I have salt and I believe God
has given me a message for you. Turn back with me to the passage
I read to you last night, 1 John chapter 4 and verse 17. God the Holy Spirit declares
to us by his servant John in this book of blessed inspiration. Here's the first thing. Herein
is our love made perfect. I expect you scratched your head
a whole lot about that. What on earth is he talking about?
Herein is our love made perfect. Always when you read the scriptures,
read the scriptures in the context in which they are given, and
you'll be amazed at how much light the passage in which a
verse is found sheds on that verse. John had been talking
to us about God's marvelous, infinite, eternal love for us
in Jesus Christ our Lord. God's love for us is revealed
and made known in the sin-atoning sacrifice of His darling Son
as our substitute. The chapter begins back in chapter
3, talking about God's love for us. Behold what manner of love
the Father hath bestowed on us. Down in verse 16 of chapter 3.
Hereby perceive we the love of God. Hereby perceive we the love
of God. And there's no other hereby.
We perceive the love of God by this one thing. It is seen, it
is revealed, it is measured by this one thing. Hereby perceive
we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us. Do what? He laid down His life for us. He who is God, our Creator, redeemed
us with His own precious blood. He laid down His life for us
on our behalf. In our room, in our stead, in
place of us, he laid down his life that he might redeem us
unto himself, a peculiar people, zealous of good works. And we
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Look in chapter
4, verse 9. In this is manifested the love
of God toward us. In this the love of God is shown,
revealed, manifested. Because that God sent His only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love. Not that we loved
God. We didn't. We couldn't. And we wouldn't. Our hearts were
enmity against God. We hated God. With every fiber
of our being, we hated God. Not that we loved God, but that
He loved us. Did you ever notice in this book,
God's love is about always spoken of as past tense? He loved us and He never changed
His mind. He loved us and sent his son
for this purpose, to be the propitiation, the justice satisfying, the wrath
appeasing, atonement for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved
us, John concludes again, we ought also to love one another.
No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth
in us, and His love is perfected in us. Behold what manner of
love the Father has bestowed on us. For He hath made Him to
be sin for us. Him who knew no sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Now the apostle
concludes from this that if we are born of God, if God has come
and taken up residence in us, then we love one another. That's
the doctrine of verses 7 through 16 in this fourth chapter. It
is an indisputable fact plainly revealed in Holy Scripture and
throughout the Scriptures that God's saints truly do love one
another. He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is love. If we love one another, then
God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. What does
that mean? Our love to one another. Not
the love of two friends who grew up on the south side of the same
town. Not that. Not the love of a man for his
wife, or a wife for her husband. Not the love of a father for
his children or children for their parents. Not that. Not
that. But our love, the love of a multitude,
of hell-bent, hell-deserving sinners who have nothing in common
by nature, who if we saw one another on the street might just
as well shoot one another as look at one another. But now
we love each other. We love each other. How come?
That's a reflection and the fruit of God's love for us that's been
revealed Not just to us, in us. Our love for one another demonstrates
the fact that we are indeed His. I didn't say proves it, I said
it demonstrates it. God's love is then made perfect
in us. It is made known in us when we
love one another. That's John's doctrine here.
When the love of God is known and experienced in the heart,
Love flows from the heart. But then when we get to verse
17, he shifts gears. And you can almost hear the gears
grinding. It doesn't seem to push the clutch
in. Herein is our love made perfect. What? If you have a marginal
reference, look at the marginal translation. Sometimes it is
a better translation. In this case, I'm sure it is.
The marginal translation is, herein is love with us made perfect. It might be read, herein is his
love with us made perfect, or herein is God's love with us
made perfect. You see, John is not talking
here about us loving God perfectly. And he's sure not talking here
about us loving one another perfectly. Our love for God and our love
for one another is anything but perfect. You'll acknowledge that,
won't you? Anything but perfect. Many of the songs in our hymn
book, I just can't sing them. I cannot conscientiously sing
them. I appreciate so much of John
Chaucer's songs. Complimenting and expressing
the message preached from the pulpit. Those sung by these ladies.
That's the way it ought to be. But sometimes folks will get
together and they'll sing, oh how I love Jesus. And my heart
cries, Pastor, oh how I want to love Him. We love Him because He first
loved us. That's the truth. But our love
for Him is not worth singing about. Not worth mentioning. No. John's talking about the knowledge and the revelation
of God's perfect love for His people in Christ, as it is known
in the sweet experience of His saving grace revealed in us by
His Spirit. Let me show you that. Turn to
Romans chapter 5. Hold your hands here in 1 John
4, but turn to Romans chapter 5. John is describing for us
the grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace, this grace
wherein we stand. This grace wherein we rejoice
in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory
in tribulation also. Knowing that tribulation worketh
patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope
maketh not ashamed. Because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. God's love toward us, which is
shed abroad in our hearts by the knowledge of Christ, is made
perfect in us when we are made to see the fullness and completion
and perfection of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Now, His love
is made perfect in us. His love is made perfect in us.
Then the second thing John mentions is the Day of Judgment. But he says something that appears
at first glance to be next to unbelievable. Herein is God's love made perfect
in us for this purpose. That's what the word that means.
for this purpose. This is why God's love has been
made perfect in us. This is why God's love has been
perfectly revealed in us in its perfection in Jesus Christ the
Lord. That we, you and me, may have bold confidence, assurance, freedom, ease, fearlessness, boldness
in the day of judgment. But Brother Don, I thought the
day of judgment God was going to get us. for all the things
we've done that we shouldn't have done since he saved us. You thought wrong. God got us, Tom, for everything
more than 2,000 years ago when he got his son. But isn't there a sense in which
believers are going to suffer loss of reward? if they haven't
behaved like they ought to? Isn't there a sense in which
believers are going to be judged for the things they've done since
they were saved? God Almighty judged our sins one time in Jesus
Christ at Calvary when He bore our sins to the full satisfaction
of divine judgment. And now, there is therefore now
no judgment to them that are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. No condemnation. Oh, well, that
ought to give us boldness with reference to the Day of Judgment.
Boldness in the Day of Judgment. Bold shall I stand in that great
day, for who aught to my charge shall lay, while through Christ's
blood absolved I am from sin's tremendous guilt and blame? The wicked and unbelieving are
terrified by the day of judgment. The scripture speaks of men observing
a very strange prayer meeting on that day. When they stand
before God in judgment, they will cry, not to God, but to
the rocks and the hills. Not to take refuge in the rocks
and the hills, but to fall on them. They will pray for the
rocks and the hills, not to be a place where the Lamb is set
up high, but to fall on them and hide them from the wrath
of God and from the face of the Lamb. And they will cry and pray,
not for life, but for death. Yes, there is a day of judgment.
Some of you have nightmares about it. And I know what that is. Have nightmares about it. And
you ought to. Because God demands from you
either everlasting damnation and torments in the fire of His wrath, punishing
you forever from the presence of His glory, and that which
is described as the second death. Either that or somehow or another
you're going to have to stand before Him with these things. Complete satisfaction for all
your sin. I'm talking about complete satisfaction. Your sin must be punished. must be punished to the full
extremity of God's infinite wrath and holy justice either in you
or in a substitute. And it can't be punished sufficiently
in you. God demands of you perfect righteousness. He didn't say be best you can.
He said be ye holy for I am holy. He said, be perfect, for I, the
Lord your God, am perfect. He said, without holiness, holiness,
absolute holiness, and there's no other kind of holiness. Either
it's absolute, perfect, flawless holiness, or it's utter sin and
wretchedness. God demands holiness. Without
it, no man shall see the Lord. And God demands that you have
a different nature than that with which you were born. If
you would worship Him, you must be born again. You must be born
again. Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. He can't perceive anything spiritual. Except a man be born again, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God. If you would enter into
the kingdom of God, you must be born again. And that's not
something I can do for you. And that's not something the
church can do for you. And that's not something you
can do for yourself. And we can't make any contribution
toward it. I quit a long time ago pleading
and begging with sinners to do what they can't do. I plead and
beg with God for you to do for you what you can't do. It's said
to man, be born again. He cannot enter the kingdom of
God. What's that mean, Pastor? This is what it means. If God
leaves you alone, God Almighty leaves you alone.
He turns you over to yourself. You're going to hell. Unless
God steps in your way, interferes with your life, stops you in
your mad, rushed, everlasting destruction. perish you will
and so I beg God, oh God intervene reach down by the arm of your
omnipotent mercy and save sinners by your free grace the wicked
have reason to tremble at that day but his love is made perfect
in us We who believe, we who are born of God, we to whom the
love of God has been revealed in the sacrifice of His Son,
we who know His free salvation in Jesus Christ. It has been
revealed to us so that now we may have boldness, not only in
that day, but with reference to that day. The believer, the
child of God, ought never look upon judgment. with trembling and fear. I'll give you a challenge. I'll
give you a challenge. You may have difficulty rightly
understanding all the prophetic scriptures with reference to
the last day. Join the club. Me too. But I'll give you a challenge. If you have any confusion at
all with regard to what I'm saying, find me any place in this blessed
book where any man, woman, or child who knew God spoke of the
day of judgment, the second coming of Christ, or eternity with anything
but hope and joy. Find me a place. It's not there. That means we ought for the kid
to rejoice in the prospect. We ought to have boldness with
reference to that day. In that day, There will be no reckoning, as
they say. The Day of Judgment is not a
day when God is going to put things on trial. Weigh this thing
and that. The Day of Judgment is a day
of the righteous revelation of the justice of God, both in the
damnation of the wicked and in the salvation of His people.
It is the day when God declares the rightness of taking us into
His everlasting kingdom, into perfection of His glory. And
in that day, we will speak to Him who sits upon the throne
freely and without fear. More freely now, and more freely
then, than we approach the throne of grace now. More fearless in that day than
in the day, this hour, right now in which we live when we
call on His name in prayer. Speak to Him freely, without
fear. We will ascribe all praise, honor,
and glory to Christ our Savior and to Him alone for all grace
and salvation. And we will express as now we cannot. absolute love and adoration for
Him. And it will all be true. Herein is God's love made perfect
in us that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Maybe
God is speaking to you. And you're sitting there saying,
Brother Don, I can't tell you what I'd give if I could have
peace in my soul with reference to that day. Oh, how I wish I
could push the rewind button and start all over. What would you give to have the
slate wiped completely clean? Completely clean. And to walk out of here tonight
knowing that if God should give you breath for another hundred
years, it would never be dirtied. Or it can't be. If any man be
in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things have passed away. I can't forget the past I can't do it and my heart breaks because of
the scars and the pain not what I've experienced but what I've
caused and I can't forget it I can't
forget the enmity against God I can't forget the blasphemy
I can't forget it. But God can, and He has. Did you hear me? If any man be
in Christ, in Him, at least this much I know, in the blessed experience
of saving grace, trusting Him, he's a new creature. Old things
are passed away. Behold, all things have become
new. Now, this is what that means, at least in measure. Because. Here's the cause of that boldness,
that confidence, that fearlessness, that peace.
Because as He is, so are we. in this world. Well, we've got to be careful
here. We don't carry that too far. Please be careful that you
carry it as far as you can. Take it as far as you can. Take
it and run with it till you get to the judgment day. As He is,
so are we in this world. The Spirit of God does not hear
say, as He was, so are we in this world. That would be putting
us back to his earthly life and his character and conduct in
this world, and it would be interpreting the passage as almost all religion
interprets it. And that is to say, if you can
look at yourself in your behavior, in your character, and in your
conduct, and you can find in your character and in your conduct
that which is like His character and His conduct, then you may
have boldness in the day of judgment. You'll never get any that way.
Because your character ain't like His. And your conduct ain't
like His. Oh, no question about it. When
God saves sinners by His grace, He puts in them His own Son,
the very nature of His own Son, so that they are made in the
image and likeness of His Son. And that new man created in them
is created in true righteousness and in true holiness. But we
are still sinners in this flesh, and everything we do, even our
love for God, most especially our love for God and love for
one another, reveals our sin. and to look at our life, our
behavior, our feelings, our thoughts, our aspirations, our desires,
our character, our conduct, and say, now, that gives me hope
before God, is nothing on this earth but self-righteous presumption,
nothing else. The text does not say, as he
is, so shall we be in the world to come. No, John takes our eyes completely
off ourselves. Oh, children of God, if God will give you grace to
take your eyes off yourself and fix them on His Son, you shall
have boldness with reference to and in the Day of Judgment. Brother Don, I have so much trouble
with assurance. Me too. Me too. I wish I didn't have to acknowledge
that, but I do. I do. Every time I look somewhere rather
than here. How many of you here, how many
of you here, when first God saved you by His grace. I'm talking
about when first you trusted the Son of God. When first God
dropped faith in your soul. and called you to look away to
Christ, your crucified Redeemer, and lay hold on Him. How many
of you say, well, I ain't sure whether I'm saved or not. Oh,
I have such trouble with assurance. Not one of you. Not one of you. Then you went home, and you started
growing and growing. Well, not really. There's a big
difference between growing and swelling. You started swelling
and swelling. and swelling until at last, well,
I don't know whether I'm good enough. I don't know whether
I have faith enough. I don't know whether I believe
enough. I don't know whether I read enough.
I don't know whether I pray enough. Oh, I have such trouble with
assurance. That's our trouble. Because you swelled up. And you
ought to always take this position before God. I am a sinner and
nothing at all. But Jesus Christ is my all in
all. As He is, so are we in this world. If right now God gives you faith
in Christ, if just this moment you find yourself believing on
His Son, that's true of you. If you are born of God, if you've
been redeemed by the blood of Christ, if God saved you by His
grace, as He is, so are you right now in this world, in the mess
you're in, right now, as He is. Now this applies to everything
this book teaches us about Jesus Christ as our God-man mediator,
our covenant surety, our representative, our substitute. You may say,
well, does that mean that as He is God in the flesh, we are
God in the flesh? Folks can't be stupid, can they?
No. No, we're not little gods. No. Does that mean as He is the Savior
of the world, we're the Savior of the world? No. It's not talking about Him in
His divine character. It's not talking about Him in
His eternal deity. It's talking about Him as our
covenant mediator, our covenant surety who became everything
that we are and endured all the hell we deserve to the full satisfaction
of justice and brought in everlasting righteousness for us and now
is seated at the throne in glory, possessor of everything as He
is. Right now, so are we in this
world. Let me see if I can give you
a few points. Turn over to 1 Peter. It's these four things. I'll
say them quick. As the Lord Jesus Christ, our
Savior, is the begotten Son of God. So are we in this world. He's the only begotten Son of
God as the eternal Son of the eternal Father. That's His nature. But we are the begotten sons
of God as the adopted sons of God by grace. The man Christ
Jesus, our mediator, is the firstborn among many brethren, and we are
described in the book of God as His many brethren. He is the
first begotten from the dead, and we have been begotten of
God unto a livelihood by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, because when He was begotten from the dead by
the Spirit of God, we were raised together with Him and seen with
Him in heavenly places. God loved us as His sons before
the world was. He chose us as His sons in eternal
election and adopted us before ever He made the earth. And then
in the coming of His Spirit, at the appointed time of love,
He sends His Spirit and we are made to have the very nature
of His sons as He gives His Son to us in the new birth. 1 Peter
1, verse 3. According as His divine power,
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness."
Man, that's a big statement, isn't it? What did He give us? Anything
that's got anything to do with life and godliness, He gave it
to us. Through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to
glory and virtue. He gave it to us, John, when
He revealed Christ in us. Now watch this. whereby are given
unto us exceeding great and precious promises. That is, when we are
born of God, the promises of God are made ours in the experience
of grace. That by these, these promises,
you might be partakers of the divine nature. Having escaped the corruption
that is in this world, that is what you are by nature, through
lust. made partakers of the divine
nature. This is what happens in the new
birth. God the Son invades your being. God the Son comes into
you in the power of His Spirit, by the power of His Spirit and
takes up permanent residence in you and He makes Himself known
to you as He does. in you the hope of glory. Folks say Jesus is knocking at
your heart's door. They have that silly idolatrous
picture. You'll see it everywhere. A little old limp, Christian,
feminine looking fellow with kind of sad blue eyes. And he
stands at the door with a candle in his hand. The light of the
world, got a candle in his hand. And they say, you see, there's
no handle on the outside. At your heart's door, He has
to knock, and He's too much of a gentleman to come in unless
you let Him in. Poor, pathetic, little Jesus. He ain't worth
spit. You think I'm going to trust
Him to save me? When Christ comes knocking at
your heart's door, He knocks the door down, bolt and bar,
and you don't even know He's around because He's already sitting
on the throne on the inside. and he brings his welcome with
him we are born again by his own
will because we are the sons of God God has sent forth the
Spirit of His Son into our hearts, so that now we can lift our hearts
to heaven, looking to His Son, and crying, My soul, God is my
Father, and I am His child. Here's the second thing. Turn
to John 17. As He, the Lord Jesus Christ,
is loved of God with an everlasting love, so are we right now. No matter what, Brother Jim, no matter what you're
feeling right now, no matter what you did this morning, so are we loved of God in this
world. Loved of God. John 17, 23, I
in them, thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that
the world may know that thou hast sent me, now watch this,
and hast loved them. How does it say? as thou hast loved me not similarly
like you love me but even as thou hast loved me the last line
of verse 24 for thou lovest me before the foundation of the
world try to grasp the meaning of those words if you can as
he is loved of God from everlasting with an immutable, free, fully deserved love. So are we. Look at John 10. Let me show you something. John
10 verse 17. Remember now, we're talking about
our Savior, our mediator, our surety. Therefore, this is the reason,
doth my Father love me, watch it now, because I laid down my
life that I might take it again. But didn't the Father love the
Son before He laid down His life for the sheep? Of course he did.
He's talking about himself as our surety, our mediator, the
good shepherd. And as a man, as the God-man,
our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ is loved of God because he fully
deserves it, because he fully obeyed the will of God, even
unto death, bringing in everlasting righteousness for us on the grounds
of absolute justice and infinite worth. Now, the Father loves you, my
brother, my sister, just exactly like He loves His Son, for the
same reason, the cause of perfect obedience unto death, the full
satisfaction of justice, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, flawless
righteousness of infinite worth that you rendered to him in the
surety. When he obeyed God, Don Martin,
you obeyed God. Can you get a hold of that? When
he died, you died. When he arose, you arose. When
he sat down, you sat down. As long as he's had being as
your surety, you've had being in him your surety, one with
him. One with Him. God loves us. Somebody says, as He sees us
in Christ. That's the way God sees things.
Let me let you in on a little secret. This may shock the bitches
off of you, but it'll be good. However God sees you, that's
how you really are. Did you get it? However God sees
you. I'm not talking about how you
see you. I'm not talking about how other people see you. However
God sees you, that's how you really are. So that's the way
God sees things. Do you reckon God sees them wrong,
or you do? However God sees them, that's the way it is. Turn to
Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 42. As the Lord Jesus Christ is God's
elect chosen of God and precious so are we God's elect chosen
and precious right now in this world behold my servant whom I uphold
mine elect in whom My soul delighteth. Turn over one page to chapter
43, verse 4. Remember what the book says,
as He is, so are we in this world. He is my elect, in whom my soul
constantly, without fail, unendingly delights. chapter 43 verse 4
here he is talking about Tim James since thou was precious
in my sight thou hast been honorable and I have loved thee Christ be my first elect, he
said, then chose our souls in Christ our head before he gave
the mountains birth or laid foundations for the earth. Christ was chosen
of God to be our surety. We were chosen to be his people.
He was chosen to be our redeemer. We were chosen to be redeemed.
He was chosen to be our Savior. We were chosen to be saved. He
was chosen to be head over all things to the church. We were
chosen to be the church, which is His body. The fullness of
Him that filleth all in all. And it was all done before the
foundation of the world began. Let me show you one more thing. One more thing. And if this won't sail your boat
through troubled sea, I don't know what will. As Jesus Christ, our blessed Savior, our substitute,
our mediator, the God-man, who right now sits in glory as He
is well-pleasing to the triune God, so are we. Right now. In this world. On a brother Don, that can't
be. Because the thing that David did displeased the Lord. The
book says so. You're exactly right. The thing David did displeased
the Lord. But not David. Not David. Oh no. Just as soon
as David acknowledged what he did, he said, I have said. Do
you remember what Nathan said to him? The next word out of
his mouth? The Lord, not shall, Not sure. The Lord hath put away thy sin. Do you mean, Brother Don, that
we are always pleasing and accepted of God in Jesus Christ? No matter what we do? No matter
how far we fall? No matter how cold our hearts.
No matter how vile our actions. No matter how bitter our thoughts.
It can't be. It can't be. It can't be unless
you're accepted and beloved. Now where's your acceptance?
Where is it? Where do you find acceptance
with God? Well, I just can't. I can't believe that. I was afraid
of that. I can't begin to comprehend it. But I can't tell you how I bless
His holy name. I believe it. I believe it. The Lord Jesus on the Mount of
Transfiguration. God the Father speaks from Heaven
and this is what He said. Matthew chapter 17. This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased."
That is not what he said. That is not what he said. If
I were talking to you, and I'd be happy to do so in just another
four or five minutes if you want me to, about my grandson, I'd
say, this is my grandson with whom I'm well pleased. But if
I said to you, this is my grandson in whom I'm well pleased, you'd
scratch your head and say, what on earth is he talking about?
I'm well pleased with his love for me. I'm well pleased with
his attitude about life. I'm well pleased with the way
he behaves himself. I'm well pleased with the way he conducts
himself. I'm well pleased with the way he speaks. I'll talk
to you about it. Just give me time and I'll talk to you about
it all night long. I'm well pleased with him. But that's not what
God said. He said, this is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. Jonathan Tate, are you in His
Son? Are you in His Son? In His Son? Put in Him from all eternity
by God's purpose, decree, and will, made one with Him. Put
in Him by the power of His Spirit, giving you life, arising from
Him, coming and dwelling in you, giving you faith to draw the
sap of life continually from Him. In Him! In Him! In Him! Where are you? I am in Him and
nowhere else excepted in the Beloved. And that never varies. That doesn't change. It didn't
change when I went away from my mother's womb speaking lies. and lift my fists up in God's
face. It didn't change when I sinned
and fell in my father's hand. And it hasn't changed these 40
years since He saved me by His wonderful grace. I'm in Him. Accepted into beloved. There's not one thing anybody
in heaven above, in earth beneath, or in hell below, including me,
not anything anybody can do to make any change in that. This
is my beloved Son. God Almighty looks down from
heaven on me. On me! And all he smells is his Son. And unlike Judah, he's not deceived. Or Israel. God looks down from heaven and looks on me. And all he sees
is His Son. Just His Son. Just His Son. And in the day of judgment, I'll have boldness. Because when the books are open,
and my name is called, there'll be no trembling, And
there'll be no fear, for God the Son, my mediator, my redeemer,
will stand before the throne of His grace and His glory, His
justice and His judgment, spread forth His hands. Here's Don Fortner. Well, come on, Don. Inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world of
everything in that world. Peace.