Assurance

BIBLE MEMORY VERSE:

John 5:11-13  Learn these verses.  "And what is it that God has said? That he has given us eternal life, and that this life is in his Son. So whoever has God's Son has life; whoever does not have His Son, does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life." 

Having now understood the importance of being "born again" in our last study we need to come to a place where we can 'relax into the things of God'. If we doubt our salvation this relaxing is impossible, a bit like sitting in a chair that you are not sure will hold you. 

HOW CAN I BE SURE I AM SAVED?

It is interesting, and profitable, to read through the first epistle of John, (1 John) where there are at least 30 references to things that we can "KNOW". See how many you can find that fit in with the six points listed below. When we look at the Bible we find that there are several means by which we may be certain of salvation. Here are six principal means of assurance and it is worth noting that all are objective evidences; nowhere does Scripture tell us that we are saved because we "feel saved" - Look again at John 3:6 and see that feelings originate in the flesh.

1) The clear teaching of the Word of God:

Read what Jesus said in John 6:37, and write it down. 

The Bible is very plain that we are saved because we have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We can believe God's word - see Hebrews 6:16-20, and John 6:68-69, where Peter said to Jesus "Lord. We believe and know that you are the Holy one of God", see also Mark 4:13-20. If we have met the condition of asking Christ into our lives, the Bible - God's Word - tells us that we are saved. Write out Romans 10:13 and Galatians 3:26. 

2) The inner witness of the Holy Spirit that we have been made children of God:

Read Romans 8:15-16 and write it down. This is not a feeling or an emotion, but much more a dawning awareness born in the depth of our spirit that we are God's children. We are a spiritual people. By our becoming born again we should see ourselves as no longer born of sinful flesh, but rather born of Gods spirit.  As a result we can have the INTIMATE relationship with God that He always intended for us. See John 6:63, and Galatians 4:6-8. 

3) The discovery that, as we obey His will, God is working with us:

God has committed himself to those who are His children and has promised to reveal Himself in and through His people.  Read;  Philippians 2:13, James 2:21-24, Romans 6:15-18 and Mark 16:16-18).

4)The desire to become like the Lord Jesus:

 Read; Romans 8:29. What does it tell you?

As we commit our lives to Christ He begins changing us, making us like himself. Note the word commit. Without our commitment to CHRIST we will receive only a small portion of the blessings that are available to us, blessings that are freely given. We are given a choice, we are not animals in some sort of spiritual circus, created so that God can take delight in making us perform for His pleasure. We are given a choice. We can chose to follow Gods, perfect, plan for our lives, for He is a God of perfection, or we can choose to follow our own will. The problem is that if we choose to follow the latter course, we have to face the worlds problems on our own and in our own strength. To my way of thinking this is the worst form of arrogance and pride. For what we are really saying is ‘we can do things better than God, we know better than God what is best for us’. In essence we the created think we know more than the creator! Jesus (who is our role model, in all things) lived a life in total obedience to His Fathers will "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

5).The chastening process Christ allows us to go through:

See what Romans 5:3-5 says.

Hebrews 5:8-9 states; 'Although He was a son, he learned obedience from what He suffered, and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him'.  Jesus was perfected and learned obedience through suffering, we also, are perfected and learn obedience the same way (Philippians 3:10-11). See also Hebrews 12:4-11. We should be aware that the suffering we experience should not be confused with His suffering on the cross but rather the denial of ALL things and relationships that interfere with, what should be, our  most important relationship, that with Christ.

It should be remembered that although crucifixion is one of the most cruel and painful forms of death imaginable, the real suffering of Jesus was because He had to face this agonizing torture alone. Jesus had been in fellowship with God since the beginning of time, but at the time of His greatest need, God had to turn His face away from His son. Why? because God, who is without sin, was incapable of looking upon the sins of the world that Jesus had to take upon Himself. This is the very reason God had to come to earth, not in the form of a man, but in the fullness of man. Jesus is Divine He is all God and during His time on earth was all man. That is why every emotion you will ever feel and every hurt you will ever experience Jesus knows them all, because He has experienced them all Himself.

 6) The love of other believers:

Look particularly at 1 John 3:14. What does it tell you? Write it down.

If God loved each of us enough to die for us, and his nature is being formed in us, we will love one another. Look also at; John 13:34-35, and 1 Peter 1:22-23.

In the light of all this can you say WITH CONFIDENCE, THAT YOU ARE BORN AGAIN (2 Timothy 1:12).  Then expect to grow in God and go on to further experiences in Him. (Hebrews 10:35, Hebrews 11:1). You should now know assuredly that if you were to die tonight you would indeed go to Heaven. Amen and Amen.

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