The Redemption of Lot Carey

Each birthday I experience I have this growing desire to forget the precise year I was born. Sadly, the older I get the harder it is for me to remember it. At least, I know when I was born.

Lot Carey lived without knowledge of when he was born. He only knew that he was born on a plantation in Richmond Virginia around 1780.  

He grew up on the plantation rejecting the Christ his parents followed. He lived a godless existence. Then, one day, he was sitting in the gallery at the First Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia listening to a sermon from the third chapter of the gospel of John. He heard the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night, and the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus about being born-again to enter the kingdom of God. When the preacher said, "You must be born-again" the Holy Spirit pierced his heart, and he gave his life to Jesus Christ.

Overtime, Lot Carey redeemed his family from slavery on the Virginia plantation, which enabled him to become the first black missionary to Africa. He died serving the Lord on the mission field. Lot redeemed his family from slavery, but Jesus redeemed him from the slavery of sin, and made him a son.

The gospel is God sending his Son to redeem us from the slavery of sin, securing us as his sons, and giving us freedom to live for God fulfilling his plan for our lives. 

We Should Question Our Salvation

"You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him " (Romans 8:9).

You can be sure that you are saved. The verse above reveals that assurance of salvation comes from the Spirit of God dwelling in the believer. If the Spirit of God is not present, then one does not belong to Christ, and as a result, is not saved.

Likewise, you can be sure that the Spirit of God lives in you. Paul declared in subsequent verses, " For all who are led by the Spirit of God are of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God..."(Romans 8:14-16). There are three indications that the Spirit of God lives in you: First, the Spirit leads you. This means that love for God is growing in your heart, and the fruit of the Spirit is evident in your life. You are changing from the inside out. Second, you have a growing and intimate relationship with the Father. Third, the Spirit confirms to your spirit that you are a child of God.

As a pastor, my responsibility is to tell people how to be saved, and what should be true for a saved person's life and experience, as revealed in the word of God. I can't tell people they are saved because only God assures salvation. Assurance of salvation comes from the Spirit of God and the Word of God. And the word of God cannot assure one's salvation alone. You must have the assurance of the Spirit of God.

Today, I bear a heavy burden. My burden is for the families that have decided to stop bringing their middle school kids to the worship service because their kids are questioning their salvation (I do not know the identity of the families). Questioning one's salvation is not a bad thing. In fact, questioning, or examining one's salvation is commanded of us. Paul commanded the Corinthians, "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Parent, what if your child is not saved? Are you going to tell them they are saved because they prayed a prayer? Faith in a prayer does not save, only faith in Jesus Christ. If your child is questioning salvation, it is a good and godly thing, especially if he or she is not saved. If your child is saved, it will give greater confidence to live for Jesus.

Parents, tell your children how to be saved and the subsequent life change that takes place in a saved person's life. Only God can assure them of their salvation. Please contact me if you have any questions. This is a matter of life and death.

False Assurance

I have found that many well meaning Christians improperly use 1 John 5:13 to assure people of their salvation. John wrote, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." It is a common practice to use this verse when a person makes a profession of faith. We tell them, that since they believe in the Son of God, they have eternal life. That is what the verse says, right? Yes! However, how can one be assured that they have truly believed in the Son of God? You can't know with this one isolated verse. It is possible to have the same type of belief that the demons have concerning the Son of God, and that is dangerous.

The key to being assured of your belief in the Son of God is found in these words, "These things I have written." You cannot be assured of your salvation without taking the whole letter into consideration and applying it. Then you can be assured that you have believed in the Son of God with a saving belief.

I believe that this verse is often used in a way that can possibly give false assurance to a person who is going to hell. When assuring someone of their salvation, don't use this isolated verse. Instead, use all the things John wrote in his letter. If they pass the series of test they can be assured that they have believed in the Son of God.

The Death of Christ

The Lord's Supper is a time of remembrance, a time to reflect upon the death of Christ. The Lord has led me to focus on one verse for this memorial meal, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the body, but made alive in the spirit" (1 Peter 3:18). Three things we need to remember about the death of Christ from this verse.

Christ's death was in accordance with the will of God. God the Father planned before the foundation of the world to send his Son to die on Calvary. This truth is revealed in the life of Jesus recorded in the gospels. Jesus said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). When Jesus prayed in the Garden, he said, "Father, not my will, but your will be done" (Mark 14:36). It was God's will that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, die on the cross.

Christ's death was in accordance with the way of God. Jesus died on the cross "for sins." Christ died, not for his sins, but the sins of humanity. Peter says, "the just for the unjust." You can also translate it "the righteous for the unrighteous." The word "just" is singular, and the world "unjust" is plural. One just man died for many unjust people. Why? God is a holy God and must punish sin. Tragically, all humanity has sinned and fallen short of the perfection that God demands. Therefore, humanity is an object of God's punishment and wrath on account of our sins. Nevertheless, God is a loving God. Consequently, he sent his perfect Son, to live a perfect life, so that he could die for our sins on the cross of Calvary. Humanity could not provide the perfect sacrifice that God desired, so God provided it in his Son, Jesus Christ. And it was the blood of the perfect Son of God shed on Calvary that made payment for our sins. His blood provided redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Christ's death was in accordance with the work of God. The purpose for Christ's dying on the cross of Calvary was "so that he might bring us to God." Christ died for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God. We are enemies of God, separated from him because of our sins. When we trust in Christ, no longer are we God's enemy, but his friend. We have peace with God through Jesus Christ.

Have you recognized your sinfulness? Have you recognized your need for a savior? You can be saved from your sins and be reconciled to God if you will call upon the name of the Lord. What do you need to do to be saved? "Believe in the Lord Jesus Chris and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).

Salvation is Here, and He Lives in Me

This morning I have been contemplating what God did for me 20 years ago. It started around the Christmas holidays. I was loathing the person that I had become. I tried everything to make me happy, but only found that the things I tried were "incomplete joys." I wondered if I would ever be truly happy.

At that time, I started telling myself that I would never be happy until I became a Christian. Looking back, it was the Holy Spirit working within me, drawing me to Christ. I wanted what one of my brothers had, I wanted Jesus!

So, I started reading my Bible every night before I went to bed. I got to the fifth chapter of Matthew and God really started to speak. I started reading the Beatitudes, and as I read them, the Spirit of God said, "This is your brother." I started to weep, and kneeling by my bed, I simply prayed, "Jesus, I want to be a Christian, but I can't do it. I need your help." That prayer of surrender was the beginning of my new life in Christ.

I am so thankful for God's grace today. I am so thankful for his call upon my life. Today, I give thanks and praise to the my God, who does great and unsearchable things, miracles without limit.