If I Knew
Story★★★★Many think that assurance is not to be had while traveling through this world--they must wait till they get before the terrible judgment seat to know whether they are accepted or not. And I find some ministers preach this precious doctrine from their pulpits. I heard of a minister who, while on his way to the burial of a man, began to talk upon the subject of assurance. “Why,” said he, “if I knew for a certainty that I was saved the carriage couldn’t hold me.
I would have to jump out with joy.” A man should be convinced that he has the gospel, before he preaches it to anyone else.
Why, a man need not try to pull a man out of the river if he is in it himself. A man need not try to lift a man out of a pit if he is there too. No man can preach salvation till he knows he is saved.
The point
A minister argues that assurance of salvation should overflow with joy, and preachers cannot authentically preach salvation until they have tasted it themselves.