The Duty of Pursuing Assurance
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How do we know that we won't be among this group of people who at the last judgment will come expecting entrance into the kingdom, addressing Jesus in intimate terms, and then be cast out?
The Apostle Peter commands us to make our calling and election sure. Jesus warns that there would be those who address him as Lord, Lord, but Jesus will say that he never knew them. So it is vital and very practical to know for sure that you are a Christian. That will be our topic over the next several weeks on Renewing Your Mind, so be sure to join us each Saturday. You can also study the Christian's assurance of salvation more deeply when you request this Saturday series on DVD, along with the digital study guide and a copy of R.C. Sproul's title, Can I Be Sure I'm Saved? We'll send you the book and DVD and grant you access to the study guide when you give a donation of any amount at renewingyourmind.org.
Well here's Dr. Sproul to begin this series as he discusses our duty to pursue assurance.
Today we're going to begin a new series focusing on the question of the assurance of salvation, which I think is an extremely important theological question to examine. Not simply that we may fulfill our interests in theological investigation or curiosity, but this is a question that touches us where we live as Christians because it has a tremendous impact on our senses, our feelings, our comfort, and our behavior as Christians to get it settled in our lives whether we are in a state of grace. And so I'd like to begin this particular series by turning your attention to a text in the New Testament that I believe is one of the most terrifying texts that we can ever see in the Bible. and it comes from the lips of Jesus in the end of the Sermon on the Mount.
We tend to think of the Sermon on the Mount as strictly an upbeat proclamation that Jesus made where He talks about the Beatitudes, blessed are those who do this and blessed are those who do that, And Jesus has this reputation because of the Sermon on the Mount for being not only a popular preacher, but one who accents the positive rather than the negative. And what is often overlooked is the climax of that sermon, which we read in verse 21 of chapter 7 of Matthew's Gospel, where Jesus says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. And many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."
So here Jesus gives us a preview of the last judgment where He says the people will come to Him, addressing Him by the title, Lord, Lord, which I'll explore in a moment. and these people will say to Jesus, Lord, we did all these marvelous things in Your name. We served You. We preached in Your name. We cast out demons. We did all of these things, and Jesus said, I will turn to these people and say, please leave. Not only does He say, I don't know you, but He said, I never knew you, you who are workers of disobedience or lawlessness or godlessness in various translations. Now what I find particularly poignant about this terrifying warning that Jesus gives to the church is that He begins by saying, not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom, and then He repeats that by saying, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord.
Now in other contexts, another series that we've done at Ligonier, I've explored in great detail the significance of the repetition of the title Lord. There are only about 15 occurrences in all of Scripture when somebody is addressed by the repetition of their name. Remember when Abraham… was at Mount Moriah and he was ready to plunge the knife into the chest of his son, God intervenes at the last second and says, Abram, Abram, lay not your hand upon your son. When God speaks to Moses out of the burning bush in the Midianite wilderness, He addresses him by saying, Moses,
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