I'm going to talk to you today
about assurance. Assurance of salvation. I fear
that too often, I'm guilty of this as well as other preachers,
I fear that too often we preachers feel inclined to do more reproving
and rebuking and warning and correcting our hearers THAN GIVING
THEM COMFORT. WE NEGLECT TO ENCOURAGE TRUE
BELIEVERS AND COMFORT TRUE BELIEVERS. COMFORT THE PEOPLE OF GOD. OUR
LORD SAID IN ISAIAH 40, VERSE 1 AND 2, COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE. SPEAK YE COMFORTABLY UNTO JERUSALEM. THE LORD JESUS DID. HE COMFORTED
HIS WEAK AND WAYWARD AND DOUBTING DISCIPLES. On one occasion, he
said, let not your heart be troubled. They were so depressed and troubled. And he said, let not your heart
be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. He said again, I'll never leave
you. I'LL NEVER FORSAKE YOU, LO, I'M WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN
TO THE END OF THE EARTH." AND AGAIN HE SAID, BECAUSE I LIVE,
YOU SHALL LIVE. SO HE SPENT MUCH TIME COMFORTING
THESE TROUBLED HEARTS AND COMFORTING THESE WEAK DISCIPLES AND DOUBTING
DISCIPLES. And I've chosen for my text today
a word from the Apostle Paul found in 2 Timothy 4, verse 6
through 8. Now, if you will, open your Bible
to 2 Timothy 4, verses 6 through 8. And in this text, Paul says,
I have fought a good fight. First, he begins, though, and
he says, I'm ready to be offered. The time of my departure or my
death is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I
have finished my course. I have kept 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 who love his appearing." Now, the apostle
sets forth in this text an air of confidence. There's no doubting
and fear here. There's an air of confidence
and an air of assurance. In fact, first of all, he looks
downward to the grave and shows no fear. He says, THE TIME OF
MY DEPARTURE IS AT HAND. I'M SOON TO BE POURED OUT LIKE
A DRINK OFFERING UPON THE SACRIFICE, THE THANK OFFERING ABOUT TO BE
POURED OUT. I'M ABOUT TO DIE. HE SAYS THE
TIME OF MY DEPARTURE IS AT HAND. I'M LIKE A SHIP STANDING BY THE
DOCK, ALL LOADED, ALL THE FUELS ON BOARD AND THE PEOPLE ON BOARD
and the baggage is on board and everything else and all that
needs to be done for the ship to set out to sea is for the
lines to be cast off. I'm ready to depart. I'm ready
to sail out to sea and I'm not afraid. You know, death's a solemn
thing, especially if it's close at hand, like Paul's death. He said, the time of my departure
is at hand. It's close at hand. The grave
is a chilling place. If you stood before an open grave
and watched the body lowered into the grave, that's a chilling
place. But here's a mortal man who is
facing death, he said, at hand and facing the grave, and yet
he is not afraid. He's confident. But I want to
find out. WHEREIN HE HAS THIS CONFIDENCE
AND ASSURANCE AND THE SOURCE OF IT. AND THEN NOT ONLY DOES
HE LOOK DOWNWARD TO THE GRAVE WITHOUT FEAR, BUT HE LOOKS BACKWARD
TO HIS LIFE WITHOUT FEAR. HE SURVEYS HIS PAST LIFE. HE
SAID, I'VE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT. I'VE DONE WHAT I COULD DO LIKE
A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST. I BELIEVED AND THEREFORE I'VE
SPOKEN. I BELIEVED HIS WORD. I'VE FOUGHT
A GOOD FIGHT. I used all the gifts that he
gave me. I kept back nothing profitable unto the people. I
have not shunned to declare all the counsel of God. I finished
my course. The course or the way laid out
for me by God's predestinating providence and purpose. I've
finished my course. I've covered the ground God appointed
for me to walk and I've walked the path he laid out for me and
I'm in sight of my goal. And he said, I've kept the faith.
I've held fast to that gospel of God's glory which he revealed
to me in those early days. And I've preached that gospel
which he committed to my trust. And I've not added to nor taken
away from that gospel of his grace in Christ Jesus. And I'm
not afraid. I'm not afraid. And not only
that, but he looks downward to the grave without fear and he
looks backward to his life and he said, I wouldn't change a
thing. GOD PLOTTED IT AND PLANNED IT AND PREDESTINATED IT AND PURPOSED
IT AND I WALKED THE COURSE HE DESIGNED FOR ME. AND PAUL LOOKED
FORWARD TO THAT GREAT DAY WITHOUT FEAR. LOOK AT VERSE 8. HE SAID
THERE'S HINTS FOR IT. THERE'S LAID UP FOR ME. IN OTHER
WORDS, HE'S SAYING IT'S ALREADY MINE. IT'S RESERVED IN HEAVEN. IT'S RESERVED IN CHRIST. AND
INHERITANCE UNDEFILED THAT FADETH NOT AWAY, RESERVED, IT'S ALREADY
MINE." HE SAID, ALREADY PURCHASED AND PAID FOR BY THE DEATH OF
HIS SON. IT'S LAID UP FOR ME. WHAT'S LAID
UP FOR YOU, PAUL? A CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. WELL,
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SOME KIND OF WORK YOU'VE DONE, YOU'RE GOING
TO BE REWARDED AND PAID FOR IT? OH, NO. PAUL NEVER CLAIMED TO
HAVE ANY RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE SAID, I'M THE CHIEF OF SINNERS.
He said, oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him that I, not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but the
righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Christ Jesus.
This crown of righteousness is his crown of righteousness, Christ's
righteousness. He is our righteousness. Paul
never claimed to have any righteousness. He said, I'm less than the least
of all the saints. I'm the chief of sinners. Oh,
wretched man that I am. HE SAID, THE THINGS I WOULD NOT
DO, I DO, AND THE THINGS I WOULD DO, I DO NOT. BUT THE CROWN OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THAT CROWN OF HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH
HE HAS IN THE REDEEMER, IN CHRIST JESUS. AND HE SAID, THE LORD,
THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE SHALL GIVE IT TO ME IN THAT DAY. You see,
we're not gonna stand before some compromising God and compromising
body at the judgment that'll find more good in us than bad.
The righteous judge can be satisfied with nothing but perfection.
And he said, this righteous judge who sits on a righteous throne
with unbending, inflexible justice, if he finds one flaw or stain
or mark in you, would have to banish you from his presence.
But he said, here this poor old sinner, this less than the least
of all the saints, this chief of sinners, this wretched man
redeemed in Christ Jesus, is gonna one day stand before that
righteous judge And He's going to give to me that which He laid
up for me from all eternity through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus
Christ, a crown of perfect holiness and perfect righteousness, which
He Himself is going to present to me. David said, When I consider the
sun, the moon, the stars, what is man that art mindful of him?
BUT GOD IS NOT ONLY MINDFUL OF HIS PEOPLE, BUT HE LOVES THEM.
HE NOT ONLY LOVES THEM, BUT HE REDEEMED THEM. HE NOT ONLY REDEEMS
THEM, BUT HE'S GONNA RECEIVE THEM. HE NOT ONLY RECEIVES THEM,
BUT HE'S GONNA RECEIVE THEM IN PERFECT HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? THE
GREAT WHITE THRONE. THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
THE OPEN BOOKS. THINK OF IT. THE ASSEMBLED WORLD. THINK OF IT. THE REVEALING OF
ALL SECRETS. THINK OF IT. THE LISTENING ANGELS,
THE CHARACTER OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE ON THE THRONE, ETERNAL
HEAVEN AND HELL AWAITING. BUT NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE
THIS MAN. NONE OF THESE THINGS SHAKE HIM
OR DISTURB HIM BECAUSE HE SEES CHRIST. HE SEES CHRIST HIS ATONEMENT,
CHRIST HIS ADVOCATE, CHRIST HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, CHRIST HIS SALVATION. WHERE? ON THAT THRONE. GOD IS MY SALVATION AND HE WILL
RECEIVE ME AND HE WILL GIVE ME GLORY. AND HE SAID NOT ME ONLY,
BUT ALL THOSE THAT LOVE HIS APPEARING. YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT HIS
APPEARING? Read Hebrews 9 and you'll find three appearances
of Christ. It says, He appeared on the earth
to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. It says, He now appears
at the right hand of God as our intercessor. And it says, unto
them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without
sin. One day He bore our sins, One
day he was made sin, but one day he put away those sins and
now he appears without sin. And all those who love that appearing,
Paul said, they're gonna get a crown of righteousness too.
Now here are four things that I wanna deal with in this message
called assurance. Assurance, assurance of salvation.
Now here, this may interest you. According to the scriptures,
those who believe Christ may have a strong assurance. Paul
did. I read you of his assurance. But all of you, I can, you can,
if we believe Christ in true saving faith. I'm not talking
about if you're a church member or you made a profession or signed
a card or something like that, or got religion in an emotional
evangelistic campaign. I'm talking about if you've been
brought with the Spirit of God to faith in Christ Jesus and
a love for the Son of God. You can have assurance of your
interest in Christ. But secondly, I believe that
a person may be truly saved TRULY REDEEMED AND YET NOT ENJOY A
FULL ASSURANCE OF SALVATION. I REALLY DO. I'M GOING TO SHOW
YOU THAT IN A MOMENT. AND THEN I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU, THE LORD
WILLING, THAT ASSURANCE OF SALVATION IS OF GREAT BENEFIT TO YOU AND
ME. AND THEN I'LL SHOW YOU WHY WE
DON'T HAVE ASSURANCE. EVEN SAVE PEOPLE. I'LL SHOW YOU
WHY WE DON'T HAVE ASSURANCE. BUT NUMBER ONE, ACCORDING TO
THE SCRIPTURES, THOSE WHO BELIEVE MAY HAVE A STRONG ASSURANCE OF
THEIR INTEREST IN CHRIST. NOW, WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
YOU WHO HAVE FAITHFULLY WATCHED THIS PROGRAM FOR A NUMBER OF
YEARS KNOW THAT THIS IS MY STYLE OF PREACHING. I'LL MAKE A STATEMENT,
AND THEN I'LL READ IT TO YOU OUT OF THE WORD OF GOD, AND THEN
I'LL TRY TO ILLUSTRATE IT. SO, WHEN I SAY THAT PEOPLE MAY
HAVE ASSURANCE, WHAT I'VE GOT TO DO NOW IS PROVE THAT BY THE
WORD OF GOD AND THEN ILLUSTRATE IT. So I say that according to
the scriptures, men may have not a hope, a hope, a hope, or
when the smoke clears away and the dust dies down, maybe I'll
be in heaven, maybe I'll be in hell. No, a man can have assurance
according to the Word of God. Now, what sayeth the scriptures?
That ought to be our first consideration, whatever our subject. If assurance
is not taught in the Word of God, then don't say anything
about it. But listen to Job, Job 19. I know that my Redeemer
liveth. And in the latter day, he'll
stand on this earth. And though after my flesh, worms
destroy this body, yet I shall see the Lord. Not another, I
myself will see the Lord. Now that's confident. And that's
Job writing on a divine inspiration. Listen to David. THE LORD IS
MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT. HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN IN GREEN
PASTURES, HE LEADETH ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS, AND SURELY
GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, AND
I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER. THAT'S ASSURANCE.
DAVID WRITING UNDER DIVINE INSPIRATION. PAUL SAID IN ROMANS 8, 33, WHO
CAN LAY ANYTHING TO THE CHARGE OF He said in verse 34, who is
he that condemneth? Christ died, yea, rather is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us. He said, I'm persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor height,
nor depth, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any other
creature could separate me from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus, my Lord. AND JOHN SAID IN I JOHN, THESE
THINGS ARE WRITTEN UNTO YOU THAT BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF THE SON
OF GOD, THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. AND AGAIN,
JOHN SAID IN I JOHN, WE KNOW THAT WE PASS FROM DEATH UNTO
LIFE. NOW, YOU MAY CALL ASSURANCE PRESUMPTION,
BUT IT CANNOT BE PRESUMPTION TO BELIEVE GOD. IT CANNOT BE
PRESUMPTION TO BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD. I LIKE THAT ILLUSTRATION
the centurion who came to Christ. He had a servant who was sick
back at his house, wherever he lived. And he came to Christ
and he said, my servant is grievously ill. And the Lord Jesus said,
I'll go to your house. And the man stopped him and he
said, oh no, there's no reason for you to go to my house. He
said, I'm a centurion. I'm a man under authority, having
authority. And he said, I say to this fella
go and he goes. I say to this fella come and
he come. Now, all you have to do is say the Word and my servant
will be healed. And our Lord commended him. He
said, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee as you desire.
This man believed the Word of Christ. He believed it. That's where you find assurance. Look where Paul found assurance.
It was not in himself. It's not in his works. You don't
find assurance by looking in here or looking on the role of
the church or looking at your deeds. Paul called himself the
chief of sinners, but he declared, but Christ came to save sinners. That's where he found his assurance,
not in himself, but in Christ. Paul had a deep sense of his
own guilt and his own corruption. But you know what he said? Where
sin did abound, grace did much more abound. The grace of God
is greater than all our sins. Paul cried, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? In the next
verse, he said, I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord, I am delivered. When he looked at himself, he
said, body of death, wretched man. But he looked at Christ,
he said, deliverer. Paul knew he was a frail man
living in a frail tent or tabernacle, and he said, if this tent be
destroyed, and it will, but I have a building, eternal, built by
God in heaven. Whosoever believeth in Christ
shall not be ashamed. According to this Word, those
who believe in Christ may have assurance, but I tell you where
you'll find it. You'll find it in his promise
and in his word, not in your deeds and not in your doing.
Now you won't find it there. The more you look in, the more
disturbed and despondent and depressed you're going to be
because you won't see anything in your own heart but evil. When
you look to Christ, you see all the satisfaction of God's holy
law. You see the cleansing, redeeming,
purifying, ATONING BLOOD OF THE SON OF GOD, NOT ON A MERCY SEAT
HERE BELOW, BUT IN HEAVEN ITSELF. NOW, SECONDLY, WATCH THIS, I
BELIEVE THAT A PERSON MAY BE TRULY SAVED, NOW STAY WITH ME,
AND YET NOT ENJOY FULL ASSURANCE OF SALVATION. NOW, LET'S LOOK
AT THAT A MOMENT. NOW ALL OF GOD'S PEOPLE, ALL
REDEEMED PEOPLE HAVE FAITH IN CHRIST. THEY BELIEVE CHRIST.
BUT ALL DO NOT HAVE FULL ASSURANCE. BECAUSE MY FRIEND, IT'S NOT THE
STRENGTH OF MY FAITH THAT SAVES ME, IT'S THE TRUTH OF MY FAITH.
We're not saved by the quantity of our faith, we're saved by
Christ, the object of our faith. Salvation is not in the faith,
it's in the person who saves. It's the one who fulfilled all
that God requires for us. You see, a weak, sickly, trembling
hand can put food in the mouth. A man may have a frail, palsied,
weak, sickly hand, but he can put food in his mouth. Another
man may have a strong, muscular hand and puts food in his mouth,
but the hand doesn't satisfy the need, the hand doesn't nourish
the body, the food does. Well, it doesn't matter whether
my faith is boisterous and zealous and strong or my faith is weak.
If it can lay hold of Christ, that's the important thing. The weakest of faith may justify. If you can look to Christ, believe
on Christ, rest in Christ, you're saved. It's his righteousness
that covers. It's his blood that atones. It's
his prayers that bring us to God. It's Christ that saves. Suppose man falls in a river.
FALLS IN A RUSHING, RAPID RIVER. AND I'M A BIG, STRONG INDIVIDUAL,
AND I'M STANDING ON THE SHORE, AND HE'S FALLING IN THE RIVER,
AND HE COMES BY, AND I REACH OUT AND GRAB, LOCK HIS HAND IN
MINE. I LOCK HIS WRIST, AND HE LOCKS
HIS HAND ON MINE. AND I'VE GOT HIM. IS HE SAVED? YEAH. BUT HE'S TROUBLED, AND
HE HAS A LOT OF DOUBTS AND A LOT OF FEARS. BUT HE'S SAVED ACCORDING
TO MY STRENGTH. BUT WHEN WILL HE HAVE FULL ASSURANCE?
WHEN I PULL HIM UP AND HE'S STANDING ON SHORE. IS HE SAFER HERE OR
THERE? HE'S JUST AS SAFE THERE AS HERE
BECAUSE I HAVE A HOLD OF HIM BOTH PLACES. AND THAT'S WHAT
I'M SAYING. YOU SEE, OUR ASSURANCE IS NOT
IN OURSELVES. IT'S IN CHRIST. AND WHETHER I'M
IN THE RIVER OF LIFE OR WHETHER I'M STANDING IN GLORY WITH MY
LORD, IT'S CHRIST THAT SAVES ME BOTH PLACES. IT'S CHRIST THAT
HOLDS ME HERE. IT'S CHRIST THAT PRESENTS ME
THERE. It's Christ that rescues me here. It's Christ Jesus that
presents me there. So I can be perfectly safe and
still have a troubled heart like that man. I've got him. He said,
don't let me go. Don't let me go. I'm not going
to let you go. But I'm scared. I'm not going to let you go.
But I'm afraid. But I'm not going to let you
go. I'm your Savior. You're not. I am. Now, the more
confidence you have in him who saves, the more assurance you're
gonna have. That's exactly right. You see, my friends, faith is
the root. Assurance is the bloom. You can
have life without a bloom, as long as you got a root. But you
can't have life without the root. But you can have life without
a flower. Oh, yeah, I've got some flowers
out there in my yard. They've got root, not a bloom
on them. They'll bloom one of these days, but they got life.
Even, you know, you go out in the winter and there's that tree,
it looks like a dead tree, but it's not dead. It just doesn't
have any leaves, doesn't have any fruit, but it's got a root. And
the root's where the life is. Now, if it had no root, I might
put some plastic flowers on it, but it's not alive. And that's
what Job was talking about when he was in such a terrible condition,
sitting there, scraping his balls and everything gone, and his
friends cursing him, everybody deserted him. He said, I want
you to listen. You don't see much out of me, but the roots
in me. Isn't that what he said? The
roots in me, and the roots Christ, and the roots faith, the roots
life. You see, let me illustrate. Faith is that poor, trembling,
sick woman. WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD FOR 12
YEARS. FAITH IS THAT POOR SICKLY WOMAN REACHING OUT TO CHRIST.
THAT'S FAITH. BUT ASSURANCE IS STEPHEN STANDING
SURROUNDED BY MURDERERS WHILE THEY STONED HIM, LIFTING HIS
EYES TO HEAVEN AND SAID, I SEE CHRIST AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.
THAT'S ASSURANCE. BUT THE FAITH IS REACHING OUT.
That woman didn't have much assurance, I'm sure, but she had faith,
and it's faith that brought her to Christ. Faith is the dying
thief saying, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy
kingdom. But assurance is Job saying,
I know my Redeemer liveth. Faith is Peter's drowning cry,
Lord, save me or I perish. As he sank beneath the waves,
as the water came up to his face, That's faith, Lord save me or
I'll perish. Assurance is that same Peter,
several years later, standing confidently and boldly before
those Christ crucifiers at Pentecost and saying to them, this same
Jesus whom you crucified, God hath made both Lord and Christ,
daring them to do anything about it. That's assurance. And faith
is that trembling voice, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. And assurance is that strong
voice of the Apostle Paul, who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect. That's right. When I speak of
faith, I speak of life, the root, knowing Christ, being united
with Him. When I speak of assurance, I'm
talking about privileges and peace and rest and joy, which
I'm afraid many, some do not have. But I'm confident many
have that root. Oh, you see John Newton had trouble
with this. John Newton wrote amazing grace.
How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was
lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. But
John Newton wrote this hymn too. Lesser known hymn, but he wrote
it. "'Tis a point I long to know, and oft it gives me anxious thought. Do I love the Lord or no? Am I His or am I not?" He said,
can a man talk like that and be saved? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. The roots in me. The roots in
me. All right. Assurance of salvation
would be great benefit to you, great benefit to you because
assurance of our interest in Christ brings peace to the heart,
joy and rest to the heart. Assurance in our interest in
Christ helps us to bear afflictions and trials. Yeah. Assurance will support a believer
under the heaviest bereavement. I tell you when you go, like
David, when his son died, Oh, he moped around and wouldn't
shave and fasted. He wouldn't eat. He wouldn't
put on his nice clothes. He just cried all the time. And
then he came in to when the boy was dead and he straightened
up and washed his face and shaved and put on clean clothes and
went down to the temple and worshiped God and said, let's have a feast.
And some of them said, what's wrong with you? While the child
was alive, you were weeping. Now you're rejoicing. He said,
I can't bring him back. He can't come back to me, but
I can go to him. and the will of God's been done and I'm confident. An assurance will allow a man
to praise God and thank God even in the most difficult circumstances.
An assurance will support a believer in sickness and death and release
a man to labor and love and serve his Lord. Now here's my last
comment. Why don't many people have assurance? Now listen to
me. We know that salvation is of the Lord, right? We know that
Christ alone is our righteousness, right? We know that Christ is
our redemption and our sanctification and our acceptance. But perhaps
without even being aware of it, we entertain notions or thoughts
that justification and acceptance with a holy God has something
to do with our works, don't we? We believe that God accepts us. I know salvation is of the Lord.
I know Christ died for my sin, but there's no but about it.
There's no but about it. Christ died for my sin. I'm justified,
I'm righteous. My sins are atoned for, they're
pardoned, they're put away, and nothing I do before or after
conversion has anything to do with my acceptance with God.
We're redeemed by His blood, clothed in His righteousness,
and justified by His person. And when we have our doubts and
fears, it's because we're looking in here and not looking to him.
And I know that's the reason. Because when you look to him,
you can't doubt his sufficiency and efficacious power to say
he's able. Now I have a couple of messages.
Remember them easy. The gospel, assurance. Send them both to you if you'll
send us $2. Both messages on one day. The gospel and assurance. Till next week, God bless you.