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John the
Baptist, the Doubter
Dr. Jack
Hyles
Electronic Printing by FFEP
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as
is common to man. "I Corinthian 10:13
"And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb
and by the word of their testimony." Revelation 12:11
It was about time to eat lunch when
the pastor of a church came and said, "Dr. Hyles, would you please talk to a
fellow who's asking for you?" I was outside in the yard.
I went back into the church, and there
was a very fine looking young man. A very intelligent type fellow who said,
"I would like to talk to you, Dr. Hyles, if you would allow me please." I
asked him his name and he told me. And I won't give it to you. Brother Terry
will be interested in this because Brother Terry is an excellent golfer.
This man was a professional golfer. He
had made the tour, the professional golf tour. One year he won the Dallas
Open Championship, which is one of the major tournaments of the year, and in
another major tournament, he had tied with Sam Sneed and had lost in the
playoff for the championship. He was a very well known golfer - not a Sneed
nor a Hogan nor a Byron Nelson nor an Arnold Palmer or a Lindsey Terry, but
he was very well known, a splendid golfer, one who had made tens of
thousands of dollars just playing golf.
He said, "Dr. Hyles, I've heard of
you. I don't go to this church, but I have driven some miles to hear you
preach. I want to tell you something. I am doubting the fact that I am
saved." He said, "I believe that my salvation is the most important thing in
all the world." (And by the way, he's right.) He said, "Nothing in the world
can compare in importance with where you are going to spend eternity." And
so he said, "I am doubting my salvation. I need your help."
So I tried to help him. At the end of
my message, I plan to tell you what I told him. Then he asked me this
question, point blank, "Brother Hyles, do you ever doubt?" Well, that's not
fair to ask a preacher that. I mean, after all, if I did, I could not tell
you.
I took him toI Corinthians 10:13
and read this to him, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man." And I said, "Does that answer your question?" He said, "Why,
Dr. Hyles, do you mean you doubt? Have you ever doubted the fact that you
are saved?" Now I may lose my job this morning. "Have you ever doubted the
fact that you were saved?" I said, "There hath no testing taken you but such
as is common to man."
Then I began to think of all the
people in the Bible - you still want my answer, don't you? The answer is
yes; everybody who has ever been saved has doubted it. Everybody. "There has
no temptation taken you, or in is the better word, but such as is common to
man." So I began to think of all the people in the Bible who had doubted. By
the way, after awhile I'm going to tell you what I do when I doubt, so don't
go to sleep yet. I'm going to tell you what I do when I doubt.
There was Job. Job who could say at
one time, "I know that my redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth, "Job 19:35 That same Job who had
the kind of doubt that could stand in another place and say, "If a man die,
shall he live again?" Job 14:14 Job was the greatest Christian in the
world at the time he lived. He was a perfect man, the Bible says. That means
mature and complete, a well-rounded man. He was a just man. He was a man so
wonderful that God Himself found pride in Job. God said, "Look at Job. He is
the apple of my eye." The greatest Christian in the world in his day, and
yet Job doubted so much that he asked the question, "If a man die, shall he
live again?"
There was Thomas. I think we undersell
Thomas. We call him "Doubting Thomas." I doubt if we ought to give him that
title. But bear in mind this about Thomas. He was one of the eleven best
Christians in the world in the time of the life of our Lord. He was chosen
to be in the inner eleven or inner twelve, but one was not saved. He was one
of the eleven best Christians in the world chosen by Jesus himself. And yet
Thomas said, "I will not believe until I see the scars in his hands and the
scars in his feet and side." Thomas doubted.
There was Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the
best preacher in the world when he lived. I have no doubt about that. He was
so compassionate that he wept as he preached. His heart broke within himself
as he mourned over the sins of the people. Yet Jeremiah said, and I quote,
"Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?"
Jeremiah 15:18 Jeremiah said that to God! "Dear God, wilt thou be
altogether unto me as a liar?" He was doubting the honesty of God and the
fact that God was consistent and God would never fail when he said, "Will
you always be unto me as a liar? Will you always be as waters that fail?"
Bear in mind that Jeremiah, the best
preacher in his day, doubted. Thomas, one of the best in eleven, doubted.
Job, the greatest Christian in the world, doubted.
You may recall when Jeremiah one time
got so discouraged that he said he was going to quit preaching. "Oh, that I
were a wayfaring man." What he really said was, "I'd like to have a little
cottage in the woods where I could just get away from it all. I'd like to
quit preaching." He said one time, he did. He closed his Bible and quit
preaching. Suddenly, he said that the Word of God became like a fire in his
bones and he could not contain himself. But Jeremiah doubted. You're in good
company, aren't you?
You have doubted your salvation,
haven't you? Yes, you have. And so have I. And so did Jeremiah. And so did
Job. And so did Thomas. But wait a minute. Elijah. How about Elijah? Elijah
was the most powerful man of his day. Elijah could stand in front of the 700
prophets of Baal and he could pray down fire from God with the King and
Queen looking at him as he did. Elijah could chop the heads of the prophets
off in courage. Elijah could fight the entire political system of his day
and yet Elijah doubted. Don't you recall?
Elijah could stand up against Jezebel
and all her prophets. And then she said after he stood against her, "I'm
going to kill you." And he ran for his life. He got down under a Juniper
tree and doubts flooded his soul and he said, "Lord, kill me." I've always
doubted that he really meant that. Why? If he had wanted to die, all he
would have had to do was wait on Jezebel. She was going to kill him. I doubt
if he really wanted to die. Anyway, Elijah doubted. Now bear in mind, he was
the greatest man in the world of his day, and yet he had his doubts. Under
the Juniper tree he said, "Lord, I don't think anybody else is left." And
the Lord had to feed him with hamburgers from Heaven. The ravens came and
brought him sandwiches and fed him from Heaven, and Elijah doubted.
Job, the greatest man in the world of
his day, doubted. Thomas, one of the eleven best of his day, doubted.
Jeremiah, the outstanding preacher of his day, doubted. Elijah, the greatest
man in the world, I think, and one of the five greatest, in my opinion, in
all of the Bible, doubted. But now of all people - John the Baptist.
Our Lord said of John the Baptist that
a greater person had never been born of woman. John the Baptist doubted. All
of our heros are failing us, aren't they - Jeremiah, Elijah, Job, Thomas,
and John the Baptist. Now follow me carefully.
John the Baptist was in a dungeon-like
prison. He was the man who had been the forerunner of our Lord. He was a man
who said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30 He was a man
who said, "There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose
shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose." Mark 1:7 He was the man
who said when the big boys came down and tried to make a show of redemption,
"You generation of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. Go back to where you
were!" Matthew 3:7 That great man of boldness. That great prophet of God.
The one about whom our Lord had said, "Never a woman had a baby as great as
John the Baptist!"
The one who leaped in the womb of his
mother before he was born because he was so full of the Holy Spirit of God.
And yet, now, we find him in prison. He is in the dungeon. He gets
discouraged. That is always an encouragement, too. The fact that you get
discouraged is an encouragement to me. Don't you always feel better when you
find out that there are those who feel as bad as you do? It is always an
encouragement to find there are people - Brother Hand, for example, is
always happy when he finds someone who is as ugly as he is. It is
encouraging to find somebody like John Colsten sitting right next to him.
Now it is encouraging to me when I
realize that somebody like John the Baptist became discouraged. He is in the
dungeon. He is in prison. He hears something. Listen. He hears that Jesus is
meek and lowly. Word seeps back to John the Baptist in the dungeon that
Jesus is healing sick folks, opening blind eyes, causing the lame to leap
like a harp, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the dead to live, the sick
to rise and John the Baptist says, "That's not the Christ I was preaching. I
came preaching in the wilderness, There cometh one after me whose shaft is
in his hand and who comes like a fire. He will baptize you with fire when he
comes. I've told about a powerful, conquering King! And now, what's this I
hear about Jesus healing sick folks and being meek and lowly and walking
about as a lowly man. What's this I hear?"
So John the Baptist said, "Here, I
want you two fellows to come." He chose two of his disciples and said, "Now
I want you two fellows to go to Jesus, and I want you to ask him something
for me." And, to me, this is a sad question. He said, "Art thou he or shall
we look for another?" John the Baptist! "Art thou he that should come, or do
we look for another?" Matthew 11:3 Our hero is doubting. The
forerunner has doubts in his heart. He has questions in his mind. He has
said, "He must increase, I must decrease." John 3:30 He says, "Art
thou he, or shall we look for another?" John the Baptist is doubting.
There's an interesting thing about
this. Now if this had been me, I would have written back and said, "John the
Baptist, how can you doubt me? Boy, am I discouraged in you. Have you ever
flown the coop! Boy, oh boy, I thought I could depend on you if I could
depend on anybody!" But our Lord didn't criticize John for doubting. That's
very, very interesting to me. He sent word
back to John the Baptist and that's
where he made the statement while John was in the dungeon doubting that
Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus sent word back to him then and said, "Not a
greater is born of woman than John the Baptist." It was in the time of doubt
that our Lord said, "John the Baptist was the greatest or as great as any
ever born of woman."
Now may I say this. Listen very
carefully. It is not wrong to doubt. The honest truth is, it is right to
doubt. Have you ever stopped to think if you doubt your salvation only two
things can come of it, and both are good? Now follow me. Only two things and
both are good. If you doubt your salvation sincerely and find that you are
really saved, then you have more assurance than you ever had before. Let me
illustrate.
When I was a young preacher in my
first full year of college in a Christian school, I began to have some
reservation. Now listen to me. This may surprise you and I may have said
this to you before, I don't know, but I began to read the Bible. I began to
say, "Look, I'm going to spend my life preaching a Book. I have dedicated my
entire life to preach a Gospel from a Bible." And I said, "I wonder if it's
really true. I wonder." I began to doubt the Bible as a kid preacher in
college. I went to our college library. I got my Bible down and I read it
and I read it and I read it and I read it. I read every criticism. There are
many things that I learned that I don't preach; you don't need them. There
are many criticisms and much theology that I learned that is not necessary.
In fact, it bogs the common person down.
In the average church this morning
across America, the average people are listening - in fact, it's like trying
to swim in peanut butter! I mean you just can't quite understand what the
preacher is saying. And so I just ditched all that stuff and decided to keep
the jelly on the bottom shelf where the shortest kid could reach it.
I checked my Bible, and I read it as
critically as any man ever read his Bible, I read mine. And you know what I
did? I came out of that session with a stronger faith in the Bible than I
ever had before. For if one will read this Book carefully and honestly and
study it carefully and honestly, he can come out with no other answer but
that the Bible is the Word of God!
I was on an airplane a few months ago
coming from Denver late one night. I sat down beside a fellow who had on the
kind of shoes that a road gang would use - the kind of big, bulky shoes that
laced up high. They were filthy things, and I thought the fellow was poverty
stricken. He had on a big old shaggy sweater, and he had long shaggy hair.
He had goggles on, instead of glasses, reading a book. I sat down beside him
and began to dictate on the dictaphone. He said, "What are you doing?" I
said, "Writing a book." He said, "Oh, you're an author." I said, "I guess
that's what folks who write books are called." He said, "What are you
writing?" And I told him what I was writing. I was writing a book that,
today, has recently been published. I said, "What do you do?" And I expected
him to say, I'm a hippie. He said, "I teach engineering at Bucknell
University."
Well, after they fanned me and poured
water on my face and woke me up, we began to talk. Yes, we argued. Yes, we
differed. For about two hours we jockeyed with each other. And then he said
to me, "Well, we scholars simply cannot accept the Bible." And I said, "How
many times have you read it through?" And he said, "Not at all." I said,
"Have you read any book of it through?" He said, "No." I said, "Have you
ever read one chapter through?" He said, "No." I said, "Then you're not a
scholar. There is not a scholar who has logic in the world who would say a
man is qualified to accept or reject a book when he's never read one page
through." I said, "My friend, if you will read the Bible and read it
carefully, word-for-word, the Holy Spirit of God will reveal to you before
you're through, that the Bible is the Word of God!"
So, I read it carefully. Carefully.
You see, doubting will reassure your faith. As a young preacher, I doubted,
and I am convinced that that one thing, the fact that I doubted for a
season, gave me more confidence in the Bible as being the Word of God than
any other thing that ever happened.
The first thing that can happen in
doubting is that you can get more assurance. The second thing is this: If
you doubt and find that you're not really saved, then that doubting can be
good for you for it will lead you to salvation. So doubting can only do two
things to you and both are good. One, it can lead you to doubt and reaffirm
your faith and reinforce your faith. Two, it can give you the assurance of
your salvation if you do not know that you are saved.
Now then. What to do. What to do. What
did I tell this fellow in San Jose, California, this professional golfer? We
sat back in the back of the auditorium - nobody there but us. I pulled up a
couple of chairs, and we sat looking at each other. He admired me because he
had read my books and heard me preach. I admired him because I have always
admired professional golfers. Anybody that can take a little white ball, and
put that ball in a hole, which is five hundred yards away, just by hitting
it with a stick four times, to me is most intriguing.
One thing about it when I play golf, I
get my money's worth. You better know I do. They are unfair to me though. I
would play better, but they won't mow the grass where my ball is. It's a bit
unfair. Brother Terry and I played together a time or two and where he
played they kept the grass real short. Where I played they kept the grass
real high - weeds. And I said, "No wonder you shoot better than I do; they
show favoritism to you." Everybody's always persecuting me. The liberals
fixed it that way.
Now what did I tell the golfer? I
called him by first name. I said, "Now, look, Jim. There are three things I
want to say and these three things I do when I doubt. Now, if you listen
carefully, I'll show you what I do when I doubt."
"In the first place, Jim - I read I
Corinthians 10:13, `There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man."' I said, "Jim, did you know that Billy Sunday doubted his
salvation?" "What?" "That's right. 'There's no testing taken you, but such
as is common to man.' Did you know that Dwight Moody doubted the fact that
he was saved?" "What?" "Yes, `there's no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man."'
Then John Rice came walking in the
door, and I said, "Dr. Rice, did you ever doubt your salvation?" Well, he
was rather reluctant to admit it, but then be shook his head that he had
doubted his salvation. I said, "Now Jim, that means that the best preachers
in the world (not me but Dr. Rice, Billy Sunday, Dwight Moody and others)
doubt. All of us doubt. Every Christian doubts." I said, "That's the first
thing I do. I realize it is not abnormal to doubt the fact that you're
saved."
I said, "Number two. I always turn to
Revelation 12:11 which says, `and they overcame him by the blood of
the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.' So when I doubt the fact that
I am saved, I always go to I Corinthians 10:13 and then Revelation 12:11.
They overcame him. Who? The devil. By the blood of the lamb and by the what?
The word of their testimony. That's what I do. I always give my testimony
when I doubt. Now follow me. I always go to myself and out loud I tell about
when I was saved and relive it." I haven't told it for a long time.
One night in Marshall, Texas, when I
was pastoring a country church, one of my finest young ladies just married
to a young preacher boy, called me after midnight. She was crying beyond
composure. Her husband said, "Come quickly, it's Ruth." By the way, he's now
pastoring a good church in Virginia, and he and his wife have children that
are grown now. A lovely young lady. But he said, "Come quickly, it's Ruth."
I didn't know what was wrong. I got in my car and drove across town. It was
raining. I'd never seen it rain any harder. It's always raining at night
when I'm called out. Oh, it was raining. I got to the apartment house. Ruth
was lying on the floor. She was face down beating the floor, having a female
fit. You fellows know what I am talking about. She was beating the floor. So
I said, "Ruth, what's wrong?" And Abe said, (his name's Abe Simon),
"Preacher, Ruth is just about to die." And I said, "Ruth, what is it?" And
Ruth said, "I don't know I'm saved." And I said, "Ruth, get up now. Sit down
and talk to me." So she got up and sat down. She said, "Preacher, I'm about
to go crazy. I'm about to have a nervous breakdown." (I've often said that
every lady I know has just gotten over a nervous breakdown or is having one
now or has one planned for the very near future.)
So I said, "Ruth, tell me. When you
joined the church, what happened?" She said, "Brother Hyles, I went to
church, and the preacher told me I was a sinner, and I realized I was a
sinner, and I realized I was lost and going to Hell and I realized that
Jesus died for me on the cross and took the price for my sin, and
I realized that if I trusted Him He
would save me." And she said, "I did trust Him and He did save me and I know
I'm saved!" They ovecame him by what? The word of their testimony.
Now listen carefully, and I can lead
you in just thirty seconds or a minute. I can lead you to know whether
you're saved or not. Follow me. When you were supposed to have been saved,
did you know you were a sinner? Did you? Did you know you were a sinner?
When you walked the aisle, did you know you were a sinner? If you didn't,
then you are not saved. Two. Did you know that you could not save yourself
and that you were lost without Christ? Did you? Three. Did you know that
Jesus took your sins off you and placed them on himself and Christ died
paying the penalty completely for your sins? Did you know that?
Number four. Did you trust Him as your substitute and
your sacrifice and accept His payment, by faith, as your payment?
If you did not know those four things,
then you were not saved. If you did and sincerely trusted Christ as your sin
bearer, as your substitute, and as your hope for Heaven, then you tell me
your testimony, and it will give you encouragement and strength.
Let's go over it again. Did you know
that you were a sinner? I didn't say, "Did you get confirmed as a twelve
year-old child." I didn't say "Did you join the church." I did not say "Did
you get baptized." I did not say "id you cry?" I did not say, "Did you feel
a tingling in your heart?" I did not say, "Did you shout? I didn't say, "Did
you say, `Praise the Lord!"' I said, "Did you know you were a sinner?" If
you don't know, you can shout until you are blue in the face, and you will
still die and go to Hell unless you know that you are a sinner. Sinners are
lost. Christ paid the penalty for sinners, and if you will commit your
eternity to Him, trusting Him as your Savior from sin, He will take you to
Heaven when you die.
They sing a song, "I was there when it
happened, and I ought to know." It's a cute song, but it just doesn't quite
satisfy me. I don't know I'm saved because I was there when it happened. I
don't know I was saved because I got happy or tingled. I don't know I was
saved because I felt the burden roll away. I know I am saved because God
said I was a sinner. God said sinners are lost; God said Christ died for
sinners; God said to trust Him to save me, and I trusted Him. The Bible says
He saved me. Anything less than that is counterfeit. Anything more than that
is counterfeit.
So what do I do? The first thing I do
is stop and realize that everybody has the same doubts that I have. The
second thing I do is go through those four things and give my testimony. I
stop and I say, "Okay Jack, let's see now." Did you know you were a sinner?
"Yes, I knew that. That night in September, 1937, I knew that." "Okay, Jack,
did you know that sinners are lost and could not save themselves?" Yes, I
knew that because the preacher told me that, and I knew
it. "Okay, Jack, did you know that
Jesus Christ became sin for you and died for you and paid the price and
penalty for your sin." Yes, I knew that. I knew it from a child. Yes, I knew
it. " Okay, Jack, did you honestly in your heart trust what He did on the
cross as your hope for Heaven?" I'll say, "Yes, I did that."
Now then, turn to John 1:11,
"He came unto His own, and his own received him not" Now hear me. "But as
many as received him (I did that. That's me.) to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." John 1:12
Okay. I have received Him. I believed on His name that I am a son of
God. Why? Because I see it? No. Because He says it. I go to John 3:14-15,
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son
of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him (who? That son of man
lifted up) should not perish, but have eternal life."
Okay, now those four things. I
believed in Him. I knew I was a sinner. I knew I was lost. I knew Christ
died for me. I believed it with all my heart and trusted Him to save me.
What do I have? Eternal life. How do I know? John 3:14-15 says so. Now you
must forgive me, and Lord, you'll forgive me, too. But you and the Lord and
I all know this is true. If when I die and I face the Lord and the Lord says
to me, "I'm sorry, Jack, you can't get in here." I'm going to say, "Now,
Lord. You wait a minute. I want to show you something. Read that. Verse 12.
`But as many as receives him, to him give thee power to become sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name.' "Did you write that?" "Yes, I did."
"Now, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to let me in or lie?"
Now, you'll forgive me, but I have God
over a barrel. I've got His word! I've got His receipt! I've got His
promise! And I'll turn over to John 3:36. "He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life." Don't misunderstand me. It doesn't mean that you
believe there's a Jesus somewhere. It means you have realized you were a
sinner. You have realized that sinners are lost. You have realized that
Christ became your payment for sin. And you have rolled your sins in faith
on Him and believed in Him as your sacrifice, as your Savior. And I'll say,
"Lord, look what you wrote there,'He that believeth on Him hath eternal
life'." What does it say? The Lord will have to let me in Heaven or He'll
lie and the stars will fall, and the earth will quake, and the universe will
tremble, and God won't be God. Everything shall pass away. Why? God promises
and keeps His promises and you can depend on God's word. I'd ten thousand
times rather depend on what God says concerning my hope for Heaven than what
I feel. So I've got the promise of God.
So I told this golfer, "Jim, I realize
I Corinthians 10:13 says everybody doubts. Then I realized that if I
can give my testimony-and it rings true - then the third thing, (and this is
the Scripture that helped him above all) l John 3:20, `For if our
heart condemneth, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things'."
(I like that.) "For if our heart condemneth, God is
greater than our heart, and knoweth all things."
Now what does that mean? You say,
"Well, I believe in Jesus and I'm saved." No, it doesn't mean that. That
word in the Greek believe is the word fistuo which means to
roll oneself upon; it means to completely trust, to completely rely on, to
completely rest in. Sinners are lost. Christ died for sinners, and I rest in
Him, trust Him completely, roll myself on Him believe in Him with all of my
heart that He is my Savior from sin, and He will take me to Heaven when I
die, then I have the promise of God that I'll go to Heaven. And then I say
"Okay, if I still have doubts, God is greater. If our hearts condemn us, God
is greater than our heart and He knoweth all things."
Now listen carefully. Let's see, I'm
32 now, (give or take a decade or two.) For 32 years, I've been saved, and
there have been times in those 32 years when I have doubted. Every time I
have doubted, I've stopped to realize (1) all people doubt, I Corinthians
10:13; (2)1 relive my testimony; and (3) l John 3:20 "If our
hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart and He knoweth all things."
A little lady came down this aisle, I
think it was the first day we dedicated this building, and met me right
here, looked at me and said, "I want to be saved." She knelt at this alter.
She said, "I know I'm a sinner. Sinners are lost. I know Christ died for me,
and I trust Him now as my Savior." I said, "Do you mean it?" She said, "With
all my heart I mean it." I said, "Where would you go if you died?" She said,
"I'd go to Hell." I showed her John 5:24, - Verily, verily I say unto
you, He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but has passed from
death unto life."
I showed her I John 3:15,1418,
and I John 3:36. I showed her John 1:12 and I said, "Okay,
where does the Bible say you'll go if you die?" She said, "To Heaven." I
said, "Okay, where would you go?" She said, "To Hell." I said, "Now wait a
minute. Do you know you're a sinner?" "Yes, I do. " "Do you know sinners are
lost?" "Yes, I do." "Do you believe that Christ bore your sins in His body
on the tree?" "Yes, I do." "Have you trusted Him as your savior and your
sacrifice?" "Yes, I have." "Now. where does God say you'll go when you die?"
"To Heaven," she said. I said, "Where would you go?" She said, "To Hell. I
just feel it inhere." And I took I John 3:20. And I said, "What
inhere?" She said, "My heart." If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than
our hearts and knoweth all things. Now I said, "God says you're going to
Heaven. You say you're going to hell. Now has God ever told a lie?" "Oh,
no." I said, "Have you ever told a lie?" "Yes, I have." "Then do you think I
ought to believe God or you that you're saved?" And then the spark of faith
hit and she said, "I think we both better believe God." She said, "I'm just
going to believe God instead of me." You know when she believed God instead
of herself, then her self believed, too. You see. God is greater than our
hearts.
Let me ask you a question, and then
I'm through. Listen. Have you ever doubted? All right, I want all of you to
doubt. I want everyone of you to say to yourself right now, "I just wonder
if I'm saved. I just wonder if I'm saved." Doubt it! Do it! Now, let me ask
you a question. Go back to that day that you claim was the day of your
salvation. Are you listening? Did you know that you were a sinner? Did you
know that you or your church or your preacher, no man could save you? Or
help save you? Number three. Did you know that God became flesh, and Jesus
took your sins and placed them to His account and paid the penalty for your
sins on the cross? Did you know that? Did you trust what He did and only
what He did as your hope for Heaven? If I said, "Hey, stand behind the
pulpit and tell all of these people about it," could you do it?
Now, there is one of two things that
you'll do this morning, and this is what I do; you'll say, "Yes, I did know
I was a sinner. Yes, I did know I was lost. Yes, I did know that Christ
became sin for me. Yes, I did trust Him. And I am saved. Praise the Lord!"
It will give you added security and added confidence, and added assurance.
Or you could admit it and say, "No, I just joined the church. No, I just got
baptized. No, I just got convicted of a sin. I just cried some. But I did
not put my faith completely in the finished work of Calvary." Now if that's
what you have to say this morning, you can say now, "I know I'm a sinner,
and I know I'm lost, and I know that Jesus Christ took my sins upon Him and
died for them in my place this morning. Dear Jesus, I trust you. I trust
you." That is my hope for Heaven. He is my sacrifice. He is my Savior. He is
my substitute. And you can walk out of this building this morning saying,
"Praise God, the doubts are settled, and I know it's real."
Let us pray.
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