There is a fundamental question that we are often faced with as Christians.  Particularly when we come on Sunday morning and consider worshipping God with our whole hearts, we often ponder the previous week and remember our sins and failures.  “After the way my week’s gone, how could God love me? With all the sin in my life, am I really a Christian?”  We need to understand the nature of a biblical assurance of salvation.  Honestly, if we look at our own life, character and pursuit of godliness, we will often be driven to despair and doubt concerning our salvation.  But while fruit is important (Jesus said “By your fruits you will know them” Matt 7:16) and we DO have reason to doubt our salvation if there is no fruit in our lives, praise God that He has given us a solid foundation for assurance, not based on our performance.  The apostle John wrote the entire letter of 1 John to help us understand the doctrine of assurance.  He says it this way:

1 John 5:11-13   ¹¹ And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  ¹² He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.  ¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.

Notice the definitive word in verse 13:  he has written these things so that we may know we have eternal life.  Not guess, hope or be relatively convinced!  This passage shows us that it is possible to have assurance of eternal life.  John Murray, one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century put it this way:  “When we speak of the assurance of faith we mean the assurance entertained by a believer that he is in a state of grace and salvation, the knowledge that he has been saved, has passed from death unto life, has become a possessor of eternal life, and is an heir of glory.” 

Perhaps it would be good to define HOW we attain assurance of salvation.  In other words, on what is our assurance of faith in Christ based?  We should understand that there are two types of assurance.  The first is a simple understanding and agreement with the facts:  “Am I certain (assured) that Jesus is a fit Savior for sinners?” Am I convinced that He paid for sin as a substitute?  Am I agreed that trust in Him alone is the only way to eternal life?”  These are of the essence of saving faith and are very objective.   But the more subjective and personal questions are these:  “Has Christ’s work been applied to me?  Am I certain that my faith is genuine, or am I self-deceived?”   This is what often troubles us.  There is much that could be said here, but let’s consider two passages that describe the most significant aspect of biblical assurance:  Our assurance is primarily based on the promises of God.  Let’s meditate on these great promises for a moment:

1 John 1:9  ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

John 10:27-29   ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

Two great promises are outlined here and both of them have their roots in the character of God.  First, John tells us that we can be assured of the forgiveness of sins because of God’s faithfulness and his justice.  If we confess our sins it would be both unfaithful and unjust for God to not forgive and purify us.  Why?  Because God has promised to forgive those who repent, and He is faithful to keep that promise.  Secondly it is just for Him to do so, since Christ has paid the penalty for our sins.  It would be fundamentally unjust for Him to require double payment for the same sin – once from Jesus and once from us. 

Secondly, you see Jesus in John 10 giving us a sure promise based on God’s character, namely His power and ability to keep us.  If you are struggling with assurance today, perhaps because of sin in your life, look to 1 John for how to deal with your sin (repentance) and then look in hope to this great and loving promise of the powerful Savior:  He gives eternal life to us, and we will never perish, never be snatched away, never taken to destruction!  You can have assurance of faith because God is faithful, just and powerful to forgive your sin and keep you from falling away.  Praise God!  Let that give you hope today!

John also gives us sinners a great word of comfort:

1 John 2:1-2  My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;  2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

If you have struggled in sin this week, John tells you that there is hope because of Jesus our advocate.  Jesus Christ the righteous One stands before the throne of God and pleads his righteousness on our behalf. If you struggle with assurance, bathe yourself in these promises, committing your struggle to prayer.  Ask God to strengthen your assurance as you grab on to His promises and meditate on His character today!

In Him,

Pastor David