Assurance in Christ
‘J esus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
(John 14:6) There is not much in life that we can be sure of.
Some like to make plans, perhaps investing in stocks or preparing some type of retirement plan, some plan for vacations, and those plans are understandable.
There are certain things that we expect to happen.
We expect the sun to rise in the morning and set in the evening, we expect the early and later months of the year to be cooler than the middle months of the year, and we tend to expect things to happen this way. When we begin to understand the frailty of life, understanding that life is a vapor that appears for a short time and then vanishes away (James 4:14), is there anything that can provide complete assurance?
There are many people that claim to be Christians that struggle with the idea of knowing for sure that they are going to “make it to heaven.” I have had conversations with people that have made these statements and have listened to the reasons why they believe this to be true, but dear reader if there is anything of which we can be sure it is that if we obey the Bible’s commands we can know and be assured that heaven will be our eternal home. One of the many reasons I love the Bible is because it gives us assurance that we can be sure of our salvation, just as God has promised salvation before the world began (Titus 1:2). Let us examine a few reasons that we can full assurance in Jesus to save us from eternal punishment and grant us eternal rewards in heaven.
If we were to take a poll and ask “How may I know that I am saved” I am certain that we would receive a multiplicity of answers.
Some may say they know they are saved because of the way they feel. Although there is a sense of relief that is felt when one obeys the Gospel, our feelings are not the best guide, especially when dealing with eternal matters of salvation. I may feel hungry and feel like eating more than I should, and after eating begin to feel sick because I ate too much.
A person battling cancer may feel optimistic about their chances of fighting the disease but sadly sometimes those feelings are soon realized to be deceptive and reality of death is imminent. Some may say they know they are saved because their conscience is clear. The apostle Paul is a great example of using our conscience as a guide as he stated his conscience was clear although he was “before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious” (Acts 23:1; 1 Tim. 1:13; see also Phil. 3:4-6). Our consciences are not the best guides when dealing with spiritual matters. Some may say they know they are saved because they are a “good person.” There are plenty of good people in this world and are deemed “good” by earthly standards, but we are to be different from those in the world and not be measured by earthly standards but by God’s standards.
So how can we be assured of salvation? Faith must be our guide. It is absolutely necessary to have faith in order to please God (Heb.
11:6). The child of God must walk/live by faith and not live according to the things seen in this world (2 Cor. 5:7). But how is faith obtained? Faith comes directly from the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Faith is the substance of our hope and the evidence of the things not yet seen (Heb. 11:1).
Our faith is based upon the things we have written in the Word of God and not in false pretenses or false hopes of man.
If the Word of God is our guide, what does the Word command in order for one to be assured of salvation?
God has made the way very clear! Jesus said that the only way a person can be assured of a heavenly home is through Him (John 14:6).
If one desires to be assured of their salvation they must obey the commands of Jesus to believe that He is the Christ (John 8:24), repent of sin (Luke 13:3), confess Jesus is the Christ (Matt.
10:32), and be baptized into Him (Mark 16:16). This is the message that was first preached by the apostles when men were “pricked in their hearts” (Acts 2:37) after hearing the Gospel preached to them, and these men were told to “repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38). Those that gladly obeyed these simple commands were added to the church and continued living faithfully (Acts 2:41-47). If we follow these commands and continue to live like Jesus (1 John 1:7-9) we can say with all assurance that we are saved, and that heaven will be our eternal home. There is not much in this world that we can be sure of, but thanks be to God for giving us the promise of eternal life with Him.
Jeremy Thornton is Minister of Highway 77 Church of Christ in Marion, Arkansas.
Jeremy Thornton
Minute with the Minister
