BLESSED ASSURANCE

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BLESSED ASSURANCE

• By Bob Myhan

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BLESSED ASSURANCE

• This is an age of fear, doubt and insecurity.
• It is sad that many people fear they are not
  saved, doubt they are saved, or are simply
  insecure about their relationship to God.

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Continued

• It is sadder still that many who are satisfied
  that they are pleasing to God have nothing more
  than a false hope, because their assurance has
  an improper basis.
• On what basis can one be assured that he has been
  saved from sin, and for heaven?
• On what basis can one be assured that he is yet
  pleasing to God?

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BASIS FOR ASSURANCE

• NOT FEELINGS
• NOT PHILOSOPHY
• NOT THEOLOGY
• NOT PREACHERS
• NOT MINISTERS, POPE ETC

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NOT FEELINGS

• The coming of the lawless one is according to the
  working of Satan, with all power, signs, and
  lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception
  among those who perish, because they did not
  receive the love of the truth, that they might be
  saved. And for this reason God will send them
  strong delusion, that they should believe the
  lie, that they all may be condemned who did not
  believe the truth but had pleasure in
  unrighteousness. (2 Thess. 29-12)
• Self-deception is possible

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NOT FEELINGS example

• And Delilah said, "The Philistines are upon
  you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and
  said, "I will go out as before, at other times,
  and shake myself free!" But he did not know that
  the LORD had departed from him. (Judges 1620)
• There was apparently no change in Samsons
  feelings!

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NOT FEELINGS example

• So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the
  goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then
  they sent the tunic of many colors, and they
  brought it to their father and said, We have
  found this. Do you know whether it is your son's
  tunic or not? And he recognized it and said, It
  is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him.
  Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces. Then
  Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his
  waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all
  his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort
  him but he refused to be... comforted, and he
  said, For I shall go down into the grave to my
  son in mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
  (Gen. 3731-35)
• Jacob believed Joseph dead, and was sad.

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Example continued

• Approximately Twenty-two Years Later
• Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the
  land of Canaan to Jacob their father. And they
  told him, saying, Joseph is still alive, and he
  is governor over all the land of Egypt. And
  Jacob's heart stood still, because he did not
  believe them. (Gen 4525-27)
• Feelings are based on what one believes, so we
  should never base what we believe on what we feel.

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NOT PHILOSOPHY

• But as it is written "Eye has not seen, nor ear
  heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man.
  The things which God has prepared for those who
  love Him." But God has revealed them to us
  through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all
  things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man
  knows the things of a man except the spirit of
  the man which is in him? Even so no one ) knows
  the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now
  we have received, not the spirit of the world,
  but the Spirit who is from God, that we might
  know the things that have been freely given to us
  by God. These things we also speak, (1 Cor 29-12

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NOT PHILOSOPHY continued

• not in words which man's wisdom teaches but
  which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing
  spiritual things with spiritual (1 Cor. 29-14)
• Man cannot know the things of God apart from
  revelation.
• Worldly philosophy seeks to answer the three most
  important questions apart from Gods word.
• What is mans origin?
• What is mans purpose?
• What is mans destiny?

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The World knows not God

• For since, in the wisdom of God, the world
  through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God
  through the foolishness of the message preached
  to save those who believe. For Jews request a
  sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach
  Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block
  and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who
  are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
  power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the
  foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the
  weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Cor.
  120-25)
• The world through its wisdom does not know God.

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NOT THEOLOGY

• Much of theology is a blending of philosophy and
  religion.
• Theologians interpret scriptures in the light of
  what they already believe, rather than in the
  light of other scriptures.
• Consider this comment on John 35.
• Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you,
  unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he
  cannot enter the kingdom of God.

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Albert Barnes comments

• Be born of water. By water here is evidently
  signified baptism. And though it, perhaps,
  cannot be said that none who are not baptized can
  be saved, yet Jesus meant undoubtedly to be
  understood as affirming that this was to be the
  regular and uniform way of entering into his
  church (Barnes Notes on the New Testament, p.
  276).

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NOT THEOLOGY continued

• Consider this comment on Acts 238
• Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every
  one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
  Christ for the remission of sins and you shall
  receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• A.T. Robertson comments
• Unto the remission of your sins. One will
  decide the use of the phrase here according as
  he believes that baptism is essential to the
  forgiveness of sins or not (A.T. Robertson, Word
  Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. III, pp.
  35-36).

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A.T. Robertson comments..

• Robertson was not so vague on the following
  scripture.
• For this is My blood of the new covenant, which
  is shed for many for the remission of sins.
  (Matt. 2628)
• In regard to the nearly identical phrase, Unto
  the remission of sins, he said, The purpose of
  the shedding of his blood was precisely to remove
  forgive sins (Vol. I, p. 210).

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TRUTH ERROR

• Almost all religious groups teach a mixture of
  truth and error.
• Error is never justified by mixing it with truth.
• Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you,
  saying These people draw near to Me with their
  mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their
  heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship
  Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of
  men. (Matt 156-9)

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NOT PREACHERSOR MINISTERS

• Satan has ministers.
• And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms
  himself into an angel of light.
• Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers
  also transform themselves into ministers of
  righteousness, whose end will be according to
  their works. (2 Cor. 1114-15)

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TEST THEM

• We are not to believe every spirit but test the
  spirits.
• Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test
  the spirits, whether they are of God because
  many false prophets have gone out into the world.
  (1 John 41)
• We are to look beneath the sheeps clothing.
• Enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate
  and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
  and there are many who go in by it. Because
  narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way
  which leads to life, and there are few who find
  it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
  sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous
  wolves. (Matt. 713-15)

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WE MUST BE FRUIT INSPECTORS.

• You will know them by their fruits. Do men
  gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from
  thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good
  fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good
  tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree
  bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear
  good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
  (Matt. 716-20).

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THE WORD OF GOD

• Ones assurance must be based on faith.
• My little children, let us not love in word or in
  tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we
  know that we are of the truth, and shall assure
  our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns
  us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all
  things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn
  us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever
  we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His
  commandments and do those things that are
  pleasing in His sight. (1 John 318-22)

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THE WORD OF GOD continued

• 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, and that you may
  continue to believe in the name of the Son of
  God. (1 John 513).
• One must continue believing.
• Be faithful until death, and I will give you the
  crown of life. (Rev. 210)
• One must keep Gods commandments.
• Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep
  His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and
  does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and
  the truth is not in him. (1 John 23-4)

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THE WORD OF GOD continued

• Alien sinners must obey certain commands in order
  to enter Gods kingdom.
• Believe, repent, confess faith, be baptized for
  remission of sins.
• Kingdom citizens must practice the truth in order
  to remain in Gods favour.
• This is the message which we have heard from Him
  and declare to you, that God is light and in Him
  is no darkness at all. If we say that we have
  fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie
  and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in
  the light as He is in the light, we have
  fellowship with one another, and the blood of
  Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1
  John 15-7).

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• Kingdom citizens not in Gods favour must repent
  and pray.
• And when Simon saw that through the laying on of
  the apostles hands the Holy Spirit was given, he
  offered them money, saying, Give me this power
  also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive
  the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, Your
  money perish with you, because you thought that
  the gift of God could be purchased with money!
  You have neither part nor portion in this matter,
  for your heart is not right in the sight of God.
  Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and
  pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may
  be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned
  by bitterness and bound by iniquity. (Acts
  818-23)

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BLESSED ASSURANCE

• Are you basing your assurance of salvation on
  feelings?
• Are you basing it on philosophy?
• Are you basing it on theology?
• Are you basing it on preachers/ministers?
• Or are you basing it on the word of God and faith
  based thereon?