WORDS OF VICTORY
Knowing You are a Genuine Believer Part 2
March 28, 2014
From the Pastor's Keyboard:
On our last Pastor's Keyboard we let you in on a conversation I had with an old elementary school friend who was asking about knowing for sure that he was a Christian. After a day or so he responded with a follow up question, which I attempted to answer. As I post it below, I do so with the prayer that God will use it to minister to the heart of someone who needs to look away from their fallible self to the infallible word of God whose promises we must lean on to receive the peace of God that passeth all understanding.
My friend's follow-up question:
My pastor says its a matter of the heart, not the head. I am analytical and understand the " rules"...but how do I make that real? I have said sorry, attempted to be rededicated...so many times and failed...I don't think God has any more patience for me. I remember someone once saying that the Holy Spirit will attempt to convict but after so many "denials" then your fate is sealed. I don't want to be saved for fire insurance, I want that peace that passeth all understanding. But with this broken mess called my life...I don't know how to get it turned around. Stay focused and finish the race.
My Response:
Your pastor is right: "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." The gospel does have to be understood intellectually before it can be believed in faith. How do you make it real? By putting into practice what you know. We exercise faith every day in little things – we sit in chairs, apply our car's brakes, etc., and we believe they are going to do what they are supposed to do. Putting that same faith in the word of God by walking in what he has said shows true faith. It's one thing to say "I believe" and do nothing; it is altogether different to show your faith in God's word by doing what he said. God is longsuffering with us (2_Peter 3:9). It is true that the Holy Spirit convicts, but once you've acted on what he's said to do, he will not convict over that issue; after that, it would be the devil trying to bring you into condemnation to take the focus off of Christ and on to yourself. Many preachers talk about deep Holy Ghost conviction, and I do not want to discount that. There are folks he convicts in a very deep way. But at the same time, we see God dealing differently with different people: Zacchaeus, the Philippian Jailer, and Paul the apostle were all saved, yet the Holy Spirit did not work in the same manner on each one. We're all different, and God understands that. The peace that passeth all understanding is obtained by faith in what God says. My salvation experience is different from other people's, so much so that, in my mind, I had doubts as to whether I really was saved. If I listened to this preacher or that preacher I was not saved; however, when I read the word of God and took God at what he said, I knew I was saved because the Bible said so! It was then God showed me that oftentimes men preach their own experience instead of the book; God is worthy to be trusted. You were raised in church and you have gone to him many times before. You know the promises of God. He said in John 6:37b "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." I'm going to be bold here, and many would cringe if they heard what I am about to say. If a sinner comes to God through Christ in faith, believing the promise of God, repenting of his sin, and God casts him out, then God would be a liar. However, according to Titus 1:2, God cannot lie; so when one comes to Christ in faith and repentance, according to John 6:37, he will not be cast out. Truly salvation is more than a one-time prayer experience. It is receiving a person. It is the beginning a relationship. It is a birth. In each of these we grow in our knowledge of what God started (see Philippians 1:6) when we called on him to save us. Remember, it's a birth, so you cannot be "born again" again (i.e., you cannot be saved multiple times), and you can't get unborn. You're saved once and grow into Christian manhood. Your life may be broken, but God's grace is sufficient. Obtain peace by believing what God said. John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim's Progress and one of my favorite authors, said in his biography that He did not think the promise was for him because he could not feel its peace; later he said that, had he known better, that he would have believed regardless of how he felt because "God had a bigger mouth to speak with than I had to conceive." So trust what he said; only then can you truly stay focused. God bless you. Call me any time if you need me.
-------
May the Lord bless you as you examine your own relationship with him. If we here at Victory Independent Baptist Church can be a help to you, please don't hesitate to contact us.
With love and gratitude,
Pastor John Nichols
Archives