Am I safe? Luke 12:1-12

Thousands of people were following Jesus and listening to what he had to say. It was even becoming dangerous as they were beginning to trample on each other. It is interesting that this was the time that Jesus chose to say some home truths. He knew that some of them were not eternally safe, though they thought of themselves as being God’s people.

Warning against hypocrisy

Recently we watched millions of people pressing forward and joining 5 mile queues to see the coffin of the late Queen and pay their respects. How many knew the secret of her security? Jesus was constantly warning people against having a false sense of security, such as some religious people, like the Pharisees, can have,

“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Luke 12:1

Yeast is usually used in the New Testament as a symbol of sin and corruption. Just as a little yeast can affect a large amount of dough, so sin is contagious and permeates into all aspects of our lives, our families and our societies. Outward forms of religion without changed hearts is fatal. The Queen understood this well and every day she would spend time with the King she served. She longed to live as her Lord asked of her.

How can those of us who accept Christian doctrines and even go to church know for sure that we are safe in our relationship with God? Aren’t we all hypocrites to some degree? What more important question is there?

As Queen Victoria was leaving a service in St Paul’s Cathedral she asked one of her chaplains,

“Can one be absolutely sure in this life of eternal safety?”

Sadly the chaplain replied that he did not know any way in which one could be certain. The Court News published this conversation. An unknown evangelist read this and eventually wrote to the Queen:

“To her gracious Majesty, our beloved Queen Victoria, from one of her most humble subjects. With trembling hand but with heartfelt love and because I know that we can be absolutely sure now of our eternal life in the home that Jesus went to prepare, may I ask your Majesty to read the following passages of Scripture: John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10? These passages prove that there is full assurance of salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, for those who believe and accept His finished work. I sign myself your servant for Jesus’ sake, John Townsend.”

Some weeks later he received a letter from the Queen,

“To John Townsend, Your letter of recent date I received, and in reply would state that I have carefully and prayerfully read the portions of Scripture referred to. I believe in the finished work of Christ for me and trust by God’s grace to meet you in that home of which He said, ‘I go to prepare a place for you. Victoria”

Jesus continues to remind us all that God knows what we really think and do.

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” Luke 12:2-3

Not only will there be no secrets but what we do and think will be made public! God’s justice will be obvious to all. What hope do any of us have? Without Christ becoming my Saviour, my substitute in taking responsibility for my sin, I would have no hope whatsoever. This is the Christian good news,

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

The only hope anyone can have, whether King or pauper, is to enter a relationship with Christ, to become his friend. When we have entered into such a relationship we need fear nothing, not even death. Jesus continued,

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.” Luke 12:4

Warning

Many clergy who take funerals or weddings attended by many who are not really committed to him are afraid to even mention the possibility that some of those present may still not be forgiven. Jesus knew that people needed to hear the bad news before the good news made sense. People must fear the God who will eventually be our judge.

“But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” Luke 12:5

Comfort

But then he addresses his friends, his followers who believe in him. He reminds them that God loves those who are his, however little the world values them.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7

The Test

Part of the evidence that we love Jesus and are his true followers will be seen in how we talk openly about him – those who don’t love him will fail to do so. Jesus, the Son of God emphasises who is now saying this:

“I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.” Matthew 10:32

This is a repeated theme in Scripture, we must make an open acknowledgement that Jesus is our Lord if we are to be saved. What a tragedy it is when so many, who call themselves Christians and even go to church, never talk about him to others.

We do have a problem today. We are not training young Christians how to speak about Jesus to non-Christians, as Jesus did. I had a patient who was the Church Warden of her local village church. After the medical issues had been dealt with, I asked her how the church was going. She replied,

“It is getting very difficult. We are getting smaller and older.”

“Tell me,” I replied, “Do members of the church talk about the Lord Jesus with others in the village?”

“Oh good gracious me, no, we don’t even speak about him amongst ourselves!”

I could only think of one thing to say,

“If that is true, then your church must die.”

To speak about Jesus is essential but it does require training.

At the end of the book of Deuteronomy Moses reminds God’s people of this link that what is in our heart will be apparent by what we say:

“No, the word of God is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so that you may obey it.” Deuteronomy 30:14

We are saved by faith, our heart felt convictions but this must be seen in the way we live and talk. Moses continued,

“See, I set before you today, life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are going to possess.” Deuteronomy 30:16

Paul was equally clear, there is an indissoluble link between having a saving faith and the way we will talk about our Lord openly. He quotes the above verse from Deuteronomy and then explains it.

“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and so are saved.” Romans 10:8-10

Is this not why Jesus wanted those who had turned to him in repentance and faith to be baptised straight away, as happened after Peter’s Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:37-39). Baptism is a fitting visual aid that when we repent and put our faith in Jesus our sin is washed away, we have died to our old life and have risen with Christ to start a new life. Such a public confession is not easy but it is very important.

Jesus emphasises in the next paragraph that speaking out in support of his claims is vital. Christians will inevitably come up against the authorities and some will be arrested because of their claims. Their emphasis that Jesus is the only way to God will not be popular. The stress is again on what the Christians will then say in response,

“When you are brought before the synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say..” Luke 12:11-12

Am I safe?

A student wrote to the minister of a church in his university city saying,

“I would appreciate prayer that I may truly know that my sins have been forgiven and that I am truly a member of the Christ’s kingdom. I do believe but for some reason it is not real for me.”

The minister wrote back,

“This is simple to resolve. Firstly, do you know that you are a sinner and that your sin has separated you from God? If the answer is yes, then the next question is whether Jesus and his apostles are telling the truth. Jesus said, “But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Mark 2:10

Note the tenses in the following quotes of Paul,

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” Ephesians 1:7-8

“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death, to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.” Colossians 1:22-23

John also wrote confidently,

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son does not have life.” 1 John 5:21-22

Our eternal salvation does not depend on our level of faith but on whether Jesus is able to save us. If you are committed to him as your Saviour and your Lord then you are saved. Jesus said,

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to becomechildren of God.” John 1:12

The answer to your question is therefore simple, if you have received Christ, you have the right to call yourself a child of God, a member of his kingdom.”

This was just what the student needed to hear. From that evening on he was rejoicing in his salvation.

Jesus longs for us all to know we are secure because we are relying on God’s promise that those who follow the Lord Jesus can be certain of their standing before God. Jesus promised us,

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

What a great verse on assurance this is to learn by heart. It is this knowledge that we have been saved by the Lord Jesus that makes us as bold as lions. We are now living to please God, knowing that we will eventually meet him face to face.

Merielle was a patient of mine who had just become a Christian, she had asked the Lord to forgive her sin and to be her Lord. She had advanced cancer and was later moved to the local hospice where I visited her. She was still holding onto her Saviour even though she was sleepier from the drugs. We looked at Romans chapter 8 which is another great chapter on assurance. This starts,

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

Note that this is again in the present tense – we are safe now. To illustrate this, I wrote her name on a sheet of paper and placed this inside the Bible and then closed it. I explained,

“Let this Bible represent the Lord Jesus. You have now committed your life to him. You are therefore utterly secure. When God looks at you, he does not see your sin but the righteousness of Jesus. Furthermore because Jesus has now returned to heaven and is living there with his Father and because you are now in him, you are guaranteed to be with him in heaven.”

The Bible keeps reassuring those who have made a personal commitment to follow Christ that they are safe. This word ‘safe’ has the same origin as the word ‘saved’. Paul confidently wrote, again using the present tense

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:16

The evidence

When we commit our lives to Jesus we are given the Holy Spirit who begins to change us. We will be happy to talk about Jesus as our Lord. We have already seen that Paul wrote,

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

The Spirit will change our attitudes so that we want to become like him and not like the world.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience. kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.” Galatians 5:22

Christians know that they are living under the authority of the Lord Jesus. The only official biography of our late Queen was titled, ‘The Servant Queen and the King She Serves’. She knew that since committing herself to Jesus as her Lord and Saviour she was living under his authority. In her Christmas broadcast in 2011 she said,

“Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices, ‘Fear not,’ they urged, ‘we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.“For unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.’

Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves. - from our recklessness or our greed.

God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a General, important though they are, but a saviour with the power to forgive.

Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we can feel the power of God’s love.

In the last verse of this beautiful carol, there’s a prayer

‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,

Descend to us we pray.

Cast out our sin and enter in, Be born in us today.’

It is my prayer that on this Christmas Day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord.”

It is this confidence, that the Queen had, that God wants us all to experience.

BVP

September 2022