Open your Bibles with me to 2
Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 1. The apostle Paul, because he
believed and preached the gospel, the gospel of God's grace and
mercy in Christ, because he was not ashamed of the testimony
of the gospel, he was now in prison at Rome. Very soon this
man would be put to death, and he knew it. He was fully aware
that soon his tormentors would put him to death vilely, cruelly,
and he would stand before God in judgment. Yet in the face
of these things, in the face of certain death, in the face
of the fact that he would certainly stand before Almighty God in
judgment very soon, Paul was not afraid, he was not frightened,
he was not disturbed, he did not tremble. But rather he spoke
with confidence and assurance of his security in Christ. Now
look at what it says in verse 12, 2 Timothy 1 verse 12. For the which cause? Now what
he's saying is for the cause of the gospel. You can look back
in verse 9, he said he was in prison and he told Timothy not
to be ashamed of him. are the afflictions of the gospel,
the gospel of God, who hath saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of
our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath
brought life and immortality to life through the gospel."
Now, what did Paul preach? He preached that God saved us
and God called us. He called us with a holy calling,
that our works had nothing to do with our salvation, and that
this grace and mercy was given us in Christ before the world
began, and that our Lord Jesus Christ, in accordance with this
covenant of God's grace, came in the fullness of time and by
his death abolished death for us and brought immortality to
life through the gospel. Now then, he says in verse 11,
whereunto I am appointed a preacher. I'm appointed a preacher to preach
this gospel, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles,
for the which cause? Because I have faithfully executed
this business of preaching the gospel of God's sovereign grace,
I suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed. That is, I offer no apology.
I am not in the least bit confounded, I am not in the least bit confused,
I am not in the least bit given reason why I should hang my head
in shame in this prison. For I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he, that one whom I have believed, is
able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that
day." Turn over to chapter 4 of 2 Timothy. Paul has admonished
Timothy to be faithful, to be a faithful servant of God, to
be one who watches diligently in all things, endures affliction,
does the work of an evangelist, makes the full proof of his ministry,
preaching the Word of God, even as he had done for which he suffered.
And now Paul tells Timothy that he soon must leave this life,
and he's aware of it. He soon must be put to death.
He looked downward to the grave, and this is what he said in verse
6. I am now ready, ready to be offered, for the time of my departure
is at hand." He looked solemnly into that cold tomb into which
his body must be laid, and he said, I'm ready, I'm ready. He
didn't speak presumptuously, he didn't speak arrogantly or
proudly, he didn't speak self-righteously, he spoke the confidence of faith. He said, I'm ready for the grave,
I'm ready. I'm ready to be offered, I'm
ready to be slaughtered like a lamb for the cause of Christ
and the time of my departure is at hand. And having looked
to the grave, he looks backward to his own life as a gospel preacher.
He looks backward without shame. He looks backward as a loyal
soldier and a faithful servant. He says, I have fought a good
fight. I have finished my course. I
have kept the faith. What confidence, what confidence.
He said, God put me and enlisted me in the army as a soldier enlisted
under the banner of Christ, and I faithfully fulfilled my duty. I followed his advice. He says
concerning himself, I have finished my course God set before me,
a course of work and responsibility, and I fulfilled that responsibility
which God laid upon me. I have kept the faith. What he's
saying is I have not ceased to believe Christ. and I have not
ceased to declare the gospel of the grace of God." And now
he looks forward to that great day of reckoning, and he does
so without doubt. Look at him, verse 8. Henceforth,
henceforth, because I fought a good fight, because I finished
my course, because I have not departed from the faith, henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me
only, but unto all them also that love his appearance." What
confidence this man has! What assurance he has! I want
you and I to believe the gospel to enjoy the assurance of faith
in Christ. I'm fully aware that it is most
likely that I'm preaching to some of you who have no faith
at all, make no profession of faith. I'm preaching to some
of you who have no real faith and yet you have real assurance.
You're confident. You never question your salvation. You look back to an experience
and you rest in that experience and you think that you've got
eternal life, whereas you have never been given life. You've
never been, you've never believed Christ. You've never experienced
the gospel of the grace of God in your heart. I pray that God
will enable me to preach with clarity and power so as to expose
your heart to yourself and make you understand that you have
no faith and you're resting in a false foundation and in a false
refuge. But I'm aware also that some
of you are believers who have true faith, genuine faith. You love Christ and you trust
Christ, you believe the gospel, but you have no real confidence
and assurance. of your relationship with Christ.
You're confident of Christ's ability as a Savior. You're confident
of Christ's ability as an intercessor. You're confident of Christ's
ability, his power, and his grace as your substitute. But you have
no confidence of your acceptance before God in that substitute. Now I want you, if you have true
faith, I want for myself and for you this confidence and this
assurance that the Apostle Paul enjoyed. I want every true-born
child of God to enjoy the assurance of his personal security in Christ. One of our hymns, we don't sing
it very often, but it goes like this, more secure is no one ever
than the loved one, Dr. Sanford. I want you to know that
for yourself. I want you to know that blessed
security, that blessed assurance of which we sang a few moments
ago. More happy, yes, but not more secure. are the glorified
saints in heaven. If we could see that, we would
freely rejoice. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Peter,
James, and John, the Apostle Paul, and all the beloved saints
of God around the throne of God enjoy greater happiness than
we enjoy, but they do not enjoy greater security than we enjoy.
They do not enjoy greater security. Our Savior said this, I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish." That's what
he said, right? Do you reckon we can believe
him? That's what he said. They shall never perish. Dare
we question the ability of the Good Shepherd to preserve his
sheep? We should, all of us who are true believers, be like Paul.
He spoke without hesitation, without fear, without distrust.
He regarded the crown as a sure thing already belonging to him. He declares with unshaken confidence
that the great judge will give it to him. Paul was not being
presumptuous. He was not being naive. He knew
all the circumstances of that great solemn day of judgment.
He knew that it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God. He knew the corruptions of his own heart. He knew his
own sin. He knew his own failings and
his own shortcomings in this world. He knew the strictness
and the justice with which God must judge the world. And yet
the Apostle Paul also knew whom he had believed. And he was fully
persuaded that Jesus Christ is able able, able, fully able to
do everything he promised he would do. He saw Christ as his
all-prevailing advocate. He saw the blood of Christ as
a fountain of cleansing, effectual to wash away sin. He saw the
righteousness of Christ as a robe of pure white to clothe his naked
soul. And his knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ convinced him, convinced him, just flat convinced him
of his assurance before God and his assurance. That knowledge
of Christ is knowledge of faith. Such knowledge of Christ, such
personal, intimate acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ gives
men assurance. Now, in this text of Scripture,
2 Timothy 1 and verse 12, there are five things which I want
us to see. The first thing that I think is of most importance
is that you see the commitment of faith. I'm asking you who
believe not, I'm asking you who do not yet know the Lord Jesus
Christ, when I ask you to believe on Christ, when I command you
to repent and believe the gospel, I'm asking you to commit yourself
to Christ the Lord. That's what faith is. I recall
talking to a friend of mine recently, and we were discussing this thing
of faith. He was talking about commitment.
Do you remember over in John chapter 2? When our Lord turned
the water into wine, there were many who believed on Him. That
is, they acknowledged Him to be the Messiah because they had
seen a great miracle. And the Lord records for us,
or John does, that Jesus did not commit Himself to them, for
He knew what was in them. That's what faith is. It's commitment
to Christ. It's a commitment of myself to
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's putting myself in his hands.
It's putting myself under his care. It's giving myself entirely
to him, leaning entirely on him. Let me try to illustrate it for
you. You go to the doctor, and you've got a dreadful disease.
You're helpless. You know that you're dying with
cancer. And you've read about the doctors, and they have done
so much research, and so you You go to this doctor who's recommended
most highly to you, and you read his credentials, and you get
to understand something about the man, and you know that if
there's anybody in the land who can do you any good, this is
the man. He's the top man in his field.
If anybody can help me, he can help me. Now, you can know all
of that, and you can be encouraged by all of that, but it'll do
you no good till you sign that piece of paper committing yourself
to that doctor's care. And he takes you into the operating
room and he operates on you and he becomes responsible for you. You've committed yourself to
him. That's what faith is. It's not a real good illustration,
but it's about as good as you can get. It's a commitment, a
commitment of myself to the Son of God. It's casting myself upon
him. What I'm asking you to do this
evening is to commit yourself to Christ. In this verse of scripture,
Paul speaks of something he had done. Yes, faith is something
you do. Something you do. The Spirit
of God gives us faith. The Spirit of God reveals Christ
to us and causes us to believe. The Spirit of God creates life
in us and creates faith within us. But it's something we do.
You're going to have to believe Christ for yourself. You must
commit yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ. Your mama can't do it,
your daddy can't do it, nobody else can do it. You must commit
yourself to Him. I sometimes meet up with folks
who want to discuss this matter of why we don't baptize babies,
you know. Some folks come along and they
say, well, we'll baptize them just as a symbolic gesture. Well,
that's foolish. You can't bring your babies up
here and speak for them and speak as their representative before
God. Yes, I speak for this child of mine and I promise that he
will be raised to serve the Lord. You can't do that. Nobody can
speak for you. No priest can speak for you.
Mom or daddy can't speak for you. You must personally commit
yourself to the Son of God or you will perish. Paul had committed himself to
Christ. All the affairs of his life and
soul for time and eternity were committed to Christ. He had deposited
himself into the hands of Christ. You folks get paid on Friday,
you go by the bank on the way home, and you deposit your check
into the bank. That's called commitment. You
commit it to the care of the bank. You trust the bank to take
care of it. Now, it's not real wise to trust
the bank with a whole lot, apparently, these days. But you can trust
the Lord Jesus Christ with everything. Paul had deposited himself into
the hands of Christ. He trusted the Lord Jesus Christ
with his heart, his life, and his soul. All the temporal and
all the eternal interest of his soul were laid by faith at the
feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, committed into his hands. Feeling
the value of his soul, knowing his danger as a guilty sinner,
and being conscious of its own weakness and believing in the
grace and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul had placed himself
in the hands of Christ. He said, I give myself to him
as one responsible now for me. This is what faith is. It's commitment. It's entrusting ourselves into
the hands of Christ. I've given you this before, but
I think it's worth repetition. John Pratt said, a child that
hath any precious thing given him cannot better secure it than
by putting it into his father's hands to keep it. Your grandparents
come along and they give you a silver dollar for your birthday
or for Christmas. Let's say the silver dollar's
got the date 1850 on it. Well, that thing's worth some
money. That thing's worth some money now if you want to keep
it so that you can give it to your children Give it to your
dad, and he'll take it to the bank and put it in a safety deposit
box, or put it somewhere where you can keep it. He'll protect
it for you. You'll be terribly foolish if you stick it in your
pocket and carry it to school and choke all the kids. You'll
lose it sooner or later. Or you'll be tempted to go by
somewhere and spend it on something foolish. Well, Mr. Kratz said,
not only is it best for a child to commit his precious treasure
to his father, but we can No better provide for our souls
safety and welfare than by committing them to Christ, giving them to
his hand. Give yourself to Jesus. That's
what I'm saying. Give yourself to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Paul gave his whole being up
to Christ, the Christ of God, to preserve him in life, in death,
in judgment, and in eternity. He just trusted it. He just trusted
it. He trusted the Lord Jesus Christ
to preserve him amid all the many trials and temptations of
life. His inward corruptions were great.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of
life were terrible evils that he knew himself by experience. The powers of Satan, the allurements
of the world, all of those things were constant struggles with
Paul. But he trusted Christ to deliver him from them all, to
protect him in them all. He trusted Christ with the daily
affairs of his life. He trusted Christ with his character
and his reputation. He trusted Christ with his body
and with his soul. He trusted Christ to keep him
in life and to keep him in death. He trusted Christ to bring him
to glory. The Apostle Paul was confident
of our Lord's ability to preserve him. He didn't in any way trust
himself. There's so much difference in
what I'm talking about and what most people talk about when they
talk about this thing of assurance and security. Paul didn't trust
himself. He didn't look to his own power
and ability to preserve himself, to keep himself faithful and
true. He was not speaking like Peter did on that occasion when
Peter said, Lord, now these fellows, they may all forsake you, but
not me. You see, Peter was trusting himself. He was looking to himself.
He wasn't looking to Christ and saying, Lord, I believe that
you can keep me. from denying you and forsaking
you. He'll say, Lord, I won't do it. Well, Paul would never. Paul said, Lord, you can keep
me. You can preserve me. You can
hold me and I believe you will. I believe you will. He didn't
trust himself. He didn't have any sense of his
own holiness or any sense of his own merits before God. He
didn't rely on his works or his faithfulness to give him any
acceptance before God. His confidence was all together
in that one whom he knew, the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew Christ
was willing to keep him. He knew that Christ had promised
to keep him. He knew that Christ was honor-bound to keep him.
He knew that Christ was faithful to his word, and he knew that
Christ had the ability to keep him unto life everlasting. Now,
that's the great point of our conference. The Lord Jesus Christ
is able. He's able to do what he swore
he will do. In the covenant of grace, he
swore that he would. In the covenant of grace, he
promised his father that he would keep those who were committed
to him. And our Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world for the purpose of saving us, and he said, I
have kept them through thy name. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ is
able to do what he said he would. He's able. You remember those
three Hebrew children? They were about to be cast into
the fiery furnace because they would not bow down and worship
the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had made. And Nebuchadnezzar
asked them to do so, and they said, They said, King, O Nebuchadnezzar,
we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. We don't
have to stop and think about it. We don't have to pray about
it. We don't have to take a vote
among ourselves to decide what we're going to do. If it be so,
if it's our God's pleasure to do so, our God whom we serve
is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. And he
will deliver us out of thine hand, O King, if that's his pleasure. But if not, if not, be it known
unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship
the golden image which thou hast set up, because we believe God
will not back. Because we believe God will not
tremble. Because we believe God, we're
not even inclined to any disposition toward, maybe, bowing down before
your image. We believe God. That's what Paul
did. The Apostle Paul believed the
ability of Christ. Oh, I wish that we could learn,
children of God, to lean the full weight of our souls on Christ
the Lord. He's able, he's able, oh, he
is the mighty God. Lean the weight of your soul
on him, and your doubts and fears will soon be silenced. Well might
that soul be despairing, who leans upon his own power and
his own marriage. The question is not, what are
you able to do? That's not the question. Buddy
Darty is not able to do one thing. That's not even the question.
It doesn't even enter into the thing. Well, he's been a strong, faithful
man all these years. That doesn't even enter into
the speculation about what his soul's condition is. The question
is, what is the Son of God able to do? What's he able to do? He is able to keep that which
I have committed which I have deposited unto thee against that
day. He's able. The question doesn't
come up at all as to what our strength is, but rather just
cast the full weight of your soul upon that omnipotence which
upholds the pillars of the universe, even the arm of the Son of God. Paul had committed the keeping
of his soul into the hands of Christ against what he calls
that day. Perhaps he's talking about the
day of his death that was soon to come. Perhaps he was talking
about the day of the Lord's advent. Perhaps he was talking about
the day of judgment. Either way, this is what he's
saying. He's saying the Lord Jesus Christ is able to present
us faultless before the bar of God's holy judgment. He's able
to place us holy and without blame at the right hand of the
majesty on high. The Lord Jesus Christ is able
to give us a crown of righteousness when all the rest of the race
is cursed. He's able to bring us into eternal
heaven when all others are perishing in eternal hell. He's able. He's
able. This matter is a matter of great
concern. And this is the real issue. Can
the great shepherd preserve his flock? I hear these fellas talk
about salvation by grace and then they talk about possibility
and the reality of some who are saved by the grace of God after
all being lost because they didn't hold on or they didn't hold out
or they didn't live good enough or they didn't believe strong
enough and so they wind up perishing in hell. There's not any grace
in that. That's so terribly dishonored,
the name of our God. That's such a foolish absurdity.
Is or is he not the Son of God? Can he or can he not keep his
sheep? If he cannot, don't trust him. Don't trust him. I'm here to
tell you. You talk about, they talk about these fellows, they
say, well, he preaches a little good. They're just flat false
prophets. Just flat false prophets. Man
gets up and says that the Son of God will not preserve his
own elect unto eternal glory. He's lying. He's lying through
his teeth. He doesn't know the God I worship.
He doesn't know the, I don't care what good things he says,
he does not know the God I worship. For the God I worship thinks
more of his own honor than that. He'll not lose his own. He'll
not lose his own. Old John Jasper, that black preacher
in Richmond, Virginia, back in the 1800s, he had a fella ask
him one day, said, well, Mr. Jasper, What if you, after all
these years, were to die and get to the gates of heaven and
they wouldn't let you in? Mr. Jasper said, well, I never
worried about that. He said, because if I get to
heaven and they won't let me in, then the Lord Jesus, he'll
lose more than I'll lose. I'll lose my soul, but he'll
lose his honor, for he said he would keep them which were committed
unto him. He said he would save his people
with everlasting salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ, I say,
is able. He is able to save unto the uttermost
them that come unto God by him. Is our confidence in Christ warranted,
or is it not? Is the great sin-bearer able
to stand for me? Having no merits of my own, will
the merits of Christ alone suffice for me? Being guilty of 10,000
sins and offenses against God, will His blood alone be sufficient
to cleanse me? Blessed be God! It is so! I have
conscience. I have conscience. I have no merit. I have no merit
before God. There is nothing, my God, nothing
I have ever done, felt, said, us except in just condemnation,
nothing. But I trust the merit of your
son. I lean the full weight of my soul on the righteousness
of your son. I am sin, nothing but sin, a
polluted cesspool of iniquity, a raging malady of evil. But I trust the blood of your
son. I trust the blood of your son to atone for all my sins
and to satisfy all your justice, I have no strength. I have no
strength. Yes, I know I must persevere.
I know I must hold on the way. I know I must follow Christ.
But I have no strength to persevere, not for a second. I have no strength
to hold you, not for a second. I have no strength to walk in
the way, not for a second. But I trust the power of your
servant, and I rest my soul on you." Now, I'm here to tell you,
Lindsay, God Almighty will not turn away such faith. He'll not
do it. He'll not do it. The blood of
Christ cleanses. The righteousness of Christ justifies. The power of Christ saves. The
grace of Christ preserves. This then is what Paul had done.
He had committed himself into the hands of Christ. And his
commitment was most reasonable because he knew Christ to be
worthy of his faith. And I'm telling you that the
Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of your faith. He's worthy of your
faith. Will you deposit yourself into
the hands of the Son of God? Will you? Huh? Will you deposit
yourself right now, deposit yourself in the almighty hand of the almighty
God for everlasting glory. Will you? He's able, he's able
to save your soul. Now notice the second thing,
the knowledge of Christ. Paul says, I know whom I have
believed. Paul does not speak about believing
in Christ. but rather believe in Christ.
He speaks not of believing the doctrine of Christ, but of believing
Christ himself. He speaks not of serving Christ,
but of trusting Christ. He's talking about a personal
faith in a living Savior, that one whom he trusted, he knew,
he knew him, he knew him. Do you know the Son of God? Do you know the Son of God? Now, without knowledge, without
knowledge, there's no faith. Is that right, Merle? How can
they believe on Him whom they've not heard? Unless you know Him,
unless you know Him, you can't trust Him. Unless Christ is known
by you, He cannot be believed by you. Knowledge is necessary
for faith. Paul knew Christ by personal
revelation. He was on his Damascus road to
hell. And the Lord Jesus Christ stopped
him in the way, and threw him off his horse down in the dust.
And a great light shined, and a voice spoke from heaven, Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me? And this man looked up, and he
said, Who art thou, Lord? He said, I know who this is.
who's put me in the dust. I know who this is who's called
the great light to shine. I know who this is who speaks
from heaven now. Tell me, Lord, who are you? He said, I'm Jesus whom thou
persecuted. Paul knew Christ by what had
been revealed, what he had read and heard in the scriptures.
He knew that this Jesus who now spoke from heaven, this Jesus
who now sits upon the throne of heaven, he's the one, he's
the one of whom Simeon said, Lord, now let us bow thy servant
in part in peace, for my eyes have seen thy salvation. This
Jesus is that baby that was born unto the Virgin Mary. This Jesus
is that child of the carpenter Joseph who lived and came around
in the area of Judea and Galilee and Nazareth. This Jesus, This
Jesus is that one who confounded the lawyers with his learning.
This Jesus is that one who performed all those miracles. This Jesus
is that one who went up to Jerusalem and died under the curse of the
law, who died under the penalty of sin, who died as the sinner's
substitute. And now he's risen again. He
is Jesus Christ the Lord. Paul knew him. He knew where
he was. He knew what he had done. And
he knew what power he had. He knew Christ also by intimate
communion and meditation. As Paul grew in grace, he grew
in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems to have
been his life's purpose and goal to know Christ, to know Christ. And when he came to the end of
his way, you remember he was in jail at Philippi and he said,
He said, this is the one thing I want. I want to know him. I
want to know him. I want to know him. And now he
says, I know him whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded of
some things since I know him. This man, Paul, had spent some
time in communion, fellowship, and meditation with the Son of
God. That's how you get to know him.
That's how you get to know him. I have a lot of friends I meet
all over the country. As a matter of fact, there was
a fellow last week. I've seen him, I guess, two or
three times in the last four or five years. See him here and
there at different conferences. He's a man who's retired. And
this past week, we got to sit out in the yard one day and just
chat for a couple of hours. And he said, he said, this is
so good for me. I've been listening to you preach
and he does. He's retired. He travels all over the place
to just hear the gospel. He said, I just never had a chance
to sit down and just you and I talk a little bit. That's how
you get to know folks. That's how you get to know them.
You get in the car and you go on a trip and you ride aways
with them, you get to know something about them. You live with them,
you get to know something about them. And the more you're around
them, the more you know about them. Well, Paul spent some time
in communion, meditation, and fellowship with God. And he got
to know him. He got to know him. And the more
he knew him, Oscar, the greater was his confidence and assurance.
The more he knew him, the more fully convinced he was, he's
able, he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him.
Paul knew the Lord whom he trusted by personal experience. He had
received a practical education by which he was made to know
Christ. In the school of experience, he became truly acquainted with
the Savior's love, his faithfulness, his grace, and his power. He
said, I know whom I have believed. Now look, and am persuaded. That is to say, all that I have
experienced all my life long has convinced me beyond a doubt
that he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. Now let me tell you, let me tell
you, this is not Paul standing in front of you. Don't mistake
my words, but I'm here to tell you. I know whom I have believed. I know, Bobby, I know him. I
know him. I've known him now for a pretty
good while. I believe I know him better now than I did yesterday.
And everything I know about him, everything I've ever experienced
of his faith, of his grace. He is gracious
of his love and his power. Everything I know about him convinces
me without a doubt he is able to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day. He's able. The Apostle Paul,
that I know him, do you? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ?
I'm not asking do you know his doctrine, you can learn that
easy enough. I'm not asking do you know about him as a historical
figure, you can learn that easy enough. I want you to search
and examine this point, do you know him? Have you experienced
his lordship? Have you experienced his love?
Have you experienced his power? Have you experienced him? Don't rest, don't rest till you
find the answer to that question. Oh may God give no rest to your
eyes or your heart till you come to know him, him. Let me tell
you, there's all the difference in the world in knowing about
him and knowing him. All the difference in the world. I've known some of you longer. that I've known all of you now
for about five, six years. And got to know some of you pretty
well. Some of us would spend some time together. Well, I say I know you, and I
do, as friends can know one another. But I want to be honest with
you. I want to be honest with you. I don't really know Rex
Bartley. I don't really know him. I've
never experienced living with him 24 hours a day. That lady
back there, she knows him. She knows him. She knows him
as a husband. She knows him as the head of
a household. She knows him as a provider.
She knows him as a lover. She knows him as a companion.
She knows him as a friend. She knows him. She knows him.
For better or for worse, she knows Him. She knows Him. And
that's what I'm asking you. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you know Him? Or do you have
just an experience of religion? Just so much knowledge of God? So much learning about Him? So
much repetition of things about Him? Do you know about it, or
do you know him to know it? Now, if you know him, if you
know him, I want you to have the assurance of faith. And this
is what Paul displays in our text next, the assurance of faith. He said, I know, I'm persuaded. Reminds me of the language of
Romans 8.38. He said, I am persuaded that nothing shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. Paul's assurance was not a theological opinion. It
was a persuasion of his heart. It was a matter of his own heart's
confidence before God. It was a reasonable and deliberate
persuasion. He believed on Christ so that
he trusted him with his soul. But now his faith has produced
within him an unshakable assurance in his heart. We are sure of
our Lord's ability to keep his children in life. We know that.
He's got the ability. There's not any question about
that. Not for folks who read the Bible and believe it. The
matter of eternal security is not even questioned. The word
of God is explicitly clear. All of God's elect shall be saved. Not one of Christ's sheep shall
ever perish. Anybody who says otherwise is a liar. He's a liar. Our Savior himself is the omnipotent
God. He has power to save us. His
work is finished. The God-man in glory tells us
that the work of redemption is done. The law is satisfied. Sin
is put away. He is the God who knows all things. His wisdom is perfect. He knows
how to preserve his own. His intercessory prayer is constant. Our great advocate prevails with
the Father. And those for whom he lived,
for whom he died, and for whom he intercedes, must be saved. There's not any question about
that. The Word of God teaches it most plainly, most plainly.
But Paul was personally assured of his saving interest in Christ.
And that's the thing we want. That's the thing we want. I'm
certain there's not one of you here who doubts the security
of God's elect. You know that. And not one of
you here who questions the fact that every sinner for whom Christ
died will be with Him in glory. You know that. But oh, some of
you would give anything if you walk out of those doors tonight
with confidence that you are secure in Christ. You mean me? You mean me? Yeah, yeah. If you know Him, if you know
Him, Listen, there is laid up for me, Paul says, for me. Well, how could a man possibly
talk like that? Well, he knew somebody. That's
how he could talk like that. There is laid up for me a crown
of righteousness. which the Lord the righteous
judge shall give me at that day. He didn't say, Bob, they're laid
up for all of God's people a crown of righteousness. He said the
one laid up for me. He didn't say all who believe are going
to have a crown. He said, I'm going to have a crown. I'm going
to have a crown. He said, I, I shall stand before God. That's assurance. This is the
thing we want from the Lord. We want some grounds for personal
assurance. We want an assured confidence
of our own security before the Lord God. Assurance that we will
never be overcome by our inward corruption. Oh God, give me some
assurance of that. When any turn from Zion's way,
alas, what numbers do? I think I hear the Savior say,
wilt thou forsake me too? Oh God, give me some assurance
that my vile corruptions will never destroy my soul. We want
assurance that we will never be overcome by the cares of this
world. We want assurance that we will
never forsake Christ. We want some assurance that we
will never perish. Assurance that we will not be
found walking in that day when we are weighed in the balances
of God's great justice. And let me briefly give you something
about the blessedness of assurance. This assurance, which Paul had,
is truly a thing to be greatly desired. For it produced in this
man some very rare and blessed characteristics. I'll tell you
what assurance did for Paul's assurance gave this man boldness
before me. He didn't tremble before anybody.
I mean, he didn't, I'm not talking now about bravery or cowardice. I'm not talking about brashness. That's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about a holy boldness before me. When he spoke to King
Agrippa, His voice didn't even quiver. I'm confident. He wasn't even nervous. He wasn't
even apprehensive. When he spoke to Felix and reasoned
with him from the scriptures, he was not even inclined to have
a break in his voice. He was confident. He was confident. He said, I am not ashamed. I'm
not ashamed. I'm not ashamed to stand before
any man, at any place, at any time, and declare the character
of God, the character of man, and the truth of the gospel.
I'm not ashamed. He bowed. He behaved courageously,
even before his captors, being confident that God is his God,
Christ is his Savior, and eternal life is his portion. Therefore
he was oblivious to fear. He was just oblivious to fear. I wonder if it's possible for a man to
believe God and yet walk before men in fear. I hear preachers, and I'm preaching
to myself now, I hear preachers talk about believing the truths
of the gospel and not preaching them. Well, I can't preach that, you
know. Well, what would I do? Church might kick me out. Might
divide the church. Might split the church. They
might run me out of town. So what? So what? Well, I'd have to go out and
work for a living. Well, there's nothing wrong with
that. We ought to learn that before we start preaching. I just don't believe it's possible
for a man to believe God and fear the faces of men. I just
don't believe it's possible. This man believed God, therefore
he was bold before men. Paul's assurance made him cheerful
and content with his lot in life. A real assurance will make a
man content with God's good providence. Paul was a thoroughly happy and
content man. I don't like to use the term
happy because folks misunderstand what you're saying, but I don't
know of another word to describe it. He was a joyful, joyful and
content man. He knew how to abound and be
content. And he knew how to be abased
and be content. He knew it all. He knew how to
live in prison. in a dungeon, reputed by men
as a common criminal, despised by society as the all-scouring
of the world, he knew what it was to be there in that dungeon
and rejoice in Christ. How could he do so? He said,
well, God's my God, and Christ is my Savior, and eternal life
is my fortune. What more could I want? What
more could I desire? This man, Paul, had an assurance
that gave him confidence before God. He knew the cause of Christ,
the gospel of Christ, the will of Christ, the glory of Christ,
and his own soul were safe in the hands of God. You know, I
dare, I dare, this is pretty certain, I dare trust God to
take care of his church again. I'm not willing, I'm not willing
to compromise the gospel or to compromise the honor of God and
the integrity of the gospel to do anything or get anything out
of it. I'm not willing to do it." He said, well, you've got
to pee and deliver. We've got a society full of benders.
Folks are bowing and scraping to this world, and they do so
in the name of God, saying they're doing God great service, and
they're trying their best to get something done for God. Well,
I'm not willing to bow. I'm not willing to bend. If anything,
I intend to swim against the current and to stand against
the tide of man's opinion with regard to the things of God.
Mr. Swaggart. Somebody may get tired
of me saying anything. If he'll shut up, I'll quit talking
about him. But he got on television, you know, he had this speech.
Did y'all see that nut? He said a couple of weeks ago,
he said, now this is the most important week in the history
of mankind. Now, Bobby, that's taking in
some history, bud. That's talking about creation and the incarnation
of Christ, the giving of the law, the death of Christ, the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That's taking in some history.
Well, I wanted to hear what this week was all about. The Lord
has given me a vision. I'm to go into the world with
this gospel and preach it to the world. And I alone am the
man to do this. And then I punched Shelby and
I said, watch it now. He's fixing to ask a big one. He said, now I've got to have
your help. I've got to have your help. Hubert, if God sends me,
I don't need anybody's help. Do you understand me? Now I'm
thankful that God in his good providence I raised up a congregation
of men and women who love the gospel and delight to support
the gospel. I'm thankful for it. But if God
sends me, If God's in the thing, if everybody I know suddenly
forsakes me and what I'm doing, God will raise somebody else
up if he has to raise them up out of fish in the pond to support
the gospel I preach. I just fully believe it. I just
fully believe it. I'm not willing to go begging
before men and dishonor the name of my God to support the work
of the gospel. I'm not willing to compromise
what I'm preaching in order to get a hearing. If I'm God's servant,
I'll speak the truth of God. Not fear what the consequences
will be. God calls his Savior. How do you know, preacher? Because
he's God. He's God. Paul's assurance gave him gratitude
and praise toward God. He gladly praised the Lord whom
he trusted, even while he waited for his execution. He had committed
himself into the hands of Christ, and therefore he was pleased
with whatever Christ was pleased to do with him. That's where it is, isn't it?
Is that where it is? I have given myself to Christ. I've given
myself to Him. He can do whatever He wants to
with me and with everything else. And I'm happy. I already called
a while back. I gave a friend a gift. And I
met him at another place. He pulled me aside and he said,
he said, you know, Brother so-and-so could use this so much better.
Would you mind if I give it to him? I gave it to you. It's yours
to give away or to burn or whatever you want to. It's yours. You
do whatever you want to with it and I'll be happy. I've given
myself to him. Now I'm his to do with as he
sees fit. It's okay. It's okay. Look at
Paul. He's over in prison now. Look
in verse 18 of chapter 4. He said, everybody pursue it.
Nobody was around when I had to give an account, but the Lord,
he stood with me. Now look at verse 18. And the
Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me
unto his heavenly kingdom to whom be glory forever and ever. Paul said, I've left everything
in the hands of the Lord to be disposed of at his discretion.
and I'm thankful I'm able to do so. I'm thankful I can. I
wish that we could get hold of this. I have one wife and one
daughter, dearest objects of worldly concern that I have.
I frequently leave them, more often than I like to, but I frequently
have to leave them for the gospel sake. Whether there's Rioting in the
streets or whether there's peace in the streets. I have to leave
them So pastor, aren't you afraid? No. No, I'm really not. I'm really
not You see I've committed them I've come I've committed them
to him He can do with them Whatever he's pleased to do and it'll
be right and I'm glad I can do so. I'm glad I can What fools
we are. We think to ourselves, we don't
say it, but we think that we can protect them better when
we're there with them than God can when we're away. That's what
kind of fools we are. I was talking to a fellow about
some rioting and so forth. He said to me, he said, well,
you wouldn't feel that way if you had out in the street and they had
somehow to get him home and get him taken care of. I said, wait
a minute. I've been there. Yeah, I feel
that way. He's able. He's able to preserve
his own. And he's able to care for his
own. He's not only able, but he's
sworn to do it. He's sworn to do it. And he will. I trust him. I trust him. There's assurance. But where does it come from?
Paul shows us what the source of assurance is. True assurance
is something which God alone can give. I can preach about
it, and you can talk about it, but God Almighty is the only
one who can give you real assurance. Most of us look for it in the
wrong place. We look to ourselves, but assurance is not found in
us. It's not found in our good works or our practical holiness. or our spirituality or our faithfulness
to God. Now don't misunderstand me. You
ought to walk in good works and live in practical holiness. You
ought to seek after a spiritual relationship with Christ and
faithfulness before God. You ought to earnestly desire
those things. But Oscar Bailey, there's not one bit of assurance
we found in those things. Not even just a little bit. Not
at all. Our assurance is in Christ alone. Simply believing him,
trusting him, relying on him. I find no assurance but this.
None at all. This is it. This is it. I am
a sinner. I am a sinner. Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, died for sinners. He saves sinners. He prays for
sinners. Now as a guilty, helpless sinner,
I rest my soul upon him. That's it. I trust him. I trust
him. I trust the merits of his righteousness,
the power of his blood, the efficacy of his intercession, the promises
of his word. I trust him and only him. Rock of ages, I'm secure. with thy promise full and free,
faithful, positive, and sure, as thy days thy strength shall
be." Do you know Christ? Have you committed your soul
to Christ? If so, you can be persuaded of
this, you will never perish. You will never perish. The Lord
God will finish his work in you and bring you to the perfection
of glory. He'll do it. He'll do it. Father, I thank you for Christ the Lord. Oh, how I thank you for him.
I thank you for showing me my sinfulness. my weakness, my depravity,
my corruption. And I thank you for showing me
His blood and His righteousness, His power and His grace. I ask, Father, that you will
grant to each of your children here, grant us confident assurance
of our security in Him, that we may walk before men and God
without fear, without dread, without trembling, but that we
may walk before thee with confidence, assurance, and faith. And I ask,
Father, that you might be pleased tonight to cause those who believe
not to see Christ. Oh, God, will you Will you have
mercy upon us? Our children, our loved ones,
our friends, our relatives are perishing for ignorance. Lord
God, open their blind eyes. Awake their dead hearts. Give
them life and faith in Christ. You can do it. We can't. We're helpless. And yet we commit
all these who are the most tender objects of our care into your
hands. And we ask you to do whatever
is according to your will and your good pleasure for the glory
of your name. And we know that you shall. Amen. Let's sing a hymn, Lindsay.