The Invitation of Assurance Part 2

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I would like for us to continue, I'd like to finish off this message from this one great verse.
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I titled this the Invitation of Assurance. But not only is there assurance here, there's perseverance.
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There's perseverance. When it comes to the doctrine of election, the doctrine of perseverance, and all those wonderful doctrines in Scripture, John Calvin was not the one that invented that.
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The great reformer actually went to the Word of God. Jesus Christ, the
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Lord, the head of the church is the one that owns those doctrines. So please turn with me to the
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Gospel of John, chapter 6, this Lord's Day morning, and we will focus all of our attention on this one verse of Scripture.
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I may include other verses in the end of the application, but I'd like to focus our attention to verse 37 of chapter 6 of this fourth
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Gospel. The words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hear the word of Jesus our
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Lord. Verse 37, I'm just going to read this verse for the sake of time.
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All that the Father gives me, Jesus says, will come to me.
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And the one who comes to me, I will by no means cast out.
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Please bow with me as we seek our Lord's face in this time of worship as we hear
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His word. Our Father in heaven, we are so grateful to allow us this day, this
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Lord's Day morning, as we focus our attention upon you and you alone. Help us,
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Lord, to remove any distractions from our minds and totally and completely focus on your loveliness and your greatness and your glory.
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We thank you, Lord, that your great love and mercy and grace in that you have given your
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Son, your one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be the atonement for our sins and that we are so grateful for Him.
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And all who comes to the Lord Jesus by faith alone will never be cast out.
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Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Father, for this free gift, the unspeakable gift, as Paul said, of your grace to us and those who believe, those who will believe, those that have been elected before the foundation of the world will come to you and becomes a love gift to your
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Son from you, Lord. And it's all for the praise of the glory of your grace. Now, Lord, I pray during this hour, as we hear your word, you will sanctify us through and through that,
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Lord, we will be obedient to the faith that was once delivered to the saints. For your honor and glory,
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I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Jesus uttered some very powerful, solemn words here in verse 37.
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Actually, verse 44 is a good connection to verse 37. Jesus, once again, says, no one can come to me unless the
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Father who sent me draws him, which emphasizes man's utter helplessness and man's utter inability to even respond to him apart from the sovereign work of God.
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No one can come to the Father unless he draws him. No one can come to Christ unless the
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Father draws him. So, um, unbelievers, as we know this so well, as we have, as we look in the past, when we were unsaved, we were dead in trespasses and our sins, we were dead, but life has come.
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Unbelievers are unable to come to Jesus on their own willpower. It's not by willpower or even their own initiative, our own initiative, but it's the initiative of God.
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It is the willpower of God that brings people into salvation to know
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God. And this really is the message which verse 37 emphasizes.
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Jesus says, all that the Father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me,
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I will by no means cast out. And another translation says, I will certainly not cast out.
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Jesus makes that very clear. Pastor John MacArthur says this from God's view, we are given by his sovereign power to the son.
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From our view, we come to Christ. And of course, our Lord would never reject one who comes as a love gift from the
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Father, end quote. So therefore, we see Jesus added,
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I will certainly not cast out that one. That is in the original.
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This is a very strong double negative here in that text in verse 37, that Jesus Christ would not reject anyone who comes to him in humble submission.
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True saving faith, genuine faith, which really is a gift from God, according to Ephesians 2, verse 8, by grace through faith you are saved, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
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No one can even exercise that faith unless the
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Spirit of God empowers it. We just sung about it and I know whom I have believed. I know not how all this happens, but God does it.
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God makes it happen. What a glorious mystery that comes to pass, that we even are saved by the grace of God.
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Glorious, isn't it? That we can sit here and contemplate today and worship our Lord and say, you have brought me into the fold and was saved by the grace of God, because he's loved us with an everlasting love.
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But only at the prompting and the drawing of the Father, according to verse 44. And in this one great verse, in verse 37, from our
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Lord, we see the interplay here between divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
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As we looked at, Spurgeon says it's like a railroad track going straight and they do not collide, they go parallel to one another and it gets to its final destination.
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And only those that the Son, are given to the Son, I should say, by the Father will come to Him, that they will believe, they will come to Christ.
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They will come. There's no might or maybe to it, they will come. Because it is divine election.
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Some said, pervenient grace, you hear that, but it's more than just pervenient grace, even though grace has a great deal to do with it, because it's
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God's divine favor. But God has made this choice from eternity past in His great love and grace.
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So it's through the divine sovereignty, that means that God is absolutely in control and not human responsibility that brings us in first, but the latter part of this verse deals with the human responsibility of that.
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It seems impossible to reconcile this, but there is absolutely no conflict between those two truths in the infinite mind of God.
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It becomes a conflict in our minds, but it's not. Right here is fitting verse,
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I think about as I was studying this, I could not help but think about that wonderful verse in the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy 29, 29.
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It had a great verse. It's a good verse, it fits right here. The secret things belong to the
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Lord our God. Aren't you glad? The secret things belong to the
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Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do the words, all the words of this law.
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Notice the obedience that's attached to the end of that verse, but the first of it, the secret things belong to the
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Lord God. It is not for us to know the secret things, it belongs to God and God alone. I'm so thankful for that.
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But God does reveal some things to us and it's revealed to us from Genesis, the
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Revelation, and the 66 books of this wonderful word. Inspired, inerrant, and sufficient.
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So thankful for that and I know you are as well. This should bring us to a place of just not saying, okay, this is all great information, this is great theology, and it is, but it brings us to a place of just not theology, but of doxology, that we worship the
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Lord, that He is reigning, He is sovereign, He is in control. I love that wonderful hymn,
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This is My Father's World. It helps me rest and see that God is in control and He reigns forever and ever and nothing is going to thwart
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God's decrees. Nothing. And when Jesus said, I will build my church, that means
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Jesus will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And aren't you glad He's building
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His church? We have a part to cooperate in that. He brings us into the fold by His grace and regenerates us and now we're on the road and now we're working on our sanctification by the
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Spirit of God, all together like building and cooperating stone by stone as they did and rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and the book of Nehemiah.
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Everybody had to come together and work together and there was a plan and there was order and that's the way
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God has designed it. He is the chief architect. We're just there to be servants, here to be servants.
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Well, God has accomplished marvelous works and He's accomplished through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. And Paul even says this in Romans 11 .36.
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I love this wonderful verse after He speaks of all of this great sovereign theology.
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He comes to a place for of Him and through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever.
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Amen. A .W. Pink put it this way in his classic book,
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The Sovereignty of God, a great book. Our business,
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Pink says, is not to reason about it but to bow to Holy Scripture. Our first duty is not to understand but to believe what
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God has said. Amen. That is the truth. He's just basically saying what
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Scripture says. If Scripture says it, that means we should believe it, even if we don't understand everything in it.
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Matter of fact, the more I read the Bible, the more I say, I don't understand. And the more it humbles me and I go to God and I say, oh
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God, I just want to submit to You, even though I don't understand everything, but I want to submit and do
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Your will. Lord, help us all. Well, in this wonderful invitation of assurance, we see in verse 37a and we looked at it last
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Lord's Day, the Savior's gift, all that the Father gives me. And here we see the security of salvation resting in the sovereignty of God, for salvation is of the
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Lord and for Himself. And actually, what is the guarantee?
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Or should I say, who is the guarantee of all He has chosen to come to Him? He Himself.
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I like what R .C. Sproul says, actually, when God saves us,
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God saves us from Himself. You think of that.
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In His loving grace and mercy, He saves us from His wrath.
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And it's through Jesus Christ. So actually, God is the Savior, but He is saving us to the uttermost through Jesus Christ.
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Christ is the only way we can be saved, but He saves us from the wrath to come.
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Aren't you glad you're saved from the wrath to come? God has made salvation not only possible, but He's made it certain.
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Praise His name. So the first part of verse 37 tells us about the Father's gift to the
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Son. Those who God has chosen by the Father are God's elect.
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They are the love gift. It makes me think it's the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 53.
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Isaiah 53, if you study that great, great verse, it speaks of the suffering servant, the
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Lord Jesus Christ, thousands of years before He even became flesh and came to this earth. And it's such intricate detail about the cross, about sufferings of Jesus Christ.
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And yet, at the end of it, it speaks about what He would inherit as the suffering servant.
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Notice what it says, our suffering servant, our Savior accomplished on the cross. And it says it in verse 10 and 11, yet it pleased the
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Lord to bruise Him. Another translation means to crush Him. He has put
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Him to grief. When you make His soul a offering for sin, and notice what it says,
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He shall see His seed. He shall prolong
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His days. That's the resurrection. And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
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Verse 11, again, He says, and He shall see the labor of His soul.
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He shall see it. He shall be satisfied by His knowledge.
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And My righteous servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.
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He's speaking about those that come to God, that come to Jesus Christ.
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He shall see His seed. He shall see the labor of His soul.
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It's a reward. The Father gives the gift to Jesus. It's a love gift.
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He shall see His seed. He shall see the labor of His soul. Don't you love that? All that the Father gives
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Me, Jesus says, will come to Me. And He that comes to Me, I will no wise cast out. Now, that's the divine.
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The first part of that is the divine side of salvation. The sovereign God, by God's free will.
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We don't hear much about God's free will. Everybody wants to argue about man's free will. Really, His will is not free.
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Only God is truly free. That means that only God is truly independent to do whatever pleases
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Him. And whatever He does, it does please Him. He's ordained all that to come to pass and will come to pass, because He's God and He causes it to happen and He makes it to happen.
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Verse 37b, this is more of the side of the human responsibility.
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Let's focus our attention on that today. And the one who comes to Me, Jesus says, I will by no means cast out.
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What a wonderful text. Now, here we see the Savior's grace. The Savior's grace.
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The extent of His grace is found here in the words, Him that comes to Me.
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That's the extent of His grace. And the one who comes to Me, I will no wise cast out.
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This is the call of God. Makes me think of Revelation 22, 17.
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The spirit and the bride say, Come. There's the invitation. God says, Come.
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And let the one who hears, must hear the word, Come. He obeys the call.
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And let the one who is thirsty, Come. There's the word, Come. It's a revealed word of invitation.
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Let the one who wishes to take the water of life without cost. He says,
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Come. Jesus says, Come unto Me, all you laboring, heavy laden. I will give you rest.
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Isaiah 55, 1. Another invitation is given through the prophet.
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Ho, everyone who thirst, come to the waters.
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Come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy and eat.
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Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ has paid for it all.
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The servant who is Jesus Christ in His redemptive work and His kingdom are and for the benefit of all who are willing to come.
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And by the way, He makes us willing. You talk about will.
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He's the one that causes us. He makes us willing. And people think, Yeah, but we're robots.
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No, no. He's not coming against our will. He makes us willing. He does a work of grace.
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And you take away that, you don't have grace. Verse 6 says,
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Seek the Lord. In that same chapter, there's the human side. The invitation is given.
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Come to the waters. You that are thirsty, come to the waters. You that have no money, come, buy, eat, come.
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God has purchased this through His Son. The great cost of salvation has been paid for and full by the blood of Jesus Christ.
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And He is atoned for once and for all. He paid for it. He said it is finished. But here in verse 6,
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Seek the Lord while He may be found. What an admonition. What a command.
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Seek the Lord. We need to tell people this, folks. When we tell people to come to Christ, seek the
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Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Because there's coming a day that it's going to all end.
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And it's going to be very soon. There should be an urgency within us to tell people about Jesus Christ.
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And then He says, Okay, you seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.
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Verse 7 talks about repentance. Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to the
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Lord and He will have compassion on him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.
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Isn't that wonderful? The wicked man can turn and God will abundantly have compassion and pardon him and forgive him.
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That is if he comes, meaning business with God, and turn from his sinful wicked ways.
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That's the order. That's why Jesus says, Repent and believe the gospel. Repent and believe the gospel.
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Beloved, seeking the Lord is a crucial part. But repentance goes right alongside of seeking the
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Lord. You see, seeking the Lord is first. Then it's like there comes a place of confession. And then there comes a place of forsaken.
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It reminds me of Proverbs 28, 13. Has the same exact order. He who conceals or covers his transgressions will not prosper.
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And we talked about this in Sunday school today, but there's the door hinge. He who confesses and forsakes them will find mercy, will find compassion.
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That's the order. 1 John 1, 6 and 9. The apostle
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John puts it this way. If we notice how many times he says we, he's including himself here.
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He just doesn't say you or he is speaking to the church and he's just not saying me, but he says we, it's plural.
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There's a plurality. If we say that we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
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But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus.
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His son cleanses us from all sin, not some of it, all sin. And if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
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And the key is verse nine here. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to cleanse us.
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Don't you desire that cleansing, that forgiveness? Every day of my life, I say, Lord, search me, know my heart.
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Lord, reveal something in me that if I do not, do not know it, show it to me through your word.
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Put the spotlight on me, put the light on me and let me see this and cry out like David cried out in Psalm 51 too.
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Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, my sin.
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Let me own to it. Verse seven, purify me with hyssop and I shall be clean.
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Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. We just had snow not long ago.
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You notice how white it is? But it also reminds us, he says here, it's whiter than snow.
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God's cleansing agent through the blood of Jesus Christ applied by faith is something real.
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It's the only thing, the only remedy that can cleanse us from our sin is the blood of Jesus Christ.
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David mentions hyssop here. It's interesting, isn't it? Hyssop. What is hyssop? Well, in the
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Old Testament, there was priests that used hyssop, which was a leafy plant to sprinkle blood or water on a person being ceremonially cleansed from defilements such as touching a dead body or leprosy, which leprosy is a type of sin.
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It desensitizes the nerves. It hardens the nerves, the nervous system where you see people that actually taking off their noses and ears and there's no fingertips and it's not because there's a nerve damage.
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That's what sin does. It desensitizes and it affects the nervous system.
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That's what a type of leprosy is. But hyssop was used to apply the cleansing agent of these defilements, touching a dead body.
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And here's a figure for David's longing for him to be spiritually cleansed from his sin and his moral defilement in which he sinned.
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He committed murder. He paid the consequences of these sins. God forgave him, but there was consequences that followed that.
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But God put the rod to him because he loved him. And that's why David cried out many times.
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He says it was good that the Lord afflicted me. It made him see who he really was.
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That affliction brought him, humbled him to submit to God.
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And David here is longing for a spiritual cleansing forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
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It washes our sins away. Aren't you glad?
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You know, down deep in your heart, our heart, especially being redeemed, now we see our sin more than ever.
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And actually, the closer we draw to God, the more we do see our sin. And we should. But God helps us to deal with it.
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And he wants us to have a clear conscience. And we should deal with it. And aren't you glad that he does not hold anything back?
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He tells us the truth. And all this truth is because he loves us so. Makes me think about this wonderful hymn.
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What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
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Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.
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No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace.
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Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
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We believe at Redeeming Grace Church that Jesus' blood cleanses whiter than snow.
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And there's no other remedy that can do this. And that's why we believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that it is everything.
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It's the only remedy. It's the only hope that this lost world has. And we believe it here.
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Oh, the extent of God's grace through the person and works of Jesus Christ. Well, if you notice that verse 39 and 40, we jump down to that.
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This is the will of the Father who sent me that all he has given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day.
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And this is the will of him who sent me that everyone who sees the Son believes in him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day.
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Now we're going to look at these verses. We see the sovereign grace, the extent of God's grace. Now we see the energy of his grace, the effective power of his grace.
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Jesus says those who comes to him by no means cast out.
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Back to verse 37. Jesus our
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Lord and Savior promises all those who hear God's call will come to him.
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I believe that's the effectual call. There's a general call. There's an effective call. But those whom he has chosen will come to him.
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Effectual. That means it's effective. Comes to him. He will not turn away.
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The words cast out have the idea of driving someone away. And you, and pardon me to say this, but brother
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Ben's been speaking a whole series about holy violence, but these are violent words.
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He will by no means cast out. He will by no means drive away.
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He promises to do what he says is if you come to him, he will bring you in.
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A lost sinner need never to despair or fear coming to Jesus for he will not drive them away.
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He promises to do exactly what he says, no matter where the path that may have taken.
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And you know this by your experiences in the, in your past, and you were probably homeless and like the prodigal, wasteful and down and out to the,
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I know I had times I was at the bottom of the barrel and I knew that no one knew my pain, but only
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God. And really, and then I looked up at one night,
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I remember in my own personal experience, I looked up in the darkness of the sky and I can, it was a cold night and I could see the stars clearly.
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You're usually it's during the cold night. And I thought about what I heard about father
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Abraham and the stars and the everlasting covenant that God gave to Abraham and look at the stars.
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Can you count them? And I thought about that and I said, Lord, and I remember the scripture that I believe it was even in Job and the
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Psalmist mentions that God knows the stars by name. And I said,
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Lord, if you know those stars by name, surely, you know my name. And he does. And he knows your name and he cares.
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He's the one that cares for us the most that he's the creator. He created us. I can't imagine how
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God is grieved to see a lost humanity that shakes their fist and abuses his name and blasphemes his name, but yet he still loves them and gives the sunshine another day and gives them another breath.
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And even with that breath, they curse him. But God is so gracious. He's so patient.
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Oh, the energy of God's grace, the extent of God's grace here, the energy grace that is greater than all our sin is to him says now we've seen the extent of God's saving grace, seeing the savior's gift.
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We've seen the savior's grace. Now here from verse 38 to 40, we see the savior's guarantee.
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He guarantees salvation, doesn't he? There's a guarantee here. First, we've seen in verse 37, all that the father gives
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Jesus, the son will come to Jesus and him who comes to Jesus, he will by no means cast out.
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That is the assurance to the repenting, believing center that submits to God. And the rest of the verse from verse 39 to 40, we need to see the full assurance of the saints to God perseverance.
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We now, we see the assurance here, the perseverance. And first of all, in verse 39, we see there's a confirmation by his plans.
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It's confirmed by his plan, confirmed by his plan. This is the will of the father who sent me that all he has given should.
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And he says, I, that comes to me, I should lose nothing. Underscore that word, nothing.
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All of God's people will persevere. They will come. They will believe they will persevere to the end.
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Jesus says he that endures to the end shall be saved.
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There's endurance to the end patience to the end endurance. Paul put it like there is a race before us.
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We endure it. We are patient. We set the pace and we run with all the energy and strive with all the energy.
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And we press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. It's worth it because he's worth it.
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And right there in that text that Jesus says, I shall lose nothing.
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The word lose has a reference to being eternally lost and separated in hell forever.
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When Jesus saves beloved, he saves to the uttermost. Think about that.
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The uttermost Hebrews 7 .25 says it. Therefore he speaking of Jesus Christ is also able to save.
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Aren't you glad he's able? He has the power. He says, all authority is given unto me in heaven and earth.
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He has the power to save to the uttermost. He's willing to save those who come to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them.
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Aren't you glad he makes intercession? He's at the right hand of the father.
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And I know when I stumble and I fall and I sin against my Lord and I displease him, he makes intercession that I may be repented and restored back to him.
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Ephesians 2 .8, for by grace you've been saved through faith that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God.
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It's God's grace, even faith, not of works lest anyone should boast.
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Romans 3 .27, Paul says, where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law?
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Of works? No, God forbid, but by the law of faith, faith, our trust in God.
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We heard it in the Sunday school today, right? And as Sinclair Ferguson was talking about, it's the trust of our heavenly father that we place our confidence in.
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Only faith alone in the person and works of Jesus Christ can save a sin sick soul. So there's the confirmation of his plan.
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Next there is a confirmation by his promise.
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The plan, then the promise. What's the promise? Look at verse 40b of chapter six, that everyone who sees the son,
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I think it's as interesting, he first has to see the son by the eyes of faith, looking unto
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Jesus, right? There's a look, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
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And then he says, as you look, you believe and believes in him may have everlasting life.
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And I will raise him up at the last day. That's the promise of the resurrection to come that when we do our bodies are put in the grave, our soul lives with God forever.
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But there is a time in the future that God, Jesus through Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and life will raise up everyone that's in the grave.
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The righteous and the unrighteous. And then there's going to be the judgment for everything that we have done in the body.
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And we're going to be judged according to our obedience or our disobedience. And the motives will be tested on that day.
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That's very convicting, but it's something that's true. Eternal life.
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Some has called it eternal security. I believe it's the biblical terminology is eternal life.
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Jesus used Spurgeon said this, Christ does not give me a temporary salvation, but eternal life, which can never be lost.
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Listen to the scriptures and let scripture speaks first Peter one five, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
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John five 24, Jesus himself says most assuredly or verily, verily, I say unto you most assuredly,
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I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment.
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He's talking about condemnation there, but has passed from death to into life.
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There is a translation. That's what Paul says. You have been translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his dear son.
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A great work has been done in your heart and my heart to those who have believes the gospel and believes in Jesus Christ conformed, transformed, then conformed.
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There's a confirmation of the father's plan. There's a confirmation by the son's promise. There's a confirmation by the spirit's performance that it's as said, the father planned salvation, the son accomplished salvation and the spirit of God applied salvation.
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That's so true because it's a Trinitarian work. That's why we go through the scriptures.
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We believe in the Trinity to try you and God. And Jesus said it to a religious man.
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And I believe this is a very important. We've already made tracks through this, but I believe it bears repeating again.
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And as Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, he basically said, you must be born again. And in verse five, chapter three,
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Jesus answered most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of the water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
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That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel.
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That means don't be surprised that I say to you, you must be born again. You must be born from above. You must have a new birth.
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Nicodemus dump all your religion, come to God and believe in Christ and believe in who he is.
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And Jesus basically goes to that later on, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up.
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But he speaks about the marvel of the new birth through the spirit of God in verse eight, the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.
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So is everyone who is born of the spirit. It's a marvel that even happens.
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Now I'd like to get to application right here because really this is the most important part of the content that Jesus is speaking to us from John six on this marvelous verse and verse 37, all that the father gives me will come to me.
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And the one who comes to me, I will by no means cast out. Scripture does call us to evaluate our own hearts.
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And we must do this. I said, Paul says this constantly, especially before partaking of the Lord's supper, judge yourselves least you be judged.
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So we must know how to judge and examine our own selves. As David said, he constantly calls himself before the bar of God to search him, search my own heart.
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And Paul says this in second Corinthians 13, five, he says this test yourselves to see if you are in the faith, examine yourselves and listen to what he says.
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Or do you not recognize that this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you failed the test verse six, but I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.
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That's an interesting verse, isn't it? Because Paul's apostleship was really being tested in a sense.
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And they were, there was false apostles that were calling him a false apostle. So Paul and, and, and, and such a wisdom, he defends his own apostleship here.
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I like what MacArthur says. He says this in his, in study notes, the
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Greek grammar places great emphasis on the pronouns ourselves and you notice that.
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And he goes on to say this, this is MacArthur, Paul turned the tables on his accusers.
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Instead of presuming to evaluate his apostleship, they needed to test the genuineness of their faith.
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He turned the tables on them in such a beautiful, wise way.
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And he goes on to say this, he pointed out the incongruity of the Corinthian believing,
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Corinthians believing as they did, that their faith was genuine and his apostleship was false.
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Paul was their spiritual father in first Corinthians 4, 15. If his apostleship was counterfeit, then so was their faith.
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So the genuineness MacArthur says of the salvation of their salvation was proof of the genuineness of his apostleship.
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End of quote. So Paul says what's important here, test yourselves. That's the word of God, folks.
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That's not this pastor. We must all test ourselves. Do you have genuine faith today?
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See if you are in the faith, test yourselves. And then he says, examine yourselves.
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First, he says, test yourself, then examine yourselves. How do we do that?
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Excuse me, by scripture, by scripture. I don't know, but I've seen this so much.
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So many people wants to have a standard of their own and test others or have someone else as a standard and compare their sins against other sins and so that they feel a little better here and there.
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But we all to test ourselves, judge ourselves to the scriptures, to who
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Jesus is, who God is, because he is the standard. I think that's the great evaluation, isn't it?
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Just weights are right here. We really don't know just weights and ourselves.
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We're fallen humanity, even redeemed believers have failures and we, our weights are not always just.
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But the scriptures will never fail you in this, folks. We must see ourselves against the test and the scrutiny of Holy Scripture, such as fruit.
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Jesus says, by their fruit, you shall know them. And he's speaking of ravenous wolves, false prophets.
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That's how we are to test them. What about their manner of life? Have you noticed about false teachers?
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Look at the way how they live. We're talking about this morning in the wonderful Sunday school lesson today.
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Where's people's treasure? Where's your heart? And you see this in the false teachers, that they constantly pursue riches and riches and riches.
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That's all going to fade away. And we know again, it becomes idolatry when that becomes our
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God. God gives all things to us like he did Abraham and Solomon.
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And actually Solomon didn't ask for riches, did he ask for wisdom? But God blessed him with riches. He was one of the richest men that ever lived.
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But you know, the issue is the heart. So here is, and this is not original to me, but I kind of paraphrased this and I got this from questions from Pastor MacArthur.
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He's really been a big help to me, but I'm giving him credit because he's the one that wrote this out.
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But I paraphrased it in my own words. Here's some questions we should ask about evaluating our own selves and our own heart.
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Do you have a love for God? Do you have a sincere genuine love for God and affection for God?
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Do you have holy affections for Jesus Christ? Do you really love God? Do you love
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Jesus Christ? Do you truly repent from your sin daily, on a daily basis?
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Do you evaluate yourself, judge yourself against scripture? Do you have genuine humility?
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And if you don't know what genuine humility is, look in the scriptures and scripture will tell you what genuine humility looks like.
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And Jesus actually is the embodiment of what real humility really looks like.
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I think about what Paul says about humility, that we ought not to think of ourselves more highly than others, but to think in a lowly degree to esteem others better than ourselves in Philippians chapter 2.
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But in everything he says, there he points to Jesus Christ. Do you notice that? He always goes to Christ because Jesus said, what did he say of himself?
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I am meek and lowly in heart. You know, we really cannot say that about ourselves because we deal with the pride of sin in our lives.
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But do you have genuine humility? Here's another question. Are you truly devoted to the glory of God?
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Are you devoted to God's glory and not your own glory? Spurgeon says in order to know how to glory in God, we must abase ourselves and end our glorying in ourselves.
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Do you demonstrate selfless love? That's convicting. And just read 1 Corinthians 13.
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That'll tell you a lot as you put yourself against scripture and test yourself.
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Here's another one. Are there evidence in your life that you're separated from the world, that you do not love the world and things of the world?
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Do you love the things of God? Do you love God more than the things of the world? Are you separated?
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Are you holy? As God says, be holy for I'm holy. That's a command. Are you spiritually growing in the grace and the knowledge of the
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Lord Jesus Christ? Is there a constant direction of your life that you're growing in the grace and knowledge of God?
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Just not knowing about God, but do you spend time praying? That's my next one. Do you pray?
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Do you continue and pray? Do you spend time with God in his presence? Do you demonstrate obedience in your life?
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Oh, to obey is better than sacrifice. Do you obey the Lord? Jesus says, if you love me, keep my commandments.
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Do you obey the Lord? Are you truly hungry and thirsty after righteousness?
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Do you love the things that God loves? Do you hate the things God hates? Do you delight in God's word?
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Do you meditate on God's word day and night as the psalmist says in Psalm 1? Does your life demonstrate a transformed life that you're going in the direction of Christ's likeness and you're transformed in showing forth a hatred for sin and a love for righteousness?
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Just a few questions. This is not exhausting. This isn't the character of genuine salvation and how it looks like in flesh, and actually it characterizes the character of Jesus Christ.
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Philippians 2, here's another one I was thinking about. Philippians 2, 12, 13 says, so then my beloved, just as you have always obeyed in my, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is
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God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
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Now, although the believer is responsible to the work in verse 12, it is the
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Lord who actually produces the good works in which we do, but it's
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Christ in me. Paul said that. It's Christ that lives in me. Nevertheless, I live yet not
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I. There's no conflict there, but it is a mystery in how it works in him we live and have our being.
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Everything we have is of God, but especially if it's the key to it is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
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That the Spirit of God has taken up residence within our heart, has regenerated us, now causes us, and we have a desire and a delight for God to will and to work, to will and to work.
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God gives the power both to the believer's desires and actions. That's the way the order is.
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In other words, God's power through the Spirit of God makes, causes us, I should say, his church willing to live godly lives.
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It is God's grace that produces holiness. By the grace of God, I deny ungodliness and all unrighteousness.
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Therefore, work out your own salvation. Notice what he says. Your own salvation. No one else can do it for you. We must do this ourselves, and I say we because I'm right there with you as a brother in the
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Lord. Work out your own salvation with fear and tremble. I love that fear and tremble because it means that's the attitude of true humility.
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In the presence of God, we come and pursue sanctification. We pursue godliness.
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We pursue holiness. Isn't that what you long for? We fear.
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We're companions of those who fear God. We're in this together.
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It's a healthy fear. It's a healthy fear of God. Have I offended God? And we should have a righteous all and a respect for God.
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Isaiah 66 1 right there too fits. Thus says the Lord, heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool.
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Where then is a house you could build for me? Where is a place that I may rest?
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For my hand made all these things and thus all these things came into being.
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God declares the Lord. But to this one, I will look to him who is humble and contrite.
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That means broken of spirit and who trembles at my word. God is looking for a heart that's broken, that's broken to pieces, that's crushed, that's submissive to his will, broken and not lifted up in pride, concerned with with him,
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God's heart, and not concerned with just externalism. Gotta take care of that.
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Psalm 119 is a whole commentary on the word. You could go through those wonderful verses.
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I don't think we've got time to go through that chapter, but read it in your devotional time. There's several verses that come to mind.
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Oh, how I love your law, your law. I love it. I delight in it.
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One of the most convicting one is this 165. Those who love your law have great peace and nothing causes them to stumble.
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Nothing shall offend them. Do you have that great peace? Do you have the peace of God that passes all understanding, that keeps your heart and minds in Christ Jesus?
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The peace that that will guard your heart, that's what it means. That keeps your mind and your heart.
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What a glorious saying. This refers to the origin of peace and that is Jesus Christ. And it makes me think of what Isaiah said, he will keep you in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on thee.
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Is your mind clocked, I mean, set in, set and clocked in and I should say and set in and dialed in that it's set on Jesus Christ and him crucified.
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That's what it should be. Salvation, sanctification. Well, once again,
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I want to leave you, I know those are very, very convicting words to all of us and how we are to test ourselves, to evaluate ourselves, but I want to leave you with the word from Spurgeon here.
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I did this last Lord's Day and this is kind of picks up a little bit where I did not finish.
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This is what Spurgeon says about this text, this wonderful text that all that the Father gives me will come to be and the one who comes to me
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I will by no means cast out. Spurgeon had such a way with words and I said, wow,
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I wish I could say something like that, but you know, scripture speaks everything. He's basically speaking scripture and paraphrasing scripture, but he had a way with it and I want to finish this devotion that let this be an encouragement to your soul today as we apply these truths to our hearts.
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He said this, there's no limit is set to the duration of this promise in verse 37 of John 6.
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It does not merely say I will not cast out a sinner at his first coming, but I will in no wise cast out.
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The original, Spurgeon says, reads I will not not cast out or I will never never cast out.
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The text means that Christ will not at first reject a believer and that he will not do it at first, so he will not do it to the last.
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Isn't that encouraging? And then he goes on to say this and notice how he gives examples here in application, but suppose the believer sins after coming, that's going to happen.
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Suppose the believer sins after coming and then he says if any man sin, we have an advocate with the
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Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, but suppose that believers backslide, that's going to happen too.
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He quotes a verse, I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely for my anger is turned away from them, but believers may fall under temptation.
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How many of us has fallen under temptation before? Spurgeon quotes another verse, God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it.
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But the believer may fall into sin as David did, yes, but he will purge them with hyssop and they shall be clean and he will wash them and they shall be whiter than snow from all their iniquities,
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I will cleanse them. Once in Christ, in Christ forever, nothing from his love can sever.
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I give you unto my sheep, I give unto my sheep, saith the Lord, eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
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What sayest thou, Spurgeon says to this old trembling feeble mind, is not this a precious mercy that come into Christ that doest not come to one who would treat thee well for a little while and then send thee about thy business, but he will receive thee and make thee his bride and thou shalt be his forever?
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Receive no longer the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby thou shalt cry,
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Abba, Father. Oh, the grace of these words, I will in no wise cast out, praise his name.
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Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your unchanging great love.
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You said in scripture and lamentations, your mercies are new each and every morning, great is your faithfulness.
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And this is a great promise, Lord, you have given us through your son in John 6, 37.
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And everyone, the Father, Lord, that you give will come to Jesus. And I will never, never cast out,
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Lord, with such assurance, such a promise. Lord, you're greater than our hearts.
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Where we have failed, Lord, you are desirous to lift us up and the gospel lifts us up.
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Lord, we can approach your eternal throne this morning, the throne of mercy with confidence, knowing that you receive us with everlasting arms.
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Those who seek you in faith and come to you and submit, help us,
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Lord, to be more zealous, to share this great news, the gospel of Jesus Christ to others that is lost and dying in this world.
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Give us a, give us a burden, Lord. May that burden, Jesus, you said it, your burden's light.
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There's a burden there, but it's light. It's light. We thank you,
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Lord, we no longer carry the yoke, the heavy yoke of trying to keep the law by any means,
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Lord Jesus, you've kept it perfectly. Lord, forgive us of our backslidings, forgive us of our wayward ways, and bring us to yourself to love you even more so.
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And we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ for your honor and your glory.