To do in one day or come back to,your preference.
Be blessed and thank-you my Sister in Christ!
This is the first in a 5 part series as we discover "The Assurance, Security and Joy of Salvation" Join us on this 5 night journey and tell a friend.
The Assurance, Security and Joy of Salvation - Part 1
ASSURANCE
If you recently have had the experience of receiving Christ, you may have had times when you doubted the reality of that experience, that is, you may have questioned whether you were really saved. Without the real assurance of salvation as a solid foundation, it is difficult for a new Christian to grow and experience the deeper things of the Christian life. Nevertheless, the Bible says it is possible to know absolutely, unreservedly, that you are a saved person. How can this be? Read 1 John 5:13
That scripture says that you may KNOW, (not think or hope), but KNOW you have eternal life. We do not need to wait until we die to find out; this assurance is for us to enjoy today. There are 3 ways to have this assurance...
1. God Says So - Our first means of assurance of salvation is God's Word. Whle man's word may be untrustworthy, God's Word remains sure and steadfast. It is impossible for God to lie (Heb.6:18), Num. 23:19). What ever God says stands firm forever (Psalms 119:89).What God has said is not a matter of conjecture. His Word is neither vague nor intangible. It comes to us today in written form, the Bible. The Bible is God's Word, inspired by Him (2Tim. 3:16). We can take this Word, believe it and trust in it. What then does God say about salvation? He says that the way of salvation is a person, Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 14:6, Acts 10:43, 16:31). He says that whoever believes that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord is saved. He says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:9-13). His Word says to repent and be baptised, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus for the remission, or forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38a). Have you done this? Have you believed in Christ and confessed openly that He is your Lord? Have you called on His name? Have you repented of your sins? Have you been baptised? If so, you are saved. God's Word says so. That settles it.
2. The Holy Spirit Bears Witness - Not only do we have God's Word outside us telling us we are saved, we also have a witness inside us, telling us the very same thing. What the Bible speaks to us from without, the Spirit confirms within. First John 5:10 says, "He who believes into the Son of God has the testimony in himself." Then it's time to obtain the evidence of His spirit dwelling within. (Acts 2:38b). This is the promise that after we have repented and been baptised we shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and it comes with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. That's your assurance that you have the Comforter, the Spirit of God dwelling in you to lead and guide you into all truth. In Acts 1:8, it describes the POWER that the Holy Ghost brings with it, to keep us in all our ways, to be bold witnesses. Sometimes after we have received Christ, we may not feel saved. Nevertheless,, if we check within the deepest part of our being, within our spirit, we will find that inner witness, that we are children of God. Rom. 8:16.
3. Our Love For the Brothers is Proof - The third means of assurance is our love for other brothers and sisters in Christ. 1John 3:14 says "We know we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers." A saved person undoubtedly senses a kind of love for others who are also saved. You sense a desire to fellowship, to enjoy Christ with others. This is the spontaneous result of being saved, one of the clearest signs of a saved person. They have turned from the old life and all things have become new. The love of Christ for one another transcends, goes far beyond the cheap, selfish "love" of todays age. It is a love that is impartial and is unconditional. It loves those who are alike, and those who are very different. This is the real oneness and harmony the world longs for. Yet it is ours when we receive Christ. Dwelling in unity is the testimony of a saved person. (Psalms 133:1). By these 3 witnesses - God's Word, the Spirit's inner witness, and our love for the brothers, we may know and be assured that we are really saved.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2!
This is Part 2 of a 5 part series on The Assurance, Security and Joy of Salvation:
THE SECURITY OF SALVATION
After a Christian has received the assurance that he is really saved, he may consider, "I know that I am saved today, but how do I know that I will be saved tomorrow? Is it possible for me to lose my salvation?" For such a one, it is no longer a question of assurance, but one of security. A man with millions in the bank has the assurance that the riches are his. But if the bank insists on leaving their vault unlocked, our rich friend will have a real problem with the security of his riches, He knows he is rich today, but he does not know about tomorrow.
Is our salvation like that? Is it something which we have today but may lose at any moment? The answer is, unequivocally, no. We can boldly say, "I know that whatever God does, it will be forever" (Eccles. 3:14). One wonderful fact regarding our salvation in Christ is that it is irreversible, that is, it cannot be undone. Once we are saved, our salvation has as its basis the very nature and person of God Himself.
-Salvation Was Initiated by God:
Jesus told His disciples, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you" (John 15:16). In other words, salvation was God's idea, not our. In eternity past, we were chosen and even predestinated (marked out) by Him (Ephes. 1:4-5). Furthermore, it was He who called us (Rom. 8:29-30). Since it was God's plan to save us in the first place, it is also His plan to keep us in that salvation. Could God choose us, mark us out, call us into salvation and then abandon us? No, God's salvation is eternal.
-God's Love and Grace Are Eternal:
Furthermore, God's love and grace toward us are not conditional or temporary. It was not love from our side that saved us, but love from His side. (I John 4:10). He loved us with an eternal love (Jer. 31:3). His grace was toward us in eternity past, before the world began (2 Tim. 1:9). When Christ loves us, He loves us to the uttermost (John 13:1). No sin, failure, or weakness on our part can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:35-39).
Tomorrow we will continue in our study of the Security of Salvation....
This is Part 3 of a five part series on "The Assurance, Security, and Joy of Salvation"
God is righteous - But our salvation is based not only upon God's love and grace, but even more upon God's righteousness. Our God is a righteous God. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. If God were to be unrighteous, His throne would lose it's foundation. Therefore, if our salvation in any way involves God's righteousness, it is very strong indeed! Suppose you run a red light and are given a $25 ticket. That $25 fine is a righteous penalty, and the law of the land demands that you pay it. If a civil judge simply overlooks your offencse and releases you without paying, he is an unrighteous judge. It is not a matter of whether or not the judge loves you; he is bound by the law to collect the fine.
In the same way, our problem before God (before we were saved) was a legal one. We had broken God's law by our sin and had thus incurred the law's righteous judgment. According to the law of God, where transgression of the law is, death must take place. It is not a matter of God loving us, overlooking our sins, and forgetting about the law's judgment. If God were to do this, His very throne would topple. God is bound by His own law to judge sin. What can He do? Since God desired to save us, and since we could not pay the debt of sin ourselves, He in His mercy decided to do so Himself. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, the incarnate God, came to die on the cross to pay the debt for our sin. Having no sin Himself, He alone was qualified to die this substitutionary death.
His death, being reckoned by God as ours, was acceptable to God, and He raised Him from the dead. Now when we believe in Christ, His death is counted in God's sight as our own. Thus, our debt of sin is righteously paid, and we are saved. Now, can God take back this salvation which Christ has purchased? He could, but He won't, Praise God! Since the debt was paid, for God to demand it again from us would be unrighteous. The same righteousness which formerly called for our condemnation, now calls for our justification. What powerful security this gives to our salvation! Even a worldly judge would not demand the same fine to be paid twice. Certainly God, the source of all justice and righteousness, will not do so. The Bible declares that when God saves us, He shows forth His righteousness.
John 1:12-13
We Have Become God's Children-
When we were saved, we not only received something, we also became something. We became children of God, born of His eternal life. A human father may be able to take back a gift he has given to his child, but he can never take back the human life which he has imparted. Although the child may misbehave, the child is still the father's. In the same way, we are God's children. Although we may have many weaknesses and may require His discipline, our sins and weaknesses cannot change the fact that we are His children. The life we received by our second birth is the eternal life, the indestructible life, the life of God, the life that can never die. Once we are born again, we can never be "un-born". Don't be confused though...our sins can remove us from God's will, and with continued unrepentant hearts, we can be turned over to reprobated minds, but as long as we press toward the mark of the high calling, dying daily and seeking the Lord in all things, we remain His children, secure in our salvation.
Stay tuned tomorrow, for part 4 of this 5 part series.
This is the 4th entry in a 5 part series:
The Assurance, Security, and Joy of Salvation - Part 4
God Has Done His Job-
Another reason for the security of our salvation is God's strength. God is unwilling to allow anything or anyone to snatch us from Him. Jesus said, "I give to them eternal life, and they shall by no means perish, forever, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father...is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand" (John 10: 28-29). The hands of the Father are two strong hands holding us fast. Even with this in mind, I must warn...Some would say even if we try to run away from our Father, it would be impossible, because He holds us so firm. I beg to differ...
God holds nobody captive in their salvation, against their will. He didn't kidnap us, He drew us with His lovingkindness. However, as my former pastor Bishop James Johnson taught in a Bible Class many years ago, "we are all free agents, if we want to win the game, and have the best benefits for being a part of the team, stick with the winners. If it doesn't matter whether you are a winner or a loser, do whatever you choose." It's our choice. We make the decision on how we choose to live this life, and where we want to go in the next life.
God Never Changes -
We know it is possible to lose our spiritual walk with God. How, you ask? WHAT? I thought we were talking about SECURITY here? Yes, we are, but we lose our spiritual walk when we walk away from the will of God. God stops leading us, when we stop following Him, turn around and walk the other way. Many people do it every day, and live their lives now as if everything is still okey dokey with them and God. But deep down they know they have removed themselves from God's will. They are withholding their submission to God's will. But as in my signature scripture when I sign my emails, the word of God tells us "No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly". So this is where your security comes in. As sure as the sun rises, God doesn't change. One day we may "FEEL" saved, and the next day, "FEEL" stressed over everything going wrong and cause our minds to wonder about our spiritual status too.
But our salvation is not based upon our erratic feelings. It is rooted and grounded in the God who is unchanging in His love and faithfulness toward us. (Mal. 3:6). But know for a certainty that our doubt is of the devil. As long as we are walking upright before God, He will not and can't walk away from us. We are His children. James 1:17 says "The Father of lights, with whom is no variation or shadow cast by turning." and Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "His compassions do not fail; they are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness". If He loved us enough to save us, He surely loves us enough to keep us in that same salvation, as long as we WANT to be kept.
Christ Has Promised-
Finally, Christ Himself has promised to keep us, uphold us, and never leave us. Although men often are unrighteous in keeping their promises, Christ will never fail to accomplish what He has pledged. Listen to His promise: "Him who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out" (John 6:37) "I shall by no means give you up, neither by any means shall I abandon you" (Heb. 13:5). The Lord's promises here are unconditional, but make note of the operative word in the first scripture of this section "He who comes to Me". We have to come to Him and remain in His presence and His will.
When we have done OUR part, then by no means, under no circumstances wil He ever cast us out or cease to uphold us. This is His faithful promise. What powerful security our salvation has? We have God's selection, His predestination, His calling, His love, His grace, His righteousness, His life, His strength, His unchanging faithfulness, and His promises as the foundation, guaranty, and security of our salvation. We can all declare with Paul: "I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I've committed to Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12).
Stay tuned tomorrow night for the conclusion of this series. If you need copies of the series, email me and I'll be glad to send them to you.
The Assurance, Security and Joy of Salvation - Part 5
The Joy of Salvation
We have seen the assurance of our salvation, that is, how we know that we are saved. We have also seen the security of our salvation, that is, how we can maintain our salvation. But is that sufficient? Unfortunately, many Christians are content to go only this far - having salvation, but having little or no joy and enjoyment of their salvation.
Our friend with millions in the bank may have the assurance that he is rich, and he may have the security of knowing that his deposit is safe. But if he never spends a dime and is content to live a pauper's life, we can hardly say he has the enjoyment of those riches, right? Objectively speaking he is rich, but in his practical experience he has nothing. This is the condition of many Christians today. They are saved, but in their daily life they have little experience of the unsearchable riches of Christ. (Eph. 3:8). However, God's intention is that we not only have Christ, but that we enjoy Him, even to the uttermost (John 10:10, Phil. 4:4). The normal condition of a Christian is to "exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of golory" (I Pet. 1:8).
But nearly all of us will admit that there are times, even many times, when we do not have this overflowing joy. Does this mean that we have lost our salvation? Absolutely not! Our salvation is based upon the sacrifice Jesus made at Calvary, and even suffering crucifixion, Isaiah 53 says "for the JOY set before Him, He endured the death of the cross". So let's learn how to obtain and maintain our joy.
The Loss of Joy-
What are the things, then, that cause us to sometimes lose our joy? The first item is sin. Joy depends on our having unbroken fellowship with God, but sin separates us from Him and causes Him to hide His face (Isa. 59: 1-2). The second item is grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). When we are saved, we become God's temple and have His Spirit indwelling us (ICor. 6:17, 19, Rom. 8:9, 11, 16). This Spirit within is not a "force" or a "thing," but a living being, Jesus Christ Himself (I Cor. 15:45, 2 Cor. 3:17; 13:5). Like every living person, He has feelings and attitudes. Thus, when we speak or do things contrary to Him, He is grieved within us. When the Holy Spirit is grieved, our spirit, which is joined to Him (I Corin. 6:17), is grieved, and we lose our joy.
The Maintenance of Joy-
Our salvation is like a rock, immovable, but the joy of our salvation is like a delicate flower, easily upset by a little breeze,, Therefore, it is something we must cultivate and nourish. What, then, can we do to maintain this joy? First, we can confess our sins (I John 1:7,9). When we confess our offenses to the Lord, His blood cleanses us, and our fellowship with Him is restored. After David sinned, he prayed, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation" (Psa. 51:12). There is no need to wait. The precious blood of Christ cleanses us from every sin.
Second, we can take God's Word as our food. Jeremiah said, "Your words were found and I ate them, and Your word became to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart" (Jer. 15:16). Often we discover that after reading and praying over God's Word, our heart is bubbling over with enjoyment. No famished man is happy. Likewise, we should not remain famished Chrsitians. We should continually feed and feast on God's Word (Matt. 4:4).
Third, we can pray. Often after opening our heart and speaking out to the Lord, we sense a deep joy and refreshment. Isaiah 56t:7 says He will cause us to rejoice in His house of prayer. Real prayer is not the recitation of familiar words and phrases - it is a puring out of our heart and spirit to the Lord. Jesus said, "Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be made full" (John 16:24). Real prayer is releasing and enjoyable.
Finally, we can fellowship. The greatest enjoyment for a Christian is to be together with others who love and enjoy Christ. No human words can utter the sweetness we experience when we praise Him and speak about Him together. Singing songs of Zion, sharing His goodness. I John 1:3-4 says "That you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write that our joy may be made full." Real fellowship is not a duty, but an enjoyment - the greatest joy on earth. If we can first development a true fellowship and communication with Jesus, we will have a true joy of fellowshipping with one another.
So there we have it, the assurance, the security, and the joy of our salvation. Praise Him for such a full and free salvation!!!
Thank you to each one who has followed this 5 part series. It has been a wonderful awakening spiritual journey for me, and I pray for you also. Write and let me know how you feel about this series, your questions and comments. If you need copies, you may email me, and I'll be happy to send them to you.
"...NO GOOD THING WILL HE WITHHOLD FROM THEM THAT WALK UPRIGHTLY" PSALMS 84:11
EVANG. ETHEL L. BUCHANAN
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