Great Doctrines of the Bible
Special English Version

Lesson 19
BLESSED ASSURANCE

INTRODUCTION
Several years ago, I conducted an evangelistic crusade in New York. In that crusade I asked a very sincere, religious lady if she really knew that she was saved. This is what she said to me, “I would not be so proud and bold as to say that I know I am saved.” This lady spoke the opinions of millions of Christian who are members of churches today. Many Christians live without absolute assurance of eternal life. This lesson has been prepared to meet a deep need for people all over the world. There are millions of people who are church members and have given their lives to Christ. Still they are afraid and they are not certain if they will go to heaven when they die. These people would probably answer the above question by saying, “I think, I guess, I hope, but I don’t know if I will go to heaven when I die. I’m doing my best, and I hope God will have mercy on me.” This lesson teaches how you can know for certain that you are a child of God and that you are saved. You will never have to doubt again.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS LESSON

• The matter of assurance about your personal salvation is more important that any other doctrine. The importance of assurance of your personal salvation cannot be stated strong enough. When you are not certain you are saved, you cannot have true and lasting joy. When you do not know for sure that you are saved you will always live in fear and uncertainty.
• In order to have complete peace you must be sure of your salvation. Peace comes from the knowledge and assurance that your sins are forgiven. Only believers who are completely sure of their salvation are able to rest in God’s promises that He will protect them. When there is no assurance, then the anchor of the ship of salvation will not hold.
• Only those people who are sure that God cleansed and forgave them have the definite hope of heaven in their hearts.
• Assurance is necessary in order to receive the complete joy of the life of Christ.
• Assurance is necessary in order to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s power!

If you already know that you are on your way to heaven, I pray that this lesson will strengthen your faith. If you do not know for sure that you are saved, I pray you will find this assurance as you study this lesson.

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THE LESSON

I. THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF THIS BLESSED ASSURANCE IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:

1. Colossians 2:2 – God will encourage their hearts and unite them in love. The result is that they will receive all the riches, which come when they understand assurance. Then the result is that they will fully know the mystery, which is from God, that is, from the Father and Christ.
2. Hebrews 6:11 – In order to make your hope certain, we strongly desire that each of you will show that same zeal until the end. This blessed hope is the living and unchanging belief that Christ will return. When Christ returns for His Church, our salvation will be complete and all of God’s promises will be fulfilled.
3. Hebrews 10:22 – “Therefore let us approach with a true heart in complete assurance of faith…” The assurance here is the result of a “fullness of faith” (a better translation). The phrase “fullness of faith” means a faith that accepts all that God offers to live the Christian life fully.
4. Isaiah 32:17 – “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the result of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” The war is over! Peace came at the cross when God’s righteousness
   was satisfied about our sin through the death of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ paid for our sin. Everyone who completely trusts that Christ has finished the work on the cross has “quietness and assurance forever.”
   • One thing is certain from these verses – God wants those who put their faith in Christ to be “full of assurance!”

II. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT YOU CAN KNOW YOU ARE SAVED

1. Job 19:25-27 – Job says in these verses that he knows there is One to redeem him. He says, “I KNOW He lives! And in the end He will stand here on earth and defend me. After I leave my body and my skin has been destroyed, I know I will still see God. I will see God with my own eyes. I myself, not someone else will see God.” (Job’s assurance and understanding is truly amazing. It is even more amazing when a person understands that Job is probably the oldest book in the Bible. Job most likely lived in the times of the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
2. 2 Timothy 1:12 – “I know the one whom I have trusted. I have confidence that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” As Paul writes he does not doubt his salvation. He KNOWS Christ and is completely certain that He has power to guard him.
3. 1 John 5:13 – John says, “I write those things to you who believe on the name of the Son God. In order that you will know that you have eternal life.”
4. John 10:14 – “I…know my sheep, and my sheep know me” Here our Lord clearly states that He knows those that belong to Him, and that everyone who belongs to Him knows Him too.

III. DID PEOPLE IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT KNOW THEY WERE SAVED?

1. People in the Old Testament.
   1. Abel – Hebrews 11:4 Abel was the second son of Adam, The Bible says here that God testified concerning him that he was righteous. A person cannot get better assurance than straight from the mouth of God.
   2. Noah – Genesis 7:1, Come into the ark, you and your whole family; because you alone have I found righteous (Read Genesis 6:9). Noah was righteous, upright among the people, and walked with God. God told him he was righteous! That’s enough assurance!
   3. Abraham – Genesis 15:6, “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” This verse is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 4:3 and Galatians 3:6. Paul taught that God justifies you and me by faith alone. God also declared Abraham righteous on the basis of his faith.
   4. Job – Job 19:25-27 (Already quoted under II. A.) It would be difficult to doubt that Job was certain that God had saved him.
   5. David – Psalm 40:2, In this verse David says that the Lord brought him up out of the pit of destruction. He lifted him out of that muddy place. He picked him up and put his feet on a rock. This is a clear testimony of God’s saving power. Ps. 51:12, In this verse David asks God to give him the joy of his salvation again just like before. Sin had taken away his joy, but David was still sure that he was saved.
   6. Isaiah – Isaiah 6:7, The Seraph touched his tongue with a hot coal of fire. Then the Angel said to Isaiah “…because this hot coal touched your lips, the wrong things you have done are gone from you. God made your sins clean.” Isaiah received direct assurance from the Lord that God had cleansed his sin and that he was forgiven.
2. People in the New Testament.
   1. The witness of Peter – 2 Peter. 1:10, Peter said that his Christian brothers should try hard to know that God had called them. They should be certain that God had chosen them. You can make absolutely certain of your own salvation without any doubt. (Read 1 Pet 1: 3-5 and you will see that believers are born again, by the resurrection of Christ.) Believers now have a living hope. Because of the resurrection we have an inheritance that will never rot. This inheritance is eternal and God keeps it for us by His power. These verses are great words of assurance.
   2. The witness of John – 1 John 2:3, If we keep His commandments, (actually His word), we know that we know him. 1 John 3:14, “Because we love the brethren We KNOW that we have moved from death unto life”. 1 John 4:13, says that God has given his Spirit to us. In that way we know that we remain in God and God remains in us. John’s writings are full of assurance. He had no doubt that God had saved him.
   3. Paul’s witness – 2 Tim. 1:12 (Already quoted under II. B.) Paul was not ashamed in the face of suffering, because he knew the Lord in person and was completely sure of His keeping power until the day Paul would stand before His face.
   4. The witness of Jesus – John 10:14 (Already quoted in II. D.) This is absolutely the final answer. When someone asked Jesus a question about this, he said, “I am the good shepherd. And I know those sheep that are mine. And those sheep that are mine know me.
   5. The witness of the man born blind – John 9:25, The blind man answered: “If he is a sinner, I do not know it. One thing I know. I was blind and now I see.” The rest of the verses show that the man received his spiritual eyes as well!

IV. REASONS WHY MANY BELIEVERS WHO GO TO CHURCH REGULARY ARE NOT SURE OF THEIR SALVATION!

1. Believers are not sure of their salvation because they had a false faith from the beginning. By “from the beginning,” I refer to a person who had not really accepted Christ when he said he was saved. At such time he received some kind of baptism and became a member of the church. Such people do not have assurance of their salvation.
   1. It is possible that such a person did not really repent (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30).
   2. Such a person may only have understood the truth in his head and not the heart (Romans 10:9-10).
   3. It may have been only an empty act. He completely failed to act like he was one with Christ. One does not come to the church for salvation. We must come to Christ (John 6:37; Matthew 11:28). We must openly tell people that Christ is Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9). We must receive Christ by faith (John 1:12).
2. Believers are not sure of their salvation because they failed to live the Christian life (Read Acts 2:41-42.) Note that on the day of Pentecost, at the very beginning of the Christian time period, believers did seven things:
   1. They “received the Word” and were saved.
   2. They received baptism.
   3. They were “added to them,” which means that they joined the local group of believers!
   4. They continued “in the doctrine.” They studied the new teachings and obeyed them.
   5. They had fellowship together, which means that they shared their belongings with one another.
   6. They broke bread together, which probably means that they had the Lord’s Supper together very often.
   7. They prayed together – they learned how to pray.
      • Millions of believers today do not follow this example. Many Christians become like people who watch a game but do not want to play for themselves. They want to see what is going on, but they do not want to take part in it. Some people say that God forgave their sins, but they never begin to live like a Christian. When this happens, it causes doubt in that person’s mind.
3. Believers are not sure of their salvation because they fail to strengthen themselves with the Word of God.
   I once led a young woman to Christ who had gone forward in church three times before. After showing her the way of salvation from the Word, she trusted Christ immediately. She said, “No one ever showed me the Bible before.” What a tragedy. Hundreds of people who say they are Christians have never built their faith on the promises of God.
   1. Romans 10:17 – “…faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God.”
   2. Mark 4:20 – This verse says that there are other people who are like the ones which he sowed on the good soil. Because they hear the word and receive it, they produce grain.
   3. 1 Peter 1:23 – This verse says that God has brought you to birth again. He did not bring you to birth from a seed, which rots. Instead, he brought you to birth from a seed, which does not rot. He
      has brought you to birth by means of the Word of God which is living and which is remaining forever.
   4. The WORD is the true ACCOUNT. The Bible the absolute proof of your salvation. (Read 1 John 5:10-12.) Accept this truth for yourself!
4. Believers are not sure of their salvation because they believe their feelings instead of believing the Bible.
   In the matter of salvation, God does not promise us that good feelings are a sign that we are saved. God does not promise good feelings all the time and He does not require them.
   1. Read carefully John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24; 10:9; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9,10.
      Note: None of the great verses of the Bible that tell you how to be saved, say anything about feelings.
   2. Assurance of salvation that is strong does not come from feelings, but from faith in an authority. This authority is the Bible. Suppose you feared that you had heart trouble. Then your doctor told you that the best heart doctor in the country was willing to examine you. After he examines you, he says that there is nothing wrong with your health. You do not have a problem. How would you feel? Happy and satisfied? But what produced such happiness? You were happy because you believed an authority! (Somebody who had knowledge about the heart) In the same way the assurance of salvation results from faith in the Word of God. God’s Word is our authority because God wrote it.
   3. Some people say they have had a great emotional experience when they receive Christ. These people often say that everybody else who wants to receive Christ must have the same experience. Remember, people react to the Word of God in different ways. Salvation is a fact and not a feeling. You cannot trust your feelings because feelings change all the time. Do not put your emotions in the place of the real thing.
      “Your salvation is built on nothing less
      Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!”
5. Believers are not sure of their salvation because they turn away from fellowship with God.
   1. Many Christians are confused. They are not sure they are saved, because they fail to understand the difference between fellowship (working together as friends) and relationship (being part of a family). Fellowship with God can be broken by one sin. This means that God cannot have fellowship with you until you confess you sin. Our relationship with God means that we are part of His family. God chose us to be part of His family. He made this choice by Himself. He did not ask anyone. God had an eternal purpose for that choice. His choice is a promise, and so He can never put us out of His family again. We are part of God’s family because Christ shed his blood. As part of the family Christ talks to the Father on our behalf. Nothing can break our relationship with God because we are a part of His family forever.
   2. David is a very good picture of this. (Read Psalm 51, especially verse 12.) David knew his terrible sin very well. He also knew that because of that sin the power and joy he had because of his salvation were missing. At the same time he was still sure that he possessed the Holy Spirit. He knew that he had not lost his salvation.
   3. A simple illustration is a husband and wife. Sometimes they have a short, but serious problem. During this time they say things to each other that hurt. Fellowship (working together in a friendly way) immediately stops. The relationship continues, they are still husband and wife and they are still one family. The moment each person says, “I’m sorry”, fellowship is again true between them. They can work together again.
   4. This is the teaching of 1 John 1:7-10. If we walk in the light, we enjoy fellowship. Sin breaks our fellowship with God. The moment we confess that sin, God renews this fellowship.
6. Believers are not sure of their salvation because they do not understand the work Christ finished on the cross.
   1. When Christ died on the cross, He cried, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The question is what was finished?
      1. The Law had been kept and fulfilled (Romans 10:4; Matthew 5:17).
      2. God removed the curse of the law from us (Galatians 3:10-14). Christ had taken our sins and put them away (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 9:26). God justified us. God was satisfied as to the judgment of our sins (Romans 4:25; Acts 2:24, 30, 36). Christ bought our redemption and forgiveness with His blood (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 3:24, Galatians 4:5).
   2. Your own works cannot save you because someone else has done all the work. You cannot work for your salvation and you cannot buy it. Salvation is a gift of God’s grace. Christ paid the price completely.
      
      The food is ready. God wants you to simply “Come and eat.” The work has been done, God wants you to rest on the work that Christ finished on the cross. God wants you to rejoice because Christ has finished his work on the cross. Stop looking for a feeling and begin rejoicing in a fact. Stop trying to earn salvation. Begin resting on a payment that was made a long time ago. God is satisfied with everything. You should be satisfied with what God has done.

V. FACTS THAT SHOULD HELP A BELIEVER TO BE COMPLETELY SURE OF SALVATION

1. Christ saves completely (Hebrews 7:25).
2. God takes away the guilt of our sins (Hebrews 9:26; Psalm 103:12).
3. God has forgotten our sins and will not remember them again (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17).
4. Believers are complete forever (Hebrews 10:14).
5. God who has declared us righteous, will not condemn us (Romans 8:31-32).
6. He who began the work in us will continue to work in us until the Day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
7. We are being guarded by the power of God (1 Peter 1:5).
8. God has guaranteed an inheritance to believers because they are children of God (Romans 8:16-18; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
9. Nothing can separate a believer from the Love of God (Romans 8:38-39).
10. The gift of the Holy Spirit to every believer is the first promise that God will guard him (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit is also the mark that shows that the believer belongs to God. This means that God will guard him until Jesus comes back on the clouds (Ephesians 1:14; 4:30).
11. Christ gives his sheep “eternal life” (John 10:28), and promises that He will never judge the believer for sin. He cared for sin on the cross (John 5:24).

VI. STEPS TO SALVATION.

1. Let the Holy Spirit use the Word of God, to show you that you are a guilty sinner and that you need a Savior (Acts 2:37; 5:33; 16:30).
2. Honestly change your mind concerning your sin. With God’s help, leave your sin and live for Christ (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30-31; 3:19; 26:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:9).
3. Admit that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (John 20:31). He alone died in your place (Galatians 2:20). He put away the guilt of your sin (Hebrews 1:3; 9:26). You must believe that He rose from the dead with great power (Romans 1:4). You must also believe that He lives in heaven and speaks to the Father for you. He lives to guard you (Hebrews 7:25; Philippians 1:6). He is coming back again in glory to give you a new body and take you back to heaven with Himself (John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
4. With your mouth you must tell people that Christ is your Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10) and you must receive Him into your heart by faith (John 1:12; Ephesians 3:17).

VII. STEPS TO TAKE TO ALWAYS BE SURE YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.

1. Trust only in the work Christ finished on the cross.
2. Believe all of the promises of God. Never doubt! Never again!
3. Now, follow through as outlined under Section IV. B.
   1. Receive the Word of God daily (Read your Bible every day).
   2. Receive baptism by immersion.
   3. Become a member of a Gospel preaching church.
   4. Learn the teachings of the Bible and obey them.
   5. Spend time with other Christians instead of unbelievers.
   6. Take part in the Lord’s Supper.
   7. Pray together with other believers.

• You will never become perfect without any sin in this life. When Jesus returns on the clouds and gives you a new body and you go to live with Him forever, then you will be completely without sin. (Philippians 3:10,15).
• The Christian grows continually in grace and knowledge of the Lord. He never stops growing in the Lord. A Christian grows in godliness and become a spiritual adult (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18; Ephesians 4:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:3).
• When you sin and you fail in your Christian life, you must confess your sin immediately to the Lord
  (1 John 1:9). He is always ready to make you clean again!

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