How to Grow in Assurance

This morning we’re finishing up our series on assurance, and this morning I want to tie assurance to mission. A settled assurance of your relationship with God is not merely a bed for you to feel cozy in, it’s a headquarters for you to be launched out from. The one who is settled, convinced, immovably secure in the love of God will be the one who will risk, who will go, who will sacrifice, who will give. If you are not sure whether God loves you, your love for God will be brittle. But when the love of God fills you, you are secure.

So I want you to feel secure, and I want that security to produce delight, and I want that delight to lead to zeal, and I want your zeal to produce risk-taking, sacrificial obedience.

So how are we to grow our assurance. The main idea is “look to Christ and believe him.” But I want to show you another text that gives addition insight here.

2 Peter 1:5-7 is it’s own logical unit, and I want to point out only the first words: “For this very reason, make every effort to...” and he goes on to describe a list of virtues to add to our faith.

What does this regimen result in? 1:8-10 “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

They keep us from being ineffective. (vs 8)

They are evidence we have not abandoned the gospel (vs. 9)

They ensure our faithfulness to the end (vs. 10).

In other words, if we want to be fruit-bearing, gospel-loving, enduring-to-the-end Christians, we need to perk up and pay attention. Verses 5-7 are a list of qualities that make us assured, effective Christians, gospel-loving Christians, and enduring Christians.

Before we get to that list, we need to see it’s context. Look at verse 3: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” This book starts with a bang. By God’s infinite power, he has given you everything you need for life and godliness.

Verse 3 cont: “through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” We are given this access to his power because we know him, that is, we have a living, vibrant, Father-child relationship with God. He’s called us in and we know him and he strengthens us.

Verse 4: “by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” God has granted us glorious promises, and when we, by faith, grab hold of them, we are living in the power of our new Spirit-filled selves.

This is us: we are children of God who have all his infinite power aimed at us. We are his children, and by faith in his promises we walk in his power and overcome the world.

Now in verse 5 he turns: “For this very reason, make every effort…” and he goes on to describe a list of virtues Christians ought to pursue. These are qualities. This is how you become effective and fruitful.

Notice the logic: You have everything for life and godliness, now add to your faith. What does he mean? I think the meaning is: “You have salvation, you have promises, you have the power of the Spirit -- but don’t be content to drift. Now keep growing.”

Make every effort.” And what’s the result? Fruitfulness and assurance. This refers to intentional, deliberate effort. You will not drift to this kind of growth. This never happens by accident. This calls for sweat. This calls for energy. This calls for discipline.

What we learn from this text is that this world is a current, and if you are not swimming, you are drifting. If you do not labor to grow in Christ, you will drift from Christ. You’re out at sea, you’ve fallen into the water, there’s a current pulling you away from the lifeboat. To not swim is to drift.

Be clear on something: verse 10: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” Your efforts in Spirit-dependent growth are the way to confirm your calling and election. That is to say, God’s chosen people, his elect, are known by their diligent effort to grow in Christ. Your efforts will not save you, but they are evidence that you are saved.

We are reminded that salvation is opposed to earning, but not effort. We are not working for salvation, we are working from salvation. We are not working for grace, but because we’ve received grace.

Do you wish to grow in assurance? Do you wish to be more fruitful? More effective? Could it be that you have never “made every effort”? This is a terrible place for a Christian to remain: Oh I understand there are times and seasons when we feel to be knee deep in muck and unable to pursue Christ. But how sad and miserable it is when a Christian settles into lazy, half-hearted, self-contented, smug, comfortable, easy, non-sacrificial, self-serving “Christianity.” Here, we are called to labor, toil, work, put for deliberate effort to grow.

There are pagans who work harder at self-improvement than some Christians. Benjamin Franklin, a deist, not inhabited by the Holy Spirit, was diligent to mark his virtues and pursue character growth. In the morning he would ask, “What good will I do today?” and at night he would ask “What good have I done today?” and he would spend part of his evening contemplating his progress and growth.

Are you making every effort? We have a greater cause than Ben Franklin had. We have a dying and rising savior, the hope of the world, the good news, and a mission. We ought to be diligent to pursue these things.

One author writes, “No one becomes compassionate or patient or self-controlled accidently. You could not wake up one morning to the serendipitous discovery that you had overnight become habitually wise or prudent or discerning. Rather, we bear varying degrees of responsibility for our moral and intellectual traits insofar as our choices either thwart their development or contribute to it.”

In other words, you won’t wake up one morning a new person. You are responsible. You make choices. And your choices invariably are sharpening your character or dulling it.

Look at that next word, “supplement.” Or “supply.” This refers to generous supply, not miniscule supply. In other words, make every effort to generous supply, to pour these things into your faith. Your faith saves you, and now, add, supply these things to your faith.

Here’s God’s regimen to grow in fruitfulness and assurance.

Virtue

The word in Greek is arete, and it’s actually the same word in verse 3 when it says, “glory and excellence.” I actually like the translation excellence more, especially for consistency, because it shows in verse 3 God has called us to his excellence (arete), and then here in verse 5 it says we are to add excellence (arete) to our faith.

What does the word mean? It actually has a wide semantic range. It could refer to the idea of valor, nobility. This word was used to describe Greek heroes who were known for moral virtue. The big idea, overarching is “excellence.” It refers to an excelling in character, in virtue, in honor. It’s the opposite of mediocrity.

His point here now is that you don’t want to be a sloppy Christian. You don’t want to be a compromising, conviction-less, spineless, directionless Christian. That’s not excellent, that’s not virtue. Some have said that our generation is addicted to mediocrity. We don’t have the grit to finish the job well; we don’t have the endurance to power through difficulty.

Ben Sasse, a senator from Nebraska, a Christian, and a former president of a Christian university tells a story that illustrates this point in his book titled, The Vanishing American Adult. He tells the story of how he tasked the athletic department with the job of setting up the 20 foot Christmas tree in the lobby of the basketball arena. These 18-19 year olds got the tree up, put up some decorations, and began to leave.

One of the university’s vice presidents walked in and noticed something odd about the tree. It was only decorated on the bottom seven or eight feet, where the students to easily reach.

She asked “Why is the work only half done?” To which the students replied that they couldn’t figure out how to get the ornaments on top.” “Was there a ladder in the gym?” The response to her question was shrugs. Nobody bothered to ask.

That’s not excellence. If the students were characterized by arete, excellence, they would have said, “If there’s a will there’s a way,” and they would have figured out a way to get the job done. This is a virtue to be added to your life. Andreas Kostenberger says, “Mediocrity and sloppy workmanship never glorify God. Christians must strive for excellence.”

At work. At home. In your marriage. In the classroom. To your faith add excellence, virtue, or valor, honor, integrity, discipline-- all those words describe this virtue. Never use God’s faithfulness and grace as an excuse to compromise or be lazy or cut corners.

Knowledge

This word refers not merely to knowing about something, but intimate knowledge. It’s the difference between the way you know someone by the resume and your parents or spouse.

To your faith, add virtue, to virtue, add knowledge. Grow in your knowledge of God and his Word. Sin entered the world through a lie, and lies have intoxicated the world ever since. Our biggest problems in life are that we believe lies. That’s why knowledge of truth is so crucial for living as a Christian. We need to know that which is true.

Colossians 3:10 “and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” Your new creation self is renewed in, through, by knowledge. As we increase in knowledge-- not bare knowledge-- applied knowledge-- we are renewed.

Jesus said, “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.” This certainly means that growing Christians will be eager to not just read their Bibles, but study them, meditate on them, ponder them. I pray that you love your Bible. I pray that you want to devour your Bible. I pray you become obsessed with your Bible.

Archibald Alexander was the president of Princeton back when it was a powerhouse of orthodox Christianity. Under his tenure there he helped train up preachers and pastors, and in one of his lessons he says this: “Make it a rule to always prefer [the Bible]. If at the hours of devotion you are strongly drawn toward some new and interesting publication, if you are tempted for this to omit the regular study of the Scriptures, regard it as a temptation, as resist it accordingly. You recollect the resolution of the pious Henry Martyn (missionary to India in the early 1800s). He never would allow himself to peruse a book one moment after he felt it gaining a preference to the Bible.”

That was before TV, internet, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and every other imaginable distraction. His rule today, and I think the rule we want to follow if we want to grow in knowledge: “Always prefer the Bible...and when we feel we are being drawn away-- acknowledge the temptation, resist, and go back to Scripture.”

Knowledge of God, his world. Knowledge of myself and my purpose. Knowledge of history, knowledge of future. True wisdom and true insight and true perspective: found in Scripture.

Alexander: “My own experience convinces me that the oftener and the more diligently you peruse the Scriptures, the more beautiful will they appear and the less relish you will have for light and superficial reading [or amusement]. There is in an intimate, in a daily, conversation with the Scriptures something sanctifying, something ennobling. A satisfaction is felt in perusing them which no human composition can excite. You feel as if you were conversing with God and angels. You breathe a heavenly atmosphere. The soul is bathed in celestial waters. It imbibes a sweetness and composure which shed over it unearthly attractive.”

Love the Scriptures. Don’t be distracted from them. In Hosea God says, “My people die for lack of knowledge.” Don’t drift-- hold fast to the anchor of Scripture.

Be like Jonathan Edwards who wrote down several resolutions to guide him in life, and # 28 was “Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.”

Self Control

Add to your knowledge self control. What good is knowledge without self-control? It’s like trying to carry water in a wicker basket. Self-control is what you need to take that which you know and apply it to your life.

Self-control is absolutely essential for spiritual maturity. It’s a fruit of the Spirit, meaning it’s something the Spirit produces in you as you walk in him, and it’s our responsibility. Self control means we lived disciplined lives. Self-control means we’re not always indulging in things that are patently not helpful.

There are a lot of things you can do, but self-control asks the question: “Yes, but what is it I should do?” You can play video games all day. You can surf social media for hours. You can sleep in and stay up and avoid work. But we are to grow in self-control. That means you’re not ruled by your appetites. You can say “no” to yourself. By the Holy Spirit, believing you have been given power for life and godliness, master your appetites.

Are you growing in this area? Again, we don’t drift here. We drift toward leniency and call it Christian liberty. We drift toward lack of discipline and declare we’re not legalistic.

Do you know how to tell yourself “no”?

Steadfastness

This word could also be translated as “patience” or “endurance.” It is persevering through difficulty. To follow Christ in this world, we must grow in our steadfastness. By faith in God’s promises, learn to endure hard things for God’s glory.

How do we grow in steadfastness? James 1 and Romans 5 both teach that steadfast is the result of persevering through suffering or trials by faith.

James 1:2 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

Romans 5:3 “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance (same word as steadfastness in Gk), and endurance produces character…”

By faith, let your trials work for you, not against you. See every obstacle, hindrance, trial, and suffering as a gift from God to grow your steadfastness.

Godliness

Let’s continue: to your steadfastness add godliness. Godliness is such a common word it’s hard to explain. We might say “Godlikeness” to emphasize the fact that godliness means we’re conforming to the very character of God in Christ. I like to use “Godwardness” - highlighting the reality that true godliness means we live each day in light of the reality of God, his word. True godliness is reflected in our character and our aims in life. We are to become godly, reflecting God’s character and living for God’s purposes.

Some in the past have used the word “piety” to convey this idea, referring to the person’s inward, fundamental character. A truly godly person is one that is godly when no one’s around. If the whole world turned against God, they would cling to him in humble faith. They have a genuine, experiential love for God. .

There’s no guile in it. There’s no duplicity in it. There’s no formality to it. Friends, be concerned if your devotion to God is formal and uninteresting. Be alarmed by that.

To pursue godliness means to be in the habit of seeking to love God with all of your being; to be aware of the deception of your own heart, to eliminate that which leads to insensitivity and coldness. True piety, godliness, does not feign humility; it is humble. True godliness does substitute cliche niceties for love; it loves. There’s no swagger in godliness, but humble, child-like, pursuit of God.

J.I. Packer was asked about some of the influences in his life and he said without hesitation, “The greatest man I have ever known is the preacher, Martin Lloyd Jones.” The follow up question was “Why did he have such an impact on you?” Packer’s answer was this: “He was an expository preacher, and he brought God with him into the pulpit. I have never sat under a preacher who gave one a sense of the reality and presence of God.”

This kind of godliness is not only for the preacher, true godliness is when our lives reflect something of the reality and presence of God. We believe down deep that he is real, heaven is real, hell is real, Jesus really entered history, he really died in the place of all who trust him, he really rose from the dead, and I though deserving of eternal punishment, am saved by faith in him. We believe that, and the reality of that follows us like an aroma wherever we live.

O how badly the church needs true godliness. Away with faux godliness! Away with shells of plastic piety. Away with empty religion! Godliness is what we need. How sad is the church so lacks true godliness and tries to make up for it with flash and sound, with strategies and events and programs. No, let us be godly, and let us see the mighty hand of the Spirit at work.

Brotherly Affection

And to godliness, we add brotherly affection. This is the idea of family bond with other believers. Love other church members with a real affection, and treat them like you would treat family. This means we treat one another with respect, with kindness, with compassion, with concern, with sincerity, with commitment.

Listen, one of pastoral fears is for the people who show up to hear a sermon and never develop any brotherly affection with the other members of our church. They remain on the fringes and while people may recognize their faces, no one really knows them.

This brotherly affection is the basis of the culture of discipleship we’re laboring for here. By the grace of God, though we’re all quirky, we love one another. And because we do, we’re interested in helping one another follow Jesus.

Are you growing in brotherly affection? Are you moving toward brothers and sisters in the church in friendship?

If you want to grow here, let me encourage you to commit to the church in church membership. Make your commitment to love and care for your brothers and sisters public.

Love

Brotherly affection refers to love for your church family. Love is more general, and while it includes love for your family, it also entails love for your enemies. Brotherly affection is loving those who love you in return; this love says, “I will love you if you never love me back.”

We ought to be growing in this area. We love the undeserving. We love the unlovable. We love the lost. We love the hurting. And it’s tangible love, meaning we commit to them, we are there for them, we come alongside them, we hold them up.

Look back at the second part of verse 10: “for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” Practice. Diligent, deliberate, effort.

Let’s be clear. A desire to grow is a symptom of salvation, not a cause of salvation. To increase your assurance, keep your eyes on Christ, and pursue these qualities. Don’t take your eyes of Christ and put them on yourself as you aim to grow. Keep them on Christ.

We want an always learning, always growing mindset as Christians. A holy discontent for where we are, and an eagerness to grow.

God’s Regimen (5-7)