Eternal Assurance - CHRIST SAVES Ministries

Eternal Assurance Part 1: Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled.

This series is to remind us it really is all about Jesus, our Best Friend, our Master and our Savior.

Do you see Jesus in the following passage?

Php 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Do you see Jesus?? Is He not PERFECTLY all these things?!

We rightly say He’s the only Person that fills up these qualities!

And because He became human like us, we’ve “seen” Him, we’ve even “seen the Father”, according to John…

… He has shown us and revealed to us in a Person what God is like….

Jn 1:17-18 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Jesus said in Jn 14:9 Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

And so we have Php 4:8, a treasure chest description of our Lord, the only perfect Person to ever live.

And a continued point the Spirit has been making: Focus on Him and you will be satisfied.

Jer 23:6 “In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called,
‘The Lord our righteousness.’

Mt 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Col 3:1-4 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

There we see the solution to the misery of focusing on self!

Focusing on our perfect Lord and Savior sets us free from bondage and gives us joy. It’s really that simple.

And that last verse is a little teaser for this series, as well.

I recently read a quote from D.L. Moody and a thought similar to Php 4:8 was expressed by him about what heaven will be like, and if you think about it, Heaven is all about Jesus in every way:

D.L.Moody:
The light of heaven is the face of Jesus
The joy of heaven is the presence of Jesus
The melody of heaven is the name of Jesus
The harmony of heaven is the praise of Jesus
The theme of heaven is the work of Jesus
The employment of heaven is the service of Jesus
The duration of heaven is the eternity of Jesus
The fullness of heaven is Jesus Himself!

Life itself is really all about Jesus, and THAT’S why Life is Good.

He’s the Rock Who never changes. He’s the only One who has made life good for us believers.

And we can rightly and confidently say “life is good” because of THE NEW LIFE Jesus has purchased for us…. The Lord is truly our Confidence!

We’ll see if the Spirit ends this series on Eternal Assurance with a similar theme.

As a continued introduction to this series on Eternal Assurance, I’ve been led to also share some things about the love of God.

If God is love (1Jn 4:8,16), and if Jesus is God in the flesh (Jn 1:1,14, 8:58, 2Co 4:4), then we can conclude that Jesus IS love, correct??

Therefore, we can conclude that Love became manifest to us in the Person of Jesus Christ!

Love Manifest: God’s Love came alive to us, as the God-Man reached across the chasm between us and God, to DO something about our problems of sin and death.

Love is what made eternal life possible for us, AND eternal assurance a reality for us believers…. that’s why it’s called “eternal” life; it’s eternal, lasting forever! Jn 3:16

And it’s clear in Holy Scripture that it was God’s great love that motivated Him to come and save us from our sins.

Eph 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.

Without God’s Love acting on our behalf, we simply wouldn’t be here, but we’d all be in the lake of fire, and deservedly so!

And so, the Spirit had me dwelling upon this, and upon our church family as well.

Love Manifest in the Person of Jesus Christ : If God’s love reached across the chasm to cover our sins and transgressions, shouldn’t we do the same for one another?? 1Pe 4:8

The Apostle Peter wrote through the Holy Spirit:
1 Pe 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

If God loved us in such a way as to cover your shame and guilt, should we not be EAGER to cross the chasm between ourselves and others, with the same forgiving love that we’ve been shown??!

I was speaking to a member of our church family and we were talking about resentment….

… which manifests itself in holding onto things in our hearts… one of the worst things we can do to ourselves…

… holding onto grudges and basically a lack of forgiveness towards someone that we think wronged us or slighted us.

And… they may truly have done so! And they may have truly hurt us!

But what does God’s love say about that? What did God’s love DO about that? (we’ve sinned against God FAR MORE than anyone has sinned against us)

Love COVERS a multitude of transgressions.

Think about that mental attitude, which God’s love carries with it.

It’s like if someone just got sick and threw up all over the floor,…

… instead of holding it against them, or telling everyone else to look, you kindly go up with a towel and COVER their mess.

Sorry it’s not a perfect analogy, but I hope you get the point.

Love’s first instinct is to COVER; that’s the love of Christ… to especially cover another’s guilt and failures.

Think of Peter, the one whom the Lord covered and forgave after he denied the Lord 3 times…

… this same Peter, whom the Lord immediately forgave and covered, tells us to keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Peter learned this truth from the Lord firsthand, and he passed on this wisdom to us.

If you’re a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, God covered YOUR sins! – In light of this, how can you hold back doing so for others, especially for those in the family of God??!

Love Manifest: We’re talking about either living in resentment,… OR casting it behind our back and reaching out with love and forgiveness to the one who offended us. – Which one do we think the Lord wants us to do???

Cast Satan’s lies behind your back, his lies that tempt you to stay bitter and resentful,…

… and cast that desire to stay in the flesh, and to stay in self-pity, BEHIND you,…

… and REACH OUT across the chasm with the power of Christ’s love for your brother or sister…

… overlooking and covering their transgressions and choosing to love them anyway, as Christ did for you.

Amen?

And this comes up related to our series on Eternal Assurance because it’s this love of God that not only saved us believers, but also keeps us saved.

His steadfast, unfailing love is one reason we have eternal assurance!

It’s the faithfulness and stability of God’s perfect love that keeps us saved! (as we will see)

First, let’s do a brief survey in Holy Scripture of love covering transgressions…

Love Manifest: Love COVERS a multitude of transgressions. Pr 10:12, 12:16, 17:9,17, 1Pe 4:8

Pr 10:12 Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.

Pr 12:16 The vexation of a fool is known at once,
but the prudent ignores an insult.

Pr 17:9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

Pr 17:17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.

We might say to our brother in Christ: Cover for me, man! I’m weak at times, I know I offend you sometimes. But please, cover for me, man! Don’t expose me and my failures, as a friend, please hide them and protect me when I fail. Because that’s the love of Christ!

Sounds like David’s conversations with the Lord in the Psalms, doesn’t it? (just read the Psalms and see for yourself 🙂

God’s love motivates us to cover one another’s sins, as He did for us.

…

Let’s see how the Word of God describes God’s Love… which is one main reason God’s children (believers in the Lord Jesus) can have ASSURANCE of eternity in their hearts.

1 Co 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

Love never ends… this is another reason we have eternal assurance if we are “in Christ Jesus”.

1 Co 13:13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The perfect faithfulness of God’s love holds it all together for us believers, forever!

Lam 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

If you’re a believer in TLJC as your Savior, the Bible says He won’t let you go! His love is often translated “unfailing love”!

Let’s see some examples of the perfect faithfulness of God’s love toward us!

Jn 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Rom 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can you get any greater assurance than that?!!

Think about this: the all-powerful God of the universe and the Savior of the world says He won’t let His children go!

Now compare what we just read about God’s faithful love to this verse:

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Notice how love comes first, and it encompasses the other parts of the fruit of the Spirit… immediately we see patience and kindness in both 1Co 13:4 and Gal 5:22, for example.

The Spirit’s point is, and has been:

Love Manifest: We believers need to abide in the sphere of God, which IS the sphere of love because “God is love” (1Jn 4:8,16)… it’s the same sphere of God’s love that saved us that keeps us saved!

Stay there, abide there, live there, each and every day… and you watch how much more peace you have in your soul…

… and also, watch how much less Satan and his servants can take advantage of you and your family!

As believers, we can live each day in the power of God’s love!

In other words, LOVE FIRST…… and watch resentment and bitterness melt away…

… because you choose to abide in God’s sphere of love; you choose to love others, covering a multitude of sins, just as He did for us.

Motivated by His great love, He purchased eternal life for us by His own blood, and He has also given us eternal assurances of what’s to come for those who trust in Him!

And to bring it full circle; that’s why life is good!

And we’re going to see more of what Jesus Himself said to us.

Life Is Good: Since God is good AND God is eternal life, then the life that God has is good. And this is the same life we believers are given at salvation; it’s called “eternal life”, and WOW, it’s good! 🙂

This my friends, is HOW we are able to overlook transgressions committed against us by others.

This is HOW we can go forward LOVING someone who has hurt us or slighted us.

But please remember, the power of the love of God comes from living in the truth of His Word.

It’s His Word that teaches us about the power of His love!

This is HOW we can transcend (rise above) the circumstances of life, both good and bad ones!

This is HOW we can say “Life Is Good!”

Eternal life is so far beyond, and so far better, than the transactions we look to in this life, that it’s not even worthy of comparison!… so, let’s transcend our circumstances!

And it IS worthwhile to overlook these transactions (our day to day activities) that we wrongly rely upon for happiness…

… it’s good to look BEYOND our daily transactions…

… just as we overlook transgressions against us, all to the glory of God “who loved me and gave himself up for me”. Gal 2:20

This is the power of God’s love in action. 🙂

…

The Spirit also told us that eternal life is a fact, according to the words of our Lord Jesus in Jn 6:40.

This is ALSO coming up later in this series.

I love to watch the Spirit do His prep work 🙂

Because God knows, we all get too familiar at times.

But instead, Live In Eternal Life: Let’s choose to be grateful and abide in the sphere of God’s love.

Amen?

One other key statement I’m pressed to share with you:

Pastor Collins: Some people know facts about God without being moved or motivated by them.

Let’s choose to be moved by the truths we learn.

But make no mistake; this requires humility and submission.

Let’s surrender our hearts in such a way that we allow God’s Word to change us!

Eph 3:19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Do you see here there’s a divine purpose to knowing the love of Christ?

It’s not just facts written on a page, but a truth that God has given us to set us free!

So again; Let’s choose to be moved by the truths we learn!

…

Now on to our topic: Eternal Assurance – “Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled”

What type of confidence can we have in the Lord’s salvation?

I’m not talking about us simply giving the right biblical answer.

I’m talking about what kind of confidence do we walk around with on a daily basis?

I’ll be totally honest with you, my confidence was shaken at times with some of the challenging lessons we’ve had over the years.

We’ve often been led to examine our faith, making sure we’re of the faith and not playing religious games with God…

… which is a very good self-examination the Bible tells us to undergo.

But… when you come out the other side, convinced by the Spirit within you that you ARE saved… that you ARE a believer in the Lord Jesus… by the grace of God…

… it is then you can and should claim all the wonderful promises and evidences about the ASSURANCE we have “in Christ”.

And that also includes all the evidences, all the “fruits”, that the Spirit has been producing in you. (see 1John, for example)

The Bible reveals that’s a form of assurance, also, which we will get to in this series.

What did the apostle Paul write in Rom 8:38?? – “I am sure…”

… he was sure of God’s love being unbreakable and unchangeable towards those He has elected and called and justified and glorified (see Rom 8:28-39)!

…

Again, regarding God leading me to share this subject of Eternal Assurance, the Spirit used an under the radar source for me to confirm this subject for us,…

… as I was browsing through the church website one day at nccdighton.org. (you might consider doing that when you’re looking for something good to do/learn, and see what the Spirit leads you to)

Our faithful secretary Monica not only has an important job as secretary, but is also busy with other responsibilities in the church, one of which is running the prep school (not a small task!).

As part of this, she’s in charge of preparing lessons, and also writing a monthly blog for the children, called “Kids’ Corner”, among other things.

Here’s a recent excerpt:

KIDS’ CORNER: Religion(2-1-20) – So, how do the religions of the world differ from Christianity? Worldly religions teach people that salvation must be earned and kept by their good works. These good works, then, are motivated by fear of losing that salvation. The power source for their works is self, giving glory to self. This all resulting in a life of insecurity as people strive to remain “good enough”. How awful!

Well said, right?

KIDS’ CORNER: Religion(2-1-20)
As “today’s verse” tells us, God promises Christians a life of peace as we trust in Him for all things. Thank you, God, for your love and grace as you offer us eternal security through the saving work of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior!

We’ll get to “today’s verse” in a moment, but let’s dwell on this point.

Notice she wrote “you offer us eternal security THROUGH the saving work of Jesus Christ.”

My friends; our salvation and our security are all found when we trust in Christ alone, and HIS work on the Cross!!

In other words, it’s THROUGH HIM we are granted all these grace gifts.

In other words, our salvation AND OUR SECURITY are based fully upon His accomplishments, and we receive such blessings by grace through faith!

All of this was motivated by His amazing love.

If salvation depended upon us and our goodness and our faithfulness, we would all come up short of God’s perfect requirements. (see Rom 3)

But, we can have Eternal Assurance “in Christ”; because salvation depends upon God and Christ and HIS loving sacrifice and HIS faithfulness,…

… therefore we believers can have ASSURANCE, because His work and His power are perfect!

Assurance is something in the soul that we believers can hold onto and experience every day because of HIS faithfulness.

1 Cor 1:4-9 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

WHO will sustain us? – our Lord!
WHO is faithful? – our Lord!

We are not always faithful, but thank God that HE IS!

So… we’re not only talking about the statements in the Bible about eternal security,…

… but we’re also talking about the ability to walk around with assurance in our souls… the assurance of possessing eternal life in Christ.

And here was “today’s verse”:

KIDS’ CORNER: Religion(2-1-20) – Jn 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Ask yourself this question: Why would Jesus Himself tell us believers to not be afraid if we actually had something to be afraid of??

Of course, HE WOULDN’T! – He’s good and honest in every way!

Remember Php 4:8?

Shouldn’t we take the Lord Jesus at His Word, embracing His words as 100% trustworthy?!

Amen we should! – look at it again!

It’s scriptures like this that should give us such peace and assurance, that we believers are embraced by His perfect loving arms forever.

“Today’s verse” reminded me of something earlier in the same chapter: just gotta love this!

Jn 14:1-2″Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

…

We believers really need to ask ourselves why we are insecure, if we are in our hearts.

Why are we thinking like doubting Thomas when we have such clear statements like this given us from the lips of our Lord?

So… besides these two wonderful scriptures in John 14, we’re going to use Romans 8 as a platform, or springboard, for these lessons on Eternal Assurance.

And there’s nothing quite like reading the Bible in context, right?! 🙂

So let’s enjoy the journey and see what the Spirit of Jesus says to we believers as His adopted family…

Ro 8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (if you’re a believer, take that to heart! let not your hearts be troubled!)

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

(as a side note, Who animates us or enables us to cry out to God as Father, or as our Dad?? It’s His Spirit inside of you! – “by whom we cry” – dwell on that)

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Remember, the love that covers??) Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,”For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There we see some good, confidence-building questions for we believers…

… similar to the questions Jesus posed to us in Jn 14, when He also said “let not your hearts be troubled”.

We sometimes can be too hard on ourselves, as one of Pastor Collin’s recent blogs addressed.

Eternal Assurance: Do we forget that, by grace through faith, we believers are co-victors with Jesus Christ, “more than conquerors through him who loved us”? – Ro 8:37

This is another reason we NEED the Word of God daily,…

… to wash away the grime and doubts in our souls that we pick up from life in the devil’s world, or the devil’s age.

We NEED these wonderful reminders daily because of our 3 enemies (the kingdom of darkness, our sin natures, and the world’s system) constantly hen-pecking at us.

This type of teaching from the pulpit, along with daily reading your Bible, are the protection from the lies of insecurity.

True believers are destined to have assurance in their hearts every day they’re on earth!

Pastor Collins wrote another blog almost a year ago now…

… it was an excellent summary of our assurance in Christ.
(so much so, I asked Pastor is we could put a link to it on the Christ Saves website)

I’d highly recommend reading it in conjunction with this series.

If you do so, it will most likely result in a peace and assurance in your soul greater than you’ve ever had.
Blog from 3/1/19: Assurance Of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith
In this series, we are going to use some summary points from this blog, but I’d recommend to anyone struggling in this area to go back and read it with your Bible and a cup of tea.

In other words, make a meal out of it.

Sit down at your table and feast on it, looking up all the scriptures for yourself along the way.

And watch how satisfied you become… not by the food of this world, but the food of the Word will sustain you.

So, in this series I’m not going to try and reinvent the wheel.

We’ll use some of this blog as an outline to go through Holy Scripture on the subject of assurance.

And we’ll see where the Spirit leads us to expand on certain truths.

All the glory be to God for revealing to us the things He will reveal, by grace through faith.

And how about thanking God that He has even given us scriptures to re-assure us?!

Amen?

He didn’t have to… but that’s what His perfect love does.

Here’s the first point from the blog, which also can be found on our website:

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy fellowship with God the Father and the Son through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 John 1:3; cp Galatians 2:20; 1 John 5:1).

1 Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

If you enjoy reading this verse, and this is a reality in your life, then that’s a fruit of your salvation and a reason for assurance in Christ.

1 Jn 1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

There we see that new life in Christ includes fellowship with the Father and the Son.

1 Jn 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

And a fruit or an evidence of this is love for the Father and love for those born of Him. (and we remember; love covers a multitude of transgressions)

In other words, if you have His love, that’s a sign you are born again and saved.

There we see the simple truth of being born again, or born of God… whoever has placed their trust in Christ has been granted saving faith by God; believers are those whom He caused to be born again! (1Pe 1:3-5)

What do we mean that “He caused” our new birth??

1 Pe 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Notice here, regarding the believer’s assurance: we are being guarded by God’s power, through faith, which faith the Lord provides to us also. 🙂

Being a born-again believer means you’ve been made new by the Spirit of the living God and you are now HIS possession, FOREVER!

Salvation is really a miracle of God in our lives… He converted us from desperate, helpless sinners into children of God!

Here’s one example of the supernatural ways of God’s converting us:

Jn 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Can any of us explain how the wind works?? Can we control the wind, or grab it in our hands?!

This is why we say salvation is a supernatural work of God on our behalf!

Again;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy fellowship with God the Father and the Son through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 John 1:3; cp Galatians 2:20; 1 John 5:1).

Now here’s a verse that really humbles me every time I read it, and it helps simplify life for me…

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Again, if you read this verse and enjoy this truth… if you embrace the fact that you now live for Christ, and that Jesus loved you and gave Himself up for you,… that right there, my friends, is reason for to have assurance of your eternal salvation!

That’s a sign that your heart has been changed by God…

… and that you are now “in Christ Jesus” forevermore, because God says so, and HE is perfectly faithful!

Eternal Assurance in Christ: If your soul enjoys the truths in these scriptures, you apparently possess some supernaturally-granted love and affection for Christ…which a sinner can only receive as a gift from God, by grace through faith! Eph 2:8-9

I hope you see the point…. and if not, ask God to show you the point.

Our Heavenly Father wants us believers to live a life of assurance. (i.e. – what earthly father doesn’t want that for his children??!)

If you’re a believer in the Lord Jesus as your Savior, listen to what He said: “Let not your hearts be troubled.” (Joh 14)

Here’s the next main point from the blog:

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We are personally comforted/assured by the God of all grace (Psalm 34:8; 2 Corinthians 1:3; Philippians 4:19; Hebrews 4:16; 1 Peter 5:10).

Ps 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Is that you? Do you habitually “take refuge in Him”?

Do you seek your heavenly Father’s protection; to get under the cover of His omnipotent wings?

If so, that’s another good reason to be assured; a sign that your heart has been changed by God and you belong to Him.

Unbelievers do not have these types of affectionate thoughts for God and His Son…

… so, if you DO have these types of affectionate, grateful thoughts towards the Lord, you should be assured! – “Let not your hearts be troubled”. 🙂

As we’ve learned in the last year or so, true believers have an affection for the Lord Jesus. And this is a good fruit in the life of a born-again believer.

Do we struggle sometimes, even with our faith?

Yes, we all do, and that WILL happen at times, until the day we leave these wretched, fleshly bodies.

But, if you’re a true believer, the Lord is your confidence!

WE are not our own confidence. THE LORD is our confidence. So says Holy Scripture.

Do you see the point??

We are saved THROUGH CHRIST and HIS power, not because of our own power.

Not even our human willpower can get us there. (see Rom 9)

Do you remember this old friend?

Jn 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

GOD is the One who elects or calls any of us to His salvation, by His grace!

Rom 9:15-16 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

And if you’re a believer in the Lord Jesus and you have a certain affection for Him, then you can rest assured He called you and elected you!

If you were indifferent towards God and Jesus, then you might question if you ever received saving faith from God.

But, the apostle John tells us we believers are born of God. (1Jn 5:1)

Again;

2 Co 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

Are you grateful like this?? – If so, then BE AT REST in your soul, and be assured of your eternal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you see a theme yet? 🙂

Eternal Assurance in Christ: If appreciation for these truths is going on in your heart right now, that’s a sign that you belong to Him!

It’s that simple and pure… that’s good fruit; that’s evidence of His Spirit within you!

In other words, if you’re a true believer you’re NOT indifferent,… like some church-goers are who are in church for selfish reasons.

You WILL slip and fall into sin at times, but as a believer you repent and come back to Him, because you KNOW something… or should we say you know SOMEONE?

Php 4:19-20 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

God reassures us, by grace.

Heb 4:16 Let us then with confidence(with assurance)draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

1Pe 5:10-11 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Just WOW, right?

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy being made new in Christ Jesus, freed from a fearful spirit of slavery. (Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 5:17).

Ro 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

I was once an orphan in this world, and a slave to sin… but the Lord reached down to me and saved me and adopted me!

God loves orphans, remember 🙂

We were ALL spiritual orphans, born slaves of sin! But by grace, He reached down and crossed the chasm for us!

Crossing The Chasm: It gives our loving God immense joy to rescue those who humbly turn to Him. Lk 15:7,11-32

Just a friendly reminder of God’s heart for us:

Lk 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Think of the father of the prodigal son, running out to meet the returning son with great eagerness and joy, to hug him and love him and bless him.

Lk 15:20-24 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

And think of the joy Jesus had in His heart, knowing He was going to save us.

Remember in Is 9:6, Jesus is also called “Eternal Father”…

… He is equal with, and possesses, the same heart as the Father.

And we know for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the Cross. Heb 12:2

WE were the joy set before Him.

He rejoiced at the opportunity to save our fallen, helpless souls.

He rejoiced at the opportunity to cover our sins, once for all.

Again;

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy being made new, freed from a fearful spirit of slavery, in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 5:17).

2 Co 3:4-6 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Co 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Eternal Assurance – “Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled”, Part 2

In Part 1, the Spirit started us out with a focus on the Person of Jesus, and on His love and forgiveness.

That’s a great way to start ANY message.

In this case, He used it for an introduction to the concept of Eternal Assurance.

On Sunday, I gave you this thought provoking quote from Bible scholar D.L. Moody…

… it reminds us of how simple and pure heaven will be, all because of Jesus and His work on our behalf:

Life itself is really all about Jesus and His complete victory through His Cross and Resurrection… and THAT’S why Life is Good!

He’s the One, and the only One, who has made life good for us believers.

We also talked about how God, who IS Love, became manifest to us in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Love Manifest: God’s Love came alive to us, as the God-Man reached across the chasm between us, to DO something about our problems of sin and death.

God’s Love is what made eternal life possible for us, AND eternal assurance a reality for us.

And so, the Spirit had me dwelling upon this, and upon our church family as well.

Love Manifest: If God’s love reached across the chasm to cover our sins and transgressions, shouldn’t we do the same for one another?? 1Pe 4:8 – Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Love’s first instinct is to COVER the sins and failures of others; that’s the love of Christ…

Love Manifest: We’re talking about resentment, and either living in it OR casting it behind our back and reaching out and purposefully loving the one who offended us!

We must especially forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ. Mt 18:21-35, Col 3:13

Col 3:12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

And this comes up related to our series because it’s this love of God that not only saved us, but keeps us saved!

Think about that for a minute…

… it’s this love of God that not only saved us, but keeps us saved!

Eph 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved

His unfailing love gives us eternal assurance, and security, as well.

It’s the faithfulness and stability of God’s perfect love that keeps us saved! (as we will see)

The Spirit’s point is, and has been:

Love Manifest: We need to abide in the sphere of God; which IS the sphere of love… the same sphere of God’s love that saved us and keeps us saved!

Stay there, abide there, live there, each and every day…

… and if you do that, by faith, you watch how much more at peace you are.

As a believer in Christ, you have the right to live in the power of God’s love, and LOVE FIRST in your life, and watch resentment and bitterness melt away…

… because you choose to abide in God’s sphere of love; you choose to love others as Christ loved you and gave Himself up for you!

Eternal Assurance: Jesus purchased eternal life for us by His blood, and He has also given us eternal assurances of what’s to come!

And to bring it full circle; that’s why life is good!

That’s why we can transcend, or rise above, the circumstances of life.

That’s what our God and Savior says is possible for us!

HE is the reason life Is Good! Eternal life is so far beyond, and so far better, than the transactions we look to in this life, it’s not even worthy of comparison!

Let’s choose, by grace through faith, to transcend our earthly circumstances!

Let’s remember, eternal life not only refers to being “forever”, but also refers to a certain QUALITY of life; the abundant life that Jesus also promised us.

Jn 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

There’s a reference to “eternal” life, which we can live in RIGHT NOW.

Living In Eternal Life: Let’s choose to be grateful and abide in the sphere of God’s love! It’s that simple!

By grace, through faith, He will empower us to do so.

Therein lies the joy of God’s life; eternal life.

That’s the destiny of we believers; we are designed to live in this new life of God, through Christ.

Another thought the Spirit asked us to dwell upon was something our dear Pastor Collins shared with us:

Some people know facts about God without being moved or motivated by them.

Let’s be careful to choose to be moved by the truths we learn. This takes humility and submission.

Let’s surrender our hearts in such a way to God! Otherwise, there exists the hard heart of the unbeliever.

We might say our humble quest as believers is summed up in
Eph 3:19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

THAT is our quest and goal and desire, as believers… to know the love of Christ that goes BEYOND knowledge. Amen?

We’ve often been led to examine our faith, making sure we’re of the faith and not playing religion with God…

… which is a very good self-examination the Bible tells us to undergo.

But, when you “come out the other side”, convinced by the Spirit within you that you ARE saved… that you ARE a believer in the Lord Jesus… by the grace of God…

… THEN you can and should claim all the wonderful promises and evidences about our assurance “in Christ”.

And that includes all the evidences of eternal life that the Bible tells us true believers will possess.

Let’s be reminded of what the Spirit used to kick off this mini-series:

KIDS’ CORNER: Religion(2-1-20)
So, how do the religions of the world differ from Christianity? Worldly religions teach people that salvation must be earned and kept by their good works. These good works, then, are motivated by fear of losing that salvation. The power source for their works is self, giving glory to self. This all resulting in a life of insecurity as people strive to remain “good enough”. How awful!

Worldly religions lead people into a life of hopelessness, because no one can be perfect.

It’s THROUGH HIM, and ONLY through Him, we are granted all these grace gifts.

In other words, our salvation, and our security, is based fully upon HIS accomplishments, and we receive such blessings by grace through faith!

And recall, all of this was motivated by His great love.

Eternal Assurance “in Christ”: Because salvation depends upon God and Christ and HIS love and HIS faithfulness, we believers can have assurance because His work and His power are PERFECT.

Assurance is something God wants us believers to experience every day.

And we’re not only talking about the statements in the Bible about eternal security,… of which there are many…

… but we’re also talking about the ability to walk around with assurance in our souls… the assurance of possessing eternal life in Christ.

And here was “today’s verse”:

KIDS’ CORNER: Religion(2-1-20)
Jn 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Ask yourself this question:

Why would Jesus Himself tell us believers NOT to be afraid if we actually had something to be afraid of??

“Today’s verse” reminded me of something earlier in the same chapter: just gotta love this!

Jn 14:1-2 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

We really need to ask ourselves if we are insecure, then why??

Why are we acting like doubting Thomas , when such clear statements like this are given us from the lips of our Lord?

I can tell you I struggle with this at times, but this is where we need to have faith in the promises of our Lord.

Besides these two wonderful scriptures in John 14, we used Romans 8 as a platform, or springboard, for these lessons.

Ro 8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (if you’re a believer, you should take that to heart! let not your hearts be troubled!)

… vs. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

It’s only God’s Word that gives we believers the assurance our Heavenly Father wants us to have “in Christ Jesus”.

Ro 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers! (just a thought; if God doesn’t keep us saved, how is He going to have many brothers in heaven??!)

30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Remember, the love that covers??)
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,”For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There we see some confidence-building questions for we believers.

Eternal Assurance: Do we forget that, by grace through faith, we believers are co-victors with Jesus Christ, “more than conquerors through him who loved us”? – Ro 8:37

This is another reason we NEED the Word of God daily,…

… to wash away the grimy ideas and doubts we pick up from life in the devil’s world, or the devil’s age, as the Bible calls it. (Eph 2:2, 2Co 4:4)

We NEED these wonderful reminders of His assurance daily, because of our 3 enemies constantly hen-pecking us.

This type of teaching from the pulpit, along with daily reading your Bible, are protection from the lies of insecurity.

True believers are destined to have assurance in their hearts every day they are on earth.

Pastor Collins wrote another blog that was an excellent summary of our assurance in Christ.
Blog from 3/1/19: Assurance Of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith
So, in this series we’re not going to try and reinvent the wheel.

We’ll use some of this blog as an outline to go through Holy Scripture on the subject of Eternal Assurance.

And we’ll see where the Spirit leads us to expand on certain truths.

All the glory be to God for revealing to us the things He will reveal, by grace through faith.

And how about thanking God that He has even given us Holy Scripture to assure us?!

Amen?

He didn’t have to… but that’s what His perfect love does.

So let’s enjoy some wonderful review right now, to the peace and deliverance of our souls, by His Holy Word and Spirit.

1 Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now please listen carefully…

If you see that and hear that and you enjoy knowing this, and this is a reality in your life,…

… then that’s a fruit of your salvation and a reason for eternal assurance.

1 Jn 1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest (remember “Love Manifest”?), and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1 Jn 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

We first see here the simple truth of being born again, or born of God…

… the one who trusts in Jesus as the Christ, as his Lord and Savior, has been “born of God”.

And a fruit or evidence of that is love for the Father and for those born of Him.
(remember, love covers a multitude of transgressions… in other words, we believers carry on His manner of loving)

That means you’ve been made new, and you are HIS possession, forever.

And here’s a verse that really humbles me every time I read it, and simplifies life for me…

Again, if you enjoy this thought…

… if you embrace the fact that you now live for Christ, and you embrace that Jesus loved you and gave Himself up for you,…

… that right there is reason for your assurance with God…

… that’s a sign that your heart has been changed by God…

… that you are “in Christ Jesus” forevermore, because God says so.

Eternal Assurance in Christ: If in your heart, you enjoy the truths found in verses such as Gal 2:20, you apparently possess some supernaturally-granted love and affection for Christ…which a man can only receive by grace through faith!

I hope you see the point.

If not, ask God to show you the point.

But He wants we believers to live a life of assurance; that He is now for us and not against us!

Ro 8:31-32 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

If you hold Jesus is your Lord and Savior, then let not your hearts be troubled.

Ps 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Is that you? Do you habitually turn to Him in your heart and “take refuge in him”?

Do you seek your heavenly Father’s protection, or to get under the cover of His omnipotent wings?

If so, that’s another good sign that your heart has been changed and you belong to Him.

You should be assured!

As we’ve learned in the last year or so,

Eternal Assurance: True believers have an affection for the Lord Jesus. That’s a fruit of the born again believer. (i.e. – 1Jn 1:3, 5:1)

Do we struggle sometimes, even with our faith?

Yes, and that will happen to some degree until the day we leave these fallen, wretched bodies. (see Rom 7:24)

But, THE LORD is our confidence, right?! We are not our own confidence. THE LORD is our confidence!

Do you see it?

We are saved THROUGH CHRIST and HIS power, not because of our own power.

Not even human willpower can get us there.

Remember this old friend?

Only God chooses or elects or calls any of us, as we know, by grace.

John tells us here that we are born of God by believing in His Name, just as he told us in 1Jn 5:1.

Born Again and Saved: If you’ve repented towards God and placed your trust in the Lord Jesus, then you will have an affection for Him, and you can rest assured He called you and elected you. You belong to Him! Lk 18:13-14, Jn 1:12-13,3:1-18, Ac 16:31,20:21, Ro 10:9-11

We’ve been to these scriptures a lot in the recent past, but
Just for a little more ASSURANCE on this truth,

Lk 18:13-14 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Again;

2 Co 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

Are you grateful like this??

If so, then be at rest… rest assured of your eternal relationship with Christ.

Do you see a theme yet? 🙂

Eternal Assurance in Christ: If appreciation for these truths is going on in your heart, that’s a sign you belong to Him. It’s that simple and pure. That’s good fruit; fruit of His Spirit within you.

In other words, you’re NOT indifferent, like some church-goers are who are there for selfish reasons of some kind.

You will slip and fall at times, but as a believer you repent and come back to Him, because you KNOW something…

… or should I say you know SOMEONE?

Born Again and Saved: True believers KNOW the Lord, they know Who He is and His love and faithfulness and forgiveness, Jn 10:14-16,27-28,17:3, 2Ti 2:19; as opposed to those “lawless” ones to whom Jesus said “I never KNEW you”. Mt 7:23,25:12

Jn 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Jn 10:27-28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Jn 17:1-3 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

2 Ti 2:19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

If you actually care about avoiding lawless living… if you desire to do the right thing like Paul did in Ro 7… that heart is a sign you belong to God, despite your failures,.

In your heart, you desire to bring Him honor and glory, and your overall lifestyle reveals that.

Again;

Php 4:19-20 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

God supplies all of our needs (not all our wants), and that should be very comforting.

Heb 4:16 Let us then with confidence(with assurance)draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

1Pe 5:10-11 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ (WOW!!), will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy being made new, freed from a fearful spirit of slavery, in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 5:17).

Ro 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

I was an orphan in this world, I was a slave to sin… but the Lord reached down to me and saved me and adopted me!

God loves orphans, remember 🙂

He reached down and crossed the chasm for us.

Crossing The Chasm: It gives our loving God immense joy to rescue those who humbly turn to Him. Lk 15:7,11-32

Just a friendly reminder of God’s heart for us:

Lk 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Think of the father of the prodigal son running out to meet the returning son with great eagerness and joy, to hug him and love him and bless him.

Now, think of the joy Jesus had knowing He was going to save us from sin and death!

The Joy of the Father: Remember… the child Jesus is also called “Eternal Father” in Is 9:6. And, Jesus and the Father “are one” in Jn 10:30. And, Jesus said “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” in Jn 14:9. What can we then conclude about Jesus and the Father’s joy??!

Jesus is equal with, and possesses, the same heart as the Father!

And we know for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the Cross. Heb 12:2

He rejoiced at the opportunity to save our fallen, helpless souls.

He rejoiced at the opportunity to pay for our sins, once for all.

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy being made new, freed from a fearful spirit of slavery, in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 5:17).

2 Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

And since we’re in the neighborhood, look at:

2 Co 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Thank God that He made we believers brand new “in Christ Jesus”!

Next;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We are given new abilities to learn from the Word of God, for sanctification’s sake (1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 1 John 2:27).

1 Cor 2:9-14 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

But again, look at vs. 12.

If you’re reading your Bible and gradually seeing and understanding spiritual things, that’s a supernatural sign of His Spirit within you.

I know some of you who struggled when first reading your own Bibles, but now you actually enjoy it and rejoice because God Himself is giving you understanding.

Rejoice! That’s a sign that you are in Christ Jesus!

Rest assured!

Because, as we just read, ONLY HIS SPIRIT can teach us such things about God.

Only He can help us “get it”.

The Spirit is truly the One who teaches us, all things even…

1 Jn 2:20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.

1 Jn 2:24-27 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us — eternal life.

I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything—and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you—abide in him.

Rest in Him; in His Spirit He has given you.

Here’s a little more assurance from our Lord’s own lips:

Jn 14:15-18 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

This is related to the new abilities He has given His children to understand the Word of God.

Jn 14:25-27 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Again;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We are given new abilities to learn from the Word of God, for sanctification’s sake (1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 1 John 2:27).

Next;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

What’s the vector in your life? Which direction are you going in?

Are these things gradually increasing in your life??

How about this; do you have a desire for these things to increase in your life? (i.e. Paul in Rom 7)

If so, you are “enjoying” the fruit of the Spirit; or at least you “crave” more of His fruit in you?

If so, if that’s going on in your heart, that’s another sign you should be assured of your salvation “in Christ Jesus”.

Next!

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We have an abiding love and eagerness for Christ that unbelievers do not have (1 Corinthians 16:22; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 John 3:1-3).

1 Co 16:22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!

Php 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

1 Jn 3:1-3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Eternal Assurance Part 3: “Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled.”

The Spirit has had us talking a lot about the LORD being our confidence…

Get your fingers ready to turn in your Bibles…

Eternal Assurance: Jesus purchased eternal life for us by His blood, and He has also given us eternal assurances of what’s to come!

We believers should confidently claim all the wonderful promises and evidences about the eternal assurance we have “in Christ”.

And that includes all the evidences of eternal life that the Bible tells us true believers will possess.

Eternal Assurance “in Christ”: Because salvation depends upon God and Christ and HIS love and faithfulness, we believers can have ASSURANCE, because His work and His power are perfect.

Assurance is something God wants us to experience every day.

And we’re not only talking about the statements in the Bible about eternal security,…

… but we’re also talking about the ability to walk around with assurance in our souls… the assurance of possessing eternal life in Christ.

Jesus Tells We Believers To Be Assured!

Jn 14:1-2 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

Jn 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Ask yourself this question:

Why would Jesus Himself tell us believers NOT to be afraid if we actually had something to be afraid of??

He would never do that! He has perfect character and integrity.

He wouldn’t lead us into a false sense of security, like sinners often do.

This is why we can REST upon statements like this.

Besides these two wonderful scriptures in John 14, we used Romans 8 as a platform for these lessons, which we will quote from in our message today.

In Ro 8, we saw some confidence-building questions for we believers.

Eternal Assurance: Do we forget that, by grace through faith, we believers are co-victors with Jesus Christ, “more than conquerors through him who loved us”? – Ro 8:37

This is another reason we NEED the Word of God daily,…

Eternal Assurance: Contextual biblical teaching from the pulpit, along with daily reading our Bibles, protect us from the lies of insecurity.

True believers are destined to have assurance in their hearts every day they’re on earth.

And as you’ll see, the Spirit has given us some wonderful scenic “rest stops” to pause at and consider certain truths.

All the glory be to God for revealing to us the things He will reveal, by grace through faith.

And how about thanking God that He has even given us scriptures to assure us?!

Amen?

He didn’t have to… but that’s what His perfect love does for His children.

In other words, you’re NOT INDIFFERENT, like some church-goers are who are there for selfish reasons of some kind.

You will slip and fall at times, but as a believer you repent and come back to Him, because you KNOW something…

… or should I say you know SOMEONE?

This is one of those scenic “rest stops” the Spirit has granted us in the midst of this series on eternal assurance…

… so let’s stop and smell the roses…

Jn 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Jn 10:27-28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Jn 17:1-3 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

2 Ti 2:19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

If you actually care about avoiding iniquity, or lawless living…

… if you desire to do the right thing like Paul did in Ro 7…

… then that heart is a sign you belong to God, despite your failures.

In your heart, you desire to bring Him honor and glory, and your overall lifestyle reveals that.

That’s what a true believer looks like.

Again;

Our next point from the blog:

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy being made new, freed from a fearful spirit of slavery, in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 5:17).

Ro 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

I was an orphan in this world, I was a slave to sin… but the Lord reached down to me and saved me and adopted me!

God loves orphans, remember 🙂

He reached down and crossed the chasm for us.

Crossing The Chasm: It gives our loving God immense joy to rescue those who humbly turn to Him. Lk 15:7,11-32

Just a friendly reminder of God’s heart for us:

Lk 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Think of the father of the prodigal son, running out to meet the returning son, to hug him and love him and bless him, with great eagerness and joy…

That’s a picture of God our Father!

Lk 15:20-24 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

And think of the joy Jesus had knowing He was going to save us!

Might we say that Jesus possessed the joy of the Father?

The Joy of the Father: Let’s remember… the child Jesus is also called “Eternal Father” in Is 9:6. And, Jesus and the Father “are one” in Jn 10:30. And, Jesus said “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” in Jn 14:9.

What can we then conclude about Jesus and the Father’s joy??!

He is one with, and therefore possesses, the same heart as the Father!

And we know for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the Cross. Heb 12:2

Heb 12:2
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

He rejoiced in His heart at the opportunity to save our fallen, helpless souls.

He rejoiced at the opportunity to cover our sins, once for all.

Again;

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy being made new, freed from a fearful spirit of slavery, in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 5:17).

2 Co 3:4-6 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

And since we’re in the neighborhood, look at:

2 Co 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

There’s more reason for our assurance as believers.

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We are given new abilities to learn from the Word of God, for sanctification’s sake (1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 1 John 2:27).

1 Cor 2:9-14 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

But again, look at vs. 12.

If you’re reading your Bible and gradually seeing and understanding spiritual things, that’s a supernatural sign of His Spirit within you.

I know some of you who struggled when first reading your own Bibles, but now you actually enjoy it and rejoice because God Himself is giving you understanding.

Rejoice! That’s a sign that you are in Christ Jesus!

Rest assured!

Because, as we just read, ONLY HIS SPIRIT can teach us such things about God.

Only He can help us “get it”.

The Spirit is truly the One who teaches us, all things even…

1 Jn 2:20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.

1 Jn 2:24-27 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us — eternal life.

26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything—and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you—abide in him.

Rest in Him; in His Spirit He has given you.

Here’s a little more assurance from our Lord’s own lips:

Jn 14:15-18 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Jn 14:25-27 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Again;

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We are given new abilities to learn from the Word of God, for sanctification’s sake (1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 1 John 2:27).

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

What’s the vector in your life? Which direction are you heading in?

Are these things gradually increasing in your life??

How about this, do you have a desire for these things to increase in your life? (like Paul in Ro 7)

If so, you are “enjoying” the fruit of the Spirit; or at least you “crave” more of His fruit in you?

If so, that’s another sign you should be assured of your salvation.

Again;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We enjoy the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Next!
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We have an abiding love and eagerness for Christ that unbelievers do not have (1 Corinthians 16:22; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 John 3:1-3).

1 Co 16:22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!

There we see, the unbeliever doesn’t love the Lord, but the believer eagerly awaits His return!

Again;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We have an abiding love and eagerness for Christ that unbelievers do not have (1 Corinthians 16:22; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 John 3:1-3).

Next!
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We are given spiritual discernment (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 Timothy 2:11-13; 6:3-6; 2 Peter 3:14-16; 1 John 2:12-19, 4:1-6).

1 Ti 2:11-13 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.

Believers can discern, from the Word and the Spirit, the divine order of things. This doesn’t mean men are better than women, but that there’s a divine order of authority.

We accept it because it’s part of the Word of God, and we objectively know it’s true.

1 Ti 6:3-6 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment.

God gives us believers the ability to discern truth from lies.

1 Th 5:21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.

2 Pe 3:14-16 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these (the new heaven and new earth), be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Again;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We are given spiritual discernment (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 Timothy 2:11-13; 6:3-6; 2 Peter 3:14-16; 1 John 2:12-19, 4:1-6).

1 Jn 2:12-20 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father.14 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.

1 Jn 4:1-6 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

God gives His Spirit to every born-again believer, so we can understand His Word and discern good from evil.

Our next point:

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We are acutely aware of God’s holiness and the presence/power of sin and we are grateful for the God-given ability to confess/repent from it (Romans 7:14-25; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 1).

True believers have an inner desire to confess (which means to agree with God); and to be at peace with God.

Ro 7:14-25 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.

17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,

23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Believers will never be perfect in this life, but they have a DESIRE to follow God and to please Him. That’s what we just saw from the Apostle Paul.

2 Co 7:10-11 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

Again;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• We are acutely aware of God’s holiness and the presence/power of sin and we are grateful for the God-given ability to confess/repent from it (Romans 7:14-25; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 1).

1 Jn 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice 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 cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Believers possess an inner desire to be right with God, despite their daily failures.

And they are grateful for the privilege of repenting and confessing to a Holy and Loving Father!

Thank God He is who He is!!

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• As patterns of sin decrease, patterns of obedience increase (John 8:31; 1 John 2:1-7).

Jn 8:31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

1 Jn 2:1-7 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, (sound familiar? Mt 7 “I never knew you”?) 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.

Keeping His commands (obedience) is evidence that we know Him!

On this point, do you remember the capstones we saw recently in the book of Romans?(Ro 1:5, 16:26)

Ro 1:5 (Jesus Christ our Lord) 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations

Ro 16:25-27 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

True faith from God results in a habit of obedience in the believer, over time.

Again;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• As patterns of sin decrease, patterns of obedience increase (John 8:31; 1 John 2:1-7).

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). We love God and others with a love previously unknown to us (John 13:35; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 John 2:9-11; 3:16-19; 4:19).

Jn 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1Th 4:9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,

There’s an interesting passage related to how the Spirit began this series; that God’s love in us covers a multitude of transgressions.

1 Jn 2:9-11 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

1 Jn 3:16-19 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him.

Again;
Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). We love God and others with a love previously unknown to us (John 13:35; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 John 2:9-11; 3:16-19; 4:19).

1 Jn 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

As believers, we’ve come to realize the only reason we love is because He first loved us!!

Because He forgave us of all our sins, we now can love and forgive others in the same way. 🙂

Thank God He has changed our hearts!

Eternal Assurance Part 4: “Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled.”

As we finish up this series on “Eternal Assurance”, let’s be reminded that what we’re seeing in the Word of God are REASONS for a believer to have assurance of his salvation.

According to the Bible, the one who believes in the Lord Jesus as his Savior is changed by God, given a new heart, and as such there are certain evidences that appear in his life by the grace and power of God!

That’s what we’re looking at in this series… the work of God in and upon the believer… to the glory of God our Father in heaven.

Phil 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Phil 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We believers should be encouraged because God promises to complete the good work He started in us. 🙂

Let’s finish up our key points:

Believers have an inner desire to confess (agree with God); and to be at peace with God.

There we see the struggles that even the apostle Paul had, but please notice what was his “desire” and his “delight” in his “inner being”.

The believer’s heart has been changed to desire the things of God and Christ, even as he struggles in this world.

The believer has been given a new heart by God. Therefore, he is not indifferent to the things of God, like unbelievers are!

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Believers have a desire to be right with God, despite their sins and failures, which we will all have.

And they are grateful for the privilege of repenting and confessing to a Holy and Loving Father.

Assurance of Salvation Is By Grace Through Faith.
As true believers:
• As patterns of sin decrease, patterns of obedience increase (John 8:31; 1 John 2:1-7).

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.

Jn 8:31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

Pretty simply, believers will have a habit of keeping God’s commands.

Even though we all fail, every day in some way, our pattern or lifestyle is following God and His Word.

Jn 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1 Th 4:9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,

There’s an interesting passage related to how the Spirit began this series, if you remember; that God’s love in us covers a multitude of transgressions.

All this is possible for us because of the following:

1 Jn 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

Again;

The following points and passages are merely a short list of God’s great promises given to believers.

We could go on and on, finding more and more scriptures about these subjects, but this serves our purpose for now, as revealed in the Gospel of John.

Eternal Assurance From Jesus Himself
Jn 4:13-14, 5:24, 6:35-40,51,58, 10:27-30, 11:25-26

Here we have amazing passages filled with promises about eternal security for believers.

Jn 4:13-14 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jn 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Jn 6:35-40 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Jn 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

Jn 6:58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

Jn 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Jn 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Eternal Assurance of Resurrection for the Believer:
Ps 37:28-29, Jn 5:25-29, 6:39-40,44, Ac 17:30-31, Ro 8:11,29-30, 1Co 6:14, 15:3-8,12-22,49-58, Php 3:20-21, Col 3:3-4, 1Pe 1:3-5, Jude 24-25,

The Bible assures us, as believers in Christ, that we WILL be resurrected.

Ps 37:28-29 For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.

Do you see the promise of “forever”?

Jn 5:25-29 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Again look at:
Jn 6:39-40 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Jn 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Ac 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Ro 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

If believers could lose their salvation, then why would they be promised to be raised from the dead like Jesus?

Ro 8:29-30 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Eternal Assurance of Resurrection for the Believer (cont’d):

1 Co 6:14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.

1 Co 15:3-8 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me

1 Co 15:12-22 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive

1 Co 15:49-58 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Do you see the direct promises of resurrection for the believer in Christ??

Col 3:3-4 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Jude 24-25 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

There’s an interesting way the Spirit wants to end this series:

What does assurance look like?

What should it look like in we believers?

Since we’re talking about having assurance from the resurrection…

When the Lord was on earth, He said the one sign He would give that doubting generation was the sign of Jonah:

Mt 12:38-41 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Jonah was a type of the TLJC in that way… with the wonderful promise, and proof, that we have in the Lord’s resurrection after 3 days.

But Jonah was a type of the Lord in another way too, and it illustrates the believer’s assurance to us.

The Believer’s Assurance:

Jon 1:4-5 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.

Sound like Someone else you KNOW??? 🙂 (see Luke 8)

There we see the assurance granted to the believer in the Lord.

He has given us the ability to be at total rest in the midst of the storms of life…

… and to transcend (rise above) our circumstances and to not be touched, even in the midst of our enemies.

This type of peace is another sign we belong to Him.

May we believers REST ASSURED as we should; being in union forever with Christ Jesus our Lord! Because God says so!

Mt 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

As we began this series, we should end it:

Jn 14:1-2 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

Hopefully you can see the peace the Lord wants us to have, knowing that we are in His hands forever!