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TEXT: I John 5:13
SUBJECT: Christian's Great Interest #2
Tonight, with the Lord's blessing, we'll continue our study of The Christian's Great Interest, a book by William Guthrie, a Scottish pastor in the Seventeenth Century.
What's it about? Assurance.
"How shall a man know if he has a true and special interest in Christ, and whether he has, or may lay claim to, God's favor and salvation?"
In Chapter One, we have five "premises" or starting points. They are:
1.You can know if you're saved.
2.To know you're saved is very important.
3.Scripture alone decides if you're saved.
4.Assurance is lost by an ignorance of God and His ways.
5.Assurance is not the vain presumption of hypocrites.
In Chapter Two, William Guthrie explains,
"The various ways by which men are drawn to Christ".
A first reading of this chapter left me very disappointed. What does this have to do with assurance? It doesn't matter when you were saved or how--only that you are saved. Why does he bring this up?
I thought about it for quite a while and it struck me: Though it doesn't really matter how you came to Christ, maybe it matters to you. Maybe you think you're unsaved because you didn't have the experience that someone else had. His testimony gives you goose bumps, but yours? Ho Hum!
That's the point Guthrie is trying to make: There is no uniform way of coming to Christ. If you've come to Christ, you're saved. Stop worrying about it. Find assurance in Your Savior, not in your experience.
How do people come to Christ? In four ways, says the old writer.
1."Some are called from the womb or in very early years".
To prove his point, he cites two examples from the Bible, John the Baptist who was "Filled with the Holy Spirit from His mother's womb" (Luke 1:15); and Timothy who "From childhood, knew the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (II Timothy 3:15).
He might have added others to the list, like Samuel, David, Joash, and Josiah. They were all men of God long before they were men.
In Church history, we find the same thing. Sarah, the wife of Jonathan Edwards, was converted by the age of six. In his Narrative of Surprising Conversions, Edwards listed several boys and girls converted--one, I think, at four years old.
These conversions are not dramatic. They do not result a big and visible change of life. Guthrie says:
1."They are usually kept free from ordinary pollutions, as swearing, lying, and mocking, with which children are often defiled".
2."Religion is, as it were, natural to them; they needn't be much pressed to their duties".
3."Although they do not know when they were first acquainted with God, yet they have such exercises of spirit befalling them as the saints in Scripture".
I know a man who was converted in this way. Now in his seventies, he'll say, "I've always been saved". And his life bears it out.
This kind of person may doubt his salvation because he wasn't struck down on the Road to Damascus. He almost wishes he had lived in gross sin, so that me might know he's a "New creature in Christ Jesus".
This, of course, in nonsense. Timothy's conversion was much better than Paul's, for he was spared the blasphemy, persecution, and arrogance of which the older man was guilty.
A quiet, unfelt conversion is no less saving than the most radical change of life. If you've had it, you're saved.
2."Some are called in mature life, in a sovereign Gospel-way".
The key word here is "Gospel". Some people are saved without the guilt and fear produced by the Law and its curses.
This is very important. And often misunderstood. Years ago, I preached on Mark 11:22, "Have faith in God". I said what faith is, in whom it is placed, and its happy result. Seemed pretty good to me. But later a man told me, "That was the worst sermon you ever preached".
"Why?" I wanted to know.
"Because you didn't say anything about sorrow for sin".
"It wasn't about sorrow for sin. It was about faith".
"There is no faith without sorrow for sin".
My friend is not alone. Many people feel this way; they're often good people who read their Bibles with care and don't want to see false professions of faith.
Neither do I. But we don't guard against them by demanding that everyone must suffer long under crushing effect of the Law.
Some are saved this way. But not everyone. Guthrie says
"Some are brought to Christ this way...when the Lord by some few words of love swallowing up the Law ...[receives] him.
For examples, he recalls Zacchaeus, Matthew, Peter, James, and John. The rich publican didn't beat his breast, but simply received Christ. Matthew and his friends didn't agonize over their sins, they just put down their ledger or nets and followed the Lord.
They were not unique or even rare. Guthrie says
"We grant the Lord calls some so; they have good confirmation of God's dealing with them from Scripture; neither are they to vex themselves because of a lack of Law-work, if their heart has yielded to Christ. For a work of the Law is not desirable, except for this end. Therefore Christ offers Himself directly in the Scripture, and people are invited to come to Him. And though many will not come to Him, until the spirit of bondage distress them, yet if any, upon the knowledge of their lost estate, would flee and yield to Christ, none might warrantably press a work of the Law upon them".
The Law is never an end in itself. It's a means to an end. The end of faith in Christ, which is often produced by the Law. But not always. If the Lord saves you without years of guilt and agony of soul, be thankful. And don't think you're unsaved.
3."Some are graciously called as death approaches".
When judging your faith, you ought to look for lasting fruit. It is not the momentary excitement that proves you're saved, but a changed life.
The problem is: What if you're saved near the end of your life? Can you still have assurance? Yes you can. The thief on the cross proves that. This man was saved in the last hours of his life and died with a certain hope of eternal life.
His life was changed. He didn't have thirty years to prove it, as Paul did. But the time he had made the change clear. Guthrie cites seven proofs of his conversion.
(1) "The man falls out with his former companion; (2) He dares not speak a word against God; (3) He sees Jesus as innocent; (4) He finds Christ His Lord and King; (5) He believes Christ will give him glory after death; (6) He had faith in Christ's all-sufficiency; and (7) He found comfort in the Word of Christ".
These "marks of grace" are found in every believer. For decades in some; for minutes in others. But it doesn't matter how long your persevere in faith, only that you do it.
Some men are saved this way. If you're one of them, don't think you need years of consistent holiness to have assurance.
4."Men are ordinarily prepared for Christ by the work of the Law".
Before being saved, most people are broken by the Law. He describes it over several pages, of which I can only give a few excerpts.
"The Lord assaults men who have often refused to yield to Him...He reveals his sin to him...The man becomes [worried] about his salvation...The Lord gives him a hope of being saved...He quickens a desire in his soul...The man [gets alone with] God...He begins to pray [fervently] for salvation".
This time of sorrow and doubt and guilt is not meant to keep you from Christ, but to break the pride and rebellion that keeps you from the Lord. If the Lord has done this in your life and given you the grace to believe, you can know you're saved. Christ has come to "Bind up the brokenhearted".
Guthrie knows not every broken heart has been mended. Or will be. He says
"Hypocrites and reprobates have great stirrings of conscience, and deep convictions of sin".
How do you know that you're not one of them? What's the difference, let's say, between the sorrow of Peter and the tears of Judas?
Guthrie gives three differences:
1."The hypocrite's convictions are usually confined to some very few gross sins".
He feels bad about cheating on his wives, for example, or being arrested for drunk driving or some other scandalous sin. But little sins don't bother him at all.
2."The hypocrite's convictions seldom reach the corruption that inclines them to evil".
In other words, he condemns "what he did", not "what he is". He makes mistakes, of course; he even sins from time to time. But he's still basically good--he thinks.
3."The hypocrite's convictions are easily distracted".
After reading the Bible, he feels guilty. But a few minutes of TV will make him feel fine.
The saved person, on the other hand, is horrified by his little sins, ashamed of what he is, and feels no peace till he's made things right with God.
Do you have problems with assurance? Most of us do, from time to time. If so, remember, it doesn't matter when or how you came to Christ. The only thing that matters is that you came to Christ.
If you haven't, I urge you to come to Christ. The Lord invites everyone; He invites everyone right now. So why don't you quit worrying and simply trust the Lord Jesus right where you are? You don't feel guilty enough? So what? You're not saved by guilt, but by faith.
If you have come to Christ, why don't you believe Him? "He who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out". If you believed after years of struggle, you're saved. If you believed the first time you heard the Gospel, you're saved. If you believed in your mother's womb, you're saved. Salvation is for everyone who believes. If you believe, you are saved. And ought to know it. May God give you the grace to know it. For Christ's sake. Amen.
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