R310 How Can I Know That I Am Saved, Pt.1

Welcome to The Encouraging Word featuring the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton, well-known evangelist, author, seminary professor, and pastor. A little later today, we'll talk about Dr. Wilton as author with his brand new book called Saturdays with Billy.

Details are online right now at www.tewonline.org. We'd love to connect with you. And now today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. What a wonderful blessing. It is a joy to be here today and I want you to get ready with your Bibles.

I'm not going to tell you just where to turn, just at this moment. I want you to take a copy of God's Word and hold it in your hands because we are going to be looking at one of the most exciting subjects that I believe that any person can study outside of their personal salvation. Experiencing God by knowing that you know that you know that you know that you're saved. How can I know that? Many people ask that question. How can I really know that I'm saved? I wonder if there's anyone here, you don't need to raise your hands or anything of that nature. But I wonder if there's anyone here this morning who has ever found yourself at different periods of time when you really wonder whether or not you truly saved.

You know those questions that we don't like to ask ourselves. If I was to die this afternoon, I wonder if I would suddenly discover that while I thought I was saved, I'm not actually saved. And that I'm going to a Christless eternity.

It's a very horrid thought. But you know, my beloved friends, there are many, many different reasons why you and I have difficulty sometimes knowing that we know that we're saved. I'm going to make a confession to you this morning. I don't always feel saved. I wonder if you always feel saved if I was to come up to you at any point in time and say to you, do you feel saved? Do you always feel saved? Unfortunately, in today's world and with the power of television, there are many people who today preach what I believe to be a non biblical gospel.

If there is such a thing, it's a contradiction in terms. There are people who would have us to believe that all you do is you trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Most of these people actually would also eliminate repentance as a necessary prerequisite for salvation. You see, the Bible says you cannot be saved unless you have first been willing to repent of your sin because your sin separates you from God. And some people today would say, well, all you need to do is give your heart to Jesus Christ. And then from that moment on, you're going to feel saved all the time.

It's a kind of an up and down thing. Your salvation is tied into your emotions. Over many years, I preached in different churches around the United States and every once in a while I would have a music minister get up and say, I want everybody to stand up and smile this morning.

Well, that's very nice. But, you know, I'm going to suggest to you, congregation, that I will guarantee you that there are probably a number of people here even today who even though they are saved, there is no doubt about it, it's very difficult for you to stand up and smile. You see, circumstances take the smile off our faces, but circumstances never alter the fact of our salvation.

Let's think about some of the circumstances. Can you imagine going up to someone who has just lost a loved one in death and saying to that person, excuse me, but do you feel saved right now? You see, when you lose a loved one, a son or daughter, brother, sister, wife, husband, grandparents, and they die, you don't feel saved.

I can guarantee you. As ministers of the gospel, we together with doctors and those who work in these areas have many opportunities where God gives us the privilege of going to people and breaking sometimes very, very sad news. Can you imagine? And yet we cannot going up to a family and saying to them, I want you to know that your son just died. And by the way, do you feel saved as I tell you this? You see, folks, if we think about it, circumstances can never dictate the fact of what we know to be true from God's word. I don't always feel saved. There are financial crises in life. Go and talk to someone who's just lost their job. We got that all over the place, people who lose their jobs come to work one minute and next minute, they don't have a job, go to that person and say, do you feel saved right now?

Got house payments to make, family to support. My favorite one, of course, is, can you imagine when my wife gave birth to one of our three children? I know because I was there, all three of them. I've never suffered so much in all my life.

It was unbelievable. And add to it, my wife was one of the most inconsiderate mothers because she got me up at the crack of dawn, I think all three times. And here we went off to Southern Baptist Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. Can you imagine right there at that moment of birth? I mean, just, you're right, I mean, it's just there, you just, and you know that, and you just, and I walk up to her and I say to her, excuse me, honey, but do you feel saved right now? You know what she'd say? Come here, boy. You think she's sweet, my wife, try that on her.

That's right. I wonder what there is in your life that has disrupted how you feel about your salvation. It would be a remarkable thing if I was able to say here this morning, are we going to have an invitation right now? And if you don't feel saved, you need to come and get saved. If not 80% of us didn't walk down this aisle at some time this year, then I'm going to say to you that we are not a very truthful people. Our children hurt us.

Parents suffer tremendous grief, death, dying, sickness. And then going up to someone who's just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and saying to them, I heard the news about you and I know that it's not looking good, but do you feel saved right now? So the question becomes this, my beloved friends today, if our circumstances cannot dictate our salvation and if we are not saved because of our feelings, by virtue of what am I able to stand firmly upon what in terms of who I am in Christ Jesus? How can I know that I know that I know that I'm saved? The Bible says that today you and I can know that we're saved. Not based upon our inner feelings, not based upon what we do, because the Bible says we are saved by grace through faith, not of ourselves. Once having been saved, our works become the evidence of our salvation, but our works are never tied into our feelings about whether or not we're saved. I can still work for the Lord Jesus Christ and be very, very distressed at the same time.

How can I know that I know that I'm saved? Well, I want you to turn with me in your Bibles this morning to one John. Now, you know, there are four Johns in the New Testament.

There's a big John and three little Johns. We're going to be looking at the first of the little Johns in the latter part of the New Testament. And I'm asking that every person here this morning at least be looking at a copy of God's word. Now, folks, this is very important because I want to say to you today that by God's grace, this is not something that the pastor of First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, has decided. This is not an edict of the pope or the parish priest.

This is not something that our brother, Dr. Billy Graham, decided to share with the world. This is the word of God. And if we are ever going to understand our foundation in Christ Jesus, we've got to come to grips with the fact that God has given us His word.

And we need to take God's word and hide God's word in our hearts. We're going to be looking at five acid tests of our salvation this morning. I'm going to give you a point and we're going to look at five different ways in which the Bible says that we can know that we're saved.

Now, before we read the first one, I want to say this to you. I want to give to you a biblical guarantee, not a Don Wilton guarantee, not a minister guarantee, not a church tradition guarantee, not a Baptist guarantee, not a Billy Graham guarantee, not any guarantee. The word of God guarantee.

Jesus Christ, God, our Heavenly Father guarantees this. I'm going to guarantee you because of Him that if you are able to say yes to all five of these acid tests of your salvation this morning, I will guarantee you according to God's word that if you're honest before God and only God knows that, you can pull the wool over my eyes, your wife, your mother, your father, but you cannot deceive God because He looks upon the heart, doesn't He? If you can say yes to these five points, I'm going to guarantee you on God's word that you are saved. But on the other side of it, I'm going to say to you, my friend, today that if you cannot say yes to one or to all of these things, that it doesn't matter how long you've been a member of First Baptist church, you're not saved.

It doesn't matter where you were born, you're not saved. It doesn't matter how many times you were baptized by immersion, you're not saved. It doesn't matter how many times you've served as deacon, you're not saved. It doesn't matter how many times you've come to church, you're not saved.

It doesn't matter how much money you've given to God's work. You're not saved. It doesn't matter how many sermons you've preached as a pastor, you're not saved.

It doesn't matter how many instruments you play. You're not saved. It doesn't matter how often you sing in the choir. You're not saved. It doesn't matter how many times you sing at Christmas on Main Street, you're not saved.

It doesn't matter what you've done, where you've done it, how many times you've done it. According to the word of God, my friend, there is only one means by which you and I can know that we know that we know that we know that we know that we're saved and that is according to what God's word teaches us. How can I know that I'm saved? Number one, if I am sensitive to sin. Now we're going to look at 1 John 1 and verse eight. I can know that I'm saved, number one, if I am sensitive to sin. Look at 1 John chapter one and verse eight. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Now, if you're an English teacher, you're going to notice something there that that is a conditional clause.

And it is a condition that is directed in the direction of the subject under discussion. Now the people who are under discussion in 1 John are Christian people just like you and me. They are men and women and boys and girls who belong to the church, who are practicing church people, who are faithful in church, who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ. And what the apostle was doing under the inspiration of the spirit of God was that he was laying down the foundation of the fact of their salvation in and through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so we have a condition. He says, if we, those of us who claim there, he even used the word claim in the NIV. If we claim to be without sin, two things happen. Number one, we deceive ourselves. And number two, the truth is not in us. Now friends, who is the truth? Jesus Christ is the truth. In fact, Jesus put it like this in John 14 and verse six.

He said it of himself. He said, I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life. No man can come under the father, but by me. Here's what the apostle John tells us. The apostle John tells us that if we claim that we are without sin, first of all, we are deceiving ourselves.

We're living in a fool's paradise if you please. But number two, if we claim that we are without sin, the truth is not in us. And if the truth is not in us, it means that Jesus Christ is not in us. And if Jesus Christ is not in us, it means that we are not saved. Because it is absolutely biblically impossible to be saved without the Lord Jesus Christ.

And without him dwelling in us. You say to me this morning, pastor, what does it mean to be sensitive to sin? You see to be sensitive to sin, my friends, means that because the spirit of God has come into your life at the instantaneous moment of your salvation, you as a born again believer have become sensitized to the presence and the practice of sin in your life. It means quite literally that you have come to recognize as a born again believer that because you are saved, you are not immune from sin. You are not exempt from sin.

Bible says we are sinners by nature and we are sinners by choice. But the word of God says that even though we continue to sin, the difference with a believer is that a believer is sensitized to sin. In other words, the mere appearance and the threat of sin in the life of a believer is enough to make him or her feel very, very, very uncomfortable.

And so we can summarize it in this way. How can I know that I'm saved? If I'm sensitive to sin, here's what it means. It means does sin bother you?

You wanna find out today if you're genuinely saved or not. The Bible doesn't say, do you no longer sin? Uh-uh, the Bible says, does sin bother you? When sin begins to rear his ugly head in your life and he begins to approach you and he begins to seduce you and he begins to nudge against you and he begins to try and infiltrate you, does it bother the daylights out of you? When you do something wrong and when you begin to live according to a contradiction of God's holy laws, does sin bother you? You say to me today, pastor, what do you mean by that?

It means exactly that, my friend. If we claim that we have no sin, we not only deceive ourselves, but the truth is not in us. Some people have said to me, pastor, can I tell whether my son or my daughter's a Christian?

Can I tell whether my husband or my wife is a Christian? Friend, there's a point beyond which none of us can go because of the sovereign work of God. Salvation begins and ends in God, but the Bible says that by fruit, you will know a person. And one of the fruits, my friends, that you will begin to understand is that a born again, holy spirit food, Christian man or woman is going to be troubled by sin.

It is going to eat their heart out. I had a man not too long ago who came and saw me and he said to me, pastor, I have been unfaithful and I have done things which are not pleasing in God's sight. And he sat in my office and he wept like a baby and he wept like a baby and he was a broken man because he had entered into sin. And even though I began to counsel with him and love him, one of the many things that I said to him, I said to him, my brother, I want you to know that I cannot condone your sin. I want you to know that you are gonna have to face the consequences of your action. But I want you to know that your action today has demonstrated to me that you are a believer.

Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back with the rest of today's message from Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment. But as I mentioned earlier in the broadcast, we're so excited about the brand new book from Dr. Wilton called Saturdays with Billy. You can take a peek right now on our website at TEWonline.org or call for your copy at 866-899 word.

That's 866-899-9673. Here's Dr. Don to share a little bit about this book. What an incredible privilege to be the friend and pastor of Dr. Billy Graham for so many years. That's why I have just written Saturdays with Billy. This is not a biography.

It is my experience with this most precious man who has changed my life and the lives of thousands of people around the world. You want to get a copy right now Saturdays with Billy. Again, if you'd like to get your copy, the phone number to call is 866-899 word. That's 866-899-9673 or meet us online as well at TEWonline.org.

That's TEWonline.org. Now back to today's teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. What hope is there in this sin-sick world? Outside of the fact that we can know that we know that we know, Paul put it like this though, in case we think we can ever take advantage of the grace of God, Paul said in his letter to Rome, what shall we continue in sin? That grace may abound, God forbid. If today you say, well then that gives me a license to sin.

As long as it troubles me, I'm okay. I want you to know that is not what God's word is teaching. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound, God forbid. That is not what the word of God teaches my friends.

Maybe you're seated here this morning. You'd say to me, pastor, my son made a decision for Christ when he was eight or nine or 10 or 16. And today as a grown man, he doesn't come to church and he shows no interest in spiritual things.

How do I know if he's a Christian or not? Ask the question, is he sensitive to sin? Does sin bother him?

I can look at all these young people whom I love so much. And I can say to young people today, teenagers, when you're out there on Saturday night, when nobody else sees you and your parents are not around and nobody to check on you, and you're out there with your friends and you're in places that nobody knows about, that's the acid test of your salvation. Does sin bother you? If you just join in with a group and float down the stream with all the other dead fish and enter into sin, and it makes no difference, it doesn't matter how many times you sit in church on a Sunday morning, you are not sensitive to sin.

And according to God's word, you are not saved. I went to a man many years ago in Pensacola, Florida, who had walked out on his family. I want you to know I will never forget that because my initial experience with this man, he almost kicked me out of his home. Sorry, it wasn't in Pensacola, Brownsville, Tennessee. This man looked at me and he said to me, preacher, I want you to know, you see that little Baptist church, I was baptized down there. My father was a deacon there. I went to Sunday school there. I go to church whenever I feel like it, but preacher, you're not going to come into my house and tell me how to live and what to do and what I can do with my life.

Whatever I wanna do is my business. I want you to know, friend, that man, according to God's word, is not saved no matter what anybody has to say about it. Am I sensitive to sin? Look at that verse again, if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Number two, I can know that I know that I'm saved if I am submissive to God's commandments. I can experience God by knowing that I know that I'm saved if I am submissive to God's commandments. Look at one John chapter two in verse three, four, and five. We know that we have come to know him.

See, I didn't make this up. I wish I had, I would have put a patent on that. Can you imagine my tithe to the church? We know that this is God's word. You see, this is God's patent.

I like that actually, God's patent. We know that we know that we know that we know that we have come to know him. How do we know that?

There it is. If we obey his commands, the man who says, I know him, let me read that again in case you miss it. The man or woman who says, but of course I know him. I know him, but does not do what he commands is what? My sweet mother used to get so upset with the three boys when we would call each other liars, you know.

It's just not a savory word. It's right here in the word of God, it's a strong word. Listen to it. The man who says I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.

There it is again. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know that we are in him. How do I know that I know that I know that I'm saved? Number one, if I'm sensitive to sin. Number two, if I am submissive to God's commandments. Now what does that mean?

Here's what it means. Do I genuinely want to do what God wants me to do? Do you want to do what God wants you to do? We've just done experiencing God knowing and doing the will of God.

That's what it's all about. Do you as an individual person, do you genuinely and sincerely before God want to do what God wants you to do? Can we step out and surrender our own will for what is God's perfect will for our life?

A life that is best for us. I pray that before we leave, you've heard Dr. Wilton preach and now as he comes into the studio, would you open your heart to what he wants to share next? Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?

I'm so happy to hear that. Why don't you pray this prayer with me today? Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much. And I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin. Today, I repent of my sin.

I confess my sin to you. And I invite you to come into my heart and into my life by faith. In Jesus' name I pray. If you prayed that prayer, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God.

This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm gonna be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey. If you just gave your life to Jesus, praying along with Dr. Wilton, maybe you've rededicated your life to Christ. You need to know that we have resources that we want to put in your hands absolutely free from Dr. Don Wilton.

He has specific things for you. If you've given your life to Christ or rededicated your life, you just need to ask for them as you call 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. You can also connect with us on our website at TEWOnline.org. That's TEWOnline.org. As we wrap up today's Wednesday edition of The Encouraging Word, we look ahead to some exciting times of continuing not only in this teaching from Dr. Wilton, but seeing how God is ready to allow us to be magnifying who he is in our day-to-day life. If you've not signed up for the daily Encouraging Word email, I suggest you do that on our website at TEWOnline.org. You can do that today online at TEWOnline.org. ["The Encouraging Word Theme Song"]