Bookmark and Share

(e.g., John 1 or God's love) Advanced Search

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
_________________________
Doubt or False Assurance?

Book

We can learn a valuable lesson from the disciple’s response when Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me" (Matt. 26:21). They did not turn and point the finger at the one sitting next to them, but "they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, ‘Lord, is it I?’

When it comes to doubting our salvation, most every Christian will have times of doubt as to whether or not he himself is saved, particularly in his earliest years as a Christian. He does not doubt the promises of God but rather or not he himself has received them. He who has doubts about his salvation will seek diligently after assurance. The false professor, on the other hand, will not experience such struggles for why would he struggle with something he does not truly believe? It is the one who never wrestles with his salvation that is more likely to be found in danger of a false assurance, for the reality of what is at stake never truly reaches the depths of his soul. J.C. Philpot states:

Now I believe that for the most part, those who have nothing else but a birth ‘of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man,’ have no doubts nor fears, no strong exercises nor sharp temptations as to their eternal state before God: whilst, on the other hand, those whom the Lord is teaching by the blessed Spirit, are often tried and exercised in their minds whether the feelings which they from time to time inwardly experience spring from a real work of God upon their souls, or whether they are mere counterfeits and imitations of a work of grace.

Thus, in God’s mysterious providence, those who have every reason to fear have for the most part no fear at all, and those who have no reason whatever to fear, but stand complete in Christ, the objects of God’s eternal love, and the sheep for whom Jesus died, are the only persons who are plagued and pestered with the fears that spring from their own unbelieving hearts, and the temptations with which Satan is continually distressing their minds. It is the object of Satan to keep those secure who are safe in his hands; nor does God see fit to disturb their quiet. He has no purpose of mercy towards them; they are not subjects of His kingdom; they are not objects of His love. He therefore leaves them carnally secure; in a dream, from which they will not awake till God "despises their image" (Ps. 73:20).

But on the other hand, where Satan perceives a work of grace going on; where he sees the eyes sometimes filled with tears, where he hears the sobs heaving from the contrite heart, where he observes the knees often bent in secret prayer, where his listening ear often hears the poor penitent confess his sins, weaknesses, and backslidings before God (for by these observations, we have reason to believe, Satan gains his intelligence), wherever he sees this secret work going on in the soul, mad with wrath and filled with malice, he vents his hellish spleen against the objects of God’s love. Sometimes he tries to ensnare them into sin, sometimes to harass them with temptation, sometimes to stir up their wicked heart into desperate rebellion, sometimes to work upon their natural infidelity, and sometimes to plague them with many groundless doubts and fears as to their reality and sincerity before a heart-searching God.

So that whilst those who have no work of grace upon their hearts at all are left secure, and free from doubt and fear, those in whom God is at work are exercised and troubled in their minds, and often cannot really believe that they are the people in whom God takes delight.(1)

Unlike much of the Church today the epistle of 1 John draws a very clear line of distinction between a true Christian and a false professor. His epistle was written primarily to comfort believers in the truth of the faith as well as warn them of the many false teachings that they were constantly being exposed to.

"And these things we write to you that your joy may be full" (1 John 1:4).

"These things I have written to you concerning those who {try to} deceive you" (1 John 2:26).

"These things have I written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13)

The temporal anguish over doubt can never justly be compared to the unimaginable horror of being found in the last day, clinging to a counterfeit cross. It is a mere light affliction which is but for a moment compared to eternal condemnation. "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18). This principal holds true for all temporal sufferings. There can be no comparison with the temporal and the eternal. It is an earthly, fleshly compassion that has more concern over one doubting his salvation than the one with a false assurance. Certainly, we must look upon one who is in anguish over doubt with compassion. However, we must be careful not to let our compassion interfere with the work of the Spirit. The man who doubts his salvation is not in need of mere human consolation, but rather the witness of the Spirit Himself who bears witness with our spirit that we are indeed children of God (Rom. 8:16). Once assurance is obtained, the joy of it far surpasses the temporary anguish of doubt. In his diligent seeking of God in His word, he will experience an intimacy with Christ and a strengthening of his faith.

Spurgeon said:

We are perilously likely to rest satisfied with a slight healing, and by this means to miss the great and complete salvation which comes from God alone. I wish to speak in deep earnestness to everyone here present upon this subject, for I have felt the power of it on my own soul. To deliver this message, I have made a desperate effort, quitting my sick-bed without due permit, moved by a restless pining to warn you against the counterfeits of the day. ...I am now speaking straight to every one of you, and I am setting myself in the middle of the pew that my keenest sentence may enter my own bosom as well as yours. I say, we are all of us in danger of being the subjects of a false healing: ministers, deacons, elders, church-members, aged professors, and young beginners alike...The devil, who knows the exact bait for poor human nature, finds it easy to pacify an anxious mind by presenting a false salvation, and persuading the heart that all is well, while in fact nothing is well.(2)

Don Kistler, founder and president of Soli Deo Gloria, said in an article he wrote:

So many today base their "assurance" on things that are not Scriptural: praying a prayer, signing a card, walking an aisle, or raising a hand in a meeting. But when you "go to the mat with them," you find out that they have given their lives to a god that doesn’t exist. Mark Twain once said that God created man in His own image, and man has returned the favor. Consequently, in our churches men are able to exercise a faith that is not from God, that is not a saving faith, and have not repented of sin, but merely of its consequences.(3)

We find in this day far more concern over the man who may doubt his salvation than the man who has a false assurance. It reveals the general attitude of Evangelicalism, as being more concerned with the temporal than the eternal. Doubting one’s salvation can indeed be a miserable and painful experience, with great anguish of soul, but how much more the anguish of a false assurance? We need to press upon our hearts those poor souls the Lord speaks of in Matt. 7:21, who thinking they were part of the Church, busy in Church service, crying out on that day Lord, Lord! And Christ saying to them, "I never knew you. Depart from Me." Why? Because they practice lawlessness. Whether they be legalists or Antinomians they have no heart for obedience to the Law of Christ. R. C. Sproul, referring to the repeated use of the title "Lord" says:

In general the presence of repetition in Hebrew literature is a sign of emphasis. When the repetition involves personal address, it indicates a form of personal intimacy...When Jesus warned that some people who call him ‘Lord, Lord’ will not enter heaven, he was implying that they would be people who believed they had an intimate relationship with him. The warning is all the more alarming in that he said there will be ‘many’ who will approach him in this manner. Indeed their claim will be insistent. They will appeal to their works as evidence of the authenticity of their personal relationship with Christ. They will include preachers, exorcists, and those who point to ‘wonderful works’ they have done. ...The point of Jesus’ warning is as simple as it is terrifying. It is not the person who professes faith who is saved; it is one who does the will of the Father...Works that are evidence of true faith are not merely activities of the church or ministry; they are works of obedience. We can be engaged in church or religious activities for all sorts of evil motives. Such works, even when God makes good use of them, do not please him. What pleases Him is a genuine spirit of obedience, which is the fruit of genuine faith.(4)

These false professors do not depart to some temporary place of chastening and one-day escape. Their destruction is eternal and their loss irrecoverable. In order that we might understand the dreadful horror of it, God describes it as an everlasting fire. Although in our finite minds we can never truly comprehend the full weight of it, certainly we can grasp the image of men standing before the Lord of the universe crying out in utter despair, "Lord, Lord, How can this be?" And he says to them, depart from Me, you who were busy doing many things in My name, but it was in name only and not in the love of the truth. You came to church for many reasons; it gave rest to your troubled conscience; it made you feel good about yourself. You acquired many new friends; you gained respect and self-esteem. It gave you recognition as an upstanding citizen in the community, but you did not come that you might know Me and the power of My resurrection (Phil. 3:10). That you might do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God (Mic. 6:8). You enjoyed the singing and the social atmosphere, but when it came to the hearing of My word it was not to you the living water which quenches the thirsty soul, but a dry and lifeless word that wearied the flesh. You came for comfort and blessing but not to worship My Father. You were so mindful of this earthly life that you had little time for truth. You liked the idea of a heavenly kingdom, but had doubts as to its reality. You thought it may all be true, but you were not willing to give your life for it. You spent more time in the entertainments of the world than in prayer and intimacy with My word. You wanted My blessings without My sufferings. You had no real desire to glorify My Name. You had no real desire to know Me, therefore, I say to you, I never knew you.

A faith that does not hunger and thirst after the object of that faith, contradicts itself. If we say we have trusted our lives with Christ, yet have no desire to know Him, what pleases Him, what displeases Him, what He loves, what He hates, what He requires of us, we deceive ourselves. If pleasing and honoring Him is not our primary delight in this world, we have no reason to believe that we are Christian.

The Scriptures tell us plainly, "For it is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Believers are described in Scripture as those who love the truth and take no pleasure in unrighteousness.

"The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:9-12) (italics added).

We understand in this passage that truth goes hand in hand with righteousness even as error with sin. To love the truth is to love righteousness. According to this passage, those who take pleasure in unrighteousness will perish.

John says, "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him" (1John 3:18, 19) John says our hearts can have assurance when our love for others is practiced in deed and truth. To love in truth, is to love as defined by Scripture. Again, how do we know if we truly have this love in our hearts? "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments" (1 John 5:2).

"When the venerable John could no longer walk to the meetings of the Church but was borne thither by his disciples, he always uttered the same address to the Church; he reminded them of that one commandment which he had received from Christ Himself, as comprising all the rest, and forming the distinction of the new covenant, ‘My little children, love one another.’ When the brethren present, wearied of hearing the same thing so often, asked why he always repeated the same thing, he replied, "Because it is the commandment of the Lord, and if this one thing be attained, it is enough" [JEROME].

Charles Heinze writes:

Since holiness is the highest good, the ultimate aim of every act of kindness, charity, or good will should be to lead or assist the recipient to true holiness. Contributing to another’s physical well-being may be kind, but true love looks beyond the temporal, physical need to the eternal, spiritual need. Love must have this long-range view to act in harmony with truth. Love acknowledges the true situation or need. Love, therefore, has as its objective the holiness of the recipient.

Of course, this kind of love is impossible for an unregenerate man to demonstrate. Acts of kindness may be present, but a desire for the holiness of its beneficiaries is absent. No one can love with godly love until he has first received God’s love in salvation. Then, with a regenerate heart, he can love others in the context of truth.

Holiness is the source, expressed in truth, and demonstrated in love. Love in the Christian brotherhood is not a mere sentimental feeling. It is far more real and practical. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments" (1 John 5:2). All God’s commandments are truth (Ps. 119:151) and obedience to them is holiness. This alone is loving the children of God. This is the pathway of blessedness.(5)

The following verses in Proverbs give us a excellent picture of the Christian life in contrast to an unbeliever:

"My son, if you will receive my sayings, and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD, and discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth {come} knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; {He is} a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity {and} every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things; from those who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; who delight in doing evil, and rejoice in the perversity of evil; whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways...So you will walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted from it" (NASB) Prov. 2:1-18.

William Law, in his book, "A Serious Call To A Devout And Holy Life" wrote:

The short of the matter is this; either reason and religion prescribe rules and ends to all the ordinary actions of our life, or they do not: if they do, then it is as necessary to govern all our actions by those rules, as it is necessary to worship God...it is very observable, that there is not one command in all the Gospel for public worship; and perhaps it is a duty that is least insisted upon in Scripture of any other. The frequent attendance at it is never so much as mentioned in all the New Testament. Whereas that religion or devotion which is to govern the ordinary actions of our life is to be found in almost every verse of Scripture. Our blessed Savior and His Apostles are wholly taken up in doctrines that relate to common life. They call us to renounce the world, and differ in every temper and way of life, from the spirit and the way of the world: to renounce all its goods, to fear none of its evils, to reject its joys, and have no value for its happiness: to be as new-born babes, that are born into a new state of things: to live as pilgrims in spiritual watching, in holy fear, and heavenly aspiring after another life: to take up our daily cross, to deny ourselves, to profess the blessedness of mourning, to seek the blessedness of poverty of spirit: to forsake the pride and vanity of riches, to take no thought for the morrow, to live in the profoundest state of humility, to rejoice in worldly sufferings: to reject the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life: to bear injuries, to forgive and bless our enemies, and to love mankind as God loveth them: to give up our whole hearts and affections to God, and strive to enter through the strait gate into a life of eternal glory.

This is the common devotion which our blessed Savior taught, in order to make it the common life of all Christians. Is it not therefore exceeding strange that people should place so much piety in the attendance upon public worship, concerning which there is not one precept of our Lord’s to be found, and yet neglect these common duties of our ordinary life, which are commanded in every page of the Gospel? I call these duties the devotion of our common life, because if they are to be practiced, they must be made parts of our common life; they can have no place anywhere else.

If contempt of the world and heavenly affection is a necessary temper of Christians, it is necessary that this temper appear in the whole course of their lives, in their manner of using the world, because it can have no place anywhere else. If self-denial be a condition of salvation, all that would be saved must make it as part of their ordinary life. If humility be a Christian duty, then the common life of a Christian is to be a constant course of humility in all its kinds. If poverty of spirit be necessary, it must be the spirit and temper of every day of our lives. If we are to relieve the naked, the sick, and the prisoner, it must be the common charity of our lives, as far as we can render ourselves able to perform it. If we are to love our enemies, we must make our common life a visible exercise and demonstration of that love. If content and thankfulness, if the patient bearing of evil be duties to God, they are the duties of every day, and in every circumstance of our life. If we are to be wise and holy as the new-born sons of God, we can no otherwise be so, but by renouncing everything that is foolish and vain in every part of our common life. If we are to be in Christ new creatures, we must show that we are so, by having new ways of living in the world. If we are to follow Christ, it must be in our common way of spending every day.

Thus it is in all the virtues and holy tempers of Christianity; they are not ours unless they be the virtues and tempers of our ordinary life. So that Christianity is so far from leaving us to live in the common ways of life, conforming to the folly of customs, and gratifying the passions and tempers which the spirit of the world delights in, it is so far from indulging us in any of these things, that all its virtues which it makes necessary to salvation are only so many ways of living above and contrary to the world, in all the common actions of our life. If our common life is not a common course of humility, self-denial, renunciation of the world, poverty of spirit, and heavenly affection, we do not live the lives of Christians.

But yet though it is thus plain that this, and this alone, is Christianity, a uniform, open, and visible practice of all these virtues, yet it is as plain, that there is little or nothing of this to be found, even amongst the better sort of people. You see them often at Church, and pleased with fine preachers: but look into their lives, and you see them just the same sort of people as others are, that make no pretenses to devotion. The difference that you find betwixt them, is only the difference of their natural tempers. They have the same taste of the world, the same worldly cares, and fears, and joys; they have the same turn of mind, equally vain in their desires. You see the same fondness for state and equipage, the same pride and vanity of dress, the same self-love and indulgence, the same foolish friendships, and groundless hatreds, the same levity of mind, and trifling spirit, the same fondness for diversions, the same idle dispositions, and vain ways of spending their time in visiting and conversation, as the rest of the world, that make no pretenses to devotion...The salvation of our souls is set forth in Scripture as a thing of difficulty, that requires all our diligence, that is to be worked out with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). We are told, that ‘strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it’ (Matt. 7:14). That ‘many are called, but few are chosen’ (Matt. 22:14). And that many will miss of their salvation, who seem to have taken some pains to obtain it: as in these words, ‘Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able’ (Luke 13:24). Here our blessed Lord commands us to strive to enter in, because many will fail, who only seek to enter. By which we are plainly taught, that religion is a state of labor and striving, and that many will fail of their salvation; not because they took no pains or care about it, but because they did not take pains and care enough; they only sought, but did not strive to enter in. Every Christian, therefore, should as well examine his life by these doctrines as by the commandments. For these doctrines are as plain marks of our condition, as the commandments are plain marks of our duty. For if salvation is only given to those who strive for it, then it is as reasonable for me to consider whether my course of life be a course of striving to obtain it, as to consider whether I am keeping any of the commandments. If my religion is only a formal compliance with those modes of worship that are in fashion where I live; if it costs me no pains or trouble; if it lays me under no rules and restraints; if I have no careful thoughts and sober reflections about it, is it not great weakness to think that I am striving to enter in at the strait gate? If I am seeking everything that can delight my senses, and regale my appetites; spending my time and fortune in pleasures, in diversions, and worldly enjoyments; a stranger to watchings, fastings, prayers, and mortification; how can it be said that I am working out my salvation with fear and trembling? If there is nothing in my life and conversation that shows me to be different from Jews and Heathens; if I use the world, and worldly enjoyments, as the generality of people now do, and in all ages have done; why should I think that I am amongst those few who are walking in the narrow way to Heaven? And yet if the way is narrow, if none can walk in it but those that strive, is it not as necessary for me to consider, whether the way I am in be narrow enough, or the labor I take be a sufficient striving, as to consider whether I sufficiently observe the second or third commandment? ...Weak and imperfect men shall, notwithstanding their frailties and defects, be received, as having pleased God, if they have done their utmost to please Him. The rewards of charity, piety, and humility, will be given to those, whose lives have been a careful labor to exercise these virtues in as high a degree as they could. We cannot offer to God the service of Angels; we cannot obey Him as man in a state of perfection could; but fallen men can do their best, and this is the perfection that is required of us; it is only the perfection of our best endeavors, a careful labor to be as perfect as we can...And when we cease to live with this regard to virtue, we live below our nature, and, instead of being able to plead our infirmities, we stand chargeable with negligence. It is for this reason that we are exhorted to work out our salvation with fear and trembling; because unless our heart and passions are eagerly bent upon the work of our salvation; unless holy fears animate our endeavors, and keep our consciences strict and tender about every part of our duty, constantly examining how we live, and how fit we are to die; we shall in all probability fall into a state of negligence, and sit down in such a course of life, as will never carry us to the rewards of Heaven.(6)

Those who would examine themselves and find that they come short of true grace can take comfort in the fact that God pours out His grace even on the "chief of sinners." Therefore, while there is yet time, look to Christ and hear His words, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Luke 5:32) Are you a sinful man? Then Christ’s call is to you. If you do not see the wretchedness of your own heart in that you have despised God by blatantly disregarding His holy law, then you are self righteous, and Christ will not save you. If you think you can get to heaven on your own merits, your own goodness, you bring the holy and majestic God down to the level of sinful man, which is a most contemptible place. There is coming a day when you will stand before the God that abhors all that resembles evil, whether in thought, word, or deed, and this holy God has never forgiven one sin without demanding punishment for it. God loved His Son with an everlasting love — a love that cannot be comprehended by our finite minds, yet, He poured out His wrath on Him. Although it was man that nailed Christ to the Cross it was God that gave Him as a sacrifice, and Christ who knew no sin, paid the wages of sin, that we might be justified and therefore reconciled to God. He offers us the gift of the Holy Spirit that we might be delivered from continuing to live a life contrary to His will. To reject such a sacrifice and the gift of the Holy Spirit is the most deplorable of all sins. It is the unforgivable sin. It reveals the true wickedness of a man’s heart. However, God says, "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isa. 66:2). Therefore, humble yourself before almighty God and tremble at His word. Do you feel the conviction of sin in your own soul? Do you find yourself so ashamed that you would not so much as raise your eyes to heaven? Are you agonizing in that you have lived in rebelliousness to the living God? Are you beating on the chest of your heart crying out in your soul, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner"? Then you will indeed go home justified (Luke 18:9-14).

"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:13, 14).

"Most assuredly, he who hears My word and believes on Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24)

And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die" (John 11:26).

"Therefore, having these promises beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord" (2 Cor. 7:1).

And,

"WHEN YOU HAVE DONE ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH YOU ARE COMMANDED, SAY, ‘WE ARE UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS. WE HAVE DONE WHAT WAS OUR DUTY TO DO’" (Luke 17:10).

Bless you O’Lord our God for Your loving-kindness and Your mercy. That which You have poured out upon us in abundance, with all longsuffering. We thank You Lord that even while we were yet Your enemies, you bestowed upon us such love that You would adopt us into Your family, taking us under Your wing as Your dearest of children, even as Christ. Therefore, we glory O’God not in ourselves, but our glory is in this, that we understand and know You, that You are the Lord, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these You delight (Jer. 9:24). Father create in us a clean heart that we might walk worthy of our high calling, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, that we might shine as lights in the world, laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us that we might run with endurance the race that is set before us. Above all things, grant that we might have that fervent love for one another that You so desire of Your children (1 Pet. 4:8).

Footnotes

1. J. C. Philpot was born at Ripple, Kent, in 1802 and received his education at Worcester College, Oxford (B.A. 1834). In 1828 he was appointed to the perpetual curacy of Stadhamption and the following year met his bosom friend William Tiptaft for the first time. Major writings: He was for many years the editor of the Gospel Standard, an evangelical magazine. He also published Heir of Heaven and Winter Before Harvest, as well as the theological treatise The Eternal Sonship of Christ.

2. Charles Hadden Spurgeon, Qouting Spurgeon (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994),

3. ”Tabletalk;” Ligonier Ministries, October 1997 p.52

4. R.C. Sproul, The Soul’s Quest for God, (Wheaton, IL., Tyndale House 1992), p.24 l

5. E. Charles Heinze, Trinity & Unity (Dale City, Virginia ;Epaphras Press, 1995.) p.103

6. William Law, A Serious Call To A Devout And Holy Life (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1977). p17-28

Comment Script

Comments

Name
E-mail (Will not appear online)
Homepage
Title
Comment
To prevent automated Bots form spamming, please enter the text you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.



This comment form is powered by GentleSource Comment Script. It can be included in PHP or HTML files and allows visitors to leave comments on the website.

Site Map | Home | Top of Page

© 2008 Truth According to Scripture

Pop-up verses - The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Quotation information. Purchase an ESV. Comments? webmaster@gnpcb.org. Audio problems? Update Flash or try MP3s. Audio read by Max McLean. Copyright© Fellowship for the Performing Arts.