Bible Studies
A Christian’s Assurance of Salvation (Rom. 8:28-30)
Series: A New CreationIntroduction:
1. In the two previous studies, Raised to Walk In Newness of Life and In the Exercise of His Will He Brought Us Forth, we have tried to stress the relationship that exists between God’s initial act of giving us new life with His on-going work in us to bring about the consummation of His work in our final salvation. 2. It is evident in Scripture that God has not abandoned us to our own power alone to achieve this consummation, but that He works in us, using His living Word, protecting us by His power through faith. And so, we are not only initially resurrected by God, but empowered by Him to live and walk in newness of life, putting aside sin and putting on the right behaviors that characterize the new man. 3. Both the initial new birth and the on-going work of God in us gives us assurance that we just might make it if we can depend on God’s power and not just our own. After all, operating under our own power is what resulted in our death in the first place. Not much assurance there of being able to make our final destination. (Remember the briar blade vs. the tractor?) 4. And we need direction. We need a living word. It is not the mere act of believing the word that gives life, as if life was granted by mere logical acceptance of some abstract truth (a dead word), but confidence in a living seed (words empowered by God). (Recall the wooden apple and the living one.) 5. But what of our assurance?Discussion:
I. There are three sources of anxiety regarding our assurance.A. Our personal imperfection.
1. Christians sin from time to time in varying degrees and in various ways, and as we grow we become increasingly aware of our own imperfections. How can we be assured that we have a true saving relationship with God in light of these imperfections?
2. If we were to somehow deceive ourselves into believing that we did not sin John is quick to take that away. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8). So, if your confidence is based on the perception you have not sinned, your ignorance may give you confidence, but it is false confidence.
3. But most of us are not so bold. Our sins are all too clear. Like David, they are “ever before us” (Psa. 51:3).
4. We are regularly convicted by our study of Scripture and we regularly carry a conscience driving us to do more and better.
B. The confusion caused by pendulum swings between extremes.
1. There are teachers who emphasize the power of God without the integration of personal responsibility. Traditional Calvinistic theology says that we are saved apart from anything we might do and then once we are saved we are always saved. There is nothing we can do to be lost.
2. There are teachers who emphasize personal responsibility with diminished emphasis on the power of God. The impression we are left with is that it is all up to us—if you obey (perfectly) you will be saved, if you do not you will be lost. Obedience includes praying for forgiveness for each and every sin. If you have not prayed for a particular sin you are “out” until you pray then you are back “in.” Leads to an “in” or “out” perception with little or no assurance. Some in churches of Christ have this perception. Any talk about assurance and they accuse you of Calvinism. If you say “faith” they say “works.”
C. There is an apparent tension in the language of Scripture that results in our uneasiness about our assurance. D. A. Carson observes (“Reflections on Assurance,” soundliving.org):
1. “On the one hand, Paul insists that all those who are foreknown, predestined, called, and justified will one day be glorified (Rom. 8:30); on the other, he tells the Corinthians to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).
2. “Christians are given ‘very great and precious promises’ (2 Pet. 1:4), but such promises properly function to enable them to make their calling and election sure (1:10).
3. “If the fourth Gospel repeatedly assures us that Jesus, and then the Father himself, preserve all those the Father has given to the Son (e.g., Jn. 6:37-40; 17:6-17), Jesus’ interlocutors nevertheless are told that only those who hold to his teaching are truly his disciples (8:31).
4. “On the face of it, passages such as Heb. 6:4-6 envisage the possibility of apostasy from which there is no reprieve. If so, how can believers be finally certain that they will not fall into such abysmal loss?
5. “John writes his first epistle in order that those who believe in the name of the Son of God might know that they have eternal life: this certainly sounds as if it is possible to believe in the name of the Son of God without knowing that one has eternal life.”
II. G. K. Beale (A N.T. BIBLICAL THEOLOGY, p. 867) identifies three angles of consideration and notes that each contributes an aspect of assurance.A. He uses a triangle to illustrate the relationship between the three.
(see powerpoint below)
B. The three elements.
1. Trust in God’s promise of salvation through Christ. He uses 1 Jn. 5:9-15 to support this.
2. Good works. Eph. 2:1-10 and 2 Pet. 1:3-11 support this.
3. Conviction by the Spirit. He reasons that those Christians who are convicted by the Spirit of sin in their life and work to do differently give evidence of their new life.
C. Beale’s diagram takes under consideration God’s activity and our personal responsibility. It attempts to bring these into a relational balance.
D. I would offer a modification of his diagram.
(see powerpoint) [gview file="http://fortloganchurchofchrist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Christians-Assurance-of-Salvation.pptx"]
E. The three elements as expressed in this diagram.
1. Trust in God’s promise of salvation through Jesus Christ is the foundational element. Represented by the bottom segment of the diagram. Without this element the other two are dissolved.
2. Good works and conviction by the Spirit are interrelated. Cf. Rom. 8:16. Both involve corroborating evidence of spiritual life. Illustration of EMT finding a body lying on the ground. The existence of the body indicates that life was present. But is there life there now? Determine if there is a pulse. Is the body breathing? If yes, these confirm life, and the EMT responds accordingly to bring healing. When death is confirmed the EMT calls the coroner or the mortician. Paul speaks of the Corinthians being “weak and sick” (1 Cor. 10:30). Dead? No! But in need of healing which his letter is designed to bring.Cf. 2 Cor. 13:5-10.
F. So our assurance rests on the foundation of our trust in God’s power and promise through Jesus Christ. Our life is confirmed by good works, and our sensitivity to conviction by the Spirit.
IV. It is an assurance based on faith not sight and thus it is hoped for, though it is not seen (Rom. 8:23-25).A. Some seem to have no assurance unless the redemption of the body has already been achieved. “I will know I am saved when I have my glorified body.” But it is based on the promises of God, not that you already have it. You have the down payment.
B. The evidence of life, though it is imperfect, is evidence of life nevertheless.
1. It is a course of life that is addressed in Scripture, not perfection.
2. It is expressed in different ways.
a. Walking by the Spirit vs. carrying out the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16-26).
b. The course of the Gentiles vs. life in the Spirit that is according to the will of God (1 Pet. 4:3ff).
c. Foolish vs. careful to engage in good deeds (Titus 3:3-5).
Conclusion:
1. Biblical writers offer believers all the assurance they could want. They ground it in the character of God as Forgiver. They speak of the love, and grace of God. They speak of how God’s power raises and continues to empower us. 2. But they never allow such assurance to become a sop for spiritual indifference. 3. God has called us to life and empowers us to continue to live, to produce fruit in keeping with our new life. 4. Therefore we press on with perseverance waiting eagerly for the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:25, 29; Phil. 3:21).
