Sunday School | Foundations - Assurance of Salvation

Introduction

Just remind you that what we're doing here for what we call foundations is really meant to be an all play for the whole church. But broadly speaking, there might be two different groups of people in here. People that are new to the church and might want to become members and the people that have been here for a long time. Although maybe there's another group that's like you've been here for a long time and you want to be members.

And so, we have these little cards with this, what do you call it? QR code here. And they are available on that table in the back.

This conversation that we're having in foundations over the next, I think it's twelve weeks total. Where are we maybe the third week now? So the next ten weeks or so? Is both our new members class and then our hey let's all get on the same page class. So if you'd like to become a member, this checks that box and we'd love you to sign up to let us know that you're interested in doing that.

So, you'll find on that there's a table on the way out. You can grab it, QR code your way into it and then we'd love to help you kinda maybe formally become part of what we're doing here. Alright.

The Purpose and Topics of Foundations

So we are covering, what we're trying to do, in foundations is cover, broadly speaking, three different groups of topics. The first are more theological, like what is the gospel? And then some that's a little more historical of what is Anglicanism, what is the Church of England? And then the third and final section that we'll get to in a little bit, is more of like what does it mean to be locally here in this body?

And so I think all that we've had so far is I talked about what is the gospel? And in a phrase, what is the gospel? What is the good news? Jesus is king. And we might even tighten that a little bit. Not that he is king, but that he became king. Right? He is king. Having become king, he remains king.

Last week, what did Luke talk about? What was it? Did you say sin? Yes. So it should've been first John one, really confession. Right? And kind of the big there is that there's this in first John chapter one, John talks about, he uses this illustration. He says, God is light. In him there is no darkness at all. And he goes on to say that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, the blood of Jesus' son purifies us from all sin.

And a lot of people perhaps have the fundamental assumption that walking in the light is a metaphor for being good. And that would be bad news. Because if the way that we are purified from our sin is by being good, then none of us stand a chance. Right? Well, what it means to walk in the light is simply to walk exposed. To step out of the darkness, to be seen that where we really are is observable. It's to stop hiding. It's to stop lying. It is to be honest, to disclose.

And that really is what we're doing when we are confessing. The Greek for confess is homologieo. It means to speak, this, to say the same word. And what we are saying is that our sin is real. That it's what you've observed about me is accurate. But also, that what Jesus has done to pay for it is sufficient. It's coming into agreement with him and his confessing.

What Is the Gospel and the Essence of Confession

Alright. So what is the gospel? Jesus became king. What is the essence of confession? It is to walk exposed, to step into the light.

Today, we wanna talk about assurance of salvation. But let me get a running start. Okay? So you know, we're studying John's gospel in our, you know, normal whatever church service hour. And John is fond of explaining what he's doing. He's not terribly mysterious. He's really a rather direct clear communicator. And at the very end of his gospel, at the very end of chapter 20, he explains why he wrote the gospel of John. Why he wrote this biography. And he says this, he says, Jesus — this is John twenty thirty — Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written. Do you remember why? Why are these things written in John's gospel?

That these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. — John 20:30-31

So he's very explicit that John's gospel is essentially an evangelistic document. Its purpose is to help people who don't presently know Jesus come to understand the true things about him so they will believe those true things. So that believing in him will have life in his name.

Now it doesn't mean that Christians can't read John. I think Christians should read John because once we come to know him, we have all eternity that we'll be getting to know him better. Right? And we who already know him need to know him better. We need to believe him more deeply. We need to understand more who he is. So it's not as if you never graduate from the gospel of John. Like not ever, not ever. That'd be hard to imagine.

But that's what that purpose of that book is, that would help us to believe.

In addition to John's gospel, John wrote, well, depending how you look at it. He wrote three letters and he also wrote Revelation. So he's got five total contributions to the New Testament. And the reason I hesitate to say that he wrote three letters is the first letter we call the first epistle of John. Epistle is just a fancy pants word for letter.

The first epistle of John is probably not actually a letter, probably a sermon transcript that got sent around. So it's got letter-ish qualities, but it doesn't have any of the markers of a normal letter. Like, you know, when Paul says it's from Paul, you know, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, to the churches in Galatia. It doesn't have those kind of tags that show it as a letter. But we still call it an epistle.

And at the very end of that first epistle of John, he says why he wrote that one too. So he tells us why he writes John's gospel, so that we'll know the true things about Jesus, so we'll believe in him, so we'll have life in his name. And if you go to first John chapter five, and you're welcome to spin there, you'll see that he had a different purpose for this letter, probably this sermon. Does anybody know offhand why did he write first John? What was going on there? What motivated this particular writing?

Know that you have eternal life. — 1 John 5:13

Catherine, that's excellent. So that you may know that you have eternal life. Go to this. If you go to first John chapter five verse 13, it's gonna sound a little bit like John twenty thirty. He's following his own formula. And in fact, all of first John is just filled with lines that draw back to John's gospel. They're highly interwoven documents.

But in first John five thirteen he says this, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the son of God. Okay. So he's basically assuming, hey, assuming that my gospel worked and you now believe, I'm writing this. It's almost in some way a sequel to John's gospel.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. — 1 John 5:13

This is different. He wrote John's gospel so that you could have eternal life. He wrote first John so that you could know that you have it. And that is why whenever, I mean, as long as I've, you know, been a Christian. When we tend to talk about assurance of salvation. How what do I do when my heart condemns me? And I'm like, I think I might not even be in the club. Right? When I am loaded down with my guilt and my grief, my shame over my sin, where do we go for reassurance that maybe just maybe, I still will be a partaker of his mercy and his forgiveness?

When that is the question we want to answer, we have a tendency to go to first John. Because that's literally why it's in the canon. That's what it's here to do.

So, when John says, I write, and here's the here's the phrase I want you to hear. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know you have eternal life. It's a reasonable question to say, well, what are these things? What are you talking about? And I think there's probably two answers and I think they're both correct. But together, they are more correct.

So, what do you think, what is one of the options for what these things are in reference to?

Alright. These things. I don't have my glasses on. So, I can't tell who you are. Let's see. Don. Don. There you are. Hey, buddy.

So, the two that I think of first is, I know that I have Jesus. I know that I have salvation because I spend my life loving people and I'm also seeking to be obedient.

So what Don is doing there is he says, these things are all the things that he's been talking about in the letter. And indeed, those are the things. Don just hit two of the three primary themes that run through first John’s letter. And so that's one of the ways we can look at this is these things are the entirety, all five chapters of first John.

And we will kind of extract out these two themes and one more that Don just mentioned. The other way that people will understand these things — and I think this is a little bit more common but less complete — is that we'll say that these things are basically like the preceding paragraph, right? And very often when Christians wanna talk about assurance of salvation, they'll teach you not just from first John five thirteen, but honestly from first John five. I wanna suggest that we should do that. We should understand the theological answer that we're getting in chapter five, but we want to go beyond that. It's not just chapter five. It's the entirety of the letter. Okay?

So let's start with chapter five. And then we're gonna kinda zoom out and see the bigger picture that Don is pointing us to.

The Assurance in 1 John 5:13

So first John five thirteen says, I write these things you who believe in the name of the son of God that you may know you have eternal life. The most immediate context for that would be this. I'll start up. We'll start in verse nine just to kind of get the most salient part.

We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God which he has given about his son. Anyone who believes in the son of God has this testimony in his heart. That's like his favorite word right now. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar because he's not believed the testimony that God has given about his son.

And this is the testimony God has given us: eternal life. And this life is in his son.

He who has the son has life. He who does not have the son of God does not have life. — 1 John 5:9-12

Okay. So he's like obsessing on the word testimony. So what's a testimony you guys? Just in a normal, if I told you that, you know, there was a testimony, what would that mean in normal English?

Story. — Response

What context do you think of a testimony? Courtroom. — Response

We tend to think like, I mean, Christian, like if this was a non-Christian audience and you asked them what's testimony? They would think they would go to a courtroom, right? Now, Christians have this kitschy little thing they would like to say, my testimony is the story of how I became a Christian. I would recommend you don't say that because that is so Christianese, nobody knows what the heck you're talking about. Like, just no non-Christians would ever talk about their testimony of how they came to buy this house or whatever. Like, this is stupid, alright? So just speak English that normal people speak, okay? But they would think that the word testimony is a solemn declaration of fact. Like, I'm gonna put my hand on a Bible. I'm gonna say, I saw so and so enter the alley at 12:35 last night. Like it's my testimony of what happened. Right? And that's what this is. He is saying that God has a testimony. God has a solemn declaration of fact. What is God's testimony about, according to John? Jesus Christ. Yes.

Okay. It's about his son. Right? Anyone so he says, God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God which he has given about his son. Now, as soon as this happens, you guys, what you have to recognize is if God stands up to give his testimony, he says, I swear on myself. Yeah. That this is true, you really only have two options at this point. What are your options? You can believe it. You can reject it. That's it. And what John's gonna do is he's gonna describe — let's just look at the outcomes of this. He says, if anyone — how does this go? Anyone who believes in the son of God has this testimony in his heart. Okay.

So one option you have is to say, when God speaks this statement, when he describes this reality about his son, you can be like, you can let it in. You can let it change you. His words can be determinative for your life. You can let his story in. Or you can reject it. But if you reject it, you are necessarily calling God a liar. You're saying, you said this, I don't buy it. You're false. You're lying. Right? Anyone who does not — who, if you do believe it, it comes into you. It becomes part of you. It changes you. But if you do not believe it, then you're saying that God is a liar because you're not believing what he says. Okay? So, just know the stakes are high when we do this.

And then John gives us the precise summary of that testimony. What does he want us to know about the son? Lots of things all over the place. But right here, the distilled essence that John is pointing out is this.

This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son. — 1 John 5:11

Two things you wanna hear out of that. Number one, eternal life is a gift. It's a gift. God has given us eternal life. It's a gift. You didn't already have it, you came to have it, but that the means by which you come to have it is a generous act of giving. You don't earn it. You don't create it. You don't warrant it. You don't deserve it. It's a gift.

Notice too, it's not just that it's not to say you didn't have it, you came to have it, but that the means by which you come to have it is a generous act of giving. You don't earn it. You don't create it. You don't warrant it. You don't deserve it. It's a gift.

So, number one, God has given us eternal life. It's a gift. You didn't used to have it, you cannot earn it. And then the second, what's the second thing he says about this testimony? It's in his son. It is in his son. So if we're gonna stick with the gift motif, what he's saying is eternal life is a gift—and the box that it comes packaged in is Jesus. He is the box. And if you get the box, you get what's in the box. If you get the sun, then you get what's in the sun.

Eternal life is a gift. And this gift is packaged in Jesus. That's what he's saying. So far so good? Okay. Now, give you four quick little logic questions here. We'll do a logic puzzle. Is it possible to have the sun, but not have eternal life? What do you think? Who's on? You wanna give it loud. Who's on team no? No. No. You're right.

Is it possible to have the son but not have life? It is not. For he who has the son has life. Okay. Now flip it. Is it possible to have life, eternal life, but not have the son? No. No. It's not. It is a gift that comes in Jesus, and it is a gift that only comes in Jesus.

Now, is it possible, to think you have the life, but you don't? We don't have. Absolutely. Yes. And this might be an incredibly common case. And then how about this one? Fourth one. Is it possible to have the life but not be sure that you do? But not what? Not be sure that you do. Is it possible that you have eternal life, you are secure in him, but you don't know it. I think it's not only very common, it's the reason John wrote this book. He's writing to people who do have eternal life, but who are fearful, who are frightened. And he's writing to give them assurance. He's not writing to give them eternal life. They already have eternal life because they believed in the sun. And if they have the sun, they have life.

That is the theological answer that John is writing. So far so good? Okay.

Robin? Sometimes in the lies that Satan speaks to our heart is that we can lose it. That we can do something that we would lose it. And I think that that is a common line that we all struggle with a little bit.

Yeah. So Robin, very help in a very helpful segue. Robin is making the observation that one of the lies that Satan uses is the lie that we can lose it. That I used to be safe. To be saved is to be safe. And that I am no longer. Right?

I had a Bible teacher in my past, a guy named Tommy Nelson, who used to say that if you can lose your salvation, you can. I mean, if you can lose your salvation, you will and you already have. Right? And I believe that if we are saved, we are safe. We are secure. We are hidden in him.

However, and this is part of where I want to chase. So we have a minute here. Of all the core theological doctrines that were kind of framed in my heart when I was maybe in college and I was really beginning to walk with Jesus. This would be the one that has been challenged the most.

How many of you guys have lived long enough that you know somebody who used to profess faith and for Man, it just looks like they're a Christian, but now they're not walking with Jesus. Right? This, right? It's compelling. In fact, I was just this last week having a conversation with a friend of mine about a common friend that we share who just seems to have walked away from Jesus. And it's just so troubling and so puzzling.

And I'll have more to say about that in a couple of weeks because the passage, the end of John six is about this. I'll get, I'll save some of my thoughts for that a little bit, where the disciples, some of the disciples walk away from Jesus. We're gonna have to — our theology in which we find our assurance of salvation has to actually work in this universe. We all know somebody that is, appears to have walked away from the Lord. Right? So we'll, we'll have more to say about that.

But here's what I want you to see. When John here in John five gives a theological answer. He who has the son has the life. He who does not have the son of God does not have the life. If I have the son, I have the life. This is the basis of my salvation.

It actually kind of creates another question though. Because if those who have the Son have the life, we might be curious, how do I know if I really have the Son? Do you feel this? To answer an to answer the question of assurance of salvation with a conditional, if you have the son, then you have the life, might make you be like, well, okay, great. That's helpful. But do I have the son?

And that you guys is what Don was referring to. Because the entirety of the book of John is trying to answer that question. Does anybody know? Although we've seen the word testimony many times here. Does anybody know what John's favorite recurring phrase is in first John? He says it over and over and over and over.

If you love. He's gonna talk about love, but there's something that's higher up the stack than that. But that's a good guess. Obedience. He's gonna talk about obedience. We got something that's even more common than that. Abide. Okay. We're gonna touch that. He's gonna be making an allusion to John 15.

This is my — this is always my favorite game. I know it's nobody else's favorite game. But read my mind. Do you know what it is? This is how we know? This is it. Who the heck is that? Is that Isabelle? Everywhere I go, Isabelle follows me around and says everything right. So, it's we know, we know, we know, this is. Let me show you this, okay? Get your Bible and if you have a pen, just you can tick these off, okay?

John's favorite recurring phrase in this letter is we know, which is to say the whole book is about assurance. Now, he's gonna say we know a few different things, but the most common subgrouping of the we know passages of first John are we know we are Christians because.

And what John is gonna do throughout this whole letter, he's gonna give three lines of evidence. How do I know that I'm his? How do I know that I'm in him? What is the evidentiary data that will reassure me when I'm like, I don't know today? I thought I knew yesterday, but all bets are off right now? What do we look to?

Now, not every time that John uses the phrase we know is this what he's talking about, but you can read. You can tell when it's something else. If you go through your Bible and you just circle in first John every time he uses the phrase we know, we know, know, we know, we know. Maybe a little more than half of those will be in this particular subset. But let me just give you the ones that are in the subset. Take a look. And we'll just try to group these a bit.

So the first one you're gonna get is in chapter two. His Chapter 1 is what you looked at last week. It's the whole passage about confession and forgiveness and walking in the light. And then coming into chapter two he says this, two three:

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

Next, down to verse five:

This is how we know we are in him. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

And then just a little bit later here, in three ten:

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are.

So we knew who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Now, what John is doing, this is so incredibly important. John is not saying, you get to be a child of God if you fulfill these obligations. Okay? He's not giving us the cause of our salvation. He's giving us the evidence of our salvation. And it's crucial that you understand this.

John wrote John. He understands that God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life. And John knows that when we believe in him, our lives will be changed. And he's giving us the evidence that we can look for to know that it's really working and I'm not just in some silly little club.

So line of evidence number one, what are those three passages all have in common? What is he saying is the first exhibit of the genuineness of our faith? Obedience. Right? This is how we know that we're in him. We're gonna do what he asks us to do. And that's a pretty reasonable standard.

Jesus said, if you love me, you will obey my commands. And it is not possible to follow him if we do not love him. He is not a vending machine that just gives out stuff. He is not merely the dispenser of our salvation, he is our salvation.

We're not saved from obedience, and we're not saved by obedience. We're saved to obedience. That's the whole point of this thing. That he would reach into our broken hearts, and he would move us to follow his decrees.

So the fact that we are now more obedient than we used to be, and probably most of you might be able to give, you know, affirmation that your obedience has grown over time. Have you noticed this about yourself? It's like, you know maybe when you're — if you became a Christian like I did when you were you know like in college. First, you kinda start dealing with the big rocks, right? And then as time goes on, the stuff that you used to give yourself a pass for. You ever give yourself a pass? Yeah.

Over time, have you realized, even that too must go. This is how it works. Right? So over time, do I see the trend that my life is moving more and more into obedience? That I'm quicker to confess my sins. I'm quicker to repent. That the things that he has told me I should delight in, that didn't seem that delightful when I was 20, have become more beautiful as time has gone on. And I have a deeper motive, deeper willingness to trust him, to wait on him, to subordinate my will to his will.

John says that, notice that. You know what that means? It means that you're in him because it's working. Your tastes are changing. That is an... It is not the means of your salvation. It's the evidence of your salvation.

Take a look at the second one, and we'll state he kinda transitions into it in verse 10. Three ten:

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God. And then here's the transition. Nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

He's gonna repeat that in verse 14. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. And then he says this, verse 18 to 20 of chapter three, I think is maybe the most helpful expression of this because he kinda fleshes it out and he shows this, this really, these couple of verses, this is why he wrote this. This is the point of this.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything.

If you've been alive for any length of time, if you have purported to walk with Jesus for any length of time, your heart has condemned you. You have had days that you're like, this is not acceptable. Right? There are things that you, again, you gave yourself a pass on for like twenty years. And then you're like, oh my soul, this is not okay. And this has to stop. And then you did it again. Right? This. In that moment when your heart condemns you and you're like, man, Jesus says or Paul says, I'll say it, quote him. He says that we shall walk worthy of the calling we have received. And when we do any kind of honest self analysis, we're like, well, that's not happening. Well, at least it didn't happen yesterday.

And your heart condemns you. He's like, yeah, yeah, I don't know, but hang on. What he's saying right here is zoom out. Yes. You blew it, own it, confess it, acknowledge it, say the same word. Right? Walk in the light, live exposed. And then zoom out. Because do you not see that you are more patient than you used to be? Do you not see that you are more loving than you used to be? Do you not see that you are now more eager to meet the needs of others, and less eager to insist that your own needs be met? Do you not see that it's working?

You are becoming more obedient. You are becoming more loving. And there's really only one possible explanation for that. It's that you are in him. Makes sense? So, Katherine. Where is that scripture that says, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God? That has always helped me. But what's the context of that? That's that's literally the next verse. Right? So, yep. Yep. So, so three twenty one. Is that what you're looking at?

Look at three twenty one. Okay. Let me see. Dear friends. You're so close. You're right there. Right? So this is this is flowing right exactly this whole thing. So right. So my heart condemns me. But then he's like, we know, we know about and when our hearts are quieted. When we rest in the truth that he's given us. Then that's when we're able to be like, you know what? I really am in him. And the joy of that is ours. And that's that is really why John is written to us so that we would have that confidence. We would have that joy. Because if you just think of any relation. Think of your relationship with your mom, your daughter, your husband, your whatever it is. If that relationship feels tenuous, if you're like, I don't know if they like me very much, is that relationship gonna flourish? No. I mean, we need John wants us to know. Doesn't want us walking around going like, I don't know. We'll see. Maybe. I think he's mad at me today. He wanted to. No, no. Rest in him. Let your heart be confident before. When your heart condemns you because you did something stupid, yes, acknowledge it, confess it, be cleansed, and move back into a posture of security and affection and love.

Obey him. Not because you're earning your salvation, but because your heart is so flooded with confidence that you have it. Right?

Evidence of Genuine Faith

Okay. So, number one, how do we know? We know because we obey. How do we know? We know because we love. So did I read this already? Yeah. That was okay. 18 to 20. Here's the third line of that. Third and final line of evidence that John is gonna give before he tidies it up in that theological bow that we began with. It's three twenty four:

Those who obey his commands live in him and he in them.

That's review. And then he says, and this is how we know that he lives in us. We know it by the spirit he gave us. And he's gonna repeat that a little bit later in 04/13:

We know that we live in him and he in us because he has given us of his spirit.

Now, this one is a little, vaguer because I think you have a very strong sense. What does it mean to obey? That's relatively obvious. Right? What does it mean to love? That feels reasonably concrete.

But when he says we know because he's given us his spirit, what do you think that means? And I'll entertain you just that. How much thought do we have? Well, I'm doing okay. A couple of guesses or a couple of thoughts.

We know by his spirit. What does that mean? Do you think?

His presence. — Response

If you have the holy spirit, his presence. Did I hear that, Lily? Right? So he he's gonna say that if anyone, you know, that if we have, if we are in him, then we have his spirit.

Jim, was that you waving your hand?

Yeah. It is not in our nature to repent. — Response

Yeah. It's only by receiving the Holy Spirit that we can repent of our sins. So bothers us when we sin, and that's the presence of the Holy Spirit. And the only way you get the Holy Spirit is through Christ.

Okay. This is such a good answer. Jim has said, it is not in our nature to repent. Can you guys affirm that? It's not in our nature to repent. And so, the very fact that we're able to do so, and that we will to do so, when it's genuine repentance, you know, like godly sorrow that brings real repentance. That is an evidence that the spirit of God is alive in us. That's what the holy spirit — if you look at the old in the old testament when it anticipates the new testament, anticipates the new covenant, which is the same thing. The principle marker, the principle descriptor is that he will move us to follow his decrees and laws.

That he will take out our heart of stone, and he will give us a heart of flesh. He will put his spirit in us. And so when he said, when John said, well, you have his spirit. It's what we should assume there is that our capacity to love, our capacity to obey. Or you might say to quote Paul, that the fruit of our lives, the love, the joy, the peace, the patience, the kindness, the goodness, the gentleness, the self-control. Did I miss one? Is that everything? Faithfulness. I'm feeling like something I skipped in there. That that suite of attributes, like what makes that? He's saying that was the spirit of God. And that that whole suite of things is evidence that we really are in him. Because it is those who are in him who are the who get to receive that spirit.

I feel like there was a hand over here, but I don't know. Yeah, Bob?

I was just gonna add to that. That apart from the holy spirit, I don't have the inclination to repent. I also don't have the inclination to love my brothers as myself. You know, that that's that's not a yesterday thing. That's a today thing.

Yeah. So Bob, very helpful. The Holy Spirit impacts our capacity to love, to obey, and to repent. Those are gifts of the Spirit that confirm we're in him.

Because we, I mean, there's just nothing that anybody loves half so much as they love themselves. I mean, you know this? Your favorite person in the world is you. Do you know this? And it's okay. Because my favorite person is me. I mean, maybe it's not okay, but it is common. It is this is our very nature.

But this ability to begin to consider others needs as more important than our own. What in the world is that? That is a spirit-born reality.

The Foundation of Assurance and Final Encouragement

Okay. So here's what John is saying. This is, this is so important. He says, how do you know that? Well, how do you know that you have eternal life? Well, because you have the son. And he who has the son has eternal life. And we're like, yeah, but real quick, how do I know that I have the son? And his answer is because it's working. Because you are more obedient today than you used to be. Because it's working and you are more loving than you used to be. You always loved yourself. That was easy. But you are becoming more interested in the needs of others.

How do I know that I have the son? Because it's working. And the spirit of God is alive in you, who's producing in you this new set of attributes. These new, flowering gifts. There is love and joy and peace and patience. But there is also power. There's also direction. The spirit fill — we'll talk about this more next week, two weeks, I forget when. But we'll talk about what the spirit does in our lives. He empowers us, gives us direction. All of that is happening and it's working.

Okay. Now, if you've heard everything we've said, there's a grave risk that your notes say, how to become a Christian. Step one, obey. Step two, love. Step two, be more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, you know, duh duh, okay? It's not what I just said. It's not what John said. And it's crucially important.

So let me just hammer John this and then we'll be done. There is an equation that exists in people's minds. Affirmation that we're saved by grace alone through faith alone. Right? And that equation would look like this. Faith equals salvation. If I believe in Jesus, then, you know, he'll raise me from the dead and grant me eternal life and I get all the good stuff. Remember that whole, all the benefits we have in Christ, get him, we get eternal life, we're forgiven, we're adopted, all that stuff. How do I get it all? I exercise faith. Faith equals salvation.

Promise, people will look at that and be like, yeah, but hang on a minute. Are you telling me that that's literally the whole story? Faith equals salvation. Are you telling me that I could believe and then just live a wicked life? When I was 12 years old, you know, went to some Baptist altar call. When I was 15 years old, I went to some Methodist church camp. When I was 18, I got involved in this, you know, Anglican church and I responded to this thing. Right? Faith equals salvation. And we'll look at that and be like, yeah, you know what? I think there's more to it than that.

And the number one way that we try to improve upon that equation is you would say faith plus being good equals salvation. And now it works better because, you know, you gotta believe, but like, you know, clean up your life a little bit here, right?

We don't want a bunch of wicked people running around the world claiming to be Christians. So faith plus being good, that's gonna equal salvation. And that is a grave error. And it is possible that despite my efforts to be cautious, I've left any of you with that impression.

So can I just kind of ruin that second equation? That is not what John is saying. John is not saying faith plus obedience and love and the Holy Spirit equals salvation. Here's what he's saying. Faith equals salvation, plus obedience and love and the spirit.

These things that he is describing are the result, not the requirement. They are the consequence, not the condition. We are saved by grace through faith. John Calvin put it like this. He said, it is faith alone that saves. But the faith that saves is never alone. It works, it produces transformation, it produces a real change.

So, when your heart condemns you, the solution is not like try harder, swim faster. And as we'll explain when we talk about the spiritual life, row harder. It really is yield more. It is believe. It is abandon your unrighteousness and your self-righteousness and take upon you all that he has in you, all that he has offered to you.

For he who has the son has life. He is the entire game. And if you get him, genuinely get him, watch out because he's a wrecking ball and he will change your life. He will begin to move you to follow his decrees. And if that's not happening, here's the counterpoint to this. If that's not happening and you don't stay in that, sometimes Jesus told stories about flowers that bloom up and then they die because they have no root. That's a real thing.

And if you find yourself being like a flower that withers because it has no root, here's the great news. Jesus describes one of the, I'm gonna mix, I'm gonna go to a different parable of his. He gives several parables about this. And he basically describes Christians as being wheat. But he says that, in the night, an enemy went out and he sowed weed seeds in the wheat field. Because now you got weeds, wheat growing up, and weeds growing up, and they're all intermingled. And yet, what do I do about this? Should we go out and pull all the weeds? Should we weed the garden and get rid of all the fake Christians? And he says, no, don't do it. You're too stupid. You can't tell the difference, just don't. Right?

But the truth is, in any community, in this community, in this room, right now, there are those of you that are wheat, and there are those of you that are weeds. We cannot give a blanket assurance of salvation to everyone who professes faith. We give assurance of salvation to those who — whatever the particular difficulties in their life are. We have different things that we have to lay at the cross. I struggle with things that are like effortless for you, and you struggle with things that are effortless to me. Right? But the things with which we each have to struggle, we've gotta offer them to him. Surrender to him.

And if in that process, this is the, this is the magic answer. If in that process, you have come to the conclusion that you are a weed, it's been fake. It's been external. You're not really in him, and you have no hope of sustaining your life in him. Hear the good news. The gospel includes the promise that weeds can become wheat. There are lots of people in a Christian church that come for twenty years, maybe longer, who knows? I don't know how long, fifty years. Before finally the penny drops and the gospel lands in their hearts.

If you're a fake Christian, no problem. Keep coming. And get converted from a weed to wheat. Because former weeds that have the sun have life. Amen? Amen.

That's all you get. I'm sorry. What? Now, William, I heard a story. Right?