Real Christianity #111： How Can You Know if You Really Know God？
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Summary
In this episode, Pastor Dale answers the question, "Do you know God?" from Kristina in Helena, Montana. How can Christians be sure that they truly know God, and will not hear the words, "I never knew you." from Jesus?
Transcript
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Welcome to this episode of Real Christianity. My name is Dale Partridge, where each week I
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offer 15 to 20-minute answers to tough theological and pastoral questions. This show is a 100%
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listener-supported audio ministry of relearn.org. And for those who don't know, our mission at
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relearn.org is to help ordinary Christians plant biblical house churches. For more information,
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just visit relearn.org forward slash house. All right, guys, good conversation today.
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I'm going to open up with a question. Do you know God? The Bible teaches that if you don't
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know God, that you cannot be saved by God. But what makes this complicated is that Jesus in
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Matthew 7 declares to a group of what looks like followers of Christ that he does not know them.
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So what does this mean to know God? How can Christians be sure that they truly know him
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and will not hear those terrifying words on judgment day? I never knew you. Depart from me,
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you workers of lawlessness. So we're going to be discussing this and more, but before we dive in,
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I just want to make one quick announcement. It's about St. Justin's, our companion ministry and
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church planting school, which is our house church planting school. More and more Christians are
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exploring the concept of biblical house church. And in fact, I would say in many ways that the
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homeschooling movement has paved the way for the home churching movement. And just because a house
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church model changes locations doesn't mean that the structure of the church or the qualifications
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for the church or the past or the uh the training for the church uh would change in other words uh
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you know after being a house church pastor and planter and part of the house church community
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world for several years now i don't encourage anyone to plant a house church without formal
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pastoral training that doesn't mean you have to go to seminary for three or four years and have
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fluency in hebrew and greek but um you know due to the closeness of a house church community the
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relational risks are very high um you know if you don't um have a trained and qualified pastor
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shepherding that house church the group often implodes um and i've seen this actually happen
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a few times and so uh you know let's just say that you have a guy that is married to a woman
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and he's addicted to pornography and he refuses to stop looking at pornography he keeps doing it
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and keeps coming to church how do you inflict churches to put on that but also his wife who's
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a genuine believer and is filled up with um edification with uh her three children does
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she leave do they leave how does that look you need to know how to deal with that um you know
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let's just say that four out of the ten families in your house church start giving way to some false
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doctrine and adopt the hyper-spirituality movement that's led by Bethel. And then the
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other six families don't. How do you deal with bringing those people back on track without it
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dividing your church? Because that's 40% of your church. Let's just say that one girl wants to
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take the ladies in your church and start doing yoga on Sunday evenings, and she's going to be
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very offended and divisive if you say no. How do you deal with that? So these are the types of
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things along the relational side, not even counting the theological and the ecclesiological
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side, this is why we've really created our Biblical House Church Planting School at
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stjustins.org. It's a one-year seminary-grade program that's both online and in person.
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We have very limited space, but if you're interested in doing that and you are a man
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feeling called into ministry, not full-time, but part-time, meaning you can keep your job,
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just visit stjustins.org and just get the more information button, and we'll set up a discussion
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and an interview if that's something that you would like to do. All right, going on to today's
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question. Today's question is from Christina in Helena, Montana, and she asks, Pastor Dale,
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In Matthew 7, 21 through 23, Jesus makes a terrifying statement to a group of people who, by all visual accounts, look like followers of Christ.
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They are prophesying, casting out demons, and even doing miracles in the name of Jesus.
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I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. How can I be sure that I will not be
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one of these people who think they know Jesus, but in reality, they do not? Well, Christina,
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this is a great question and a deep question. And this, I believe, really is a discussion
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about how can someone tell the difference between false assurance and true assurance?
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And as you may have heard me say before, Dr. Stephen Lawson said a quote that I'll never forget.
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He wrote, the only thing worse than not having the assurance of salvation
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In other words, the only thing more tragic than not coming to Christ
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would be to believe that you did come to Christ when in reality you did not.
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And I believe that, you know, I think that's the essence really behind this discussion today.
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The first way has to do with God's willingness to know us.
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The second way has to do with our response to know him.
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And I want to preface this by saying that it is impossible to know God without him first knowing you.
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For example, if by the end of this episode you determine that you do truly know God,
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And I think of a similar display of this idea or concept in John 4.19 or 1 John 4.19 that
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says, we love because he first loved us, or 1 John 4.8, anyone who does not love does
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These are basically illustrations that our love is merely a reaction to his love.
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The same is true with the concept of knowing, right?
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our knowing him is merely a reaction to him knowing us. So, you know, ultimately, just like
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you don't initiate the loving, you also don't initiate the knowing. He does. And he initiates
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that knowing by the regeneration of your heart, the born again experience, and the revelation of
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himself by way of his word. But what makes this difficult territory from our perspective is that
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people confuse knowing God with knowing about God. For example, you can go to church for decades,
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read your Bible regularly, serve at your local church, and still not know God. And this is
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exactly what the Pharisees were doing, right? They were highly religious and knew a lot about God,
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but they did not know God. And, you know, how can a person, this is the real root question,
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is how can a person tell if they are confusing spiritual activity with spiritual security?
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Like, how can they be sure that they truly know God? They're not just doing God-like things.
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And for those of you who have read my testimony, you know that false assurance was actually part
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of my story. You can read that at relearn.org forward slash testimony, by the way. And if
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you've ever heard John Wesley's story about he graduates from seminary, goes into full-time
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ministry, travels from England to be a missionary in the United States. And then after a failing
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missionary voyage, he leaves on a boat where he pens these words, and I quote,
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I went to America to convert the Indians, but oh, who shall convert me? When you hear testimonies
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like this, you begin to see how real the possibility is for someone to come to church
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without ever truly coming to Christ. Now, my goal in this episode is not to generate doubt
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in your assurance and anybody that's listening. However, I am interested in removing any security
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someone might have in their false assurance. Okay, so there's a distinction there.
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So before we talk about our response to God's knowing us, let's start by understanding what
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it means for God to know a person. In Romans 8, 28, it says,
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And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who
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are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be
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conformed to the image of his Son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
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And for those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified,
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and those whom he justified, he also glorified. All right. In theology circles, this passage is
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called the golden chain. It's made up of five pieces. Those whom he foreknew, he predestined,
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he called, he justified, and he glorified. Those five pieces. Basically, if God knows you,
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foreknew you, he has predestined you. He will call you with the gospel. He will justify you
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by faith and glorify you in heaven. It's an unbreakable chain. And basically, if you're
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known, you will be saved. But this golden chain begins with this word foreknew, proginosko
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in the Greek, okay, foreknew. But what does it mean that God foreknew us? So here's my
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understanding. This passage, that word isn't necessarily referring to that God had foreknowledge
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of us or about us. It's my belief, and men like John Piper, R.C. Sproul, Charles Spurgeon also
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agree, that if you're saved and know God, it's because before the foundation of the world, God
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foreknew you. Now again, don't think of this as an, like that word foreknew, don't think of it as
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an awareness of you. Think of it as a relationship with you. Think of it as the same way the Bible
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says that Adam knew his wife. That is that God intimately knew you before you were born. Think
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about Jeremiah 1.5, where God says, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before
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you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Think about Amos 3.2,
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where God says to Israel, you only I have known of all the families on the earth. God's not saying
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that he was unaware of the Jebusites and the Canaanites, right? He's saying that he knows
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Israel in a unique way that he does not know the other families on the earth. And there are dozens
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of passages in the Old Testament and the New Testament that make the case that knowing us,
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that God knowing us, means that God has a relationship with us. And if God has a relationship
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with us, he will save us. However, just like God did not know the other nations, like he knew
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Israel. God only knows his elect, the church. Those in the church, that is his bride,
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are the only people he, quote, knows in this special way. Now, he knows about the rest of
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humanity, but he does not know them in the same way that he knows the elect, the church.
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For example, I know many women, but I don't know them like I know Veronica. This is
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this is the difference between what I would call general knowing and special knowing.
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And this is a theological concept. It's not mine. God has a general knowing for all people,
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but he has a special knowing of the church. And so my point is people who don't know God
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don't know him because he has not known them first. And I know that's a hard one to grasp
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there. People who don't know God don't know him because he has not known them first. He knows of
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them in a general sense, but he has not chosen to know them in a special sense. And if God does not
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know you, you will never know him. Now, don't panic. This doesn't mean that someone could
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want to know God and he might not want to know them. That's not a possibility. That's an
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impossibility, I should say. And I'm going to tell you why. When we're born, nobody wants to know
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God. Okay. Romans 3.11 says there is no one who seeks for God. No, not one. This means if you
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genuinely want to know God, it's only because God already knew you, revealed himself to you,
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and enabled you to want to know him. So I know this is heavy theology, but just stick with me
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here. And this should help us as we read this passage that Christina is referring to in Matthew
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7, 21 through 23. And I'm just going to read it for you real quick. Not everyone who says to me,
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Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in
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heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast
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out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them,
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I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. All right, so now that we understand
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that Jesus is using the term knowing as a synonym for relationship and not simply awareness,
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and we know that we can't know God unless he knows us first, let's look at what the Bible says is
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true of people who do know God, and you get to examine yourselves against these attributes
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to determine if you truly do know God. So I want to begin kind of first here with the only channel
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by which God offers us to know him. And I'm going to talk about that through John 17. John 17 is the
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high priestly prayer. Jesus is praying. John 17, 3, and he prays, and this is eternal life,
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that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
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The only way to know God, which is very different than knowing about God,
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And basically what I'm saying here is whoever says they know God but does not believe in Jesus
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does not know God. And this is why Jesus says in John 14, 6-7, I am the way and the truth and the
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life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Verse 7, if you had known me, you would have
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known my Father also. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord,
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show us the Father and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long and you
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still do not know me, Philip. Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say,
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show us the Father? All right, that's a powerful scripture. I could preach on that one for an hour.
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But to close out this point, in order to know God, you must know Jesus. There's no way to know God
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except through Jesus. And when you know Jesus, you know God. And this means that the only way
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that God will demonstrate he knows you is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. So this also
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means that every other religion who claims to know God outside of Christ is sadly mistaken and does
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not know God. Okay, now I'm moving into some of the attributes of those who do know God.
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And so we're doing basically a biblical theological perspective of the word knowing today. I should
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have clarified that, but hey, we're here. And so we talked about the only way God gives us to know
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him is through Christ. Now I want to talk about what the Bible says is true of the people who do
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know God. So again, if you call yourself a Christian, this is that opportunity where you
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get to examine if you have the attributes of someone who knows him, because there is, again,
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some confusion that some people think that they know of God and some people actually just know
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about God. So this is a good test here in 1 John 2, 3 through 6. It says, and by this we know that
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we have come to know him. How convenient is that, right? And by this we know we have come to know
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him if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments
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is a liar and the truth is not in him. The truth that is Christ is not in him. Verse five,
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but whoever keeps his word in him, truly the love of God is perfected. By this, we may know that we
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are in him. Whoever says that he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
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All right. So John makes some observations about people who know God and some people who think
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they know God. And he gives really three attributes of the people who know God, and they are this.
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Number one, they keep his commandments. Number two, they keep his word. Number three, they walk
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in the same way in which Jesus walked. Now again, these are observations of saved people. They're
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not necessarily commands. And here's what I mean by that. John is saying that people who know God
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keep his commandments, keep his word, and walk in the same way that Jesus walked. It's just what
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saved people do. In other words, this is really the natural result of a redeemed person. Now,
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do they do it perfectly? No, they don't, but they do it consistently. And Jesus said and confirmed
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this in John 10, 27, when he said, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.
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And basically, if you're known by God, you will know your shepherd, you will hear his voice and
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you will follow him. And think about that. The three commands there, right? Keep his commandments,
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keep his word and walk in the same way in which Jesus walked. And then Jesus says in 10, 27,
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then basically you'll hear his voice, you'll know him, and you'll follow him, aka you'll walk in the
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same way he walks, right? So there's some parallels there. Now, if you're struggling really to
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determine still at this point, I still don't know, do I know him? Are these attributes clear in my
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life? Am I an obedient Christian? Do I deeply desire to keep his word? Do I walk in a similar
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lifestyle, giving honor and glory to God in my life as Christ did. If you're still struggling
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to determine if these things are true, I'm going to close just real quick because we're going a
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little long here today with three more quick personal observations and attributes of saved
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people that will either strengthen your assurance or it might reveal some of your false security.
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And in either case, it's actually a win. And here's why. If these things affirm you that you
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do know God, then amen. And if these things confirm that you might not know God, then amen.
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And why do I say that? Because this is the Lord waking you up, calling you to repentance and faith
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and seeking a relationship with you. And so either case is fruitful. We have so many people
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in the church today that came forward at nine years old and prayed a prayer and really were
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never born again. And then we have people who are actually saved, but maybe just need some more
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assurance and confidence in their salvation, but they just don't know the theological promises of
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the Word that would give them that. So there's a lot going on here, and it's important that you
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examine yourself and really sit before the Lord and see if these things are true of you.
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And these things are not linear. These things are really organic, and they grow consistently. So
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keep that in mind. So I'm going to give you these three points that I think are just
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classic signs of a saved person. Number one is that you absolutely love the gospel. Now,
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this doesn't mean that you have to be your city's leading evangelist, but you fully understand what
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Jesus has done for you. And your gratitude for your salvation produces a type of joy that keeps
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you in love with the gospel. Again, this doesn't mean that you have to write books on evangelism,
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but it does mean that you have a constant endearment and devotion to the gospel.
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You love thinking about it, and you love sharing about it with others. The deep meditation upon
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the gospel can maybe make you cry. This is, I think, a core sign of someone that truly knows
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God. You understand the gospel. Number two, you love and understand scripture. This doesn't mean
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that you're a theologian, but this does mean that you long to be in his word. You have an
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unquenchable appetite for the scriptures. And when you're reading, God is regularly
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illuminating by the Holy Spirit the meaning of scriptures to you. Now, that doesn't mean that
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You understand all the ins and outs of the mysteries of God and the theological diagrams
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But the scriptures make sense to you, and you can comprehend the gospel doctrine that's
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It doesn't mean that you don't need help still, but it means that things are not fuzzy to
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You can really see and how they apply to your life.
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you're patient with people because God was patient with you. You're merciful with people
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because God was merciful with you. You're gracious with people because God was gracious with you.
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You are loving and forgiving because God has showered his love and forgiveness on you.
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In other words, you're not a bitter and angry person. Now, this doesn't mean that you don't
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get bitter and angry because those attributes are parts of our flesh that we will still sadly fall
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into those, but these attributes don't define you. So again, you love the gospel. You love
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and long to be in the scriptures, and you feel like the Holy Spirit's illuminating these truths
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to you. And then you love other people. And these things should continue to grow in you
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week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade. So I'm going to close
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just with this brief statement here. 2 Timothy 2, 19, it says, but God's firm foundation stands
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bearing this seal, colon, the Lord knows those who are his. So if you know God, God knows you.
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God doesn't know people and then disown them. He knows them eternally. And I want you to rest in
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that assurance. If you've struggled with assurance and you know that you know him,
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Rest in that, that you are the Lord's and that you will be sustained by him forever.
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And there's nothing wrong with sitting before the Lord and making his examinations,
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asking the Lord for more assurance, asking the Lord to get clear with where you stand with him.
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At the core, the basic thing you want to ask yourself is,
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am I trusting in Christ alone to earn the righteous verdict that I cannot earn when I
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stand before God on judgment day? Am I trusting that Christ and his righteousness, his sinless
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life, his spotless reputation is what will stand before God? Not me. I can't stand before God. I'm
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gross. I'm a sinner. I'm guilty. But my belief and faith in Christ will earn me that righteous
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verdict by God's grace alone. Do you trust there? And because of that great work that Christ has
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done for you and saved you from damnation, you are so grateful. You are repentant. You are seeking
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to love him and endear him and be with him and longing for him. That's the truth of the gospel.
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If that's the true reality in your life, then believe me, my friend, you are assured and you do
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know God. So hopefully that answers your question, Christina. I'm going to leave you guys with two,
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actually three resources today that you can find on the post page for this episode, which is titled
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How Can You Know If You Really Know God? It's episode 111. And so three episodes or three
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resources. One of them is a podcast and it's titled What Does Jesus Mean by I Never Knew You
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by John Piper. It's a similar discussion that I had with you here. We go into a couple different
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dimensions though. So I think it'd be good to have another perspective from a theologian that's far
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greater than I am. Number two is a book called Knowing God by J.I. Packer. It's a bit of a
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beast, but if you like theological reads, get on it. And then number three is a video, and it's
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with Sinclair Ferguson, and it's how do I know that I am elect, or how do I know my faith is
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genuine? That's from Ligonier Ministries, and that's a really great resource there. So
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guys, if you're a regular listener to the Real Christianity podcast, we just ask that you would
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00:27:36.160
Again, that's relearn.org forward slash donate.
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You can download our free PDF e-book titled The Basics of Biblical House Church by visiting
00:27:51.480
Lastly, do you have a theological question you would like answered on the show?
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Submit your question at relearn.org forward slash question.
00:27:59.240
Thanks for joining us on this episode of Real Christianity.