Special Event – Doctrine of Salvation: Dr. David Fleming, 06/07/26

SE 061_Doctrine of Salvation_PODCAST_060726
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[00:00:00] Ah, great to see you this morning. Welcome to the Student Building. How cool is this? Don't you just feel younger?

I must say I've spoken at this building many times. We were a part of the team that built this building in 2008. Uh, and I must say, uh, since the last time I was here, uh, the students at Champion Forest have, uh, matured somewhat But so have I. So we're in this together, right? We're in this together. So Mark tells me this week, "Hey, I want you to, uh, take Biblical Literacy.

I'm preaching three times." And he said, "The only thing is, is you can't do Romans."

Do you know how much meat's left on the bone in Romans chapter 8? Some of you from where I'm from know what that saying means, a little, little, uh, chicken left on that bone. So, okay, I'm not [00:01:00] gonna do Romans 8, but what I did was go back and listen to his last two weeks' sermons just to get caught up in my mind.

And as I was thinking through it, praying through it, I call that pray-thinking, uh, prinking, uh, I used the word salvation because there's so much in Romans chapter 8 with regard to our salvation. And at one point, Mark tiptoed right up along the line of the word predestination a- and, and foreknowledge, and then he said, "But that's not what Paul's talking about.

We're not going there." And so he, he... You remember? Well, I'm not going there either. But I'm gonna get close. I'm gonna get very close because I think it'd be great just to hit pause. Uh, he'll finish up chapter 8 next week. I can't wait for 9, 10, and 11. Some of you are ready for that already, right? Uh, but chapter 8's amazing, and there are so many points in 8 that just cause me to think about salvation or, in some cases, we use the term soteriology.

If you want to impress your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers, your Bible study people, just, just throw out the word, "Let's discuss soteriology." And they'll go, "Wow, [00:02:00] you are so smart." And then they'll have to ask you what it means, and you should be ready to answer the question. And after today, I hope you will be.

Now, I wanna be, uh, careful to say up front because sometimes I wanna say what we're not gonna say just so that I'll meet expectations or not create unrealistic expectations. This is not a systematic approach. We don't have time. Obviously, uh, we're really not gonna talk about election and predestination, effectual calling and regeneration, all those wonderful things that Greg is so desperate for me to talk about so that he can email me later this week.

But I'm not gonna take the bait. I'm not gonna do it. 'Cause there's too much to talk about with regard to the security of our salvation and the assurance of our salvation. And more particularly, a lot of times in Romans 8 and throughout the text, we tend to find ourselves in a collective group, as you will.

Uh, and the, the... Paul is writing to, the Spirit is speaking to the church, the body, you all, in plural sense, all of us, and that's great. But today I wanna get a little more personal and get a little closer to home and talk about your salvation and, and my salvation, soteriology as it goes, uh, [00:03:00] for us. And I want you to think about this for just a moment.

You are to be saved. What does that mean to be rescued, to be delivered? Those words are wrapped up in the definition or the understanding of salvation. But I thought maybe a few word pictures might help. Uh, you're walking along a trail, you slip and fall. You're hanging by your fingernails. You haven't the strength to continue to hang on for much longer.

You're about to let go, and I want you to know there's an abyss below you. You need salvation. You need to be saved. Or maybe, uh, you were, uh, having a great day on the boat and something happened and the boat sprung a leak. It sunk and there you are, no life jacket, no buoy, nothing or no one in sight, just you and the vast body of water.

And you're losing all strength, your energy is depleted, and you're going under. You're going under. You need to be saved. You need salvation. Or maybe someone bangs on your door in the middle of the night and says, [00:04:00] "Neighbor, wake up. Your house is on fire. There's smoke and flames billowing out of the downstairs room.

You gotta get out of here. You need to come with me to be saved." So any of those three pictures or more just like them can kind of get in our minds what it is when we say salvation, or be saved, or I need to be saved, or you need to be saved. Because we wanna have an understanding as we start the conversation what we're talking about, and really what we're talking about being saved from.

So that's the idea, and I want us to think, as you heard Brent mention, uh, how safe is our salvation? How safe is it? And, and how sure are you of the safety in your salvation, and how secure are you in it? Now, I'm not gonna make this just a Baptist doctrine course. I, I'm not trying to be teaching Baptist 101 eternal security, but you'll hear the term.

But I do want us to leave with a personal sense of confidence, and assurance, and peace, and all the things that come with knowing that you know that you are in fact saved, and knowing why. [00:05:00] So along the way, we'll answer some questions, I would say, to salvation from sinners, seekers, saints, and skeptics, too.

That's pretty much everybody in the room. So let's get started with the roadmap. First, let's lay some groundwork. That's very important. Let's get a good understanding doctrinally of salvation, and then we'll take on some of those more, uh, common questions that either, uh, folks thinking about salvation or who are saved and are thinking about their own salvation, uh, might ask.

There are five. We could answer a lot more, but we'll just run out of time with the five, so we'll stay with it. And then, of course, we'll wrap up and head out with our points for home, because I want you to take this with you when you go. You ready? So let's lay some groundwork. Groundwork's important.

Foundation is very important. Some of you are builders. Some of you are around building. In this building, they dug huge trenches and holes, and then they filled it with concrete to shore up the construction, to hold up the building so that it would stand any sorts of pressure from outside or within. You could put 1,000 teenagers in here.

They can [00:06:00] jump up and down. They can scream. They can holler. This building's not going anywhere because I can assure you, we laid a foundation here. And salvation is built on a foundation, and I want us to take that up. So what does it mean to be saved? From what? Why? Well, Houston, we have a- Problem ... problem.

In fact, you could say that about any city in America or the world. We have a problem. And for a, a real understanding of salvation, we start with sin. We start with the problem. The source of our problem, the reason we're in peril, the danger, the imminent threat is because we, you, me, all of us... Look around.

Turn to your neighbor and say, "You're a dirty, rotten sinner." No, no, don't do that. Don't do that. Don't, don't do that. That's too much. Sorry. Sometimes I just get into it. Sorry. I won't. We have a sin problem. The Bible says, Romans chapter three, you know this verse well, verse 23, "For all," watch, do this, "For all [00:07:00] have sinned."

Now, notice I didn't say, for all have sinned. I mean, that would be true But this would be true, all have sinned and fall short, miss the mark, hamartia in the Greek, miss the mark of the glory of God. Here's the problem, God is holy, we are not. We miss the mark. We fall short. We aren't quite good enough. Now, I'm not talking about how bad you may or may not be.

It's got nothing to do with the volume or the intensity. It has everything to do with the presence of sin. Now, we could get lost on a tangent if we say, "Well, how much sin is sufficient?" The answer to the question without chasing a rabbit is any sin, at whatever level or degree, renders us unholy. It renders us imperfect.

If we hung a white sheet from this end to that end, all the way across, and it was lily white, it didn't have a mark or spot on it, but as soon as I take this [00:08:00] marker and walk over it and go toot, you may not see it from where you're sitting, but if this leaves a mark on that white flag, banner, sheet, whatever it is, that sheet is now sinful.

Not filled with sin, but sinful, because sin impacts the totality of our being. It in fact impacts who we are, it impacts how we live, and it certainly impacts our future, not only our present relationship with the Lord. So God is holy, we are not. We miss the mark. We fall short. We don't hit the target of God's perfection.

And you could say in missing the mark, there are two real general ways of looking at that. Sins of commission are the things that we do that we ought not to do. Thou shalt not steal. Simple. But have you ever kept anything longer than you should have kept it? Neighbor, can I borrow your... Trust me, you'll never see it again

Thou shalt not [00:09:00] bear false witness. Have you ever told a lie? Do you know what anything less than 100% truth is? It's a lie. So those are sins of commission. Those are things we do that the Bible has said, God has said, "Don't do this. It's bad for you. Don't do it. It's not consistent with your character, your nature.

It's not who Christ is in you. Don't do that." When we do that, that's sin. We fall short There are sins of omission. Those are the things we don't do that we ought to do, and that gets us all. So even if you could get out the checklist and go down box after box and say, "Never done that, never done that, never done that, never done that, never done that," good for you.

But how are you doing on that love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, body, strength, everything in you, number one priority, no exceptions ever under any circumstances, you passionately, fully, completely, wholly love God first and above anything and everything else, including yourself. How you doing?

That's a tall order, isn't it? Well, here's one that's even [00:10:00] taller. Love your neighbor as yourself Louis Muori's my neighbor He's easy to love. What about the one on the other side? I don't know that guy. He doesn't cut his grass very often. He's harder to love, but I gotta love him as I love myself. That's a commandment.

To fail to love my neighbor as I love myse- and I love myself. Look at me. I'm well fed, okay? I take care of me. I love me. To love him or her any less than I love me and not to love them more is a sin of omission. I've come short, I've missed the mark. You see what I'm saying? It gets us all. I could do this all day.

We're all guilty. We're all sinners. That's why the Bible says, "For all have sinned." Either we've missed the mark in doing what we shouldn't do, missed the mark in not doing what we should do. It gets us all. And sin of course separates us. This is the problem. Sin is not incidental, it separates. It separates us from God, and because there are [00:11:00] relationship issues with sin between us, it separates us from each other.

Both now in the present, and the Bible tells us forever. Romans 6:23. "For the wages," the consequences, the cost, the price, "of sin is death, but the free gift of God," love that, come back to it in a minute, "is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Would you just pause with me in the first phrase? "For the wages of sin is death."

Those are the consequences. Death. And it doesn't just mean, as you know, you've studied this verse. You know this, this, uh, book, Paul, uh, uh, Mark has taught through this very chapter itself. What are we talking about? Well, we're talking about hell. I mean, if I'm just gonna cut right to it. And you say, "Oh, that's an unpopular subject for this day and time."

You, you are right, but it doesn't make it a wrong topic. Do you know Jesus talked more about hell than anybody else in the Bible? Depending on how you line up the gospels, whether it's the same or a different, uh, telling, uh, 15 to 25 times Jesus discussed hell. Luke 16, the great [00:12:00] chasm over which, quote, "None may cross from there to us."

Separation. Sin separates. That chasm. Matthew 25, Jesus tells of a time when people will be separated into two groups. Separation. Separated. One entering into His presence, the other banished to eternal fire. So that third illustration about needing salvation isn't that far from reality, is it? Eternal fire, and that's what we need to be saved from, and that's why we need to be saved.

The consequences of sin is death. So what does it mean? And what is the basis? If we need to be saved, is there any hope? Hey, good news, glad you asked. The answer is yes. And what's the foundation of our salvation? Well, of course you know the answer, class. It's always the answer. Say it with me. Jesus. Jesus is the answer.

Jesus is the answer. The basis, the foundation of our salvation is the work and the person of Jesus and who He is. We owed a debt we couldn't pay. You know the song? Yes. He paid a debt He didn't owe. Jesus is [00:13:00] the source, the foundation, the rock of our salvation. For God so loved the world- There is a world there, even though it's a typo in the text.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. So Jesus, on the cross, took our place. We call that, here's another big word for us, penal substitutionary atonement. It means we had a sin debt that He didn't owe. He took our sin upon Himself and paid the sin debt, satisfying the righteous wrath of God and justifying us.

We'll get to that word in just a moment. So Jesus is the foundation, and what He did for us is the solution to our sin problem. That's how we have salvation. In fact, the Bible says, "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Your favorite TV preacher, [00:14:00] your local church pastor, your favorite biblical literacy Sunday morning small group in Texas leader.

No other name. Not your husband or your wife's name, not your Bible study leader's name, not your denominational preference name. The name of Jesus, and only the name of Jesus, is the proper and sufficient foundation for the salvation that He has brought for us to receive as a gift from God. Keep in mind, no, say that with me, no other name, just Jesus.

The basis of our salvation. And while we're laying this groundwork, let's talk about the right response to what Jesus has done and to the gift that He extends to us. We know that Jesus paid it all fully, completely, and it's His to give, and He comes to us as a gift. Romans 6:23. Again, the wages of sin is death, we got that, separation, [00:15:00] but the free gift of God, free gift of God.

Say amen. Amen. 'Cause if it weren't free, none of us could afford it. Right? We're bankrupt. Our righteousness is- Smelly rags ... smelly rags. It's worse. I won't get into that. But Jesus offers it to us as a free gift, the gift of God, eternal life through the foundation, through Jesus Christ or in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

That's the good news. And what do you do when someone offers you a gift, class? What do you do? Accept it. Ah, you could reject it. No. Why would you do that? I mean, obviously a lack of understanding, too little information, confusion, or simply unbelief, or perhaps maybe an unwillingness to change the will. I could get saved.

I think it might be true, but I'm not gonna do it. [00:16:00] I- imagine you're watching the latest, uh, installment of Jack Ryan. Yeah? How many Jack Ryan fans? Tom Clancy? Come on, guys. Where you at? Whoa. Someone knocks on your door and says, "Your house is on fire. I was around the side. I saw smoke and flames coming out your kitchen window.

You gotta get out of here. You're in danger. You need to be safe." And you say, "Oh, well, that's unfortunate." That's inconvenient. I'm at the very best part of the whole thing is happening right now. I tell you what, let me finish this episode

And then I'll go and see about it. See, that's just hilarious, isn't it? But you know, people do it every day. This is the free gift of God to people who are living under judgment, who are condemned already, who are separated already, who are facing an eternal situation of suffering. Knock, knock, knock, Jesus saves.

Ah, [00:17:00] yeah, but I'm in the middle of my favorite episode. Let me get to the finish line, and then I'll, I'll let you know what I... Hang on a minute. Did you not hear what I said? Your house is on fire, friend They do it every day People reject it. Some receive it. I, by the way, recommend receiving it. Uh, it's a great gift.

I, I think if somebody offers you something like this, just simply say, "Yes, thank you," and take ownership of it. Possess it. Uh, recognize the situation. Stop doing whatever it is you're doing. Whatever distracts you, whatever fancies your, uh, focus and attention, what- whatever it is that's got you focused on what's got you focused, let go of it because God is offering you something you cannot get anywhere else but that you desperately, desperately need.

You can receive it. In fact, the Bible says it this way, "He came to His own, but His own people did not receive Him." They reject it. "But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to [00:18:00] become children of God." Amen? So, so from separation to reconciliation, from stranger to friend, more than friend, son, daughter, family, the adoption.

Whole nother subject I'd love to get into. So that's exactly right. How to receive it, how do we do that? He's offered it to us a free gift, how do we receive it? A few key phrases here. We find a few of them in Romans chapter 10, which you will get to. Wait, you've already got to. No, you're in eight, sorry.

You'll get to it. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." That's a wonderful, powerful verse. It talks about a confession of faith in Jesus.

Another way to say that is an expression of faith in Jesus. An expression. We're receiving this gift, we'll come [00:19:00] to it in a moment, by grace through faith, and this confession or expression of our faith in Jesus brings us to the point of receiving this wonderful gift. Now, I can't leave out this. It's sometimes left out.

I don't think we should leave it out. But with that acceptance and confession and receiving and believing comes repentance. It's a part of the conversation. And when we think of repentance, we think about turning around. Metanoia in the New Testament. It means to change your mind with the result of a change of heart.

All that tied together is a change of direction. You change your mind about some things when you believe in Jesus. And to be specific, what are we turning from? Well, we're turning from sin and the heart of sin, self. So don't think about this in terms of there's a checklist of the sins with a little S at the end that you've gotta cross off your list.

There's a bigger sin, and the bigger sin is the self. Sins is sort of the fruit, if you will, of sin. My way. I'm gonna be the [00:20:00] king. I'm gonna be the lord. I'm gonna lead me. I'm gonna be in charge of me. I'm not gonna surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ. But repentance means I'm willing to turn around.

I'm going the wrong way. Where am I going? To a dark or bright, depending on how you perceive it, place. I'm gonna turn around and I'm gonna come to Jesus. And coming to Jesus means I'm moving away from that which condemned me. It's repentance. I'm turning, I'm trusting from my sin and self to Jesus Christ.

And I love to add the word in there alone, based on what we've already said, for salvation. A change, a change of direction. "Repent therefore," the Bible says, "and turn back that your sins may be blotted out." Well, you, you're gonna leave your sin and self and you're gonna follow Jesus. You're gonna leave that sin behind.

What a beautiful picture, turning around. So the right response is to trust in Jesus, to believe in Him, to confess your faith and trust in Him, to turn from sin and self and trust and turn to Jesus [00:21:00] with all you got for salvation. And what happens as or after, if you will? Oh, what a wonderful list, like forgiveness.

Forgiveness, which honestly we have a hard time getting our human minds around. But God is so incredible in His love and in His great capacity to forgive that He just lets go of our sin, just lets go. I love the verse, uh, if I get it right, "He plunges our sin into the sea of forgetfulness, there to remember it no more."

Or the picture of separating us from our sin as far as the east is from the west. You know how far that is? Forever. What a powerful picture, that He lets our sin go. Colossians 2:13, "Having forgiven us," what tense is that, class? Having forgiven, past tense. "Having forgiven us of all," not some or most or the biggies or the littlies, [00:22:00] "all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demand."

We'll come to legal in a moment. "This He set aside," sent it away, let it go, "nailing it to the cross." So when Jesus paid the penalty for our sin on the cross, He took our sin upon Himself. He took our sin away. That's forgiveness. We're also justified. You came across that word just last week. It's a legal term.

It means to be declared not guilty, accounted for as righteous by God. And I love the connection, justified, never sinned, so in Christ we are justified. Other results, by the way, Romans 5:1, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith," when did that happen?

In the past when we believed. You have been, we have been justified by faith. We have peace with God. Those of us who were at enmity with God because of our sin now have peace with God because of His sacrifice [00:23:00] through our Lord, the foundation of our salvation, Jesus Christ. So we're forgiven. We're justified.

We are made right, or we are righteous, not and of ourselves on our own. No, no. Remember, what we brought to this equation was our sin, and there's a divine transaction that occurs in this moment of faith, expression, and trust, and repentance. And that is, as we give Jesus our sin, He takes it away, and He gives us His righteousness.

He imputes it to our bankrupt account. So we weren't just bankrupt, we were in debt, and He settled the debt, and then loaded us up with His goodness, and grace, and blessings. That's an amazing picture. So we lose the sin debt and its consequences. We gain His righteousness through faith by grace. By the way, the heart of the Reformation, which we'll come to in just a moment, and you've already covered in Romans 4:5 and Romans 3:21-26, this double imputation, if you will.

Here it is in [00:24:00] 2 Corinthians 5:21, outside of Romans. "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin." So that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. What a powerful reality. We've been made right, or we are righteous or have His righteousness. We're sealed. I love this one. We're sealed. You know, in ancient worlds, the seal mattered.

Uh, the seal was a sign of guarantee. It was a sign of ownership. It was a sign of authority. It was a threat. Don't break the seal. There was accountability in the seal. It was the name and the reputation of the sealer on the seal, on the document, or on the delivery. We are sealed in the Holy Spirit. What a beautiful, beautiful...

Listen, Ephesians 1:13, "In Him, you also, when you heard this word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, you believed in Him, were sealed." When did that happen? In the past. Were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. But not just in the [00:25:00] past, are sealed. We'll forever be sealed. It's the nature of a seal. It's secure.

You are safe because you have been sealed by the indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit when you believed. And if we can just jumble those up a bit and squeeze one more in. This one you've gotta get from Romans 8 and throughout the entire book. We are united with Christ when we come into salvation by grace through faith.

We become one with Him. We are in Christ. A powerful, powerful passage of scripture. We're not just reaching for Him. He's reaching for us, and we are coming together in union, in a spiritual dynamic, a union, a life together in Christ. Him in us, us in Him. You can't read Romans. Romans chapter 8 verse 1, for example.

There's no condemnation for those who are where? In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus. Where is Christ Jesus? In us. The indwelling presence of His Spirit living in us. So if you're in Christ, I got good news for you. You are [00:26:00] in. You ... If you are in Christ, Christ is in you, you are in.

I got three nods that I counted An amen? A go Jesus? Amen. Let me try it again. Glory. If you are in Christ, Christ is in you, you're in. Did you hear me? Yeah. Listen, you, you don't... I know, I'm trying to gen up an... I know, I do that sometimes. I'm sorry But this is the question. Are you in? I don't know. Yes. Can I know?

Yes. I mean, I hope so. But I don't know. Listen to me. You're in if you're in Jesus because Jesus is in you. United with Christ. What a powerful reality. So that's our groundwork. Now I wanna get to those questions, don't you? I can't wait. Ah, wish we had time for 10 of them, but we're just gonna get this first one.

Can a person really know for sure? I mean, isn't that a bit [00:27:00] arrogant? Isn't it? I mean, aren't you thinking a lot of yourself to s- say, "Well, of course I'm in"? Well, maybe. Maybe. If in fact the basis for your conclusion that you're in is your effort and your good works and your own righteousness, that's extremely arrogant.

In fact, it's foolhardy You're wasting your time. Sorry

But know if the basis upon which you base your confidence and your assurance is the finished work of Christ. So arrogant if it depends on my works. Not arrogant, confident, and assured if it depends on His work. Why? Because His work is all-sufficient, and it's complete. It's a done deal, and it's done for me, and He's in me, and I'm in Him.

So it's not arrogant. I'm bragging on the Lord Jesus [00:28:00] Christ. Amen. Listen, I d- Hey, look at me. I'm looking at you. The only thing worthy of boasting or bragging about or being arrogant about is the amazing grace of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary through His death, burial, and resurrection, and all that He taught us, and all that He brings to the conversation, and all that He deposits in us when He comes to take up residence us, is plenty of reasons to feel great about who Jesus is.

And oh, by the way, I sure am glad I said yes . Right? I sure am glad I said yes. So, no, it's not arrogant. In fact, the Bible says you can know, you should know. John writes in 1 John 5:13, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may hope so." No. No. That you may- No. No. No

feel very confident in. All right, Greek lesson. Jack, do you do Greek as well as Hebrew? I see Jack back there. Jack, in the ancient Bible languages, what does the word know mean? Don't get into the whole nosco and epignosco, just [00:29:00] answer it simply. What does it mean? We can know. We can know. Thank you for your scholarly application.

Absolutely know. Know. I don't have a hope so salvation. I hope you don't have a hope so salvation. I hope you don't have a plan to salvation. I'll even go a bit further, and I would even say don't even say Lord willing. You already know the Lord's will. Right. The Lord's will is for you to know, and to have a confident sense of assurance, and to live at peace, and to rest in Him because you are in Him, and He is solid, stable, safe, secure.

He'll never let you down. It's not His nature. He doesn't know how. He won't do it. He's stable. You can rest on that. I, I do think it's fair to make a word here about false assurance. False assurance. Which would, by the way, be based on a faulty foundation. In [00:30:00] fact, one of the most troubling verses in the New Testament to me, maybe not you, but to me, is Matthew 7:21.

Do you know that verse? "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom." Why not? Well, hang on. Didn't we do s- some pretty cool things? Well, yeah. I mean, didn't we do some, like, churchy kinds of religious kind of spiritual things? Well, yeah. I mean, di- didn't we check all the moral boxes?

Didn't we vote right? What's the problem? I never knew you. Who are you? So this is a false assurance. Somebody who stands before the Lord and says, "Let me in. I am assured a place in heaven." Except your foundation is faulty, not faith. You're basing that on something you've done. You've based on who you are.

You're basing that on what others assess of you perhaps, or what you esteem in yourself. But the [00:31:00] reality is you don't know Jesus, 'cause you've not come to a faith, trust, repentance, confession of that faith, trust, or repentance in Jesus. He doesn't live in you. You're not in Him. All of those things said about a believer are not true of you because you don't know Him, and He won't know you.

Amen. So that's troubling. So it's fair to say let's talk a bit about false assurance. Because I gotta tell you, your, your, your physical water baptism at whatever age that was, your church membership even in this church, your regular attendance. You serve on a committee. You work in the community ministry center once a week.

Great. I think that's all great. There are certainly wonderful things to be said about good works. I'll come to that. But first, none of that'll save you, friend. And as the old saying goes, sitting in a garage won't make you a car

Sorry, did- [00:32:00] Going to McDonald's doesn't make you a Happy Meal. It's not about your presence or proximity. It's about a change of heart. It's about the new birth. You must be, fill in the blank. Born again. Born again. You come into the kingdom of God through faith. That's your new birth experience, turning from sin and self, trusting in Jesus alone for salvation, expressing that faith commitment to Him.

You come into the new reality, a new birth. You are a new person in Christ. The old is past. Behold, all things have become new. Now, if your car's broke, go to the garage, but don't sit there and think you're gonna become one. No, instead, let's not talk about false assurance. Let's talk about faith assurance.

This word faith is back to the key word. Do you remember last week? Love this, that golden chain. I couldn't find a picture of a golden chain, so pardon that. From Romans 8:29, "Those He foreknew," right? "He predestined," what? "To be conformed to the image of His Son. Those He predestined, He called. Those He called, He justified.

Those He justified, He glorified." What a beautiful [00:33:00] chain. No breaks in the chain. From start to finish, He owns the process. It's secure, it's safe, it's solid. You can count on it. It's stable. It's a good chain. And what I love that Mark pointed out last week is when we get down to this justified and glorified, that's a future reality, but the certainty is such that we can say it as if it's already happened in the past.

Amen. That's how sure God is of your salvation. That's how assured He is that you're gonna make it to heaven someday. Some of you may know Beverly and I have a bit of a denominational background that's beyond Southern Baptist life or Baptist life. I remember sitting in, in, in churches and listening to sermons and hearing the pastor say, "I'm gonna make it to heaven someday, bless God.

I'm gonna give it all I got." And I'd raise Baptist, so I knew just enough to go, "Brother, you in trouble." 'Cause all you got won't even get close. But how [00:34:00] confident and assured is Jesus in your salvation? As if it's already happened. That's how assured He is. So, uh, there we have. Can you know for sure? I hope you do.

Secondly, another question. Well, can a person lose, lose their salvation? Can a person lo- Carolyn's already cut to the conclusion. Can a person lose their salvation? And, and I mean, when we say lose, we know what we're talking about. It means, uh, like, well, I lost something and now I gotta go find it. It's not quite like that.

We're really talking more about works. Post-salvation or pre-salvation, uh, they're the same. Works, works are works, amen? Grace... By the way, you know this old, uh, formula, right? Grace plus works equals works. Grace plus works equals works. Grace is grace. You can't add anything to it, you don't take anything from it.

That's what grace is. If you add works to it, it's no [00:35:00] longer grace. You might as well change the verse. For you're saved by works- Don't do that. But we're talking about works. And remember this verse, Ephesians 2:8-9. "By grace you've been saved through faith. That not of yourselves, that not of your own doing."

There it is. That not of your own doing. It's not your works. It's the gift of God. Not a result of works. Yours or anyone else's in human form. Only the work of Christ. "So that no one may boast." And you know why he says that? 'Cause we would. I mean, can you imagine a heaven where we all had some measure of investment in getting there?

Clark, what would that be like? You know what we'd be sitting around having an afternoon tea comparing our worthiness But you know what I did to get here. You should've ... Ooh, man, you should've seen me work. Ooh, my goodness. Well, Clark wouldn't do that, but I probably would. Because we would boast, and what would we be boasting about?

Our own works, our own selves. [00:36:00] And that would be a lie. Because we don't have anything of worth to offer, how could we have anything to boast about? I guess it comes down in answering this question, can a person lose their salvation, to the source of our salvation. It depends on the source and of our security, the source of our security.

So if it's based on what I do, well then I suppose you could lose your salvation. Because you could do less or worse or not as much. If it depends on do for you, you could undo what he did. If, big if. If it were possible, if it was related to what you do and to your works, then maybe the answer to the question can I lose it?

Well, I suppose you can if it depends on you. Because you know what I know about me? I just don't always get it right

But that's not the source of our salvation, nor of our [00:37:00] assurance. No, it's not based on what we do, it's based on what Jesus did. It's what he did. He finished. It's completed. Signed, sealed, delivered. I'm yours. Done deal. It never depended on my work to get into the salvation situation. It won't depend on my work to get out of the salvation situation.

Imagine living your life every week hoping you're still saved. Checking your accounts, looking at the list, maybe even getting some coaching outside. What have you seen in me this week that looks like sin? I don't wanna lose my salvation. Oh, good news, Sunday's coming. We get saved again on Sunday. You know, and I, I lost my salvation on Saturday, but thank God it was Saturday.

Didn't have long to wait. Sunday, Sunday I mean, we laugh, but it's an ex- it's an extreme example I'm saying, but, but it is possible to think that way. But no, if it's based on what Jesus did, here's the logic of it. If it's gained by my works, I could lose it through the lack of my works But if it's based on Jesus and His work, His work's finished.[00:38:00]

His work's finished. Somebody might say, "Well, He did all the heavy lifting, but, but you gotta bring something to the table. You're saved. You're saved by grace through faith, but you gotta work it out. You gotta work it up. You gotta get going. You got work to do." Oh, so I'm saved by grace through faith, but now I have to work to keep it?

Does that sound like a free gift to anybody in the room? Does that sound like grace through faith to anyone in the room? I mean, at what point does it suddenly become my responsibility to stay saved if it was His and only His responsibility to save me? It just, logically it doesn't work, does it? No, it doesn't.

So can a person lose their salvation? Ah. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Sound familiar? Yes. Nothing. Long list of things. Nor anything else in all creation. Let me ask you something. Are you a part of the all creation? Are you? Yes. You are. What does that mean? [00:39:00] Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ.

Nothing can. If you gained it through faith and His completed work, it's done. It's done. Although that does lead us to a third question. Okay, so I can't gain or lose my salvation by works, but can I exercise my ultimate free will and just walk away? Can I just turn my back and walk away? And of course, the first question you gotta ask is, who would ever do that?

Who would ever? I mean, from a hypothetical perspective, could a person? I suppose, but who would ever? I know what you're thinking. There are examples, but wow, who? Could decide that all the goodness and the blessings and the future benefits of salvation aren't worth it, and choose to go back into that burning building, or jump into that dark, deep, cold sea, or let go of the ledge and just fall to, [00:40:00] into the...

It's, it's a bit of a challenge for me to get my mind around how somebody who's in could ever decide to go out. But we do have to ask and answer the question. Some might And in this argument or in this question is the case of the will. It's not so much about works and what we do, it's about ultimately the will of the person.

Different from question two. Not about behavior, but about the will, free will. Which gives us just a moment, if you don't mind, to do a little history, and to answer this question from the Reformed view, and then to consider it from the Arminian view. The Reformed view would say, "I'm saved, and the faith that saves me is itself God's gift.

If He gave it, He will sustain it. If He gave it, He will sustain it. It's His gift to me. He secures it. He assures me of it. I am safe in it." The Arminian view, and by the [00:41:00] way, there are many Jesus-loving, Bible-believing people that are, are the Arminian perspective, and they just believe in the ultimate expression of free will and that God won't override my free thinking.

As long as I'm saved, I wanna be saved, would be the thinking. The will remains free even after salvation, and God won't override your choice to walk away. That's the Arminian perspective. Any of you know, uh, wonderful Wesleyan friends, perhaps of a Methodist persuasion or of a Pentecostal background, and others would lean into this camp a bit.

They don't think they're gonna mess up today and lose their salvation, but they do think it's possible that tomorrow they could decide, "I don't want anything to do with this Jesus business," and turn their back and walk away. That's what the word apostasy is. This is a act of the will. It's a conscious choice.

It's not a slip-up or a mistake. It's not a bad day. It's, "I have decided as an act of my will to turn, to repent, to [00:42:00] re-repent, and to walk away from my salvation." The Arminians would say, "Hey, I'm with you on this by grace through faith 100%. Can't do anything to save myself or stay saved. However, I could choose, if I wanted to, to walk away."

I have a few verses to think about. John 6, "All that the Father gives me," Jesus said, "will come to me, and I will lose none of them." Philippians 1:6, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion." Sometimes in spite of you or me. And I love this one, John 10, "I give them eternal life. I give them eternal life.

They will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." So Jesus says, "Hey, this is like you... We double got you. No one's gonna take you out of my hand. And my Father, [00:43:00] who gave this, you're not taking them out of his hand either."

He's got us. He has got a firm grip on your soul And by the way, while we're talking about a double grip, think about this. If I could possibly, having a bad day or a bad year or a bad decade, decide to begin to loosen my grip on Jesus, here's the good news. He's not loosening his grip on me I mean, this is the basis of your assurance, not how long you hold on or how tightly you grip.

He's got you. He's got you in hand. He ain't gonna lose any of us. He's not gonna let it happen. Now, I can tell you some might go to heaven a little sooner than planned. That's another lesson. But he's not gonna let us go because his reputation's on the line. His name is on the seal. The gift was his to give So I think you can rest in it.

I think the question comes down to where do you want to anchor? Where do you want to [00:44:00] anchor? Both of these two views, you have a sincere believer who wakes up every day trusting in Christ. The real question is, for the Arminian side, I am saved as long as I want to be saved. From the Reformed side, if you will, by God's grace, those He saves are kept wanting to be saved.

I know we're splitting theological hairs and doctrinal differences, but it matters when it comes to assurance that not only can you not lose your salvation by works good, bad, insufficient He's not going to set you up in a situation where you can just turn your back and walk away

As long I wanna be, or He keeps me wanting to be? I'm telling you where my anchor is. I think you probably can guess. What about the saved person who sins? All right, I got it. What about that? Well, a little word of caution, [00:45:00] that would be all of us. Sorry If we say we have no sin, by the way, John writing to a community of faith, to the church, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

We confess our sins. He's faithful and just to forgive us our sin. So that's the way we're made right. We keep, we keep both short accounts, we stay confessed up or fessed up, if you will and we stay in intimate fellowship and relationship with the Lord. We don't keep a long list of sins that we cherish in our heart.

We, we're willing to agree with the Lord and confess those sins, and we're made right. We just keep clean. Don't, don't you wash clothes? Hello? Well, sometimes our life and our heart and our minds need to be washed through, through confession and cleansing. But if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

So the word of caution is, is let's be careful that we're looking in the mirror while we're having this conversation and not just through the binoculars, right? But to be clear, eternal security or pers- perseverance of the saint, if you will, is not a license to sin. No way. I've had people say to me, "Oh, [00:46:00] you Baptists believe in that once saved, always saved.

You think you should go out and do whatever you want." I'm like, "Who told you that? I've never in my life believed that. I've never preached that. I've never taught that. I've never said that. It's not true." Now, theoretically, could you? You can debate hairs there, split hairs, but I can tell you right now, if you got Jesus in your heart, you ain't gonna want to.

I mean, right? The whole new birth experience has got about getting a new will to and a want to and a new ability to. So some things are gonna change. Some things are gonna change. And to continue in sin, we've already heard Mark teach from Romans 6:1 and 2, "Heavens no," to quote Mark. So you don't believe that.

I don't believe that. We don't teach that. That is not what eternal security or assurance of salvation means. No, of course not. Doesn't mean that. If there was a time when you were doing things your way, that time has passed. If you continue to try to do things your way, that's a problem. [00:47:00] Someone said sin is not serious in the life of a believer.

Others would say it's more serious because your sin that separates you from God and from salvation is one conversation. You are already in. You know. You're part of the family. Now you're in a whole different conversation. You're a family member. You're a child. Which means it's probably not appropriate to stand across the room and look at somebody else and say, "Well, they must not be saved because they, they sinned, or they said, or they did, or they didn't."

That's not our place. What we know for sure is happening where we can't see most of the time is this: that a saved person who sins is suffering some level and measure of consequences in relationship. There's a lack or a loss of intimacy. There is the lack of enjoyment, the full benefits and the full blessings of salvation.

You're, you're turning off the water, man. You, it's a trickle. It should've [00:48:00] been a flood. And of course, there's always the discipline of a father for a son or a daughter. That's biblical, by the way. Hebrews 6, "You've forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons. 'My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him.

For the Lord disciplines the one He loves and chastises every son whom He receives.' It's for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated," because all sin, "then you are illegitimate children and not sons."

So the question of a, quote, "saint" or saved person who can continue in sin as if nothing ever happened or nothing ever changed is not an issue of whether or not you can still sin after salvation. The question is were you ever saved? Amen. Or do you have a false assurance based on a faulty [00:49:00] foundation?

There's no new birth. It's an outward confession without a heart's belief. It's a word, it's water, it's membership, but it's not the new birth. Because the new birth brings about a new focus, a new mindset, a new will, a new want to, and that's what we wanna focus on. Finally, what about good works? What is our part?

I can do this fast. Jonathan Edwards said, "You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary." Amen. I like the way my friend H.B. Charles in Jacksonville, Florida said it, "In salvation, we do our part and God, God does His part. We do the sinning and God does the saving." Amen. Okay, hang on.

It's not that simple, I know. But it's kind of cute. What about good works? Absolutely, 100%, there is definitely a place for works. You just gotta make sure it's in the right order. His work of salvation first, and that work is finished. Trust Him, believe it, [00:50:00] receive it. Turn from sin and self to Jesus Christ alone for salvation and be saved.

That's what Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us. But look at verse 10. We often miss verse 10 of 2:8-9. 10: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for, not because of, for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. And we should. There is most definitely a place in the life of a Christian for good works that follow a good salvation, and we should work.

"Abide in me. Apart from me you can do nothing." But as John 15 tells us, if we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit. We should bear much fruit. Fruit of the Spirit would be a great example in the life of a believer. And what about works? Well, the Bible tells us to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Doesn't say work for your salvation. It says work out your salvation. Why? For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work [00:51:00] for His good pleasure. Philippians chapter 2. So some common questions. Let me wrap it up with points for home, and I have two minutes. Are you saved? Brent already had you raise your hand and hoot and holler, so I won't do that again.

But I do wanna ask you, are you saved? If yes, rejoice in your salvation. Rest in your salvation. Be assured in your salvation because your salvation is on solid ground. It's safe. It's secure. Be assured. No? My goodness, friend, what are you waiting for? What you waiting for? Your house is on fire.

It's a slow burn But don't you smell the smoke?

Behold now is a favorable time. Behold now is the day of salvation. This is an urgent plea, friend, [00:52:00] that if you haven't come to faith and trust in Jesus, if you haven't turned from sin and self to trust in Him alone, please bow with me right now. Every head bowed, every eye closed, pray this prayer with me.

Dear Lord Jesus, He's right. Your Word is true. I confess. Say it to the Lord. I have sin in my life. I'm a sinner. I can't save myself. But I believe You are God's Son. You lived a sinless life. You died on a cross. You were buried and raised again on the third day. I believe that. The Bible says it. It's true.

I accept it I'm willing to turn now from my sin and myself, put everything in your hands. I'm trusting in you, Lord Jesus, receiving you as my savior. I wanna follow you as my Lord. I pray that in faith. I believe it. I receive it in Jesus' name. You say, "Pastor, I didn't get all those words just right." It's not, again, it's not a formula.

It's not every word. If that [00:53:00] expresses what you believe in your heart and what you wanna say to God, then go back and answer this question again. Are you saved?

Can it be that simple? Well, if it's not, we're all in trouble So are you saved? No time like the present. Number two, if you're saved, show it. Oh my goodness, please show it. Live like Jesus, you'll begin to look like Jesus. Let your light shine, Matthew 5 tells us. Let it shine. Dear Lord, don't let anybody else ever have a conversation about you wherein they're unsure of your assurance or of your salvation.

Live light. Live bright. Be loud that I'm a Jesus follower, and He lives in me. Let your light shine. Let the fruit of the Spirit shine through you, and let the love of Jesus give testimony that you are His and you belong to Him. If you're saved, show it. And finally, share it. [00:54:00] I think Brent covered that very nicely in his introduction.

This is not meant to be a secret, folks. We are not some hide-in-the-corner cult. This is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's good news, and it needs to be shared and announced to everyone. Everyone Because this isn't just about our salvation, it's about their salvation. Their need to be saved, to be rescued, to be delivered.

Your friend or neighbor, your family members hanging on with their last bit of strength, with an abyss below. They're going down for the third time

The flames are beginning to break through the doors

Well, I suppose a part of loving your neighbor as yourself means I gotta get up and go next door and knock on their door and say, "Hey, can I talk to you about something? Sorry I hadn't brought this up sooner, but it's [00:55:00] been on my heart and I've been praying for you, and I'd just like to tell you a little bit about my story.

Would that be all right?" See, there was a time when I didn't know what would happen to me if I died. And I didn't have the assurance of heaven and eternal life, but I read in the Bible and some friends were able to show me how I can know and have tr- confidence and, and belief and assurance that if something happens to me, I'm gonna go be with the Lord.

Can I tell you how I came to that decision? Can I show you in the Bible what it says? And who knows, maybe your neighbor will be watching over the driveway and like Brent's case say, "Hey, can you... I need to hear that story too." Because the doctrine of our salvation is the doctrine of everyone else's salvation.

And we, because we love God, because we're followers of Jesus, because we care about the men and women next door in our office building or in our classroom or in our family who don't know Jesus Father, give us a sense of ownership to that [00:56:00] responsibility. We're not told to wait for everybody else. We're told to be your witnesses.

We're told to go and make disciples. And our Jerusalem is so close and so accessible, and there are so many people all around us who need to know more about salvation. Meanwhile, may we all rest in the assurance that our salvation is safe and secure. Thank you for that. We rest in that and rejoice in it.

In Jesus' name, amen. Blessings. Thank you all for being here. Really appreciate it very much.