Month: January 2018

ASSURANCES

Posted by

0

CHRIST – A SUFFICIENT SAVIOR

“Christ…is the faithful interpreter…in regard to our salvation” John Calvin (ref#113, p636).

FATHER, do I depend on the merits of CHRIST? Am I confident CHRIST is a sufficient Savior (ref#63, p803)?

“What the ark was to Noah and the blood of the lamb was to the children of Israel, is what the atoning blood of Christ is to the believing soul. It forms his eternal security….Let the professor of Christ not leave the sealing of his pardon and acceptance to that fearful hour; let him earnestly seek it now, so that when he comes to die he will have nothing to do but die” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Sept 24th).

Do I still have my original confidence in CHRIST (Heb 3:14)?

“Though God’s election is a truth,

Small comfort there I see,

Till I am told by God’s own mouth,

That he has chosen me.

 

“[Sinners, I read, are justified,

By faith in Jesus’ blood;

But when it me that blood’s applied,

‘Tis then it does me good.]” J. Hart (ref#224, #31).

ASSURANCES

Posted by

0

TWO STAGES TO BECOMING A CHRISTIAN

Once becoming a child, FATHER, then I must grow up. The first stage embraces a moment in time—You made me Your child

I can recognize the first stage of my new birth by a change in my attitudes. I am instantly more interested in You than in me.

The first part of the year 2018 will be dedicated to questioning myself as to whether I have changed internally and possess a new set of attitudes.

The second part of the year will be questioning myself whether I am working the new attitudes out into my actions.

“There is a period known to God

When all his sheep, redeemed by blood,

Shall leave the hateful ways of sin,

Turn to the fold, and enter in.

 

“Glory to God, they ne’er shall rove

Beyond the limits of his love;

Fenced with Jehovah’s shalls and wills,

Firm as the everlasting hills” J. Kent (ref#224,#76)

ASSURANCES

Posted by

0

ASSURED OF KNOWING GOD

“’It is not everyone who keeps saying to me ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the man who actually does my Heavenly Father’s will” (Matt 7:21, PHILLIPS).

“Repentance, forgiveness, water baptism, and reception of the Spirit comprise the basic pattern of conversion” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2080, [Acts 1:5]).

My FATHER, I understand repentance, forgiveness, and water baptism but receiving the SPIRIT is difficult to verify. I assume because I repent, am assured of pardon, and am baptized the SPIRIT will reside in me. But that is a blind jump of faith that I must resist. A joyful peace will not come unless I am convinced for sure that the SPIRIT of GOD lives in me.

How great it is that Scripture does not leave me wondering. The Bible tells of ways a person behaves when the SPIRIT lives within. These facts become my assurances. Many days this year this blog site will post questions from Scripture. The more “Yeses” I accumulate the more assured I will be.

O FATHER, to be absolutely assured! What joy and peace that will bring me!

ASSURANCES

Posted by

0

ARE YOU REALLY SURE?

If I say I “know” I am saved, how do I know? How would I assure someone else that I am assured of my salvation?

It is true that some who are true Christians are not assured of their true status:

“One may say that he is persuaded that nothing present, or to come, can separate him from the love of God (Rom 8:18). Another comes but this far, ‘Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief’” (Mark 9:24) Puritan Daily Devotional Chronicles (ref#225, Oct 15th).

And it is also true that some who are not Christians are assured that they are:

“Many have lived in an outward profession; they have put on Christ with external garb, have talked well of Him, have been baptized in His name, have given liberally for His cause…” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Aug 10th).

ASSURANCES

Posted by

0

THREE WAYS TO CHECK

“You should be looking at yourselves to make sure that you are really Christ’s….You ought to know by this time that Christ is in you, unless you are not real Christians at all….” (2 Cor 13:5-8 Phillips)

The FATHER has included in His Book many suggestions of how I can assure myself of His salvation. He makes Himself perfectly clear so I can be perfectly clear that I belong to Him.

“The famous Westminster Assembly of the 1640’s concluded that there are three grounds of assurance of personal faith: one primary ground – the promises of God; and two secondary grounds—evidences of grace and the witness of the Spirit” John Calvin (ref#164, Nov 2nd).

The paths of assurance are three entities. And when they all agree they provide firm evidence that I am GOD’s child and always will be.

The three paths are:

The Word of GOD: “…The sure word of God lays down certain signs and marks of true grace, and witnesses these signs to be good evidences…” Puritan Daily Devotional Chronicles (ref#225, p136).

Our conscience: “…or our own spirit, witnesses that these signs are sound…” (ref#225, p136).

GOD’s own HOLY SPIRIT: “…God super-adds the witness of His own Spirit which enables us yet more fully to know the things which are freely given us of God” (ref#225, p136).