Due Diligence

How can we tell the difference between a surety of salvation that is genuine from that assurance of salvation that is false or let me ask it another way, how is it possible that somebody cannot be in the state of salvation and yet be sure that they are less a good question and it's one that's been raised many times Dr. Hersey's role is going to address it today here on Renewing Your Mind. Thank you for being with us today.

I'm we web in second Peter the apostle addresses fellow believers and in verse 10, he tells them to be even more diligent to make your call and election sure some I read that were here that person say well if I'm part of the elect. Why do I need to worry about that. It's vital that we understand the context of Peter's exhortation.

Let's join Dr. Spruill now Peter has already spoken about the glorious majesty of the God who has called us and who has given us exceedingly great and precious promises. And then he goes on to say for this very reason because of what God has done for us. We ought to be giving all diligence as we look in to the things of God that is that our approach to learning of God is not to be done in a frivolous or capricious or cavalier manner. It is to be done with earnest application with careful study and inquiry by applying ourselves diligently to every word that has proceeded forth from his mother.

Now Peter comes to an extremely important teaching when he says therefore, brethren, be even more diligent now you see what he's just said. He said I want you to be diligent, industrious, careful to apply yourself to add to your faith virtue and perseverance of lovingkindness. Brotherly love, all these things so that you will be barren so that you won't be fruitless.

But there's something about which I want you to be even more diligent now. If an apostle walked in here this evening and we had a chance to have him come up and lead a question-and-answer and we would say to the apostle be it Paul or Peter or John or whoever we said to them, tell us what our priorities should be. What kinds of things. Should we be most diligent to learn, would we not be a little bit surprised if the answer said you need to learn about the doctrine of election.

But the doctrine of election or of predestination, not in the abstract but with respect to your own person. Would you say if that apostle said to you the most important question you could ever get answered in this lifetime is the question, am I numbered among the elect.

Now I realize that there are multitudes of professing Christians out there that don't even worry about such questions because I don't believe in election.

In the first place.

In fact, if there is one verse that people appeal to in all of sacred Scripture to try to deny the doctrine of election. It is a verse that we will examine later on in this same epistle that verse that says God is not willing that any should perish, and if it's true that God is not willing that anybody should perish than manifestly. Who needs to worry about election.

You do because Peter's sign. You need to be all the more diligent to make your calling and your election sure to remember to whom the first epistle of Peter was addressed to the elect. The doctrine of election permeates the epistles of St. Peter so we can't dismiss the doctrine of election simply to the machinations of the mind of the apostle Paul or even to Jesus himself. It's everywhere on virtually every page. No I want asked two questions what does Peter mean by making your calling and election sure in what reason does he give for being especially diligent to do that. Let's start with the first of what the sea mean money says the be all the more diligent to make your calling and your election sure in all kinds of people read this book, try to understand what the apostle is saying and some of them get degrees in medical studies and write commentaries about it then. Then their commentaries.

Frankly, do little more than expose the profundity of their ignorance they can't believe how many commentators of this text say that what Peter means by making your calling and election sure is this that from all eternity and God's secret counsel in his eternal decrees he has elected to save certain people, but the election of those people is not certain until those people respond to the call of God unless or until they make such a response that question of their election remains a matter of uncertainty I'm sitting on a stool right now for just one second I have to get up say can you imagine that I have to do something to make an eternal decree of God sure. I hope that kind of thinking never gets in your skull because when God from all eternity chooses to save somebody that person's election is absolutely certain it is certainly certain in the mind of God. God doesn't say, I will choose to save people on whom I have no idea who they might be at all at that that be decided by then, there's no election in there at all those people are electing themselves. God is simply an impotent spectator. Certainly, if God chooses to elect somebody that election must needs be come to pass nothing in heaven. Nothing on earth can frustrate the sovereign will of God when we are you about this sort of thing.

All it does is expose how little we know about the nature and character of God. We tend to think of God, the way we describe ourselves as preachers, we change our minds all the time we make decisions, and then reverse them when we get new information that we didn't have before or when somebody tells us that the decisions that we made weren't so smart. And then we correct them because not like that guy doesn't make any foolish decisions that have to be corrected now, obviously making your calling and election sure is not the be making what God has decreed to be a sure thing. It's a sure thing already and all of your diligence can never change a sure thing that is been the created by God. Well, maybe what the text is doing is of the what is our job is just to make it sure for God so that God will know for sure that we really are the elect.

Now I have just used a an old-fashioned technique called reductio ad absurdum to disprove that obviously that's not what the text means write what does it mean the question is for home is the question of calling and election to be made sure you elect Bill be sure I am to six, but it's important to be sure is. What if I say are you elect and you look at me say hello.

I hope so. See in this world we can never know for sure that were not elect because even though were not in faith at the present moment. We don't know what tomorrow will bring. We don't know that maybe on her deathbed, God will bring us to faith and we will have our election realized and so you can't know it for sure in this world, but you're not elect, but you can know for sure that you are elect and so what Peter is talking about here is the question of the assurance of salvation or the assurance of your election now again in other contexts I've talked about this question of the assurance of salvation and I've mentioned to you that there are four kinds of people with respect to the assurance of salvation. I'm going to go over that again for you briefly when we think about the assurance of salvation or the assurance of our election. Therefore kinds of people. There are those who are not saved and they know they're not saved or not in the state of salvation at this present time, and I know they're not in a state of salvation. There are people who are in a state of salvation, but they're not sure that there say then there's the third group. There are those who are say who know that they are saved just like Bill testified to hear a mom, I got those three groups discover those who aren't saved another not say those who are say but don't know that there say those who are say and know that they are safe.

So far so good but the monkeywrench falls with the force category which includes those who are not saved who are sure that they are say so that if you're sure that your say how do you know you're not in that group of people who are sure that there say, but who are say you know the warning that Jesus brings will be looking at it in Sunday morning, God willing. In the weeks to come up with. Jesus ends the sermon on the mount saying it met last day many will come to me say, Lord, Lord, did not do this in your name did not do that in your name and Jesus ago say the part for me, you evildoers. I never knew you is can I say to them, you thought you were say you were never say you were never in my kingdom. So how can we tell the difference between base surety of salvation that is genuine from that assurance of salvation that is false or let me ask another way, how is it possible that somebody cannot be in the state of salvation and yet be sure that they are well there several ways that can happen, the first and most obvious way that people can be sure that there say when they're not say is because they have a defective understanding of what is involved in salvation I told you before when my little boy was six years old. I said to him, if you were to die, and stood before God and God said to you, why should I let you into heaven, he gave the answer to malic was the stupidest question I can never ask themselves why would say to God, because I'm dead.

What was the theological assumption that he was making in his doctrine of justification by death. He believed at that age that everybody that dies goes to heaven.

And so, if you believe that if you believe that everybody is saved and that your body then you can come to the resist list conclusion that you must therefore also be in a state of salvation. However, if everybody is not saved, then the fact that you're a buddy cannot give you any legitimate assurance of your salvation, or one of the multitudes of people who earnestly believe that one is saved by trying to live a good life was resting on the fruit of their labors. I go to church.

I teach Sunday school.

I'm a deacon I'm an elder. I'm a priest of a minister. I've done all these good things, and so I have assurance that I will be saved. I haven't murdered anybody. I haven't committed adultery. I'm a good man, and all good men go to heaven. I just forgot the read that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

And so the assurance I have of my salvation is a false one will. How else can you have a false sense of assurance of the first instance by not really understanding of one enters into a state of salvation and suppose.

You do have a sound doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Suppose you do understand that the only way to heaven is by placing your trust in Christ and your sure you have done that and the proof that you can give is I want to an evangelistic meeting and when they minister gave the altar call I got up out of my seat and I went to the front of the Roman I gave my life to Jesus or when the preacher said anybody that wants to be, say raise their hand and I raise my hand the bridges that I see that a or somebody came to me in the said sign this card were you're going to commit your life to Jesus. I signed that card or another evangelist came to me and said pray the sinners prayer and you will be saved, and he told me what the sinners prayer was and I prayed the sinners prayer so I know that I'm say again I say this probably until you get sick and tired of hearing it, that nobody has ever been saved by a profession of faith. You must possess it, as well as profess it and you can profess it all day long without ever possessing it. How do you know if you possess it, or couple ways I had to person asked me that once in set the media. How can I know if I'm a Christian and I similarly asked a couple questions do you love Jesus perfectly said no deal of Jesus is much as you I love course assists the same question repeated as and he said no and whatever assurance he had when he asked the question is starting to slip out of his fingers, and I finally asked Mr. deal of Jesus at all, but I should be careful. I'm not asking you about. If you love the Jesus that was portrayed to you at a youth camp. I'm asking you if you love have any affection in your heart for the biblical chases for the Jesus's person work as set forth in the pages of the New Testament have any affection for him and that person says to me yes I do I can tell what the disposition of my heart as I know that I I don't love them as much side to but I know I do love them.

I want to see the consummation of his kingdom.

I wish I didn't disobey him as much as I do, but I know that I have affection in my heart for this is okay, here's where your theology is so important because if you understand that the natural person the regenerate person never has an ounce of affection in his art for God that is impossible for anyone to have any love for Christ. Unless first the Holy Spirit has changed the disposition of your soul, because by nature. Not only do you not love him, you cannot love him only if you're born of the spirit is a love for the biblical Christ awakened in your soul I say will II have been born again, but maybe I'll lose it. Say no.

If you have it, you'll never lose it than if you lose it you never had it because I know this that the only way you could be born again is that if God the Holy Spirit change the disposition of your soul and I also know that the only way the God the Holy Spirit changes the disposition of your heart is it if he calls you internally by the power of his might and I know that the only way he will do that.

Is it from the foundation of the world they elected you to that calling and I'm to faith and unto justification. And since there are no flaws in God's eternal decrees if now and Simon space you have the slightest true affection for Jesus and if the doctrine of election is true, then based upon your good theology your assurance is solidified so in the best ways of gaining the assurance of salvation that you need to have is by understanding what salvation requires, and of what it consists and how it comes to pass. That's where the learning of theology has such great practical implications.

If you do these things. That is if you are diligent to make your call and election sure if you do these things you will never stumble and entrance will be supplied you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ their friends regeneration. We say is Mounir.

Just think it's not a joint effort between you and God you cannot cause yourself to be born again you are utterly completely passive in that action.

But from that moment until you die the whole pilgrimage the whole progress of your Christian life is a synergistic action, one that does involve a cooperation between you and God know what Peter is saying here is, if you want have a fruitful Christian life. If you want to grow in grace. If you want to move forward in your sanctification. One of the most important things that you can do is early on in your walk. Make sure of your our efforts don't turn this regeneration nor righteousness. But amazingly, God uses those efforts to keep us from falling away if were genuinely say we will not take advantage of God's grace and and think we can continue sending. Instead, we exercise our God-given faith to strive after holiness. Thank you for joining us today for Renewing Your Mind all week. We have been pleased to share various messages from Dr. RC Sproul's vast archive of New Testament sermons and today we want to offer you a valuable resource to help you in your own study. It's Dr. Strohl's commentary on first and second Peter.

It's a 265 page hardbound edition that will help you understand key theological themes and apply them to your life. Just give a donation of any amount to look at her ministries and we will send this to you for a couple of ways you can contact us to make a request. One is online@renewingyourmind.org or you can call us with your gift card number is 800-435-4343.

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