Climbing The Mountain Of Assurance

Last time we spoke, I left many of you in the valley of doubt. Well, that’s no place to be, so let’s get climbing. (Remember the two mountains with the valley between? If not, review last issue.) Where are you in that picture? Maybe a better question would be, where do you want to be in that picture? I pray that you are tired of living in that valley of doubt. I hope that the pleasure of sin in this world will not be worth the assurance of your salvation to you. I want to encourage you with a tremendous promise. The Bible promises that if we will diligently climb the mountain of assurance, we will gain a victory over doubting our salvation.

A NECESSARY HARMONY OF TRUTH
Before we begin the climb, we need to make sure we are harnessed to the Biblical truth of depending on the Spirit. There’s great danger in taking off on this hike with the thought that “I am responsible to get myself to the top of this mountain.” We would call this flesh dependence. We are venturing out with the false hope that we can will our way up the mountain. It’s not a matter of gritting your teeth and saying, “I’m going to make it if it kills me!” You will never make it up the mountain with that foundational principle. However, it’s your fault if you don’t make it up the mountain. See, you are totally responsible, but it’s not up to you to do it. Sound confusing?

We must remember the “Abiding in Christ” principle of John 15. Without Him you can do nothing. You are helpless and powerless to even desire the mountain much less climb it in your own strength. However, you are going to have to give everything you have; it’s going to take every fiber in you soul and body to do it. Do you feel confused . . . frustrated . . . irritated? Does it seem like I’m telling you that you need to give it everything you’ve got, and then that you can’t do it at all? Which is true? I want you to see a harmony of truth that is essential for the journey. This must be the underlying thought process behind every step of the climb. Notice the following verses:

“But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I but the grace of God which was with me.”

I Corinthians 15:10

Paul claims that it was grace (God’s power given us through Spirit dependence) that enabled him to do what he did. Then he said that he laboured abundantly. Wow! Who’s doing the working? Is it Paul or God? The answer to that question is . . . YES! The grace of God is God’s power given us when we choose to depend on Him, and we show our dependence when we reach forward in faith and do what God tells us to do. The power of God is within you enabling you to climb that mountain. However, have you responded in faith by exerting effort to climb? Notice the danger mentioned at the beginning of the verse. Has the grace of God been bestowed upon you in vain? How is that possible? If you do not labor abundantly by faith, you are not depending upon that grace and so are not exercising that power within you.

“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.”

II Corinthians 6:1

Here again we have this warning: don’t receive God’s power in your life for nothing. Don’t let it lie dormant in you. By faith, reach out in dependence on God’s Spirit, and when you reach out to labor up the mountain, the power that you will experience will not be yours but His.

“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Phil. 2:12-13

The Bible first commands us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Here again is our personal responsibility. If you don’t, you are to blame. It’s up to you. Then, Paul explains that it is God who does the work. See it’s His responsibility; it’s His work. God is the One Who puts right desires in our heart and then energizes us to do His will. Now, harmonize these truths. You are responsible to exercise the power of God in your life to do what He is working in you to do. Think about the evident implications of this verse. If you are not working out your own salvation with fear and trembling, Who are you then resisting? We know that God’s power is in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. We know that God is desiring to work in you.

You can see the personal responsibility harmonized with dependence on His power. It’s your responsibility to labor abundantly in complete dependence on God’s power within you. If you are not growing as a Christian and gaining that assurance of salvation, you have two indictments against you. First, you are rebelling against God by refusing to do what He has commanded you. Second, you are wasting and ignoring the power of God that is in you to perform His will. Serious stuff! So here is the harmony of truth once more that you must make your foundation:

“Whereunto I also labor, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.”

Colossians 1:29

Settle it then in your heart and mind right now: “I am going to labor diligently to climb the mountain with complete dependence on God’s power in me to enable me to do it.” Make no mistake early on; if you are harnessed to the rock of self dependence, you are sure to fall. On the other hand, you can’t have the “I’m just not strong enough to even try” attitude. Why? Because God’s grace has been bestowed upon you. So don’t let it be bestowed in vain. As you have the promise that He is working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure, strive according to that working and work out your own salvation climbing one step at a time up that mountain of assurance. Let’s look now at II Peter 1 and begin our journey up the mountain. I want you to notice right off in verse 5 what kind of effort it’s going to take from you.

GIVING ALL DILIGENCE

Suppose you are swimming in the Gulf of Mexico on vacation, and you find yourself a good way off from the beach. You’re relaxed, but you are aware of the fact that it’s going to take some effort and pacing to get back to the shore. You breaths are even and measured, your strokes are rhythmic and systematic, and you are enjoying the swim. You are definitely dedicating some focus and diligence to getting back to shore before you ware out. Then, out of no where, about 15 shark fins emerge from the surface of the water a good 50 yards away. All of them appear to be hungry, and it seems as though you may be on the lunch menu for the day. They are making a bee line for your legs. Suddenly, everything has changed. No more relaxed strokes, no more easy breathing, no more giving half effort. In an instant your entire focus becomes getting to the shore. Whether you eat at Burger King or McDonalds that day doesn’t seem to matter anymore. What you plan on wearing for Sunday seems irrelevant. Every breath, every muscle, every stroke, every fiber in your body is working toward the only goal in your mind: get to the beach quick! Suddenly you are giving All Diligence to do one thing, and only one thing: swim to safety!

That’s the picture as we begin our climb. No one has ever made it to the top of this mountain by accident. No one has ever made it casually, carelessly, or comfortably. No one has ever made it who was faint hearted. Oh no, make no mistake; if you are to make it up this mountain, it’s going to take more than your average, half-hearted effort. It’s going to take All Diligence. Don’t think you can stroll up this mountain with ease. If you are to make it, it’s going to take every bit of your focus, every bit of your heart, every bit of your energy, every bit of your determination, and it’s going to take all diligence. Hey, if you’re not in this with all your heart, it won’t be long and you’ll be heading back for the valley fog. Let’s be determined not to be deterred for anything or anyone. Whatever God asks, whatever we must lose, whatever the cost, our one goal must be getting to the top of the mountain. What in life matters until you have the foundation of your assurance anyway? You might as well put all else on hold until you have climbed here first.

STEP ONE: VIRTUE = THE INWARD STRENGTH TO RESIST IMPURITY

Virtue is more than knowing how to put on an outward conformity to a given set of principles. You will find in life that outward conformity is only good in public, but virtue persists in private. Virtue is inward cleanliness. Virtue is character in your heart that keeps you from doing evil when no one else will ever know. It is inward strength to resist impurity. Outward conformity may keep you from swearing aloud in public, but virtue will keep you from breathing it under your breath in a moment of private rage. Outward conformity may keep you from becoming a public sex offender, but virtue will keep you from enjoying private glimpses of indecent images. Outward conformity may put the right look on your face during a Sunday School discussion, but virtue will put you on your knees in private with God’s Word.

I think of Daniel when I think of virtue. Here he is in Babylon away from his family, his peers, his priests, the temple of God, and all godly influences he grew up with. There’s no one in Babylon telling him not to take a drink of wine. There’s no priest reminding him to be sure to pray each day. There’s basically nothing keeping him from doing whatever his heart desires. How then did Daniel say no and stay pure?! How did he resist the peer pressure of a nation trying to get him to join in with them in their drinking? How did he continue praying in the face of persecution? I will tell you how, he had the inward strength to resist impurity, he had virtue. He had taken this first step up the mountain. There was no doubt in Daniel’s mind that he was a child of God. He could sense the evidence of internal holiness that sprang from his walk with the Lord.

I think also of Joseph in the Old Testament. What an example of moral excellence. Joseph was sent to Egypt by his jealous brothers who hated him. He was betrayed by “God’s people,” and found himself in the midst of pagans. He had every excuse imaginable to do what was wrong. He had no one there to tell him it would be wrong to lust after Potiphar’s wife and eventually get involved in adultery. Dad wasn’t there to stop him. Mom wasn’t there to restrain him. How did Joseph resist her constant aggressive assaults against his purity? Oh, see it clearly, he had virtue. Something more than outward religiosity. Something beyond the face of Christianity. If you could see inside of him there was a heart that was burning for purity because of the God he loved. He had virtue!

Have you taken that step up the mountain? What do you look at when no one else will know? What do you glance at when you won’t get caught? What do you lust after when it won’t damage your public reputation? The question is then, do you have virtue? Ladies, do you have the inward strength to resist the impure advances of some slick dude who is trying to put the moves on you? Are you known as someone who won’t budge or be a push over? Do you have virtue? Listen, if you haven’t taken the first step up the mountain, how can you legitimately wonder why you doubt your salvation?! Add to your faith virtue! It’s not going to be easy! It’s going to take all diligence! Some of you young men may be facing the battle of your life with your mind and lustful thinking or pornography. Some of you young ladies may be facing the battle of your life with an impure body. Give all diligence and remember that it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. You have the promise of God’s Word and the record of history, if you will give all diligence, you can have virtue again.

Before we move on to the next step, I encourage you to review our issues on purity. Don’t try to skip to the next step until you have taken this one. You will find that these steps are not in this order by chance. There is a divine order that must be followed. Next issue we will talk more in length about the next few steps. Please take some time to question yourself about step one. Do you have virtue? Ask yourself some pointed questions:

• Could my thought life become public knowledge without any personal embarrassment?
• What would I do if I was given the opportunity and knew no one would ever know?
• Under peer pressure, do I simply fold to the demand of others?
• Am I willing to take a strong public stand because of a passion in my heart to do right?
• Is my body, mind, and heart pure before God?
• Is my language pleasing to God in every way?
• Do I act differently at church than I do at home, on the phone, or with the friends in private?

The choice is yours. It’s your responsibility. If you don’t have virtue, you are to blame completely. How do I know this? Because I know that God has bestowed His grace upon you to will and to do of this virtue. Strive then according to the grace of God that is in you. Climb, strive, work in God’s power to have the inward strength to resist impurity.