How to Know for Sure You're Saved (Dr. Robert Jeffress)

Thank You preacher Mike and had this choir and orchestra have been fantastic man they have been so great thank you for the music and the hoppers what do you say buddy I don't know I had this crazy idea listening to the hoppers I don't know where this is coming from but I feel compelled to do this I don't know what you all are planning this weekend what you have on your calendar this weekend but I want you to cancel whatever you have planned for Sunday and come to the First Baptist Church of Dallas Sunday morning then we'll have a citywide concert Sunday night and invite everybody come is there any way you all would agree do you think that would be a good idea for them to cancel and come Sunday to the first register were you doing do you hear them they're gonna do it and that great now they were already scheduled to come this Sunday but I was just making sure no I tell you I'm grateful for the hoppers but I'm even more grateful that Claude has some new jokes so it's gonna be great thank you thank you all it's been great to get to meet some of you even before the service tonight and some of you were very kind to say that you watch our program pathway to victory on TBN or some of the other stations or you watch some of the things on fox news and now Fox Nation where we air and you've been very encouraging but I have to be honest with you you know being on television has its downside to it not everybody is as kind as you are I was preaching in Washington DC not long ago and after the sermon a guy came up and he kind of gave me the once-over and he said you know you're a lot better-looking on TV than you are in person Hey serious but but worst one of all came not long ago a lady called our 800 number for pathway to victory from another state and she said to the operator she said you know what we like dr. Jeffers message is okay but somebody has got to tell him he's got the worst toupee we have ever seen on television I don't wear a toupee so that was very very painful so thanks you know buddy for saying that tonight that was very very nice of you but you know occasionally somebody will contact us with a more serious observation or question not long ago a woman emailed our ministry and she said dr. Jeffers I'm 80 plus years of age when I was 19 years old I trusted in Jesus to be my savior but now I find myself waking up in the middle of the night terrified that if I were to die I would go to hell as I approached the latter stage of my life is there any way I can know for sure that I'm truly saved for that woman the question at that stage in life was not theoretical it was very practical somebody has said if the greatest joy in all the world is getting saved the second greatest joy in all the world is knowing that you're saved but there's such a knowledge possible is it really possible to know whether or not you're going to heaven when you die you know some people say well I sure hope I'm saved or I think I'm saved but nobody can know that for sure can they and yet over and over again in the scripture and the Bible tells us that God wants us to know certain for certainty about our eternal destination in Hebrews 10:22 the writer says let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith in 2nd Peter 1:10 the apostle says be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you how can you know for sure you're really saved that's what we're gonna talk about for the few minutes we have together tonight and the best way to know whether or not you're going to heaven one day is found in one single verse in the Bible if you have your Bibles turn to the letter of first John first John chapter 5 verse 13 the Apostle says these things have I written to you who believe in the name of the son of God in order that you may know that you have eternal life tonight I'd like to speak to you about what I believe are the five most important words in the Bible now there are phrases or words but the five most important words or phrases in the Bible and the reason these are the most important words is because they answer the most important question how can I know if I'm really saved now I want you to write down these words because I want you to remind remember them long after we're gone tonight because at some point you're gonna turn into this or you're gonna be able to point somebody to this who wants to know whether or not they're really saved what are those five most important words the first word is know KN Oh W these things have I written to you that you may know you know in our culture today anybody who says they know something with absolute certainty it's thought to be proud or arrogant in our relativistic society we say you can't know anything with absolute certainty certainly not whether or not you're saved to be neat to say you know you're going to heaven well that's prideful my wife Amy and I met when we were 12 years old we met in junior high school and at that time amy was not a Christian yet she had grown up in another church and other denomination but they didn't preach the gospel and so we were in classes together in our English class was taught by a Christian it was a secular school 3000 students but she was a Christian and the teacher knew I was a Christian and she to be a witness to her class but didn't want to get fired for doing so so she would ask the class leading questions and knowing I was a Christian should call on me to answer the question so like she would say students do you think it's possible to know that there is a heaven and that you're going there one day that was my cue to raise my hand oh yes miss Madison you can know that you're a Christian and then I'd go through the plan of salvation that was a little routine we had worked out well my wife Amy then 12 years old was seated next to me and she'll tell you to this day she said she would say you know when Robert would say he knows for sure he was going to heaven my first thought was who is this arrogant so-and-so who thinks he knows the answer to everything fifty years later she's asking the same question but that's another sermon we'll get into that later on I mean she fell into that belief that nobody can know for sure why is it that people doubt they're Christians why do they doubt whether or not they're going to heaven sometimes it's the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God as we talk for these next few moments there's something inside of you that is going to create doubt of whether or not you're truly saved that something is someone called the Holy Spirit of God and he is speaking to you John 16:8 says and when the Spirit comes he will convict the world concerning sin righteousness and judgment to come sometimes it's the Holy Spirit's conviction that causes us to doubt our salvation we doubt we're saved because in fact we're not saved another cause of doubt in the Christian life can be a contradiction of lifestyle when we profess to be saved new people in Christ but we're living in a way that contradicts that profession it creates doubt in our hearts some of you right now profess to be a Christian but there is a secret sin in your life that you hope nobody finds out about you're trying to hold on to your profession of faith but you're also trying to hold on to your disobedience after 40 years of pastoring and I share a secret with you you won't be able to hold on to both very long you can't hold on to your profession and your disobedience for a long period of time you'll either give up your profession of faith or you'll give up your disobedience but you can't hold on to both a third reason people doubt their salvation is because of the confusion of salvation itself a lot of people have a man-centered view of salvation they think you just wake up one day and say you know what I think I'd like to become a Christian so I'm gonna reach up and grab hold of God and that's what they think salvation is reaching up and holding on to God the problem is what if doubt or discouragement causes you to lessen your grip on God do you fall away from God ladies and gentlemen salvation is not our reaching up and grabbing hold of God it is God reaching down and grabbing hold of us and when he grabs hold of us he never lets go John 10:28 Jesus said I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish no man shall snatch out of my hands those to whom the father has given to me that's one reason people doubt salvation they don't understand about salvation know over and over again in the Bible God's Word says he wants us to know that we're saved that's the theme but first John no no no first John 2:5 but whoever keeps his word in him the love of God has truly been perfected by this we know that we are in him first John 4:13 by this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us his spirit that great preacher of yesteryear Charles Haddon Spurgeon said one time I am so sure of my salvation that I could grab hold of a cornstalk swing over the flames of hell what the devil in the eye and saying blessed assurance Jesus is mine now that's the kind of assurance God wants you to have these things have I written that you may know you have eternal life now the second key word that helps you know that you're saved is the word written written these things have I written to you now this may offend some of you I don't care because I'm leaving here in about 45 minutes Mike can deal with it I don't know what you do at First Baptist Indian Trail but if you're like our church on Easter are you seeing Easter songs and you know one of my favorite Easter songs perhaps you all sing it here is he lives remember that I serve a risen Savior he's in the world today it is a wonderful song until the last line and then the rider screws it up tremendously do you remember how he closes that song climax you ask me how I know he lives the answer he lives within my heart really if somebody were to ask you what is the best irrefutable evidence that Jesus who was died and buried according to for our sins was raised again on the third day and lives in heaven and lives for us you would say the best evidence of that is some little warm fuzzy feeling you have in your heart that you know he's alive what if that fuzzy feeling disappears one day you know I'm sure glad my salvation doesn't depend upon how I feel because I want to tell you there are a lot of days I don't feel saved in fact be honest with you it takes me about five cups of coffee in the morning before I ever feel like I'm saved at all ladies and gentlemen our salvation does not depend upon our feeling it depends upon the fact that is recorded in the Word of God and that's what John is saying he says these things I have written to you our salvation depends upon the written word of God that's where we find our confidence you know in 2nd Peter chapter one the Apostle was writing his last letter he was an old man by that point remember in verse 16 he says for we want you to know brethren that we did not follow cleverly devised fables when we made known to you the coming of the Son of God we say was we didn't get together up in some room and just make all this stuff up he goes on to say but we were eyewitnesses to his majesty we were with him on the holy mountain when we heard the father say this is my beloved son listen to him you talk about somebody who had experiences with Jesus boy Peter had them all didn't he but he said as great as our experience was he goes on to write we had the prophetic word made more sure he said there's something more we rest our faith upon than our experience our feeling and then he talks about the scripture he said for no scripture as a matter of one its own interpretation for no scripture ever came about by an act of a human will but men moved carried along by the Holy Spirit of God spoke from God Peter said it is the written word of God the scripture that is the bedrock of our salvation it is the bedrock of our faith now the real question is how do we know it's true you say pastor our salvation doesn't depend upon feeling that depends upon fact well how do you know what's in the Bible is actually true number years ago when I first started working with Fox News one of my earliest friends there was the late liberal commentator Alan Combs how many of you remember Alan combs from Hannity and combs and in his own show he was Jewish and early on he used to rake me over the coals but then we became very good friends and every time I was on his program he would give me an opportunity to share the gospel every time and I'll never forget in fact I was on his lap show and got to explain the gospel and I remember one time close to his death he said pastor and this was on national radio he said pastor do you ever have any doubts about your faith I said no Allen I really don't he said well why is that why don't you doubt and I said well because my faith stands and depends on the Word of God the Bible he said well how do you know the Bible is true and by the way we've got 45 seconds before commercial so how do you know convince us that the Bible is true so I mean I went through just real quickly okay the literary evidence the scientific evidence the literary a unity evidence I'm sorry and I thought no this is it I said Allen here's the way I know the Bible's true fulfilled prophecy there's no other religious book in the world that has clearly demonstrable and verifiable prophecies that were actually fulfilled in time and space you don't find fulfilled prophecy in the Book of Mormon you don't find it in the Quran you don't find it in any other book but there are hundreds and hundreds of prophecies from the Old Testament that will revealed in the New Testament that's how I know the Bible is true let me illustrate that for you you know Peter stoner a mathematician said you know we talked about the hundreds of prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament that are fulfilled in the New Testament the truth is they're really about 64 major prophecies Peter stoner this mathematician estimated what are the what is the probability the chance that one man in history throughout history one random man could have fulfilled just eight of those 64 prophecies you know what the chances are one in 10 to the 17th power that's a 1 in a 10 with 1700 bility that Jesus Christ just accidentally fulfilled eight of those 64 now to put your mind around how big of a number 1 in 10 to the 17th is let me illustrate what that would be like let's just say I preacher Mike with me back to Dallas tomorrow he likes to eat of papacito's Mexican food in Dallas so let's just say I coerce him to come back with me to eat at Papa Cedars and when we got back we filled up the state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep two feet deep silver dollars and I took one of those silver dollars and I put a black X on it threw it in that pile of silver dollars and we mixed up the whole state and then I put a blindfold on preacher Mike and I said now preacher it's time for you to work off those enchiladas so we're gonna do some walking and I want you to walk all the way west to El Paso and then I want you to go all the way east to Tyler and then I want you to walk north to Amarillo and I want you to walk south to Brownsville and he's searching through these silver dollars two feet high go through and at a random moment I say okay Mike stop reach over and pick up one of those silver dollars you know what the chances are that he would pick up the silver dollar with the black X on it one in 10 to the 17th power now that's the probability that Jesus Christ accidentally fulfilled eight of these 64 prophecies what do you think of this is the probability that he fulfilled all 64 than by accident we've got a word for it zilch nada no chance whatsoever that's why we know this book is come from God it was not made-up it is not a myth it is God's very breath that has spoken on these pages and our salvation doesn't depend how we feel or don't feel it depends upon the written word of God these things have I written to you okay the third word I want you to write down five most important words third word is believe these things have I written to you who believe how do I know if I'm saved or not it's whether or not I believe in fact in the New Testament there's an in separate link between belief and salvation acts 16:31 believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved false said the Philippian jailer or John 10:10 jesus said I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in me though he were dead yet shall he live again and then John 3:16 for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever what believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life now we know we have to believe to have eternal life but what does the word believe me do you agree with me that's the crucial word believe we have to believe in order to be saved and have eternal life but what does it mean to believe this is where most Christians completely get it wrong they think that to believe means to agree to a certain set of facts about Jesus Christ they think to believe in Jesus means to kind of believe like you would in Abraham Lincoln if I ask you the question do you believe in Abraham Lincoln oh yes yes yes I believe he was the born in a log cabin not the same time his clodhoppers born in a log cabin no no Bell County that was a cheap shot clock no I believe Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin he was President of the United States he signed the Emancipation Proclamation he was assassinated by John Wilkes Burt yeah I believe in Abraham Lincoln no no that's not what the word believe means you know a lot of people believe that it means the same thing is believing in Jesus when they say they believe in Jesus they think it means believing certain facts about Jesus yes I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God yes I believe that he died for the sins of the world on the cross yes I believe that he rose again on the third day did you know you can believe all of those things and split hell wide open when you die you know how I know that did you know the demons believe everything I just said to you about Jesus they believed that he was the son of God in fact when the demon spoke to him while he was on earth they would say why do you come and trouble us Oh Anointed One of Israel they knew he was the son of God they believed that he died on the cross for the sins of the world they believed that Jesus rose on the third day from the grave they believed all of those things in fact they believed those things more than you did and more than I do because they were there they were eyewitnesses to those things but do you believe any demons are gonna be in heaven because they believe those things no listen to me there is a big difference between believing about and believing in to believe in the Bible the Greek word means to depend upon to trust in to cling to to put your whole weight upon we illustrated this way you know I've got this chair here and I believe that this chair is capable of holding me of sustaining my weight I believe that but is this chair supporting me I believe it intellectually is it supporting me no I can kind of say well well I believe it can hold me up but I want to you know be sure so I can kind of rest part of my weight on this chair but also keep part of it on my legs and my is this church and this chair holding me up is it supporting me no it's my legs and a little bit of this chair no to believe to trust in to cling to the belief that this chair can really support me I have to put my whole weight in this chair and only then is it really supporting me it's the same thing with Jesus Christ it's only when we come to that point in our life when we are willing to kneel before a holy God and say God I know I'm a sinner I know I deserve your punishment I realize I can't save myself but I'm depending believing and trusting in what Jesus did for me taking the punishment I deserve on the cross I'm trusting the that and that alone just saved me when I die and the moment we say that to God and meaning we have the gift of eternal life that's why John said these things have I written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God and that leads to the fourth word the fourth phrase here who believed in the Son of God belief listen to this requires an object you know to believe doesn't mean to just this general belief you hear this a lot in the media people oh I have faith I have faith I have faith I believe what do you believe it why just believe what do you believe oh I believe everything's gonna work out okay no that's not what saves you it has to be belief in an object and he says their belief in the Son of God it's to believe that Jesus was the son of God who died for my sins on the cross that's what it means we have to believe in the object and frankly our belief is only as effective as the object of our belief you know it's not how much it's not how much faith you have it's not the quantity of your faith that makes a difference it's the object of your faith you can have a tiny bit of faith but if it's faith in a great object than it sustains you again let me illustrate this you know I can have all the faith in the world that this chair is capable of sustaining me but if unknown to me if the manufacturer they had left out a few bolts it doesn't matter how much I believe it doesn't matter how sincere I am if I sit down in a defective chair I'm going to collapse and there are a lot of people who have a lot of faith in the wrong object they are sincere about their religion and their belief but they were sincerely wrong because they place their belief in the wrong object no it is those who believe in the Son of God and ladies and gentlemen the son of God has a name he has a name have you heard this expression today and people saying it all the time well you know all religions worship the same God they just call him by another name and after all what's in the name everything you say a name represents the very essence of who a person is let me illustrate that for you let's say preacher my kid advertised for months that tonight August 19th 2019 we're gonna have a guest preacher for our Monday night series and he's special dr. david jeremiah that great preacher is going to be here now you all turned out well tonight but if he announced David Jeremiah was going to be here and be standing room only and so a standing-room-only crowd they turn people away to come here my friend David Jeremiah and so at the time for the sermon instead of David Jeremiah walking up I walk up and I preached the message and you all were polite you tried to hide your disappointment but what I'm over one of you finally screws up the courage and you come up to me and say dr. Jeff vs. David Jeremiah okay I said what yeah I talked to him a couple of weeks ago what is he you know well not that I know of why do you ask and you say well you know here on the program tonight it said dr. David Jeremiah was preaching and you preached oh that I say Oh David Jeremiah that's just another name I go by sometimes sometimes I go by David Jeremiah sometimes I go by Joel Olsteen sometimes I go by Al Sharpton but it doesn't matter we're all preachers no nothing's mean something all gods are not the same God fixed old Muslims he worship the same God we know they don't oh uh it's a God of the Koran Jehovah is the God of the Bible oh it's an imaginary God Jehovah is a real God Allah has no sons Jehovah has one son and his name is Jesus and acts 4:12 says there's no salvation apart from Jesus there's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved we must believe in the name of the Son of God Jesus Christ our Lord that's how to know whether or not you are truly saved now the fifth and the final word how do I know whether I'm saved write these words down eternal life these things have I written to you who believe in the name of the son of God that you may know you have eternal life how do you know whether you're saved simple do you have eternal life that's how to know you say Robert that is a dumb question that's a circular question I can't know if I have eternal life until I die and find out do I have eternal life or not nothing listen if you wait until then you've waited too long you see eternal life is not a quantity of life it's not a length of life did you know everybody is gonna live forever doesn't matter whether you're a Baptist Methodist Jew atheist Muslim everybody is going to live forever some people are gonna live forever with God in heaven jesus said in Matthew 7 the majority of humanity will spend eternity in Hell separated from God but everybody's going to live forever that's not what he turned of life is about it's not just about the length of life it's about the quality of life we experience not after we die but the moment we are saved you know what he turned a life is let me put it real simply eternal life includes having a hunger for God likeness Clopper talk a hopper talk about today that hunger for the Word of God it means looking forward to being with God's people it means a peace in your spirit no matter what is happening around you it means a contentment no matter what your bank account shows it means a willingness to forgive those who have wronged you it means a desire to spend time with God every day not out of ritual legalism but out of a hunger in your heart that is what eternal life is and if you don't have that you're not saved Paul put it pretty clearly in 2nd Corinthians he said test yourself to see whether or not you be in the faith he wasn't saying give yourself a Bible exam to see if you can come up with 10 reasons for the virgin birth of Jesus he was talking about your conduct the condition of your heart test yourself to see if you're really in the faith you know I believe in assurance of salvation I believe in the security of the believer but guess what the eternal security of the believer only applies to believers and I think we're trying to argue and give comfort to people that they're gonna be in heaven who have no right having that comfort because there's no evidence in their life whatsoever that they have eternal life oh oh wait a minute pastor are you teaching we are saved by our good works no not at all but James did say faith without works is a dead non-existent faith you know if I invited you to Dallas and I said I'd like you to see my apple tree I've got a beautiful apple tree and I take you to the backyard it's the springtime and you look at it and it's just dried up withered and there's not an apple anywhere you'd say pastor Jeff I think your apple tree is dead I'm offended that you would say such a thing well there are no apples on it you point out oh oh that hold on just a moment I get my car raced down to Albertsons grocery store buy some apples come back and I tie those apples onto those dead branches now what do the apples no apples do not produce life in an apple tree apples are the proof that there is life in the apple tree where there is no fruit there is no life and that's what James is saying where there is no spiritual fruit there is no spiritual life Martin Luther said it best about the relationship between faith and works he said faith alone saves but saving faith is never alone where there is genuine faith there's gonna be genuine evidence fruit that's why John says test yourself do you have eternal life are these things present in your life test yourself to see whether or not you are truly in the faith I don't know if you read about this but a few years ago before Northwest Airlines merged with Delta Airlines Northwest had a promotional gimmick one weekend it was the most imaginary thing I'd ever seen imaginative thing they offered what they called a mystery fare for $59 you could purchase a round-trip ticket the only problem is after you paid your money and went to the airport you didn't know where you were going until you got to the airport you'd buy the ticket and then you would get the airport find out where you'd been sent well interestingly thousands of people signed up for that mystery fare and I can understand why you know $59 not that much money I can afford to waste a weekend I'm willing to take a chance thousands of people showed up most people didn't complain about their destination there was one man a reporter said who is going through Airport waiving his ticket he said I've got a ticket to Minneapolis to the Mall of America I'll trade for any other destination but most people were happy mystery tickets are fun they're exciting but there's one day of your life you don't want to be holding a mystery fare ticket and that's the day of your death to face eternity without absolute certainty about your destination is a risk no sane person would take these things have I written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know you have eternal life let's bow together in prayer I'm gonna ask nobody to leave we're almost finished please don't leave when I asked her instrumentalist on the piano just softly to play I don't believe it is an accident you're here tonight I think God has brought some of you here tonight so that you can know once and for all with absolute certainty about your eternal destination maybe you're saying well Robert I just don't know I think I made that decision a long time ago but I'm not sure I understood you know what I've learned the best thing to do is not try to unravel what you may or may not have done in the past instead right now make absolutely certain you have done what the Bible says you must do to have eternal life and so tonight with every head bowed every eye closed tonight if you want to be absolutely certain that God is going to welcome you into his presence one day I want to ask you to pray this prayer silently in your heart to God knowing that God is listening to you right now would you pray this with me dear God thank you for loving me I know I have failed you in so many ways and I'm truly sorry about the sins in my life but I believe what I've heard the night you don't hate me you loved me so much you sent your son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins to take the penalty and the punishment from you that I deserve to take from you and right now on this night of August the 19th tonight I'm trusting in Jesus and Jesus alone to save me for my sins thank you for forgiving me and help me to live the rest of my life for you in Jesus now we've ever had still bad every eye closed if you prayed that prayer tonight regardless of what you've done or haven't done in the past if you prayed that prayer with me tonight would you just raise your hand forever you are pastor Jeffress I prayed that prayer yes many of you just raised so I can pray for you I'm gonna ask us to stand together with our heads bowed and our eyes closed and preacher Mike I'm gonna do something different tonight I wanna ask you to come and stand in the middle tonight if you prayed that prayer I'm gonna ask you just to come down and touch preacher Mike on the arm and say I prayed the prayer and then go back to your seat we're not gonna stay and talk with you unless you want somebody to talk to tell the preacher you want somebody to talk to you but otherwise just come down and put your hand on his arm preacher I prayed the prayer you got it settled tonight you said well why is it important that I come down and do that just taking those few steps will help seal that decision in your heart so that in the days the years ahead if you ever wonder whether or not God is forgiving you whether or not you're going to heaven you can always look back on this night August the 19th 2019 when you TRO told preacher Mike that you prayed the prayer so let's stand together right now Ernst tremenda list is gonna play I'm gonna invite you for your benefit just to come and tell the preacher I prayed the prayer would you do it you come right now thank you for watching decision for life our location Life Group and program information available online at F BCIT org we hope you will take the opportunity to join us in person thank you from the family of First Baptist Church Indian Trail [Music]

Channel: First Baptist Church Indian Trail

Views: 119,467

Keywords: Dr. Mike Whitson, First Baptist Church Indian Trail, North Carolina First Baptist Church, Worship Service 2018, Baptist Church Service 2018, FBCIT worship music, First Baptist Indian Trail music, Indian Trail Christmas Musical, You are Great worship, How Great Thou Art worship, Amazing Grace worship, Our God worship, In Christ Alone worship, Holy Holy Holy worship, Everlasting Doors worship

Id: NxBCZYL89Tw

Length: 39min 44sec (2384 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 26 2019