124 Sermon Illustrations on Assurance

Police in Edmonton, Canada, are investigating a man who sells “guaranteed admission into heaven” for $16.35 ($20 Canadian). The man's web site says the certificate works without “need for confessions or penance.”

It's “obviously a scam,” says detective Mark Johnson of the economic crimes unit.

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Edmonton Sun

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Original illustration at this number was added to HolwickID #204]

Someone once said that the most comforting premise of the Christian worldview was, for her, the assurance of a beginning. “In the beginning....” The first words of Genesis 1 boldly claim that we are not lost and wandering in a cosmic circle of time and chance. Moreover, there is one who stood at the foundation of the world, who with wisdom, majesty, and purpose, caused life and history to begin. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” It is a most hopeful assertion. There was a first word, and it was uttered by a creative God.

It is equally comforting that He continued to speak. The voice of God in Genesis 1 sets the stage for the entire story of history. Biblical scholar Bruce Waltke asserts, “The word of God is the creative and binding force of life. Just as God calls the world into being, he also calls Abraham and the church into existence.”(1) There is a story that emerges from the beginning, and we have a place in it.

In fact, the voices of Scripture initiate us into a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. “Indeed,” concludes Peter, “all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed'“ (Acts 3:24-25). The writer of Hebrews places us in a similar timeline, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (1:1-3).

His Word places us into our true history, delivering us from the deceptions of the enemy, telling us who we are, and where we came from, what is wrong with us, and how we are made whole. Moreover, we are told where we are going. We are placed within a story of which we know and celebrate the outcome, even as we wait for it through time and trial.

Oscar Cullmann, a German New Testament scholar, wrote a book titled Christ and Time, where he makes an insightful analogy. In every war, he explains, there is a decisive battle that takes place, after which the outcome of the war is determined. In World War II it was D-Day, because after that momentous day the world knew how the war would end. Even so, more people died after D-Day than before it. In fact, the darkest days of World War II were seen after that decisive battle.

In this, Cullmann draws a potent connection. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is history's most decisive moment. If ever the forces of evil were to win the battle it would have been at the moment when Christ was on the Cross, and Good itself was being crucified. But that did not happen. Darkness was seen over the earth as he died, but darkness would not have the last word. In Christ, history's outcome — it's ultimate end — is revealed. Dark days may follow, but the outcome of the battle is known. Jesus Christ is God's last word, a word he has given us to hold on to until the end.

The hope of the Christian message is that human life and purpose are not in our hands. We seek a source and a power that is far greater than chance and not limited by time, for we follow a God who proclaims that we have a hope and a future. In this story, there is a beginning, a middle, and an end, the outcome of which does not depend on us. For the Christian pilgrim, this is hopeful news indeed.

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1. Bruce Waltke, Cathi Fredricks, Genesis: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 69.

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Copyright © 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #27010]

Time and time again God reminded Paul of His presence, no doubt when he needed it the most. God knows what we need, and He knows when we need it. He knew when Paul could use that extra assurance. When he was in that prison cell in Jerusalem, the Lord appeared to him and told him to be courageous (see Acts 23:11). Then from prison in Rome, he wrote to Timothy, “But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength … “ (2 Timothy 4:16). In some special way, God reassured Paul of His presence. Acts 27 tells us that the Lord sent an angel to reassure him.

You can take heart in the face of danger or uncertainty because of your awareness of God’s presence with you. When your heart sinks, when it seems as though your life is falling apart, you must remember the Lord is there with you. You are not alone. No, there are not always easy answers. But we can be sure of this: He will be with us through the storm.

God was standing by Paul’s side, and God is with us in our storms as well. He may not necessarily send an angel. We may not necessarily hear an audible voice. But if we pay attention, we can hear the still, small voice of God. And certainly, He will speak to us through His Word. Then we, like Paul, can reassure others that the Lord is in control.

Traumatic world events and nagging questions of belief sometimes cause Christians to be troubled in spirit and to question their assurance of faith. In every generation, believers have struggled with the question of assurance in salvation. As always, the church confronts this issue as both a pressing theological question and as an urgent pastoral concern. Answering these questions anew, we are reminded once again that all doctrine is practical and that the great biblical truths of the Christian faith are meant not only for our intellectual acceptance, but for our spiritual health.

Many Christians suffer from an absence of Christian assurance. They lack confidence in their salvation and are troubled by nagging doubts, perplexing questions, and a lack of clarity about whether assurance of salvation is actually possible. At the same time, the church has always faced the reality of false professors and those who fall away. These are problems that trouble the soul and raise unavoidable theological questions.

Clearly, now is the time for clarification and for the recovery of a biblical concept of assurance. Beyond the immediate questions of assurance and false professors, the church must also confront superficial and inadequate understandings of assurance -- concepts that can actually mislead and confuse.

The Apostle Paul assured the Christians in Philippi of his absolute confidence “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” [Philippians 1:6]. The logic of that passage is of vital importance. Paul's confidence was not that the Philippians would be able to preserve THEMSELVES. To the contrary, Paul's confidence was established in Jesus Christ and in the promise that Christ would complete the work He had surely begun in them.

Coming to the end of his own life, Paul expressed personal confidence that the Lord would “bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom” [2 Timothy 4:18]. Without this confidence, how could Paul have faced the prospect of his own death? His desire was for fellow believers to experience this same confidence and assurance.

Jesus taught His disciples a great deal about the believer's assurance, ultimately establishing assurance in the Father's promises to the Son. In the Gospel of John, Jesus teaches that “this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I would lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day” [John 6:39]. This is a magnificent promise, and one that makes sense only in light of Jesus' straightforward revelation concerning the Father's authority in salvation: “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out” [John 6:37]. Those who are in Christ's hands will never be lost, for they have been called, drawn, and given to Him by the Father Himself. As Jesus the Good Shepherd said in John 10, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand” [John 10:27-29].

Thus a consistent biblical theme emerges from the scriptural text. Jesus assured His disciples that their salvation was rooted in the eternal purposes of God and that those who truly come to faith in Him are safe within God's mercy. No one is able to snatch believers out of the Father's hand, and all who come to the Son are preserved by the Father.

Christians should find great comfort in the biblical promises of assurance. This is because these promises are founded ultimately in the eternal purposes of God, in the Son's accomplished work, and in the Father's vindication of the Son. Those who truly come to Christ by faith are guarded, preserved, and kept by the power of God. Our Lord did not intend His people to be trapped in a maze of doubt and insecurity. To the contrary, Christ instructed His sheep to trust in Him and His promises.

Assurance of salvation is indeed possible -- and is a Christian responsibility. Pernicious doubt concerning salvation may be an indication that the believer does not truly trust the character, power, and purposes of God. Thus a believer's insecurity -- sometimes disguised as an artificial humility -- can be evidence of a heart that does not adequately trust in the promises of God.

At the same time, saving faith is demonstrated in a transformed life. Peter, for example, instructed believers to observe their lives, looking for the evidence of authentic faith and the marks of true discipleship. Peter summarizes his exhortation with these unforgettable words: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall” [2 Peter 1:10].

How are believers to make their “calling and election sure?” There can be no question that Peter expected Christians to look and strive for the characteristics which should mark those who have been transformed by the power of God. Thus, the believer's calling and election -- the very foundation of the salvation experience -- would be evident in a new heart and a transformed life.

Paul also repeatedly warned Christians not to abandon their faith or to fall prey to false teachers. He even went so far as to identify some who had “nullified” the grace of God [Galatians 2:21] and others who had fallen away and abandoned their faith. Demas, for example, “in love with the present world,” had deserted Paul and the gospel [2 Timothy 4:10]. Hymanaeus and Alexander had “made shipwreck of their faith” and thus had been handed over to Satan by Paul “that they may learn not to blaspheme” [1 Timothy 1:20].

In pondering biblical warnings like these, most Christians think of the passages in Hebrews which have spawned so many different interpretations. How are we to understand these warnings -- particularly as found in Hebrews 6:4-8? No doubt this is a crucial question, for how we interpret this passage is inextricably tied to larger theological issues -- including our understanding of the church itself.

The warnings of Hebrews 6 are seen in the clearest light when put alongside Jesus' parable of the sower and the soils as found in Matthew 13 and Luke 8. Comparing the human heart to soils of the field, Jesus pointed to the reality that the church would encounter those who would “believe for a while,” but would fall away under testing or persecution. When Jesus identified the shallow soil, He was certainly speaking of those whose faith would be, as described by the Puritans, a TEMPORARY or false faith. Thus, those who are described as falling away in Hebrews 6 are those who falsely confessed faith in Christ. As with the soil that bore fruit for a time but withered, so with those who have “tasted the heavenly gift” but fall away. Theirs was not a genuine and enduring faith, but a fickle and false faith. This is an urgent and sober warning.

In the final analysis, the gift of assurance rests on the biblical doctrine of perseverance. This doctrine teaches that true believers are those who persevere in and by faith. Their endurance -- having been preserved by the power of God -- becomes the demonstration of their salvation and the mark of authenticity. The biblical doctrine of perseverance corrects misunderstandings implied by more superficial conceptions of the believer's state. Some teach that anyone who has at any time made a profession of faith in Christ or exercised the slightest belief is secure. These teachers actually argue that true believers may demonstrate absolutely NONE of the marks of gospel authenticity. In other words, such persons never repent of their sins, and may even repudiate the faith -- but are supposed to be secure in their salvation. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Furthermore, the doctrine of perseverance harmoniously links the believer's assurance of salvation to the larger scheme of redemption. God's determination to save sinners is affirmed from beginning to end. The believer's faith in Christ, exercised as an act of the believer's will, is understood to be itself a gift of God and a result of God's calling. Thus, the doctrine of perseverance grounds assurance in the eternal purposes of God, by which God determines to redeem His people through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to preserve Christ's church throughout all the ages.

In his first letter, Peter reminded Christians that the Father “has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Believers are promised “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” [1 Peter 1:4-5]. The Christian's proper assurance of salvation is God's gift -- a gift given to the believer by the very God who has accomplished our salvation. True believers are those who have genuinely responded to the call of the Gospel, whose belief is evident in a life transformed by God's grace, and whose profession of faith in Christ is accompanied by repentance from sin and an eagerness to follow Christ.

Believers do sin, and may sin grievously, but they can never finally remain in sin. Peter promised that God will guard His own through faith, even as salvation will be revealed “in the last time.” In the end, the gift of assurance and the doctrine of perseverance take us back to the very essence of the gospel -- we are saved by grace through faith. Grace alone ... nothing more and nothing less.

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This article originally appeared on September 2, 2005.

Naomi Wolf has seen God, says Torcuil Crichton in the GLASGOW SUNDAY HERALD. While drifting in what she describes as a “light meditative trance,” the feminist author felt herself overwhelmed by the presence of a divine being that she concluded was Jesus. “It wasn't this crazy theological thing,” she says. “It was just this figure who was the most perfected human being -- full of light and love. It was complete joy and happiness and there were tears running down my face.”

But the visitation wasn't entirely euphoric. “When I came out of it, I was absolutely horrified because I'm Jewish. This was not the thing I'm supposed to have confront me.”

It also occurred to her that other liberal feminists would think she'd lost her mind. “It's very embarrassing. We're intellectuals, we're on the left, we're not supposed to talk like that.” But her newfound belief in Jesus, she insists, doesn't mean she's changed her politics. “I don't want to be co-opted as the poster child for any religion or agenda. There are a lot of people out there just waiting for some little Jewish feminist to cross over.”

Nonetheless, Wolf now has full faith in a higher power. “I absolutely believe in divine providence, absolutely believe God totally cares about every single one of us intimately, that we're not alone, that everything is okay.”

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Original article in http://www.sundayherald.com/53687, 22 January 2006:

"Naomi Wolf: I Had a Vision of Jesus," by Torcuil Crichton

Naomi Wolf, one of America’s foremost feminist thinkers, has found a spiritual awakening in God after experiencing a “mystical encounter” with Jesus.

Wolf, best known as the author of The Beauty Myth, a groundbreaking 1991 polemic against the cosmetics industry that radicalised a generation of young women, revealed the cause of a hitherto unexplained mid-life crisis that set her on a “spiritual path”.

In an interview with the Sunday Herald, Wolf spoke publicly for the first time about her vision. Her comments will spark a theological skirmish in the United States and leave her open to further attacks from other feminist critics.

Wolf admitted that, during a therapy session to treat writer’s block, she encountered what she described as a holographic image of Jesus.

“I actually had this vision of Jesus, and I’m sure it was Jesus,” said Wolf. “But it wasn’t this crazy theological thing; it was just this figure who was the most perfected human being that there could be – full of light and full of love.”

More bizarrely, she experienced this as a teenage boy. “I was a 13-year-old boy sitting next to him and feeling feelings I’d never felt in my lifetime,” said Wolf. “[Feelings] of a boy being with an older male who he really loves and admires and loves to be in the presence of. It was probably the most profound experience of my life. I haven’t talked about it publicly.”

Wolf emphasised that her spiritual renewal strengthened her commitment to feminism as her life mission. “I believe that each of us is here to help repair the world,” she said. “My particular mission seems to be about helping women remember what’s sacred about them or what’s sacred about femininity .”

She also expressed apprehension that her faith would be hijacked by religious groups. “I don’t want to be co-opted as the poster child for any religion or any agenda,” said Wolf, who was brought up in a liberal Jewish household. “There are a lot of people out there just waiting for some little Jewish feminist to cross over. I don’t claim to get where this being fits into the scheme of things but I absolutely believe in divine providence now, absolutely believe God totally cares about every single one of us intimately.”

Despite pleas to distance her faith from any religion, her admission to seeing the “child of God” will trigger a theological battle between the American Christian right and the Jewish lobby over the ownership of her soul.

Wolf, a one-time adviser to President Clinton, has been attacked before by the Republican right in 2000 when it was revealed she advised Al Gore to start behaving like an “alpha” male in his presidential campaign.

In America’s fractured feminist movement, Wolf’s pronouncement will be leapt on as further evidence that she has strayed from the mainstream. Wolf has often been verbally mauled by other feminist writers for her embracing thesis of feminism. In a series of successful books, Wolf has projected her own experiences into a universal ideology for women.

Her critics, led by Camille Paglia, accuse her of being a lightweight .

However, among British feminists Wolf’s confession is likely to be met with mild bemusement.

“I can’t say I am too surprised,” said Joan Smith, commentator and author of several feminist studies. “I do recall in one of her earlier books she talked about the universe calling her name. But I have always thought of her as an emotional writer, not an intellectual one.”

In America, finding God is an acceptable resolution to mid-life crisis and, Smith said, there is room within feminism for spiritualism in much the same way as other movements accommodate their own spiritual wings.

I can't begin to estimate how many times I have attempted to encourage someone with the assurance of God's nearness. GOD IS WITH YOU. GOD IS NEAR. GOD IS AMONG US. It is an astonishing attribute of the God we profess, a comforting attribute. “God is our refuge and strength,” writes the psalmist, “an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). “The Lord is near,” the Apostle tells the Philippians, “Do not be anxious” (4:5-6). That there is one who draws near is a testimony echoed throughout Scripture, and it is a witness in which many of us understandably draw hope. Thus, you can imagine my surprise when my assurance of God's presence in the life of a struggling friend was met with her honest rejoinder: “Is that supposed to encourage me?”

I had forgotten an essential ingredient in the assurance that comes from nearness. Nearness in and of itself is not assuring. The degree of comfort and assurance (or instruction and conviction) we draw from those near us is wholly contingent on WHO it is that has drawn near. For some, that God is near resembles more a threat than a promise. My friend's perception of God at that moment was perhaps closer to Julian Huxley's than King David's. For Huxley, God resembled “not a ruler, but the last fading smile of a cosmic Cheshire cat.” For David, God's nearness was clearly thought his good (cf. Psalm 73:28).

The attributes of God are qualities that cannot be taken as removed from one another. They are not traits that exist individually but simultaneously. God is both near us and “among us” as Isaiah writes; He is also far from us and beyond us - - in knowledge, in grandeur, in immensity. “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:23-24).

The one who both dwells among us and in the highest heavens is also GOOD and WISE and HOLY. God as we discover Him in Scripture, God of whose nearness we speak, is in and of Himself “infinite in being, glory, blessedness and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, everywhere present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”(1) Like Him there is no other; He is wholly other.

After the candid response from my friend, I realized how important it is to clarify what we mean -- whom we speak of -- when we say “God.” My friend needed not only to know that God is near but that He is merciful; not only that He is sovereign but that He is good. She needed to hear the “who” behind the promise, beyond the attribute. And I needed the candid reminder that the attributes we study, the biblical promises we cling to, the words we count on to comfort or restore, are pale in comparison -- and meaningful only -- BECAUSE of the one they describe. The promise that God is among us is only promising because it is THIS GOD who is among us.

For several months I have kept near my desk a prayer written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The prayer depicts the one beside whom we live and before whom we pray:

Lord Jesus, come yourself, and dwell with us, be human as we are,

and overcome what overwhelms us. Come into the midst of my evil,

come close to my unfaithfulness. Share my sin, which I hate and

which I cannot leave. Be my brother, Thou Holy God. Be my

brother in the kingdom of evil and suffering and death. Come

with me in my death, come with me in my suffering, come with me

as I struggle with evil. And make me holy and pure, despite my

sin and death.

It is this God who hears our prayers, the Holy One of Israel, the Christ who came among us. It is God Himself who is near, and it is our good.

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1. As excerpted from the Westminster Larger Catechism.

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Copyright © 2006 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

They that know thy name will put their trust in thee : for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. — PSALM 9:10

Yet, in the maddening maze of things,

And tossed by storm and flood,

To one fixed trust my spirit clings;

I know that God is good! — JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER

What I ask for today is that you and I should calmly but decisively face up to the real truth of the relationship you are standing in with God and his Living Son. Do you love the Son? Is he the captain of ambition and desire? Are you receiving daily into your spirit those marvelous resources and powers which are available from Christ? Are you happy? Are you calm? Are you growing in the upward values? Are you living an everlasting life? When you can say Yes to these questions you have come to the point where your partnership with Christ begins. — ALISTAIR MACLEAN (From ‘Radiant Certainty,’ © Allenson, London_

Wilt Thou forgive that sin where I begun,

Which was my sin, though it were done before?

Wilt Thou forgive that sin through which I run,

And do run still, though still I do deplore?

When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done;

For I have more.

Wilt Thou forgive that sin by which I’ve won

Others to sin, and made my sin their door?

Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun

A year or two, but wallow’d in a score?

When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done;

For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I’ve spun

My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;

Swear by Thyself that at my death Thy Son

Shall shine as he shines now and heretofore;

And having done that, Thou hast done;

I fear no more. — JOHN DONNE

Remember, the triumphant Christian does not fight for victory; he celebrates a victory already won. The risen, triumphant Lord demonstrates his triumph through those who are joined to him. The Lord Jesus is not your helper only, he is your very life. The victorious Christian life is just the life of the victorious Christ. There is only one Person in the wide universe who can live such a life, and that is Christ himself. It is his life. Since Christ lives in you, however, such a life becomes possible through a human personality. You cannot get victory by trying to live for Jesus. That is the popular way, but very disappointing in its results. It is Jesus living his life in you, and that is a very different proposition. The victorious life is his business, not yours. — CAPTAIN REGINALD WALLIS (From ‘The New Life,’ © 1932, Loizeaux Brothers, by permission)

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee. — JEREMIAH 31:3

Teach us to be anxious for nothing; and when we have done what Thou hast given us to do, help us, 0 God our Savior, to leave the issue to Thy wisdom. — BISHOP BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT

I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him. — 2 Timothy 1:12.

It is such a comfort to drop the tangles of life into God’s hands and leave them there.

There must be thorns amid life’s flowers, you know,

And you and I, wherever we may go,

Can find no bliss that is not mixed with pain.

No rain without a cloud. It would be vain

For me to wish that not a single tear

Might dim the gladness that you hold so dear.

I am not wise enough to understand

All that is best for you. The Master’s hand

Must sometimes touch life’s saddest chords to reach

Its sweetest music and His child to teach

To trust His love, till the long, weeping night

Is all forgotten in the morning light.

Trust — trust Him then, and thus shall good or ill

Your trustful soul with present blessing fill.

Each loss is truest gain if day by day

He fills the place of all He takes away.

If someone asked you, “Of all the religions in the world, what makes you think you’ve figured out which one is right?” would you know the answer with confidence? Peter said to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

You’ll grow unshakable in your faith depending on how much of the Bible you know and how obedient you are to it.

• Knowing God’s Word gives assurance of salvation.

Bible study has many benefits. Do you ever wonder if you’re really saved and going to heaven? We can’t help others come to Christ if we’re insecure in our own spiritual condition.

The Bible says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). God wants us to know that we have eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ; and His Word (“these things I have written to you”) is the means by which He gives this assurance.

How do we know we’ve been forgiven of sin? How do we know we’re children of God traveling toward heaven? Because God said so. As we get into our Bibles and discover what God has to say, it strengthens our faith and reassures our souls. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

• Knowing God’s Word defeats Satan’s attack.

Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the Bible is our Spirit-given sword for warding off Satan’s attacks and claiming victory in spiritual combat. Some people are tempted by one thing and others by another.

If you’re tempted to lose your temper, memorize a verse like Proverbs 15:18: “A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention.” If you’re prone to depression, memorize verses like Nehemiah 8:10: “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” If you have problems keeping a clean mind, try Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Or if you’re frequently afraid, learn the secret of 2 Timothy 1:7: “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Whatever your sin or weakness, there are verses in the Bible for you -- verses to wield against Satanic attacks. The secret to victory is finding those verses, committing them to memory, and meditating on them until they get into your spiritual bloodstream.

• Knowing God’s Word enables us to witness to others.

A plan of systematic Bible study and memorization can give you confidence so that when the opportunity to witness comes along, you know what to say because your mind is filled with the Word of God.

When Scripture is inputted into our life, it seeks an outlet. When we’re thrilled with the Word, we want to share it. The Bible says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

• Knowing God’s Word helps us know our heavenly Father.

Knowing God’s Word helps establish intimacy with our Heavenly Father -- and what a confidence-booster that is! Paul says, “For my determined purpose is that I may know Him — that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly ...” (Philippians 3:10, Amplified Bible).

God reveals himself through His Word; and when we read the Bible, we are meeting with the Master.

Some people think they can never really understand the Bible. But notice the way the Apostle John addressed his readers in 1 John 2:12: “I write to you, little children....”

Wherever you are in your spiritual experience, rededicate yourself to serious lifelong Bible study. You can grasp its great teachings. You can know for an answer. You can sanctify the Lord God in your heart, always being ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.

A Christian woman came to me some time ago in great distress of mind, and said: “I have been a professed Christian for a number of years, but do not have the assurance in my heart that I am a child of God, and belong to Him. If I could have this assurance, I would be so happy.”

I asked her why she did not know that she belonged to the Lord. “Oh,” she said, “I do not feel as though I do.”

I asked her if she knew just how she should feel. “No,” she said, “I do not.”

“Well,” I remarked, “how could you settle the matter by feeling, seeing you do not know how you should feel?”

The trouble with this poor woman was that she was trusting to feeling instead of the promises of God. Many make this same mistake. I read to her 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

I asked her, “Do you belong to yourself?”

“No,” she said.

“Do you belong to the devil?”

“No, surely I am not his property.”

Then I asked, “To whom do you belong?”

She looked earnestly at the text. A smile of joy came over her face. “Why I belong to God. He says so.” A heavenly peace, never known before, took possession of her heart.

Our evidence of acceptance with God is not feeling but faith. We are bought with a price. Our duty is to yield to God that which He has bought.

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Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) February 7, 1922, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com

A recent article in The New York Times discussed the difficulty facing some American-born Jews, now living in Israel, to prove the authenticity of their heritage. One young woman went with her fiancé to the Tel Aviv Rabbinate to register to marry. This governmental court asked her to prove she was Jewish.

If a court of law asked you to prove you were a Christian, how would you do it?

Some might answer, “I’m a member of a church.” The court could rightly ask, “How difficult is it for a non-Christian to join a church?”

There are some churches so anxious for someone to join that after a “three minute drill” during the invitation, a person can be welcomed into full fellowship. They are voted in and everything!

If being a member of a church proves you are a Christian, then why are so few church members choosing to worship Christ regularly?

Others appearing before the court might answer, “I’ve been baptized.” Really? If you’ve been around a Christian church for any length of time, you can pick up enough church lingo to answer the questions correctly. Is baptism proof of Christianity or merely proof you got wet? Unless one lives in a non-Christian culture, baptism can become a rite of passage instead of a radical declaration of a commitment to Christ.

Then there’s the genetic answer, “My parents were Christians so I must be one.” The Bible says you become a Christian through personal acceptance of the Gospel, not by your parents’ acceptance of the Gospel.

So where is the proof? How could I prove to a court that I am a Christian? The Bible’s criteria of proof are your love for God and your love for others.

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” A person once challenged Jesus to identify the greatest commandment. Jesus answered in summary fashion by saying love God and neighbor.

The proof to the world of your Christianity is your unwavering love for God. Despite circumstances or trials, you love and trust God. When you don’t see the “big picture,” you trust God is guiding you to the glimmer of light at the end of an immense tunnel.

Your love for Jesus changes the Bible from a rulebook to a love letter. It turns worship from a noun into a verb, a day into a week.

When you surrender your life to Jesus, you begin to love others. You see the needs of others as more than physical and emotional, but spiritual. Then your love constrains you to meet that need.

An authentic walk with Christ allows you to look deep inside, to the Jesus in other people. Jesus said, “When you see someone hungry, thirsty or in need of clothes and you take care of the need, you take care of me.”

If a court ever called on you to prove the authenticity of your faith, I think you should point the judge to the faithful hymn that says, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

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Keith Manuel is an evangelism associate on the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s evangelism & church growth team.

HOW CAN I BE SURE OF MY SALVATION?

There are two important tests in Scripture for a person to determine whether or not he or she is a true believer.

There is first of all an objective test, which asks, “Do I believe?” Ask yourself if you affirm the Scripture’s record of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that He is God manifest in the flesh? Do you believe that God saves sinners solely through the merits of Jesus Christ’s obedient life and substitutionary death on the cross?

Second is the subjective or experiential test of assurance in which you ask yourself, “Is my faith real?” The apostle John’s purpose in writing the epistle of 1 John was to give true believers assurance of their salvation (1 John 5:13). In that small epistle John gives several marks to distinguish a true believer.

• True believers walk in the light (1 John 1:6-7). The light here means both intellectual and moral truth. Ask, “Do I affirm the truths of Scripture, and desire to obey them?”

• True believers confess their sin (1:8-2:1) Confess here doesn’t mean to recite every wrong that we have ever done. Rather, it means to agree with God about our sin. That means that true believers hate their sin; they don’t love it. They acknowledge they are sinful, and yet they know they are forgiven.

• True believers keep His commandments (2:3-4; 5:2-3). The term here refers to a watchful, observant obedience. Here the believer desires to obey truths he deems precious. It involves a proactive approach to obedience - the Christian studies Scripture in order to understand and obey it.

• True believers love the brethren (2:9-11; 3:10, 14-15; 5:2). Ask yourself the question, “Do I love God’s people and desire to be around them?”

• True believers affirm sound doctrine (2:20-23; 4:2,6). John here teaches that no true believer will fall into any serious, Christ-denying error or heresy.

• True believers follow after holiness (2:29; 3:3-4, 6-9). These verses certainly aren’t talking about sinless perfection, or even the frequency or duration of sin. The term sin in these verses describes one who lives an immoral, ungodly, unrighteous life as a matter of continual practice, and carries the attitude of hardened hate for God’s righteousness.

• True believers have the Holy Spirit (4:13; 5:10-11). This is an over-arching test summing up all the others. Is there evidence that the fruit of the Spirit is present in your life (Galatians 5:22-23)?

In summary, one’s assurance of salvation does not need to be based on a past decision or an experience. It should rest first of all on one’s faith in the objective truth of God’s Word, Jesus Christ, and the gospel. Secondly, it should rest on the reality of a changed life marked by obedience, a love for Christ and His righteousness, and a hatred for sin. Take heart if these things are true in your life, and trust God to continue to work out His salvation in your life.

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR REDEEMED PEOPLE TO LOSE THEIR SALVATION?

The Bible says, “No!” One who is saved “has everlasting life, and ... is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Eternal life by definition cannot be temporary. It is the present possession of all those who have truly trusted Christ.

Romans 8:28-39 reveals clearly that there is nothing in the universe that can separate the elect from the love of God. The One who choses to save you “is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy” (Jude 24).

According to Scripture, people who profess to know Christ at one time but later deny Him were never really saved to begin with. 1 John 2:19 says, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.”

A true believer will never depart from the faith (Philippians 1:6), so those who do so are revealing that they were never truly saved (John 8:31; Hebrews 3:14).

Even true Christians can sin, however, and because of that may lack assurance of salvation (Psalm 51:12). A failure to grow spiritually can also rob us of the confidence that we are God’s children (2 Peter 1:9). But anyone indwelt by the Holy Spirit is secure eternally, because He is the “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14).