Membership Matters: The Blessing of an Assurance of Salvation After someone has repented and trusted Christ, has perhaps prayed the sinner s prayer and asked Jesus to be his/her personal Savior, how can that person know for certain that anything has happened? That person frequently doesn t feel very different at all. Or perhaps they feel wonderful for a little while, and then the feelings start to wear off and they wonder if anything ever happened at all. Or perhaps they begin to struggle again with sins they thought were gone, and they yearn to know how it really stands between them and God. DQ: Can we really know now, here on earth, that we are definitely going to heaven when we die? If so, how can we be sure? What does the Bible say about this? This question is an issue of assurance of salvation. DEFINITION OF ASSURANCE: Assurance is an internal sense of personal security in the presence of God. It is a gift of God s grace, but unlike the grace of justification, it is variable, based on our personal circumstances, our faith, our obedience. DQ: Why do you think it is so beneficial to a Christian to have a healthy assurance of salvation? I. ASSURANCE OF SALVATION IS PROMISED Some people claim that assurance of salvation is not possible, or even desired, for the Christian. Roman Catholics state that it is not possible to know for certain, in this life, that we are going to heaven when we die. DQ: Why do you think some people (like Roman Catholics) believe that a solid assurance of salvation is a bad thing for a Christian? 1 P a g e
2 But the Bible denies this: 1 John 5:11-13 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. It seems a central purpose of many Scriptures is to give us a healthy assurance of our final salvation: Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus II. ASSURANCE OF SALVATION IS DESIRED Hebrews 6:11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. III. ASSURANCE OF SALVATION IS DISPLAYED In the Bible, many believers clearly attain to a secure sense of their personal salvation: 2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. Job 19:25-27 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes-- I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! IV. ASSURANCE OF SALVATION IS COMMANDED 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test? DQ: What does it meant to make your calling and election sure? [Perhaps the best answer lies in the context 2 Peter 1:3-9] 2 Peter 1:10-11 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. DQ: What do you think Paul means by this verse? What kind of test do you think he had in mind? Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith
3 V. ASSURANCE OF SALVATION IS VITAL A. It Is Possible to Be Self-Deceived Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' DQ: Do you think that there are many people who have an unhealthy assurance (i.e. they think they are Christians when they really aren t)? If so, how would learning the proper biblical grounds for assurance be so important for the church? B. The Stakes Are Very High Matthew 25:46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." THREE LEVELS OF CHRISTIAN ASSURANCE A. Assurance Reasoned Out in the Mind 1. Basic idea: Scripture tells me such and such I believe that, and that settles it 2. Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so 3. Promises of God simply believed become our assurance 1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I am the worst. Again, we simply say I hear Jesus word, and believe God who sent him; therefore, I have eternal life I have crossed over from death to life. Romans 10:9-10 if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. By this passage, we say I have confessed with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I do believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead. Therefore I am justified (forgiven) for all my sin, and I will be saved. 4. BUT stronger assurance comes by reasoning process Romans 5:6-10 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone
4 might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! How much more language is a reasoning process. Reasoning by faith: when I was at my worst a hate-filled enemy of God Christ died for me. I at my worst, the Savior dead on the cross justified me by his blood. NOW I am a reconciled believer (yes, struggling with sin, but a believer nonetheless) and Christ is ALIVE at the right hand of God interceding for me. It is EASIER to finish the saving work than it was to begin it!!! B. Assurance Worked Out in the Life (Marks of Regeneration) These are changes that actually happen in the heart and daily life of a true Christian. When we see those changes, we grow in a sense of certainty that we are truly saved. As a Christian, you should see the following things happening in your life. Growth in these areas is steady and consistent over a long period of time, though some days may see momentary setbacks. A total lack of these following attributes probably indicates that the person has not actually been redeemed they are still in their sins and not yet saved. DQ: Before we go into each one of these individually, what comes to your mind as a possible list of marks of regeneration? DQ: Do you think that all Christians should see each of these things to some degree in his/her life? 1. Love for God, and for Christ 1 John 4:15-17 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. a. Heart affections after God and the things of God b. A yearning to follow Christ, to be with Him, to see Him c. A growing sense of these things 2. Obedience to God s Commands
5 1 John 2:3-4 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 John 3:18-20 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. Simply put God will not bless disobedient Christians with healthy assurance. The more we obey, the stronger our assurance becomes. The more we disobey (i.e. SIN!!), the weaker will our assurance become. 3. Love for Other Christians 1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 4. Hungering and Thirsting After Righteousness Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. a. A yearning to be holy b. A yearning for the things of God c. A yearning for heaven DQ: How can one tell if he/she is truly hungering and thirsting for righteousness? 5. Personal Holiness: Actual Temptations Resisted Successfully 1 John 1:5-7 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 6. Perseverance over Time Especially in the Face of Trouble 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. Mark 4:16-17 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
6 DQ: How does perseverance through trials greatly increase our assurance that we are actually children of God? [See also Romans 5:3-5] 7. Desire for the Word of God 1 John 2:14 I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 8. Growing Personal Prayer Life 1 John 3:21-22 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. C. Assurance Given by the Testimony of the Holy Spirit 1 John 4:13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. Romans 5:5 God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. THE ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER AND OUR ASSURANCE OF IT Once Saved, Always Saved John 6:37-40 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. BUT Assurance is Different 1. it is possible to be saved and not be certain 2. our sin patterns can severely damage our assurance and make it dwindle, if not disappear for a time When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. Psalm 32:3 A maturing Christian learns that feelings, while important, are not more important than the Word of God and our faith in that word. Feelings depend on perceived truth and our perception of truth sometimes can be quite weak.
7 THE BENEFITS OF A HEALTHY ASSURANCE The Benefits of a Healthy Assurance It Glorifies God It Makes Us Consistently Joyful It Helps Us Resist Temptation It Empowers Us for Courageous Witnessing It Sweetens Our Worship It Strengthens Our Prayer Life It Makes us Others-Centered Rather Than Me-Centered It Enables Us to Minister Comfort to Others DQ: As you look at this list, what most encourages you to see a healthy assurance of your salvation? MAINTAINING A HEALTHY ASSURANCE Be Constantly in the Word of God Ask God for a Healthy Assurance Obey God s Commands by the Spirit Confess Quickly Any Known Sins Put Sin to Death by the Spirit Think Often of Christ s Death and Resurrection Think Often of Heaven; Study it from Revelation Meditate on the Wickedness and Danger of Sin