The Believer's Security Blanket | Part 2

Guest (Male): We can rest assured that our salvation did not begin with us. Listen closely to Adrian Rogers.
Adrian Rogers: God has a sovereign purpose, but the reason that I'm so secure is that my salvation did not initiate with me. It initiated with God, and it is predestined that I'm going to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. He foreknew me, he predestined me, he called me, he justified me, he glorified me already in his sight. And so, our security blanket is this, God's sovereign purpose.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the profound truth of the gospel presented in the practical messages of Adrian Rogers. The book of Jude warns us of the apostasy that will take place in the last days in which many will turn away from the faith. But in part one of today's message, we learn that we do not have to live in fear of losing our salvation. If we're children of God, this faith has been committed to us. We are stewards of it, expected to speak up and contend for it. If you have your Bible, turn now to Jude verse one as Adrian Rogers shares part two of The Believer's Security Blanket.
Adrian Rogers: We're going to read together Jude verses one through four, all right? Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. Mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and to exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what God does here in this little book of Jude and through Jude is just to give to God's people a security blanket. He just wraps this book up in some verses that deal with security. The first verse and the last two verses deal with the security of the believer. That is, he just wraps it up in a little blanket that I want to call a security blanket. Why is this? Because, you see, when you read the book of Jude, if you're not careful, you just get to wondering if anybody's saved, even you. I mean, because Jude is so strong, this book is so powerful. When he speaks of the apostasy and the heresy of the falling away, you might get to thinking, well, maybe I could lose my salvation because Jude is going to talk about some who seem like they were once saved, but they lost their salvation. And I believe that Jude wants to make it very, very clear that once you are a child of God, once you're born again, once you're born of the spirit, once you've truly become a partaker of the divine nature, you can never ever again be a lost soul. Now, let's look at those verses. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. Three things Jude says about us that tells us about the security of the believer. The very first is this, we are called. We're called. Now, in this sentence, it's the last word, called. But it was put last in the Greek language for emphasis. Now, we put things first for emphasis. And so, some translators, and some of you have a more modern translation where the word called is the first word, because that's being fair. That is giving the English sense of what the Greek meant. This is the emphasis. It is the very first thing. And so, what is the first reason for my security and your security? God's sovereign purpose. Now, the word sovereign means the decree of a king, a ruler against whom there is no rising up. God has a purpose, and that purpose is seen in that God called you. Now, this word called here does not mean call like I call Paul and I say, hi Paul, come over here. No, no, no, no. The word called means an official summons. You see, your salvation did not begin with you. It began with God. If it began with you, you might lose it. But since it began with God, you can never lose it because the Bible says he is able to finish what he begins. And God called you. You see, had he not called us, none of us would have been here. We love him because he first loved us. Now, I want us to think a little bit about this word calling. It means something official. It reminds us of another verse right away, Romans chapter 8 and verses 28 through 30. Listen to it. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are the what's that next word? Called to those who are the called according to his purpose. Now, I'm talking about God's sovereign purpose. Are you listening? Those who are the called according to his purpose for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he, that is God's son, might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified. First of all, the Bible says here that God has foreknowledge. God knows the future as well as the past and the present. God has foreknowledge. And God knows things that will transpire as though they've already transpired. And so, God is the great omniscient God. Now, the Bible says when God foreknows that one whom he has set his affection upon shall come to him, he predestines that person to be like the Lord Jesus. So, whom God foreknows, them he also predestines. That is, it is determined ahead of time that you're going to be like the Lord Jesus, that you're going to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus. Now, when God foreknows and God predestines, then God calls. And God sends the gospel to that person so they can hear it, so they can believe it, so they can receive it. And so, God calls that person. Then the one that God calls, he justifies. Now, what does it mean to be justified? It means to be made like the Lord Jesus Christ and God makes you in his sight absolutely, totally righteous, justified by the grace of God. Somebody said just as if I had never sinned, justified. All right? And then those who he who are justified, the Bible says he has glorified, not will glorify, has glorified, because God lives in eternity. It's already done, friend. In God's mind, God sees you already glorified. You say, well, I don't think I understand all of that. I'm glad you don't because I don't either and I wouldn't want you to get ahead of me. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't have any confidence in a God I could understand. I am glad that there's some things about God that I don't understand. But dear friend, there are some things that we do know. And I'll tell you what we do know. That which has been settled in eternity cannot be undone in time. Amen? And that that has been decreed by heaven cannot be annulled by hell. God has called you. And those that God calls will come. Well, you say now, wait a minute. That's wonderful for those who are called, but maybe I'm not one of the called. What will I do, pastor? He doesn't call me. Hey, I've got good news for you. Do you want to come? You may. You say, that that's so wonderful. Let me give it to you in a verse. In John chapter 6 and verse 57, Jesus said, all that the Father hath given me will come to me, shall come to me. As a matter of fact, it's stronger. All that the Father hath given me shall come to me. They're coming. That's one of the exciting things about preaching the gospel. Folks, they're coming. All that the Father hath given me shall come to me. But now, listen to the second part of that verse. And him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. You want to come, come and he'll receive you. Isn't that beautiful? Anybody wants to come to the just get up and come. He will receive you. And the Bible says, hallelujah, whosoever will may come. Now, listen friend, that's true. God has a sovereign purpose. But the reason that I'm so secure is that my salvation did not initiate with me. It initiated with God and it is predestined that I'm going to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. He foreknew me, he predestined me, he called me, he justified me, he glorified me already in his sight. And so, our salvation number one is rooted. Our security blanket is this, God's sovereign purpose. Second reason. Not only God's sovereign purpose, but God's special people. Now, look again in verse one. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified. Look at that word sanctified. Bible scholars tell us that 's not the best translation. It should be rather than sanctified, it should be beloved. And some translations have it that way. Perhaps yours does. It is the same word that begins verse three, beloved. It's the same word. They're translated beloved. Now, sanctified is good, but beloved is better in this particular instance, because it tells something of the nature of God's special people. Now folks, God loves the lost, but the saved are his beloved. You say, well, what's the difference? Well, I want to tell you. See that young guy sitting there on the front row? I love him, but Joyce is my beloved. And there's a difference. And I like the difference. She is my beloved. She is special. Now, God loves the world, but friend, when we get saved, we are made accepted in the beloved. And who is the beloved? The Lord Jesus. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And we are accepted in him and therefore God sees us as God sees him and God's name for his own dear children. We are his special people. We are beloved. Now, this word beloved is what we call a perfect participle. What does that mean? What it means there's finished action in the past that has a result on the present. It is something that cannot be changed. It is fixed. It is settled. Because it is settled in the past, it affects us right now. We are God's beloved. Every now and then I'll say something profound and I'm about to do it and I want to warn you, okay? Now, listen. You're a child of God. Now, pay attention. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more. I want to tell you something else. There is nothing you can do that will make him love you less. He doesn't love us because we're valuable. We're valuable because he loves us. He doesn't change us so he can love us. He loves us so he can change us. He just loves us. He just loves us. We are his beloved. How much does he love us? John 17 verses 22 and 23. Jesus Christ is praying his high priestly prayer and he says to the Father, and the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that is my beloved, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know Now, listen to this. And that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Now folks, did you hear that? How does God love you as he loved Jesus? The same way thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me. God loves you as he loves the Lord Jesus. That's too much to take in, isn't it? That's the reason the apostle John in 1 John chapter 3 verse one got to thinking about this love. And he said, behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. Do you know why he said behold what manner of love? He was fishing for an adjective to describe that love. And he couldn't find one. And he he started to say, I suppose, behold what super love or what fantastic love or what colossal love or what spectacular love. He might have even thought of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious love. What love? And he couldn't find a word. I heard of an Indian who was sending a love message to his girlfriend by smoke signals. He had a little fire on one hill and she was way over there across the plain on the other hill. He was sending up little puffs of smoke trying to tell her how much he loved her. Was out in the desert when they were testing atomic bombs. About that time, he looked on the horizon and saw a tremendous mushroom cloud. He said, boy, I wish I had said that. That that's the way that's the way old John was. He's sending up little smoke signals. And there is this atomic bomb kind of love and he doesn't even know how to express it. So, he just simply says, behold what manner of love. And that word manner of love literally means what foreign kind of love is this? From another place, what kind of unearthly love? What other worldly love is this? What kind of non-human love is this? Behold what manner of love that we should be called the sons of God. And you want me to tell you another reason that Jude says that we're secure? Folks, we are in the beloved and God feels about us the same way he feels about the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that brings me to a wonderful verse, Romans chapter 8 verses 28 and 29. Listen to it. The apostle Paul said, for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. He didn't leave anything out there, folks. He mentions 10 strong enemies, death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, height, depth or any other creature. There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God. And nothing you can do to make him love you more, nothing you can do to make him love you less. You are in the beloved and God loves you as he loved the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a pretty good security blanket. Now, first of all, we've talked about God's sovereign purpose. You're called. Secondly, we've talked about God's special people. You are beloved. And then thirdly, I want you to think about God's strong power. You are preserved. Look here if you will. And preserved in Jesus Christ. Now, look at the word in. That's a dative and it it most likely means preserved by Jesus Christ. Either way you put it, in Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ or by Jesus Christ, all are tremendous truths. But the idea is that it is Jesus Christ who is doing the preserving. His strong power. You see, you know safer than the one who's keeping. This word preserved literally means kept. Kept. And it has the idea not of a guard who's keeping a prison, but it has the idea of a mother who's watching over a little baby with tender loving care. Now, if you are a baby and your mother's taking care of you, where is the source of your security? In you or in the one who's taking care of you? You see, listen. Pay attention. Your security is no better than the one who's making you secure. Isn't that true? Now, if you're kept by Jesus Christ, do you think you're secure? You see, do you think he's going to lose him? That's the reason he said in John chapter 10 verses 28 and 30, and I give unto them talking about his own beloved, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. Out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. You're in better hands than all state friend. You're in his hand. You're in his hand. It is not that you keep your salvation. It is that he keeps you. You are preserved by Jesus Christ. And to feel insecure is really to doubt him. Let me give you some other scriptures. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 18, and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom. Who delivers us? The Lord. Who preserves us? The Lord. 2 Timothy 1 12. For the which cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him. Not I'm persuaded that I'm going to hold out faithful to the end. I know whom I have believed, not in whom. I just know whom. Paul didn't know about Jesus. He knew Jesus. I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Now, the Lord Jesus prayed in John chapter 17 and verse 15 to the Father concerning us. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. Did Jesus ever pray out of the will of God? Of course not. Did he ever pray a prayer that wasn't answered? Of course not. He said, Father, I thank you that you always hear me. And Jesus prayed, Father, keep. And that prayer is an answered prayer. And so, look how Jude brings the blanket around at the tail end of the book. Now, here the first part of the book, that's one side of the blanket. Now, at the tail end of the book. Look how he sums it up in verse 24. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling. Do you see that? Who keeps you from falling? You? No. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God and our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and ever. Amen. You see dear friend, listen. When you put the two of these truths that we've learned together, you're going to see something tremendous. On the one hand is God's fathomless love. He loves us as he loves the Lord Jesus. We're in the beloved. On the other side is God's unlimited power. He has glory and majesty and dominion and power. Now, when you put that love and that power together, do you see why we're secure? Now, I would do anything I could do to protect one of my children, but I'm only human. I would do anything I could do to keep one of my children from perishing, but I'm only human. But God has a love that makes my love for my children pale and insignificance. He has that kind of love for you. And God has tremendous power. He's able to keep you from falling. Well, you say, well then if I believe that doctrine of once saved, always saved, I just get saved and sin all I want to. Well, I sin all I want to. I sin more than I want to. I don't want to. If you still want to, you've never been saved. You better get your want fixed or you need a new want. You need to be born again. I want you to see the man who wrote this book. His name was Jude. And he described himself, Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ in verse one. A servant. And the word that he used is the Greek word doulos, which means a bond slave. We call it translated sounds a little nicer, a servant of Jesus Christ, but what it literally means is a bond slave of Jesus Christ. Now, let me tell you about a bond slave. A bond slave had no personal possessions and no personal rights. I mean, he if his master wanted to, he had to die for his master. He was a man under orders. Now, Jude was that kind of a man. Jude believed in eternal security, but it did not make him a rebel. It made him a bond slave of Jesus Christ. Amen? This kind of security doesn't make you want to sin. It is a great, great, great impetus to holiness. Now, you pay attention to me. The same God who saves you is the God who will keep you. If you want to be saved today, I promise you on the authority of the word of God that if you come to him, he'll not cast you out and he will receive you. And if he receives you, he will keep you. What a security blanket we're wrapped up in. Hallelujah.
Guest (Male): Maybe you're listening today and you've never trusted in what Jesus did for you and you'd like to come into a saving relationship with him right now. Would you pray with me something like this from your heart? Oh God in heaven, I'm a sinner. I know that. I'm separated from you because you're holy and I'm not. But you sent Jesus to live a perfect life, a sinless life and die in my place on the cross. So now, I place my full trust and hope in what he did for me. Come into my life. Change me from the inside out. I claim you today as my Savior and Lord in Jesus' name. Amen. If you pray a prayer like that to receive Jesus Christ, let us celebrate with you. Go to our website and find our find God's love page. There are answers that you may need about your new found faith. Go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says find God's love. Welcome to the family of God. We can't wait to hear from you today.
Carrie Vaughn: Hi, this is Carrie 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 Love God. That's 1 877 Love God. Or write to us at Love Worth Finding, box 38-600 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. Additionally, you can sign up for daily emails, donate to the ministry and learn more about how to become an ambassador of the word. Thank you so much for listening today. Be sure to join us next time for more profound truths simply stated right here on Love Worth Finding.
Guest (Male): What is real thankfulness? Listen to Adrian Rogers.
Adrian Rogers: Real thankfulness is just a vision of the sovereignty of God. To understand that God is God, he is working all things together for his glory and for our good, whether we can see it or not.
Guest (Male): During this Thanksgiving season, reflect on why gratitude matters, what gratitude does for the believer, how to express gratitude and more with Thanksgiving Grace, a 30-day devotional on gratitude from the Thanksgiving messages of Adrian Rogers. For your gift to the ministry this month, we'd love to send you this new holiday resource. Request it when you call with a gift at 1 877 Love God. 1 877 568 3463 or give online at lwf.org/radio. Turn your Thanksgiving into thanks living. Call or go online today.