Romans 3:10-28
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
HEAR YE HIM!
In the Bible, a commandment came Forth
From God . . . "HEAR YE HIM"! He spoke of
His beloved Son, Jesus. If you are not sure
what will happen to you, after you die,
why don't you read on and see what Jesus
said shall happen?
(1) "And if any man hear my words, and believe
not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge
the world, but to save the world. He that re-
jecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath
one that judgeth him: the word that I have
spoken, the same shall judge him in the last
day." (John 12:47-48)
HEAR YE HIM!
If you reject Jesus, you will be judged one
day, by His Word.
(2) "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in
your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he,
ye shall die in your sins." (John 8:24)
--"For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God;" (Rom. 3:23).
HEAR YE HIM!
If you believe not in Jesus, you will die in
your sins.
(3) "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
HEAR YE HIM!
Jesus said you will not get to Heaven
without Him. There is no other way!
(4) "He that believeth on him is not condemned:
but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of
the only begotten Son of God."
(John 3:18)
HEAR YE HIM!
If you do not believe on Jesus, you are
already condemned . . . to a burning Hell!
(5) "For the Son of man is come to save that which
was lost." (Matt. 18:11)
HEAR YE HIM!
If you are lost . . . you need to get saved . . .
from the Wrath of God. "Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
(6) "For they being ignorant of God's righteous-
ness, and going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God." (Rom. 10:3)
HEAR YE HIM!
You need God's righteousness--without
it you go to Hell. You can, right this mo-
ment, receive God's righteousness. "If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) Right now, please
pray to Jesus, ask Him to come into your
heart, save you, and forgive you of your
sins. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved." (Rom. 10:9)
(7) "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my
words shall not pass away." (Matt. 24:35)
HEAR YE HIM!
The words Jesus spoke stand sure. Today,
tomorrow, and forever! "And as it is ap-
pointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:" (Heb. 9:27).
Do you realize that this verse from the Bible is 100% proven fact? It is a fact that one day, you will die . . . you
can also be sure that you will be judged . . . by the word Jesus spoke!
JESUS SAVES
SOMEDAY YOU WILL STAND BEFORE GOD!
YOU NEED HIS RIGHTOUSNESS!
ETERNITY DEPENDS ON IT!
Dear Soul, the Bible declares that one day you will die and then stand face to face with God to be judged. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" Hebrews 9:27. Nothing in your entire life could be more important than to be ready for that day, for it will determine whether you will spend eternity in Heaven or Hell.
This judgment will be based on "righteousness"; which means to be absolutely perfect and without sin. The Bible says, "he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained;" Acts 17:31a. The man spoken of in this verse is Jesus Christ. This means that your righteousness must match that of Jesus Christ.
Can you make it through your entire life without committ- ing one single sin? Jesus Christ did, and He is the one that you will be compared with at your judgment.
NONE HAVE IT!
Nobody but Jesus Christ, could ever lead a life without one single sin. The Bible says, "For all have sinned," Romans 3:23a. Nobody but Jesus Christ is that righteous. The Bible says, "There is none righteous, no, not one:" Romans 3:10b. If you claim to be righteous, you are only deceiving yourself, and making God a liar. The Bible says, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar," I John 1:10a.
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." I John 1:8.
WITHOUT IT YOU GO TO HELL!
The Bible says, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" I Corinthians 6:9a. If you're not going to Heaven, that leaves one other place. "The wicked shall be turned into hell..." Psalm 9:17a.
YOU CANNOT WORK FOR IT!
The Bible says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us," Titus 3:5a. If you could "earn" the righteousness of God, then Jesus Christ would not have had to die on the cross. The Bible says, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." Galatians 2:21.
Dear Soul, you cannot earn the "righteousness of God" be leading a good life, church membership, sacraments, baptism, or anything that YOU do. If you do something for it, then it is Self-righteousness.
FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST IS THE
ONLY WAY TO GET IT.
Faith, is a "complete" trust or dependency upon some- one. The Bible says that Jesus Christ died to pay for your sins and purchase the "righteousness of God" for you. You must stop trying to "earn" it, and "put complete faith in Jesus Christ" to receive it. The Bible says, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4:5. "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:" Romans 3:22a. Then, you will not have to fear your judgment day, because in your heart you know that you will "be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:" Philippians 3:9.
WILL YOU TRUST COMPLETELY IN
JESUS CHRIST TO SAVE YOU?
Dear Soul, Jesus Christ has already paid for eternal life, you need only to receive it as a "gift", by putting your faith in Him. The Bible says, "...the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23b. God cannot lie, and He has promised to give you eternal life. The Bible says, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;" Titus 1:2.
Will you right now believe God's promise? Will you right now stop trusting "your righteousness", and put all your faith in Jesus Christ and receive "His righteousness"?
If you will call on Jesus Christ, and put all your faith in Him, He will save you right now. The Bible says, "...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;" I Timothy 1:15b. It says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13.
Eternity is real, and Hell is real. If you want Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then pray from your heart, "In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness." Psalm 31:1.
God’s Simple Plan Of Salvation
My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?
God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”
In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?
First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. “For the wages [payment] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God in Hell.
“ . . . it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “ . . . He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus had to shed His blood and die. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). “ . . . without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]” (Hebrews 9:22).
“ . . . God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.
My friend, “God . . . commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.
In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: “ . . . ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved . . . .’ ”
Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior.
“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).
Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.
Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.
In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Just pray: “Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”
Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!
God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.
You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.” Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.
If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this tract over and over, without laying it down, until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world.
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).
Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.
God’s power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth:
- Pray — you talk to God.
- Read your Bible — God talks to you.
- Witness — you talk for God.
AFTER you are saved, you should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . .” (2 Timothy 1:8).
Please note that you DON'T have to be baptized to go to Heaven. It is a step of obedience for the believer.
“Whosoever therefore shall confess [testify of] Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).
The preacher has finished his message. The altar call has been given. The
piano plays softly while someone from the pulpit pleads with sinners to receive
Jesus Christ. Suddenly that feeling comes again, or is it just a nagging doubt?
You begin to wonder if you’re really saved.
Does that sound familiar? Chances are it does. Most preachers report an astounding percentage of people who consistently are troubled about their salvation. I have seen a church congregation polled on this very subject. Over two thirds of those in attendance raised their hands that they were plagued with recurring doubts about their salvation.
This little pamphlet was designed to help you personally examine yourself. If you really have salvation this pamphlet will help you to sort through the conflicting attacks that bombard you and steal your peace. If for some reason, you are still lost and have been deceived all of this time, hopefully, this pamphlet will help.
There are a number of reasons listed in the word of God for someone having trouble with assurance of salvation. We shall endeavor to look at these, but first I want to make a couple of observations. We have all heard the stories about the virtues of colonial and frontier Americans. These were people who, even if lost, had a dread and respect for God and the things of God. Most of them were aware of eternal damnation, the law of God, and upcoming judgment.
When the Word of God was preached to such people they trembled. They understood the stakes. What many of them did not possess was the inward faith and assurance given by God that Jesus was the very Christ. When they did receive that assurance through personal repentance they were born again. At that moment, the burden and guilt of sin was lifted.
Society has changed. People have been brainwashed into downplaying the thought of God and trusting the sciences instead. Probably the only vestiges of old-fashioned reverence for God left are the members of Bible believing churches. We should not be expecting the man off the street to tremble, he is like Lot’s sons-in-law, and the preacher of righteousness seems as one that mocks. The only people left with good enough sense to tremble are those who Bible believing pastors have trained in the ways of God.
With this in mind, let us examine why doubt is so prevalent in our churches. Evangelists who still preach with an old-fashioned, hard-hitting call for “...repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ”, are reporting that only about half of the people in Fundamental Baptist churches are really saved. When churches have been given over to a repentanceless gospel manifesting itself in large numbers, the proportion of lost church members goes up dramatically. Whereas Charismatics use phony gifts of the Spirit to hoodwink sincere and unsuspecting church members into discounting the immorality and fraud all too often hidden in their ministries, fundamentalists hide behind phony and inflated soul-winning statistics.
The results have begun showing up in the pews. People who were once enticed to pray a repentanceless prayer and given a false assurance of salvation now find themselves troubled. Just as a Jehovah Witness will outwardly transform in dress and habit, just as a Mormon will forsake alcohol and tobacco, and just as a Muslim will alter his world view, a small percentage of these quasi-believers will make great outward changes and mistake those changes for evidence of saving grace. When the Spirit of God begins to deal with them about their condition, they have been taught to call him the devil.
Increasingly, churches are teaching the culture of fundamental Christianity without the Spirit of God. Increasingly, pastors are being forced to invent baseless and unscriptural explanations to account for the rampant doubt that prevails in their churches and the wholesale unfaithfulness of their supposed converts. Increasingly, church members are afflicted with constant doubts and fears that no person in their church seems able to assuage.
Are you a victim of this watered down and ineffective gospel? Imagine a large population or city awaiting an expected epidemic. Now imagine that there is a perfect and effective immunization available. What would be the effect if overzealous medical workers seeking to provide inflated numbers for their own aggrandizement, inoculated thousands of people with a worthless vaccine? The result would be worse than just leaving them defenseless against the upcoming plague. Not only would these people be unmindful of their inevitable doom, but also, they would now resist the most earnest entreaties of those faithful workers who could and would save them. Those most likely to die are those who were most confident.
Modern fundamentalism has built large fiefdoms, published endless books and has largely muscled its way into the consciousness of America as God’s voice. Their most abiding fruit in any community wherein they have worked is to create almost perfect reprobates. For every hundred or so hapless converts they profess, they manage to culturally train one or two. The rest wander about with a false assurance that they have been “saved”. They will resist any and all of God’s true workers.
It was not liberals or communists who wrought this result. It was not fabled Jesuits seeking to undermine the reformation. It was not the public education system that so destroyed these communities. It was fundamentalism’s new face. It was properly dressed, super separated, King James Bible toting and utterly deceived disciples of an anemic gospel who perfectly convinced thousands upon thousands that they had no need of repentance.
This tract cannot help those wandering outside of the local church. The work of hell is probably perfect in their lives. They will probably never again respond to the call of God through the gospel. This tract is designed for church members who may have been culturally trained to be fundamental Christians. If you are someone who now believes the Bible to be true and you also know that there is a judgment and your life has been greatly transformed through the teachings of the Bible, but your assurance of salvation falls apart from time to time, this is written for you.
True saving faith converts an unrighteous person into a righteous person through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Lord says that they “...shall never thirst again”. (John 4:14b). When God has made them righteous they will have an inward witness from God that they are saved. “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever”. (Isaiah 32:17). “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:16).
The question to be settled in this tract is simple: Are you suffering from doubt as a saved person or are you suffering from doubt because you have never been saved? We will examine four scriptural reasons for doubt. Examine yourself. If you doubt or are unsettled it is because you fit into one of these four categories. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (II Corinthians 13:5).
REASON ONE
“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?”. (Galatians 3:1).
The first reason that should be considered for church members being troubled during an altar call is simple. Whoever preached to them, preached a false gospel. That happened in Galatia. Many blood washed, born again saints of God found themselves wondering if they were truly saved. Men who purported to be heaven sent told the Galatians that because they were not circumcised God would not save them. It took the Apostle Paul reminding them of how they received the Spirit and chiding them for foolishness to bring them back to their senses and restore peace.
Ask yourself, when the preacher preached, did he inject anything of works into the gospel? The Bible standard for salvation is saving faith given to a repentant sinner, without any works of the law. Did the preacher who caused you to doubt in any way subtract from the simplicity in Christ? If he did, it’s no wonder you find yourself confused and worried. God is not interested in what you did to get salvation. He is concerned with what he did to bring you salvation. How did you respond?
If this has happened to you, refresh yourself in the Word of God. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (Titus 3:5). Find a Bible believing pastor or friend and explain to them what happened. Let them take the Word of God and encourage you in the things of faith. I had a similar thing happen to me in my first week of salvation. It destroyed my joy. Thankfully, my pastor was there with the Word of God to recover me and restore me to fellowship with Christ.
If you have examined yourself and the preaching that caused you to tremble; if you are sure that the preacher who preached spoke the truth; and yet you still have lingering doubts, then look at the next point.
REASON TWO
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof”. (Romans 6:12).
Many Christians have committed sins after their salvation that caused them to question their salvation. This trick of the devil is really quite similar to the first deception. It triggers off what you have done. Just as it was for the people in Galatia, these people are not sitting and listening to the true gospel and trying to remember if they ever received it scripturally. The Galatians clearly remembered when Jesus Christ was manifested to them and they remembered receiving the Spirit. What they wondered was whether that was good enough. Here again people who remember the day of their salvation now find cause to doubt its validity. They have been confused into thinking that a sin they have committed was so great that no saved person could have done it. Or they might be looking at a particularly vile period in their life and wondering if someone saved could have ever stooped so low.
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Saved people have committed gross fornication, I Corinthians 5:1. They have denied Jesus Christ, Matthew 26:69-75 The Apostle Paul warned of fornicators, idolaters, covetous, drunkards, and extortioners in the church, I Corinthians 5:10. All of these are disgusting sins, far beneath the dignity of any man. Yet they are all too often practiced by carnal Christians.
If this describes you, first let me say how sorry I am that you have so shamed yourself and God. I am not condemning you or trying to heap shame upon you, I just know from experience that the most miserable person on earth is a carnal Christian. Next, let me welcome you back into fellowship with Christ. God has made marvelous provision for you to restore you to perfect fellowship. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).
If you are truly saved but you haven’t been living right, use this very moment to confess your sins. Notice that it does not tell you to say how sorry you are for them. It can be assumed that if you’re willing to confess them, you have reached a point where you’re sorry for them. Confess what you’ve been doing. Plainly tell the Lord each of your transgressions. Now look at the verse. You can be sure no matter how rotten and faithless you have been, God is faithful and just to forgive your sins and then to go a step further and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
Brother or sister, whoever you are, God has restored you. Thank God for the preaching that restored you to your senses. Now take concrete steps to purge your life of all the evil habits and influences that caused you to so forsake Christ. Get with the church or pastor that gave you this pamphlet and ask for their prayer to keep you out of the temptations and sin that so beset you.
REASON THREE
“But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” (2 Peter 1:9)
This point is often confused with doubt. It does not speak of doubt it speaks of forgetting. It is entirely possible for a truly born again saved person to live so far beneath God’s standards as outlined in 2 Peter 1:5-9 that he completely forgets about his standing with God. A classic example of this would be a Christian standing around at a work site. Day after day, he might stand and listen to the filthy jesting and lewd jokes that are bantered about. It may be that due to circumstances, he has no choice but to be there while such conversation is carried on.
While such a Christian strives to keep his relationship with God fresh and right, he will find strength to stand aloof. If he should neglect to read his Bible and to work at being virtuous, he will quickly find himself drawn into his crowd’s way of thinking. Sooner or later, the day will come when he will openly laugh at the filth or even contribute a funny line or two. His salvation has become the farthest thing from his mind. If someone in the crowd should turn to him and mock him for his hypocrisy, he will quickly remember and be ashamed.
When Peter denied the Lord, it is not because he doubted whether the Lord had warned him. He became so wrapped up in saving his own hide that he threw out all vestiges of virtue. He just did not think about it. It completely left his mind. He forgot. When the cock finally sounded and the Lord looked at him he did not sit down and wonder. He instantly remembered.
Many times I have seen carnal backslidden Christians sit under the sound of the gospel. As the Spirit of God began to reprove the crowd I have seen these same people melt with the shame of their forgetfulness and worldly living. They did not sit around wondering if they had ever been saved. True saving faith does not doubt. Faith is the opposite of doubt.
I spent three years as a phony Christian. I finally became convinced that there was a salvation that never thirsted and never doubted. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.” (1 John 5:10a). By yourself, you could never be free from doubt. Saving faith is a miracle given to repentant sinners. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8).
If you are someone who is all too often consumed with doubt, nothing could be a greater tragedy than to have someone convince you that it did not matter. The abundant testimony of scripture is that saving faith brings its own assurance. The doubt that you are experiencing is not from the devil. It is from God.
That brings us to our last point.
REASON FOUR
“Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” (John 10:24-27).
My friend, you may have been told many times that Jesus is the Christ. In fact, if you truly believed that you would be saved. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God:...” (1 John 5:1a). However, I want to make you stop and think about your belief.
We know that a man must believe in his heart, not his head. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;...” (Romans 10:10a). We also know that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give unto every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:9,10). You can say all you want that you truly believe in your heart. Your heart is a liar. God searches your heart. Could it be that even now as you read this the Spirit of God is searching your heart and is grieved with your unbelief.
You have searched out each of the other reasons for doubting and now you have come to this. Could it be that you are lost? In the law, Moses warned the people that the LORD would raise up another Prophet from among the Jews. They were commanded to believe him. (Deuteronomy 18:18,19). If you break that law in one point, you are guilty of all. (James 2:10).
Could it be that even though you have heard the word of faith many times, you are still judged by God to be in unbelief? If so, that would certainly explain why every time the Word of God begins to flow, and the Spirit of God begins to search hearts, your assurance of salvation falls apart. That’s the Spirit of God’s job. “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me.” (John 16:8,9)
My friend, if the Word of God is being preached, and you are sure that despite confessing your sins and saying the sinner’s prayer all over again, you are still under conviction, give glory to God. He has found you out. You sit in the midst of the assembly, maybe you even have some prominence in it, yet you have never repented. True repentance is never praying to make sure. A person looking for mercy from a judge never says, “if I am guilty, please, show me mercy.” Such a person need not look to that judge for any mercy. It will only anger the judge more that a guilty person who cannot even clearly state whether or not he needs mercy, asks for it. The thief on the cross was very clear about his guilt and the justice of his condemnation. He received what the crowd hanging around Jesus Christ, listening diligently to him speak, did not receive. He received that miracle of the personal revelation from Jesus Christ that he was forgiven, that he would be in his kingdom. He now knew in his heart that Jesus was the Christ.
My friend, when did God work that miracle of saving faith in you? When did the Spirit of God get the victory over your heart and personally convict you of sin? You say you’re still not sure? Why not quit sincerely praying the sinner’s prayer over and over again? Why not obey that tugging in your heart that clearly agrees with every verse in the Word of God? “Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling, calling, oh sinner, come home.” Even now God is grieved with your unbelief and every other dirty sin that burdens your conscience and his. It burdens his conscience because he loves you and your sins separate you from him. What would Jesus do if a person, as mixed up as you are, fell at his feet and told him what a hypocrite you’ve been, and how many times you quenched the conviction that you were lost? Why not fall at his feet and find out? God the Father sent the Comforter out to find you. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me: and him that cometh to me I shall in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37)
"SALVATION IS OF THE LORD"-JONAH 2:9
SALVATION IS OF THE LORD!
The Bible is very clear and easy to understand in plain English we are told that Christ died for the whole world! It is quite clear that Jesus Christ did not just die for the sins of his Elect but also for the sins of the whole world (including those individuals who are reprobate). I hold to a form of 4 Point Calvinism; I did not come to this conclusion by reading theological books but by reading the Bible. I read the other books after to see if anyone else came to the same conclusions. After years of studying the scriptures and then comparing them to what men commonly call Calvinism. I have found that the Calvinists are actually in line with scripture except on one point. The L in the TULIP acronym is downright error. I agree with all the points of Calvinism except for Limited Atonement and in this piece, I will be showing why I hold to the doctrine of eternal salvation being wholly by God's Grace apart from our own willpower, but I reject the false view of Christ atonement only being for his elect. To start off Jesus died for the whole world, but the whole world has not responded to God's Grace found in the atonement.
We know that Christ died for the whole world from the plain reading of the text of scripture.
2 Peter 3:9 that God is willing for all of mankind to come to repentance "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
John the Baptist warned with Gospel boldness in John 3:36 "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." So, most of mankind will not make it into Heaven in spite of God's perfect will for them.
The very words of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
1 Timothy 2:1-6 tells us to pray for all men in verse 1, even for political leaders and those in authority, because God wants all men to be saved and that Jesus Christ gave himself as a ransom for ALL MEN! Read it for yourself and get your theology from the Bible and not from mere systemized theologies of men.
"1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
The Bible is very clear about the truth, that God's salvation does not come by the works of our own will. No one gets saved simply because they want to be saved, God's spirit has to make them willing to be saved.
John 1:12-13 tells us those who have received Christ were not born of their own will. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
Romans 9:16 "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."
As Mr. George Whitefield one time said, "Man is nothing: he hath a free will to go to Hell but none to go to Heaven" Man cannot respond to God until God begins to work in him Faith and Repentance.
Man's free will is to serve sin, the Lord Jesus said in John 8:34 Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”
We know that a man lost in his sins apart from God is a child of the devil, but the Saviour Jesus Christ came to make us free from our sin. 1 John 3:8 "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
God's Law is like a mirror that shows man his sin, The Law shows man that he cannot keep it to be saved. Galatians 3:24 "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
Martin Luther preached this understanding in his book Bondage of the Will "the commandments are not given inappropriately or pointlessly; but in order that through them the proud, blind man may learn the plague of his impotence"
Jesus said in John 6:44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
Jesus commanded that in order to get into Heaven in John 3:3 "Ye must be born again"
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Galatians 2:16 tells us that we are saved not by doing the good works of the law but by Faith of Jesus Christ
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified."
Romans 3:22 is also very clear about the faith of Christ
"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference."
We are saved by the Faith of Christ which is a supernatural faith that comes from the heart!
Romans 10:10 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Does this mean salvation is by osmosis and that no one is responsible for themselves? Not at all, Man is responsible for what he does with Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit comes to convince men of their sin of unbelief
John 16:8-9 "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me;"
This miracle of salvation comes to those who are tired of their sin and unbelief and want the righteousness of Jesus Christ, once a man's sin of unbelief is revealed by the Holy Spirit, he is accountable to respond toward God's drawing.
Psalm 34:18 "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."
If a man calls upon Jesus Christ as a humble repentant sinner, God will save him. The man cannot save himself, but the man must come to a point where he knows that he needs to be saved and sees his hopeless and helpless condition without God. This hopeless state should lead to true repentance and faith on Jesus Christ! When a sinner realizes that he can do nothing of his own will to save himself this should draw him to Jesus Christ and cause him to respond in repentance that will lead to salvation and conversion! But it is not the man's will that saves him but God's will.
Psalm 145:18 "The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.”
Man is responsible for what he does with Jesus, and accountable before a Holy God! If a man reject's God's Will to save him and chooses to go his own way, then God cannot be blamed for that man's damnation. God does not send anyone to Hellfire, Men send themselves to Eternal Hell by rejecting Christ's payment for their sins.
The late Curtis Hutson once said, "No one will ever go to Hell who has put his trust in Jesus Christ, but many will end up in torment who have trusted their own righteousness and reformation." this is a powerful statement, since it describes many in the church today who have not truly and wholly placed all of their faith on the merits of Christ from their Heart. Many have not truly repented and agreed with God against themselves. Many people in churches trust in a faithless prayer or in a self-righteous decision for moral reformation. Such human works while well-meaning and even good at times are filthy rags in the sight of a Sovereign and thrice Holy God who is perfectly just and cannot tolerate sin. Man by his depraved own will cannot seek God, but man can by his own will agree with God's testimony against himself. Once a man agrees with God in evangelical repentance (the initial repentance needed before salvation) then his heart is ripe to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His Righteousness!
"19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."
In recent years, I have noticed a tendency in some Reformed circles for Calvinists to bristle at the very mention of Jesus dying for the sins of the world or at an evangelist’s call to choose Christ. Other Calvinists can’t stomach the song, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” After all, they might say, doesn’t this type of language mislead people into thinking they can decide for Christ apart from the Holy Spirit?
I recommend that Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike follow the example of John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon and others in not refraining from using biblical language when speaking of these matters.
Yes, people are dead in their sins. But the truth is… telling people to repent and believe, or to choose Christ and live, or to follow Jesus, not the world – these types of exhortations do not shoot an arrow through God’s sovereignty. The Bible itself speaks in these ways." (Why Calvin is More Biblical Than Some Calvinists)
The theology is important, but let it not just be a theology of the mind and of carnal intellectualism. Let us go forth with this gospel truth and put it into action. Let us go forth and shew unto the lost God's plan of salvation that God might draw all men unto himself as he said he would do in John 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."
Let those of us in the ranks of the redeemed go forth and heed the Gospel commission of Christ!
Mark 16:15-16 "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
The Teaching That One Can Lose Salvation is a Mixing of Law and Gospel
WHEN JESUS SAVES, HE ETERNALLY SAVES!
The Eternal Security of the Born-Again Believer
By Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995)
Nearly everywhere I go I find people troubled because they do not know that they are secure. They think that because of their sins, their negligence, their failing to endure to the end, or some other reason, they may lose their salvation.
Those who think they are saved now but could lose their salvation later have one of two problems: First, they are trusting to some degree in their works to save them; or second, they do not understand that by trusting Jesus Christ as Savior their destiny is in the hands of God.
Perhaps they have taken the word of someone whom they trust. Or they have not studied the Bible carefully and do not realize that God has determined that all who believe on Him have everlasting life and will go to Heaven when they die.
The first group, those who believe that leading a poor Christian life will result in the loss of their salvation, actually needs to have the plan of salvation made clear to them. Somehow they have not completely understood that Jesus Christ fully paid for all our sins when He died on the cross and that our conduct or good works have nothing to do with salvation.
Of course, we ought to live good; and God has ways of dealing with disobedient children. But we are saved by trusting Jesus Christ as Savior. John 3:36 says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. . . ." It is a clear-cut problem of "grace or works." Ephesians 2:8,9 makes it plain: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The second group needs to study carefully what the Bible says about the security of the believer. With that in mind, let me share with you several thoughts.
1. GOD PROMISED AND GOD PRODUCED ETERNAL LIFE
John 3:14-16 says:
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. "
Again, in Titus 1, verse 2, we read: "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." First John 2:25 says, "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life."
Now when God promises something, He is bound by His honor to produce. If He did not produce what He promised, He would sacrifice His honor and integrity. But what God promised He produced.
The Bible says in I John 5:10,11:
"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. he that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this is in his Son. "
John 10:27-29 says:
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. "
And we read in Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." God promised and God produced eternal life for the believer.
II. THE BELIEVER HAS EXACTLY WHAT GOD PROMISED AND PRODUCED
Many Scriptures make it unmistakably plain that the man who is trusting Jesus Christ as Savior has eternal life. John 5:24 says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life. . . ." Notice the Bible does not say, "He that believes on the Son will have. . . ." It says, "hath." That is present tense. That means the man who is trusting Jesus Christ completely for salvation has everlasting life now. It is not something that God promised him, provided he meets certain additional conditions. It is something he has the moment he believes on Christ.
But notice that Jesus goes a little further than saying we have everlasting life. He makes it doubly sure in John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
In addition to saying that the believer has everlasting life the moment he believes, Jesus adds the promise that he shall not come into condemnation; that is, the sentence of sin will never be put on the believer again.
The condemned criminal is the man who has been arrested, tried and had sentence passed upon him. He is under the sentence. He is condemned. The sentence for sin is death. Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death. . . ." That death is described in the Bible as the second death, the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14: "Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
But now Jesus says the man who believes on Christ not only has had the sentence lifted, he is not condemned; but He further promises that "he shall not come into condemnation. . . ." The sentence of sin will never again be placed on the believer.
He goes even further in John 5:24 and says, ". . . but is passed from death unto life." Not that he is going to pass from death to life. The man who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ has already passed from death unto life. John 3:36 says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Here again you have the word "hath." This is present tense. The man who believes on the Son has everlasting life now. Everlasting life is not something God promises in the future, but it is the present possession of every believer.
Now the words "everlasting" and "eternal" do not mean a short duration. They do not mean life for a day, a week, a month, a year, nor even a hundred years. But they mean life for all time and all eternity.
The word "everlasting" in John 5:24 and John 3:36 which describes the life of the believer is the same word "everlasting" in Romans 16:26 that describes the duration of God, ". . according to the commandment of the everlasting God." If God Himself is everlasting, then the life of the believer is everlasting.
More than forty-five times the terms "eternal life" and "everlasting life" are used in the Bible. If the believer has anything, he has everlasting life; for that is precisely what God promised and God produced.
III. GOD NOT ONLY GIVES ETERNAL LIFE, BUT PROMISES THAT THE BELIEVER WILL NEVER PERISH
John 10:28 says, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
When you look up the word "never" which occurs in John 10:28 in the Strong's Concordance, on page 715, you find that it comes from four different Greek words, which spelled in English letters are OUME, EIS, HO, and AION. Looking up each of these words in turn in the Strong's Concordance you find that OUME (#3364) means, "not at all, by no means, in no case, never." EIS (#1519) means, 44place, time, purpose." HO Q3588) means "male, female, or (even) neuter." AION Q165) means,
"perpetually, eternally."
Put the meanings of all these root words together; and you find that when Christ said "never" here in this verse, it carries with it very powerful assurance-more than one word "never" ordinarily carries with it in our minds.
Looking at John 10:28 with this additional light we could write it this way and give it the emphasis Christ did when He spoke it: "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall NOT AT ALL, BY ANY MEANS, IN ANY CASE, IN ANY PLACE, AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY PURPOSE, WHETHER THEY ARE MALE OR FEMALE, PERPETUALLY AND ETERNALLY, ever perish. . . ."
IV. BELIEVERS ARE KEPT BY GOD, THEY DO NOT KEEP THEMSELVES
The Bible makes it plain again and again that the believer is kept by God. If we had to keep ourselves, I would admit that we could be lost again and probably would be. In one of Spurgeon's sermons he said, "If it should ever come to pass that sheep of God could fall away, alas my fickle, feeble soul would fall ten thousand times a day."
No, we cannot keep ourselves. Thank God, we are kept by God Himself! In H Timothy 1:12 Paul said, "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Here the apostle says, "I am persuaded [that is, I am thoroughly convinced] that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him."
It is my business to trust Jesus Christ as Savior. It is His business to keep me. First Peter 1:3-5 says:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
In these verses we are told that the inheritance is reserved for us and we are reserved or kept for the inheritance. The Bible says, "To an inheritance incorruptible. . . ." That means that it will not corrupt, will not decay. It will last. It will be there when we get there. Peter continues, "To an in heritance incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not away. . . "
There have been occasions on earth when men have received a great inheritance; but when the lawyers, the courts and the state were finished, the majority of the inheritance had faded away. But here the Bible says our inheritance "fadeth not away." Then he continues: ". . reserved in heaven for you." It is reserved. No one can take it. It is yours if you have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior.
But not only is the inheritance reserved in Heaven for you; but the Bible says, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation . . . ." The word "salvation" here denotes our final redemption, when we are saved from the very presence of sin, that is, when Jesus Christ comes for us and we see Him and are made exactly like Him.
No, the believer does not and could not keep himself. He is kept by God. John 10:28 says, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." The believer is in the hand of God. And the Bible says that no man can pluck him out.
Several years ago I was discussing eternal security with another preacher. In the course of the conversation I read John 10:28, ". . neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
The preacher interrupted and said, "Yes. But the Bible does not say that we cannot get out of His hand."
I responded, "You do not build doctrine on what the Bible doesn't say. Rather, you build it on what the Bible does say." I continued, "The Bible says, 'neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.' You are a man, aren't you?"
"Why, yes," he said.
"In that case, you could not pluck yourself out of His hand either because the Bible says 'any man.' 1)
John 6:39 says, "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." It is God's will that no saved person will ever be lost. He says He will "lose nothing." And since we are at least something, this means that we can never be lost again.
Colossians 3:3 says, "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." According to this verse, the believer is under double lock and key.
I heard an old preacher illustrate this verse by saying, "Suppose you had three barrels-a big barrel, a medium-sized barrel and a little barrel. You take the little barrel, and put it into the medium sized barrel, then put the medium-sized barrel into the big barrel. Then in order to get to the little barrel you would have to tear open the big barrel and the medium-sized barrel." He continued by saying, "God is the big barrel. Jesus is the medium-sized barrel, and I'm the little barrel. My life is hid with Christ in God." And he shouted, "Before the Devil could get to me, he would have to tear away the big barrel and the medium-sized barrel. And before he could ever do that, I would have already slipped away to Glory!"
V. JESUS IS THE SAVIOR
He is referred to as "Savior" at least twenty four times in the New Testament. Titus 2:13 says, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ."
Now what is a Savior? Suppose you are drowning. There you are in the middle of the ocean. Suppose someone threw you a book entitled Three Easy Lessons on How to Swim. Would he be a Savior? No. Perhaps you could call him an educator, but you could not call him a Savior.
Suppose another man came by, got out of his boat, jumped in alongside you and demonstrated various swimming strokes, showing you exactly how to swim. Would he be a Savior? Of course not. He might be a good example, and give a good demonstration, but he is not a Savior.
What if he lifted you into his boat, dried you off, gave you dry clothing, fed you, took you within ten miles of the shore, and then threw you out again into the ocean? Would he be a Savior? Absolutely not!
A Savior is one who takes you safely all the way to the shore. When God says He gives you eternal life and He will never cast you out or lose you, He means it, because He is a true Savior.
If you do not trust Christ as your Savior, if you do not put your case in His hands and fully depend on Him to get you to Heaven, then you will not go. John 3:36 says, "And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." On the other hand, if you do trust Christ as your Savior, Him only and nothing else, then you will go to Heaven, because He is a Savior.
He is not one who teaches you how to save yourself; He is the one who saves you. Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
There is not a verse in the Bible that teaches that God places the believer in a position to be saved provided he does other things. No. No. The Bible says He saves the believer. Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Eternal security is not a totally separate doctrine from salvation. If you are not saved forever, then you are not saved at all.
VI. JESUS DEED FOR ALL OUR SINS
Many of those who believe that you can lose your salvation think that you lose it for some sin you commit after you are saved.
Several years ago I had an experience that I don't believe I shall ever forget. It was Thursday night, and I was out soul winning. I had been asked to make a visit at a certain address.
When I knocked on the door, I was greeted by a friendly gentleman in a business suit. When T went inside, I saw that there were four other men present.
I had been there only a few minutes when one of
the men said: "Oh, you Baptists! You believe once saved, always saved. You are wrong about that." I knew then that the men were preachers and that I had been invited to the home simply to argue eternal security.
I said, "Now, men, I do not use the expression 'once saved, always saved.' But I do believe in the eternal security of the born-again believer, that is, the man who has trusted Jesus Christ as Savior is secure. He can never lose his salvation."
"Oh," they argued, "yes he could." I quoted a number of verses, and they quoted verses back to me.
After sometime I asked, "Well, if a man could be lost after he is saved, what would he have to do to be lost?"
Immediately one of them responded, "Get out into sin." And the others agreed.
I said, "All right. You are saying that if a man goes back into sin after he is saved, then he is lost."
"Yes. That is right," was their quick reply.
"All right. Answer several questions for me. First, you did invite me here tonight to argue about eternal security, didn't you?"
"Yes. That's right."
"You knew that Thursday night is the night I always go soul winning, didn't you?"
"Yes, we did."
"Don't you think it would be a good thing if you had let me go soul winning tonight instead of inviting me here for the sake of arguing about eternal security?" They agreed it would. I continued, "You men are preachers. Don't you think it would have been good if you had gone soul winning instead of setting up this meeting with me?" They agreed it would have been good.
I opened my Bible to James 4:17 and read, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is _. " And I asked them to read the last word. They stuttered a moment and quoted other verses. I said, "No. No. I want you to tell me what James 4:17 says, 'To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is-' What?" Finally one of them said, "Sin."
"Then according to this verse, you are sinning right now. Because you know it would have been good if you had gone soul winning and if you had allowed me to go ahead with my soul-winning visits tonight. According to this verse you are all sinning; and according to your teaching, you are all lost."
"Oh, no," they said, "No."
"But you have admitted that you are sinning."
"Oh, we know it. But," said one of them, "we have not sinned enough yet."
I smiled and said, "Take this Bible and show me where it teaches how much sin you have to commit to be lost." Of course they could not find such a verse.
The truth of the matter is, Jesus Christ died for all our sins. First Peter 2:24 says, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. . . ." Isaiah 53:6 says, "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." And H Corinthians 5:21 says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
Every sin that I have ever committed or ever will commit was laid on Jesus two thousand years ago, and He died on the cross to pay my sin debt and to suffer for my sins.
I told a lady that once, and she said, "I can understand how He died for my past sins, but I cannot understand how He died for my future sins that I have not even committed yet."
I smiled and said, "Lady, when Jesus Christ died, all your sins were future. You were not even born yet."
"I guess you are right," she said.
I said, "I know I am right, unless you are a very old lady."
She laughed and said, "Well, I am not that old."
God Almighty dealt with me as a sinner two thousand years ago when He poured His wrath out on Jesus Christ, as Jesus bore my sins in His own body on the tree.
After you trust Jesus Christ as Savior, God will never again deal with you as a sinner. All His dealing from that point on will be as with a son.
VII. GOD CHASTISES THE BELIEVER WHO SINS
"For whom the Lord loveth he chnsteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Notice in these verses the words "son" and "sons." Notice the expression, "God dealeth with you as with sons."
From the moment you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, God will never again deal with you as a sinner. From that moment on He will deal with you as a son. And the Bible plainly says, "He chasteneth every son whom he receiveth." If the believer sins after he is saved, God will chastise him.
Sometimes this chastening takes the form of sickness or even death, as in the case of I Corinthians 11:30: "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."
Not all sickness is chastening. But in many cases it is. God's chastening takes various forms which I will not have space to discuss in this article. But I want to make this point: Chastisement is never payment for sin. Chastisement is child-training. God may chastise you. But Jesus Christ paid for your sins at Calvary two thousand years ago.
Let me give you an illustration.
Suppose I say to my son, Now, Son, don't play ball in the front yard. You may break the big window in the front of the house."
While I am away in a revival meeting, my son disobeys me, plays ball in the front yard and breaks the window. When I get home I ask, "Son, did you break that window?"
"Yes, Dad, I did."
"All right. Did I tell you I would spank you if you broke it?"
"Yes, Sir, you did."
"Then I will have to do what I told you. Now you come with me."
I take my son into the back room and give him a good spanking. Does the spanking pay for the window? Absolutely not. I don't care how much I spank the boy, it will never pay for the window. When I finish chastising him, I will have to reach into my pocket, take out the money, and pay the man to replace the window. I chastised my boy, but I paid for the window.
If the believer sins after he is saved, God will chastise him. But the chastisement is not payment for sin. Jesus Christ paid for our sins two thousand years ago when He died on the cross.
There is no end to hypothetical questions. I've been asked over and over again, "But what if…?" What if…?" A man asked me one day, "What if a man gets out into open, known sin, and then on the way home runs his car into a telephone pole and is killed before he has time to confess his sin and get right with God? Do you mean to tell me that man is saved? I said, "Yes, if he had trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior, he is saved. He may have gone to Heaven with a red face, but he was saved." I must say what the Bible says, "He that believeth on the Son hat everlasting life."
The man continued, "But he didn't have time to get right with God, and God didn't have time to chastise him." I said, "What do you mean, 'God didn't have time to chastise him'? He killed him!"
First Corinthians 5:5 says, "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." The premature death of a believer is the ultimate in Christian chastisement.
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