Messianic Perspectives

Liz Ayello: Jesus said if we know the truth, the truth will make us free. On this edition of Messianic Perspectives, Dr. Gary Hedrick shows us one truth in particular that enables us to walk in real freedom. Stay with us as we discuss the Christian's greatest discovery.

Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Ayello. Today, Dr. Gary Hedrick is discussing the Christian's greatest discovery. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about our special offer. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Thank you. And we welcome you, listening friend. It's good to have you with us today as we continue our series of studies from the life of Abraham, which we've entitled, "The Christian's Greatest Discovery." And of course, on the last program, we were discussing the fact that the greatest discovery any believer can make is that of the absolute assurance of his salvation.

You see, there are many people today who are professing Christians but who really don't have the complete, total, absolute assurance that they are God's children and on their way to heaven. There are even preachers, believe it or not, who tell their people that the only way they can know they're saved is to wait until they die and find out. When they stand before the judgment bar of God, they've been told, then they'll find out if they've made it.

But let me tell you something, my friend. I wouldn't want to wait until I stand before God in judgment to find out whether or not I'm saved. Then it's too late. That's why God wants you to know it now. That's why God wants you to have assurance now, because once you die, it's too late. Many years ago, a young man named Wilbur Chapman attended one of DL Moody's after meetings. And Dr. Moody asked him, "Chapman, are you saved?" And Chapman said, "Well, I think I am."

Moody said, "Turn to John 5:24 and read it to me." So Chapman turned in his Bible and he read, "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 is passed from death unto life." And Moody said, "There you have it. Chapman, did you hear God's word? Do you believe on him?" Wilbur Chapman said, "Well, yes, I do." Moody said, "Well then, are you saved?" And Chapman said, "Well, I think so, probably. Yes, I would say so."

Moody said, "Read it again, Chapman." And so he read it again. "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 is passed from death unto life." Moody said, "Now Chapman, what did God say? If you hear and you believe, what do you have?" Chapman said, "Well, everlasting life, I guess." Moody said, "Everlasting life, you guess?" He said, "Read it again!" And so Chapman read it again.

"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 is passed from death unto life." And then Moody said, "Chapman, are you saved?" And he said, "Well, I think I probably am. Yes." And they said at that point, Moody had fire in his eyes. He looked at Wilbur Chapman and he said, "Just whom are you doubting?" Now let me read what Wilbur Chapman said in his own words.

He said, "Then I saw for the first time that when I was afraid I was not a Christian, I was doubting God's word. I read it again with my eyes overflowing with tears. Since that day, I have had many sorrows and many joys, but never have I doubted for a moment that I was a Christian, because God said it." And of course, Wilbur Chapman went on to become one of the greatest gospel preachers of the early 20th century.

You see, some of us may never give the assurance of salvation a second thought. We take it for granted. For us, it's just not an issue. We know when we came to the Lord, we know what happened, we know what we said, we know what he did, and it's case closed, period. But there are many of our brothers and sisters out there who don't come by assurance quite that easily. They struggle with all sorts of doubts and feelings of unworthiness, day in and day out.

Some Christians have been taught that when Jesus died on the cross, he made the down payment on their salvation, but it's up to them to keep up the installments. Yes, there are people who really teach that. So they're going through life with this legalistic mindset that God's up there in heaven watching them through a telescope, just waiting for them to mess up so he can repossess their salvation. There are really people who believe that.

But do you know what the Bible says? When Jesus was about to die on the cross, as he had given his life's blood as the supreme sacrifice for our sins and he was hanging there in agony and shame and bleeding, what did he say? John 19:30, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, 'It is finished.' And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost." Now listen to me carefully. He did not say, "Now I've started it and you'll have to finish it."

What he said was, "It has been finished." In the Greek, it's tetelestai, a third-person singular, perfect, indicative, passive. And what that means is simply, it has been finished once and for all and forever. And one of the keys to true assurance is understanding that salvation is not our work, but His work. Now quickly, let's get back to where we were last time in Genesis chapter 15.

This is where Abraham was having his own crisis of faith, because he was doubting God's ability to fulfill his promise that Abraham would have a son and that through that son, God would raise up a great nation. That was one of the provisions of a series of promises we call the Abrahamic Covenant. And when Abraham got to be about 85 or 86 years old, he began to have serious doubts about whether or not that son would ever be born.

So he said in Genesis 15:8, "Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" What proof can you offer me that you're going to make good on your promise, Lord? That's what he was saying. You see, it's one thing to know something intellectually. I'm sure Abraham knew that God had made the promise. He probably knew where he was standing when the promise was made. But it's another thing to know that you know that you know with all of your heart and with all of your mind and your will and your emotions to really know that something is true.

So Abraham said, "Lord, how can I know that I'll inherit the promise?" And now we come to what is really the heart of this study, and that's God's answer to Abraham's question in Genesis chapter 15. And what a strange answer for someone who's asking for assurance. Look what God says in Genesis 15:9. If you have a Bible handy, follow along with me. "And the Lord said unto him, 'Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.'"

I told you it was a strange answer. And it gets even stranger in the next verse. Look at this, verse 10. "And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst," that is he cut them in half, "and he laid each piece one against the other; but the birds divided he not." Verse 12, "And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him." Verse 17, "And it came to pass, that when the sun went down and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces."

Now what a strange scenario this is, and what a strange way for the Lord to answer Abraham's question. And yet, on the next couple of programs, we're going to see that this was an absolutely perfect response to Abraham's need for assurance. But we're running out of time, so we're not going to get to the answer today. So let me just close with this simple observation. Genesis chapter 15 is the first occasion in which we find Abraham addressing the Lord as Yahweh, or in its anglicized form, Jehovah.

And when Abraham calls him "Lord God" here in Genesis 15, he uses this name Yahweh for the very first time. It's not the first time it's appeared in the Bible, but it's the first time Abraham has used it. In the Hebrew, it's just four characters, four Hebrew consonants, roughly equivalent to YHWH. And it means "I AM." It's like an incomplete sentence, you see, and you fill in the blank. I AM comfort. I AM salvation. I AM encouragement. I AM victory. I AM.

And you just fill in the blank. He is whatever you need. Here in Genesis 15, he introduced himself to Abraham and he said, "I am thy shield, and I am thy exceeding great reward," because he knew that was what Abraham needed at that particular time. And that's what the Lord wants us to do. He wants us to be still and to know that he is God and that he is all we need. Well, that's all we have time for today. We'll continue this on the next program. Take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Ayello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. It's always good to have you with us as we look into God's word together. Now, let me tell you about our special offer. It's the compact disc, which includes all of the programs in this current series of studies on "The Christian's Greatest Discovery." Of course, the discovery we're talking about is the truth of the believer's security.

When we understand that salvation depends on Christ and his merits, rather than on ourselves and our merits, then we've taken the first step toward walking in true freedom. It's unfortunate that so many of us don't fully appreciate our security in Christ. We get bogged down in our spiritual lives because we never know from one minute to the next how we stand with God. That's why this teaching is so important.

We need to know that our standing before God doesn't fluctuate depending on how well we perform. All of our sins—past, present, and future—have been forgiven through the shed blood of the Messiah. His righteousness has been imputed to us. So we can know that we're saved. And that's what this series is all about. The title once again is "The Christian's Greatest Discovery," and it can be yours for a gift of just $6 or more to Messianic Perspectives.

Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to: Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397. Have you enjoyed this edition of Messianic Perspectives?

Why not continue to learn about the Jewish roots of your Christian faith by inviting a speaker from CJF Ministries? Call our toll-free number, 1-800-926-5397, and we'll be happy to handle all of the details. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Ayello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on "The Christian's Greatest Discovery," right here on Messianic Perspectives.