The Assurance of Salvation Part I (Radio Program for WVNE Life Changing Radio Worcester / Boston)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. The Bible says in 1 John 5 verses 11 -13,. And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you, who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

The Assurance of Salvation

And the title of this morning's sermon is, The Assurance of Salvation. As we just read, the Apostle John clearly states that a person can know that they have eternal life. That is, they can have assurance.

The word assurance is defined as a positive declaration intended to give confidence, and to have certainty about something, and to be free from doubt. So let me ask, does the Lord want his people to doubt their salvation?

If there is one thing we can take away from this passage, if a person places their faith in Christ, they can know that they have everlasting life, they can know that when they die, they will go to heaven.

And there are so many statements like this all throughout the New Testament. Whosoever believes in Jesus shall not perish, but will have everlasting life. Whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

He doesn't say you might be saved, he says you shall be saved. So many statements that say if you do this, if you believe, if you have faith, you will be given everlasting life. You see, this is the agreement that God has made with mankind.

That if an individual places his faith or her faith in Christ, God will give them eternal life. Never do you see Jesus and the apostles teaching a message that, well, do the best that you can, do good works, hope that it works out in the end, because you never really know.

That is not the message of Scripture. The message of Scripture is one of assurance. The message of the gospel is one of certainty. Faith is about knowing what you cannot see. And God knows you, and he wants you to know him.

And God wants to be in a covenant relationship with you. And what is the new covenant? It is a binding agreement. It is not only binding upon the individual, it is binding upon God. That if you place your faith in Christ, God will give you everlasting life.

So Christianity is about assurance and not doubt. So we will be looking at three things here this morning. Three points. Point number one, the difference between salvation and the assurance of salvation.

You say, well, what is the difference? Well, there is a difference. It should not be, really, but there is. Point number two, why some people have assurance and why others do not. And theologians have basically suggested there are four types of people, and we will discuss that.

It can get a little complicated, but I think you will understand. And then point number three, the necessity of assurance and what that means for us going forward. So point number one, the difference between salvation and the assurance of salvation.

Salvation as Deliverance and the Promise of Eternal Life

So let us begin by defining the term. If you ask your average evangelical Christian, what does it mean to be saved? They all say something to the effect that, well, it is about having a personal relationship with Jesus.

Or it is about being forgiven of your sin. Or it is about knowing that when you die, you will go to heaven. And that is all true, and that is a fine way of describing it. But think about the word for a moment.

The Greek term, soteria, translated salvation, basically means deliverance. Acts 4, verse 12 says,. So the name of Jesus, placing one's faith in Jesus, brings salvation. It brings deliverance. And built into that is the understanding that you are being delivered from something bad.

In this life, if you think about it, there are many things you could be delivered from. Many negative things you could be delivered from. Someone could be saved or rescued out of a burning building. Maybe you have heard of a boxing match where one boxer is saved by the bell.

And this word, salvation, could be used in other ways depending on the context. But I think we understand that here, the salvation that Jesus offers is deliverance from sin and its penalty. And of course, sin has consequences in this life.

It leads to physical death and then ultimately spiritual death. So if a person rejects the gospel, according to Jesus in Matthew 25, verse 46,. Now we know that salvation is by grace, through faith, and not of works.

Ephesians 2, verse 8 and 9. But if you read Matthew 25 and other passages like James chapter 2, we will see and we do see that a believer's life, a true believer's life, is a life of mercy and good works done unto others.

So this is salvation. This is salvation and we can possess it now. And then the Bible speaks of that ultimate salvation at the end of the age where we receive the resurrection of our body. But the point to remember is this.

Salvation is offered. You can have eternal life now. And think about that. If you have eternal life, how long does eternal life last? How long is eternal? Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but eternal means everlasting, as in it does not end.

So if you are saved now, if you have eternal life now, how could eternal life ever end? And if it ended, I guess it really wasn't everlasting, which would mean you never really had it to begin with. You see, you cannot be chosen by God from the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1, verses 4 and 5, and then end up not chosen.

You can't be elect and then non-elect. You can't have everlasting life and then have it come to an end. That would be a contradiction. So this is salvation. But the assurance of salvation is something different.

Assurance, Teaching, and Eternal Security

So understand this. Salvation is an objective truth. A person is either saved or they are not. And God knows all things. The Lord knows who belongs to him. We don't really know. Only God knows. But salvation is objective.

It is set in stone, so to speak. Salvation is objective. It is not influenced by a person's feelings. It is not affected based on what someone thinks. The assurance of salvation, on the other hand, is.

And let me explain that. So salvation is of the Lord. And while the assurance of salvation comes from the Lord, it is, to some extent, up to you. There are Christians out there who are saved, but for whatever reason, they lack assurance.

Now, if they had the proper understanding of salvation and eternal life, then they should have assurance. But, you know, on the other hand, there are reasons why some people lack that assurance. And this leads us to point number two.

Why some people have assurance and why other people do not. And we'll discuss some of these reasons. I think the first one is because some people were never taught. And there are people that were never taught this.

And there are many churches that either downplay assurance or they refuse to teach the assurance of salvation or they teach you can lose your salvation. And let me just tell you this. If you can lose your salvation, how could you possibly have assurance if your redemption could be taken away tomorrow?

I mentioned Ephesians chapter one a moment ago. And what is Ephesians 1 verses 4 and 5 tell us? That God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. And he has chosen us to be adopted as children of God.

And all of that was done according to the good pleasure of God's will. And someone might say, yeah, well, I don't believe in all that predestination stuff. Well, you know, if that's the case, you can kiss your assurance goodbye.

Because the concept of assurance assurance in eternal life is all dependent upon the sovereignty of God in salvation. Listen, if God isn't in control of salvation, we're all in a lot of trouble. If salvation depends on you, you are in trouble.

And I know there are members of the clergy that deny eternal security. They will not teach people about assurance. And I think the mindset among some is that if you teach people about assurance, then they're going to think they can go out and do whatever they want.

So basically, don't teach that. Don't teach, deny eternal security. And all of that will keep people uneasy about everything. And if people are kept uneasy about all this, that'll keep them in line. Well, listen, that's foolish.

That's foolish. For example, Catholicism teaches that one mortal sin can cast a person into even if they believe in Jesus, quote unquote, one mortal sin can cast a person into hell forever. Are you telling me this keeps Catholics in line to where hardly any Catholics are out there committing mortal sin?

Listen, if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. It's in Brooklyn. I'll give you a really great price. But there's also some Protestant groups and charismatic groups that also teach you can lose your salvation.

So do conservative Methodists and Pentecostals who believe you can lose your salvation? Do they actually sin less than Presbyterians and Baptists who believe you cannot lose your salvation? You see, it seems to me that people sin across the board, no matter what tradition they are a part of.

So at least in this regard, a church's theology really doesn't have much of an impact on what people do. Now, maybe it should, but you know what does have an impact upon people? The Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Spirit and the sanctification that he brings.

That is what has an effect. Christ wants us to have life and life more abundant. And what is a Christian to fear? The answer? Nothing. Except that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We are not to fear any of these things.

We are to be thankful for what God has given us. We are to walk in his will and we are to pursue and enjoy the assurance of our salvation. Jesus said in John chapter 11, I'm the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? Let's close in prayer. Our Father, we thank you for your word, which was written, that we may know that we have eternal life.

And if we have eternal life, it will never end. And we can walk in the confidence of knowing that if we were to die today, it's absent from the body and present with the Lord. The only question a person needs to ask themselves is the question we just saw from Jesus.

Do you believe this? It is my prayer that every person listening has not only accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, but that they will continue to pursue Christ in their life and walk in the full assurance of their salvation.

For it is the gracious gift of God. And Lord, your people need it now more than ever. So give us power, we pray. Give us power and love and a sound mind. Fill us with your spirit. It's in the precious name of Jesus we pray.

Amen.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscornickchurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.