The Distinguishing Marks of True Sheep

The point: Conduct self-examination with honesty, using Scripture as the divinely inspired yardstick to evaluate the genuineness of your professed faith.

Martin uses the metaphors of 'divinely inspired yardsticks,' 'divinely given and divinely constructed mirrors,' 'weights and measurements' to describe the Scriptures as tools for evaluating the genuineness of professed faith, emphasizing the need for honesty.

Now as we seek this morning to open up specific Scriptures, which will I trust under the blessing of God be the divinely inspired yardsticks, the divinely given and divinely constructed mirrors, weights and measurements, whatever imagery you wish to use by which to evaluate the genuineness of our professed faith, may God help us to do so with the kind of honesty that will be forced upon us in the day of judgment. And we are going to do our first exercise in self-examination by focusing upon a portion

13:38 - 14:21 Read in full sermon

Driving home: So that the distinguishing mark of the true sheep of Christ is that they believe upon Christ as Christ has revealed Himself in His Word and in His works.

Martin quotes John Brown's principle that the marks of a true Christian are living in the faith of the gospel and living a lifestyle molded by that faith, reducing all evidences of grace to the outworking of the gospel's impress on the heart.

For as John Brown has so masterfully demonstrated in his excellent commentary on 2 Peter 1 on the text Make Your Calling and Election Sure, he states this very helpful principle that the marks of a true Christian are in reality basically this. They live in the faith of the gospel and they live a life style molded by that faith. One can reduce all of the evidences of being in a state of grace to that simple principle that they are the outworking

20:09 - 20:54 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The Lord Jesus not only sets before us the distinguishing mark of the true sheep of Christ they are believers the amazing privileges of the true sheep of Christ they are known by Him secure in Him but He gives the identi…

To explain the force of 'snatch' (arpazo), Martin describes a wolf sinking its fangs into a helpless sheep, rending its throat, and dragging it away dead, illustrating the violent danger from which Christ protects His sheep.

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and men of violence here is our verb take it by force. You see the concept here is that of forceful plundering. John 10 and verse 12 it speaks of the activity of the wolf. He that is a hireling and not a shepherd whose own the sheep are not beholds the wolf coming and leaves the sheep in fleas and the wolf here is our verb snatches them. What does the wolf do?

30:45 - 31:22 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There is an attachment to the person of the shepherd and could it be that that is the fundamental flaw in the professed faith of not a few of you there is no real attachment to the person of Christ no real attachment to …

Martin uses the analogy of sheep hearing the shepherd's voice and then following him, emphasizing that their attachment is to the person of the shepherd, not just his rules, to illustrate the difference between mere rule-keeping and a vital relationship with Christ.

to the word think of the analogy of the shepherd long before the sheep may see the shepherd coming over a hill behind the corner of a sheepfold they hear his voice they are all ears and when he goes before them they follow there is an attachment to the person of the shepherd and could it be that that is the fundamental flaw in the professed faith of not a few of you there is no real attachment to the person of Christ no real attachment to the shepherd himself

49:20 - 50:04 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There is an attachment to the person of the shepherd and could it be that that is the fundamental flaw in the professed faith of not a few of you there is no real attachment to the person of Christ no real attachment to …

Martin quotes J.C. Ryle's definition of 'following me' as obeying, trusting, and walking in the steps of the divine master, copying His example, and implicitly trusting His providential leadings, to clarify the comprehensive nature of true discipleship.

following me following me Ryle has a beautiful comment on what this means in particular he says they follow me this means that his people like sheep obey trust and walk in the steps of their divine master they follow him in holy obedience to his commandments they follow him striving to copy his example and they follow him in trusting implicitly his providential leadings going where he'd have them go and taking cheerfully all he appoints for them it is almost needless to remark that this description belongs to none but true Christians it did not belong to the Pharisees

50:48 - 51:33 Read in full sermon