[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfreda, Georgia. This is the next message in our series in the book of 2 Corinthians, entitled, We Faint Not.
[0:15] I hope you understand that salvation is purely a work of God. If there's anything about Christmas that ought to wake you up, it is that the God of heaven came to earth and took on human flesh, and died on a cross so that you could be saved.
[0:33] And so salvation is a God thing. I hope you understand that.
[0:44] I hope you understand that what happened when you got saved was that you didn't come looking for him, but he came looking for you. And that you didn't do anything to get the right to be in his presence.
[0:55] He came to you. The song expressed it well. And the passage that we have in front of us calls on you to acknowledge that. It calls on you to acknowledge that.
[1:09] In 1954, I was unheard of. And my parents found out they were going to have a baby in August. And I didn't do anything to come into this world.
[1:22] It wasn't my hard works. It wasn't my good looks. It wasn't what I did. It was all them and God and got me here.
[1:34] And much more even than that, in 1962, I was born again. And as much as you might like to think that what got you into this world was your good works or your good looks or how good you were, what got you into this world was he's a very good God.
[1:53] What saved you and birthed you into the kingdom of God was that you didn't go looking for God, but God came looking for you. What got you into this world spiritually was not that you loved him first, but that he loved you first.
[2:08] And that's why you love him. And what got you into be born a born again Christian is that God loved you while you were still sinning. And Christ came to die for you. Paul's ending up the book of second Corinthians.
[2:20] And as he ends the book of second Corinthians, and as he talks to them, he's really upset that in the church, there is sin that's still going on.
[2:31] And they are not living up to who they are or they are not who they say they are. In other words, there's sin and God's people don't like sin.
[2:44] And so if you are a born again Christian and you are living in sin, you are not living like who you say you are. Your real nature is not coming out.
[2:56] You are not acting like a born again Christian. And if you are not saved, then you are saying, uh, making a false profession. In second Corinthians chapter 12, let's go to verse 13 or chapter 13.
[3:10] We'll just go there first. The Bible says in verse 13, chapter 13, verse one, this is the third time I'm coming to you. And in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
[3:22] Paul is going to deal with sin. This is a heavy hearted passage of scripture. Paul's going to deal with sin. He's going to come into church and he's going to say, I hear in chapter 12, verse 20, I hear.
[3:34] And I think I'm finding out that there are debates and envying and wraths and strifes and backbitings and whispering and swellings and tumults. And he said, I'm going to deal with sin when I get there.
[3:45] He said, I even hear in verse 21 that there are some of you that have sinned already and you have not repented. You are living in some sexual immorality, some uncleanness and some wild partying, uh, some set light letting the flesh go and doing what you want to do.
[4:03] And you're involved in fornication and you hadn't repented of it. And you're claimed to be born again, Christians that I'm coming and I'm going to deal with it. I'm not going to deal with rumors.
[4:13] He says, I want to deal with facts. He says in chapter 13, verse one, there will be two or three witnesses. That's how we'll know the truth. I'll find out if you are fornicating.
[4:26] I'll find out if you're living in division and debate and sedition. I'll find out if you've got uncleanness in your life. That's a biblical way you go about it.
[4:36] In the church, there ought not be sin. In the church, we ought not practice sin. There ought never be in your mind. The idea that born again, people can live in sin, unconfessed sin and continue to live in it.
[4:54] He said, when I get there, I'll deal with it. I may be mean. I may be sharp. I may be harsh. But he said, I will only deal with facts, not rumors.
[5:04] In Deuteronomy 19, 15, the Bible said, one witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin and any sin that he sends at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established.
[5:19] So Paul was only quoting what the scripture said and what he knew to be true. In Matthew chapter 18, when Jesus talked to the church about how they would deal with sin, he said, if they will not hear, they didn't take with the two, one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be established.
[5:37] In first Timothy chapter five, 19, he said to them, when somebody wants to accuse an elder or a pastor or a leader in the church, it ought to be before two or three witnesses.
[5:49] And Paul said, I am declaring war. Verse two, chapter 13 and verse two, you got your Bible open. He said, I told you before and I foretell you, I'm telling you up front as if I were pressed.
[6:03] I'm telling you, just like I stand in there the second time and I, and I'm writing to you, the, to those that which have sinned and to all others, that if I come, I will not spare.
[6:16] Would you look this way just a second? I have a heaviness about me. Things happened yesterday and the last 48 hours. Things happen in the lives of our friends.
[6:27] But this passage is a heavy passage. You understand what he's saying? When I come, I plan on ripping face. I plan on letting you know we don't sin.
[6:43] No, pornography is not okay with us. No, fornication is not okay. You're a born again group of people. No, division and fighting and fussing is not okay with us.
[6:57] And I'm going to fix it. Now, anytime you bring in discipline, it'd be for the purpose of restoring us. He loved them. He wasn't mad at them. He just wanted them to get right.
[7:07] In Galatians chapter six and verse one, Paul wrote the Galatians said, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you, which are spiritual, restore such one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted.
[7:19] And so sin ought not exist in a church. It ought not be a common thing. There's almost an idea of, oh, it's okay. We're saved and we're under grace and it's okay.
[7:30] No, it's not okay. No, there's never an excuse for us to accept sin. We hate sin. Sin put our savior on the cross.
[7:43] We hate it. We want to be holy. Born again, people hunger to be holy. In first Peter chapter one and verse 15, Peter says, but he, which has called you is holy.
[7:58] The one who called you is holy. So be ye holy in all the way you live in all manner of conversation, the way you talk, the way you work, the way you act at your workplace.
[8:10] Be holy. Verse 16, because as it's written, be ye holy for I am holy. You're my children. I'm your father. I saved you.
[8:21] I'm your Lord. I'm holy. Be holy. That doesn't go in modern churches, does it? But he calls on us to be who we are.
[8:35] And we are the holy children of the holy God. We are the God loving, God fearing people because the God of heaven saved us.
[8:48] Second Peter chapter two and verse nine. He said, you're a chosen generation, a royal priest, a holy nation. A peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him, which called you.
[9:01] Verse 11. He said, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims. You are not to be like Americans. You are not to live like Georgians.
[9:13] This is not your home. You are strange to this world. They, you feel like you're in a strange place. You feel like you're somebody on a tourist trip. Don't get involved in this world.
[9:26] Strangers and pilgrims abstain. Avoid fleshly lust desires that lost people would have. They war against our soul.
[9:39] So just know this born again, people hunger to be holy. Born again, people don't like sin. Born again, people want to live out who they are.
[9:54] We are the children of a holy God. We want to exhibit his characteristics in our life. Second thing Paul said, they were kind of fussing at him.
[10:06] They were like, who do you think you are to talk to us like that? And in verse 3, 13, 3, he said, you seek proof of Christ speaking in me. And he's going to remind them that he has spiritual weapons.
[10:17] And though he may have come across as loving them, sometimes because a pastor's going to preach grace and mercy. And he's going to love and be sweet. What Paul had been when he had been in their presence.
[10:28] They weren't respecting him. But the patience that he showed and the constantly giving and forgiving was no excuse for sin. I want to take you to verse 5 and spend the rest of the time there.
[10:45] Verse 5, he calls on them to examine themselves. And he says, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves.
[10:56] Know ye not your own selves how Jesus Christ is in you. Accept you be reprobate. Do you understand that Jesus lives in you unless you're not saved?
[11:08] Unless you're counterfeit? Unless you're fake? Don't you know Jesus lives in you? And Paul said, I trust you aren't reprobates. So Paul said, instead of y'all questioning me and my preaching to you and my authority, maybe you ought to stop a minute and say, how is it that I'm a born again Christian and I keep living in sin?
[11:29] How is it I'm a born again Christian and I won't leave this stuff? Maybe you ought to find out if you're really saved. How can you continue to live in sin being saved?
[11:42] Were these sins proof that God was not at work in them? So I'd like to give you some things to examine yourselves. Two things are going to happen. If you're a born again Christian, when you leave, you should know I'm saved.
[11:53] I have evidence that I'm born again. Or you should leave today and say, I'm not born again and I have evidence that I'm not born again. I need to get saved. And if you already know you're saved, you already say, I already know the rest of this message.
[12:06] I can check out of here. Maybe you ought to write some things down so that you would use them to help other people in discipleship. Turn with me, if you would, to Romans chapter 8 and verse 9.
[12:17] The very first thing that ought to happen to us is we ought to have the witness of the Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit ought to help us to know that we know we're born again.
[12:28] Every one of us ought to know from the Holy Spirit working in our lives through the Word of God that we are born again. The Bible says you are not, but you are not in the flesh.
[12:40] By the way, check that out, would you? That goes against what you probably, you're often to say stuff like I'm in the flesh or I was in the flesh.
[12:50] No, you're not. You're not in the flesh. If you're born again, you're not in the flesh. Paul's writing to Roman Christians, he said, you are not in the flesh. You are in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
[13:03] Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Would you look this way just a second? Let me show you something. If the Holy Spirit is not dwelling in you, you are not saved.
[13:16] Somebody told you that you have to have the second blessing. Somebody told you that some of us don't have the Holy Spirit. If you're a born again believer, you are in the Spirit and the Spirit is in you.
[13:27] And the Holy Spirit will convict you while you're listening to preaching, while you're doing sin, while you're wherever you are. He will convict you and show you, no, you're not really saved. And this very morning, the Holy Spirit may speak to you and say, by what the Bible says, you are not born again.
[13:43] And if he does, you need to say, I want to be saved. On the other side, many of you will listen today. And as you listen, the Holy Spirit will say, see there, you're saved. That's what the Bible says.
[13:54] And you got it. It's really true. The Holy Spirit reminds us that we are saved. He confirms in us that we are born again.
[14:06] You are, that we're not in the flesh. So let me give you some verses. I'll be, I guess, one more verse before that. Go to verse 16. Romans 8, 16. The Bible says the Spirit, capital S, itself, beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
[14:23] In my heart, based on what the Word of God says, I know that I am born again. Would you stop and listen to this? That is the absolute most important thing you can know.
[14:34] If tragedy strikes your family like tragedy struck in several different places and touched your heart, you need to know that you know God.
[14:46] You need to know that you would go to heaven. You need to know that you are working to help your family come to know Jesus Christ. It's that important. So here's some of the truths that the Bible gives you in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 14.
[14:59] First one you might write down. Do you love the brothers? Do you love the brethren? Look at 1 John chapter 3 and verse 14 if you would. 1 John 3, 14.
[15:10] We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
[15:21] I want you to take your Bible and I hope you open it to 1 John because you need to see it in the Bible itself. You need to write it down. You need to keep a list of it. You need to circle the words. You need to be ready to use this with yourself or somebody else.
[15:33] A characteristic of a born-again believer is he likes other Christians. He likes other Christians. He likes being with other Christians.
[15:45] If he has a preference, he chooses to be with other born-again people. You see, an alcoholic, he likes bars and he likes people that like bars and he likes alcohol.
[15:57] A drug addict likes drugs and he likes drug addicts and he likes places where he can get drugs. A gay guy is going to look for a gay bar so he can find he wants to be where he's at. Birds of a feather flock together.
[16:08] And I'll just go ahead and tell you that if you don't enjoy being with other born-again Christians, it speaks loudly. I'd rather be with the cussing crowd.
[16:20] I'd rather be with a God-hating crowd. I'd rather be with a crowd that never talks about Jesus. That ought to be an alarm bell should go off in your heart. If you say, when I show up at church, a bunch of fuddy-duddy people with weird ideas and they all want to talk about God and I'm not all that keen on being around them.
[16:37] It's something inside of you ought to scream. I ain't where I belong. And if you're not where you belong, it's because you're not born again. He said, we know in the Bible, we know that we have passed from death unto life.
[16:53] Because we love the brethren. Born-again people want to be with other born-again people. People that love Jesus like to be with people that love Jesus.
[17:09] People that love Jesus, people that are born again like to be with others. And you should examine yourself this day and just say, is that true? I know in my own heart, no matter where I go in the world, I feel at home when I get around God's people.
[17:23] I remember one night in Peru being invited to home. And when I went in the door, this was a very wealthy family. He was one of the top cancer people in the doctors in Adiquipa.
[17:36] And we got in the door and I've never been around that crowd of people. I could be around Peruvians all day long. I could speak the language. I like the culture. But I got in the door and when I walked in, he said, hey, what do you want to drink, Guillermo?
[17:51] And I said, I'll take Coke. And he said, with what? And I said, ice. Didn't even sound funny to me. I thought he meant with ice.
[18:04] I didn't know. And he yelled at his wife and said, what are you doing bringing a gal over here that doesn't know anything about I drink? And all night long, I was the center of the conversation.
[18:15] Everybody looked at me. I was the weirdo. I didn't belong. I knew I didn't belong. And so I just kept throwing Jesus at them so I wouldn't belong even more. And they never invited me back. And I was glad.
[18:27] Because if I'm going to go, I'm going to talk about Jesus. And they would have been glad to talk about anything else I wanted to. They loved to talk about politics. I could have talked to them about the Republicans and the Democrats. I could have talked to them about whoever our president was back then.
[18:40] I could have talked to them about their president. I could have talked to them about finances. I could have explained leadership principles to them. But the one thing they didn't want to talk about was Jesus. And the one thing I wanted to talk about was Jesus.
[18:53] Do you enjoy the brothers? Examine yourself. Find out if you're a fake. Find out if you're a reprobate. Second one. Go to 1 John 2, verse 29.
[19:05] 1 John 2, 29. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him. Now write this down.
[19:17] You want to do right. There is something in your heart that says, I want to please God. There's something in you that says, I want to do the right thing.
[19:29] You don't like sin. You're used to sin and you used to enjoy sin, but you no longer enjoy sin. Sin used to call on you. And by the way, if sin still calls on you and something inside of you doesn't scream, no.
[19:42] You need to check out. I didn't say sin wouldn't call. But if something inside of you doesn't scream, no, I don't want to do that anymore. I've told you the story.
[19:53] If you go to church here long enough, you'll know all my stories and you just nod and act like you never heard it before. All right. But there was a lady in our church and she was so funny. We led her to Christ.
[20:03] She was a drunkard. I mean, she got drunk every weekend. She came to church several weeks and she was so happy about Jesus. And one night she came to church and she looked like her name was Elba. She looked like she'd been run over by a train.
[20:16] I mean, her face was sad. Her hair was disheveled. She just didn't look like she normally looked and the joy wasn't there. So after church, she came up to me and she said, I'm feeling horrible.
[20:27] I said, I'm so sorry. What's wrong? She said, I don't think I'm saved. I said, why not? She said, I got drunk. And I said, that's okay. If you're saved, you can get drunk and still be saved.
[20:37] She said, I feel horrible. I said, great. She said, what do you mean great? I said, if you got drunk and didn't feel horrible, I think you might not be saved. She never got drunk again.
[20:49] Something happened to her. She wanted to do right. She wanted to be at church. And when I go back to Peru, there she is again. She has a hunger to do right.
[21:00] Examine yourself. I didn't say, do you attend church faithfully? I didn't say, Mr. Pearson, would you please bring forth the giving records and let's check out and see if they're born again by how much money they give.
[21:12] Here's the question. Do you love the brothers and do you want to do right? You want to read the Bible. You want to go to church. You want to do the right things. And whenever you mess up, you know you messed up and sin doesn't have that attraction for you.
[21:26] First John 3, 9. The Bible says, whosoever is born of God does not commit sin. His seed remains in him and he cannot sin.
[21:37] He's born of God. The actual import of what he's saying here is you don't like sin. It's not your practice. It doesn't mean that you won't fall.
[21:49] In 1 John 1, he didn't obviously mean that because he said, if we sin, we will confess our sin. In 1 John 2, in verse 1, he said, if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father.
[21:59] He wasn't saying we don't sin, but he was saying we don't sin. Did you catch that? He wasn't saying we don't sin, but he was saying we don't sin. You see, it ought to be like when we do wrong, it's like, well, that was unusual.
[22:14] You get caught doing something you ought not do as a Christian, I'll be like, that ain't his way. That's not who he is. He wasn't acting like himself.
[22:25] Because we're born again Christians, we don't practice sin. The Bible says all liars will have their part in the lake of fire.
[22:35] And you may tell an occasional lie, but if you're truly a born again Christian, lying is not who you are. And it's not what you do. That's not just, well, praise God, even though I lie now, he don't call me a liar.
[22:46] That's not what it means. It does mean that he forgives you for lies. That's correct. But the truth is, that's what you used to be, but that's not who you are now. You're a new person in Christ.
[22:58] Third thing that you might write down. If you overcome the world, if you overcome the world and overcome temptation and sin. In 1 John 5, 4, the Bible says, whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world.
[23:12] And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Did you know that if sin constantly wins the battle with you, if the world wins the battle with you, if the flesh wins the battle with you, and it's a regular thing that you don't have victory, you should check your salvation.
[23:28] Born again people, something's happened to us. We want to serve God.
[23:39] We have a victorious life. There's a godly separation. You ought to write that word down, godly separation. It's not that we live life separated from sin.
[23:51] That is never the goal of a Christian. A goal of a Christian is never to be separate from sin. A goal of a Christian is to be separate from sin to Jesus.
[24:03] It's not that I said no to sin. It is that I said yes to Jesus. And when you say yes to Jesus, he don't like sin and sin ain't around him. And you turn your back on sin and you go towards Jesus.
[24:15] Godly separation is, I want you, Jesus. And I, you know, I don't want to go where you don't want to go. And I don't want to do what you don't want to do. And I don't want to talk the way you don't want to talk. I want you, Jesus. I will seek first the kingdom of God.
[24:26] Have you had victory in that? 1 John chapter 4, 1 John chapter 5 verse 11. This is the record that God has given us to us eternal life.
[24:39] And this life is in his son. He that hath the son hath life. And he that hath not the son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the son of God. That you might know that you have eternal life.
[24:51] That you may believe on the name of the son of God. You do know that many Baptists and other denominations and quote unquote Christians and born again people.
[25:08] Will be severely surprised. Shocked. And disappointed. At the judgment. You do know that, don't you?
[25:20] So please pay attention. It is a biblical truth. That there will be people that have said all the right things and done all the right things and they will go to hell.
[25:34] They will have said all the right things and they will have done all the right things but they will go to hell. In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 21 Jesus said, Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
[25:49] But he that does the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
[25:59] And in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name have done many wonderful works. And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you. They went to church.
[26:11] They got baptized. They took the Lord's Supper. They gave a tithe. They even taught a Sunday school class. They kept the nursery. They preached.
[26:23] They even had victory over devils. But they never trusted Jesus and what he did. Fact is, their thought of getting into heaven would be all the good stuff they did.
[26:35] Because, let me give you just a few things more. Some tests of genuine faith. How do you know if you got real faith? Real faith is when you acknowledge real sinfulness.
[26:51] In Psalm 32, 5, the Bible says, I've acknowledged my sin unto thee. And mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgression unto the Lord.
[27:04] And thou forgave us the iniquity of my sin. Now, you listen to what I'm going to tell you. Nobody goes to heaven that doesn't know they're a sinner. There's something in us that would think, well, I'm a good guy.
[27:19] I wouldn't do what that idiot did that shot those kids. And I would raise my children not to do that. And I'm not a drug addict. And I'm not. And I'm a good guy.
[27:31] But you know why we need a Savior? We need a Savior because we're sinners. There's no need for a Savior if you're not sinners. Jesus even said it this way.
[27:43] He said, who goes to the doctor? Sick people go to the doctor. If you're not sick, you don't need a doctor. If you're not a sinner, you don't need a Savior. So if you don't realize.
[27:55] And let me just tell you. I got saved when I was almost eight years old. I was seven and three quarters or whatever. Almost ready to be eight. And I don't know how much I understood. But I can tell you now, when I look back on my life, I know this.
[28:08] I never, ever deserved his mercy. I did not deserve his grace. I sinned. I didn't get saved old. I didn't get saved after I'd committed adultery.
[28:19] I didn't get saved after all that. But let me tell you this. You must know you sinned until you've seen yourself sinful. My Sunday school class this morning, we discussed this.
[28:32] And one of the people in the class said, I talked about how, if you, you know, sin, you'll go to hell. And this is what they said. Oh boy. I'm in trouble.
[28:45] That's a good. Because when you know you're in trouble, it's when you know you needed that Savior. Say amen. Second thing. True faith is marked by desire for righteousness.
[28:57] Boy, you want righteousness. That's why you want it when the Bible's preached. You want it when the songs are sang. You want it when other Christians are loving Jesus.
[29:09] You'd want to be there when the prayer meeting's going on. You want to do right. And you're at that party and everybody else is doing stuff. And you're like, I don't feel like I used to feel when I came to these parties.
[29:20] I used to fit in here, but I don't fit in because they're over there. And there's some fornication going over there. And there's some drunkenness going over there. And there's some alcoholism going on over there.
[29:30] And I just feel like a fish out of water. I don't belong here. I'm uncomfortable. You walk into church and you're like, I'm home. Hey guys, how y'all doing?
[29:43] Because you're born again. You have a hunger for it. Matthew 5, 6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.
[29:56] Two more and I'll close. Genuine faith is marked by submission to God's authority. You see, if you're really saved, you want to do what he wants you to do.
[30:08] If you're really saved, you want to do what he wants you to do. I didn't say you want to do what the pastor wants you to do. I didn't say you want to do what the church wants you to do, but you want to do what God wants you to do. In Luke chapter 14, verse 25, down to about verse 33.
[30:25] I'm not going to take the time to read it all. There were a lot of people following Jesus in verse 25. And he turns around in verse 26 and he says, If any man come to me and hate not his father and his mother and his wife and his children and his brethren and his sisters and his own life, his own life, my life, he cannot be my disciple.
[30:46] And whosoever that doth not bear his cross and come back to me cannot be my disciple. Just let me say before I move to the next thing.
[30:57] You see, there's something in us that says, hey, it's not just the missionary who wants to do what God wants him to do. In fact, it's when the preacher is going on in something in your heart saying, Lord, show me what I need to be doing.
[31:08] I want to put it to practice to my life. Well, I love you, Jesus. I want to do what's right. I hunger. I want to be in submission. I want to be in obedience. In fact, it's when somebody teaches you a Bible truth.
[31:20] You're like, oh, that's what God wants. And then that's what I want. Because you want to serve God. If you don't want to serve God, it ought to scream out to you.
[31:30] Very likely you're not genuinely saved. In Luke chapter 14, verse 33, he said, so likewise, whosoever he be that forsaken, not all that he has cannot be my disciple.
[31:43] You see, true salvation, genuine faith says Jesus above and beyond everything. My money is not important. Listen to me when I say this.
[31:56] We're born again Christians. And it's okay you got money. That's not the issue. But it ain't important. If you had to choose between your money and Jesus, in a heartbeat, you'd choose Jesus. If you had to choose between living and dying or Jesus, you'd say, I don't care.
[32:11] Either one. I choose Jesus. If you had to choose between your own children and Jesus, you choose Jesus. Baptist preacher in England.
[32:23] Was arrested. They were burning him at the stake. They were going to burn him at the stake. And as he was walking towards the stake to be burned, his wife and children were on the side and they were crying. And they said, Daddy.
[32:35] And called his name. The husband. Just do what they say. Just do what they say. Don't leave us, Daddy. Don't let them kill you, Daddy.
[32:47] And he said, I cannot deny Christ. And they cried and begged him. And he walked over and hugged the post where they lit him on fire.
[32:59] And said, I prefer to die. That's right. Written in Baptist history. People watched it happen. If you love Jesus, you love him more than you love anything.
[33:12] Anybody. Anywhere. Luke 6, 46. He said, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and you don't do the things I say? Why in the world do y'all go around flippantly calling me Lord and you don't do what I say?
[33:24] John 14, 15. He said, if you love me, keep my commandments. Last one. Genuine love is marked by a love for God and others.
[33:37] In Romans 8, 28, which is a verse that we often commonly use when there are people going through tragedies like it's happening in the life of Tyler and Chase right now. We would say to them, all things work together for you.
[33:48] But notice what it says about who it works together for. Look at the verse. We know that all things work together for good to them that. Would you say those two words with me? All things work together for good to them that. You know who loves God, don't you?
[34:01] You say, I'm not sure I'm in loving him as much as I ought to today. I tell you, only people that love God are real born again people. That doesn't mean that every day you feel some emotion, ooey gooey, gushy, love for him.
[34:12] But you've chosen him. He chose me and I choose him. He chose me and I choose him. I choose him. I love him. And that love will be shed abroad in Romans chapter 5.
[34:26] The love that God has for me is shed abroad towards other people. Paul writes and he says, and we'll finish the book tonight. We'll take the Lord's Supper, finish the book. Paul says, I don't understand you guys.
[34:40] He said, you still got all this sin going on and I've written to you. And he said, I'm coming and I'm going to have to be mean and I don't want to be mean and you don't want me to be mean. You've made fun of me, but I'm coming.
[34:53] And he said, but let me just go ahead and tell you, I don't understand how y'all keep sinning when you say you're saved. Maybe you should examine yourself and make sure you're not a reprobate or of counterfeit.
[35:05] A counterfeit. Because there are a lot of counterfeit Christians. There are a lot of cultural Christians. They're not truly born again. Because they don't love other brothers.
[35:18] They don't love the Bible. You see, you don't have to do that to be saved. You know, you don't do that to be saved. You do that because you are saved. So it's time for you to examine yourself.
[35:32] Are you born again? Do you know God did a work in your heart? If you notice, I didn't ask one time if you got baptized. I didn't ask one time if you prayed a prayer. I didn't ask one time if you joined the church.
[35:43] Didn't ask one time how much you come to church. I didn't ask one time how much you've fornicated or been into pornography this week. Those aren't the issues.
[35:54] Here's the issue. Has God put these things in my life? This is a real thing. There really is a heaven. There really is a hell.
[36:06] The Bible really is true. Are you born again? Has God done a work in you? I'm not asking you if you've done a work.
[36:17] I'm asking you. Do you know God did a work in you? And if he hasn't, get saved today. Be born again today. Hey, young people, listen to me.
[36:28] This is really important. I really need you to pay attention right now. Because I care. Are you born again? Do you know? Do you know that you know Jesus?
[36:41] Do you know that he has shown you your sinful condition? Do you know that he's made changes in you? If you don't know that, ask him to save you.
[36:55] Say, God, I want to know that I'm born again. I want to be saved. Trust him. If you are, you listened all through that. And you said, boy, that was me all the way through.
[37:07] Praise God. You want to know somebody's alive? There's a lot of evidences. Do they have a pulse? Do they have breath?
[37:21] Do they have temperature? Is there mental activity? Are they alive, alert, awake? Are they really alive?
[37:32] And you say, we know how to tell if a guy is alive or dead. Well, let me tell you. God told us how to tell if we're spiritually alive or dead. Are we?
[37:44] Father in heaven, I love you. And I pray that you would deal with your people. And I pray that your name would be glorified and magnified. I pray you'd save those that aren't saved. I pray that you would do a great work and show your great power and magnify yourself.
[38:00] God, save those in our church that don't know for sure they're saved. Please, God, help them to overcome their pride and to admit their sinfulness. Help them to quit relying on a past profession and to trust you.
[38:14] God, help us as Christians to quit sinning, to live out who we are. You have been listening to Austin Gardner, pastor of Vision Baptist Church.
[38:27] For contact information, location, service times, or more audio and video recordings, log on to www.visionbaptist.com. Thank you.
[38:38] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.