COMMENCING MY CHRISTIAN LIFE

Now that I am a Christian…

Lesson Two:
I Need to Be Assured of My Salvation
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

Introduction

This study is so important in a believer for his

Christian service for God. We cannot be fruitful in
the ministry unless we do not understand the
assurance of our salvation promised by our
powerful and an unchanging God.

The Bible is replete of truth about a believer’s

assurance of salvation. Once a person put his trust
in Christ and accepted Him as his personal Lord
and Savior; he is then assured of his salvation.

A man once came to D.L. Moody and said he was worried because he didn’t
feel saved. Moody asked, “Was Noah safe in the ark?” “Certainly, he was,” the
man replied. “Well, what made him safe, his feeling or the ark?” The inquirer got
the point.” How foolish I’ve been,” he said. “It is not my feeling, it is Christ who
saves.”

Key Verse

Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in

Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Question

Can a believer be assured of about his salvation in Christ?

Assurance versus Security:

▪ Security: When we trust in Jesus Christ, our eternal security in Christ becomes a
spiritual reality whether we understand it or believe it. Ones belief in security in
Christ does not make it true or false. If we have trusted in the person and work
of Christ for personal salvation, security is a fact.
▪ Assurance: Assurance is the confident realization of that security. It is the
realization of what we have in Christ such as eternal life, forgiveness of sin,
and being the object of God’s personal care as his children.
▪ Assurance has to do with our comprehension of the facts and provisions of
salvation through faith in Christ. This is a crucial doctrine because, properly
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Now that I am a Christian…

understood, it will touch the believer’s life in several areas. Not only does it
give assurance of salvation, but with that also comes a greater assurance of
God’s provision in all areas of life. Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His
own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how He not also with Him will freely
give us all things?
▪ When people do not have assurance, we should always begin by sharing the
gospel to be sure they have truly trusted in Christ. Once this is confirmed, then
move on to the matters of assurance.

Outline

A. REASONS WHY PEOPLE LACK ASSURANCE:

1. People often lack assurance because they cannot remember or point to
a specific time when they received Christ.
2. People often lack assurance because they question the procedure they
went through when they accepted Christ.
3. People often lack assurance because of struggles they have with certain
sins.
4. The primary reason behind a lack of assurance is doctrinal
misunderstanding and the consequent lack of faith in the finished work of
Christ.
5. Finally, people often lack assurance because they have erroneously
been taught that they should look to themselves and their works as the
primary proof of their salvation.
So what is the proper basis for assurance? Should we look to some
experience or our works?

B. FOUNDATIONS FOR ASSURANCE:

1. The Word of God: The Word of God is God’s witness to the believer, 1 John
5:11-13. The Greek text includes the article with the word “life.” Salvation in
Christ is not just the gift of life, but of “the life,” the one which comes only
through faith in God’s unique Son. The clear declaration of Scripture is that
the one who believes in Christ’s person and work on the cross as God’s
provision for his sins has: eternal life, John 3:36; John 5:11-13, the
forgiveness of all sin, Acts 10:43; Colossians 2:13, the freedom from
condemnation, Romans 8:1, the justification, declared righteous by God,
Romans 5:1; Romans 4:1-6; Romans 4:25, the salvation, Ephesians 2:8-
9,and declared as a child of God by faith, John 1:12; Romans 8:14-17.
2. The Work of Christ: To properly understand the work of Christ, Christ’s
substitutionary death, dying in our place and bearing our sins on the cross,
is another vital need tremendously important to assurance. This too, of
course, is based on the statements of Scripture, but the emphasis is on
understanding the sufficiency, finished nature, and accomplishments of
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the death of Christ. There are two prominent aspects here which Scripture
emphatically teaches: First, salvation is not by our works or merit; cf. Rom.
4:1-7; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5-7, and second salvation is solely by Christ’s person
and work as a gift of God- 1 Jn. 5:5-12; Acts 4:12; Phil. 3:8-9.
3. The Witness of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth, Jn.
14:17; Jn. 15:26; Jn. 16:8-13; 1 Jn. 4:6. The Holy Spirit is called an anointing.
Both of these descriptions portray the Holy Spirit’s ministry of teaching
believers God’s Word, 1 Jn. 2:20, 27. The Holy Spirit opens the Word to our
hearts, Acts 16:14. The Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ and gives us
understanding, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16; Ephesians 3:15-19. The Holy Spirit
assures our hearts through the Word that we are children of God, 1 Jn.
5:11; Rom. 8:15-16; 1 Jn. 5:7-12.

A. THE PRINCIPLES OF ASSURANCE:

Principle 1: We need to draw our assurance from faith in the facts of
Scripture and not from our feelings. Our faith and thus our assurance must
stand on the sure promises of the Bible rather than on our feelings. The
biblical order is: FACTS ——>FAITH ——>FEELINGS. Feelings are the responders
of the soul or heart. They are to follow and respond to our understanding of
Scripture, but they are never a safe guide to what we should believe or of
the state of our salvation. This leads to the next point.
Principle 2: We need to draw our assurance from faith in the facts of
Scripture and not from our works. Works or the biblical changes that occur in
our lives as a result of the grace of God can confirm the reality of our life with
God. We must be ever so careful, however, in making such subjective
ground the basis of our assurance, for when a believer is out of fellowship he
or she can have the appearance of an unbeliever especially if the condition
lasts for any length of time.

B. THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER:

The doctrine of eternal security rests on a proper concept of what God
actually does when He saves a soul.
1.
He loves to the uttermost, Jn. 13:1.
2.
He purposes to keep in spite of everything, Jn. 10:28-30.
3.
He intends us to present faultless before Himself, Jude 24.
4.
His Son ever lives to make intercession to keep us saved, Heb. 7:25; 1 Jn. 2:1.
5.
His Spirit has placed us into the Body of Christ, 1 Cor. 12:13.
6.
His Spirit has sealed us until the day of redemption, Eph. 4:30.
7.
His Word guarantees that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ,
Rom. 8:28-29.
F. THE BENEFITS OF ASSURANCE:
1. We become more confident in our service to God.
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2. We become more committed in dispensing our duties for God.

3. We become more credible in holding the ministry of God.

“Theologically, assurance is grounded on the character of

God and the finality of His revelation in Christ Jesus. His
incarnation is a “pledge of our sonship,” since He has taken
Conclusion our nature into union with God.” –New Dictionary of Theology

John Calvin emphatically warned against looking to ourselves, that is, to our
works or the fruit of the Spirit, for certainty of our salvation. He taught that we
should look to Christ as the objective basis for assurance. To look to ourselves
produces doubt and detracts from the saving work of Christ. He rejected the
exhortation to self-examination as a dangerous dogma.

2 Tim. 1:12, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not
ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able
to keep that which I have commanded unto him against that day.”

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