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Assurance of your
Salvation*
Assurance of Salvation: The Biblical teaching that God protects
believers for the completion of their salvation.
No one can earn assurance or
security with God. Assurance of salvation is Gods gift! Security does not come
by absolutions, church attendance, good works, reciting Scripture, or
performances of penance. God who has begun the work of salvation in Christians
also provides the necessary assurance to bring His work to its completion in the
day of Christ (Phil. 1:6).
(Phil 1:6
KJV)
Being
confident of this very thing,
that he
which hath begun a good work in you
will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
God in Christ protects and keeps
Christians (John 10:27-29; 2 Thess. 3:3)
(John 10:27-30 KJV)
My sheep hear my
voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
{28} And I give
unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand.
{29} My Father,
which gave them me, is greater than all;
and no man is
able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
{30} I and
my Father are one.
(2 Th 3:3-5 KJV)
But the
Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from
evil.
{4} And we
have confidence in the Lord touching you,
that ye
both do and will do the things which we command you.
{5} And
the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God,
and into the
patient waiting for Christ.
In like manner,
Jesus took seriously the task of preserving the disciples while He was on
earth (John 17:12-15). We do not possess the strength to secure
ourselves.
(John 17:12-17
KJV)
While I
was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name:
those that thou
gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost,
but the son of
perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
{13} And now
come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world,
that they might
have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
{14} I have
given them thy word; and the world hath hated them,
because
they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
{15} I pray not
that thou shouldest take them out of the world,
but that thou
shouldest keep them from the evil.
{16} They are
not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
{17} Sanctify
them through thy truth:
thy word is
truth.
The biblical view of security,
however, is probably best epitomized in the Christian doctrine of
perseveranceChristians must realize that their security does not lie in a
fairy-tale approach to life where once a person becomes a Christian everything
is a happy bed of roses forever and ever. Such a view fails to take seriously
the traumas of human life.
(Eph. 6:18; Heb. 12:1;
Jas. 1:25).
(Eph 6:17-18
KJV)
And take
the helmet of salvation,
and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
{18} Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints;
(Heb 12:1-4 KJV)
Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses,
let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run
with patience the race that is set before us,
{2} Looking unto
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down
at the right hand of the throne of God.
{3} For consider
him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself,
lest ye be
wearied and faint in your minds.
{4} Ye have not
yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
(James 1:25
KJV)
But whoso
looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein,
he being not a
forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work,
this man shall
be blessed in his deed.
The biblical view of assurance
or security is rooted in the conviction that when Jesus departed from the
disciples, the Lord did not orphan them or leave them without support. He
promised Christians that he would come to them and would provide them with a
companion, The Holy Spirit (the Comforter or Paraclete) who would not only be at
their side but would be within them, as much a part of them as their very
breath
(John 14:15-21 KJV)
If ye love me,
keep my commandments.
{16} And I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever;
{17} Even the Spirit of
truth;
whom the
world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know
him;
for he dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you.
{18} I will not
leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
{19} Yet a
little while, and the world seeth me no more;
but ye see me:
because I live, ye shall live also.
{20} At that day
ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in
you.
{21} He
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me:
and he that
loveth me shall be loved of my Father,
and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him.
The
Spirit would be their sense of peace and security, their witness concerning
Jesus, their attorney with the world, and their guide or teacher into all truth
(John 14:25-30; 15:26-27; 16:8-15).
(John 14:23-26 KJV)
Jesus answered
and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words:
and my Father
will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
{24} He that
loveth me not keepeth not my sayings:
and the word
which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
{25} These
things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
{26} But
the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my
name,
he shall
teach you all things,
and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.
(John 15:26
KJV)
But when
the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father,
even the
Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father,
he shall
testify of me:
(John 16:7-16
KJV)
Nevertheless I
tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go
away:
for if I
go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you;
but if I
depart, I will send him unto you.
{8} And
when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment:
{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.
{12} I
have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
{13} Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:
for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:
and he will show
you things to come.
{14} He
shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
{15} All things
that the Father hath are mine:
therefore
said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.
{16} A little
while, and ye shall not see me:
and again, a
little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the
Father.
Along with great promises of
assurance, the Bible contains strong warnings that call Christians to consistent
living, even as they have yielded to temptations and sin and capitulated to the
hostile forces of evil (for example,
(Heb 3:12-15 KJV)
Take heed,
brethren,
lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
{13} But exhort
one another daily, while it is called To day;
lest any of you
be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
{14} For
we are made partakers of Christ,
if we hold the
beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
{15} While
it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice,
harden not
your hearts, as in the provocation.
1 Cor. 10:1-12; Heb. 2:1-3;
3:12-19; 6:1-8; 10:26-31; Jas. 5:19-20). These and many other warnings in the
Bible are meant to be taken with great seriousness. They are no more a game with
God than was the death of Christ.
These warnings appear in the New Testament within clear statements reminding believers that temptation is accompanied by Gods presence. Christians are expected to resist temptations and flee ungodly activity (for example, Evil patterns of life are inconsistent with Christian transformation. (1 Cor. 10:13-14) (1 Cor 10:13
KJV)
There hath
no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are
able;
but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye
may be able to bear it.
The writers of the New Testament were convinced that Christians would heed these warnings and resist the devil (Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-9). It is virtually unthinkable for a Christian to do otherwise. The Christian is anchored to the person of God. Evil has to be dealt with. The Christian can find in God an enduring security for the soul. Such is the meaning of Hebrews 6:17-20. Gods consistency is the basis for a Christians security in the midst of the worlds traumas. (James 4:7-10 KJV)
Submit
yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you.
{8} Draw nigh to
God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse
your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double
minded.
{9} Be
afflicted, and mourn, and weep:
let your
laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
{10}
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,
and he shall
lift you up.
The security of the believer is not merely focused upon this life on earth. It has a dynamic focus on the life-to-come. The New Testament writers are convinced that a Christian will take very seriously the warnings in this life because this life is related to the life with Christ in heaven. The Christian, therefore, is expected to persevere to the end (1 Pet. 1:5; 1 John 5:18; Rev. 3:10). (Rev 3:10-13
KJV)
Because
thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of
temptation,
which shall come
upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
{11}
Behold, I come quickly:
hold that fast
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
{12} Him that
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God,
and he shall go
no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God,
and the name of
the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem,
which cometh
down out of heaven from my God:
and I will write
upon him my new name.
{13}
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.
*Exerpted from a study in the Holmann Bible Dictionary. 1 John 5:9-13 KJV
If we receive
the witness of men, the witness of God is greater:
for this
is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
{10} He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself:
he that
believeth not God hath made him a liar;
because he
believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
{11} And this is
the record, that God hath given to us eternal life,
and this life is
in his Son. {12} He that hath the Son hath life;
and he
that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
{13} These
things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God;
that ye may know
that ye have eternal life,
and that ye may
believe on the name of the Son of God.
Eph 3:14-17
KJV
.
For this cause I bow my knees unto
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
(15) Of
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
(16) That
he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,
to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
(17) That Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith;
that ye, being
rooted and grounded in love,
2Ti 1:12-14
KJV
For the
which cause I also suffer these things:
nevertheless I am not ashamed:
for I know whom
I have believed,
and am persuaded
that he is able
to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day.
(13) Hold
fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me,
in faith and
love which is in Christ Jesus.
(14) That good
thing which was committed unto thee
keep by
the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
Heb
10:22-25 KJV
Let us
draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,
and
our bodies washed with pure water.
(23) Let
us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering;
(for he
is faithful that promised;)
(24) And
let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
(25) Not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some
is;
but
exhorting one another:
and so
much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Rom 8:15-18 KJV
For ye have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear;
but ye
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
{16} The Spirit
itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
{17} And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;
if so be that we
suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
{18} For I
reckon that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in
us.
IXTHEUS
CHRISTIAN GROWTH DEVOTIONALS
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God Bless
You
In Christ.....brother
bob.......<>< For more information, please visit our home page http://www.nazerene.com
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