Assurance of the Believer

Read: Romans 8:15-16

The classic passage on the Witness of the Spirit (Rom. 8:15-16)

Romans 8:15–16 KJV 1900

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

May 24 in the Methodist/ Wesleyan tradition is a special day and when it falls on a Sunday is called Aldersgate Sunday.

it is a commemorative day remembering what happened to a young Church of England Priest named John Wesley on Aldersgate Street May 24, 1738.

It started before this however, John Wesley returned from a trip to America earlier that year. He wrote in his journal dated Tuesday, January 24th 1738, “I went to America, to convert the Indians; but oh, who shall convert me?”

He sought the Lord for reality and assurance but was never satisfied until that wonderful day in May.

The day started for Wesley at about five am when he read 2 Peter 1:4 “There are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, even that ye should be partakers of the divine nature”

Later he read “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.”

John Wesley went to church at St. Paul’s and the anthem they sang was

“Out of the deep have I called unto Thee, O Lord;

Lord, hear my voice,

O let Thine ears consider well the voice of my complaint...”

That evening according to his journal he went “very unwillingly to the society in Aldersgate Street.”

It was here someone was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans.

Wesley writes, “At about a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

The Assurance of the believer or Witness of the Spirit theologically follows justification/regeneration/adoption in the order of salvation.

Privilege of every believer

A. W. Tozer wrote of the witness of the Spirit:

“The human personality has a right to be consciously aware of a meeting with God. There will be a spiritual confirmation, an inward knowledge or witness!

This kind of confirmation and witness was taught and treasured by the great souls throughout the ages.

Conscious awareness of the presence of God! I defy any theologian or teacher to take that away from the believing church of Jesus Christ!”

Is the doctrine of assurance Biblical? The apostle John was concerned that we know that we have eternal life:

1 John 5:13 -- 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.

Assurance comes through the Witness of the Spirit

Romans 8: 15-16 --For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

1 John 3:24 -- Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Wesley's definition of the witness of the Spirit:

“The testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God; that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given himself for me; and that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God.”

We received this witness by believing in Christ:

1 John 5:10 -- He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 and this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Notice that believing that God saves us comes before the witness.

We must believe the promise of God’s word--that if we confess our sins, he will forgive us (1 John 1:9)

We must believe that when we invite Christ into our heart, having truly repented for our sins, that he will come in and forgive us (Rev. 3:20)

We can trust the testimony of the Word of God, that if we meet the conditions for salvation, he will save us. When we believe the Word of God, we will receive the witness of the Spirit: He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself” (1 John 5:10).

What confirms the witness of the Spirit?

The Fruit of the Spirit Gal. 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22–23 KJV 1900

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Two warnings of Wesley:

Don’t rest in the witness without the fruit

Don’t rest in the fruit without the witness. (Your faith is in the works not Christ).

R. E. Carroll summed up John Wesley’s doctrine on the Witness of the Spirit in 11 brief points:

1. There is an indirect witness that we are the children of God. This is nearly the same as the testimony of a good conscience; it is the witness of our own spirit, although not without the aid of the Holy Spirit. It is a conclusion drawn from the Word of God, from our own experience and from the obvious marks of a Christian life. This witness is taught by many; it is quite generally accepted as the whole of Christian assurance.

2. There is also a direct witness of the Spirit of God with, or to, our spirit that we are the children of God. This is not so clearly or commonly taught -- either in our day or in Wesley's.

3. This direct witness of the Spirit is necessary before we can know that He loved us and so, of necessity, before we can love Him "because He first loved us." We cannot know His pardoning love until His Spirit witnesses it to our spirit.

4. This direct witness of the Spirit cannot be explained. The manner of how God witnesses to the soul we cannot know; the fact we can know.

5. The assurance that we are not mistaken in the witness of the Spirit is by the Scriptural marks and Christian fruits and graces that attend it.

6. This witness of the Spirit can be lost by inward or outward sin; by anything that grieves the Holy Spirit.

7. God gives two witnesses that we may be assured that we are not mistaken. There is the Spirit-wrought witness of our own spirit and the direct witness of God's Spirit that we are the children of God.

8. It is very important that we have this direct witness of the Spirit. "You or I may be tried in such a manner, and so may any other child of God, that it will be impossible for us to keep our filial confidence in God, without the direct witness of His Spirit." [12]

9. "Let none ever presume to rest in any supposed testimony of the Spirit, which is separate from the fruit of it. If the Spirit of God does really testify that we are children of God, the immediate consequence will be the fruit of the Spirit. . . . And however this fruit may be clouded for a while, during the time of strong temptation . . . while Satan is sifting . . . yet the substantial part of it remains, even under the thickest cloud." [13a]

10. "Let none rest in any supposed fruit of the Spirit without the witness. There may be foretastes of joy, of peace, of love, and those not delusive, but really from God, long before we have the witness in ourselves . . . and consequently before we have a testimony of our acceptance: but it is by no means advisable to rest here; it is at the peril of our souls if we do. If we are wise, we shall be continually crying to God, until His Spirit cry in our heart, Abba, Father!" [13b]

11. There may be a loss of joy under severe trial and this may apparently cloud the witness of the Spirit, but God will restore the joy along with the other fruits of the Spirit if the soul remains true. ...

In reality we can’t describe it or put it into words - but when one has had this impression on the soul they can sing along with the songwriters:

Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine - oh what a foretaste of glory divine

it’s real, it’s real, O I know it’s real; Praise God, the doubts are settled, For I know, I know it’s real.

William Hunter in his hymn The Hallowed Spot wrote:

Sinking and panting as for breath I knew not help was near me; I cried, “Oh, save me, Lord, from death, Immortal Jesus, hear me.” Then quick as thought I felt Him mine, My Savior stood before me; I saw His brightness round me shine, And shouted, “Glory, glory!”

I believe in a heart felt religion,

That brings joy to the soul every day

The assurance of sins all forgiven

Thro’ the blood they are all washed away

Chorus

Oh give me the old time religion

O give me the joy I can know!!!

I’m so thankful God has not left us without the assurance

We can have this witness of the Holy Spirit

If you do not know I told you earlier how you can know.