Dear Friends,
I wanted to share with you some Scriptures regarding assurance of salvation. How do you know that once you have trusted Christ, it is permanent?
There is a hymn entitled “Blessed Assurance. Verse 1 reads, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.” (http://library.
Do you ever worry that this “blessed assurance” isn’t permanent? What promise do we have that eternal life is ours? Let’s search the Word of God!
1 John 5:11,13 says, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son….These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life,…”
A “record” is a “legal, binding document”. In this verse the “record” is referring to God’s Word. It is a document written by inspiration of God {2 Tim. 3:16} which states He has given eternal life and it is found in Jesus Christ {John 14:6}. When John wrote this book under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, {2 Pet. 1:21} he said it was for those who had trusted in Jesus; to give them comfort and assurance that their eternity was secure. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that he should lie;….hath he said, and shall he not do it?” Unlike human beings God doesn’t promise something and then not keep His word.
“But what if I still sin once I am saved?” Romans 3:10 says, “… There is none righteous, no, not one:” We are all sinners and will continue to be so until we get to Heaven. But 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…” When I sin I can go directly to Jesus in prayer, sincerely ask for forgiveness and receive pardon and cleaning. As a loving parent would never disown his child, so our Heavenly Father will never send one of His children to Hell.
Christ says in John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. “ For those who have trusted Him Jesus compares us to sheep that need a shepherd. Sheep left on their own will wander, but sheep that have a shepherd to guide them will be safe and secure from harm. We become sheep that need a shepherd when we trust Jesus and He calls Himself our "Good Shepherd" in John 10:11. In the spiritual sense, He places us in the palm of His hand and no one can pry His fingers loose.
Do you ever worry that this “blessed assurance” isn’t permanent? What promise do we have that eternal life is ours? Let’s search the Word of God!
1 John 5:11,13 says, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son….These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life,…”
A “record” is a “legal, binding document”. In this verse the “record” is referring to God’s Word. It is a document written by inspiration of God {2 Tim. 3:16} which states He has given eternal life and it is found in Jesus Christ {John 14:6}. When John wrote this book under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, {2 Pet. 1:21} he said it was for those who had trusted in Jesus; to give them comfort and assurance that their eternity was secure. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that he should lie;….hath he said, and shall he not do it?” Unlike human beings God doesn’t promise something and then not keep His word.
“But what if I still sin once I am saved?” Romans 3:10 says, “… There is none righteous, no, not one:” We are all sinners and will continue to be so until we get to Heaven. But 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…” When I sin I can go directly to Jesus in prayer, sincerely ask for forgiveness and receive pardon and cleaning. As a loving parent would never disown his child, so our Heavenly Father will never send one of His children to Hell.
Christ says in John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. “ For those who have trusted Him Jesus compares us to sheep that need a shepherd. Sheep left on their own will wander, but sheep that have a shepherd to guide them will be safe and secure from harm. We become sheep that need a shepherd when we trust Jesus and He calls Himself our "Good Shepherd" in John 10:11. In the spiritual sense, He places us in the palm of His hand and no one can pry His fingers loose.
Galatians 3:26 states, "For you are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ."
I have heard folks say, "We're all God's kids!" Well, we are all His creations, He made each one of us (Psalm 139:13-16), but only those who have trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior are His kids by faith in Him. "For you are all the children of God" -and here's the stipulation-"by faith in Jesus Christ."
I always share the story that just as a child is adopted into a family and made a legal part of that family, according to the legal system they cannot be disowned. Biological children can be disowned by their family, but adopted children cannot.
When you trust Jesus as your Savior, you are adopted into God's family, He is your Heavenly Father and you are one of His precious children because of the faith and trust you placed in Him for salvation. And just as an adoptive child cannot be disowned by their family, God will not disown you. You are His for eternity!
Romans 10:9-11 says, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
If you are in doubt regarding your assurance, search the Scriptures. The Lord has given us assurance if we but only look in His Word.
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,….nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” {Rom. 8:38-39}
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed (rejected)."
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,….nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” {Rom. 8:38-39}
There are many, many more verses of "assurance" as found in God's Word, but this is a just a beginning.
I would LOVE to encourage you to please check out a website that is FULL of many resources to help you grow in the Lord.
*NEED A BIBLE? HERE IS A LINK FOR ACCESSING AN ONLINE ONE FOR FREE!
*The following website has FREE video lessons and a FREE workbook that you can download and print that goes along with the video lessons: https://opendoorchurch.org/Recently-Accepted-Christ
*FREE PDF BOOK that goes with the video lessons: After you click the "Recently Accepted Christ" link above, you will be taken to a new page. Look for the word "HERE" on this new page (underlined in blue) and click it to access the FREE pdf book:
*VIDEO LESSONS: After you click the "Recently Accepted Christ" link above
and are taken to that new page, scroll down a bit to and look for the words "FREE RESOURCES." Click the + sign next to "Lessons for the New Convert in Christ." You can then watch each video lesson (about 20 minutes each) by clicking "Lesson 1" etc... written in blue.
*AUDIO LESSONS: After you click the tab directly above, scroll down a bit to "FREE RESOURCES" and click the + sign next to "Audio Sermons" to access many wonderful sermons on what happened to you now that you trusted Christ.
There are so many helpful, spiritually encouraging videos, sermons that teach you, practically and simply, what it truly means to be a Christian, what you must do now and how to grow in a relationship with the Lord. There are even details on where you can find a Bible!
PLEASE CHECK THIS OUT and if you have questions, please contact me via the email address under Contact on the main page or contact:
Pastor Ray Shutt, at (410) 876-3838 x 311 or rshutt@opendoorchurch.org
He is a very kind man who loves to talk to folks about the Lord and I know he would be happy to help you as well! (He is the one who wrote the PDF book and leads the video lessons.)
You can also email the church or text the church to receive some FREE MATERIALS in the mail on what is means to accept Christ and what to do from here:
Email: decisions@opendoorchurch.org
Text the word SAVED to 443-991-8415
I would also HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU to tune into their livestream services via their website or Facebook page for some Bible preaching, teaching that will ground you in your faith in Jesus.
*LIVESTREAM SERVICES:
https://opendoorchurch.org/~When you click this link, you will be taken to a new page. At the top of this new page, click the down arrow next to the word "Watch" and select "Live Streaming" to begin watching at the times I have noted below.
~Services are at Sunday at 10:45Am, 6PM and Wednesday at 7PM, EST.
(My family has been greatly blessed by their services during this time of Covid!)
*LISTEN TO PAST SERVICES:
https://opendoorchurch.org/~When you click this link, you will be taken to a new page. At the top of this new page, click the down arrow next to "Watch" and select "Archived Services" and then you can click on the service you wish to watch.)
*AUDIO SERMONS:
~When you click this link, you will be taken to a new page. At the top of this new page, click the down arrow next to "Watch" and select "Audio Sermons" and you can choose from a list of sermons to listen to.)
*A SIMPLE BOOKS THAT EXPLAINS WHAT IT MEANS TO TRUST CHRIST:
"Beginning Again" by Dr. D. James Kennedy
This is a super little book that explains simply what it means to trust Christ! If you do a internet search you can easily find it in many places, Amazon for one place, https://store.djameskennedy.org/product/beginning-again/ and check ebay and thriftbooks.com as well.
*FREE DAILY ONLINE OR BY MAIL MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL:
This resource has been a tremendous blessing to me and my mother and an excellent resource to help you grow in your walk with Jesus. It's a practical devotional that you can get in your Inbox daily by submitting your email (under "Daily Devotional Email") or sign up for their FREE monthly devotional book by submitting your physical address
(scroll down a bit for "Print Mail"). I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this to you!!!
*EXCELLENT PODCASTS FOR CHRISTIAN LADIES:
These podcasts have been a tremendous blessing and encouragement to me and have helped me grow in my faith in Jesus!!
PLEASE ADD THIS TO YOUR DAILY, WEEKLY ROUTINE!!
If you do not have time to sit and listen, listen as you go through your day-while driving, cooking etc....They are for ladies, but some of them are done by men as well, so guys, check this out as well:)
~You can also find the podcasts on Youtube, just type in Revive Our Hearts, Podcasts. ~
The website also has a lot of wonderful resources as well, so please check out the site in general, ladies!!
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