I want to speak to you this morning
on this subject. Saving faith or religious profession? Which do I have? True saving
faith or just a religious profession? Now, my text is found in 2 Corinthians,
the 13th chapter and the 5th verse. Now, in this message I'm
going to deal with some critical issues. I think some things that
need to be said in this day. If you will, turn in your Bible
to 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5, and let's read the Scriptures.
Paul is the author of the book of Corinthians, inspired by the
Holy Spirit. He said, examine yourselves.
Examine yourselves. Not other people, but yourselves. Not your neighbor, but examine
yourselves. Your heart is the only heart
that you can examine. whether you be in the faith. The faith. There's just one Lord,
one faith, and one baptism. And you're to examine yourself,
I'm to examine myself, whether I am in the faith. Prove yourself. Know ye not your own selves,
how that Christ dwelleth in you, except you be a reprobate. an outcast except you be a reprobate
now it is not true absolutely not true that a person has to
wait to the judgment to find out if he's saved or not saved
that's just not true a person does not have to wait till he
gets to the judgment to the end of the world to find out if he's
a child of God or a child of wrath The reason I say that that's
not true is because our Lord commands us to examine ourselves
right now and settle this matter of faith in our hearts. That's
what I just read to you. Examine yourself now. Determine
your relationship with Christ right now. In other words, like
Peter said, give diligence to make your calling and election
sure. And then in 1 Corinthians 11,
28, when the Apostle Paul gave the Lord's table to the early
church, and he said, what I've received of the Lord I've delivered
unto you. He said, when you come to this table of the Lord, examine
yourself. Let a man examine himself, and
so let him eat. Examine himself for what? To
determine whether he understands what this table is all about.
to determine whether he discerns the broken body and the shed
blood of Christ and has an interest therein, to determine his own
interest in this table. And then in Hebrews 3 verse 12,
Paul says, Take heed, brethren, lest there be found in you an
evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. So it's
just not true. It's not true that a man has
to wait to the judgment to find out if he's saved or lost, if
he's a child of God or a child of wrath. We can know now. And
we're supposed to determine that issue right now. In fact, believers
of the Old Testament and our early church fathers in the New
Testament were sure of their interest in Christ. This doesn't
sound like uncertainty on the part of Job when he said, I know
that my Redeemer lives. that in the latter day he's going
to stand on this earth. And though worms destroy this
body, though this flesh goes back to the dust from whence
it came, in the flesh I'm going to see God, whom I shall see
for myself and not another. These eyes shall behold my Redeemer. I know he lives. There's no uncertainty
there. David, writing about the Redeemer,
he said, the Lord is my shepherd. I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. The Apostle Paul said, I know
whom I have believed. Notice he didn't say, I know
when I believe, though I'm sure he did. But he says, I know whom. And he didn't say, I know in
whom. He said, I know whom I have believed. And I am persuaded
he's able to keep that which I have committed to him against
that day, the day of judgment. And listen to John. The book
of John, 1 John, the book of 1 John, the epistle, has to do
with two things mainly. They run straight through that
epistle, faith and love, faith and love, faith and love. And
he uses the word, know, so often, know. Know, he says this, we
know that we have passed from death unto life because we love
the brethren. So believers in the Old Testament,
and our early church fathers in the New Testament, They were
not uncertain about their relationship with God Almighty in Christ.
They knew. They had confidence. They were
not overconfident. They were not presumptuous. They
were not arrogant men. But they were men who believed
God. They believed God and they had inward evidence of that faith. And they had confidence in Him.
Their confidence was not in themselves. Their confidence was in Him.
That He would keep His word. Now my friends, this assurance
which I'm urging us to seek, this assurance of our interest
in Christ, is what makes a man leave all and follow Christ.
You see, uncertainty leads to indifference. But confidence
in Christ makes a man willing to die for Christ. I read one
time years ago about some of the old Moravians who lived hundreds
of years ago. who literally sold themselves
into slavery in order to preach to the slaves now that man believed
God and some of them years and years and many years ago some
missionaries had themselves committed to leper colonies they went in
and lived with lepers and they contacted the disease themselves
and became lepers to preach to the lepers now that kind of assurance
That leads a man to confidence in Christ and causes him, like
the man who found the treasure in the field, to sell all, to
sell all to buy the field, to sell all to purchase the one
great pearl. I have a missionary friend on
the Ivory Coast in Africa. He and his wife and little girl
have been missionaries to Africa for five years. They live deep
in the bush. They have no running water. They
have no electricity. They live on the food of the
natives. They've been there for five years. Why do men do things
like that? Love for Christ. Confidence in
Christ. Confidence in their relationship
with Christ. Love for the gospel. I have a friend that's been in
Mexico as a missionary for 20 years. All of his children are
grown now and moved back to the United States, but he and his
wife are still down there. And I asked him one time, I said,
are you happy in Mexico? He said, happiness has nothing
to do with it. I'm where God wants me. That's faith. And that's
what I'm saying. I'm saying that this assurance
of our interest in Christ is what makes a man willing to die
for Christ. You know what Paul said to those
people when he was leaving them in Acts 20? He said, why do you
weep? Why do you weep for me? Why do
you break my heart? I'm ready not only to go to Jerusalem
and be bound, but I'm willing to die for the Lord. I believe. Now, uncertainty won't give you
that confidence. It just won't do it. Our Lord
said, if any man put his hand to the plow and looks back, he's
not fit for the kingdom of God. Now, here's my question. This
thing, examining yourselves, examining yourselves, on what
basis or how can we examine ourselves to determine faith? Well, here's
the key to that. Here's the key. When we are examining
ourselves and trying to determine whether we be in the faith, Our
faith and our interest in Christ must be determined by the word
of God. Could I make that clear to you?
Building your hope for eternity on a feeling, that's folly, sheer
folly. Building your hope for eternity
and trying to determine your interest in God based upon an
experience that you had years ago, that's folly. Building your
hope for eternity on a profession of faith or on ceremonialism
or ritualism or on a church standard is sheer folly. Let our saving
interest be determined by what is written in the Word of God.
That's our only foundation of faith. Faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the Word of God. Listen to John 20, verse 31.
These things are written. that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might
have life in his name. Isaiah 8, 20. If they speak not
according to the law and the prophets, it's because there's
no light in them. 1 John 5, 13. These things have I written unto
you, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life. You cannot determine your saving
interest by your feelings. Feelings change. You cannot determine
your saving interest by some experience. Satan can give you
an experience. Drugs can give you an experience.
Alcohol can give you an experience. All kind of circumstances can
give you an experience. You can't determine your interest
in Christ and your relationship with God by a profession of faith
or by going through a religious ceremony. It must be determined
by the Word of God. Let God be true and every man
a liar. He hath said, I will never leave
you nor forsake you, so that I can boldly say, the Lord is
my helper. How can I say the Lord is my
helper? Because he hath said, I'll not leave you. And what
I say must be based upon what He says, not what I think. My
thoughts are not God's thoughts, and my ways are not God's ways.
He said in Isaiah, as the heaven is high above the earth, so high
are my thoughts above your thoughts, and my ways above your ways.
And He said again, there's a way that seemeth ripe unto men, and
the end is destruction. Let our faith and let our relationship
with God be determined by what He says. Some people think it
doesn't matter what a man believes. It really doesn't matter as long
as he's sincere. Well, it does matter. It most
certainly does matter. We must believe God. And the
revelation we have of God is Christ His Son and His Word,
the incarnate Word and the written Word. We must believe the incarnate
Word and we must believe the written Word of God. We have
no other foundation for faith but the Scriptures. So it becomes
every man to weigh his hope in the light of the Word of God.
A doctrine is true because God says it, not because I feel it,
not because I think it, not even because I believe it, but because
God said it. If we can't turn to the Scripture
and read the Scripture in its context now, that's not taking
a verse out of the Scripture and out of the context and making
it say what we want it to say. For no scripture is of any private
interpretation. It must fit in with the whole
Word of God. We must put the scripture with the scripture.
The best commentary on the scriptures is the scriptures themselves.
That's the best commentary. And so my friend, it does matter
what we believe. So I heard about a sign in front
of a Bible college down south somewhere. That sign says this,
God said it, I believe it, That settles it. Now what's wrong
with that? God said it. I believe it. That
settles it. What's wrong with that? Well
what's wrong with it is the middle line. God said it and that settles
it whether I believe it or not. My believing it hasn't got anything
to do with settling it. Your believing it has nothing
to do with settling it. It's what God said. Now I'm not
afraid to submit my belief in God's absolute sovereignty to
the word of God. I believe God is absolutely sovereign
because that's what it says in the book. I am the Lord. I am the Lord. I change not.
Therefore you sons of Jacob are not concerned. Our God is in
the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he pleased
in the heavens and the earth and the seas and all deep places.
I am not afraid to submit my doctrine and my belief in the
fall of man and the consequences of that fall to the word of God.
In Adam all died. In Adam, death passed upon all
men. Because of one man's sin, we became sinners. I am not afraid
to submit my doctrine, my belief, in the blood of Christ. Without
the shedding of blood, there is no remission. We are redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
or spot. I'm not afraid to submit that to the word of God. I'm
not afraid to submit my belief in the grace of God. Salvation
by grace through faith is not of works lest any man should
boast. Paul said we conclude that a man is justified by faith
without the works of the law. If righteousness come by the
law, Christ is dead in vain. I'm not afraid to submit my belief
in God's grace, believers baptism, the Lord's table to the word
of God. I'm not afraid to submit my belief in the everlasting
covenant of grace and perseverance of the elect to the word of God.
Because that's what the word teaches. The word covenant is
used in the scripture almost 300 times. God is a God who works
by covenant. And I do not ask you if you believe
these things. That's not the issue. I'm asking
you, have you searched the scriptures? Is this what the Word of God
teaches? It's not a matter of what you believe or what I believe,
it's what God says. What we believe is not the issue
at all, it's what God says. Have you only accepted what someone
said? That's dangerous. Have you only
accepted what you think? What you feel? Well, this is
not right, that's not right. Now, you listen to me. God is
the standard of right. God doesn't do something because
it's right in your eyes. If God does it, it's right. Shall
not the judge of the earth do right? When God was going to
destroy Sodom, and Abraham was praying about Sodom, if he could
find 50 righteous, or 40, or 30, or 20, or 10, this is what
he said. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? Yes, he will, because he is right. God is truth. God is just. God is holy, God is righteous.
Have you only accepted what someone has said or what you think? I
dare not advance one foot beyond the word of God. Happy is the
man whose faith is founded on the word of God. Happy is the
man whose faith can endure the trial of the book. The trial
of the book, not the trial of public opinion. He doesn't preach
to please men. He doesn't seek to please men.
He knows if he seeks to please men, he's not the servant of
Christ. Happy is a man whose faith can stand the trial of
the Word of God, who dares to say, I don't fully understand
all of this. I prophesy in part. I know in
part. I see through a glass dimly.
But one day, face to face, I'll know as I have been known. And
I speak to you the gospel of God in a mystery, hidden wisdom. And those who have been brought
to saving faith never cease to be amazed, never cease to be
amazed that God should condemn sin to dwell with them anyway.
That's what amazes them. They're amazed that God even
condemns sins to dwell with them, to give His Son to die for them,
to take any notice of them. David said, when I consider the
heavens, The work of thy hand. The moon, the stars, the things
that thou hast made. What is man that thou art mindful
of him? Or the son of man that thou hast
visited him? Old Charles Wesley wrote that
hymn. Can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour's
blood? I'm amazed. Died he for me who
him to death pursued. Amazing love. How can it be? But thou, my God, should die
for me. Most people, they expect God to save them. Most people,
they expect God to show mercy. Most people, they expect God
to redeem them. Isn't that what God's for? But
that's not what John Newton said. Old John Newton, who wrote the
song, you sing, amazing grace, how sweet the sound. He said
this, when I get to heaven, by the grace of God, three things
are going to amaze me. One, I'm going to be amazed.
to find some people there I never expected to see." And he said,
secondly, I'm going to be amazed to miss some people. Some folks
won't be there that I thought would be. And thirdly, the greatest
and most amazing marvel of all is that I'll be there. And then
Solomon said this, will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the
heaven of heavens cannot contain him, how much less the house
that I built." You expect God to dwell in the house you built?
We do, we take it for granted. We build us a church and put
a rug down the aisle and a few pictures on the wall and stand
a pulpit up and put a man behind it and say, well, come on in
God, now we fix this thing up. Solomon built that magnificent
temple and then he said, will God dwell in this place? David
said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that thou hast
brought me hitherto? Who am I? That's David. Charles
Spurgeon said this, that's the great preacher of England back
in the last century. He said, When I came to Christ,
I had no knowledge of any personal or saving interest in the work
of Christ. I just knew that it was written
in God's Word He was made sin, who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. I just knew it was
written in God's Word, Look unto me, all the ends of the earth,
and be ye saved, for I am God. And I looked. I looked to Him
on the basis of His Word. I trusted Him on the strength
of His promise. Sink or swim, I said, I'm going
to cast myself on Him. Great Son of God, You have lived
and died for sinners. Here's a sinner who will trust
you. I trust you. I believe you." And God spoke
peace to my heart. My friend, it does matter what
a man believes. And you cannot base your faith,
nor can you determine your faith, on feeling or experiencing. People
say, well, I know I'm saved because God hears my prayer. I know I'm
saved because I saw a great light, I had a vision. I know I'm saved
because I saw Christ standing at the foot of the bed. I know
I'm saved because I remember the time and the place I was
there. I know I'm saved because I was there when it happened.
God have mercy on your soul. That's no foundation for faith
at all. We know we're saved because of
what He says in His Word, based on His Word and His Word alone.
You cannot know a thing about God apart from the Word of God.
You cannot determine anything about a relationship with God
at all except by the Word of God. We know these things because
He has said it. Abraham believed God that he
was able to perform all that he promised. And if he hadn't
promised it, you can't believe it. Paul summed it up. He stood on the deck of that
ship and he says, Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, be of
good cheer, for I believe, God, that it shall be Exactly as he
told me. That is saving faith. Alright,
look at this now. Faith that saves. Saving faith. Is a faith that stands alone. What do you mean by that, Preacher?
I mean, it's not faith and my works. It's not faith and my
morality. It's not faith and my church
membership. Faith and my baptism. It's not
faith and my feeling, for by grace are you saved through faith,
but that's not of yourself. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. What's the gift of God? Faith.
It is given unto you, not only to suffer for him, but to believe
on him. Repentance is the gift of God.
God hath granted repentance to the Gentiles. That's what the
apostles said. The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.
Any saving grace is the gift of God. It's not of works. God
does not require you to produce a righteousness. He requires
you to receive one that Christ produced. God does not require
you to create life, but to receive Him who is life. God does not
require you to live up perfectly to a standard. You'd fail this
very moment. But to receive a person who kept
that standard and who became your representative and your
surety and fulfilled all that that standard required, the holy
law of God. God does not require you to understand
Him, but to believe Him. Do you see what I'm saying? A
lot of people say, well, I don't believe anything I can't understand.
Oh, you believe a lot of things you can't understand. That sun
coming up in the morning precisely at the right place at the right
time and all those stars on their given courses and that little
baby that's born from a microscopic seed that you can't even see
with even his personality incorporated in that seed not only his personality
but his gifts and talents and strength of brain and heart and
every fingernail and toenail already in that microscopic seed
you don't understand that but you believe it I believe God
And I'll tell you this, what must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. And without faith, there's no
approach to God. He that cometh to God must believe
that He is and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently
seek Him. That's the first approach to
God. It's by faith. There's no coming
to God or approaching God except by faith. And without faith,
the gospel profits you nothing. As I preach the Word of God to
you, If you cannot receive it by faith, not by understanding,
but by faith, it'll profit you nothing. You know what it says
in Hebrews 4-2, unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto
them, talking about the people of the Old Testament. But the
gospel did not profit them. Did not profit them. Why? Not
being mixed with faith in them that heard it. They didn't believe.
So it profited them nothing. They heard what you're hearing.
But it didn't profit them because they didn't believe. Without
faith there's no salvation. Listen to our Lord when he sent
his disciples out to preach. He said, go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and
is baptized. You say, what's the baptism got
to do with it? He's confessing his faith. He's publicly and
openly identifying himself with Christ. He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. And then without faith, prayer is useless. If any man
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, but let him ask in faith. In faith. That's believing God.
You see, saving faith has to do with a person. I told you
this last week, and I'll tell you again. Abraham believed God. He didn't, he wasn't saying he
believed there is a God, or he believed in God. He believed
God. He believed Him personally. See,
this is the record. God has given us eternal life.
This life's any son. This sanctification, redemption,
and righteousness, and wisdom, revelation, all things are any
son. He that hath the son hath life. Not he that believes there is
a son. The devil believes that and trembles. But he that hath
the son hath everlasting life. The one object of faith is Christ. Oh, for faith to embrace Him.
to lay hold upon him, to believe him. The one reason for faith
is Christ. The one hope of faith is Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. Now you say your message was saving faith as opposed to
religious profession. Let me give you two or three
things and I'll close. False faith can do many things.
Excite the affections, reform the outward man, speak well of
Christ, feel sorry for sin, tremble on the word of God. But like
I told you last week, false faith can never believe, trust, love,
and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. And I'm talking about
Christ for all things. Jesus Christ for acceptance with
the Father, Jesus Christ for sanctification. It's not my sanctification
and my holiness. I don't have any holiness. My
holiness is Christ. Christ alone. Can you rest in
Him, look to Him, believe Him? Now I have two messages on this
tape, cassette tape, two messages on the same tape. The one I preached
last week, True Believers Never Quit, and the one I just brought
on Saving Faith or Religious Profession. You want it? send
two dollars and write to the address given to you now until
next week God bless you everyone