Being Sure About Salvation - Part 3

Is there a way
to tell who is
a true
Christian and
who is not?
www.confidentchristians.org

The Evidences of Being Lost
Maturing/Growth Process

Love things of
world / sin

Fleshly Positive / Reject God /
Affections Negative things of God
Human Birth Works
Experience / Reject Spiritual
Old Nature Truth Fruit
Darkened
Mind
Mind centered Personal life
on self/flesh

God & Sinful Motion Self &
Holy Things Sinful Things
Away From Toward


The Evidences of Salvation
Maturing/Growth Process
Love
God/Things of
God

Holy Hate sin / world
Positive /
/ enemies of
Affections Negative God
New Birth / Works
New Nature Accept
Spiritual Truth Fruit
Renewed
Mind Mind of the Personal life
Sprit in Holy
living

Self & Sinful Holy Motion God &
Things Holy Things
Away From Toward


The Example of Charles Finney
Charles Finney was a lawyer (never
trained in theology) who was
converted in 1821 and became a
popular evangelist. He believed that
salvation was based on human
choice and that people could make
a decision for God without any
divine assistance (i.e. humanity was
not depraved or a slave to sin). His
entire approach was to work on the
will of the person such that they
would choose God on their own.
The invitational system today was
inaugurated in America by Finney’s
approach.

Worry Over the Fruit of Finney‟s Labors
In a letter dated Dec. 25, 1834, James
Boyle (one of Finney’s associates in
ministry) asked these questions: "Let
us look over the fields where you and
others and myself have labored as
revival ministers and what is now their
moral state? What was their state
within three months after we left
them? I have visited and revisited
many of these fields and groaned in
spirit to see the sad frigid carnal
contentious state into which the
churches had fallen and fallen very
soon after we first departed from
among them.”


Worry Over the Fruit of Finney‟s Labors
In fact, many who evaluated the ministry of
Finney were convinced that sinners
emotionally but not spiritually awakened
became hardened and skeptical. The sinner,
for example, who made an objective
commitment to Christ in some emotional
experience but soon found out that contrary
to the revivalists' or the evangelists` promise,
nothing changed, his heart was the same.
And the wave of emotional release that he
experienced made no change. That discovery
that didn't solve anything in his life made the
sinner more hardened in his sin, more
skeptical of the gospel, more skeptical of
other people's Christian profession, believing
that he who had been deceived was a
member of a group of others who had been
and were being likewise deceived.

“The things they know in their
minds may make impressions in
their hearts indeed we do see
that the demons have very
strong feelings about God; so
strong, in fact, that they
"shudder." But they are not holy
feelings because they have
nothing to do with the work of
the Holy Spirit. If this is true of
the experience of demons, it is
also true of the experience of
men.”
- Jonathan Edwards

Mark of a True Believer

“By this we know that we
have come to know Him, if
we keep His
commandments.”
(1 John 2:3)


Being Saved Doesn‟t Mean You Won‟t Sin
“For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For
what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do,
but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I
agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one
doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is,
in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the
good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am
doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which
dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to
do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a
different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and
making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I
am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus
Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of
God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
(Romans 7:14–25)

KEY POINT: We aren’t as holy as we ought to be, but we pursue it…


“The only validation you will ever
have of your salvation is a life of
obedience, it is the only possible
proof that you really recognize
the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I'm
going to say that again because
that's the heart of the message.
Obedience is the only validation
of your salvation. It is the only
possible proof that you recognize
the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Because if there's no obedience
then you're confessing Jesus is
Lord is just so much verbal
exercise.”
- John MacArthur


Mark of Salvation: Led by the Spirit

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but
you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out,
“Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are
children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow
heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be
glorified with Him. ”
(Romans 8:14–17)

“This [the previous slide’s verses on Romans] is the witness or evidence which
the apostle speaks of that we are children, that we have the spirit of children,
or spirit of adoption. And what is that but the spirit of love? There are two
kinds of spirits the apostle speaks of, the spirit of a slave of bondage, that is
fear; and the spirit of a child, or spirit of adoption, and that is love . . . which
naturally disposes us to go to God as children to a father, and behave towards
God as children, And this is the evidence or witness which the Spirit of God
gives us that we are his children.”
-Jonathan Edwards
A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections

Five Teachings of Christ Provide the Details

1. The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount
2. The end of the Sermon on the Mount
3. The parable of the ten virgins
4. The parable of the sower
5. The parable of the wheat and the tares

The parable of the sower

The Parable of the Sower
“That day Jesus went out of the house and
was sitting by the sea. And large crowds
gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and
sat down, and the whole crowd was standing
on the beach. And He spoke many things to
them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower
went out to sow; and as he sowed, some
seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came
and ate them up. “Others fell on the rocky
places, where they did not have much soil;
and immediately they sprang up, because
they had no depth of soil. “But when the sun
had risen, they were scorched; and because
they had no root, they withered away. “Others
fell among the thorns, and the thorns came
up and choked them out. “And others fell on
the good soil and yielded a crop, some a
hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. “He
who has ears, let him hear.” ”
(Matthew 13:1–9)

Explanation of the Parable
“Hear then the parable of the sower. “When
anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does
not understand it, the evil one comes and
snatches away what has been sown in his heart.
This is the one on whom seed was sown beside
the road. “The one on whom seed was sown on
the rocky places, this is the man who hears the
word and immediately receives it with joy; yet
he has no firm root in himself, but is only
temporary, and when affliction or persecution
arises because of the word, immediately he falls
away. “And the one on whom seed was sown
among the thorns, this is the man who hears
the word, and the worry of the world and the
deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it
becomes unfruitful. “And the one on whom seed
was sown on the good soil, this is the man who
hears the word and understands it; who indeed
bears fruit and brings forth, some a
hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
(Matthew 13:18–23)


The Unresponsive

• Fields were bordered by very hard paths.
• Visibly, externally hard; hard hearts like the Pharisees.
• Outside factor: the enemy (birds in Scripture often represent
evil). “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who
are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded
the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light
of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ” (2
Corinthians 4:3–4)

The Superficial

• Shallow soil atop a layer of bedrock.
• Looks good on the top; invisibly, internally hard.
• Has a root in himself; not rooted to God
• Shows a false sign of life faster than the good soil.
• Another example of hardness in the heart; also a superficial
commitment. Feelings were changed, but not the soul
• Outside factor: affliction and persecution „because of the Word‟.
The cost of discipleship becomes too high

“Many were like the stony
ground, or thorny ground; and
but few, comparatively, like
the good ground. Of the whole
heap that was gathered, great
part was chaff; that the wind
afterwards drove away; and
the heap of wheat that was
left, was comparatively small;
as appears abundantly, by the
history of the New Testament”
-Jonathan Edwards
A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections


“For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of
the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have
tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then
have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since
they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth
vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing
from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to
being cursed, and it ends up being burned. ”
(Hebrews 6:4–8)

Mark of a False Believer

“They went out from us, but they were not really of us;
for if they had been of us, they would have remained with
us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that
they all are not of us. ”
(1 John 2:19)

The Worldly

• Competitive ground that contained weeds after plowing had been done.
• Represents a heart that is not 100% God‟s. Note the thorns sprung up after
the seed was sown; they weren‟t evident beforehand
• “Worry” is a „preoccupation‟ with the things of the world
• No real repentance has been performed. Produces no fruit.
• Outside factor: the world and its desires
• “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for
it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs. ” (1 Timothy 6:10)
• “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not
from the Father, but is from the world.” (1 John 2:15–16)

What do you Crave?

The thing to keep in mind is that when you
become a Christian – God gives you a new
nature, and this new nature will (1) exhibit a
desire for a new diet and (2) a new lifestyle.

What do you Crave?

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creature; the old things passed away; behold,
new things have come.”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)


“It has happened to them according to the true proverb,
“A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after
washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.””
(2 Peter 2:20-22)

“I will believe in the
Redeemer when the
Christians look a little
more redeemed.”
- Frederick Nietzsche


“Wherever a profession
of conversion is not
accompanied by holiness
of life it must be
understood that the
individual concern is not a
Christian.”
- Jonathan Edwards



“They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny
Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for
any good deed.”
(Titus 1:16)

The Receptive

• Made from same basic stuff, but has been rightly prepared 100%
by God.
• Only soil that bears a crop/fruit, which is the sign of true saving
faith
• Average crop yield in Palestine was 8:1. The yields Jesus spoke
about were amazing to his listeners
• “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and
every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear
more fruit.” (John 15:2)


“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not
return there without watering the earth And making it bear and
sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So
will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to
Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without
succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10–11)

Fruit Demonstrates Repentance

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for
baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to
flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with
repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, „We
have Abraham for our father‟; for I say to you that from these stones
God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “The axe is already laid
at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:7–10)

Other Observations
• The sowing is done with the Word of God (either
preaching or reading): “for you have been born
again not of seed which is perishable but
imperishable, that is, through the living and
enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23)
• The words of men have no life; the Word of God
does
• The act of sowing represents the external call of
God.
• A full three-fourth‟s (3/4) of the seed sown did
not bear fruit. This dovetails with what Christ said
in Matthew 7 about there being “few” that enter
eternity with God. “However, they did not all heed
the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has
believed our report?” ” (Romans 10:16)
• Nineteen times in Matthew 13 we find the word
“hear.” It is important that we hear God‟s Word,
because “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Jesus said,
“Who hath ears to hear” (Matt. 13:9), “Take heed
what you hear!” (Mark 4:24), and “Take heed how
you hear!” (Luke 8:18)


“When a person grasps in
his mind, or better yet,
when he feels his own
heart held captive by the
attractiveness of the
Divine, this is an
unmistakable sign of
God's working.”
- Jonathan Edwards


The parable of the tares and the wheat

Tares Among the Wheat

“Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be
compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while his men were
sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. “But
when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “The
slaves of the landowner came and said to him, „Sir, did you not sow good seed in your
field? How then does it have tares?‟ “And he said to them, „An enemy has done this!‟
The slaves said to him, „Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?‟ “But he
said, „No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with
them. „Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I
will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn
them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”” (Matthew 13:24–30)

Explanation of the Parable

“Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and
said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” And He said, “The one who
sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good
seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age;
and the reapers are angels. “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire,
so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and
they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit
lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. ” (Matthew 13:36–43)

Other Observations
• The tares (darnel – a fake/bad wheat; the
grains are black) looked like wheat until it
reached the stage where the heads
showed the obvious difference.
• Sowing tares was a common practice of
people to ruin a competitors field; the
Romans had a law against it
• The seed here is not the Word of God as in
the other parable but true believers.
• “weeping and gnashing of teeth” –
weeping does refer to grief, but gnashing
of teeth refers to anger and hatred
• The emphasis is not so much what
happens to the good seed, but what
happens to the bad seed
• It was because of the wheat that the tares
were not immediately pulled up; we
wonder sometimes why God allows evil
people to remain – there is a plan behind
it all

Why God waits to Punish Evil

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count
slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any
to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9)


“There is a great deal of secret
wickedness in the hearts of men, which is
long hid under the cloak of a plausible
profession, but breaks out at last. As the
good seed, so the tares, lie a great while
under the clods, and at first springing up,
it is hard to distinguish them; but when a
trying time comes, when fruit is to be
brought forth, when good is to be done
that has difficulty and hazard attending
it, then you will return and discern
between the sincere and the hypocrite:
then you may say, This is wheat, and that
is tares.”
- Matthew Henry


Being Sure About Salvation - Part 3

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (18)

Similar to Being Sure About Salvation - Part 3

Similar to Being Sure About Salvation - Part 3 (20)

More from Robin Schumacher

More from Robin Schumacher (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Being Sure About Salvation - Part 3