I'm going to approach the message
this evening a little different than usual. Rather than reading
my text now and giving you my subject, I want to do that at
the end of the message. Let me begin by stating four
things. Four things we know. Four things
we're fully convinced of. We know that the Lord God has
chosen a people whom he will save. There is in this world
a people called God's elect, the chosen. The Lord said in
Deuteronomy 7, you are a special people to me, a special people. Imagine that, God chose you to
salvation, chosen of God. People whose names are inscribed
in the Book of Life of the Lamb before the foundation of the
world. Our Savior said to his disciples, don't rejoice because
the spirits are subject to you. That's nothing. Rejoice because
your names are written in heaven. Listen to this. We're bound to
give thanks all way to God for you. Brethren, beloved of the
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth,
whereunto he called you by our gospel. God chose you that you
should be holy and unblameable before him. Not holy before men. Men can't see holiness. They
don't have any idea what it is. Holy and unblameable before God. He chose you to present you faultless
before the presence of His glory in everlasting life with Jesus
Christ our Redeemer. People argue about election,
fuss about election. You can't read this book without
reading about election. People have a Bible that doesn't
teach election. Anybody who says that either never read this book
or they're a bald-faced liar. Doesn't matter who they are.
Doesn't matter who they are. My grandson, when he was eight
years old, was in fourth grade. They attended a religious school
in Lexington, Kentucky. The Lexington Christian Academy. And the Bible teacher gave him
a test when he was eight years old. And the true or false, which
had to give a reason to explain the answer. And the first question
on the test was, God loves everybody, true or false? And Will answered
false. And his explanation was, if God
loves everybody, what's hell for? Besides, he said, Jacob have
I loved, but he so have I hated. Now his teacher, studying the
Bible all his life, didn't have enough sense to understand that
God meant what he said. Jacob have I loved, but he so
have I hated. Did he have enough sense to understand
that when God speaks of his election, he's talking about his choice
of people to salvation from eternity, that is an immutable, absolute
choice of his people. But an eight-year-old boy understood
it, whose mind had not been polluted with religion that taught him
not to believe God. You understand this? God chose
the people to salvation. Don't be bashful about declaring
that. Election, contrary to popular opinion, is not a cuss word.
It's a good word. God chose me. God elected me. Chose me in Christ before the
world began unto everlasting life in Jesus Christ the Lord. And he said he did so because
you're a special people to me. I used to hear folks say, well,
you think you're just special. And I would say, well, no. And
I read that passage in Deuteronomy a few months ago, and I thought,
well, yeah, I am. I am. To nobody, maybe, but to
God Almighty. Chosen of God in everlasting
love. These men and women are the objects
of God's eternal love. His sovereign grace, His immutable
purpose. And these sinners chosen by God
in eternity must and shall be saved. Not one of them shall
perish. People ask, well, what if they
are in a place where there's no gospel witness? That's no
trouble. God can join Philip to an Ethiopian riding in his
chariot like that. That's no difficulty to God Almighty.
God Almighty will save his elect. I have no question concerning
that. We labor in the cause of Christ. I urge you, you men and
women of Shoalhaven Gospel Church, I urge you, give yourselves wholeheartedly
to the business of preaching the gospel, knowing full well
that God will save His elect by the preaching of the gospel
of His free grace. No question concerning that.
We're not seeking everybody's salvation. Not trying to get
everybody saved. We're not deluded with the notion
that everybody shall be saved. We're seeking the Lord's sheep.
How do you know who they are? When they believe, I know. When
they believe, we know. And until they believe, we don't.
So we proclaim the gospel to all men. Number two. We know
that our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, redeemed that elect multitude
with his precious blood. He redeemed his chosen from the
curse of the law by his death upon the cursed tree. Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree. And He did this that we might receive the blessing of
Abraham, the promise of the Spirit, life eternal in our blessed Redeemer
by the gift of His grace. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter
5 and verse 18. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 18.
Read again this marvelous declaration of the gospel of God's grace.
Paul is talking about the believer. He says, if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. He's a new creature. Old things
are passed away. Behold, all things have become
new. Oh, what wondrous grace. Wouldn't you like to be able
to walk out of here tonight with a clean slate? You ever
think to yourself, I wish my life was like one of those cassette
tapes you push the rewind button and start all over. Would you
love me to start all over with a clean slate with no possibility
of ever marring the slate. Oh, oh, oh, oh. No possibility of ever dirtying
the record. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. Believe on the Son of God and
go home a new creature. Believe on the Son of God and
go home believing what God declares. All things are passed away. All
things are become dead. Now watch this. And all things
are of God. This is all God's doing. It's
not possible with you. It's not possible with me. The
disciples said concerning that rich young ruler, who then can
be saved? Our Lord said, with me it's impossible.
But that's alright, with God all things are possible. God
can save such things as you, such things as me. All things
are of God. who hath reconciled us to himself
by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation
to win. That is, this is the ministry
God's given us. That God was in Christ, reconciling
the world. Not everybody in the world, obviously,
but all his elect throughout the world unto himself. not imputing
their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word
of reconciliation." And here it is. This is what we proclaim
to sinners everywhere. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ, as though God did beg you by us. That can't be. That can't be
like that. As though God did beseech you by us. Be reconciled
to God. Quit fighting God. Lay down your
little pot gun with which you attempt to kill God. Be reconciled
to God. For He hath made Him to be sin
for us who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. With His own blood, He entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. And every sinner For whom the
Lord Jesus shed his blood at Calvary shall be with him in
glory. There's just no question concerning
that. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not try to redeem, he redeemed. He didn't just make redemption
possible, he accomplished it. Christ hath redeemed us. Understand this is the vital
point of the gospel of God's grace. This is the place where
Satan has historically, throughout the history of God's church,
attacked the glory of God and the gospel of God, seeking to
destroy the hope of the gospel. Understand clearly, Jesus Christ
by his blood redeemed his people and every redeemed sinner shall
be with him in glory. The cross of our Redeemer shall
never be discovered a miscarriage. Payment God cannot twice demand. First at my bleeding surety's
hand and then again at mine. Number three. We know that God
the Holy Spirit effectually regenerates, calls, and saves all the elect,
all the redeemed. God chose a people, Christ died
for those people, and God the Holy Spirit is sent to regenerate,
to call, to sanctify those people. We know the wind blows where
it lifts. Thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth.
So is every one that is born of the Spirit. Come, O wind, and breathe upon
these slain, that they may live. We have no indication. I often
hear folks say, well, I believe he's one of God's elect. I believe
the Lord's going to save this person or that. Well, that's
all right, but you don't have any idea what God's about to
do. You don't have any idea what God's about to do. The wind blows
where it will. You hear the sound of it. You
see what God does, but you don't know where it's coming from,
where it's going. So is everyone that's born of the Spirit. God
calls out His elect at the appointed time of mercy and love when He
passes by, spreads His skirt over them, and says to His chosen,
live. And they live. And He adorns
them with beautiful apparel, clothing us with the garments
of salvation, making us to be the very righteousness of God
in Him. Read it for yourself in Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians
2. You hath equipped You hath God
made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. Dead. Dead. Let me tell you what it'll take
for you to go to hell. Nothing. If God leads you to yourself,
you're going to hell. Unless God does for you what
I can't do for you, what you cannot do for yourself, what
mom and dad can't do for you, you will go to hell. The only
hope for your soul, dead in trespasses and in sins, is if he who is
life stoops to breathe life into your soul. If he who is life
condescends to have mercy upon you. You hath be quickened who
were dead in trespasses and in sins, wherein in time past you
walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation. We all live just like everybody
else. As it was in the days of Noah,
our Savior said, so shall it be in the days of the coming
of the Son of Man. People will be eating and drinking and marrying
and giving in marriage. Do you know what that means?
They'll live to gratify their own lust. That's all people live
for. You and me, your sons and daughters
and mine, live only to gratify our lust, our sensual passions,
until God steps in. So I don't live like that fella. You may take what you consider
to be the high road, another fella takes the low road, but
you walk after your own lust to that which you deem to be
to your own selfish personal advantage, worshipping and serving
no one but yourself. That's the condition all men
are in by nature. That's where we were when God
stopped us in our mad rush toward hell. Among whom also we all
had our conversation in time past, watch it, in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
What's your boy doing? Oh, he's going to school. He's
going to be a brilliant medical doctor. He's going to be a nuclear
physicist. He's going to be a scientist.
What's your daughter going to do? She's going to be the first
president of the United States. All fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind. That's all. That's all. Nothing
else. And were by nature children of
wrath, that is, born under the sense of the just wrath of God
and wrathful children hating God with every fiber of our beings,
even as others. And here are two of the sweetest
words in the English language. But God. But God. rushing madly to hell with my fear shoved in God's
face, hating God, wishing God didn't exist. God stepped in
my way and stopped me in my mad rush
to hell and arrested me by his grace. But God, who is rich in
mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved us, hath quickened us
together with Christ." What does that mean? By grace you're saved. And that raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now what's
the reason for it? That in the ages to come, He
might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith. And that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. We're His workmanship. his masterpieces,
God's masterpieces, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
All those who were written in the book of life before the world
began in sovereign election. All those who were redeemed by
the blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary are born again in time
by the effectual, irresistible, omnipotent mercy and grace of
God the Holy Spirit. Salvation is of the Lord. It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. He
has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hearteneth. This is God's way. This is God's
work. Number four. Every sinner in
the world. Every sinner in the world. Every sinner in the world. who
believes on the Son of God is born of God. Every sinner who believes on
the Son of God is born of God. Sadly, there are a good many
fellows who preach and try to preach the gospel and they preach
as if they're scared to death one of the non-elect might get
saved. We don't dare preach this too
freely. Somebody might get in and I suppose
to be. Proclaim it loudly. Oh, God help you to hear me.
If you believe on the Son of God, right now, right now, If you believe on the Son of
God, you are born of God. You're born of God. What does
Scripture say? He that believeth on the Son,
he that believeth on Him is not condemned. But he that believeth
not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name
of the only begotten Son of God. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. Not if you will believe you have
life, if you believe you do have life. Your faith in Christ is
the token and the evidence of the fact that you've been born
of God. You cannot and will not believe except God give you life
and faith in His Son. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Anybody, believe on the Lord
Jesus and everlasting life is yours. Whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Does that mean you take
somebody down Romans road and you say, now, you know that you
sinned, don't you? Well, no, I don't know. Well,
you ever done anything wrong? Well, yeah, who hasn't? Well,
you sinned then. You don't want to go to hell,
do you? You know, I never met anybody
who did. I never met anybody who didn't. If you believe in
Jesus you'll be saved. Say I believe in Jesus and everything's
alright. No, that's not what it is to call on the name of
the Lord. To call on his name is to worship him as he's revealed
in this book. Who sort of believeth that Jesus
is the Christ? Anyone who believes that Jesus
of Nazareth, that man who lived and died on this earth over 2,000
years ago, actually did accomplish all that the prophets said the
Christ must accomplish, they're born of God. Who sort of believeth
that Jesus is the Christ? He's born of God. All who have
faith in Christ have salvation. All who look to Christ live.
Every sinner in the world who believes on the Son of God has
life everlasting. Now, anyone who reads this book
with any measure of spiritual discernment and understanding
knows these things. They're as simple, as plain,
as elementary as can possibly be. These are not deep profound
things. These are the elementary revelations
of the gospel. We recognize that all who were
chosen of God in election were redeemed by Christ at Calvary
and are called by the Spirit in time, and all who are chosen,
redeemed, and called believe, and all who believe have everlasting
life. Now, I presume, I think it's
safe to say, you who are here tonight have some interest in
those things. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. Yours may be
just a vague passing interest. It may be a deep, deep abiding
interest, but you have some interest in these things. So let me ask
you a question. If this is your hope, if you
hope for life everlasting, If you hope that you're numbered
among God's elect, numbered among those who are redeemed by Christ,
called by the Spirit, if you hope that you have this thing
called faith in Christ, this eternal life that's the gift
of God, I want you to answer the question, where is your evidence? Where is your evidence? I've
heard many say many times, If folks were put on trial for being
Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict them? Where's
your evidence? Where's your evidence? Let's
put ourselves on trial and be honest. Just be honest. Simon, I wonder
if you and I can be honest with God. Honest. Where's your evidence? John Newton
once wrote a hymn I don't recommend that it be sung in our congregational
worship. I don't think it's one of those
hymns that probably should be sung very often, but it's one
that often runs through my mind. It opens like this, "'Tis a point
I long to know, oft it causes anxious thought. Do I love the
Lord or no? Am I His or am I not?" Let's
examine the evidence and find out. If we can rightly lay claim
to eternal salvation in Jesus Christ, we must be able to look
into the Word of God and find reason to rightly lay claim to
life in Christ Jesus. Turn to 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3.
And verse 15. Now this is what I'm saying.
The assurance of a saving interest in Christ must be built upon
evidence acceptable to God in the court of heaven and in the
court of your own conscience. The assurance of life must be
built upon evidence acceptable in the court of heaven and acceptable
in the court of your own conscience. 1 Peter 3.15, sanctify the Lord
God in your hearts, honor God in your heart, set God apart as God in your
heart, hallow God in your heart, And be ready always to give answer
to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that's in
you. With meekness and fear. With meekness and reverence for
God. With meekness knowing who you
are and whose you are. With meekness knowing who you
are and who God is. With meekness and with reverence.
If we can verify our hope by the Word of God, then we never
need be troubled by the questions Mr. Newton raised. Tis a point
I long to know. Often it causes anxious thought.
Do I love the Lord or no? Am I his or am I not? We claim to be Christians. We
hope that we're children of God. We hope that we're heirs of God
and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Where is your evidence for this
hope? Where's mine? Let me make a few
plain statements that need to be understood. Number one, I
know this, no experience, no experience of grace, no feeling
of spirituality, no work performed by me, past or present, Is any
evidence that I'm a child of God? None. None. I know that all who are
born of God have experiences. We experience regeneration. We
experience conviction. We experience repentance. We
experience faith in Christ. I know that every true believer
feels remorse for sin, conviction, has an inner conflict in his
soul. He loves Christ and rejoices in Christ Jesus, has peace with
God and yet has a constant struggle in his soul with his own flesh
and his own sin. And I know that everyone born
of God maintains good works in the tenor of his life. I know
that. Preachers all the time scared
to death that God's people aren't going to act right. The fact
is God's people do act right. They just do. They're motivated
by grace and love and gratitude and in the tenor of their lives
they behave properly in a manner honorably to their profession.
All God's people do. We're His workmanship. Created
in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. And I just sort of presume with
God foreordained that I should walk in good works. He'll see
to it that I do. God's people do. And yet, We
recognize that none of these things is evidence that we're
born of God. You see, experience won't give
you any hope, not if you're honest. Judas had some experiences. Judas had some experiences. Judas
walked with our Lord. Judas preached with the apostles.
Judas was a man of remarkable knowledge. And Judas was a betrayer. Feeding is no basis of assurance. Sometimes I feel close to God. And sometimes I have to cry,
my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And I think perhaps when I feel
forsaken, make them a little closer in experience than when
I feel close to them. Feelings come and feelings go
and feelings are deceiving. I trust the written word of God,
naught else is worth believing. My feelings and your feelings
will deceive us. Our experiences will deceive us. Good works is
no basis of assurance. I dare say that not anybody here
who lived up to the measure of salt of Tarsus. Anybody? I'm talking about now. I'm talking about now. Oh, you
know he's saved. Look how he prays. Look how he
sacrifices. He was a drunk and now he's sobered
up. I know lots of folks who sobered up and never knew God.
I know dopeheads who sobered up and never knew God. That's
no evidence of grace. Ananias is full of good works.
He didn't know God. Saul of Tarsus is full of good
works. He didn't know God. Good works are no evidence of
life eternal. Answer this question. What evidence
do you have that you're a child of God when your conscience disturbs
you? How do you silence that conscience?
When doubts arise, how do you settle the doubts? When you examine
yourself, if you dare do so, are you honest enough to examine
yourself By God's word or do you examine yourself by what
you do? How do you prove your faith?
Does your heart go back to this morning or yesterday or maybe
that day when a 16-year-old boy, not quite 17, You first had some experience
of grace. I'm talking about me now. You
gotta go back there. Gotta go back there. If I would
ask you to prove to me you were alive, would you pull out your
birth certificate? That's nonsense. Nobody acts
like that except with religion. Oh no, the evidence of faith
is not in the past. It's not in this morning or yesterday
or a year ago or a thousand years ago. No sir. If you find comfort,
if you find peace, if you silence a nagging conscience by pointing
to your experiences, to your feelings, to your works, no matter
what those experiences and feelings and works may be. Either you're
a lying hypocrite, self-deceived by all things, or you have no
peace at all in your soul. Which experience have you had
that gives you peace? I promise you, anybody here,
man, woman, or child, who stand up and tell me an experience
by which you have peace with God, a work that makes you comfortable
before God, a feeling that makes you, oh, now, now I know I can
meet God. I know now that I'm a child of
God. I promise you, I'll sit down and listen to you preach.
Anybody? Anybody? Oh, Brother Don, we
wouldn't dare think so. Most people do. Most people do. I know this too. Those graces
and works that convince others that I'm a child of God can never
convince my own heart and my own conscience. Turn to Galatians
chapter 5. Even the fruit of the Spirit
There's no sure evidence that I'm a child of God, one of God's
elect. Now, there are many things by
which others are convinced that we belong to God. Many things
that cause both the world and the church to call us the disciples
of Christ. Listen to our Lord's statements.
He said, ye are the salt of the earth. But if the salt have lost
its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It stents forth good
for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of
men. Ye are the light of the world, a city that set on a hill
cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle
and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth
light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine
before men that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father that's in heaven. But what about the gracious influences
of the Spirit? Surely those things will make
us see ourselves as God's children. Look here in Galatians 5. Without question, God the Holy
Spirit forms Christ in the believer. And every believer has fruit
born in his life by the Spirit. And here it's described. The
fruit of the Spirit, verse 22, is love, joy, peace. Love for God. Joy with and in
God. Peace with and from God. Long-suffering, gentleness, goodness. The fruit of the Spirit has reference
to God and has reference to man. With men, we're long-suffering,
gentle, and good. The fruit of the Spirit within,
this fruit that is within us is faith or faithfulness, meekness,
not what men call meekness. Now, people say, well, oh, look
at that, he's such a meek man. They think, oh, that fellow from
India, Gandhi? No, that's pretense. That's fake. That's fake. Moses was the meekest
man on earth in his day. And he went and defied the mightiest
king on earth. Dared him to defy God. It's called
meekness. Meekness is knowing that you're
God's. Knowing that you belong to Him.
Knowing who you are and whose you are. Temperance. Control from within. Ah, now
brother God. I wouldn't want to brag, but
these things convince me that I'm a child of God. Let's see.
Let's see. Your love for God? Your love for God? Your joy in God? Your peace before
God, does that convince you of anything? Try to be honest. Be honest before
God, you won't go to hell if you're honest. My love for God
can't be called love. My joy in God can't be called
joy. My peace as I walk before God
in this world can't be called peace. They wouldn't disturb
me like they do. My long suffering is awfully short tempered. My gentleness could be real hard.
My goodness can be terribly selfish in me. That's just fact. I don't like
it. That's fact. And to deny it,
I'd be standing here lying to you. My faith... I don't half believe God. And
you don't either. We have trouble and last we paste
the floor like there was no God existing. And we wring our hands
and we bite our nails until God shuts us up and forces us to
trust Him. And then they brag on their faith.
Our meekness, You observe things and you say,
oh, I was made who's devoted to God. If you only knew me. Oh, if you
only knew me. Temperance. Control of my passions. I have to be honest with you.
If I look to those things as evidence of faith, I'd say I
have none. If I look to those things as evidence of life eternal,
I would have to say I don't know God. Well, what about brotherly love?
By this shall all be known that you're my disciples if you have
love for one another. Yeah, but I don't know about
myself. Believers identify one another
by their love for one another. But to identify ourselves by
that? By love? Turn to 1 Corinthians 13. Let's
see how good your love is. Verse 4. Charity, that's really the best
possible translation of this word for love. It is a self-sacrificing,
self-denying devotion. Charity, love suffereth long
and is kind. Charity envieth not, envieth
not. I spoke earlier, maybe yesterday,
about Jennifer sitting there. You love your mama, don't you?
I believe that. But there are times when you
envy her. You dance affection for her.
Certain things she does. But love doesn't do that. Love
doesn't envy. Love doesn't envy. So you can't
describe that as love, not in this sense. It envieth not, it
does not usually envy. It just doesn't do it. It just
doesn't do it. Love vaulteth not itself. It doesn't promote
itself. Well, that just shut you out,
didn't it? Me too. Love is not puffed up. No pride. Every time you get
mad at your wife, it's because you think you deserve better.
And every time she gets mad at you, it's because she thinks
she deserves better. But we love each other. Do we now? Do we now? Love seeketh not her
own. Behaveth not itself unseemly. Seeketh not her own. Is not easily
provoked. Try this one on her. Thinketh
no evil. I wonder what Lance was thinking
about that. I wonder what's really going on with him. Love thanketh
no evil. Thanketh no evil. Not suspicious.
Love rejoiceth not in iniquity. Moses, or Noah, is in a drunken
stupor, and his reprobate son, Ham, says, look here, boys, I
told you that it was a fake. That's what the reprobate always
do. They talk about other people's sins. Sham, and Japheth, God's
elect, go in backwards and cover the city. Love rejoiceth not
in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth, beareth almost everything. No. All things. Believeth all
things. Hopeth all things. Endureth all
things. Love never fails. But brother Don, that shuts everybody
out. It does unless you understand that there's just one person
in all the universe who so loves men. And that man is Jesus Christ,
the representative man, our mediator. I want to love you like I love
myself. And I want to love God with all
my heart. And I can't do it. I can't do
it. Bless God I have done it in a
representative. Christ Jesus the Lord, my representative. I hope you see what I'm telling
you. Evidence is drawn from personal experience, from spiritual feelings,
from gracious attitudes, and from good works when fairly and
honestly examined are no evidence of a saving interest in Christ.
Well, Brother Don, where's your evidence? Where's your evidence? Turn to the book of Hebrews.
Here's my text. Chapter 11. Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. The only evidence of grace. The only evidence of eternal
life. The only evidence of God's election,
Christ's redemption in the Spirit's call, is faith in Jesus Christ
the Lord. That's all. All other evidences, all other
confidences, all other assurances, I altogether repudiate. When Satan raises Moses up, You
have a picture of it in Zechariah chapter 3. The Lord Jesus doesn't
bring a railing accusation against Satan, this mighty archangel
who stands as our defender. He simply pleads our cause and
stands as our advocate with the Father and demands for us the
non-implication of sin. And the Lord Jesus silences the
devil's accusations. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Who is he that condemneth? It's God that justified, it's
Christ that died, yea rather than it's risen again. We stand
accepted of God in Christ and only in Christ. And the only
evidence of our life in Him is faith in Him. Faith in Christ
the Lord. This is the gift of God. This
is that which God performs in us by the operation of His grace. This is that which God communicates
to us by the preaching of the gospel. Faith in Christ is the
sure, certain, infallible evidence, proof if you will, assurance
if you will, of salvation. Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for. Substance of things. What's that?
The essence. the assurance, the certainty
of things hoped for. I have confidence. Oh, my soul,
I bless God. I have confidence that I will persevere until the
end. Not because of anything in me.
I know better than that. I have confidence that I will
be raised from the dead in everlasting glory. I have confidence that
eternal glory is mine. For one reason, I believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's all. But Brother Don,
you've told us that your feelings sometimes are good, sometimes
are bad. As God gives me grace, I'm not
going to allow my sins, my corruptions, my hardness of heart, my coldness,
my unbelief, my fears, my experiences, to repudiate in my own mind and
heart what God's written in his word. He that believeth on the
Son of God hath everlasting life. And it is not faith to say, I
believe, when you feel very saintly. But in the teeth of your sin,
in the teeth of all that you know you are, in the teeth of
all the blackness of hell in your heart, in the teeth of all
that filth that you hide from everybody else, in the teeth
of all that self-serving selfish interest that you keep suppressed
so that other folks don't see, in the teeth of all your corruption,
knowing those things, to believe on the Son of God. That's faith. That's faith. I'm calling for
one thing from you. One thing. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Believe on the Son of God. And that faith is the evidence
that you're God's. Oh, may God then give you faith.
to believe on His Son. Amen.