The importance of assurance..

Assurance is one of the most importance doctrines the Christian must understand. In this life there are so few things that we can be sure of, but Assurance is one of those things. I stumbled upon a quote yesterday that I thought might be encouraging to you all, When I look at myself, I dont see how I can be saved, but when I look to Christ, I dont see how I can be lost. Martin Luther.

The term assurance was greatly discussed in the time of the reformation. The Catholic church did not hold to this doctrine.

1) It taught that the blood of Jesus availed only for the purging of sins committed before baptism; hence the need for the performance of penitential deeds and, after this life, purgatorial fire to deal with postbaptismal sin. (2) It distinguished between venial and mortal sins, according to which the committing of mortal sin resulted in the loss of the grace of salvation. (3) It conceived of justifying grace as infused grace rather than as the grace of Christ’s righteousness imputed to the believer, so a person was regarded as either totally holy of, through the forfeiting of infused grace, totally unholy before God. (4) It held that a person’s justification depended not only on the work of Christ but also on one’s own good worked performed before and after justification as meritoriously contributing to and also increasing one’s justification (semi-Pelagianism).

Define Assurance…

Confidence regarding the power and promise of God to accomplish salvation.

How can we know we have this confidence?

God forgives us off all our sins.. 1 John 1:7-9 When you look at scripture these key words like all, some, every, always, sometimes are important to note. The greek here pases means constituting the full quantity or extent, or complete.

Something that I sometimes struggle with is God forgiving past sins, because looking back at them I see them as unforgivable, but when Christ died on the cross he knew of those sins, and yet he still died for me..

2. Christ is our sacrifice for sin. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Romans 5:10, Ga 3:13, Col 1:20, 1 Jn3:5, 1 Pe 2:24, Christians dont need goats, lambs, doves, or any other offering, but Christ himself.

3. Christ will continue to make us like him. Phil 1:6 the promise of this verse should give us the confidence that no matter where we are at in the faith today, if we are believers in Christ he will make us like him one day.

4. Christ will not lose one of his Children. John 10:28, John 6:39, Jn 6:37, Romans 8:29-39

Dr. R.C. Sproul comments in his book Romans, “We could reasonably translate this text [Rom. 8:29], ‘Those whom he foreloved [those whom he knew in a personal, intimate, redemptive sense from all eternity] he predestined.’”

The Lord’s predestination of us ensures His call and justification of us, and that in turn ensures our final glorification (v. 30). We are entirely in God’s hands from eternity past. He chose to love us, to declare us righteous in Christ, and to adopt us. All those whom God justifies will be glorified. If we are in Christ now, we are in Him forever.˜

How can God forgive me after what I’ve done? I saw this in a book about a assurance and the author said this. The question has never been how good are you at being good? Its always been How Good is God at being good when you are not? Think about this when you are struggling with this question What do you think is more powerful? your ability to ruin your life, or God’s ability to rescue, and restore it?

I cant stop thing about what I have done? Psalm 51 Look at what he is going to God for.. While no christian wants to make a practice of sinning, when we do sin we have an opportunity for grace because of Christ. grace> our sin.

How can God forgive me when I keep sinning? Mal 3:6-7 Romans 7:15-20 be encouraged that even Paul sinned. Sometimes the thing we need to do most in just to return to God. While we want to be perfect we can never be thats why Christ died for our sins.