 |
Taking Every Thought Captive |
 Got Life? Our Ministry Our Beliefs Our Staff Articles What's New? Contact Us Resources Bookstore Search Links
|
The
Marks of True Salvation
Compiled by Jay Wegter I. From
the Sermons of George Whitfield (Select
Sermons of George Whitfield), Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle, Pennsylvania,
1958). A. The
Grace of God in the Gospel Versus Human Merit. 1.
Do you expect to be saved at
last because of what you have done in part or in whole and because of your
faithfulness? 2.
Do you expect to be saved at
last only because of God’s eternal love and sovereign grace given to sinners in
Christ? (Titus 3:5-7). 3.
How long have you loved
God? Was there ever a time when you
hated God and had enmity in your heart toward Him? Can you recall when the sin of unbelief governed your heart? 4.
Did the Spirit ever convince
you of your inability to close with Christ?
Did you ever cry to God for faith and for mercy in your helpless
condition? (Rom. 5:6, Titus 3:1-3, Rom.
7:14). B. Mortification
of Sin. 1.
Do you find it necessary to
constantly watch, pray, resist and fight against your corruptions so that they
do not rule over your life? (Rom.
7:22-25). 2. Is your indwelling sin the burden of your heart? Do you cry out, “Who will deliver me from
this body of death?” Have you ever felt
that God might justly curse and damn you for your indwelling corruption if you
were not a believer? (Rom.7:24). C. Proper
Conviction of Sin. 1.
Was there a time when God
wrote bitter things against you, when the burden of your sins was intolerable
to your thoughts? Was there a time when
you were conscious of the fact that God’s eternal wrath might justly fall upon
you on account of your actual transgressions against God? Did this conviction ever pass between your
soul and God? (Rom. 2:1-11, John 3:36). 2.
Have you ever justified God
in your damnation? Have you ever owned
the fact that by nature you are a child of wrath? (Eph. 2:1-3). 3.
Have you ever been troubled
not simply over outward sins, but over the sins of your heart, your nature and
for the sins of your best duties and performances? Have you ever been brought to see that the best of your duties
are as filthy rags in God’s sight? (Is.
64:6) (Rom. 8:5-7). D. Spritual
Life and Growth. 1.
Do you rest upon your
profession of faith or are you always building yourself up in the righteousness
of Christ? (Jude 1:20, John 15:4). 2.
Do you trust in your former
conversion or are you always pressing forward, trusting in the righteousness of
Christ which is outside of you? (Phil.
3:8-11). 3.
Do you rest upon the
experience of your first conversion, or do you frequently flee to Christ and
his blood, loathing your own self-righteousness? (1 Cor. 3:11, Phil. 3:9, Rom. 7:18). 4.
Has God spoken peace to your
heart? Have you felt the power of God
on your soul as you opened the Word of God?
(Heb. 4:12, 13, Rom. 14:17). II.
Questions From the Writings of Richard Baxter (Richard Baxter, The
Reformed Pastor, The Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1656, r.p. 1979). A. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. 1.
Have you ever been made to
feel the greatness of your sin and misery?
Have you felt your sin as a heavy load upon your soul? Have you ever felt the everlasting misery
due your sins and with that burden the knowledge that you are a lost
person? (Acts 2:37, Luke 18:13). 2.
Have you gladly received news
of a Savior, casting your soul upon Christ alone for pardon by His blood? (1 Cor. 15:1). 3.
Do you believe that nothing
can prevent you from going to hell but the sacrifice of the Son of God? (Heb. 2:1-3). 4.
What becomes of men when they
die? Do you have any sin? Were you born with sin? What does every sin deserve? What remedy has God provided for the saving
of sinful miserable souls? 5.
Has anyone suffered in our
place whose sacrifice God accepts? Who
are those whom God will pardon? Who
shall be saved by the blood of Christ?
(Mark 1:15, Luke 13:5). B. The Need for Regeneration. 1.
What change must be made upon
all who shall be saved? How is that
change affected? Have you ever found
this great change upon your own heart?
(Titus 3:5-7). 2.
Did you ever find the Spirit
of God by the Word of God, come in your understanding with a new heavenly life
which has made you a new creature? (2
Cor. 5:17). 3.
Have you had that change upon
your soul that causes you to despise the world and to set your hope and
affection upon things above? Do you
order your life so as to be happy in the life to come? Is this where you lay up your happiness and
hopes? (Matt. 6:21, 1 John 3:1-3). C. The
Necessity of Repentance. 1.
Can you truly say that the
sins of your past life are a grief to your heart? (Rom. 6:21). 2.
Can you honestly say that
your heart has turned from sin, now that you have the holy life you shunned
before? (Rom. 6:22, Rom. 12:1-2). 3.
Can you truly say that you do
not live in willful practice of any known sin?
Can you say that there is no sin you are not willing to heartily
forsake, and no duty you are not willing to perform? (Col. 3:5-10ff). 4.
Have you resolved to cast all
sins from you that defile your heart and life?
(Acts 26:18-20). 5.
Can you honestly say that the
glory of God is as dear to you as your own life? (1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 3:23, 2 Cor. 5:9). D.
Sanctification and Indwelling Sin.
1.
Do you understand that it is
not possible to go the way of heaven without knowing it for certain? Do you frequently call upon Christ as
Deliverer to get you past the many obstacles and enemies which block your way to
heaven? (Eph. 6:18, Heb. 2:18,
4:16). 2.
Are you aware of a bitter
conflict between the flesh and the Spirit: Do you live by the power of the
Spirit and mortify the deeds of the flesh?
(Rom. 8:12-14, Gal. 5:16-18). E. Living
Unto God and Loving God. 1.
Do you see great happiness in
the love and communication of God in the life to come which draws your heart
from this present world? (Col. 3:1-4, 1
Pet. 1:13). 2.
Have you taken the
everlasting enjoyment of God for your happiness? Does God have most of your heart, love, desire and care? Are you resolved by divine grace to let go
of all the world rather than jeopardize the joy of God? (1 John 2:15-17, James 4:1-5). 3.
Can you truly say, even with
your failings and sins, that your care and bent in life is to please God and
enjoy Him forever? Do you regard your
worldly business to be that of a traveler and your true home to be heaven? (Phil. 3:20-21, 1 Tim. 4:10). 4.
Is your heart set on God, on
the life to come? Is your chief
business to prepare for everlasting happiness?
Do you honestly regard your time in this world to be chiefly for the
purpose of preparing for another. Do
you live so as to learn more of the will of God? Do you believe heaven can be had without pains? Is heaven worth your labor? (Heb. 6:11, 12, Heb. 12:14, 1 Pet. 4:18,
Matt. 7:13,14). III.
Questions from the Writings of Matthew
Mead. (Matthew Mead, The Almost
Christian Discovered, Sola Deo Gloria Publications, Ligonier, PA 1661, r.p.
1989). A. Common Faith Versus Saving Faith. 1.
Does your faith go no further
than agreeing with the facts of the gospel?
Is your faith primarily a mental assent to the truth of the gospel? (James 2:19,20). 2.
Does your faith rest upon and
cast the soul wholly upon Christ for grace and glory, pardon, peace,
sanctification and salvation? Is your
faith a united act of the whole soul, understanding, will, and affections, all
concurring to unite the soul to an all-sufficient Redeemer? Is it a faith that purifies the heart and
gives strength and life to all other graces?
(Gal. 6:14, 1 Thess. 1:9, Rom. 12:9-21). 3.
Does your faith take hold of
Christ so as to “close yourself up in the wounds of Christ,” and by His stripes
gain healing to your own soul? (Is.
53:5,6). 4.
Does brokenness of heart over
sin accompany your faith? Does your
faith produce confession of Christ as Lord wherein your will is engaged to
choose His ways and own them? (Luke
9:23-26). 5.
Does your faith produce a
willingness to persevere and endure hardship for the interests of Christ? (Rom. 8:17-25). B. Communion
with God. 1.
Can you honestly say that you
delight in God? 2.
Do you enjoy communion with
God? Do you fear and revere God and yet
love Him as well? (Is. 66:1-2, 1 Jn.
1:3). C. God’s
Commandments. 1.
Do you welcome the
examination of your heart by the Scriptures?
(Ps. 139:23, 24). 2.
Do you delight after the Law
of God in the inward man? (Heb. 8:10). 3.
What is the source of peace
to your conscience? (Heb. 9:14). IV.
Questions Drawn from the MacArthur Study
Bible. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur
Study Bible, Word Publishing; 1997) p. 2191. A. Evidences
that Neither Prove nor Disprove One’s Faith: 1.
Visible morality: Matt.
19:16-21; 23-27 2.
Intellectual Knowledge: Rom.
1:21, 2:17ff 3.
Religious Involvement: Matt.
25:1-10 4.
Active Ministry: Matt.
7:21:24 5.
Conviction of Sin: Acts
24:25 6.
Assurance: Matt. 23 7.
Time of Decision: Luke 8:13, 14 B.
The Fruit/Proofs of Authentic/True Christianity Does your life exhibit
the following evidences of salvation?
1. Love for God: Ps.
42:1ff, 73:25, Luke 10:27 2. Repentance from
Sin: Ps.
32:5, Prov. 28:13, 1 Jn. 1:8-10
3. Genuine
Humility: Ps. 51:17, Matt. 5:1-12,
James 4:6,9
4. Devotion to God’s
Glory: Ps. 105:3, 115:1, Is. 43:7
5. Continual
Prayer: Luke 18:1, Eph. 6:18, Phil. 4:6
6. Selfless
Love: 1
Jn. 2:9, 3:14, 4:7
7. Separation from
the World: 1 Cor. 2:12, James 4:4, 1
Jn. 2:15-17
8. Spiritual
Growth: Luke 8:15, Jn. 15:1-6, Eph. 4:12-16
9. Obedient
Living: Matt. 7:21, Jn. 15:14, 1 Jn. 2:3-5 C. If list “A” is true of your life yet list “B”
is not, the validity of your profession may be in question. If list “B” is true in your life, then list
“A” will be true of your life also. V. Direction to Those Whose Lives do not
Manifest the Evidences of True Salvation. (Matthew Mead, The Almost Christian Discovered). A. Seek to attain a thorough work of God in your heart. Do
not rest until such a change is wrought upon you. All those whom God intends to pardon and save are regenerated by
God’s Spirit. In the act of giving them
His grace, God gives them a new heart (Jn. 3:5-7). B. God’s grace in giving this change begins with conviction of
sin. As Richard Baxter observes, God
brings a conviction that will make a man feel his sin as the heaviest burden in
the world. The man will be crushed
in his heart over his sin. God’s Spirit will make him understand that he is
liable to God’s wrath and curse. He will make him see that he is a lost man
facing damnation unless pardoned by the blood of Christ. (The
Reformed Pastor, p. 250). C. There is no true conviction of sin until one breaks off all
false peace of conscience (Heb. 10:22).
A false peace of conscience keeps a man from seeking after Christ. God’s peace is a peace that keeps a man from
sin (Phil. 4:7). The sinner’s peace is
a peace with sin. D. The sinner must be wounded for sin and troubled under it
before Christ will forgive him and give him peace. God makes a man truly sensible of the bitterness and misery of
his sin before he allows the man to experience mercy. The sinner must see the vileness and unprofitableness of his sin
before he is able to profit by Christ’s righteousness. E. One must be
convinced of the misery and danger of one’s natural condition. Until a man sees
the corruption of his heart and the wretchedness of his state by nature, he
will never leave off self-righteousness to seek help in Another. One must be
convinced of the utter insufficiency of anything below Christ Jesus to minister
relief to the soul. Duties,
performances, prayers, tears, self-righteousness, religious practice avail
nothing in themselves. Only an infinite
righteousness can satisfy for us. Our
sin has offended an infinite God. Your
case requires infinite mercy to pardon you, infinite merit to reconcile you to
God; infinite power to renew your heart, and infinite grace to save you from
hell. F. You must know that a sinner can never come to Christ by his
own power. For he is dead in sin, and
in a state of enmity against Christ. He is an enemy of God and the grace of
God. No man comes immediately out of
deadness of soul into conversion and belief in Jesus Christ without divine
preparation. Central in this
preparation is sound conviction of sin.
(Luke 5:32, Luke 19:10, Is. 61:1). G. Get sound convictions over your sin. Without them you will never seek after Christ
for sanctification and salvation. H. Never rest in your convictions until they end in
conversion. Some rest in their
conviction of sin as if sorrow over sin is the same as forgiveness. Seeing one’s need of grace is not the same
as a work of grace. I. Let your conviction of sin work repentance. Do not slight your conviction of sin. Only
by following the conviction of sin will a man turn to Christ who is ready to
pardon and save. Therefore, seek to
have your convictions improved and deepened (not slighted). Do not rest in your convictions until they
rise up to a thorough close with the Lord Jesus Christ and end in a sound and
perfect conversion. |
