Much More – Assurance and Perseverance

Preached Sunday, April 26, 2009, Grace Family Church of Americus

Romans 5:9-11

Click here to listen now!

You can download the complete sermon manuscript by clicking here. Here is an excerpt:

********

…..Now let's look at the phrase "saved by His life". When someone comes to die, the appointed time comes to take a look at that person's will. The heart desires of that person for those who are left behind are manifest in that written will, and it is up to the family to see that those wishes are carried out. Nowadays, in particular, the wishes of the deceased are becoming less and less attended to, as the materialism of this world increases, selfishness and greed reign supreme, siblings fight over things that will not matter in eternity, as the executors of the will dissent and forget what the person who died wanted altogether in their will.

But this is not so with the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes indeed, Jesus died, and even died with a will for what was to happen after His death. Now today, there are many who fight and squabble over what His will is, and how they interpret it, and what they think He would have wanted. But our Lord Jesus Christ did not leave this world with a will and a hope that His children could carry out that will for Him. No, according to the Scriptures, Christ has died. He was buried, according to the Scriptures, and according to the Scriptures He was raised. So unlike those who squabble over wills today, our Lord Jesus did not leave us to carry out His will on our own…..but He lives to carry it out Himself. For the resurrection is proof of His faithfulness, in that He has the authority to lay down His life, and He has the authority to take it up again!

The will of God in Christ Jesus is that not one of His own perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). So you can know that as you go about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom to every person who has breath, not one of the elect of God will perish. His will is to redeem His people, that none be lost. We need not question our Lord as to what He wanted in His will! Go, and preach the Gospel to every creature….He will surely draw them unto Himself! And if the Christ who shed His blood in death for His people now lives for them, you can be sure that not one drop of His blood will be shed in vain, because if His blood be shed for you, then that holy blood that was shed for you in the horrors of His death shall be vindicated in the beauty of His life!

The will of God is to deliver us from the evil of this present age (Galatians 1:4). Dear friends, you can know that the God whose will it is that you be delivered from evil, will surely do it, for He died to justify you from it, and He lives to sanctify you from it! Your sins, though they be as scarlet, yet shall they be as wool. Your cross may look heavy and burdensome, your flesh though it be ever so weak, if it be the will of God for all of His children to be delivered from evil behaviors and sins, then you shall indeed be delivered if you are in Him. For it is furthermore the will of God….your sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3)…and this will is not left to sinners to carry out, but to the Sinless One, the One who died and now lives shall see to it that every jot and tittle of His will be carried out to the letter. You who struggle and fight this sinful flesh today, you fight in the strength of the Son of God, for if it were not for Him you would not fight. For your strength to fight against sin is not found in a cold dead body underneath a cold dead tombstone in a graveyard, but if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, you come not to a cold dead stone, but:

"Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." (1 Peter 2:4-6, NKJV)

The will of God is that Christ makes intercession for the saints (Romans 8:27). Folks, I know that there are many times that I need more prayer than I can utter, for the Scripture is true, that I do not know how to pray as I ought. But the eternal will of God is this….that the Spirit of God intercede for us….even the Son….who lives, and now stands at the right hand of the Father. And He that became sin in death for you becomes righteousness and sanctification in life for you, and it is He who lives and pleads for you at the Father's throne. And if He who is infinitely valued and loved of the Father pleads for you, you shall surely never be lost!

And dear friends, if today you have no assurance that you are His, but your desire is to come to Him, in repentance for breaking His Law, and in childlike faith knowing that you are without strength, then come to Him. You who are weary and heavy laden with sin….come to Him. You who are estranged from Him, be reconciled to your God. Come to Him. For He is gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find peace for your souls. For His words are these:

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:36-40, NKJV).

The Death of Jesus Applied

Preached Sunday, April 12, 2009, Grace Family Church of Americus

Romans 5:6-8

Click here to listen now!

You can download the complete sermon manuscript by clicking here. Here is an excerpt:

********

Notice what the Scripture teaches in verse 7. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die…

For a long time, this verse was a little of an enigma for me. I thought it was strange, even a bit out of place. It was one of those that we often read over, and don't take much from. But let me give you an illustration here that may help bring it to light….and remember that the context here is the doctrine of Christian Assurance:

Perhaps, in your mind, you can imagine a great historical figure who has made a distinct impression on you, and been the result of a great life change, or a person that has been helpful or kind to you. That person has been held hostage, and the moment comes where you could place yourself in harm's way on his behalf, to help him escape. You might do that. You might even die for such a person.

Or, imagine that there is a person in a similar situation, who may not be as influential to you, but is otherwise a good and decent person. The criminal has him by the throat and is about to execute him, and suddenly, you have that window of opportunity to save him, but it might cost you your own life. It is not out of the realm of possibility that someone might do such a thing for an otherwise innocent person.

But then the same situation comes up. You see a man who is being held at knifepoint, his life threatened by an attacker. All of the sudden, there is a window of opportunity to rescue him, but it might cost you your life. In that instant, you look into the eyes of the hostage….and you remember his face. There with his life hanging in the balance is the man who killed your wife in cold blood. There is the man who raped you. There is the man who drowned your child. There is the man who stole your life savings. There he is, the one who murdered your parents. And you have the ability to prevent his death, at the risk of your own life. Now that is a different situation indeed. But hear the Word of God this morning…..YOU are that criminal….and CHRIST died for YOU anyway.

You were the enemy of God, and God demonstrated His love for you. He showed you His love, in that He gave His Son for you, not when you were a good person, or a righteous person, or even an otherwise innocent person….but while you were a sinner. An enemy. You hated God, and rebelled against Him……

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, NKJV)

The Hope of Glory

Romans 5:2-5

Preached April 5, 2009, Grace Family Church of Americus

Sorry, the audio for this sermon is not available.

You can download the complete sermon manuscript by clicking here. Here is an excerpt:

 

Last week, we spoke on the subject of Christian assurance, which is in today's language, been reduced to the term "once saved, always saved". When asked if I agree or disagree with that doctrine, I say, "yes". I agree with the doctrine that all true Christians will endure to the end, and I disagree with the terminology that this doctrine is often spoken in terms of. I agree, because the perseverance of the saints is a biblical rock….and disagree because there is lacking in the theology of the "once saved always saved" camp one important truth…..that truth being ENDURANCE. Christian assurance, which is largely the subject matter of Romans 5, is built on the FACT that Christians endure. THAT is the teaching of the Apostle, and it is not a result of our own working or ability, but by faith only. Faith that produces definite results. And those results are portrayed beautifully here in our text this morning….FAITH gives us the ability to STAND…..because FAITH is substance…..faith is evidence….and faith gives us enduring power because faith sees forward to a reality that is not before our eyes, but clad on the unchanging promise of our unchanging God. Faith looks out in joy, greater joy than any and all circumstances that surround us. Faith sees to the reward…it shuns earthly pleasures to see the eternal ones….faith sees through pain and suffering, to the eternal plan of our sovereign God……

Verse 3 begins with suffering. Why, if our hope was only in the glory that is intrinsically in God, would the Apostle begin his explanation by introducing the reality of human suffering? In explaining the doctrine of Christian assurance, of having peace with God, WHY does Paul BEGIN this teaching with talking about suffering? Because it is the endurance of suffering that characteristically identifies that which is true hope.

Notice what the Scripture says in verse 3. "More than that… or not only (which I think is the best sense for translation here)" As if salvation is not enough to hope in…..as if we who were made in the image of God, having fallen short of His glory, now being reconciled to Him….if the glory of God Himself was not prize enough in which to rejoice for eternity……we have MORE THAN THAT. We have cause not only to rejoice in the glory of God in the salvation and redemption of our souls, but also in the salvation and redemption of our bodies! He says that we are to rejoice….not only in the redemption of our souls…..but also in the redemption of our bodies…..We rejoice in sufferings! Why? Because we believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord!

We have much to hope in when we consider our Lord Jesus Christ. For Jesus did not only suffer and die to redeem our souls, but also for our bodies. He in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells, lived on this earth and endured all of the horrors this life which is part of the creation that was subjected by God to futility….in hope that the creation itself will be set free from bondage to corruption, and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God spoken of in Romans 8:20-21. Jesus endured all that we must endure. He suffered in His body the pains and struggles of this life that we now live, and He suffered rejection and persecution and beatings and nails and thorns and whip and cross. He suffered death. Even death on a cross. And the Scriptures say that He did all this why? For the joy that was set before Him. We have an example in our Lord Jesus Christ, who rejoiced in His sufferings, that we should follow, and rejoice when we suffer.

Christian Assurance – Romans 5:1-2

Romans 5:1-2

Preached March 29, 2009, Grace Family Church of Americus

Click here to listen now!

You can download the complete sermon manuscript by clicking here. Here is an excerpt:

********

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2 ESV)

The Scriptures teach that Christians stand in grace. It could be translated, this grace in which we now stand. If you are in Christ, if you have faith in Christ, you stand right at this moment in the grace of God. His wrath no longer abides on you….you are a child of light; not of darkness, a child of love, not of wrath. It is a state that describes you now, and a state which describes you in the future. The word translated stand is the Greek word, histemi /his·tay·mee, meaning, to set in place, to cause a person or a thing to keep his or its place. And I want to direct your attention to this word, because it is exceedingly important in the teaching here.

This word, cause to stand, histemi /his·tay·mee is where we get the word that is used medically, histamine, which is produced by the human body in allergic reactions. The histamine is that which helps the body defend itself against foreign or harmful substances by triggering symptoms that fight off these substances….a rash, runny nose, sneezes, even nausea and similar symptoms of allergic reactions….all these things are produced by the release of histamine….so that the body can stand firm against all outside influences that can harm the body.

You see, for the Christian, he is in the world, but he is not of the world. In other words, we are like aliens here, this is not our home. Grace is given us, and we are caused to stand…we are histemi…..set firmly in place such that nothing can harm us. And when something does come in contact with we who are caused to stand, much like what happens in the release of histamines in the human body, we react to combat that which is foreign. The reaction to that which is foreign is evidence that there is histamine present….something there that causes us to stand firm. Here's where we can gain assurance.

As Christians, we have been given a new heart and new desires. We have been washed, sanctified, and made new by the blood of Christ. Yet God does not take us out of the world. Instead, He gives us grace, and causes us to stand firm in it. When there are things of the world that come in contact with us, there should be a reaction….a histamine release….and there should be definite symptoms. There should be a fighting that takes place, because we have been caused to keep our place. The evidence of the fight is evidence that there is a healthy body there that is being caused to stand.