114 Sermon Illustrations on Assurance of Salvation

Frances Havergal, the songwriter, lived and moved in the Word of God. His Word was her constant companion. On the last day of her life, she asked a friend to read to her the second chapter of Isaiah. When the friend read the sixth verse, "I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee," Miss Havergal stopped her. She whispered, "Called-held-kept. I can go home on that!" And she did go home on that. She found His promises unfailing.

There were two brethren who differed on the question of the believer's safety in Christ. They were discussing the question, and one said to the other: "I'll tell you, a child of God is safe only so long as he stays in the lifeboat. He may jump out, and if he jumps out he is lost." To this the other replied, saying: "You remind me of an incident in my own life. I took my little son out with me in a boat. I realized, as he did not, the danger of his falling or even jumping into the water. So I sat with him all the time, and all the time I held him fast, so he could neither fall out nor jump out of the boat." "But," said the first speaker, "he could have wriggled out of his coat and got away in spite of you." "Oh," said the other, "you misunderstood me if you supposed I was holding his coat; I was holding him."

Nothing disqualifies us for doing God's work more than a doubt as to our salvation. Mr. Moody used to illustrate this by saying: "If I were in the river, and I didn't have a firm grip on something, I couldn't help anybody. I've got to get a good hold for myself before I can help someone else." There is no liberty, peace, rest, joy, or power until we have assurance. Not a Dying Thief but a Living Thief A minister was talking to a man who professed conversion. "Have you united with a church?" he asked him. "No, the dying thief never united with a church and he went to heaven," was the answer. "Have you ever sat at the Lord's table?" "No, the dying thief never did and he was accepted." "Have you been baptized?" "No, the dying thief was never baptized and he went to heaven." "Have you given to missions?" "No, the dying thief did not, and he was not judged for it." "Well, my friend, the difference between you two seems to be that he was a dying thief and you are a living thief." The Cross of Christ-Key to Salvation A little girl once begged a famous preacher to visit her dying mother. "Come and get my mother in," she pleaded. He followed the girl to a slum tenement, and sitting by the mother's bed began to speak of the beautiful example of Christ. But the woman interrupted him saying, "That's no good, mister, no good for the likes of me. I'm a poor sinner and I'm dying!" He was one of those preachers who did not think it proper to speak of the cross and the blood of Christ. But he remembered the simple story of Jesus dying on the cross, which he had heard from his mother, and he explained it all to the woman. "Now," she cried, "you're getting at it! That's the story for me!" The minister said afterward, "The gospel message got her in, and got me in, too!" That's the message that can bring salvation-the cross of Christ. The Bridge of Repentance and Pardon Across the River Zambesi, below the Victoria Falls, is a bridge which spans the widest chasm and overlooks the most terrific turmoil of waters to be seen on any river in the world. That bridge was made by building out an arm from either shore and uniting the two outstretched arms in the center above the roaring stream. Neither arm could have reached the opposite bank by itself; the two were needed to meet each other. Such are repentance and pardon which form the bridge across that tumultuous stream and those stupendous falls which separate the soul from God. At first one is inclined to say, "Why cannot the bridge of pardon be thrown over exclusively from God's side?" Perhaps others are tempted to say, "Surely the bridge of repentance will span the chasm and bring the soul to the unregarding God." But no, the truth lies here: pardon without repentance is impossible, and repentance without pardon is useless. When repentance and pardon meet, the soul is joined with God.

In John 1:16, the verb elabomen, "we received," has an active sense. It means "to take, to take hold of, to seize." This always indicates man's part in the process of his salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ. It should never be thought that man either merits this salvation or takes the initiative in its process. It is as if I had a piece of candy to offer to my child. It is my offering that prompts his receiving. My little boy would not say, "Daddy, give me that," if "that" were not there. Or here is a spring of water; I am thirsty. I can take a cup and fill it with water to satisfy my thirst. My cup would be absolutely useless if there were no possibility of getting it filled. Or I am sick; medicine is available which the doctor prescribes for me. It is up to me to take it or leave it, and my choice would determine the consequences. But I, the patient, could never boast that it was my receiving the medicine that cured me. My receiving was actually nothing more than an active passivity-obedience and submission to the doctor's advice. No man, therefore, who is given the privilege of receiving of the fullness of God in Christ can boast of it, for without the offering and the giving there would have been no receiving. But, on the other hand, the offering and the giving would do a man no good if he did not receive it.

A young woman asked me to tell her in a few words how she could know if she was really a Christian. I said: "If you are a Christian you are not afraid of the light because you live in it. You no longer run after sin, though it may run after you. When you belong to Christ, you will find it difficult to sin; but when you belong to Satan you will find it easy. You belong to the one whom you truly long to please." The Truth Is Dynamite A. W. Tozer says: "The truth received in power shifts the basis of life from Adam to Christ, and a new set of motives goes to work within the soul. A new and different Spirit enters the personality and makes the believing man new in every department of his being. His interests shift from things external to things eternal, from things on earth to things in heaven. He loses faith in the soundness of external values; he sees clearly the deceptiveness of outward appearances; his love for and confidence in the unseen and eternal world become stronger as his experience widens.... The gulf between theory and practice is so great as to be terrifying.... Wherever the Word comes without power, its essential content is missed." A New Stomach One time a former drunkard was praising God for taking away all his appetite for liquor. A physician argued with him, saying that he would have to have a new stomach in order to have the appetite for liquor removed. "Praise God!" said the former drunkard. "I knew I had a new heart, but this is the first time I knew I had a new stomach!" "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous in this generation.” Genesis 7:1

Noah, like Abraham, is a very striking example of one who has been declared righteous because of his faith. It was faith that led him to prepare an ark for the saving of his house, when there seemed no evidence of a coming flood. It was faith that led him to obey God and enter that ark, with all his family, when commanded to do so by God. Inside the ark all were secure until the deluge was over. They were kept by omnipotent power. The ark bore all the brunt of the storm. Noah and his household were shut in by God, who had Himself closed the door. The same hand that shut them in shut all the unbelieving antediluvian world outside. The ark was a type of Christ. All who are in Christ are eternally secure.

Suppose when the ark was completed God had said, “Now, Noah, go and get eight large, strong spikes and drive them into the side of the ark.” Imagine Noah procuring these spikes and doing as commanded. Then when each spike was securely fastened, let us presume that God said, “Come thou and all thy house and take hold of these spikes, and all who hang on to the end of the flood will be saved.” How long do you think Noah and the, rest would have been secure?

I can imagine each one taking hold of a spike — then the waters rising as the rain poured down. In a few minutes they would have been soaked to the skin. Then think of the terrific strain on joints and muscles as the ark was lifted from the earth and began its perilous voyage through the raging waters. I think I hear Noah calling to his wife, “Mother, how is it going; is all well?”

And she calls back, “I’m holding on. Do pray for me that I may be able to hold out to the end!”

Soon poor Mrs. Ham would cry out, “It’s no use, can’t hang on any longer. I am going to backslide.” And she would let go and be swept away by the flood. How long do you suppose it would be before every one of them would be obliged to let go and so go down to death?

Thank God, that is not a true picture of His salvation. He is not calling men to hang on to Christ. But just as Noah entered into the ark and found there perfect security, so every believer is in Christ and saved for eternity. It is not a question of our ability to hang on, but of Christ’s ability to carry us safely through to the glory. He who has begun the good work in us will perfect it until the day of manifestation.

Possessing Our Possessions

“But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.” Obadiah 1:17

While God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, many Christians fail woefully when it comes to the enjoyment of those things which are ours by divine bequeathment. Many of us have never really explored the good land which the grace of God has opened up to us.

All of Canaan was given to Israel by God before they ever set foot upon it, but, as they were about to enter under Joshua, He told them that every place that the sole of their feet should tread on should be theirs. As they went through the length and breadth and found out for themselves what God had given them, they took possession of city after city and district after district, but never until the balmy days of King Solomon did they really possess it in all its fullness. They soon lost their hold on it, however, because of sin and unbelief, but Obadiah tells us that, in a future day, the House of Israel shall possess their possessions.

That will be when the Lord Jesus Christ reigns in glory on this earth and Israel will be restored to God. For us as Christians there is a great lesson in all this, a lesson which we have been slow to learn, and that to our own great loss.

The story is told of a man who obtained by inheritance a beautiful country estate. As he lived in the city he thought it best to dispose of this estate and use the money he would obtain from it in some other way. Getting in touch with a widely known real estate firm, he instructed them to go out and make a careful examination of the house, outbuildings, and the land belonging to the estate, and write it up in such a way as to make it seem attractive to anyone who was looking for a home in the country. When all his instruction had been carried out, a representative of the firm brought in the draft of the advertisement, which they intended to insert in various papers. In this ad, the old home was described in glowing terms: the beautiful porches, the large hallway, the circular staircase, the drawing rooms, living rooms and sleeping apartments, and all the different appointments which made for a perfect country home. The billowing lawns, trees, shrubbery, gardens and contiguous farming ground were also pictured in language calculated to arouse the interest of anyone who desired such a country estate.

As the agent read the description, the owner of the estate listened carefully, making no comment. At the close, the agent inquired, “What do you think of that? That ought to sell it, do you not think so?”

The owner replied, “Well to be frank, I have changed my mind; I have decided not to sell. I have wanted a place like that all my life and I had no idea that this estate was just exactly what I have been longing for. Your description has shown me what a fool I would be to part with it. So I will pay you for the work you have done, but you need not make any effort to sell it; I will live there myself.”

Doubtless, the agent was disappointed as he saw a large fee disappearing, but the owner had learned the value of his possessions and soon moved in and enjoyed what he had been so ready before to pass on to someone else.

Are not many of us like this man? In God’s Word we have unfolded for us the riches of our inheritance in Christ, and yet we fail to enter into and enjoy that which has been purchased for us at such a cost.

One thing I know--I cannot speak for others, but can speak for myself; I cannot read other minds and other hearts; I cannot read the Bible and lay hold for others; but I can read for myself, and take God at his word. The great trouble is that people take everything in general, and do not take it to themselves. Suppose a man should say to me, "Moody, there was a man in Europe who died last week, and left five million dollars to a certain individual." "Well," I say, "I don't doubt that; it's rather a common thing to happen," and I don't think anything more about it. But suppose he says, "But he left the money to you." Then I pay attention; I say, "To me?" "Yes, he left it to you." I become suddenly interested. I want to know all about it. So we are apt to think Christ died for sinners; He died for everybody, and for nobody in particular. But when the truth comes to me that eternal life is mine, and all the glories of Heaven are mine, I begin to be interested. I say, "Where is the chapter and verse where it says I can be saved?" If I put myself among sinners, I take the place of the sinner, then it is that salvation is mine and I am sure of it for time and eternity.

Suppose a man is going to Cincinnati, and he gets on the cars, but he feels uneasy lest, the train will take him to St. Louis instead of his destination. He will not rest till he knows he is on the right road, and the idea that we are on the road to eternity as fast as time can take us, and do not know our destination, is contrary to Scripture. If we want peace we must know it, and we can know it; it is the Word of God. Look what Peter says: "We know we have an incorruptible dwelling." Then in Paul's epistle to the Colossians, i., 12, "Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet"--hath made us, not going to--"to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who hath delivered us"--not going to deliver us, but He hath delivered us: this is an assurance--"from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son."

There is no doubt about assurance in the Word of God. A person said to me some time ago: "I think it is great presumption for a person to say she is saved." I asked her if she was saved. "I belong to a church," she sobbed. "But are you saved?" "I believe it would be presumption in me to say that I was saved." "Well I think it is a greater presumption for anyone to say: 'I don't know if I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because it is written, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.'" It is clearly stated that we have assurance.

The man of God who has fixed his feet on the rock of salvation can say with certainty, "I know." If you have not got assurance and want it, just believe God's Word. If you go down South and ask those three million colored people how they think they are free, they won't talk about their feelings; they just believe that Abraham Lincoln made them free. They believe the proclamation, and so we must believe the proclamation God has made in the Bible. "One thing thou teachest," that is salvation.

The Journey To Emmaus; Gustave Dore. Luke xxiv, 13-32

Jesus Questioning The Doctors; Gustave Dore. Luke ii, 41-51

Well, let me illustrate it then, and perhaps you will be able to understand it. Suppose I am dying with consumption; which I inherited from my father or mother. I did not get it by any fault of my own, by any neglect of my health; I inherited it, let us suppose. Well, I go to my physician, and to the best physicians, and they all give me up. They say I am incurable; I must die; I have not thirty days to live. Well, a friend happens to come along and looks at me and says: "Moody, you have got the consumption." "I know it very well; I don't want any one to tell me that." "But," he says, "There is a remedy--a remedy, I tell you. Let me have your attention. I want to call your attention to it. I tell you there is a remedy." "But sir, I don't believe it. I have tried the leading physicians in this country and in Europe, and they tell me there is no hope." "But you know me, Moody; you have known me for years." "Yes, sir." "Do you think, then, I would tell you a falsehood?" "No." "Well, ten years ago I was far gone. I was given up by the physicians to die, but I took this medicine and it cured me, I am perfectly well--look at me;" I say that it is a very strange case. "Yes, it may be strange, but it is a fact. That medicine cured me; take this medicine and it will cure you. Although it has cost me a great deal, it shall not cost you anything. Although the salvation of Jesus Christ is as free as the air, it cost God the richest jewel of heaven. He had to give his only Son; give all He had; He had only one Son, and He gave Him. Do not make light of it, then, I beg of you." "Well" I say, "I would like to believe you, but this is contrary to my reason." Hearing this, my friend goes away and brings another friend to me and he testifies to the same thing. He again goes away when I do not yet believe, and brings in another, and another; and another, and they all testify to the same thing. They say they were as bad as myself; and they took the same medicine that has been offered to me, and it cured them. He then hands me the medicine. I dash it to the ground; I do not believe in its saving power: I die. The reason is, then, that I spurned the remedy.

So it will not be because Adam fell, but that you spurn the remedy offered to you to save you. You will have darkness rather than light. How, then, shall ye escape if ye neglect so great salvation? There is no hope for you if you neglect the remedy.

A man was once being tried for a crime, the punishment of which was death. The witnesses came in one by one and testified to his guilt; but there he stood, quite calm and unmoved. The judge and the jury were quite surprised at his indifference; they could not understand how he could take such a serious matter so calmly. When the jury retired, it did not take them many minutes to decide on a verdict "Guilty;" and when the judge was passing the sentence of death upon the criminal he told him how surprised he was that he could be so unmoved in the prospect of death. When the judge had finished, the man put his hand in his bosom, pulled out a document, and walked out of the dock a free man. Ah, that was how he could be so calm; it was a free pardon from his king, which he had in his pocket all the time. The king had instructed him to allow the trial to proceed, and to produce the pardon only when he was condemned. No wonder, then, that he was indifferent as to the result of the trial. Now that is just what will make us joyful in the great day of judgment: we have got a pardon from the Great King, and it is sealed with the blood of His Son.

"'The earth is never the more unsettled because to giddy brains it seemeth to run round.' Even so the salvation of the saints is sure, though to their trembling hearts it may seem to be in terrible jeopardy. A passenger on crossing the Channel is none the less in safety because he himself feels ready to give up the ghost with the nausea brought on by the rolling of the vessel. Our feelings are poor judges of facts. Some who felt sure of heaven are now in hell, and others who had almost lost hope are now glorified in heaven. My brain may whirl and make me think all things are running round, and yet I know those very things to be steadfast as the hills, and therefore I do not believe my feelings, but trust the facts; and so, when my poor silly heart imagines that the eternal promises will fail, I must chide its folly, and fall back upon the everlasting verities. Yes, Lord, thou art immovable and immutable! This I know of a surety. Therefore give me grace never to doubt thee, or to distrust thy faithfulness to all those who put their trust in thee.

"* I remember one of the fathers bringeth in the flesh, saying of believers, 'Ego deficiam, I will surely fail them and make them miscarry; and the world, Ego decipiam, I will deceive them and entice them; and Satan, Ego eripiam, I will snatch them and carry them away; but God saith, Ego custodiam, I will keep them, I will never fail them nor forsake them." Here lieth our safety and security." In other words, the flesh saith, "I will deceive;" the world, "I will defile;" the devil, "I will destroy;" but the Lord saith, "I will defend"; and that one word of God takes the sting from all the rest. The flesh is as a drawn sword, the world as a sharp spear, and Satan as a poisoned arrow; but the Lord God is a shield, and this baffles all. The flesh is much, the world is more, and Satan is most of all; but God is all in all. The flesh must die, the world must pass away, Satan must be overthrown; but the word of our God abideth for ever; and as the word of God is the life of the saints, they shall also abide world without end. What a rest this affords us when we are looking out of the windows of the future! The Lord will be our succour in the days to come!

"Olivian, when dying, comforted himself with that promise, (Isa. liv. 10,) 'The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee.' Being in the agonies of death, he said, 'Sight is gone, speech and hearing are departing, feeling is almost gone, but the lovingkindness of God will never depart.' The Lord give us such a confidence in that day that we may die glorying in the preservation of our Redeemer." To this end let us live in the like assurance. It is certain that God can never leave those who put their trust in him, and it becomes us to be certain of this certainty. The security of the saints is grounded, not upon their own faithfulness, but upon the faithfulness of him to whose keeping they have committed their souls. If the Lord can depart from his people they will assuredly depart from him and perish; their comfort is that he has said in his covenant, "I will put my fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart from me." Our soul may live and die on this one sure promise.

"As a man falling into a river espieth a bough of a tree, and catches at it with all his might, and as soon as he hath fast hold of it he is safe, though troubles and fears do not presently vanish out of his mind; so the soul, espying Christ as the only means to save him, and reaching out the hand to him, is safe, though it be not presently quieted and pacified. The soul's grasp of Jesus saves even when it does not comfort. If we touch the hem of his garment we are healed of our deadly disease, though our heart may still be full of trembling. We may be in consternation, but we cannot be under condemnation if we have believed in Jesus; even as the man who has grasped the branch may be wetted, but cannot be drowned. Safety is one thing, and assurance of it is another. Whether the believer in Christ Jesus is able to rejoice in his safety, or is still under bondage to fear, the word of the Lord standeth true beyond all question—‘He that believeth in him hath everlasting life.’

THE COIN AND THE PRINCE. "In the Scriptures there is a draught of God, but in Christ there is God himself. A coin bears the image of Caesar, but Caesar’s son is his lively resemblance. Christ is the living Bible." We rightly call the Scriptures "The Word of God," and yet in the deepest and truest sense Christ only is "THE WORD." What reverence, then, is due to him, and how important it is that we get beyond all the outward signs and symbols of religion, and even beyond the letter of Scripture, to the person of the Son of God himself. His promise of rest is to those who come to Himself,—“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden"; for it is in himself that the divine power is centred. He tells us, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father"; but the eye of the mind has never yet beheld the glory of God, or known him in any true sense until it has gazed upon Immanuel, God with us; for he alone is “the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person.” God is in every covenant blessing, but not as he is in Christ, for "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." A man had better have the prince for a friend than possess a thousand images of the king his father upon gold and silver; and so it is a happier thing for us to know that Christ is ours than to possess all other blessings, however much of God there may be about them. "Christ is all," and he is more than all. To his people he is all in all, for such is God. My soul, let this endear Jesus to thee beyond all else, and let it make thee urgent and eager to draw very near to him. Here lies thy way to God, for God is in him, and nowhere else canst thou ever find him. What a happy thing for thee that thy God, thy heaven, thy all, are treasured up in one so accessible to thee as thy Mediator and Friend.

Latimer writes to Ridley, "When I live in a settled and steadfast assurance about the state of my soul, unethinks I am as bold as a lion; I can laugh at all trouble; no affliction daunts me: but, when I am eclipsed in my comforts, I am of so fearful a spirit, that I could run into a very mouse-hole."

The Church of Rome denounces assurance in the most unmeasured terms; the Council of Trent declares roundly, that "a believer's assurance of the pardon of his sins is a vain and ungodly confidence;" and Cardinal Bellarmine calls it "a prime error of heretics." Ryle.

I would not give one straw for that assurance that sin will not damp. If David had come to me in his adultery, and had talked to me of his assurance, I should have despised his speech.

— John Newton

It is mentioned, that, in the time of that Marian persecution, there was a woman, who being convened before Bonner, upon the trial of religion, he threatened her that he would take away her husband from her. Saith she, "Christ is my husband." "I will take away thy child."—"Christ," saith she, "is better to me than ten sons."—"I will strip thee," saith he, "of all thy outward comforts."—"Yea, but Christ is mine," saith she, "and you cannot strip me of him." The thoughts of this bore up the woman's heart; spoil her of all, and take away all, yet Christ was hers, and him they could not take away.

— Spencer

Our hope is not hung upon such untwisted thread as "I imagine so," or "It is likely;" but the cable, the strong rope of our fastened anchor, is the oath and promise of Him who is eternal verity: our salvation is fastened with God's own hand and Christ's own strength to the strong stake of God's unchanging nature. Rutherford.

As in a walk that is shaded with trees and checkered with light and shadow, some tracts and paths in it are dark, and others are sunshine, such is usually the life of the most assured Christian. Sometimes he walks in the light of God's countenance, and rejoices in the smiles of his favor; and, at other times, he walks in darkness and can see no light; he steps out of the bright manifestations of God's love into the umbrages of sad and cloudy apprehensions concerning his present state of grace and his present state of glory. Ep. Hopkins.

The freedmen exhibited a great desire to learn to read and write. One old uncle desired to learn to read, that he might read the Bible, but cared nothing about writing. When first able to spell out the words, he studied out the verse, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." In the midst of the verse, his feelings overcame him, and he said, "Is dis ra'al? Is dis de sure-nuff word ob do Lord?"—"No doubt about it," said his teacher. "And uncle readin' it for hisself!" When he had finished reading the verse, he said, "Now, if old uncle dies, he kin go up dar, and tell de good Lord Jesus dat he read in his own book, 'Whomsumever bliebes on him sha'n't perish, but hab eberlastin' life; and de Lord knows dat Uncle Sam bliebes on'm, and he read it for hisself in his own book."

During a sabbath-morning service, a gentleman observed his little boy persistently holding his fingers in his ears. Surprised, he asked, "Charlie, why do you do so?" — "Why," said he, "Mr. Earle made us all cry in Sunday school, this morning, and I don't want to cry here in church: so I am not going to hear what he says." Looking around him, however, and seeing nobody seemed to be crying, he removed his fingers from his ears. Just then, Mr. Earle asked if all would be willing to have a plain broad seal put upon their forehead, so that, wherever they went, every one could see it, and learn that they were Christians. This arrested the attention of the little boy; and he whispered, "Father, what is a Christian?" The unconverted father replied as best he could. The little boy looked searchingly into his father's forehead, and asked, "Father, are you a Christian? I don't see any seal on your forehead." The question sped straight to his heart as an arrow of conviction: he knew not what to reply. He determined not to yield to his convictions; took his usual Sunday pleasure-drive: but all zest was gone, for his little boy's sermon was rankling in his bosom, and his eyes went constantly to the forehead of every one he passed in search of the "seal." His convictions grew stronger, he sought pardon, and was soon rejoicing in hope.

The testimony of a good conscience will make the comforts of heaven descend upon man's weary head, like a refreshing dew or shower upon a parched land; it will give him lively earnest and secret anticipations of approaching joy; it will bid his soul go out of the body undauntedly, and lift up his head with confidence before saints and angels. The comfort which it conveys is greater than the capacities of mortality can appreciate, mighty and unspeakable, and not to be understood till it is felt. Dr. South.