The Pillars of Assurance
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What is the question?
What is the question?
Many Christians have asked the question “How can I know I am saved?” or “What evidence should I look for to know that I am sanctified or entirely sanctified?”
Someone you trust
Family member
Minister
You may have struggled with doubt concerning your salvation, however the Holy Bible tells us that we can live in confidence of God’s acceptance.
There are three means of assurance described in Scripture. The Word of God give us three methods of assurance to help us remove doubt from the equation.
The assurance of faith in God’s Word
The witness of the Spirit
The assurance of obedience
Pillar 1: The Assurance of Faith in God’s Word
Pillar 1: The Assurance of Faith in God’s Word
God made a promise to us when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior and the promise itself brings assurance. The condition of this promise is biblical faith.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
We have all seen this verse
But to truly understand biblical faith we have to read a little further in this chapter:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
This is true biblical faith! Let’s break it down
You must believe what God says.
Believe “that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
You must commit to do what God requires
You must “diligently seek Him.”
You must trust and rest on what God promises.
Rest in Him as the “rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”
Faith believes what God says
Faith believes what God says
This is the first element of faith, believing that God has communicated His will for mankind in His Word, the Holy Bible.
What does scripture say:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
Faith requires that we believe what God says. Believing what He says also applies commands and inspired prayers
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
As it says in prayer for the Thessalonians, it is God’s will that all Christians be entirely sanctified and be preserved in that cleansed and empowered relationship with him.
Having biblical faith means you believe what God says about what He wants to do in our lives.
Faith commits to what God requires
Faith commits to what God requires
The second element of faith is we must commit to do what God requires. For sinners, this means they must confess their sins with true repentance.
What does that mean?
True repentance requires you to stop all that is you know is wrong and begin to do all you know is right.
Without a change in attitude and behavior, there is no biblical repentance.
For the Christian, there is the requirement of seeking entire sanctification. The same complete sanctification Paul prayed for the Thessalonians. We need to make an unconditional surrender to God of your body. Remember the commandment in Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” We need to turn full control of every aspect of your life and existence to the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,”
If we are not doing what God’s Word says is required, we are not exercising biblical faith.
Faith Trusts in and rest on what God promises
Faith Trusts in and rest on what God promises
The third element of faith is trusting and resting on what God promises. We are to trust in and rest on what God says because of His character.
in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,
He cannot lie. He will never fail and nothing can keep Him from fulling His promise if we met the conditions of the promise.
Faith means that we trust in what He promised because God is worthy of our trust and faith means that we can rest on what He has promised because He always does what He promises.
“Trust in and rest on” is the hardest of the three elements of biblical faith because this is were most of us have a faith battle.
The "rest on" element is the final battleground where the enemy fights the most.
If you are still trying to “trust in and rest on” God’s promises, you do not yet have complete faith. There is “Do or do not, there is no try”. You must get pass the trying stage. How? Through the enabling help of the Holy Spirit, we can get to point of full confidence in God’s promise. God did not leave you without a helper! That is just how good he is. He recognizes that we can not do it by ourselves.
Resting on what God promised does bring a feeling that is very different from being anxious or unsure or simple hoping that God did what He promised. What is that feeling? Rom 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The fruits of biblical faith are joy and peace. These are fruits of trusting in and resting on what God promises.
Then faith can rest in a sure confidence that God does now fulfill His promise because he always does what he says He will do.
Pillar 2: The Witness of the Spirit
Pillar 2: The Witness of the Spirit
The Bible also speaks of an assurance that comes to us by the Holy Spirit apart from Scripture—a divinely imparted inner consciousness that God has saved us. Rom 8:16
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
This direct witness of the Spirit is not always perceived immediately upon conversion or at the moment of entire sanctification. But sooner or later, the Holy Spirit will witness to our hearts that He has accomplished His work of grace.
[Talk about the mistake of past theologians.]
Because of the variableness of one’s perception of the witness of the Spirit, this means of assurance, although thoroughly Scriptural and important, is not to be our primary basis of assurance. If it were, a person would lack assurance whenever he could not sense the direct witness of the Spirit. Paul makes it clear in Romans 1:17 that the just shall live by faith. The assurance that comes from believing God’s word is the stabilizing, constant, abiding basis for assurance.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
The primary way a person gains assurance that God has either saved him or entirely sanctified him is by faith in God’s Word.
Pillar 3: The Witness of Obedience
Pillar 3: The Witness of Obedience
In addition to having faith in God's word and sensing the Holy Spirit's approval within us, scripture highlights a third way to be sure of God's personal work of grace: assurance through obedience to God's word. The First Epistle of John focuses on this aspect of assurance, teaching that by evaluating our actions and attitudes, we can determine whether we are genuinely living in faith.
Measurable action: We are not to walk in darkness(1 John 1:6).
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
Measurable action: We are to walk in the light—obey what we know. (1 John 1:7).
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Measurable action: Assurance comes by obeying God’s commandments. (1 John 2:3-5).
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
Measurable attitude: A person who hates another person is not a Christian. (1 John 2:9).
He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
Measurable action: A person who practices righteousness is a Christian. (1 John 2:29).
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
Measurable action: A person who practices willful sin is not a Christian. (1 John 3:8-10).
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
Measurable attitude: A Christian loves everyone and hates no one. (1 John 3:14-15).
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Measurable attitude and action: A Christian is compassionate and helps those who are in genuine need. (1 John 3:16-19).
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
Measurable action: A Christian keeps God’s commandments through the power of the Spirit whom God has given us. (1 John 4:7-8).
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Measurable attitude: The presence of God’s Spirit in us enables us to love all people. (1 John 4:12-13).
No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
Measurable attitude: A person who hates another person is not a Christian. (1 John 4:20-21).
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
Measurable action: A Christian believes Jesus is the promised Messiah and keeps God’s commandments.(1 John 5:1-2).
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
As we read through these measurable attitudes and actions, notice how frequently John used the term know. One of the ways a person “knows that he knows,” according to John, is by the measurable attitudes and actions present in his life. For example, if a person has been harboring ill-will or bitterness in his heart toward someone and if he has refused to forgive the offender, according to John, the person who will not forgive is not a Christian. One of the proofs of being saved is your love towards all other people. Refusing to forgive is not an act of love.
Being born again will result in measurable changes in attitude and action. Being entirely sanctified will also result in measurable changes in attitude and action. A change of disposition and attitude always accompanies the work of entire sanctification. Prior to entire sanctification, the Christian struggles with a divided mind: we wants to please God, but we also wants to please ourselves. After entire sanctification, we only want to love and please Jesus with all of our heart and entire being. We stop being self-centered and move towards Christlikeness. This impacts the way we live. This is the witness of obedience.
What is the biblical basis for assurance? How can we know for sure that we are saved or entirely sanctified? Assurance is based on three main principles: faith in God's word, the inner witness of the Spirit confirming salvation or sanctification, and evidence of obedience to God's word seen in one's attitudes and actions. We are to check our attitudes and actions to see if they align with God's word.
