HOW often does this sentence fall from the lips of the anxious sinner, or trembling believer. It is used wrongly in, two ways.
First, many want to feel saved, BEFORE they are saved. They want to feel saved BEFORE they have received the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
A lady, who was making this mistake, invited a well-known preacher to tea. When she handed him a cup of tea, he made no attempt to take it, but said, I don't feel as if I had had a cup of tea "
She thought his conduct very strange, but good breeding prevented her expressing her surprise. She again said, " Here is a cup of tea for you, Mr. H-."
He replied again, But I don't feel it."
The lady began to be alarmed at his strange conduct, and said to him, " But Mr. H-, you cannot feel that you have had a cup of tea until you have received it. Take it, drink it down, and then you will feel you have had a cup of tea."
He then explained his conduct. He replied, " And how can you feel saved, until you have received salvation? Receive Christ, and then you may know you are saved."
The lady saw her mistake. In homely language she had been putting the cart before the horse, she had been confounding cause and effect. In Divine things she had been acting in such a way that when the preacher acted thus in human things she thought him, till he explained himself, to be going out of his mind. The preacher's remarkable way of showing up her folly led her to abandon it. She trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, and then knew she was saved.
Reader, is this lady's case like your own? Behold your folly. The way of blessing is not FEEL saved and believe, but believe and BE saved.
Then again, many, who have believed on the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior' are not sure of their salvation, because, as they say, " They don't feel saved."
Such make the mistake of not seeing that the believing sinner is saved by faith.
Feelings are internal, changing oftentimes with the weather, the state of one's health, the circumstances of the hour, affected by the teaching we receive, and a thousand and one things.
Faith is like an anchor; laying hold upon an object outside of itself altogether, even the Lord Jesus as Savior.
Feelings are unreliable.
Faith is reliable.
Feelings are variable.
Faith is stable.
Who would think of dropping an anchor inside the hold of a vessel. What folly such a proceeding would be. No; an anchor is always cast outside the vessel.
We have something far, far better than our changing feelings as the assurance of salvation when we believe, and that is the imperishable, unchanging Word of God.
I remember an evangelist in a Gospel tent quoting John 5. 24:—" Verily, verily, I say unto you, 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." He pointed out how " Verily, verily," meant " Truly, truly,"-" Surely, surely," and explained that this double assurance came from the Lord's own lips.
He then testified that he had heard Christ's words, and believed on Him that sent Him, and that as a consequence he had everlasting life, would not come into judgment, and was passed from death unto life.
He pointed out it was the assurance of faith, and that God never puts before the believing sinner the assurance of feeling. He then declared that if he never felt saved, he would cling to God's Word, and the assurance it gave; that if he never felt saved from that hour till he got to glory when he could not help feeling, he would never doubt his soul's salvation; that it was a matter of faith, not feeling.
What a happy trust! What a God-honoring use he made of God's Word! Was he right or wrong? Assuredly he was right.
Can you not say the same, doubting believer? Take the Lord's own " Verily, verily," and act upon it.
I remember once quoting 1 John 5, 13 in a Gospel meeting in a northern town. " These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye RAVE ETERNAL LIFE."
A tall merchant-nicknamed " Long John "and his handsome wife were at the Gospel service that night. The wife was a believer on the Savior, but if you had asked her, Can you say you are saved? she would have replied that she could not.
I illustrated the text thus. Suppose when you come down to breakfast to-morrow you find the postman has left a letter. You take it up to see if it is yours, and you are arrested by the strange wording on the envelope:—" Unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God."
I asked, if that happened, could my hearers honestly open the letter as addressed to them?
The merchant's wife responded in her own mind, " Yes, I could."
I then went on, " Now, if you can open the envelope, will you believe the letter inside? Remember it is from God. It admits of no mistake. It is making God a liar to doubt it. Just previous to the verse we read it says, ' He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar' (1 John 5. 10). How serious! How solemn! "
The merchant's wife again responded in her own mind, " Yes, I will believe the letter. It comes from God. It must be true."
We opened the letter, and read it, " That ye may KNOW that ye HAVE eternal life."
There and then the lady filled with emotion entered into the assurance that eternal life was hers. For the first time in her life she could say she was saved, because she took God at His word. But notice it did not say, " That ye may FEEL that ye HAVE eternal life."
This is the devil's gospel, calculated to keep you in doubt and distress. Take God's own word as it stands. There is no presumption in that, the presumption lies the other way, that is in doubting it. " Let God be true, but every man a liar (Rom. 3. 4).
Thus, and thus only, will you get assurance. God will not let you make a Savior of your feelings.
Remember you will never enjoy assurance and peace so long as you look to your feelings as the ground of peace.