Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: First John 5 reveals how to be saved and know it without hesitation. This little book of First John was written to give you assurance. And the word "know" (K-N-O-W) is mentioned almost 40 times in this epistle. He mentions ways that we can know that we have been born again. I want to just take them and reduce them down to three, to three basic things. I want you to take the test to find out whether or not you have any right to say, "Yes, praise God, I know I'm saved."

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the timeless teaching of pastor and author Adrian Rogers. Every Christian ought to have the privilege of knowing they're saved. But having doubts doesn't necessarily mean we're not saved. In part one of today's message, we learned that when doubts arise, we must remember first how we are saved—by grace through faith. Faith is not intellectual belief; it is trust and commitment to God. Understanding that, Pastor Rogers now explains that we can find our assurance through three basic tests. If you have your Bible, turn to First John chapter 5 as Adrian Rogers shares part two of "How to Be Saved and Know It."

Adrian Rogers: The assurance of your salvation is extremely important. We're not talking here about denominational preference. We're not talking here about little idiosyncrasies of doctrine. We're not talking here about political opinions. We're not talking here about matters that only count in this world. We're talking about eternal life. We're talking about your soul.

When God made you, God breathed into your nostrils the breath of life and you became a living soul. You could no more cease to exist than God himself could cease to exist. Your soul will go on—endless, timeless, dateless, measureless—either in heaven or in hell. How important it is, therefore, that you absolutely know that you're saved.

So I want us to think a little bit, first of all, about how we are saved and then what are the results, what are the proofs, what are the evidences that this has taken place. Well, look in chapter 5 and verse 1 here, if you will. First John 5:1. He says, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." To be born of God is another way of saying being saved. It's being born again. And it's very clear and very plain.

The way that you're saved is by believing that Jesus is the Christ. That "Jesus," the name Jesus means Jehovah saves, is the Messiah. You believe that, you trust that, and something happens: you are born again. You say, "Is it just that simple, Pastor Rogers?" It's just that simple. It is gloriously simple, but it’s simply glorious.

Acts 16:31 says it again the same way. And they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Friend, it's not so high that few can reach it; it’s really so low that few get down to it. It is so plain, it is so simple. We’re saved by trust in the Lord Jesus. Now, this word "believe" doesn't mean just intellectual belief. The devils believe like that. But it's a word that means trust and commitment.

I think it's clearly delineated in another verse, and this one I'd like for you to turn to, and then we'll spend the rest of our time in First John. But I really want you to look at this one over in Ephesians chapter 2. It’s so clear and so plain. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. God makes it so abundantly clear because he wants you to be saved. And so God here tells us not only what does save us, but what does not save us.

And here's what he says. Are you listening? "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." It's not part grace and part works. That's impossible. It is all of grace. When you put your hand of faith in God's hand of grace, when you say, "God, I'm a sinner, I'm lost, I cannot save myself, I don't deserve to be saved, in my hand no price I bring, simply to thy cross I cling, Lord, I'm trusting you to save me," when you do that, when you say that, hallelujah, you're saved.

"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." Okay, now, having said that, however, what is the result? What are the traits of the twice-born? What are the birthmarks of the believer? Now, this little book of First John was written to give you assurance. And the word "know" (K-N-O-W) is mentioned almost 40 times in this epistle. Now, he mentions ways that we can know that we have been born again.

I want to just take them and reduce them down to three, because basically all of those 40 can come down basically to three basic things. I want you to take the test today. Are you ready to take the test? The assurance test to find out whether or not you have any right to say, "Yes, praise God, I know I'm saved."

The very first test is the lordship test. Is Jesus Christ the Lord of your life? Look in First John chapter 2, verses 3 and following. First John chapter 2, and let's begin in verse 3: "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." Now, he doesn't say that we're saved by keeping the commandments. No, no. Salvation is the gift of God. It says we know that we know him if we keep his commandments. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

Now, one thing about the Apostle John, he doesn't beat around the bush. He's not using esoteric terms here. If you say that you are saved, if you say that you know God and you're not keeping his commandments, God says you are a liar. Now you say, "Pastor Rogers, wait a minute. Are you telling me if I ever break any of God's commandments, that means I'm not saved?" No, I'm not saying that. Because there's not one of us that has not failed and sinned in some time, some way, some manner after we've been saved. Isn't that true? All of us have.

And John understands that. The key is in this word "keep." Look at the word "keep" in chapter 2, verse 3. "We know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." Now, among other ways that this word was used, it's the word that a sailor would use, a navigator back in this day, when they sailed by the stars at nighttime. The sailor could keep his course by keeping the stars. That's what they called sailing by the stars.

They would plot the heavens, and the man with his chart would look at the heavens and keep his hand on the rudder or his hand on the wheel, and he would sail by the stars. And that was called keeping the stars. Now to you as a child of God, those stars are the commandments of God. That is what you steer your life by. That is the guide, the goal of your life. You keep the commandments.

Now, a sailor might go to sleep at the wheel. He might get distracted. He might have his attention diverted. He might get blown off course. These things could happen. But when he recognizes it, he goes right back on course. Because it's not the desire of his life to get off course; the desire of his life is to steer according to that course. And that's the way it is with a child of God. Yes, sometimes we get blown off course. Yes, sometimes we take our eyes from the stars. Yes, sometimes we may fail. Yes, sometimes we may oversteer or understeer.

But the great desire of our life is to keep the commandments of God. And John says if that desire is not in your life, you need to get saved. You need to get saved—just that plain and that simple. You're not saved by keeping the commandments; you're saved by the grace of God. But one of the birthmarks that a child has been saved is that he has this desire to live according to the commandments. That's the lordship test.

The second test here in First John is the fellowship test. The fellowship test. Now let me show you what John has to say about that, if you would please. Turn to First John chapter 3 and look in verse 14. "We know," that’s our word again, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."

That's what John says. Now again, turn, if you will, to First John chapter 4 and verse 20: "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." Then look in chapter 5, verse 1: "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat," that is everyone who loves the Father, "loveth him also that is begotten of him."

When you love the heavenly Father, you love his children. You love your brothers and sisters in Christ. It's one of the traits of the twice-born. It's a test. You see, when you get saved, you want to be with the children of God and you want to be right with the children of God. Now, there's some people who say, "Well, I can just worship God all by myself. I don't need to go to church. God knows my heart; God knows I love him. I don't need to assemble together with the brethren."

Well, then why did God say, "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together"? Why did God keep on telling us that when we love him, we are to love the brothers and the sisters? We are to love the brethren. You see, here's the reasoning, and I want you to listen very carefully. Why is fellowship a test of your salvation? Well, what happens when you get saved is this: you receive the divine nature, don't you?

The Bible says we are made partakers of the divine nature. Now, what is the nature of God? The nature of God is love. Turn with me to First John chapter 4 and look, if you will, in verse 7: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." Now, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.

When you're born again, you're born of God. The Holy Spirit of God comes into you, and you're made a partaker of the divine nature. Now, what is the divine nature? God is love. Now, if that nature is in you, then you're going to have love in you, right? Now, if you don't have love in you, you have not become a partaker of the divine nature. And he's not talking here about loving God alone; he's talking about loving one another, for God is love.

And so it would be absurd for you to say, "I have been born of God. I have the Holy Spirit in me. The nature of God is in me. I have been born of God, but I just don't love." No, friend, there must be the lordship test and there is the fellowship test. It's right there, just as plain as can be. Now, you're not saved because you love the brethren. You're saved because Jesus died for you on that cross. But you love the brethren because you're saved. You love the brethren because you're saved.

You see, love is the nature of the Christian because it's the nature of God. And I'll tell you another reason that you must pass the fellowship test: not only is it the nature of the Christian, but it is the nature of the church. What is the church? The church—I'm not talking about the building now; I'm talking about the church, the people—the church is the body of Christ and the church is the bride of Christ.

And that's the reason that if we love the Lord Jesus, it follows as night follows day we are going to love what Jesus loves. Christ and the church are not identical, but Christ and the church are inseparable. He's the head, we're the body. He's the groom, we're the bride. He's the building, we are the foundation. And it's all in the Lord Jesus Christ and his church.

And so if you are a Christian and yet you're not in fellowship with a New Testament Bible-believing church—I mean organized fellowship, I don't mean a once-in-a-while visitor, I mean a part of the body of Christ—maybe you need to ask yourself this question: Am I truly saved? Or have I just been playing at this thing? Have I just been saying I have believed in Christ and trusted Christ? But have I really, really met the Christ of the Bible?

Now, you may be saved and be in such a backslidden condition that you don't love people. But if you're in that backslidden condition, you have no real right to say you know you're saved. The only way that you can say that you know you're saved is when you have these birthmarks of the believer. It's not just some intellectual la-di-da; that's not enough to do it.

All right, now let me give you the third test. Here's the third test. The first test: the lordship test. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar." The second test: the fellowship test. You say, "I love him and know him," and you love not the brethren, you're a liar. Now, here's the third test, and it is the relationship test. The lordship test, the fellowship test, and the relationship test.

Now, salvation is a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now go back to First John chapter 5 and look, if you will, in verse 11: "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, 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 ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

Now, he's talking here about a relationship with Jesus. He's talking about having the Son, knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. In another place he says that God's Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. There's that inner witness, there's that relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, First John chapter 5, verse 13 says this, and listen very, very carefully: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God."

It does not say, "These things have I written unto you that believed" (past tense). This is present tense. Now, I'm going to say something here that may upset some of you. It may upset some of your theology. I've often heard it said that if you cannot name the time, the place where you were saved, you're not saved. Oh, there's just one thing wrong with that, friend: it's not in the Bible. Somebody made that up, but it's not in the Bible.

The Bible never tells you to look back to a past experience for the proof of your salvation. It does not say, "He who believed has eternal life." It says, "He who believes." Now, it doesn't matter what you've done in the past. If you're not believing on Jesus, you're not saved. And if you are believing on Jesus, you did believe on Jesus because it's impossible to be believing on him without having believed on him.

You see, indeed there was a time. Indeed there was a place. There had to be if you're believing on Jesus. But if you're not believing on Jesus now, whatever you call the time and the place, there's something wrong with it. What is the biggest question? Did you get married or are you married? Well, if you are married, I'll guarantee you did get that way, right? And the big question is not "did you believe in Jesus?" The big question is, "Are you believing Jesus?"

Do you have a relationship with the Son of God right now? Is the man, the woman, the boy, the girl sitting in that seat right now, this morning, believing on Christ as his or her personal Savior? Now, if you have the time and the place, wonderful. I can remember the time and the place. But if you don't, that doesn't mean you're not saved, because if you're trusting Jesus right now, you are.

I mean, you may not know exactly when it happened. Let me use this illustration. Suppose you leave this service and you're going to Birmingham by airplane. And you get in the airplane out here, the Memphis International Airport, and you fly to Birmingham and get off the airplane. Now, did you cross the state line? Of course you did. Did you know when you crossed the state line? No, you didn't know it. Why? Because you were up there in the air. You didn't know when you crossed the state line.

Now, let's suppose you get in your automobile and you drive to Birmingham. You cross the state line. Do you know it? Yes, because there it is: a clear line, "Welcome to Alabama," and so forth, and you cross the state line. Now, the question is simply this: How do you know you crossed the state line? One of the best ways I know is if you get out of the airplane in Birmingham, you did, right?

I mean, you did. If you get out at the Birmingham airport, beyond the shadow of any doubt, you had to cross that line. You see, it is not some distant experience that you had; it is a present reality. It is a relationship, not theology. You say, "Well, I know the plan of salvation." Well, you're not saved by the plan of salvation; you're saved by the man of salvation. His name is Jesus. The life is in Christ.

Are you trusting the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you have that vital relationship with him right now? They tell a story about Will Rogers—no relation to me, I guess I wish he was, but Will Rogers, that Oklahoma philosopher. He wanted to get a passport and he went in for a passport. And they said, "Well, we'll need your birth certificate." He said, "What do you need that for?" They said, "For proof of your birth." He said, "Well, I'm here, ain't I?"

Friend, what he was saying is that what is standing there right now is more important than what may have happened some long time ago. Indeed, there was a time when he was born. And but the proof that he was born is he's standing there. Indeed, he that believeth on Jesus is born of God, but the proof is that you are believing right now as your personal Savior and Lord.

Now, it is possible that you could be saved and not have that full assurance. If I were your case today, you know what I would do? I would do exactly what I did because I had done that as a teenage boy. I was saved, or I think I was; I'm not certain even yet whether I was or not. But I just got it settled. You see, I was not fully instructed when I gave my heart to Christ.

And I rode a roller coaster for a long time, wondering whether or not I was truly saved. Now I remember stopping one night on the corner of 39th Street and Calvin Avenue in West Palm Beach. By then I'd learned something about the Bible. I looked straight up into the heavens. And I said, "God, I've got to have assurance. I don't know whether I am lost and the Holy Spirit has me under conviction, or whether I'm saved and the devil is trying to make me doubt it.

"But one thing I know, dear God, I want to get certain tonight. And you said if I would believe on you, if I would trust you, you would save me." So I just turned my face up to the heavens and I said, "Lord, right now, with all of my heart, as much as in me is, once and for all, now and forever, I trust you to save me. If I was saved, I still am; but if I wasn't, I am now."

I'm just driving down a peg. And I want to say that from that time on, a river of peace began to flow in my heart, and it's still flowing. And if you had those serious doubts, maybe you've not understood, maybe you've kind of tried to mix in some works, or you didn't know that a person could truly know it. Maybe you'd like to do the same thing today.

Guest (Male): Maybe as you've listened today, you're right in that place that Pastor Rogers was in all those years ago. You want God's salvation, but you don't know if he's come in. Pray that prayer that he prayed of consecration. "O God in heaven, I know I'm a sinner. I believe that Jesus died in my place and rose again to new life. And so right now, I cast myself on your grace and your mercy. I don't try to make up for any of the sin that has been in my life; I simply receive the gift that you're offering me. By faith, I ask you to give me that grace and help those rivers of joy and peace to flow from my life from this day forward. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen."

If you prayed a prayer of commitment like that from your heart, let us celebrate with you. Go to our "Find God's Love" page at the website, and you'll find answers you may need about your newfound faith. Go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says "Find God's Love." Welcome to his forever family. We can't wait to hear from you today.

Hi, this is Cary Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a non-profit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVEGOD. That's 1-877-568-3463. Or write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio. There, we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of Pastor Adrian Rogers.

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