Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
November 16, 2025

      • John 5:24NASB95

  • Lord I Come
  • Blessed Assurance

      • Colossians 2:1–7NASB95

      • 2 Corinthians 9:6–7NASB95

  • Scripture reading: Colossians 2 1-7
    Kids Time:
    Intro: After the heavy warning in the first half of chapter 6, the author pivots and addresses believers in the church. He just addressed a segment in the church that was falling away because they had never believed, but now his goal is to encourage the believing segment in the church and assure them of the Salvation of God. I tried to do that last week at the end my message with many passages affirming our security in Christ as believers.

    I. Assurance Is Displayed in Works

    A. Works Are a Result of Salvation

    Hebrews 6:9 NASB95
    9 But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.
    Beloved — he is talking to believers in Jesus here.
    Better things concerning you — in contrast to the unbelievers in the congregation who tasted the blessings of God and His Spirit, but were drifting back into religion and dead ceremonies.
    What are things that accompany salvation? Fruit! Spirit of prayer, joy, godly fear, peace of God, sorrow over and hatred of sin, humility, love for God, and love for each other. These fruits of the Spirit flow from the Holy Spirit living in our hearts. They are a result of being justified by the marvelous grace of God in Christ Jesus

    B. God Notices Believers Works

    Hebrews 6:10 NASB95
    10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.
    Do our good works matter to God? To gain salvation, no!. But, as a goal for those who are saved, YES! He notices them and will reward us for them.

    1. Love for His Name

    Love the Lord your God, This is the greatest commandment. We cannot love other people properly without loving God first.
    Name = character
    So, love for His Name is worship and service to God based in doctrinal truth about the character of God.
    God is not going to forget that we desire to please our Lord, we choose not to live for ourselves, and have a great concern for the holiness of God and keeping the commands of the Lord. If our faith is genuine, then these actions will be present in us and God takes great pleasure in us for doing them.
    God rewards us for the things that He is enabling us to do. This is how the Father shows to us that we belong to Him. We see His Spirit at work in our lives.
    An Exposition of Hebrews Chapter 27: Two Christians Described (Heb. 6:9–11)

    As light is inseparable from the shining of the sun, as heat is inseparable from fire, so good works are inseparable from a saving faith. — A.W, Pink

    2. Love for One Another

    1 John 4:7–12 NASB95
    7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
    Does this mean that if don’t love one another to the greatest extent and with the greatest quality all the time, that we are not saved? Certainly not. God would not tell us that we ought to love one another if we did it all the time already. That fact that He commands us to love implies that we don’t always love as we should. But, we should see a growing glimmer of love for fellow Christians as well as lost sinners.
    James 2:17 NASB95
    17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
    How do we love on another? Some of the ways include caring for the weaker brother, praying for one another, rebuking sin in a brother or sister, restoring an erring brother in love, giving to the needs of the saints, giving preference to one another, bearing one another’s burdens, rejoicing with them that rejoice and weeping with those who are sorrowful, and using our spiritual gifting in the context of the local church to build each other up.
    This type of love is the evidence of a changed heart. A heart that has been forgiven, justified, and now loves the God who saved him. This is the type of love that God notices and rewards.

    II. Assurance Is Gained

    A. Through Diligence

    Hebrews 6:11 NASB95
    11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,
    desire — literally, lust or long for. God wants you to have assurance of your salvation.
    George Zeller —
    Personal assurance and the enjoyment of my so-great salvation depends on my knowledge of the absolute certainty of the promises of God.
    The story is told of a western traveler in the pioneer days who came one winter night to the banks of a wide river. He had to get across but there was no bridge. The river was coated with a sheet of ice, but he did not know how safe it was. After much hesitation he gingerly tested it with one foot, and it held. Night was coming on and he must get across.  With many fears and with anxious care he crept out on hands and knees, hoping to distribute his weight evenly on the uncertain ice. When he had gone some distance painfully and slowly, he suddenly heard the sound of horse hoofs and joyful singing. There in the dusk was a man happily driving a wagon load of coal across the ice, being pulled by a muscular horse. The man was cheerfully singing as he went. He knew the ice was safe and he had no fears.
    Both men were absolutely safe on that ice. The ice was thick and solid. It could have borne twice the weight of the wagon easily. One man was in fear and doubt because he did not know how safe he was and did not realize how solid and thick the ice was. The other man enjoyed his ride across the frozen river because he knew without any doubt that the ice would hold and that the foundation under him was solid and safe.
    This is the difference between salvation Security and salvation assurance. Salvation security is given to us by God’s grace at the moment we place our faith in Him, but salvation assurance is gained after we believe. How can we have this kind of assurance?
    2 Peter 1:5 NASB95
    5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
    2 Peter 1:6 NASB95
    6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
    2 Peter 1:7 NASB95
    7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
    2 Peter 1:8 NASB95
    8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
    There is nothing that affirms our faith is real more than when we are walking with the Lord and seeing spiritual growth in that walk.
    That kind of growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It doesn’t happen without spiritual sweat.
    —Kent Hughs, Disciplines of a Godly Man, “We will never get anywhere in life without discipline, be it in the arts, business, athletics, or academics. This is double so in spiritual matters. In other areas we may be able claim some innate advantage. An athlete may be born with a strong body, a musician with perfect pitch, or an artist with an eye for perspective. But none of us can claim an innate spiritual advantage. In reality, we are all equally disadvantaged. Noe of us naturally seeks after God, none is in herently righteous, no one instinctively does good. Therefore, as children of grace, our spiritual discipline is everything — everything!”
    “We wonder at the anatomical perfection of a da Vinci painting. But we forget that Leonardo da Vince on one occasion drew a thousand hands.”
    “Winston Churchill was considered the speaker of his century because he spoke with such naturalness and eloquence.” “But the truth is, Churchill had a distracting lisp which made him the butt of many jokes and resulted in his inability to be spontaneous in public speaking. Yet he became famous for his speeches and his seemingly impromptu remarks. Actually, Churchill wrote everything out and practiced it! He even choreographed the pauses and pretended fumblings for the right phrase. The margins of his manuscripts carried notes anticipating the “cheers,” and even “standing ovation.” He practiced endlessly in front of mirrors, fashioning his retorts and facial expressions. Was he a natural? Perhaps. A naturally disciplined hard-working man!”
    Some Christians wonder why they don’t “feel” hopeful or assured about their Christian life. That is because they have put little work into it. They aren’t diligent to read and study the Word of God. They aren’t diligent to pray. They aren’t diligent to practice holiness. They aren’t willing to train out of themselves the pleasures of sinful habits for the pleasures of pleasing Jesus Christ. Without diligence, there is security, but there is no assurance. In what areas of your life do you need to diligently work so you can gain assurance?

    B. Through Imitation

    Hebrews 6:12 NASB95
    12 so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
    Imitators —
    Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 3402 μιμητής

    μιμητής - we get the english word mimic from it.

    Who should we Imitate?

    Old Testament saints

    Imitate those who have faith like the Hall of faith in Hebrews 11.
    Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets.

    Paul

    1 Corinthians 11:1 NASB95
    1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

    Other Believers

    Who do you look up to? Who do you know that through faith and patience are inheriting the promised of God? Not perfect people, but people who are diligent to know the Word of God and it is displayed in how they live? Imitate them.

      • Hebrews 6:9NASB95

      • Hebrews 6:10NASB95

      • 1 John 4:7–12NASB95

      • James 2:17NASB95

      • Hebrews 6:11NASB95

      • 2 Peter 1:5NASB95

      • 2 Peter 1:6NASB95

      • 2 Peter 1:7NASB95

      • 2 Peter 1:8NASB95

      • Hebrews 6:12NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 11:1NASB95

  • In The Secret
  • Holy Forever
Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
pastorethan@lvgbc.net
8028883339
http://www.lvgbc.net
25 members