That's sweeter. That gives me
hope. That gives me comfort. That my salvation is not dependent
on, not determined by my works, but according to God's own purpose,
God's grace, which was given us in Christ, Jesus, before the
world began. John doesn't address these words
to those who are so-called good people. Good people. Those that have no need of a
physician because they're not sick. Our Lord encountered those
folks when he was on earth, didn't he? And their ancestors are still
around today. They have no need of Christ.
They have no need of the great physician's healing touch because
they're not sick. They're not sinners. The Pharisees
say, we're not sinners. That's what they said to that
blind man. Who do you think you are telling us these things?
We're not sinners. We're not born in sin like you
are. Get out of our face. Oh, but the shepherd found him.
John is writing to those who are sinners. The gospel is good
news only to sinners. It's not good news to the self-righteous.
Oh, no, no. It addresses man as sinners.
helpless, hopeless, apart from God's grace. That destroys man's
pride. Oh no, he speaks to us as sinners,
as we just sang a moment ago, didn't we? Only a sinner saved
by grace. You know, as we were singing
that, I thought, boy, that's a good testimony. That's good
testimony, Billy. I like to find somebody with
that testimony. I like to encounter someone that
their only hope, their only plea is this, I'm only a sinner. I'm
only a sinner. Old Scott Richardson, and I've
told you this a dozen times. He used to say, he'd lean over
the pulpit, he'd be preaching, and he'd say, oh, I've got good
news. The gospel's good news. It's
glad tidings. That's what the gospel, the word,
means. I've got good news for sinners if I could only find
one. If I could only find a sinner
with nothing to pay. John is writing to such as those.
Sinners only saved by grace. The old Puritan, Thomas Adams,
he said this, My sins brought me to Christ, and brought Christ
to me. I have a great need of Christ,
and I have a great Christ for my need. Oh, I have a great need
of Christ, and I have a great Christ for my need. I need a
great Savior, and Christ is a great Savior. I don't need one that
offers to save me. I need someone that's mighty
to save. I need someone that not partly
saves me. I need someone that will save
me to the uttermost. I need someone who has enough
grace, enough merit, enough worth enough acceptance before a holy
Lord God to bring me to glory and to present me without fault
before the throne of God. Now, my soul, who could that
be? Who could that be? Who could
that be other than that one of whom the Lord God Himself spoke
from heaven when He said, This is Him, my beloved Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. Hear ye
Him. Oh yes, sinners saved by grace,
those to whom John wrote, those who truly believe, they don't
claim to be anything else, do they? They don't deny it. They
don't deny it. With the public and they confess.
And they're glad to confess. I'm the sinner. I'm the sinner. I don't claim anything as being
original with me other than my sin. a sinner in need of God's
grace. Eternal life, as we read in this
epistle, in this chapter rather, the life of God in the soul,
eternal glory, heaven, eternal life which God gives is not even
a possibility. No way, no how, no shape, no
form apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not going to happen.
It's not going to happen. Read again verses 11 and 12 here. It's a matter of record. This
is God's record. God says this is how it is. God
says this is how it is, then that's how it is. And this is
the record, verse 11, that God has given to us eternal life.
Well, where is it? How can I have it? Can I purchase
it? Can I earn it? No, no, no. This
life is in His Son. Eternal life is in His Son. Father,
you've given me power over all flesh, our Lord prayed, that
I should give eternal life to as many as you gave me. Oh, and
look at this. He that had the Son had life. Eternal life. Everlasting life. The very life of God. Think about
that. The life that's in Jesus Christ,
our glorious head, is the same life that flows from the head
to every member. No wonder he said you'll never
perish. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not
the Son of God hath not life. Eternal life, again I say, is
not even a possibility apart from Christ, because the scripture
says this life, we just read it, this life is in His Son. Oh, I like that. So without Christ,
without His Son, is not even a possibility. This life is in
His Son. That's clear, isn't it? That's
plain. Eternal life is in Christ. Without
Christ, eternal life is not possible. Could anything be more practical,
be of a more practical benefit than this? As pilgrims, that's
how we're described, that is a true believer, pilgrims and
strangers in this world. And in our journey through this
wilderness, it's not easy, is it? It's not easy. I mean, I
know there's a superficial Christianity that costs nothing, that's worth
nothing. But, oh, a true child of God,
it's not easy. There's enemies. There's a devil
to contend with. There's temptations on every
hand, and there's evil within. That makes him cry, oh, wretched
man that I am. It's not easy. And nothing, nothing
will so strengthen us against the assaults of Satan more than
the confident assurance of our salvation. I know whom I have
believed. That's what Paul said sitting
in that prison, didn't he? I know whom I have believed.
Oh, there's the root. There's the root, faith in Christ. And here's the sweet fruit. I'm
persuaded that he's able. And Paul has his eyes on the
same object. The object of his faith is Jesus
Christ. The object for assurance is the
same glorious thing, the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't look to
Christ for salvation, then look to somebody somewhere else for
the assurance of that salvation. That's not going to happen. Oh,
no, no, no. We look to the same glorious
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Job was sure of his
interest in Christ, wasn't he? After he's lost all of his earthly
possessions, friends, family, had those three miserable comforters
sitting around accusing him of sinning, he speaks of that which
he could never lose. And remember, Job wasn't privy
to that conversation between Satan and God in the beginning
of the book of Job when Satan said, if you'll allow me to touch
him, allow me, allow me, let me have him. You built a hedge
around him and that's the only reason he serves you. You remove
that hedge and I guarantee you he'll curse you to your face.
Job didn't know about that. Just like you and me. Most of
what happens in our lives, we don't understand why. We don't
understand. I mean, how many times, honestly,
do we ask ourselves, why? Why is God doing this? Why would
God do this? How can there be any good in
this? My heart's breaking. I mean, how can there be any
good in this whatsoever? I just don't understand. And
that's the condition Job was in. He was no different than
you and I. Oh, but from the sackcloth into ashes. Oh, here's a blessed
victory. of true faith. From the sackcloth
and the ashes, Job declares his trust in that which could never
be taken from him. Oh, he had lost so much, but
he couldn't lose this. I know. I know. This is faith. This is true faith. I know that
my Redeemer lives. The devil can't take that from
me. He can't steal that. He can't steal the precious gift
of faith. God won't allow that. Peter,
I prayed for you. You'll deny me. You'll curse.
You'll deny you even know me, that you were ever acquainted
with me, ever associated with me. You'll curse, but you'll
never quit believing. Why, Peter? Because I've prayed
for you. Oh, that's a comforting thought.
I pray for you. Our great high priest that intercedes
on our behalf, whom God hears, whom for Christ's sake he blesses
and keeps his people. Christ says, I pray for you. I like that. Job said, I know. I know that my Redeemer liveth
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall
I see God, whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins
be consumed within me. Was anything a greater comfort? Not just at the time that he
wrote it, I suppose, as a young shepherd lad watching over his
father's flock. But years and years and years
later, was anything a greater comfort to David than these words,
than this blessed truth, the Lord is my shepherd. Can't you
just see David, just a young lad, young bear. Remember when
Samuel came to his house to anoint the future king of Israel, that
he wasn't even there. They didn't think he was even
worthy of notice. He was still out in the field.
They didn't even bring him inside. So there David is, leaning perhaps
against a tree and looking out there over the flock, his father's
flock. He thinks of his responsibility
to that flock, to watch them, to protect them, to watch over
them. And then his mind and his heart soars to heaven and he
says, oh the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Oh, what a sweet comforting thought. The Lord is my shepherd. And
then from that, from that, is this blessed, blessed fruit I
shall not want. Oh, with such a shepherd as that
I shall not want. How could I, Billy? How could
I? And you know what the word is,
and I like it better, frankly. I shall not lack. That's the
word. The Lord's my shepherd, and that
being the case. With Christ as my shepherd, I
shall not lack. I shall not lack anything that
God Almighty demands. I shall not lack. I shall not
lack nothing needed to make me acceptable before God, to be
received into heaven itself, A real sinner will never hear.
A believing sinner, a redeemed sinner, will never hear that
which the rich young ruler heard from the Lord Jesus Christ, didn't
he? One thing thou lackest. He came to Christ and he was
showing off all his fig leaves. Look at this, check this out.
What's those commandments? I've kept them all, that's not
a problem. I've kept them ever since I was a little child. And our Lord said it must have
shocked him, should have shocked him. One thing thou likest. A believing sinner will never
hear that. He'll never hear that. On the
contrary, he can sing with David. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not lack. I shall not lack. I shall not
lack in life. I shall not lack in death. I
shall not lack when I ascend to glory, because the Lord is
my shepherd. I have everything I need in Him.
That's exactly what Paul wrote, didn't he? For in Him, that is
in Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you're
complete in Him. Well, why wouldn't you be? If
I'm in Christ and there's anything I lack, the deficiency is not
in me, it's in Him. And Christ is all. He's everything. And I'm complete in Him. I don't
know that you've had opportunity to read it, but the brief article
in your bulletin by Pastor David Edmondson on 1 Corinthians 1
and 30, Of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God has made unto
us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
What lack I yet? Wisdom to know God, who God is,
and wisdom to know our need of Him. Righteousness, the perfect
righteousness of Christ, which is required for every chosen
sinner to be accepted by God. Sanctification in Christ, set
apart by God Himself, made perfectly holy, just and righteous, and
redemption. Redeemed, bought with a price,
the price of the precious blood of our Redeemer, in Christ, in
Christ, what a glorious place to be. And to be loved, and to
be loved, accepted I am. No wonder, years after David
penned that sweet 23rd Psalm, we read that he was going the
way of all flesh. You and I were talking about
that this morning a little bit, Bill. how fast life is. Next month, I'll be 70 years
old. So, that was fast. The most remarkable thing about
that is, wow, that was fast. David, on his deathbed, the sweet
singer, the sweet psalmist said, although my house be not so with
God, and we can all say that, can't we? rebel sons, rebel daughters,
children, grandchildren. So it's true. Although my house
be not so with God yet, yet, it's not changed this. Bless
his name, it can't change this. He had made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure, for this is all my
salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. Mr. Spurgeon said, It is infinitely
more to our benefit to know that we have eternal life than to
be able to predict the future of empires or to forecast the
destiny of kings. It is of more practical importance
for us to know that we have eternal life than to be able to explain
all mysteries or to speak with tongues. John acts according
to his loving heart. When he tries to lead his brethren
into the assured knowledge of their personal possession of
eternal life, John says, I want you to know this. And I want
you to know this. I want it for yourself. I want
it for myself. I want to know that I have eternal
life. And if I believe the word of
God, if I have faith in God, If I believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, then God tells me plainly, I have eternal life. If I believe
on the Son of God, I'm told here, I want you to know, and John's
writing under inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, I want you
to know that you have eternal life. Know that. Rejoice in that
sweet, blessed assurance of your everlasting salvation. There's
been occasions where someone has come to me and said, Larry,
I've lost my assurance. Anybody ever say that to you,
ask you? I'm just not sure I'm saved anymore. And I usually ask them, well,
tell me. Before we get into that, before
I attempt to answer that, you answer me this. What reason have
you ever had to think that you were saved? And if it's anything other than
faith in Christ, then I tell them, well, look, you're right
to doubt. You should doubt. Because if
you're looking to anything other than Christ, then it's a baseless
hope. Oh, but if Christ is your hope,
if you can say amid your doubts and your fears and your or all of 10,000 other things,
I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then come what may,
come what may, I tell you on the authority of God's Word,
you have eternal life. Rejoice. There's nothing which
can give a man so much comfort and peace in this life, is there? Is this not so? Then the assurance
of his saving interest in Christ. If I know that the great business,
this great business of life, and this is the great thing,
the salvation of my soul, if I know that's settled, that's
settled, that the great debt of my sins been paid, it's paid. It's been paid in full. I heard Robin give a check to Delilah
for some money. She said, oh, I thank you. You
said five more payments. Looking forward to that, aren't
you? It'll be nice when you pay that very last one. Paid in full. Oh, thank God. By the death of
Jesus Christ, giving his life a ransom for his people, God
has stamped paid in full. Think about that when you lay
down tonight. Before you nod off, think about that. All your
sins, all your debts, all that you owe to God, it's been paid
in full. What a comfort. The great plague
of my heart has been healed. And that the great work of salvation
is accomplished. Nothing can disturb my peace.
Oh, assurance gives a man a fixedness, doesn't it? and heart. It sweetens
the bitter cup. It lightens every burden. It
smooths the rough places. It gives light in the valley
of the shadow of death. Assurance enables Job to worship
God, as we mentioned earlier, when he had lost all outward
comforts and joy. Assurance enabled Paul and Silas
to sing in prison while they were in chains. Assurance enabled
Peter to sleep in Herod's dungeon when he thought the next day
that he would be put to death. Assurance caused the apostles
to rejoice when they suffered shame and persecution for Christ's
sake. They did, didn't they? Oh, the
salvation and the assurance of salvation both have Christ in
view. Now here's the second thing.
I told you it was a natural outline there in our text that ye may
know that ye have eternal life. John wanted them that believed
on Christ to know that they had eternal life. He wanted them
to know that they were saved. And knowing this, to have this
sweet assurance of their eternal salvation, brothers and sisters,
that's not presumption. To believe God is not presumption.
To believe God, to trust that when Christ says, I give my sheep
eternal life and they shall never perish, that's faith. That's
to trust God. That's not presumption. That's
to take Him at His word. Eternal life is in Christ, our
covenant head. It's in the hands of Christ to
bestow. It's communicated to us by Christ. It's hidden with Christ, or rather
in God, with Christ. There it's safe, there it's secure,
because He lives. That's what He told His disciples,
didn't He? Because I live, you should live
also. Man, isn't that sweet? That's
the promise of our great shepherd. You'll live as long as I live. Eternal life, everlasting life.
He that liveth and believeth in me, told Martha at the grave
of her dead brother, he'll never die. He'll never die. Here's
the promise of the gospel. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son hath not life. Every soul that's
born again, Every soul that believes on Christ, every soul that has
Christ living in its heart by faith, has at this very moment
eternal life. Eternal life. I was reading a
message by Mr. Spurgeon the other evening, and
he mentioned a brother preaching from the text, He that hath the
Son hath life. And he said, this is how you
spell that, H-A-T-H, got it. God is." The Virgin said, that's
right. He liked that. The Bible, the book of God, is
God's record of this fact. And the Bible is the only source
of information that we have about salvation, about life, about
heaven, God, Christ, and everything else spiritual. And the book
of God tells us plainly that there's no possibility of eternal
life apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. For it pleased the Father
that in Him should all fullness dwell. Where else would God put
all fullness? Who else could contain the fullness
of God? All fullness, all life, all grace,
all mercy dwell in Christ. Christ is the habitation of mercy.
John said, we saw Him. The only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Christ is life, and Christ is
the source of life. He's the fountain of all blessings,
all grace. All salvation is in Him. and
comes from Him. And here's the last thing. John
says, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Does that sound at first rather redundant? These things write
unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that
ye may know that ye have eternal life. Why didn't John just stop
there? But he goes on to say, and that
ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. John tells them, just keep doing
what you do. Just keep doing what you do.
Keep looking to Christ. Looking to Christ. You began
by looking to Christ, just keep looking to Christ. Don't do anything
else. Look unto me, God says. Child
of God, look unto me and be ye saved. That's what you did when
you were first saved. That's what you do every day
afterwards. Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the
earth. Just keep doing what you're doing. In the Lord shall all
the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory. Again, referring
to a brief article in your bulletin. I love this one by old John Warburton. Oh, if you want to read a book,
a blessing, a biography, it's his, Mercies of a Covenant God. I have a copy if you'd like to
borrow it. It's very good. But he wrote The longer I live,
and I just take these words as my own, the longer I live, the
more I feel that there was one thing left undone. If the devil
weren't conquered, sin not expiated, justice not satisfied, the law
not honored and magnified, death not overcome, and every burden
carried, I should not have a ray of hope. I see and feel now that
if one hairbreadth is left for me to do, left for me to do to
merit heaven or to bring it as a plea before God, I'm undone
forever and ever. Oh, but faith, faith that savingly
unites the perishing sinner to the powerful Savior, this is
the faith as the gift of God, God's free distinguishing grace. Faith is not something that you
must run. Preachers all everywhere. All
my life I heard, believe, believe, believe. It gave me the impression
that faith was always there. It's there, all I had to do was
just exercise. But when God got me lost and I reached in there
and tried to do it, I couldn't find it. Oh, I tried so hard. I just tried so hard to believe
and I couldn't. I couldn't. Oh, you know why? Because faith is unnatural. It's
a product of God's grace, given that John tells us in verse 1
of this Epistle in chapter 5, we believe because we've been
born of God. When the Philippian Jailer cried
out to Paul and Silas, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? I
loved their answer. It was clear, clear, simple,
direct. They said, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, period. Don't believe
and be baptized, not believe and faith, Faith in good works,
not faith in church membership, not faith in the holy life, faith
in anything else that saves the soul, no, no. One hymn writer
put it like this, oh gift of gifts, oh grace of faith, my
God how can it be? Do you ever think about the wonder
of that, the marvel of that, the miracle of that? that God
gave you faith. I mean, you look around, most
of the people we know don't believe God, don't know God, don't believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ, don't have a clue who he is. But there
you are, with Paul, saying, by the grace of God, I know whom
I have believed. Oh, gift of gift, oh, grace of
faith, my God, how can it be that thou who has discerning
love should give that gift to me? every believer, to every
suffering child of God, know this, you have eternal life.
That's life without end. There's a mutual, someone said,
there's a mutual indwelling of Christ and believers. There is
between the Lord Jesus Christ and his people a living, vital,
eternal union of life. He does not exist apart from
us, and we do not exist apart from him. There was an old black
preacher in Richmond, Virginia years ago by the name of John
Jasper. Someone asked him one time, John,
when you get to heaven, suppose somebody stops you at the Pearly
Gates, like they do down here, and tell you you're black, you
have no right to be here, you can't come in here, like they
do here at the restaurants and railway station and so forth,
and tell you you can't come in, you're black. What's your right
to be here? What are you going to say, John
Jasper? How are you going to respond? And he said, I'm going
to say, I ain't here. I ain't got no right to be here. I'm not here on my rights. I'm
here on the rights of another. I'm here on the righteousness
of another, the Lord Jesus Christ. And they're going to open those
gates wide and say to John Jasper, come in. Come in. Come and welcome. to the Lord Jesus Christ. Old
John Kent wrote a hymn, two verses of it, and I'm done. He said,
betwixt Jesus and the chosen race subsists a bond of sovereign
grace, that hell with its infernal train shall never dissolve nor
rend in twain. This sacred tie forbids their
fears, for all he is or has is theirs. With him their head they
stand or fall, their life, their surety, their all. And we know
that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding
that we may know Him that is true. We are in Him that is true,
even His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. May God give us the sweet assurance
of our faith in Christ for His glory and for our good. God bless
you.