Sermons About Assurance
Five Things We Can Know in an Era of Uncertainty
1 John 5:13-21 In this era of uncertainty, isn't it good to know we can rely on God's promises? Today we will look at five things we can know with certainty from God's word.
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Locking up Your Freedom - Galatians #9
What makes the Christian faith like no other? The good news of God’s grace is the bold claim that we are accepted by God not because we “follow the rules” or “fit the mold” but because Jesus gave his own life to rescue us. But many of us are still trying to earn God’s love with our performance rather than living in the freedom that Jesus has provided for us. In Galatians, Paul warns against the danger of religious systems that value people on grounds of accomplishment or status or cultural agreement. These things lock away our freedom in the futility of legalism, moral superiority and cultural arrogance. Focusing on either the racial/ethnic/cultural superiority or the moral successes of good works denies the gospel and divides Jesus’ followers. Join us as we explore how God offers us true freedom in Jesus and how the freedom of Christ transforms our hearts, our minds and lives.
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Exposure of False Assurance (Matthew 3:9)
There is nothing so common today - particularly among the professing church of Jesus Christ - than for men to think that all is well with their souls; that their eternity is secure; that their forms and activities of religion are enough to secure their favor with God. The thought of being self-deceived, or wrong about their religious confidence is offensive and an affront to their religious pride. However, if there is ever an area where it is crucial that we be right it is in the area of the true condition of our souls. A person can be wrong about many things and suffer but passing consequences, but to be wrong about one’s standing with God is the most dreadful of all errors. “The power of self-deception in unconverted man is infinite.” (Ryle) John the Baptist confronts the false hope and assurance of religious hypocrites. And he does this because a false religious confidence leads to a false assurance of salvation, which leads to eternal damnation. So, John wants expose this sandy foundation so that those who hear him and we ourselves could be rescued from self-deceit and enter into the true glories and joys of assurance built on the rock of truth and obedience.
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The Freedom of Our Adoption - Galatians #8
What makes the Christian faith like no other? The good news of God’s grace is the bold claim that we are accepted by God not because we “follow the rules†or “fit the mold†but because Jesus gave his own life to rescue us. But many of us are still trying to earn God’s love with our performance rather than living in the freedom that Jesus has provided for us. In Galatians, Paul warns against the danger of religious systems that value people on grounds of accomplishment or status or cultural agreement. These things lock away our freedom in the futility of legalism, moral superiority and cultural arrogance. Focusing on either the racial/ethnic/cultural superiority or the moral successes of good works denies the gospel and divides Jesus’ followers. Join us as we explore how God offers us true freedom in Jesus and how the freedom of Christ transforms our hearts, our minds and lives.
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The Witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16-17)
The pillar of our security and assurance in our salvation is the gospel. Do you know, understand and believe the gospel? Are you actively and persistently putting your faith in Christ? Here is your primary assurance that you belong to Christ. In addition to this primary means of assurance, we may also draw assurance from the fact that the gospel and word and Spirit are at work in our lives producing the fruit of the Spirit; and from our experience of God's peace and comfort and nearness in the Spirit.
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Exposure of Religious Hypocrisy (Matthew 3:7)
“Evangelicals generally and the coming generation particularly have adopted to various degrees an ethical code of political civility. This compels them not only to be tolerant of others’ beliefs, opinions, and lifestyles, but more importantly , to be tolerable to others. The critical dogma is not to offend but to be genteel and civil in social relations … [Such[ a religious style … entails a de-emphasis of Evangelicalism's more offensive aspects, such as accusations of heresy, sin immortality, and paganism, and themes of judgment, divine wrath, damnation, and hell.†John insist on true repentance by exposing its counterfeit - religious hypocrisy and warning of its consequences. We will break down 3:7-12 into three main sections and then deal with each one on its own. 1) Exposure of Religious Hypocrisy (7) 2) Expectation of Genuine Repentance (8-9) 3) Execution of Divine Judgment (10-12) This morning we will look at verse 7 and the Exposure of Religious Hypocrisy. What do I mean by Religious Hypocrisy? Those who have a form of religion and religious commitments - even the right religion - but do not know its internal transforming power: “form of godliness, although they have denied its power†(2 Tim. 3:5); “[broad way] that leads to destruction†(Matt. 7:13) - They have a form of obedience, but the wrong heart. They have religion, but they don’t internally hate sin and love righteousness; they lack true humility before God; their religion is more about what they do than who they are; they feel secure in the externals of religion but are ignorant of its internal realities. This morning we will look at John’s Exposure this Religious Hypocrisy and note two dominate aspects of John’s rebuke: 1) Religious Hypocrisy Blinds a person to their true condition. 2) Religious Hypocrisy Puts one in Great Danger of Judgement.
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Assurance, Intercession, and Purity
Do any of you know people that are amazingly self-assured? Their confidence just overflows when you are around them. Sometimes being around them can be encouraging, and quite honestly, some times it can be intimidating. Maybe they have the effect on you that you try your best to be at your sharpest, wittiest, and most intelligent when you are interacting with them. Either way, everyone in the room senses their confidence. A lot of athletes are like that. When the game is on the line, they want the ball in their hands. When the Super Bowl is on the line, they want the ball thrown their way. They want to stand at the plate at the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded. Moments like that are what many kids dream of and play out in the backyard every day. I had that moment my very first organized baseball game. I may have told you guys this story before, but it bears telling again. I was in 4th grade in my very first little league game. I had not stepped onto the field the entire time. My uniform would not even need cleaning. It was the bottom of the ninth, we were down, there were 2 men on base, and my coach decides to put me in as a pinch hitter. I watched the last two pitches whiz by, I struck out, and we lost the game. I handled that like many other 9 year olds do by crying my eyes out. Fast forward 20 years later, and the exact same situation came up. I was playing church softball, it was the playoffs, and I step up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. It was not lost on me at that last time that I was in the same situation, and the last time I was there I didn't come through. However, this time, I hit a bloop single that brought in two runners, and we won the game. Winning the game was enough to erase most of the pain of the 4th grade, but I was pretty sure that I was never going to be any team's go to guy on the baseball field. No matter whether you are confident or not, built into self-assurance or self-confidence is this attitude that sounds like the expression, "If it is going to be, it is up to me." There is a sense in some folks, right or wrong, that they just know if something needs to get done, they know they can count on themselves. Though this issue wavers back and forth between confidence and pride, it got me thinking about confidence and assurance in God. If I asked many of you, "Is God powerful enough to do anything?" I think many if not most of you would say, "Yes." "Is he powerful enough to create, heal, call things into existence by His very word?? I think most of you would say yes. But if I asked you if He was powerful enough to keep your salvation secure and in the process assure you that your salvation is real, I don't know if I would get as many affirmations. For some reason, we think God is powerful enough to do anything He wants in the material world, but when it comes to our heart, salvation, and assurance of that salvation, we think God either cannot or has chosen not to make us secure with Him. This Sunday, at Sovereign King, I want to remove that doubt today. Rather, John in this last sermon from 1 John wants to. John is going to use language like "knowing we believe" and "knowing you have eternal life" and "having confidence" in God. He is going to talk about what the life looks like that has confidence in God and what God has done.
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Full Assurance
Chapel Homily on Hebrews 10:16-25 given by Dr. John Oakes, Rector of Holy Trinity, at 7 P.M. Communion on Wednesday, January 29.
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Living with Certainty (1 John 5:13-21)
First John 5:13-21 teaches that, as Christians, we can and ought to live with certainty in a world full of certainties.
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