Issue No. 19 - August 1, 2004 Back to Home Page

ASSURANCE of SALVATION

Did you ever have a childhood fear growing up? Most likely, you have outgrown the fear of the dark, the “boogie man,“ and the dentist. However, it’s amazing how many childhood fears refuse to dissipate through the process of time. If you think long enough, there are probably traces of fear that linger from years ago. For instance, when I was a child, my greatest fear was that there were people who lived under my bed. (Honestly, how many of you thought the same thing?) I was certain that if I got too close to my bed at night, one of them would reach out a long, skinny, hairy arm, grab my ankles, and drag me under the bed! Needless to say, I wasn’t interested in finding out what they would do with me at that point. I would always get a good running start and leap superman style onto the bed. Now, am I still afraid of those people? Well, not exactly, but I’d be lying if I told you I have never peaked under a hotel bed before going to sleep!

There are some fears, however, that you cannot allow to linger around. The best thing you can do is turn around, face the fear, and get the victory. The greatest fear I had growing up stuck with me from the time I was about 10 till I was 18. It was a relentless fear that kept me up at night and stole all peace. It constantly nagged at me until it threatened to destroy me completely. You could sum up my greatest fear with the following question that I asked so many times, “What if I’m not really saved?” I struggled greatly with doubting my salvation. Many nights I would be up late with my parents trying to figure out exactly what my problem was. Unfortunately, my experience with doubting my salvation is not unique. Many teens as well as adults alike struggle with the assurance of their salvation. That’s why we’re going to take the next few issues to answer some questions you may have yet never asked. Questions like:

THE BIBLE COMMANDS US TO GAIN ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

One of the greatest reasons to gain the assurance of salvation is simply because God commands us to. By the way, isn’t it comforting to know that you are not the first person to ever doubt your salvation? On the contrary, God has been dealing with this problem for centuries. It also lets us know that this issue is crucial enough for God to have written quite a bit about it.

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you. . .”
II Corinthians 13:5

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.”
II Peter 1:10

Notice a few things from this verse of Scripture. First, this is a command not a suggestion. In the Greek, we call this the “Imperative Mood.” God is not even suggesting that getting assurance is a good idea; He is commanding that we get it! Remember, God never commands us to do anything that He does not enable us to do. Second, notice that He is talking to “brethren.” Every passage in the Bible that deals with assurance always involves Christians not lost people. Isn’t it interesting that Peter was certain that he was dealing with Christians as he wrote this? The Holy Spirit guided him to address these people as “brethren.” According to the Bible, saved people can doubt their salvation. Third, it will take diligence, hard work, if you are to have victory in this area. Don’t think of this battle as a passive one. Get ready for a good fight from Satan! Last, let me encourage you with a great promise. The verse promises if you will make “your calling and election sure” you will not fall. Literally, you will not stumble over confusion, doubt, and fear. What a promise! If you will get assurance of your salvation, you will no longer doubt. Is it worth the journey? It sure is! Consider the alternatives:

Just continue living in fear, anxiety and doubt.
My own mother had serious doubts about her salvation throughout her life. (She felt she had committed the “unpardonable sin.”) Rather than just dealing with the problem, she battled and battled and battled until she was 32 and sick of the torment. There is no benefit in running from this fear; turn around, face it, and gain the victory.

Hope it will just go away.
Many people are embarrassed about their doubt. The thought of coming forward in an invitation to nail down their salvation is shuddering. They choose to put it off and just hope something will change. Let me just tell you as a friend, it won’t. Often, we grasp onto little helps along the way that bring temporary relief, but never fully have our questions satisfied.

Keep praying to receive Christ over and over again.
My dear wife, Christine, struggled for years as a teenager with assurance. Every night before she would go to bed, she would pray, “Lord, if I didn’t mean it last night, I mean it tonight.” Then she would recite the prayer that had become second nature to her. Did it bring comfort? Perhaps little comfort, and only for a night. It wasn’t until she settled the issue that she gained real comfort.

Continue to be fruitless in your Christian life.
One things is for sure, no Christian will ever be effective for the Lord until they have victory in this area of assurance. A dear young Christian lady was telling me about how Satan had defeated her many times with doubt. “I’d just be getting ready to witness to a friend when Satan would whisper, ‘but you’re not even saved yourself,’ and that would stop me dead in my tracks.” You’ll never be effective for the Lord until you win here.

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith . . .”
Hebrews 10:22

“Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandment . . . That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ . . .”
I John 3:21-23

I also want you to see that there is a direct connection between assurance of salvation and fruitfulness in prayer. You very well may be struggling with an empty prayer life because you are not approaching the throne of God in full assurance that your sins are covered in the blood of Christ. That confidence is necessary for seeing answers to your prayers. I John 3 makes it clear that a person’s own heart can doubt their salvation while God Himself “knoweth them that are His.” (II Timothy 2:19) However, it is much better to have the assurance of salvation, because then we approach God’s throne in boldness/confidence (Hebrews 4:16) and are able to obtain grace and mercy to help in a time of need. Literally, the reason for unanswered prayers can very well be the lack of assurance in a believer’s life.

Having said all that, let me encourage you to join me for the next few issues of The V.O.I.C.E. as we deal with this issue head on. I believe this will be a great help, and I hope you will not be satisfied until you have made “your calling and election sure,” and are able to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”

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