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TEXT: I John 5:13
SUBJECT: The Christian's Great Interest
Tonight brings us to Chapter Six in our study of The Christian's Great Interest. The author is William Guthrie; the topic is assurance.
He says there are two proofs of salvation. You're saved only if (1) You have faith in Christ, and (2) You have a new life in Christ.
Both are necessary. "Faith without works is dead, being alone". Works done without faith are hypocrisy. Do you believe in Christ? Has He given you a new life? If so, you belong to God--whether you feel like it or not!
This is good news. You all want to believe it. But there's a problem: Your sins! You know that perfection is not possible in this life--but surely you've got to do better than you are doing! No saved person could sin as often as you do. What bothers you most is: they're the same old sins you keep committing over and over again. You sin a million times a day. But not a million different sins a day, but the same five two hundred thousand times a day!
This is very discouraging. You know it; I know it. And so did William Guthrie. In Chapter Six, he writes about it. In two parts. Tonight, we take up the first.
THE PROBLEM STATED
"I am clear, sometimes, I think, to lay claim to that mark of the new creature; yet at other times sin doth so prevail over me, that I am made to question all the work within me".
That's a bit wordy, but his meaning is clear: Sometimes we do well against our sins and sometimes we don't. When we're doing well, assurance comes to us; when we're not, it leaves us.
I've felt this way many times. I suppose you have too.
ADMISSIONS
In answering the objection, Guthrie admits the problem,
"It is much to be lamented, that people professing the name of Christ, should be so much abused and enslaved by transgression as many are".
His words are carefully chosen. He doesn't say believers may be "harassed by their sins" or "bothered now and then". He says "abused and enslaved"! Think about them:
1."Abused". Beaten by your sins; tortured by them day and night.
2."Enslaved". Under the power of your sins; unable to free yourself from them. The modern word is "addicted".
Believers may be tormented by their sins. And still be believers. To prove his case, old William cites two outstanding men of God.
David. "Iniquities prevail against me" (Psalm 65:3).
Paul. "The good that I will to do, I do not do; but what I hate that I do" (Romans 7:15).
He also admits these things hinder assurance. Of course they do! Sin grieves the Spirit of God and makes for a bad conscience in you. Put the two together and you've got a problem with assurance. A big problem!
GROSS SINS
At this point, Guthrie distinguishes one kind of sin from another. Are all sins equally bad? No they're not. All sins are bad, but they're not equally bad.
Gross sins (like adultery, theft, and lying) are not consistent with saving faith. If persisted in, they must damn the soul. A believer may commit them, of course. David did. But he can't practice them. If he does commit one, it makes assurance impossible until he truly repents. For proof, see Psalm 51 or think about Peter's long night of "Weeping bitterly".
LESSER SINS
For most believers, it is not the "gross sin" that so bothers them, but the "lesser sins". Guthrie calls them "sins of infirmity or heart evils".
What he has in mind, exactly, he doesn't say. But we can figure it out. He means sins like worry, gossip, or laziness.
I assume no one has committed adultery this week. But I bet everyone here has worried a little bit; or gossiped a word or two; or goofed off when he should have been working.
Guthrie does not justify these things or excuse them or say they don't really matter. They do matter! He calls them "sins and evils".
But he also knows these things--though bad--do not mean you're lost. You should resist them and pray against them, but you mustn't allow them to rob you of your joy in Christ.
These lesser sins are consistent with salvation. Think of Paul; there's hardly a bad word about him in the Bible. But in Philippians 4:11, he makes an revealing confession,
"I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content therewith".
The key word is "learned". Contentment was not natural to Paul--even after he met the Lord. He had to learn it. Not in the Bible, it seems, but in the school of hard knocks. It took loneliness and disappointment, poverty and shame, beatings, jail, and shipwreck, to teach him how to be satisfied with Christ alone.
Discontentment was Paul's lifelong temptation. It wasn't till near the end of his life--in chains, you recall--that he overcame it.
Was Paul a saved man? Sure he was. Yet he had his stubborn sins too. Just like you and I do.
We don't know as much about Peter as we do about Paul, but it seems he had a persistent problem too: He couldn't hold his tongue. Read the Gospels and see how often he said foolish and sinful things. He never seemed to learn. Yet Peter was a saved man.
TESTS
"Heart sins" are sinful, but they don't mean you're unsaved. Especially if the following things are true of you when you commit them:
1.If you blame yourself for them and not God or other people. Guthrie says,
"When Paul finds that he doth much fail, and cannot reach conformity to God's Law, he doth not blame the Law, as being too strict, so that men cannot keep it, as hypocrites do; but he blames himself as being carnal; and he saith of the Law that it is `Good, holy, and spiritual'"
Do these words describe you? I've heard many people blame God for their own faults. Either He's too hard on them or He withheld the grace they needed or He didn't answer their prayers. And so on. In short, it was God's fault that they sinned!
This is no new thing, of course: the first sinner did the same: "It was the woman You gave me". Everyone was to blame, but Adam. The snake for tempting Eve; Eve for tempting Adam; and God for making that woman in the first place!
If you blame yourself for your sins, you good reason to believe you are saved.
2.Do you sincerely intend to do better? The key word is "sincere". Guthrie says,
"[Do you] often resolve against sin honestly, and without known guile?"
It's possible to swear off sin somewhat deceitfully. We normally do it when we're caught. We promise God everything in the world if only He gets us out of the mess! But, deep down, we know we don't mean it. It's not the sin we hate, but the consequences. This is the worst kind of lie--lying to yourself and to God.
When it comes to resisting temptation, do you mean business? I know you fail, often--so do I? But do you truly intend to do better? If you do, there's good reason to believe you are saved.
3.Do you resist temptation? Guthrie has it,
"[Is there] a party in you opposing these evils and would be at the right way?"
He knows you give into temptation. But do you try to resist it? Are you a reluctant sinner instead of an eager one? Are you torn by sin? If so, that speaks well of your standing with God.
4.Does giving into sin hurt you?
"[Are you] so exercised with your failings, as to judge yourself wretched because of these things?"
Be careful here: It is not "being caught" that hurts you. That hurt Pharaoh and Haman. But does sin itself hurt you? Does it make you feel wretched about yourself? And does it drive you to Christ for healing? If so, you're saved.
A BRIEF WARNING AND ENCOURAGEMENT
At the end of this part, Guthrie gives a brief warning and encouragement:
1."Be advised not to rest until you can very clearly say you are waging war with [your sins]".
In other words, he's not comforting hypocrites or people who don't deplore their sins! Until you do, don't think you're saved.
2."Now a good help against the prevailing power of sin is to cleave closely to the Lord Jesus Christ, by faith".
This is not self-improvement. Holiness is the work of Christ within us, received through faith. And so, if you do well against your sins, praise Christ--not yourself, for "Without Me, you can do nothing". If you fail terribly, take heart, for it's not up to you, as weak and undisciplined as you are. Your salvation is up to Christ. And He's up to the challenge. "He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him".
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