Safe, Sure, and Happ

Safe, Sure, and Happy..............................................1

Safe, Sure, and Happy..........................................2
To lose your wealth is much, To lose your
health is more, To lose your soul is such a
loss As no man can restore...........................4
The Way of Salvation............................................4
The Knowledge of Salvation.................................7
The Joy of Salvation............................................12
Safe, Sure, and Happy
Which class are you traveling? You are traveling
from time to eternity, and who knows how very near
you may be to the end of this trip! There are only three
ways to make this trip:
1st class: Those who are saved and know it;

2nd class: Those who are not sure of salvation, but

anxious to be saved;
3rd class: Those who are not saved and do not care
about it.
Which class are you traveling? How can you be
careless about such an important thing as where you
will spend eternity? You will be there forever and
ever.
A man once jumped onto a train just as it was
leaving the station. He was all out of breath, but he
said, “It was worth running for it. I saved four hours
by catching this train.” Four hours! But what about
eternity? The man thought it was important enough
to run hard to save four hours. In eternity you will be
either with Christ in the Father’s house or you will
be in outer darkness in hell.
Do not be careless about your own eternal
destiny. God is not indifferent. “For God so loved
the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.” John 3:16. At the end of this
journey of life, beyond death, the Word of God says,
“After this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27.
Perhaps you are saying, “I am not careless or
indifferent. I want to be saved, but I am NOT SURE.
I’m in the second class you speak of.”
Both indifference and uncertainty are the result of
not believing. If you don’t care, you don’t believe
sin has ruined you and that God will punish sinners
in hell forever. If you are not sure, you don’t believe
God’s remedy for your condition. The more you are
concerned about your condition, the greater will be
your thirst to know for certain where you will be for
eternity.
Suppose you are far from home and, as you travel
along, the road divides ahead. You’re not familiar
with the way, so you ask someone. He tells you, “I
think this is the road. If you follow that, it will
probably take you where you want to go.” Will
“think” and “probably” satisfy you? Surely not. You
want to be sure or every step you take makes you
worry that you’re on the wrong road. You do want to
be sure about eternity.
To lose your wealth is much,
To lose your health is more,
To lose your soul is such a loss
As no man can restore.
There are three things to make clear:

1. The way of salvation (Acts 16:17);

2. The knowledge of salvation (Luke 1:77);
3. The joy of salvation (Psalm 51:12).

The Way of Salvation

An example from the Old Testament: “Every firstling
of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou
wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck:
and all the firstborn of man among thy children
shalt thou redeem.” Exodus 13:13.
Let us go back 3000 years. Two men, a priest of God
and a poor Israelite, stand in serious conversation. A
little ass stands trembling beside them. “I want to
know,” says the poor Israelite, “if there can be a
merciful exception made in my favor this once. This
feeble little thing is my firstborn donkey. I know full
well what the law of God says about it, but I am
hoping that mercy will be shown and the ass’s life
will be spared. I am poor and I can’t afford to lose
the little colt.”
“But,” answers the priest, firmly, “the law of the
Lord is plain and unmistakable, ‘Every firstling of
an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou
wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck.’
Where is the lamb?”
“Ah, sir, I do not have a lamb.”
“Then go and buy one and return, or the ass’s neck
must be broken. The lamb must die, or the ass must
die.”
“My hopes are crushed,” he cries, “for I am too poor
to buy a lamb.”
A third person now joins them, and after hearing the
poor man’s sad story, he turns to him and says
kindly, “Cheer up, I can meet your need. We have in
our house a little lamb who is ‘without blemish and
without spot.’ It has never once strayed from home
and is loved by all in the house. I will get this lamb.”
He hurries away. Soon he is gently leading the little
creature until both lamb and ass are standing side by
side. The lamb is bound to the altar, its blood shed,
and the fire consumes it.
The priest now turns to the poor man and says, “You
can take your little colt home in safety — no broken
neck for it now. The lamb has died instead of the ass,
and so the ass righteously goes free, thanks to your
friend.”
Do you not see in this story God’s picture of a
sinner’s salvation? God’s claims as to sin demanded
a “broken neck.” Righteous judgment must come on
your guilty head unless there is a substitute approved
by God.
You could not find any way to meet your need, but
God Himself has provided the lamb in the person of
His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus. “Behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
John 1:29. On to Calvary He went and “suffered for
sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to
God.” 1 Peter 3:18. He “was delivered for our
offenses, and was raised again for our
justification.” Romans 4:25. God displays His
righteousness when He clears the guilty sinner who
believes on Jesus.
Can you say, “Yes, as a guilty sinner, I have found
the Lord Jesus to be the One I can safely trust; I do
believe on Him”? Then, through the finished work
of Christ, God sees you as if you had never sinned.
What a wonderful way of salvation this is! God’s
heart of love is satisfied, the glory of the Son of God
is established, and the sinner is saved. God’s beloved
Son has done all the work. He gets all the praise, and
you and I will enjoy the company of the Blesser
forever and ever.
Now you may be saying, “But, I don’t feel saved.
One day I feel pretty sure and the next I have
doubts.” Here is your mistake. Did you ever hear of
a captain trying to find anchorage by fastening his
anchor inside the ship? Never. It is always outside.
It may be you understand that it is Christ’s death
alone that makes you safe, but you think that it is
what you feel that makes you sure. Now take your
Bible again to find out how a person gets

The Knowledge of Salvation

“These things have I written unto you that believe
on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW
that ye HAVE eternal life.” 1 John 5:13. Man’s
imagination often misquotes it like this: “These happy
feelings have I given you that believe on the name of
the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal
life.” Read the verse again. Now read Exodus 12:1-13,
the story of the passover and judgment in Egypt.
Let us visit two of their houses and hear what they
are saying. In the first house they are all shivering
with fear and uncertainty. We ask, “What is the
reason for all this trembling and fear?” The firstborn
informs us that the Lord God is coming through the
land this night and the firstborn are going to be
killed.
“But hasn’t the God of Israel given you a way to
escape that judgment?”
“Yes,” he replies, “we have done what He requires.
The blood of the year-old, spotless lamb has been
sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop on the lintel and
side posts of our door. But I’ll be glad when this
night of judgment is over. Only then will I be sure
and know that I am safe. Those next door say they
are sure that it is all right and that they are safe. But
we think it is very presumptuous. Nobody can be
sure.”
We go next door and what a contrast! Joy beams
from every face. All are fully dressed, ready to leave
at a moment’s notice, enjoying the roast lamb.
“How can you be so happy on such a night as this?”
we ask.
“Ah,” they say, “we are only waiting for the Lord’s
marching orders, and then we shall leave Egypt and
these cruel taskmasters, free from slavery.”
“But what about the judgment? Aren’t you afraid?”
“Well, we know it, but our firstborn is safe. The
blood of the lamb has been sprinkled according to
the command of our God.”
“It has been next door, too,” we reply, “but they are
all worried and unhappy because they are not sure of
safety.”
“Ah,” responds the firstborn firmly, “but we not only
have the blood sprinkled on the door, but we have
the WORD of God about it. God has said, ‘When I
see the blood, I will pass over you.’ God is satisfied
with the blood outside, and we rest satisfied with His
Word inside.”
The sprinkled blood makes us safe.
The spoken word makes us sure.
Let us ask you a question. “Which of those two
houses do you think was safer?” Do you say house two
where they are so happy? Then you are wrong. Both
are equally safe. Their safety depends on what God
thinks about the BLOOD outside and not on the state
of their feelings inside. If you want to be sure of your
own blessing, don’t listen to your unstable inward
feelings and emotions but to the true witness of the
Word of God. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
believeth on ME HATH [has] everlasting life.”
John 6:47.
Godsayit!
Ibelivt.
Thatseli!
Is your confidence in the right person — in Jesus, the
Son of God? It is not a question of the amount or kind
of faith, but of the trustworthiness of the person you
put your faith in. One man may hold Christ with the
grip of a drowning man and another only touches the
hem of His garment; both are equally safe. That is what
is meant by believing on HIM.

“I do really believe on Him, but I don’t like to say,

‘I’m saved,’ for fear I should be telling a lie.”
Suppose I ask a child how old he is and he tells me
he is twelve. You come along and ask me how old
that child is and I tell you, “I don’t like to say, for
fear I should be telling a lie.” “But,” you say, “that
would be making the child a liar.” And so it would.
But aren’t you virtually making Christ a liar if you
don’t like to say you’re saved for fear of telling a lie,
when Christ Himself has said, “He that believeth on
ME HATH everlasting life”?
“But how may I be sure that I really do believe? I
have tried often to believe and looked within to see
if I had gotten it, but the more I look at my faith, the
less I seem to have.”
Suppose a man comes to you who is always telling
jokes and playing tricks, and he tells you that half
the town is on fire. Do you believe, or even try to
believe, that man? Of course not. You know him too
well. But now suppose that, instead of this man, it
was one who is most trustworthy, a person who had
never deceived you or tried to play a trick on you,
and he brings you the same sad news. Do you
believe him?
“Yes, definitely,” you say, “I believe him, because of
his trustworthy character.”
“How do you know that you believe him?”
“Because of who and what he is.”
“That is just why we can believe the gospel, because
of the One who brings me the news.”
Jesus said, “He that heareth My word, and believeth
on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation; but is passed from
death unto life.” John 5:24. “He that believeth not
God hath made Him a liar.” 1 John 5:10.
Do you say, “I can’t believe”? Well, who is it you
can’t believe? Faith is confidence in the living
person of the Lord Jesus Christ who finished the
work of redemption on the cross of Calvary.
His finished work makes me eternally safe; His
Word about those who believe on Him makes me
sure. I find in Christ and His work the WAY of
salvation, and in the Word of God the
KNOWLEDGE of salvation.
But if you are saved, you may say, “How is it that I
have such ups and downs, often losing all my joy
and comfort and getting as miserable and downcast
as I was before my conversion?” This brings us to
our third point:

The Joy of Salvation

The Bible teaches that while you are saved by Christ’s
work and assured by God’s Word, you are kept in
comfort and joy by the Holy Spirit who indwells every
saved person. Also, you must remember that every
saved one still has within him the “flesh,” the evil
nature he was born with as a natural man. The Holy
Spirit in the believer resists the flesh and is grieved by
every action of it in motive, word or deed. When the
believer is walking “worthy of the Lord,” the Holy
Spirit will be producing in his soul His blessed fruit,
which includes love, joy and peace (Galatians 5:22).
When he is living in a worldly way, the Spirit is
grieved and this fruit is not evident.

Let us put it this way for you who do believe on

God’s Son: Christ’s work and your salvation stand
or fall together, and your walk and your enjoyment
stand or fall together. When your walk (the way you
live) breaks down, your joy will break down with it.
Now do you see your mistake? You have been
mixing enjoyment with your safety — two very
different things. When, through self-indulgence,
losing your temper, worldliness or some other action
of the flesh, you grieved the Holy Spirit and lost
your joy, you thought your safety was undermined.
But:
Your safety depends on Christ’s work FOR you;
Your assurance, on God’s Word TO you;
Your enjoyment, on not grieving the Holy Spirit
IN you.
A young man, who enjoys his father’s company,
used his father’s car without permission and bumped
into a tree, putting a dent in the door. At mealtime he
didn’t feel like eating and went off to bed early. He
was ashamed in his father’s presence. Why was this?
He had disobeyed and felt very miserable. The
enjoyment of his father’s company was gone.
What had become of the relationship that existed
before the incident? Is that gone too? Has that been
interrupted? Certainly not! They are still father and
son. That relationship depends on his birth, but his
communion or enjoyment of his father depends on
his behavior. Eventually the son confesses what has
taken place and the father forgives him. He is no
longer unhappy in his father’s company. His joy is
restored because communion is restored.
Suppose, before the son confesses his sin, he is
found out, and his father says he must go to his room
and stay there until he confesses. If fire broke out,
do you think that the father would leave the
unrepentant boy in the house to die in the flames?
Very probably he would be the first one the father
would take out of the burning house. Yes, you know
very well that the love of relationship is one thing,
and the joy of communion is quite another.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. Nothing can break the
link of relationship, but an impure motive or foolish
word will break the link of communion.
If you are troubled, consider your ways and get low
before the Lord. When you realize what it is that has
caused you to lose your joy, confess it to God your
Father and judge yourself unsparingly. NEVER mix
up safety with your joy.
Don’t imagine, however, that God looks on the
believer’s sin more lightly than on the unbeliever’s.
Sin is sin in God’s sight, but the believer’s sins were
all laid on Jesus. “Who His own self bare our sins in
His own body on the tree.” 1 Peter 2:24. We have a
Substitute who took the punishment for our sins, but
the unbeliever, the Christ-rejecter, will bear his own
sins in his own person in the lake of fire forever.
When a saved one fails, the question of
condemnation cannot be raised against him. The
Judge Himself has settled that once for all on the
cross. But the question of communion is raised by
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Thus unhappiness
remains, until the sin is confessed and forsaken.
Take another example. On a beautiful, moonlit night
you observe the moon reflected in a still pond.
Someone drops a pebble into the pond and the
“moon” is all broken. But, no, it is not the moon but
the water that reflects it that has changed.
Now apply this simple figure. Your heart is the pond.
When you are not allowing evil in your life, the
blessed Spirit of God takes the glories and
preciousness of Christ and reveals them to you for
your comfort and enjoyment. But the moment you
allow a wrong thought to stay in your heart, or an
idle word escapes your lips, your heart is disturbed,
your happy experiences are gone, and you are
restless until, in brokenness of spirit before God, you
confess your sin. This restores you to the calm,
sweet joy of communion.
When your heart is thus upset, has Christ’s work
changed? No, no! Then your salvation has not
changed. Has God’s Word changed? Surely not!
Then the certainty of your salvation has not changed.
Then what has changed? The action of the Holy
Spirit within you has changed, and, instead of filling
your heart with the glories and worthiness of Christ,
He has had to turn aside and fill you with a sense of
your sin and carelessness. He takes from you your
comfort and joy until you judge the evil thing that
He judges and resists. When this is done,
communion with God is restored and you have joy
in Him again.
Thus, the object of my trust, the Lord Jesus Christ 
— His death, His blood and His resurrection — 
makes me safe  .  .  .  the unchanging Word of God
makes me sure  .  .  .  and my simple obedience to
His Word makes me happy.
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and
for ever.” Hebrews 13:8.
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