Sermon Tone Analysis

Gty.org 49-24 and 49-25 (Ephesians 4:25-32)

Be Sure of your salvation

To live in the starkness of the imminence of death changes everything

— You would not want to be not sure of where you were heading

— The church is made up of wheat and tares

— And in the day of judgment the Lord will say depart from me you workers of inequity

— There are people who will be in the judgment moment thinking that they are heading to heaven when in fact they are heading to hell

Anyone who is a believer has faced a doubt.

How can I be sure that I’m really a christian?

— Two things to consider SECURITY and ASSURANCE

Security

— Is salvation forever?

Yes, it is eternal

— You don’t get it, loose it, and then get it back

— Peter writes to believers who are scattered and it is a hard time; they want to know of the security of their salvation

“ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” ( 1 Pet 1:3 )

— God in His great mercy caused us to be born again

— You don’t see any part of us in our being born again

— And He regenerated us to a living hope which is attached to the resurrection of Christ; we live as He lives

— Peter is talking about the eternality of our salvation, because our salvation is in Christ, Christ lives forever, therefore we live forever and therefore we have a living hope

— Peter expands on this in the next verse, v. 4

“to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” ( 1 Pet 1:4 )

— Based the regenerating work of God out of His great mercy, we have been given a hope that lives because Christ lives, and when that hope is realized we will receive an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, unfading reserved in heaven for you and for no one else — that is the security of our salvation

“who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

( 1 Pet 1:5 )

— The full revelation of our final salvation and the receiving of that glorious heavenly inheritance is for us and no one else and we are protected by God for that final revelation

— Peter is affirming the security of salvation; you will one day be in glory ( 1 Pet 1:8 ) and you will obtain as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls

— Security is objective; it is based on scripture and scripture says you have it forever

Assurance

Assurance is subjective

— In assurance you know that you posses that salvation

— Paul says examine yourself to be sure you are in the faith

— Where do we go for the confidence that our salvation is the real thing

“as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” ( 2 Pet 1:3-4 )

— All that awaits us in eternal glory is promised in the gospel

— We have life in God and we have escaped the corruption that is in the world

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” ( 1 Pet 1:5-7 )

— You are secure by the promises of God

— you are secure by the power of God; you have escaped the corruption that is in the world

— But you must add to that reality these qualities

— self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,

— 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love

Why? verse 8

“For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

( 2 Pet 1:8 )

— If these things are characteristic of you life, you possess the true knowledge of Christ

— Your salvation is the real thing, on the other hand (v.9)

“For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins” ( 2 Pet 1:9 )

— You can be a real believer and forget that you truly are a real believer

— You can lose your assurance

“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;” ( 2 Pet 1:10 )

— Practice what things?

The things on the list

— Where you have virtue in your life, you have assurance

— If you want to make your choosing sure, be diligent that these things are characteristic of your life

How do you know you are saved?

Not by a past event or prayer, but by looking at your life

Assurance can be hard

— We can lose assurance

— Assurance can be hard to experience and hard to hold on to!

— Why is it hard to have assurance?

Some reasons

Convicting Preaching — you sit under the word of God, it is sharper than any two edged sword, it reveals your heart.

If you are sitting in a church that deals with the Word of God superficially, you probably will not be convicted.

Guilt and a high understanding of holiness — When you have vivid memories of your sinfulness and you have a clear view of God’s holiness, you can struggle

Misunderstanding of the gospel — some think that the gospel is God’s plan to save you and then you do your part to keep yourself saved

Not accepting full and complete forgiveness — Some say that when you are saved God forgives all your sins of your past ( that’s true); but not the present and the future (that’s not true)

No memory of the time of your true salvation — Some cannot remember the time of their salvation.

This is true for most people; you’ve probably prayed to be saved a thousand times.

Salvation is God’s work on His schedule not ours

Strong impulses of the flesh — you keep going back to the same old sins.

Have you noticed?

You don’t come up with a new sin.

They are ingrained in you.

You have sins that you prefer.

You have past carnal fulfillment in those sins.

A failure to see God’s goodness in your trials — You find out that you have cancer and you ask, Why is God doing this to me?

Or a child denies the faith, or you have girl that you want to marry and she shuns you.

Or, you had career plans that don’t work out.

If God is my father and is supposed to bless me, we ask why is this happening to me.

Rom 8:28 God orders all things to work out for good for those that are called.

We fail to see God’s providence

Sin and disobedience — if there is in your life the appearance of sin and disobedience on a regular basis, you will forfeit your assurance.

If you are walking in disobedience, the HS will withdraw that assurance.

if you are not walking in the Spirit you will not experience love, joy and peace

Evidence

— The only accurate evidence that you are true believer is righteousness and godliness of life

— Not as a perfection but a direction of your life

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus ( Eph 2:4-7 )

— This is a description of our salvation and our security

— God out of His mercy and love

— We have been raised up with Christ and seated with him — a place in heaven, which is what Peter meant when he said we have an inheritance

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

( Eph 2:7-8 )

— God predetermined our justification

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

“ ( Eph 2:9 )

— As surely as He predetermined your justification, He also predetermined your sanctification

— God prepared before hand your good works

— Our lives are dramatically changed, He transforms us