1
ASSURANCE
Be Sure of Your Salvation
Philippians 2:12 (King James Version)
12 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.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (King James Version)
5 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, except ye be reprobates?
if i am saved ---why did my health or my loved ones health get so bad
i heard some one tell an off colored joke an found myself laughing am i saved
i seen some one in reviling clothing and i looked more that once am i reAlly saved
maybe you have a problem reading or understanding the bible or praying seem to be hard for you or even going to church is a struggle you may ask the QUESTION am i saved
Too many people depend on their feeling saved and noton the basis of their actual salvation
assurance of salvation, the knowledge that as believersyou are saved—
- absolutely, perfectly, eternally saved.
- There is no such thing as
- partly saved and partly lost
- partly justified and partly guilty
- partly alive and partly dead
- partly born of God and partly not
You become a believer through the experience of salvation based on the finished work of Christ alone
- your salvation is secure throughout all eternity
i want to preach to you about SCRIPTURAL salvation
This thought is not intended to unsettle you, but to help you discover the truth about your spiritual condition.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (King James Version)
5 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, except ye be reprobates?
Nothing is sure in life but death and taxes," the saying goes. But that is not true. You can be sure of your salvation.
Just as you are sure that you will go down when fallingout a tree, you can know that God has saved your soul.
Just as you know that a fire is hot, you can know that you have eternal life.
- This is called the assurance of salvation.
- It is the opposite of doubt and it is based on scriptural fact.
The Basis of Your Assurance
- Assurance of salvation comes because you have Christ in your heart
- there has to be the experience/bible fact
I John 5:12 states clearly12 He that hath the Son hath life;
- Jesus Christ came into your heart when you invited Him in
- If you have the Savior, you are saved.Christ says in Revelation 3:20 (King James Version)
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. - With His entrance comes eternal life."Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27).
- Assurance of salvation comes from the witness of the Word of God
"He who believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself" (1 John 5:10).
- Has means you have salvation—now.
- It does not say, "He who belongs to a church."
- It is not a question of who is right, but what the Bible says. "
1 John 5:11 (King James Version)
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
- If you want assurance
- study the Bible promises of salvation, then claim them.
- God never goes back on His promises, so the promises provide anchors that hold the believer fast.
John 3:16 (King James Version)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Acts 16:31 (King James Version)
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Romans 10:9 (King James Version)
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
- Assurance is based on accepting these promises and acting on them.
- The promises of God guarantee our security.
- The Bible asks
The Bible asks
Romans 8:35 (King James Version)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
- answer is obvious—no one, and nothing.
most all who find themselves in doubt
- are not reading the bible
- not really praying
- not really coming to church for the right REASONS
- your faith can become weak if you don’t allow your soul the food it needs to grow
- Assurance of salvation comes if you understand the Bible
John promises,
1 John 5:20 (King James Version)
20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
- An inner understanding of the Bible is proof that you are A CHILD OF GOD. Why?
- Because unsaved people are blinded to spiritual truths.
1 Corinthians 2:14 (King James Version)
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- Just as blind people cannot see the world about them, unsaved people are blind to God's Word.
- They cannot understand the message of the Bible.
- They know
the meaning of words
the plot of the story,
but the spiritual message of redemption is withheld from them.
- Before you were saved, the Holy Spirit convicted you of sin, righteousness and judgment
John 16:9-11 (King James Version)
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
- The word "convict" means to cause to see; the Holy Spirit made you see or understand God's plan of redemption.
- This was the work of God in your heart, bringing you to salvation.
- if you have a desire to read the Bible and understand God's message, you are saved.
This does not mean you could pass a test in biblical knowledge,
but that you understand the plan of salvation.
- Assurance of salvation comes when you want to keep His commandments
- When you were unsaved, you did not want to do God's will
- After you received Christ, however, a desire came to do God's will
- even if you didn't always follow your desire.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (King James Version)
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
You can take a pig from the mud, scrub it and pasteon lamb's wool so that it gives the appearance of being a sheep, but when you turn the pig out to pasture, it will return to the mud with the pigs rather than eat grass with the sheep.
It is the pig's nature.
The Christian is different—now you have a new nature. You might sin, but you won't like it.
- Assurance of salvation comes when you love the brethren
1 John 3:14 (King James Version)
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
- there is a common bond among you.
- but becoming angry at another believer does not prove you are not saved.
- Paul and Barnabas got angry at each other.
- Some Christians may inflict wrong on you
- you might lose your temper;
- this should not make you doubt your salvation.
- Assurance of salvation comes when you have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit
When you became a Christian, the Holy Spirit came into your heart to create a new nature within you
Romans 8:16 (King James Version)
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
- The inner presence of the Holy Spirit gives the desire to live a clean life.
- IT MAY TAKE A LITTLE WORK TO CONFORM
- If you want to live a godly life, is good EVIDENCE of salvation
- BACKSLIDE OF YOUR PROMISE TO GOD
- Some Christians backslide;
- they don't desire a pure life.
- They don't portray what Paul wrote
Ephesians 5:9 (King James Version)
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
- We can't say the sinning saint is not saved.
- The Bible teaches that children of God will sin, even though they shouldn't;
- BUT God has provided His way for the sinning Christians to be cleansed of their sins.
1 John 1:5-10 (King James Version)
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that 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 that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
- if Christians do not follow this way of confessing their sins to God and ask to be forgiven, God will chasten them.
Hebrews 12:11 (King James Version)
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
If you have sinned and you realize you are suffering because of it, it is a sign that you are saved.
If you get away with your sin, you might not be a child of God.