Here's our text this morning.
I'm going to be reading from the book of first Thessalonians
chapter 1 verse 4 and 5 1st Thessalonians 1 4 and 5 I'll be speaking on
the subject how to recognize God's elect Now we're going to
have a little plain talk. I'd like you just to pull up
your chair there and get your Bible and and open it to 1 Thessalonians
1, verse 4 and 5. And let me speak to you a little
while on this subject, how to recognize God's elect. Now Paul said in 1 Thessalonians
1, verse 4, Knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God,
I know that you're God's elect. That's what he's saying. Brethren
beloved of the Lord, I know you're one of God's elect For our gospel
came not unto you in word only But also in power in the Holy
Ghost and in much assurance Now, my friends, almost every religionist
is guilty at one time or another of judging the spiritual state
of somebody else, almost every religionist. We think we know
who's saved and who's not saved. We think we know who's going
to heaven and who's not going to heaven. Most religionists
call themselves, and you've heard them say this, well, I'm a fruit
inspector. And we look at people's lives
and we listen to their conversation, we examine their doctrine, and
we decide who's a child of God and who's not a child of God,
who's going to heaven and who's going to perish. Well, old John
Newton gave something one time I found very interesting. He
said, when I get to heaven, three things are going to amaze me.
He said, first of all, I'm going to be amazed to find that some
people are in heaven that I never expected to be there. And then
he said, secondly, I'm going to miss some people that I was
almost sure would be there. And then he said, thirdly, the
thing that will probably amaze me the most is to find myself,
John Newton, standing in the presence of Almighty God perfectly
conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, so few
of us have that kind of attitude. The strong Calvinist is quite
certain that no Arminian could possibly be saved. And the Armenian
is equally certain that no Calvinist will ever be in glory. I'm reminded
of two men of the past, Augustus M. Toplady and John Wesley. Both of them claimed to love
Christ. Both of them claimed to preach the gospel, but they
were the bitterest enemies. Augustus Toplady called John
Wesley, Wesley D.D. That is, he said, dead dog. And
Wesley got the rumor out that Toplady had denied everything
that he'd preached just before he died. And I think Toplady
got up off the sickbed and went to church and denied what Wesley
had told on him. So this is just true of us. And then the separationists.
There's the separationist, the strong moralist, and he's just
sure, he's just positive that nobody who drinks a bottle of
beer, nobody who smokes a cigarette, or nobody who goes to the movies
could possibly be saved. He just couldn't possibly be
saved. And the Christian liberty advocate, the man who believes
he has certain liberties in Christ, is equally positive that no separationist
could possibly be saved. He doesn't call him a separationist.
He doesn't call him a moralist. He calls him a legalist. And
he's just positive that no legalist could enter heaven because he
says he must be trusting his works. That's just the way we
are. And then the church sectarian. The fellow that's married to
the church and devoted to the church and preaches church truths,
he's just sure that no universalist or no one outside his denomination
could possibly know God Almighty. For almost every denomination
is sure that they have a corner on God Almighty like the Jews
of old. And then the man with a great
experience. Here's a man who's had an unusual experience. He's
mourned over sin and grieved over sin and gone through years
of conviction like Joseph Hart of old who said he wrestled for
11 years trying to find the Lord. He went through the valley of
despair and depression and conviction for 11 years and finally he found
Christ. Well, we have many people who
profess to have that kind of experience and they just know.
THAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN EXPERIENCE TO MATCH THEIRS, IF YOU DON'T
HAVE A CLIMACTIC EXPERIENCE THAT'S EQUAL TO THEIRS, THEN YOU CAN'T
POSSIBLY BE SAVED. YOU HAVEN'T MOURNED ENOUGH. YOU
HAVEN'T GRIEVED ENOUGH. YOU DON'T FEEL ENOUGH AND YOU'RE
BOUND TO PERISH. ONE MAN SAYS IF YOU DOUBT YOUR
SALVATION, YOU'RE DAMNED. ANOTHER MAN COMES ALONG AND SAYS,
WELL, IF YOU DON'T DOUBT, IT'S BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING
TO DOUBT. But we're busy trying to decide who's going to heaven
and who's going to hell, who's saved and who's not saved, who's
among God's children, who are not among God's children. But
I've found some of the Lord's most faithful servants, rather
than questioning other people's interest in the Lord Jesus, they
question their own. Old John Newton, who wrote the
hymn, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch
like me, he also wrote this hymn. is a point I long to know. Oft
it gives me anxious thought. Do I love the Lord or no? Am
I His or am I not? Lord, if indeed I am Thine, if
Thou art my Son and my song, then why do I languish in pain? And why are my winters so long? Oh, drive these dark clouds from
my sky. Thy soul-cheering presence restore. Oh, Lord, just take me unto Thee
on high. where winter and clouds are no
more. The truth of the matter is...
Now, you listen to me. Like I said, we're gonna have
some plain talk. The truth of the matter is that you and I
have no way of knowing the spiritual condition of anybody else. We
just do not have any way of knowing. This thing of salvation is a
heart matter. AND YOU'VE NEVER YET BEEN ABLE
TO SEE ANYBODY ELSE'S HEART. AND THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS
YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW YOUR OWN HEART, LET ALONE ANYBODY ELSE'S.
THE SCRIPTURE SAYS THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS,
DECEITFUL, AND DESPERATELY WICKED. WHO CAN KNOW IT? I'LL TELL YOU
WHO KNOWS WHO'S SAVED. THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE
HIS. THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE HIS AND ONLY THE LORD. HOWEVER,
I DO SAY THIS, I believe that a man himself can know his own
spiritual condition and whether or not he has a saving interest
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He can verily, as Paul said in
II Corinthians, examine himself whether he be in the faith. He'll
have a hard time examining anybody else, but he can't examine himself.
That's what Paul said. Know ye not your own selves?
Don't you know your own self? Whether Christ is in you? Not
if your doctrine's in you or your feeling's in you, but is
Christ in you? Know you're not your own self
if Christ be in you, except you be a reprobate? Yes, sir. A man,
an individual, a person can give diligence himself to make his
calling and election sure. You can't make anybody else's
calling sure, anybody else's election, but you can make your
own. You can make your own sure. You
can give diligence. And Peter said, if you do this,
you'll never fail. You'll never fail. Now then,
a lot of the old timers had some confidence of their interest
in Christ. They had some assurance. Listen to David, the Lord is
my shepherd. I SHALL NOT WANT FOR ANYTHING.
I SHALL NOT LACK ANYTHING. EVERYTHING THE LAW DEMANDS, EVERYTHING
THAT GOD REQUIRES, EVERYTHING THAT JUSTICE NEEDS IS MET IN
MY LORD. HE'S MY SHEPHERD AND I'LL NEVER
WANT. JOB SAYS, I KNOW MY REDEEMER LIVETH. WHATEVER CONDITION JOB
WAS IN, WHETHER HE WAS A SELF-RIGHTEOUS MAN OR NOT, I'M NOT SAYING HE
WAS OR WASN'T. I'M SIMPLY SAYING HE SAID, I
KNOW MY REDEEMER LIVES. I KNOW THAT MUCH. And then Paul,
the apostle, said, I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded
that he's able to keep that which I've committed to him against
that day. And John said this. He said,
We know we've passed from death unto life. He said, What I know,
I preach to you. What I've seen and heard, I preach
to you. This is no fancy. This is no
fairy tale. I know that I've passed from
death unto life. Well, here in our text, I read
it to you a moment ago in I Thessalonians chapter 1. The Apostle Paul spoke
quite positively of his friends down there in Thessalonica. He
said of them, he said, Brethren, beloved of the Lord, I know that
you're God's elect. I know that you're God's elect.
You know, Paul is quite unlike us. The Apostle Paul didn't delight
in any man perishing. He delighted in a man being saved.
He said on one occasion in Romans 9, he said, I'm so concerned
for my friends, I could almost wish myself a curse from Christ. FOR MY BRETHREN, MY BRETHREN
IN THE FLESH." ON ANOTHER OCCASION HE SAID, I HAVE CONTINUAL HEAVINESS
AND CONTINUAL SORROW IN MY HEART FOR MY BRETHREN IN THE FLESH.
I WANT THEM TO BE SAVED. I DON'T WANT TO GLOAT OVER THEIR
MISFORTUNE. I DON'T WANT TO GLOAT OVER THEIR
INFIRMITIES. I DON'T WANT TO GLOAT OVER THEIR FAILURES. I
WANT TO BE A LIVING INTERCESSOR FOR OTHER MEN. I WANT TO PRAY
FOR THEM AND SEE THEM COME TO KNOW CHRIST. AND HE SAID OF THESE
PEOPLE IN THESSALONICA, He said, I believe you're saved. I believe
you're God's elect. I believe you're God's own and
I'll tell you why I believe that He gives several reasons why
he believed these people to be children of God Would you like
to listen to him right there? If you take your Bible now and
look that first Thessalonians chapter 1 beginning with verse
4 Paul gives several reasons why he believes that these people
were God's elect and being God's elect They're God's children
being God's children They're God's heirs and being God's heirs
their joint heirs with Jesus Christ and being a joint heir
with Jesus Christ They'll spend eternity in glory. All right,
the first reason he gives us this he said I believe you're
God's elect because our gospel is Our gospel, the gospel of
God's glory, the gospel of His free grace, the gospel of His
sovereign mercy, the gospel of His dear Son, the gospel concerning
Jesus Christ, the gospel of substitution, the gospel of the atonement,
our gospel. That's the only gospel Paul knew
or preached. He said our gospel didn't come to you in word only.
It came in power. It came in the Holy Ghost. It
came in much assurance. Now, my friends, it's true that
the gospel must come to a man in words. You can't hear the
gospel without words. Words are vehicles of thoughts.
Words are means of expression. The only way you can know what
I'm thinking is for me to tell you in words. That's right, either
word pictures or word spoken. In Romans 10, it says, Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how
shall they call on him in whom they've not believed? And how
shall they believe in him of whom they've not heard? And how
are they going to hear without a preacher? You gotta hear words. I know salvation's of the heart,
but God doesn't bypass the mind. The heart can only believe what
the mind understands. That's so. Comprehends in some
measure to some degree. Romans 1, 16, Paul said, I'm
not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believe it. In Mark 16, our Lord sent his
disciples out to preach, and he said, you go into all the
world and preach the gospel. Preach the gospel. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. And Peter said in I Peter 1, 23, We're born again, not
of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed, the Word of God, which
liveth and abideth forever. So, number one, it's true that
a man must hear the gospel in words. But the elect, the true
believer, hears the gospel, not in word only, that's what Paul
said, not just words only. You see, words alone will not
save. Facts alone will not bring a
man to God. All men hear words, words, words. The difference is how you hear.
how you hear. You see what I'm saying? And
these people heard the gospel, the gospel in words, but not
word only, not word only. Not just went out, they didn't
just go out to argue a doctrine, or argue a custom, or argue a
tradition, or argue something else, you know. How long did
the Lord lay in the grave and WHERE DID HE GO WHILE HIS BODY
WAS IN THE GRAVE? WHERE DID KING GET HIS WIFE?
FOLKS LIKE TO ARGUE ABOUT ALL THESE THINGS. THAT'S JUST WORDS,
WORDS, WORDS. THAT'S ALL. THAT'S ARGUING OVER
WORDS, DISPUTING OVER CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS AND GENEALOGIES
AND LAW AND ALL THESE THINGS, AND IT JUST GETS YOU IN A MESS.
BUT THEY HEARD THE GOSPEL IN POWER. IN POWER. THEY HEARD THE GOSPEL IN POWER
ON THE CONSCIENCE TO CONVICT OF SIN. THEY HEARD THE GOSPEL
IN POWER ON THE HEART TO EMBRACE CHRIST. THEY HEARD THE GOSPEL
IN POWER ON THE MIND TO BEHOLD CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS AND
CHRIST OUR ATONEMENT AND CHRIST OUR SIN-BEARER AND CHRIST OUR
SCAPEGOAT AND CHRIST OUR REFUGE. THEY HEARD THE GOSPEL IN MIND
SO THEY COULD CONCEIVE OF God's great plan of redemption, God's
great purpose in redeeming His people, satisfying the law, honoring
the law, magnifying the law, and satisfying His justice. And
they heard the gospel in power on the will to make them willing
to confess Christ and to follow Christ. Old George Whitefield
had a tabernacle over in England where he preached quite often.
Well, he was out of town preaching somewhere one night and had a
substitute preacher. And there were a bunch of overgrown
boys, late teens, out walking by the tabernacle. This was years
ago. And one of the boys said to another boy, his name was
John Williams. This boy said to John Williams,
he said, John Williams, why don't you go in old man Whitfield's
tabernacle and see what time it is? See, everybody didn't
have a watch back in those days, didn't wear wristwatches and
everybody didn't have a watch. But in old man's Whitfield's
tabernacle, there was a clock back on the back wall, opposite
from the preacher. And so John Williams, He volunteered
to go in, and he walked in that tabernacle, opened the door,
and he looked up, but he couldn't see the clock. And he had to
walk down the aisle of this tabernacle, and there's a man in the pulpit
preaching the gospel. preaching Christ and Him crucified,
preaching the gospel of regeneration, the gospel of redemption, the
good news that God saved sinners by the death of His Son, the
good news that all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God, but Christ became a man and died for sinners. And John
Williams started listening to the preacher as he walked down
the aisle to look at the clock. And he stood spellbound and listened
to that man's message. And you know, the Spirit of God,
through the Word of God, broke the heart of that proud, rebellious
young man named John Williams and saved him that night. He
heard the Gospel in word, but he heard it in power. And he
broke his heart and brought him to his knees and brought him
to faith in Christ. Now that's what I'm talking about.
And John Williams became one of the greatest missionaries
who ever took the gospel around the world. Power. That's what
I'm saying. The true believer hears the gospel
in power. Not only that, but he hears it
in the Holy Ghost. in the Holy Ghost. Now, the Holy
Spirit is sent of God. Our Lord said when He's come,
He'll convince the world of sin. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin.
When He comes, He'll glorify me. He'll not speak of Himself,
but He'll speak of me. When He comes, He'll take the
things of mine and show them to you. And that's what the Holy
Spirit does. We're born of the Spirit. We're
quickened by the Spirit. We're convicted by the Holy Spirit.
We have Christ revealed to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The
Holy Spirit teaches believers. The Holy Spirit intercedes for
us. The Holy Spirit guides us. The Holy Spirit comforts us.
Apart from the Spirit of God, A MAN WILL LAY DEAD IN HIS DARK
SPIRITUAL GRAVE, BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT REGENERATES." AND THESE
PEOPLE HEARD THE GOSPEL IN POWER, IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST.
NOW WATCH THIS, AND THEY HEARD THE GOSPEL IN MUCH ASSURANCE. THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT ARE
EVIDENT HERE. NUMBER ONE, THEY HEARD IT WITH THE ASSURANCE THAT
THAT GOSPEL'S TRUE. THIS IS THE RECORD. had given
to us eternal life, and this life's in His Son. That's the
record. That's true. That's a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. You can bank
on it. You can believe it. It's true.
And it came to these people in power, in Holy Spirit conviction,
in revelation, and in assurance. They believed the gospel was
true. And secondly, the assurance of
their own interest in that gospel. Like Paul said, I know whom I
have believed. I can't speak for others. It's
like the prophet of God in the Old Testament. He said, I don't
know which way you're going. I don't know which way you're
going. But as for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord
God. That's confidence. That's assurance. So Paul said,
I know you're elect. I know you're one of God's own.
Because when our gospel was preached, you didn't just hear a bunch
of doctrines and a bunch of words and a bunch of things to debate.
He said, our gospel came to you in power. It came to you in the
Holy Ghost. It came to you in much assurance.
And you knew it to be true. And you knew by God's grace your
interest in that gospel sink or swim. I go to him. All right,
secondly, Paul said, brethren, I know you're elect. I know you're
one of God's own. I know you belong to the Lord
because not only did you hear the gospel in power, but you
became followers, followers of us and the Lord. You know what
our master said? He said, My sheep hear My voice.
They hear it in power. They hear it in the Holy Ghost.
They hear it in much assurance. And they do what? Well, they
just hear it, and they push it away, push it aside. They hear
it, and they say, Well, we'll hear it again in another season
when we have a more convenient time. Oh, no. He said, They hear
Me, and they follow Me. They follow Me. And I give them
eternal life, and they'll never perish. You see, I'm saying a
man is a Christian not just in creed, but in deed, in deed a
Christian. I'm saying that a man is not
just a Christian in action and tradition, he's a Christian in
attitude. God makes him a new creature
in heart. He becomes a new creature in
Christ Jesus. He not only bows to Christ as
his only Savior, he bows to Christ as his living Lord. and master."
When Paul says, you became followers of us and the Lord, he is saying
this. He's saying believers are not
only identified with the Lord, but they identify with one another.
And my friend, you listen to me. They love the Word of God. They love the house of God. They
love the law of God. They love the church of God.
But John is careful to point out, they love the people of
God. And they seek out those who know
their Lord. And they seek out those who love
their Lord. And they seek out those who love
His gospel. And they are quick to identify
with God's people. I hear people say, well, I'm
a believer, but I don't have any part in any fellowship or
any church. Now you wait a minute. Paul said, I know, brethren,
you are elect of God, because our gospel, this gospel, this
one gospel, this common gospel of a common salvation, came to
you in power, in the Holy Ghost, in much assurance, and you became
followers, not only of the Lord, but of us. but of us and you
identified with us and you were not ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord nor were you ashamed of us his servants no way you
can't be ashamed of Christ and be be one of Christ's own and
his body is Christ that's right to follow Christ is to follow
him fully did you ever read the story of Caleb I don't know why
Caleb's mother named him Caleb, but do you know what his name
means, I'm told? The fateful dog. That's right,
the fateful dog. And that's what he was. He was
the Lord's dog and he was a fateful dog. Every time you hear one
of the people talk about Caleb, you know how they identify him?
They say, Caleb, he's the fellow that followed the Lord fully.
He followed the Lord fully he followed him in heart. He followed
him indeed. He said my servant Caleb's got
another spirit Another spirit he not like the rest of those
fellows He's got another spirit spirit of faithfulness and the
spirit of love and a spirit of loyalty and a spirit of dedication
my servant Caleb the faithful dog he follows me even when he
stands alone and They said, we can't take that country. He said,
God said we could, and I believe we can. And he followed the Lord
all the days of his life, and he was one of those who died
in the faith. Let me hurry. I know your lack, Paul said.
HEARD THE GOSPEL, HEARD IT NOT JUST WITH THE EAR, BUT WITH THE
HEART. POWER, HOLY GHOST, MUCH ASSURED. YOU BECAME A FOLLOWER.
YOU IDENTIFIED WITH THE LORD AND HIS PEOPLE. AND THEN HE SAID
YOU BECAME AN EXAMPLE. LOOK AT VERSE 7 AND 8. YOU BECAME
AN EXAMPLE TO OTHER PEOPLE. IN YOUR ATTITUDE, IN YOUR CONDUCT,
IN YOUR CONVERSATION, YOU BECAME AN EXAMPLE. AND NOT ONLY THAT,
BUT YOU BECAME A WITNESS. MY FRIEND, LET ME SHOW YOU THREE
THINGS. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN ONLY GOD KNEW THAT YOU WERE HIS
ELECT. THAT'S RIGHT. THERE WAS A TIME
WHEN NOBODY KNEW THAT BUT GOD. YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT. ONLY
GOD. HE SAID, BEFORE I FORMED THEE
IN THE BELLY, I KNEW THEE. BEFORE YOU CAME OUT OF YOUR MOTHER'S
WOMB, I SANCTIFIED YOU AND SET YOU APART. THAT'S RIGHT. PAUL
SAID, GOD SEPARATED ME FROM MY MOTHER'S WOMB. THERE WAS A TIME
WHEN ONLY GOD KNEW YOU WERE ONE OF HIS ELECT. AND THEN THE TIME
CAME WHEN YOU HAD CHRIST REVEALED TO YOUR HEART BY THE SPIRIT OF
GOD AND YOU KNEW YOU WERE ONE OF GOD'S ELECT. You knew that
you were a child of God. You knew that a work of grace
had been performed in your heart. So God knew it now and you knew
it. But then there came a time when not only you knew it, but
some folks began to recognize it. Now that you're a child of
God, you want to glorify Christ in your life, you want to glorify
Christ in your conversation, and your desire is to adorn the
doctrine of God our Savior. You know what that means, adorn?
When you adorn something, you garnish it, or decorate it, or
make it pretty. And that's what you want to do.
You desire to tell others about Christ. You want them to know
Christ. You delight to tell that the Lord Jesus Christ has done
something for you. But my friends, true testimony
is more than just words. It's in love and kindness and
patience and gentleness and faith and peace. But our Lord has no
secret disciple. He said, I know you're God's
elect because you heard the gospel in power. Holy Ghost and what
you're showing. And you became a follower. You
didn't go hide in a corner somewhere. You became a follower. And not
only that, but you became an example and a witness. You became
a missionary. And then he said, I know you're
one of God's elect because you turn from your idols to serve
the living God. Yes, sir, you turn from your
idols to serve the living God. You worship God in the spirit.
You rejoice in Jesus Christ. You have no confidence in the
flesh. Believers do not worship calves of gold, nor do they worship
gold in another form, materialism, luxury. Believers do not worship
the relics of religion such as crosses and pictures and statues
and men, nor do they worship tradition and custom and creed.
They worship God. They turn from their idols, and
I'm talking about all their idols. Not just the caves of gold, and
not just the idols that are formed out of clay, but they turn from
tradition, and they turn from custom, and they turn from all
these relics of religion, and they worship God from the heart,
in the spirit, and in truth. The more paraphernalia a fellow
has to have in his religion, the less heart knowledge he has
of Christ, and the more heart knowledge he has of Christ. THE
LESS VISIBLE PARAPHANALIA AND GIMMICKS AND ALL THESE OTHER
THINGS HE HAS TO HAVE TO LOVE AND WORSHIP GOD. LAST OF ALL,
AND HE SAID, I KNOW YOU'RE GOD'S ELECT BECAUSE YOU'RE WAITING
ON HIS SON FROM HEAVEN. YES, SIR, HE WENT AWAY, BUT NOT
TO STAY. HE'S COMING BACK AGAIN. THIS
SAME JESUS WHICH IS TAKEN UP FROM YOU INTO HEAVEN SHALL SO
COME IN LIKE MANNER AS YOU'VE SEEN HIM GO. AND BELIEVERS ARE
WAITING FOR HIS RETURN WHEN HE COMES AGAIN TO MAKE ALL THINGS
NEW. Now, I have this message on a
cassette tape, How to Recognize God's Elect. And I have another
message on the other side of the tape, both messages on one
tape, called The Preacher and His Message. I'll be bringing
that next Lord's Day. If you want this tape, send $2.
That's what it'll cost you. A donation of $2 will mail you
the tape by return mail. All right, until next Lord's
Day, God bless you, everyone.