In the sermon 'I Never Knew You' by Scott Brown, the focus is on the teachings of Jesus from Matthew 7, which emphasize the importance of entering through the narrow gate and the dangers of self-deception among believers. The sermon highlights the characteristics of genuine faith versus superficial faith, warning against false prophets and those who perform religious acts without truly knowing God. It stresses that merely calling Jesus 'Lord' is not enough; one must do the will of the Father, be known by God, and put His laws into practice. The sermon also critiques the concept of 'cheap grace,' which offers salvation without true discipleship or repentance. Through the imagery of wise and foolish builders, it illustrates the importance of a strong foundation in faith, emphasizing that trials reveal the true nature of one's relationship with God. Assurance of salvation is discussed with a focus on self-examination and the evidence of genuine faith as outlined in 1 John. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a deep, personal knowledge of God, one that goes beyond outward religious practices.

Let's open our Bibles to Matthew 7, starting with verse 13 to the end. Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.

Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.

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. 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. Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. In the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

But everyone Who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. And great was its fall. And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at his teaching. For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

Let's pray. Lord Father, your words of your Son are so meaningful to us. Lord, let us be a changed people as a result of hearing these words. Lord, that we would be called to a life of obedience. Lord, that we would not be as a foolish man who built his house upon the sand, but upon the man who built his house, upon obedience to you and your word, Lord, that we would do the will of your Father as you commanded us to.

Lord, we thank you for your words of life and that they, our prayer would be that we would be reformed and conformed to the image of your Son Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray for Scott as he expounds on your word, gives us greater understanding of what Jesus is trying to convey to us, to live a life of purity and obedience. Pray this in your Son's name. Amen. During this last chapter on the mount, the Lord Jesus has brought us on a tour of really some amazing and riveting scenes, he starts talking about the speck that's in your brother's eye and the plank that's in your own eye.

And then he paints a picture of someone standing on a doorstep and knocking and knocking and knocking and knocking. And then he has a standing before two gates and two pathways. One is narrow and the other is wide. And then he has us standing in front of a tree to see what it is producing. Because a good tree can only produce good fruit and a bad tree can only produce bad fruit.

And now the Lord Jesus has us standing before our Father in heaven on Judgment Day. And so in this final scene, he takes us to be reminded of how many times we've said, Lord, Lord. How many times have you said Lord Lord? How many times have you said that? He also takes us to a to two men and the things that they're building and He's asking the question, upon what are you building?

So the Lord Jesus is bringing us sequentially through these various images to help us understand the answer to this question. And it's the most important question. And it's the question that should fill our hearts and our minds all the day long today. It's really the only question in life. It's the only one that matters.

And it's the question upon which everything hinges. And it's that question, Does he know me? Does he know me? And so Jesus is disarming two kinds of people in this passage. The satisfied and the overconfident person who prays, who does good works, who prophesies, who's involved in spiritual warfare, who does wonders.

And this is the person who says he's a good person before the throne of God. His strong and perfect plea is, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? Have we not cast out demons in your name? Have we not done many wonders in your name?" That's his plea before the throne of God. This speaks of The doctrinally minded person who confesses the true elements of Christianity, who expends enormous energy in religious things, who is preaching and working and wearing himself out for God.

Out for God. And the most serious issue before Him is not what He thinks it is, because He thinks it is what he has done for God. But the most serious issue is, does the Lord know him? And then he speaks here about those who are misled about their faith. They say, Lord, Lord, and they're so at work building their lives.

A beautiful life. A life that is compelling and has so many marks of what's right, but is actually misled and does not know the Lord, nor does the Lord know Him. In the previous passage of Scripture, we talked about false prophets who inwardly are ravenous wolves. They're not misled. These are misled.

The Lord Jesus begins in that last illustration of the ravenous wolves, of those who are teaching. He moves now to individuals. And there are two categories of their self-deception. And the first category is explained in verses 21 to 23, those who do, those who say and do religious things, but God doesn't know them. And then the second category are those who hear religious things and does not do them, and therefore God does not know them.

So this passage of scripture is very disarming. It can be so disheartening. If it's true that any of us are those people, When we stand before God's face and He says, depart from me, I never knew you. I never knew you. This should cause such a time of contemplation in this congregation.

The Lord Jesus Christ has us before these words, for our own hope, for His own glory, to rescue us from our self-deception, to bring us face to face to who we really are, and to bring us into a time of very serious contemplation. Because that day is coming when we will all stand before the face of God. And there will only be one of two things that will be said to us. I never knew you. Or, enter into the joy of your Master.

So these are very serious things and we're speaking of the things that we are made for. We were made to know God. And there's nothing better in life than to know God and to be known by God. That's why the prophet Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 9, he says, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him glory in this, that he knows and understands me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness and judgment and righteousness in the earth, For in these I delight." This whole passage is about what it means to know God and how it is that men either know Him or don't know Him at all, how they're misled, how they are deceived into thinking that God knows them when God doesn't know them at all. You know, a few years ago, ABC reported that 85% of Americans believe that they're going to heaven.

I think that Jesus disagrees with most Americans. Because the Lord Jesus said that there are few who find it, that there are many who go in by the broad way. So it's not the majority who are going to heaven. It is rather the minority. And so in verses 21 to 23, this question, who will enter the kingdom of heaven, is answered, not completely, but partially.

And there are three characteristics. First, they'll do the will of their Father, second, they're known by their Father, and third, they put the law into practice. Those are the three things. We'll just take them one by one. First of all, those who do the will of their Father.

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 this just indicates again that not everyone's names are written in the book of life. That there is a book, there are names written in it, there are names written on the hand of God and upon his heart. And there are names that are absent. And so he establishes this right at the very beginning. So not everyone who claims to be a Christian is a Christian.

And not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, not everyone who prays, Not everyone who gives, not everyone who fasts, not everyone who cries out to God, not everyone who is orthodox in their belief will enter the kingdom of heaven. There's this modern view of evangelism that everyone who prays a prayer will be saved. This is not true. People always want to take you back to the time you prayed that prayer. That's wrong.

That's the wrong place to go. Jesus doesn't take you there. Do you notice how He takes you to a completely different place? He doesn't ask you, did you pray to receive Christ? He asks you a completely different question.

And in church, we need to learn to ask the different question. Because it's false teaching, it's false doctrine regarding salvation that has been so promoted in our land. And there are millions of people in churches today who pray to prayer, but they're not asking this question. They're not going back to this issue. They're going back to the wrong issue.

And so because they're going back to the wrong issue, they are misled, they're deceived, and they're not known by God at all. They prayed a prayer and they only blew out air, and they were baptized, but they only got wet. And they came to church, but they were not part of the true church. Because they didn't go back to the right question that Jesus is speaking of here. So the whole doctrine of regeneration is implied here and we can speak about that in all of its breadth and depth.

But what this means here is that there are so many false Gospels about that go to the wrong question and Jesus of course always leads us to the right question. And I pray that our legacy in this world would be to be asking the right questions. First of all, of ourselves. And I hope that you've been asking that question of yourself. I have.

I've asked myself this question every day. Oh Lord, do you know me? Do I know you? It's an appropriate question. It's one that every Christian should ask.

Asking that question is not a sign that you're not a Christian. It's a question that you must ask before God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book called The Cost of Discipleship. He talked about cheap grace. He defines it like this, cheap grace is preaching, the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, Baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession, cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate.

And so here is the danger of the deception of cheap grace. Now the Lord is not arguing against saying, Lord, Lord. It's right to say, Lord, Lord. It's the most appropriate thing to begin and continue and end your day with. Lord, Lord, this is the right thing to say.

But here we learn that many will be surprised. Many will say to me in that day, they'll be so surprised. If you study the texts of those who appear before the throne of God and the sheep, and the goats are being separated, the ones who are being separated to eternal damnation are surprised. They're stunned. They're dumbfounded by it.

So many will be surprised. So the first characteristic of those are they do the will of God. They do the will of God. Rather than going back to a prayer, they go back to a question, do I do the will of God? Is it in my heart to do the will of God?

Do I want to do the will of God? Do I despise things in the Word of God? Do I hate things in the Word of God? If you answer yes to those questions, Then you find yourself falling under the condemnation of these words. Secondly, they are known by God, verse 22.

They are known by God. And I will declare to them I never knew you." We can be very active and very appealing in our speech. And we can be very respectful before the Lord and say, Lord, Lord. To say that is a respectful way of approaching Him. We can be very orthodox in our approach to the Lord and say, Lord, Lord, this is really a confessional statement.

This statement, this declares the lordship and the glory of Almighty God. It's an accurate statement. One can be doctrinally accurate. One can be involved in rooting out evil and even casting out demons. One can be very passionate in their service and even to the point of wonders, many wonders being done in the name of God.

Many passionate and orthodox duties are done without knowing God or being known. That's the reality. Even crying and emotions and powerful and mighty urges coming from a person don't mean anything at all. Lloyd-Jones commenting on this, he said, some people never pray in public without crying, and some tend to think that they feel more than others. But it does not follow for a moment.

The emotional type of person is always more liable to weep when he prays, but it does not mean of necessity that he is more spiritual." It's an amazing declaration of the power of God, that God would use people that don't even know him to do his work. Isn't that remarkable? And there are many examples of this in Scripture. You could look at Balaam or Saul. You could go to Philippians chapter 115 where you find those who preach Christ out of envy and strife but still the gospel is so powerful that even out of the lips of an unbeliever, even done out of envy and strife, the gospel is so mighty that it saves you.

And aren't you glad for that? Think of the people from whom Maybe you heard the gospel or the places of the situations that were not right It's because the power of the gospel Notice the perspective of the person here. It's the perspective of self-righteousness. His focus is how righteous I am. Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

Did we not cast out demons in your name? Did we not do many wonders in your name? This is a person who is quite satisfied with his performance in the world. He looks back and says, yes, I was a good person. I did everything I should and everything I could.

This is the American Christian who is a good person. Every person you meet out on the street is a good person. I don't know if you've noticed that. Everyone is so good, good enough certainly to go to heaven. I've never seen so many good people in all of my life.

They judge themselves the same way that we judge ourselves. We are looking through rose-colored glasses. And here, This focus of this person is, look what I have done. What have you done for me lately? It's works based righteousness.

This is not a person standing before the face of God, poor in spirit or mourning for his sin. You can often tell those who do not know God or whom God does not know by how they think about themselves and their righteous deeds. But this person is certainly not poor in spirit or hungering and necessarily after righteousness. But the only thing he brings before the throne of God are a few of his works. Before the throne of God, I have a strong and imperfect plea about everything that I did and said in this world.

That's the wrong plea before the throne of God, and that's what's being displayed here. And then this terrible reality, this terrifying, horrible voice, I never knew you, is what returns. There's This whole principle in Scripture about God knowing you is such a wonderful revelation to us. It helps us so much. Contemplating this week especially, I've been so grateful to be able to just consider being known by God.

What does that mean? In 1st Corinthians 8.3 we read, But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. So there's a love for God. When one has a love in his heart for God, not resisting Him, loving Him, desiring Him, hoping to be with Him, to speak with Him, to enter into His counsel, to love God. This one is known by Him.

So says the Apostle Paul. Jesus said, I am the Good Shepherd, And I know my sheep, and I know my sheep, and am known by them. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." and they follow me." There's something so wonderful about being a sheep of the Lord and that He knows You and you know his voice. Think of Moses himself in Exodus 33 verse 17. We learn this.

So the Lord said to Moses, You have found grace in my sight, and I know you by name." What a blessing it was for Moses to be known by God in the midst of all of his trials and tribulations. God knew him. God knew him by name. So this whole thing about knowing, knowing God should help us understand this passage. If you open up to Psalm 27, there's such a beautiful picture of how this works.

In the heart, this morning we're going to speak of many, many issues of assurance of salvation. We'll get there in a bit. But here now we're entering into one matter to consider in considering your assurance of salvation. Psalm 27, verse 4. 1 thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and inquire in his temple.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle he shall hide me. He shall set me high upon a rock." Here's a picture of someone who desires the presence of God. One thing have I desired of the Lord. That will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

If that is your desire, if that is your desire, then you are known by the Lord. In verse 6, and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me. Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. Here's a picture of enemies and trials and difficulty just like the rain and the floods and the wind that beat on that house.

And what's the response? It's a response of joy. I will sing praises to the Lord, rather than gnashing your teeth at the Lord at what He has done by His hand through afflicting you." And then verse 7, hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice. This is the equivalent of saying, Lord, Lord, Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice. This is the equivalent of saying, Lord, Lord.

Hear O Lord when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also upon me and answer me. When you said, seek my face, my heart said, oh Lord, your face will I seek. Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger.

You have been my help. Do not leave me or forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me." This is a picture of someone who is known and who knows God. We should always beware of false evidences of salvation. Children who grew up in Christian homes, who've accepted the things of the home, who have walked in righteous ways, this is a blessing, this is a good thing, but they should never be deceived for a moment to think that that means that the Lord knows them or that they know the Lord.

Because it's far, far deeper than that. It's dangerous to rely on doctrine. It's dangerous to think, as long as I have sound doctrine and I believe the right things, then that is enough. It's not enough. Understanding and believing the confession of this church means nothing for your salvation.

As much as we desire people to know it and learn it, to be founded in sound doctrine, knowing it doesn't save you. Orthodoxy is essential, but it cannot be trusted. These in Matthew 7 are orthodox. They prophesy, they cast out demons, they do miracles. It's not what someone believes that matters the most.

And I don't want anybody to misunderstand. I'm not saying it doesn't matter. It matters. But it's not what matters most. Having a conscious communion with your Father in heaven by a repentant spirit, by, through the Holy Spirit recognizing your bankruptcy before Him, the sufficiency of His grace, the power of His blood to cleanse you from all of your unrighteousness, the knowledge that He is sovereign over all things, and the true belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

And in knowing Him as a Father, to run to Him, to have our faces turned toward Him. It's a sign of unbelief when we do not desire to turn our faces toward Him. And you might hear me say that and say, well, then I'm not saved. Maybe or maybe not. You may just need to turn...

Your heart has turned away. You've fallen away. You've fed your soul with so many soul-deadening things that the fire is not burning very brightly. It's like a smoldering wick that needs to be fanned to flame. And thankfully Jesus Christ does not snuff out this moldering wick.

When Jesus says, I never knew you, he's identifying something about the whole universe and about salvation that we cannot miss. And it is that it is not, first of all, the fruits of the gospel that are important, But it is God. It is the God of the Gospel. John Piper wrote a book called God is the Gospel. It's a very appropriate title.

And it really is affirmed by this verse here. God is the Gospel. He says the Gospel is not a way to get people to heaven, it's a way to get people to God. It's a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. You know how wonderful are the fruits of the gospel, which the man who built his house on the sand had.

It was a beautiful house. He worked very hard to build it, but what he did not have was God. He did not have God. He did not have the great treasure. He could not say, one thing I have desire to the Lord, that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

That's a desire for and knowledge of God. A hunger for God, a love for God from the heart, rather than just saying things and believing things and hearing things and building things as the imagery that Jesus is giving us teaches us about. The third characteristic of people who will enter the kingdom of heaven is Not only do they do the will of God, not only are they known by God, but they put the law of God into practice. Verse 23. He says, depart from me you who practice lawlessness.

Now the word means no law keeping or no law. It's a despising of the law. Ah, nomia. Nomia, law. Ah, meaning not.

It's where we get our word, you know, it's the whole idea of anti-nomianism. To hate the law of God. Those who hate the law of God cannot be saved. And they practice actually lawlessness. Their practices are not according to the law.

They're according to something else. And this indicates that the word, the participle that's used indicates just continual, regular action, habitual practice of lawlessness. It's not the person who sins. It's the person who habitually practices and seeks lawlessness. It's that kind of person.

We understand that anyone who says that he has no sin does not know God. So this is not a sinless person, but it's a person who habitually engages in lawlessness proactively. John says in 1 John 3, 4, whoever commits sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And again, it's that continuous habitual practicing of sin. Lawless, the lawless are cast into hell, so says the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 13.

Lawlessness is a reality of the heart. In Matthew 23 verse 28, Jesus says, even so you outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." So lawlessness defines your status before God. The way that you relate to the law has something to do with your salvation. No one is ever saved by the works of the law, but those who hate the law are demonstrating that they do not love or even have tasted of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's an evidence of lack of salvation.

So before the throne of God, you are not a Christian because you claim to be one. You're not a Christian if you enjoy or have a pattern of unrepentant sin. You are not a Christian if you do not love others. You are not a Christian if you are so obsessed and worried about your possessions. And then we come to the next section, beginning in verse 24, with the wise man and the foolish man.

We've just left the man who stands before the throne of God, and his plea is, look what I have done. But God does not know him. Now we come to the man who says, look what I have heard and look what I have built. Therefore whoever hears these things of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house.

But it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." So he begins with this in the explanation of the two houses, that one that stands, and then he says, but in verse 26, but everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And the rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell and great was its fall." So we have these two houses. And so Jesus is now, he's just finally concluding the whole Sermon on the Mount with this illustration. He's clenching and bringing everything together into one single powerful argument. And he's bringing it down to an illustration of self-deception.

Again, as he's done so many times in the Sermon on the Mount. He's spoken about being deceived by false prophets who come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. He's spoken about those who deceive themselves for what they believe and what they do. And now in this final picture, He comes to someone who seems to have all the blessings. He has a house and it's built and it's finished and it's doing what it was meant to do.

So they're these two builders And they have so much in common, but there's one difference. They both had the same desire to build, And it was a house. They both built a house. And they built the house generally in the same location because the same storm came and hit the two houses. So they were together in the same proximity.

Both houses were finished, and they both labored diligently. But what was different was what was underground, And that's what Jesus has been saying over and over again on the Sermon on the Mount. The foolish man was in a hurry. He didn't take time to set his house on a good footing. The foolish are always wanting quick fixes.

They always want to get to the bottom line. They want to take shortcuts. They don't want to linger. They don't want to labor over the words of God. They don't want to truly understand what God has said.

They do have problems with doctrine because they want to run so fast. They don't care about the design and the architectural principles that are necessary to build a house. When you build a house, normally you get an architect so that you will build it right, so it doesn't fall down. But that's not what the foolish man does. He takes shortcuts.

He's in a hurry. He wants to get it done. And he's in the presence of preachers who want to get him in a hurry. Pray the prayer. Make the decision.

Go down in front. Get this done right in your Bible. One of the key differences of these two men can be seen in Luke's telling of this story. He adds a detail that Matthew doesn't tell us. In verse 48 of Luke 6, Jesus says, He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.

He dug deep. That was the big difference. The whole difference was what happened under the surface. The whole difference was not even seen on the outside. And Jesus has been saying this over and over again.

You can have a wolf in sheep's clothing. You can appear so religious and so Christian, but you're not at all. But Jesus brings this down to the issue of digging down deep to get under the surface where the heart is. Lloyd-Jones explains it so well. The first thing we have to say about the Christian and the pseudo-Christian is that they have certain points in common.

As there are certain similarities between the two builders and the two houses, there are certain similarities between these two people. The first is you tend to find them in the same place. The two men in the picture put up their houses in the same locality. They wanted to be near each other. It is exactly the same in religion.

The true Christian and the false counterpart are generally found in the same sphere. You generally find them both in the church as members together. They sit and listen precisely to the same gospel, and both seem to be doing so. They are to all appearance in exactly the same position, having the same general outlook and interest in the same activities. The man who is deluded by the counterfeit is not outside the church, he is inside it.

He likes being connected with the church and he may be an active member of it. These two men on the surface are like each other, as were the two builders of their houses in this picture. But the results were so different. The rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house. We don't know exactly what the rain and the floods and the winds mean, but it's most likely trials.

Most people who've looked at this think that Jesus is talking about the trials and the calamities, the losses, the disappointments, the deaths, the disappointments in your marriage, the disappointments in your business, all the things, the way that people treat you wrongly and have stolen from you or said evil things against you, The wind and the rain and the floods are blowing. The pressures of worldliness, the attacks of the devil. All these things either cause the house to stand or to fall. You can tell, You can tell a true Christian by the way that he goes through calamity. When he loses something, you can tell who his Lord is.

So, how does one know? So, how does one know? How does one know if God knows them or not? There must be some assurance of salvation. Now this morning, I want to make very clear that this is not intended to disturb the people who should not be disturbed this morning.

But these are the words of Jesus Christ And so I want us to consider assurance. I'd like to move to a time of application here. First of all, consider your assurance of salvation. Consider it very carefully. I don't want to convince you of your assurance of salvation.

I cannot do that. But it's only right for all of us, for every single one of us here to examine ourselves according to what Jesus has said. If we say we have Christ, then we must examine ourselves and the evidence should be clear. You know, when you think about assurance of salvation, there are so many things to consider. Richard Baxter said, you may believe immediately, but getting Assurance of it may be a work for the greater part of your life Because you are seeking the Lord constantly seeking him You've entered into a life of seeking him to seek his face To love his presence and to continue to pursue God as you've been pursued.

And that's why the apostle Paul says, examine yourselves whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? So it's appropriate for us to test ourselves. Peter says, be more diligent to make your call and election secure.

And so this is no attempt to shake up your faith, but really just to say examine your hearts, examine your lives according to these questions that are here. Be before God with a genuine and honest heart. The second thing about assurance is this, struggling with sin is not always an evidence of unbelief. Struggling with sin is not always an evidence of unbelief. Struggling with sin is not always an evidence of unbelief.

Christians experience reversals. They fall into negligence. They have wounded consciences and temptations and times of dullness and worldliness. And Jonathan Edwards talked about times when God just seems to be drawing the light of His countenance away from you because you're drinking in the world. And if that is the case, then there's such a sweeter place.

And that is that wonderful place. One thing I have desire to the Lord that will I seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to inquire in his temple. That's the place to be. Next, we cannot equate doubt and loss of assurance as if they are always mutually exclusive. In other words, just because you have doubt, Just because you have doubts in your soul should not, it should not destroy your assurance.

A person can doubt and still be saved. We've seen, we see in Scripture many who had bouts of doubt. Moses, Gideon, John the Baptist, Peter, Those this side of the cross, Luther, Cowper, Bunyan, many here in this room have struggled with doubt. To always equate doubt with lack of assurance should be something that should not be done automatically. That's why in Mark chapter 9 you read the words of a man who said, Oh Lord, Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief.

There's a distinction between salvation and assurance of salvation. There is a distinction because people have different makeup and they see life differently and some see it harder than others. Some have more tender consciences than others. Some seem to be tormented more than others by doubt. But it's not always a sign of lack of assurance, of lack of salvation.

But doubt is also meant to get our attention as well, to drive us to an honest examination. I believe that God will show His people by His Spirit and give them the confidence they need. It might not be the same confidence as the person next to you. Assurance feels different in different kinds of people. There are people who judge their assurance on their emotions.

That's a very dangerous thing to do because things happen to your emotions. Chemical things can happen to drive your emotions. There are all kinds of things. You cannot rest your assurance on your emotions. People judge their assurance on their conscience.

And Some people have a more seared conscience than others. And some people have a more tender conscience. You can't rest on that alone. People judge their assurance on good works. And you cannot rest it upon your good works, either.

You really can only rest, finally, your assurance on the shed blood of Jesus Christ. But there's more than that to consider that Jesus is bringing to us here. Because if someone's been regenerated, there must be some evidence of it. We must have faith that there have to be evidences of that faith. That's what Jesus is saying here.

They do the will of my Father in heaven. That's an evidence of faith. It's not that we do His will perfectly, But we do do the will of our Father in heaven. This is the dent of our hearts. I'm going to give you nine tests, nine objective tests of your salvation out of 1 John.

Number one, walking in the light, 1 John 1, 5-7. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth, but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin." The first objective test is, Are you walking in the light or are you walking in the darkness? The second objective test is confession of sin. First John 1, 8-10, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. Confession of sin. Objective evidence number three, obedience. 1 John 2, 3-4.

Now by this we know that we know Him if we keep his commandments. He who says, I know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. Objective evidence number four, love of the brethren. First John 2, 9 through 11. He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness until now.

He who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because darkness has blinded his eyes. Love for the brother. Objective Evidence number five, hatred for the world. 1 John 2, 15 through 17.

Do not love the world nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever." Objective evidence number six, perseverance and doctrine.

First John 2 24 through 25, therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. What you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and the Father. And this is the promise he has promised us, eternal life." Abiding in sound doctrine. Number seven, righteousness. Verse John 3, 10.

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, practicing righteousness. Number eight, the Spirit's testimony. First John 4.13, By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

And what does His Spirit do? His Spirit cries out, Abba, Father. When the Spirit of God is in you, it cries out. It cries out toward God. And that's an evidence of your salvation.

And so there are challenges here before us to consider what it has meant all the times that we've said, Lord, Lord, what has it meant for you? What has it meant for all of us as a church? Because I dare say that we have cried out, Lord, Lord, thousands of times, but what does it really mean? And that's what the Lord Jesus Christ is bringing us to here. And He's really bringing us into, again, His great appeal to know Him and to be known, to be before His face, to be a child who longs to be in the secret place of prayer, not just in the public place to be known.

Who longs deep in his heart to know and be known? That's why Timothy said this, for Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2 19, Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal. The Lord knows those who are His, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." And that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Oh Lord, you have challenged us and threatened us with such helpful words to woo us even closer, or to woo us to finally believe and repent.

O God, that you would in this place confirm assurance of salvation for all who are here, and that you would save any who are not assured by you in their soul, that they have been saved by grace, and that you know them, and that you can say, I know His name, He is my Lamb. Enter into the joy of your Master. Amen.