BLESSED ASSURANCE

1
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. 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?

2
BASIS FOR ASSURANCE

• NOT FEELINGS
• NOT PHILOSOPHY
• NOT THEOLOGY
• NOT PREACHERS/MINISTERS

3
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

4

• 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.

5

• 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.

6

• 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.

7
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,

8

• 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?

9

• 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.

10
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.

11
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.
• Albert Barnes wrote, 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).

12
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 wrote, 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).

13

• 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).

14

• 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)

15
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)

16
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)

17

• We must be fruit inspectors.
• You will know them by their fruits. Do men
  gather grapes from thornbushes 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).

18
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)

19

• 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)

20

• 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 favor. 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).
21
Kingdom citizens not in Gods favor 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)
22
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?