Being Sure About Salvation Part 4

Is there a way
to tell who is
a true
Christian and
who is not?
www.confidentchristians.org

“There is no question
whatsoever, that is of greater
importance to mankind, and
what is more concerns every
individual person to be well
resolved in, than this: What
are the distinguishing
qualifications of those that are
in favor with God, and entitled
to his eternal rewards?”
-Jonathan Edwards
A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections
Page 1


The Evidences of Being Lost
Maturing/Growth Process

Love things of
world / sin

Fleshly Positive / Reject God /
Affections Negative things of God
Human Birth Works
Experience / Reject Spiritual
Old Nature Truth Fruit
Darkened
Mind
Mind centered Personal life
on self/flesh

God & Sinful Motion Self &
Holy Things Sinful Things
Away From Toward


The Evidences of Salvation
Maturing/Growth Process
Love
God/Things of
God

Holy Hate sin / world
Positive /
/ enemies of
Affections Negative God
New Birth / Works
New Nature Accept
Spiritual Truth Fruit
Renewed
Mind Mind of the Personal life
Sprit in Holy
living

Self & Sinful Holy Motion God &
Things Holy Things
Away From Toward


“O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”
(Psalm 119:97)

“Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not
loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with
the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.”
(Psalm 139:21–22)


“That religion which God
requires, and will accept, does
not consist in weak, dull, and
lifeless wishes, raising us but a
little above a state of
indifference: God, in his word,
greatly insists upon it, that we be
good in earnest, ‘fervent in
spirit’, and our hearts vigorously
engaged in religion. . . . If we be
not in good earnest in religion,
and our wills and inclinations be
not strongly exercised, we are
nothing.”
- Jonathan Edwards

The Struggle for Domination

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the
flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in
opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. [the new
affections]” (Galatians 5:16–17)

“For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to
do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. ” (Romans 7:15)


“Hence the work of the Spirit of God in regeneration is often in Scripture
compared to the giving a new sense, giving eyes to see, and ears to hear,
unstopping the ears of the deaf, and opening the eyes of them that were born
blind, and turning from darkness unto light. And because this spiritual sense is
immensely the most noble and excellent, and that without which all other
principles of perception, and all our faculties are useless and vain; therefore
the giving this new sense, with the blessed fruits and effects of it in the soul, is
compared to a raising the dead and to a new creation.”
-Jonathan Edwards

The Move toward Holiness

Old Nature

God & Sinful Motion Self &
Holy Things Sinful Things
Away From Toward

Disrupts maturity
New Nature

Self & Sinful Holy Motion God &
Things Holy Things
Away From Toward


“As from true divine love flow all Christian affections, so from
a counterfeit love in like manner naturally flow other false
affections. In both cases, love is the fountain, and the other
affections are the streams.”
-Jonathan Edwards


Five Teachings of Christ Provide the Details

1. The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount
2. The end of the Sermon on the Mount
3. The parable of the ten virgins
4. The parable of the sower
5. The parable of the wheat and the tares

Evidence from the Sermon on the Mount

The Saved The Unsaved
Know they need spiritual salvation Are ‘rich’ in themselves and see no need
Hunger for God’s righteousness Have no appetite for God’s righteousness
Mourn over their sin Laugh in their sin
Are rejected/persecuted by the world Are welcomed/accepted by the world


“Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands far
away; For truth has stumbled in the street, And
uprightness cannot enter. Yes, truth is lacking; And he
who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey.”
(Isaiah 59:14–15)


“The contrary affection of hatred also, as having sin for its object, is
spoken of in Scripture as no inconsiderable part of true religion. It is
spoken of as that by which true religion may be known and
distinguished; Prov. 8:13, ‘The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.’ So holy
desire, exercised in longings, hungerings, and thirstings after God and
holiness, is often mentioned in Scripture as an important part of true
religion.”
-Jonathan Edwards



“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but
inwardly are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits.
Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are
they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad
fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce
good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
(Matthew 7:15–20)


“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may
be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell,
and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and
yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears
these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who
built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds
blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
(Matthew 7:24–27)

Evidence from the Parable of the Ten Virgins
• They were all the same outwardly
• All had the same outward ‘mechanism’ for
producing light
• The ‘oil’ in the parable is representative of the Holy
Spirit who is the One who produces life: “That
which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit. . . . The wind blows where
it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not
know where it comes from and where it is going; so
is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)
• Without the life, the ‘torch’ won’t put forth light
and remains in darkness
• What might the light represent? “Let your light
shine before men in such a way that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father who is in
heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
• “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and
to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

“All who are truly religious are not of this world, they are strangers here,
and belong to heaven; they are born from above, heaven is their native
country, and the nature which they received by this heavenly birth, is a
heavenly nature, they receive an anointing from above; that principle of
true religion which is in them, is a communication of the religion of
heaven; their grace is the dawn of glory; and God fits them for that
world by conforming them to it.”
-Jonathan Edwards


Evidence from the Parable of the Sower

• The core types of unbelief include
those who are:
• Unresponsive
• Superficial
• Worldly
• Only one soil produced a crop; a true
evidence of saving faith
• “Every branch in Me that does not
bear fruit, He takes away; and every
branch that bears fruit, He prunes it
so that it may bear more fruit.” (John
15:2)

“They often hear these things [the truth of the gospel] and yet remain
as they were before, with no sensible alternation in them, either in
heart or practice, because they are not affected with what they hear;
and ever will be so till they are affected. I am bold to assert, that there
never was any considerable change wrought in the mind or
conversation of any person, by anything of a religious nature, that ever
he read, heard or saw, that had not his affections moved.”
-Jonathan Edwards


A Comparison of the Findings
Passage Evidences of salvation Commentary
Sermon on the Mount (start) • Poor in spirit Exact opposite is
• Hunger for righteousness seen in those who
• Sad over sin are lost.
• Persecuted by the world
Sermon on the Mount (end) • Fruit of the person Good and bad trees
• Hear & practice Christ’s words bear their own fruit
Ten Virgins • Holy Spirit given Externally they all
• Lights shine in the world looked the same
The Sower • Hears & understands No other ‘ground’
• Produces crop of differing sizes brought forth a crop.
¾ of the seed died
Wheat and Tares • Different from the very beginning Cannot judge
• Takes time to see difference instantly the state of
a person


“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His
commandments. . . . but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of
God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the
one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same
manner as He walked.”
(1 John 2:3, 5–6)

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love
the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”
(1 John 3:14)

“Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed
and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure
our heart before Him ”
(1 John 3:18–19)


Subtle Marks of False Believers
• Seeks feelings, blessings,
experiences, etc. More
interested in the by-products of
faith than the faith
• More committed to
denomination than the Church
and the Word of God. Describes
themselves by their
denomination
• Overindulgent in the name of
grace. Lack of penitence and a
true, contrite heart
• Says “I believe in God”, but
nothing follows in their lives

“False affections, if they are equally strong, are much more
forward to declare themselves, than true: because it is the
nature of false religion, to affect show and observation; as it
was with the Pharisees.”
-Jonathan Edwards


Overt Marks of False or Unbelievers
• No sensitivity to sin
• No real desire to ready, study, or
learn about God’s Word
• Does not grasp the truths of the
Bible if they read it
• Desires the “food” of the world,
whether it’s the world’s music,
entertainment, lifestyle, or
comedy
• Sides with the world on ethical
issues that conflict with Scripture
(e.g. homosexuality)
• No or little meaningful prayer life
• No desire to witness to others
about God


What Causes False Assurance?

1. Signed a card, walked the
aisle, got baptized
2. Failure to self-examine
their life where sin is
concerned
3. Fixation on works
4. Comparison game with
others


What if I’m
doubting my
salvation?


A Quick Self-Exam

1. Do I have a longing for holy
things?
2. Do I seek those things that
honor God?
3. Am I sensitive to sin?
4. Am I enjoying fellowship with
God?
5. Do I delight in God’s Word and
ways?


“The devil does not assault the hope of the hypocrite, as he
does the hope of a true saint.”
-Jonathan Edwards


“It is not God’s design that men should obtain assurance in any other
way, than by mortifying corruption, and increasing in grace, and
obtaining the lively exercises of it. And although self-examination be a
duty of great use and importance, and by no means to be neglected; yet
it is not the principal means, by which the saints do get satisfaction of
their good estate. Assurance is not to be obtained so much by self-
examination, as by action.”
-Jonathan Edwards

Being Sure About Salvation Part 4

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