Explicit Assertions from Scripture

Driving home: The great question that presses in upon the mind of everyone who takes this doctrine seriously, is this, is it possible that after all of the struggle, all of the warfare, all of the denial of self, and all of the confli…

Martin quotes Augustus Toplady's hymn 'A Debtor to Mercy Alone' ('Yes, I to the end shall endure, as sure as the promise is given, more happy, but not more secure, the glorified spirits in heaven') to introduce the theme of the certainty of perseverance and question whether it is pious presumption or well-grounded faith.

The ultimate result of that battle, when the hymn writer wrote, Yes, I to the end shall endure, as sure as the promise is given, more happy, but not more secure, the glorified spirits in heaven. Was that just pious presumption? Or was that intelligent, well-grounded, biblical faith penning those words, Yes, I to the end shall endure? The saints in heaven may be more happy than I, but not one whit more secure.

3:25 - 4:03 Read in full sermon

Driving home: In other words, I am not talking this morning about the wicked doctrine of an unconditional security of salvation.

Martin quotes Baptist theologian J.L. Dagg to clarify that the doctrine of perseverance means God's people will persevere in the struggle, not obtain the crown without it, guarding against misinterpretations of unconditional security.

But it is not unconditional. It is a preservation and perseverance to be realized in the believing, obedient use of the means ordained of God for our preservation and perseverance. The old Baptist theologian J.L. Dagg, addressing himself to this very caution, writes, The old Baptist theologian J.L. Dagg, addressing himself to this very caution, writes, They who understand the doctrine of perseverance to imply that God's people will obtain the crown without the struggle, totally mistake the matter. The doctrine is that God's people will persevere in the struggle.

6:30 - 7:14 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Here is one of the most bold assertions of the certainty of preservation and perseverance to be found anywhere in the Word of God.

Goodness and mercy are poetically described as 'two watchdogs that are constantly attending the shepherd and his sheep,' illustrating God's constant care and provision for His people.

And here we have the summarizing statement in verse 6. Surely in the light of the fundamental fact that Jehovah is my shepherd, and I shall lack no good thing, surely in the light of what he does for me in this life, goodness and mercy, loving kindness, and mercy, and mercy, and mercy, and mercy, and mercy, and mercy. Kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. Someone has poetically called these the two watchdogs that are constantly attending the shepherd and his sheep. Goodness and mercy. And wherever the shepherd is with his sheep, there his sheep dogs are present. Goodness and loving...

13:22 - 14:21 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Proverbs 4 contrasts the path of the wicked with the path of the righteous, asserting that 'the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, that shineth more and more unto the…

Martin recounts a trip with his wife where they observed the sunrise, using the gradual, certain ascent of the sun to its zenith as an analogy for the path of the righteous, which 'shines more and more unto the perfect day'.

It is perpendicular. It's a picture of the sun rising to its zenith when in that sense it is perpendicular to the surface of the earth. And he says the way of the righteous is just like the sun in its course. Last Tuesday, when Mrs. Martin and I had to make that sad journey to Carlisle for the funeral of Bill Wenger Jr, we had to leave early in the morning. And one of the delights of that early trip was to see the sunrise we left with our lights on and it was dark and we needed them but it wasn't long before the first rays of the sun began to come up long before we could see the sun and then t...

18:43 - 19:48 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Despite his immense suffering and limited revelation, Job's testimony in Job 17 declares, 'the righteous shall hold on his way; and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and…

The 'clever little formulas' of Job's friends ('Righteous men are blessed. Hypocrites and wicked men suffer. Job you profess to be righteous. You suffer. Therefore you must be a hypocrite.') are used as an example of flawed theology that failed to comfort Job.

That we have. Here Job is suffering. And he doesn't know why. And all his friends think they know why.

27:26 - 27:34 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Despite his immense suffering and limited revelation, Job's testimony in Job 17 declares, 'the righteous shall hold on his way; and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and…

Job's wife's counsel to 'Curse God and die' is presented as an example of unhelpful and ungodly advice in the midst of suffering.

Is breathing in his ears. Curse God and die. That's the counsel he gets from his wife. Yet in the midst of this.

28:09 - 28:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish. None shall pluck them out of my hand. And it's only the desperation of a bad cause when people say, yes, but the sheep can jump out of His hand.

Martin addresses the common objection to John 10:28-29, where some suggest sheep can 'jump out of His hand,' countering it by referencing Jeremiah's promise that God puts His fear in their hearts so they will not depart.

None shall pluck them out of my hand. And it's only the desperation of a bad cause when people say, yes, but the sheep can jump out of His hand. And I've actually heard Paul's responsible Bible teachers make that assertion. Jesus doesn't say what will happen if the sheep decide to jump out of His hand.

38:58 - 39:18 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Romans 8:28-30, the 'golden chain' of God's saving purpose, demonstrates an unbroken progression from foreknowledge to glorification, asserting that all whom God foreknew, called…

Romans 8:28-30 is described as 'the golden chain of God's gracious saving purpose,' with links embedded in eternity past and future, illustrating the unbroken and infallible nature of God's plan for His people.

to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren and whom he foreordained them he also called and whom he called them he also justified and whom he justified them he also glorified now if you've been around the christian faith very long sooner or later you heard that this text is often called the golden chain of god's gracious saving purpose for his own and it is just that and it is an unusual and it is an unusual chain in that the initial link on one end of the chain is embedded in eternity past and the final link of that chain is embedded if i may use the terminolog...

42:02 - 43:28 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And here is that golden chain unbroken because according to verse 31, it is the living God who has forged that chain.

Martin argues that if even one justified soul does not persevere, the 'golden chain has been broken,' highlighting the logical consequence of denying the certainty of perseverance.

Well, you see, if there is but one soul who comes to the justified state and does not persevere and is not preserved, then this golden chain has been broken. And if it can happen for one, why not two? And if for two, why not twenty? And if for twenty, why not a million?

46:43 - 47:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Paul's joy and confidence in Philippians 1:6 stem from his assurance that 'He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ,' highlighting God's…

Martin questions how a gospel minister could have joy if the work of the gospel were so 'tenuous' that a whole church could come to naught, illustrating the necessity of certainty in preservation for ministerial joy.

For your fellowship in the furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now, he gives thanks to God for all that he's known in this koinonia, this true communion of heart and effort and tears and desire for the spread of the gospel from the first time that he came to Philippi and God was pleased to draw many of them into fellowship with the Lord Jesus and with his servant through the gospel. He said, I make my supplication with joy for your fellowship in the furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now. But how could there be joy if there was any question about the ultimate des...

48:48 - 50:09 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: 1 Peter 1:3-5 asserts the certainty of preservation by describing an 'inheritance incorruptible... reserved in heaven' and believers 'who by the power of God are guarded through…

A real-life incident of a home burning down the day after closing is used to illustrate the futility of an inheritance without the certainty of being preserved to inherit it, emphasizing the need for both the inheritance and the inheritor to be preserved.

One of our members told me of an incident that happened this is real life incident just two weeks ago he assisted someone in the closing on a home on a Friday the next morning the home was burned to the ground their inheritance was a pile of ashes because they had no power to reserve the inheritance now the house may have stood and they could have died Saturday morning no assurance that they could be preserved to inherit the inheritance so you see there must be the preservation of the inheritor and the preservation of the inheritance well God says I'll take care of the inheritance it's there i...

53:17 - 54:46 Read in full sermon