Agape Love

Faith

Hebrews 11:1-2 (NIV)11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrew 11:6⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Assurance of Faith 

Because of His benevolent love for us, our Heavenly Father provides the tools that gives us assurance and security knowing that we will be taken care of if we only abide by his instructions.

Faith is required to exist in this physical world. Faith also has substance with God, as opposed to an unreal non-existing quality; it has a foundation. Faith is the method by which God will judge our hearts; how much trust do we really rely on Him and the assurance that He will say what He will do.

Just a simple illustration for point value:  When you buy a new car, you have faith that your car will operate efficiently. There is no assurance the car is going to drive from destination A to B when you first start the motor. It is the hope and anticipation that once you turn the ignition and hear the sound of the motor, you have a greater degree of faith that it will run smoothly. Your faith continues to grow as you commute day to day.

Though we have not seen God, we have faith in Him. Faith grows from experience and understanding, as we become more confident in God’s faithfulness, our conditioning is that we learn to trust His Word. The more we understand God’s faithfulness through His “Word” our faith grows.

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Matthew 17:20 (NIV) He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." 

Assurance of Faith in our Salvation

Can we be sure about where we will spend our eternity? How can we know where we stand with God? Assurance is based on the absolute trustworthiness of God’s promises to save all who will believe upon His Son. These promises are written throughout the Bible. All who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ may have the firm confidence of salvation based upon the infallibility of God’s Word.

Jesus said, “The one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.” (John 6:37).  If you come to Jesus with “genuine” repentance and faith, He promises that He will save you. We can know Jesus has received us because, quite simply, He said so! When the Bible speaks, God speaks. And what God said, He will surely do. He will save all who call upon Jesus Christ.

Assurance rests on the finished work of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, He bore our iniquities, enduring God’s wrath, and cried out, “It is done.” By this, He meant that the full atonement for all our sins-past, present and future-has been made; our entire sin debt is paid in full. Just as salvation comes from believing in Christ alone, so does assurance. As we trust in Christ’s perfect sacrifice for our sins, the certainty of eternal life floods our hearts. No matter how great your sin, God’s grace is greater.

Assurance comes through the inward witness of the Holy Spirit; the third in the divine trinity. It is the Holy Spirit’s ministry to convince our hearts of our salvation. He abides in us and we in Him and the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. This means, the Holy Spirit who convicted, called and converted us also convinces us that we belong to Christ. It is the Spirit’s inward witness that persuades us of the genuineness of our salvation.

Assurance comes through the evidence of a changed life. Living in Christ is a clear evidence of a new life. While we will never become perfect in this life, we will, nevertheless, experience a changed life. It is this inward transformation that provides strong confirmation of our salvation; renewing of our mind; behavior and devotion: love for God; love for other people; refusing the world, understanding biblical truth, righteous behavior, and answered prayer. As we see the fruit of the spirit in our lives, we may be confident that Christ lives within us.

Assurance of salvation is God’s blessed gift for all who believe: Here are a few scriptures:

• He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:12-13)

• Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (John 5:24)

• To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, (Jude 1:24)

• The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:16)

• That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

• My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. (John 10:29)

• And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

• For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)