“If any persons abroad have thought that a special and full persuasion of the pardon of their sin was of the essence of faith, let them answer for it. 1. Biblical saving faith is not passive assent but an active staking of one's life on the claims of God. IV. How can a believer have assurance of salvation? It only remains to receive the death-blow, and then all is over. “O that all my brethren did know what a Master I have served, and what I have this day! He who could write himself down “chief of sinners” (1 Tim.1:15) had a deep sense of his own guilt and corruption. In 1 John 1:4 he states the object of his writing this Epistle to be, "that your joy may be full." These were Baxter’s words on his death bed. 16. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Assurance always keeps the heart in a lowly posture; but presumption is bred of pride. How great the blessing! “Some rob themselves of their own comfort by placing saving faith in full assurance. This was Rutherford’s experience, when banished to Aberdeen. Many Christians are discouraged because they do not feel sure that they are saved. v. 12), and that there is in heaven an exceeding weight of glory that shall make amends for all. "But are you sure, Wesley, that you are saved?" If any believing soul desires assurance, and has not got it, let him ask himself, first of all, if he is quite sure he is sound in the faith, if his loins are thoroughly “girt about with truth,” and his eyes thoroughly clear in the matter of justification. 2. Can you forgive an enemy? He looks backward to his ministerial life, and he does it without shame. Inconsistency will dim your eyes, and bring clouds between you and the sun. ASSURANCE CANNOT NEGLECT THE PAINFUL WORK OF SELF-EXAMINATION. David Smith - The purpose for which St. John wrote his Gospel was that we might believe in the Incarnation, and so have Eternal Life (Jn 20:31); the purpose of the Epistle is not merely that we may have Eternal Life by believing but that we may know that we have it. Like a nervous, hypochondriacal person, he will be full of his own ailments, his own doubtings and questionings, his own conflicts and corruptions. If assurance be not there, I have not another word to say. Paul was no stranger to all the circumstances and accompaniments of that solemn day to which he referred. Never forget that it was the blood of Christ that saved us from the penalty of sin and it was the cross of Christ that saved us from the power of sin… As believers we are positioned IN CHRIST. “I never heard of a stork that when it met with a fir tree demurred as to its right to build its nest there; and I never heard of a coney yet that questioned whether it had a permit to run into the rock. A man may be God’s, and yet he not know it; his estate may be good, and yet he not see it; he may be in a safe condition, when he is not in a comfortable position. Let us remember, then, for one thing, that assurance is to be desired, because of the present comfort and peace it affords. It is a life of divine quality and endless duration. Your faith must rest in Jesus Christ alone, not in anything or anyone else. A T Robertson on that you may know - He wishes them to have eternal life in Christ (John 20:31) and to know that they have it, but not with flippant superficiality (1Jn 2:3-6-note). “Courage, my son. Too many among those who believe begin doubting and go on doubting, live doubting and die doubting, and go to heaven in a kind of mist. God’s testimony to Jesus is the foundation of our faith. Then again: look at what He is, and at what He has done; not at what you are, and what you have done. ", Wuest disagrees with Robertson writing that "I have written” is an epistolary aorist, a courtesy extended the reader by the writer of a letter in which the latter puts himself at the viewpoint of the reader when he receives the letter, looking at the letter which he is writing as a past event, although it is a present one with him. Why is an assured hope so rare? (Note that Wuest follows the original Greek text closer than the NAS or ESV). The Gospel exhibits the Son of God, the Epistle commends Him. We want to look straight at the “Author and Finisher of our faith.” (Heb 12:2+). 4) Those who are saved, and they act like it. Wesley replied that he was sure that provision had been made for his salvation. Weak faith unites as really with Christ as strong faith,-as the least bud in the vine is drawing sap and life from the root, no less than the strongest branch. Those that believe in Him are not condemned but those that do not believe in Him are condemned already. )7, Yes, reader: though a man’s faith be no bigger than a grain of mustard seed, if it only brings him to Christ, and enables him to touch the hem of His garment, he shall be saved,-saved as surely as the oldest saint in paradise; saved as completely and eternally as Peter, or John, or Paul. Drive Him not to a distance, by tampering with small bad habits and little sins. We may come into judgment for reward (2 Cor 5:10+). — Reprinted by permission. “Is it not necessary to justification to be assured that my sins are pardoned, and that I am justified? They that saw the brazen serpent, though a great way off, yet were healed. There is a beautiful expression in the Prayer-book service for the Visitation of the Sick: “The Almighty Lord, who is a most strong tower to all them that put their trust in Him, be now and evermore thy defence, and make thee know and feel that there is none other name under heaven, through whom thou mayest receive health and salvation, but only the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”, The compilers of that service showed great wisdom there. 9: ‘If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ The thief upon the cross had not attained to such high degrees of faith: he by one act, and that of a weak faith, was justified and saved. When his parents realized that he was missing, they went out searching for him. But, for all this, assurance is a real, sober, and true thing; and God’s children must not let themselves be driven from the use of a truth, merely because it is abused.2. 5:1. Neither are we saved by the worth or quantity of our faith, but by Christ, who is laid hold on by a weak faith as well as a strong. Some of those that shall be saved may not be certain that they shall be saved; for the promise is made to the grace of faith, and not to the evidence of it, to faith as true, and not to faith as strong. He has a portion that will never be taken from him, a Saviour that will never forsake him, a treasure that fadeth not away, however little he may realize it all at present. Summary. 5:2; 1 Jn. “Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:14. It enables him to feel that the great business of life is a settled business, the great debt a paid debt, the great disease a healed disease, and the great work a finished work; and all other business, diseases, debts, and works, are then by comparison small. Each found it again, undoubtedly, but not till after bitter tears. And, therefore, let not our souls be discouraged for weakness.”-Nature and Royalties of Faith, by Samuel Bolton, D.D., of Christ’s College, Cambridge. • "We know that when he appears, we shall be like him" (1 Jn 3:2). “The stork says to himself, ‘Ah, here is a fir tree:’ he consults with his mate, ‘Will this do for the nest in which we may rear our young?’ ‘Aye,’ says she; and they gather the materials, and arrange them. I have heard this illustration. I feel deeply for those whose treasure is all on earth, and whose hopes are all on this side the grave. There is never any deliberation, ‘May we build here?’ but they bring their sticks and make their nest. "Yes, I think it would. The vast majority of the worldly among ourselves oppose the doctrine of assurance. ii. “Understand thy case aright. I feel that I am treading on very difficult ground, and that it is easy to speak rashly and un­scripturally in this matter. “None walk so evenly with God as they who are assured of the love of God. Change your plan. They cannot and they will not go together. This man, so soon as he has fastened on this bough, is in a safe condition, though all troubles, fears, and terrors are not presently out of his mind, until he comes to himself, and sees himself quite out of danger. In light of their spiritual status, these believers ought to have confidence in their relationship with God. 1 John 5:12, ESV: "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." Faith is life. Wim then showed the woman what 1 John 5:11-13 says. (Job ii. When she reached the part where they went out searching for him, Billy began to relive the story. We come short, very short, of the blessedness we might enjoy. Let us take Him at His word. There is nothing unscriptural in this. Quench not the Spirit. 1660. Would that be enough to rest on?" And perhaps when he has done that, he will be able to say, “There is a cause why I have no assured hope.”. I will ask you to mark it well. Wait till you are really a Christian.” And this whisper too often turns the scale, and leads on to some miserable compromise, or wretched conformity to the world. The promise is not made to strong faith, but to true. (Expositor's Greek). “I find not salvation put upon the strength of faith, but the truth of faith; not upon the brightest degree, but upon any degree of faith. I will give you some reasons why an assured hope is exceedingly to be desired. I do not dispute it for a moment. And so they go mourning all their days,-oppressed with fears that they have no part or lot in Christ, and refusing to be comforted. One infallible test of knowledge (41 Jn :1–3). I have no speculations! “Assurance will generally accompany a high degree of faith. John 1:12(NASB) Verse Thoughts Many came to Jesus to accuse, ridicule and scorn Him, but the name of Jesus in the ear of the believer is the most beautiful of all names, for it is through our union with the Lord Jesus that we have been brought back into sweet communion with the living God, for there is no other name in heaven or on earth that has the power to seek and to save that which was lost. II. “Faith is the anxious, trembling voice, ‘Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief!’ (Mark 9:24). —1 John 5:13 vii. So the least grain of faith is as true faith, and as saving as the greatest faith in the world. It’s true. A good conscience will save no man,-wash away no sin,-not lift us one hair’s breadth toward heaven. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, are pledged to keep us. 3) Those who are saved, but don't act like it: Corinthians. But he had a still livelier feeling that Christ’s promise, “My sheep shall never perish” (John x. “A man may have saving grace in him, and not perceive it himself; a man may have true justifying faith in him, and not have the use and operation of it, so far as to work in him a comfortable assurance of his reconciliation with God. Some one will ask “Have all God’s people Assurance?” No; I think a good many of God’s dear people have no Assurance; but it is the privilege of every child of God to have beyond doubt a knowledge of his own salvation. 5 “Never did a believer in Jesus Christ die or drown in his voyage to heaven. But although you may be born again, it will require time to become a full-grown Christian. How can we be sure that “we know Him?” “If we keep His commandments” (1 Jn 2:3, 5). Assurance is Stephen standing calmly in the midst of his murderers, and saying, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56. ), Faith is the penitent thief, crying, “Lord, remember me.” (Luke 23:42.) The answer was, “Almost well.” 1691. “Some comfort and establish those who are weak, saying, ‘Be quiet: thou hast faith and grace enough and art good enough; thou needest no more, neither must thou be too righteous.’ (Eccles. The Lord Jesus is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. John also writes in 1 John about ‘false Christs’. But if we trust in Christ to save us, 1653. Then the 27th verse, “My sheep hear my voice; and I know them, and they follow Me. God has done His part. For Further Study Yet, a good conscience will be found a pleasant visitor at our bed-side in a dying hour. Faith is that poor trembling woman who came behind Jesus in the press and touched the hem of His garment. 1690. “Grace with assurance is no less than heaven let down into the soul.” There is much truth in the old maxim of the Puritans: “Faith of adherence comes by hearing, but faith of assurance comes not without doing.”, Reader, mark my words. There are no gains without pains in spiritual things, any more than in temporal. All saints shall enjoy a heaven when they leave this earth; some saints enjoy a heaven while they are here on earth.”-Joseph Caryl. What would you say?" Such an one is not fit to work for God, because he has besetting sins; and he has not the victory over his doubts, because he has not the victory over his sins. We are to grow in wisdom. Vex not the Spirit. 15:30.) Vincent on may know - Not perceive (ginosko), but know with settled and absolute knowledge. “You may have the water of the Spirit poured on you in sanctification, though not the oil of gladness in assurance; there may be faith of adherence, and not of evidence; there may be life in the root where there is no fruit in the branches, and faith in the heart where no fruit of assurance.”-A Body of Divinity, by Thomas Watson, formerly Minister of St. Stephen’s, Walbrook, London. Come and roll yourself, your soul, and your sins upon your gracious Saviour. He has had some hard cases to plead; but he has never lost one: and if you entrust your immortal interests to Him, He will “present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24+). But the servant takes a subordinate place. Our divines at home generally are of another judgment. I do not say that I “hope” to come to this country, for I am here. We believe it is possible for a Christian's faith to get stronger and stronger, until it reaches the full assurance of knowledge. A case came up in the courts of a country—I won’t say where—in which a man had had trouble with his wife; but he forgave her, and then afterwards brought her into court. After he had read to a woman some passages about trusting Christ, she said, “Well, I am trying to believe.” Ought we to go into that company? But there are sincere persons who are endued with only small measures of grace, or in whom the exercise of that grace may be greatly obstructed. He remembered that anchor within the veil, which is both “sure and steadfast.” He remembered the word, and work, and constant intercession of Him that loved him and gave Himself for him. Many appear to me to think that once converted, they have little more to attend to, and that a state of salvation is a kind of easy chair, in which they may just sit still, lie back, and be happy. Romans 10:17, "These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." 1642. (Ro 10:17-note). ), NET Note on to what these things refers - Theoretically the pronoun (tauta = "these things") could refer (1) to what precedes or (2) to what follows. The one shall never doubt his title, but just work diligently on. He quibbles and questions, ‘May I?’ and ‘I am afraid it is not for me;’ and ‘I think it cannot be meant for me;’ and ‘I am afraid it is too good to be true.’. Surely not upon anything that is in us. viii. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." 1649. But especially it provoketh God to withdraw Himself, His comforts, and the assistance of His Spirit.”-Baxter’s Saints’ Rest. III. 21. of the Gospel, and possibly by another hand. Consider that the smallest degree of faith is true, is saving faith as well as the greatest. A minister once pronounced the benediction in this way: “The heart of God to make us welcome; the blood of Christ to make us clean, and the Holy Spirit to make us certain.” The security of the believer is the result of the operation of the Spirit of God. 13 The least degree of faith takes away the sting of death, because it takes away guilt; but the full assurance of faith breaks the very teeth and jaws of death, by taking away the fear and dread of it.”-Fairclough’s Sermon in the Morning Exercises. He is mine; although he may have to undergo probation under tutors and governors. Then again in verse 14th: “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:14+) We are either forgiven or we are not, we should not give ourselves any rest until we get into the kingdom of God; nor until we can each look up and say, “I know that if my earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, I have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. So 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins” — he doesn’t specify any particular kind — “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So that’s a very sweeping and glorious and wonderful and precious promise. Believe me, Jordan is a cold stream, and we have to cross it alone. Believing reader, do you really mean to say that you have no desire to exchange hope for confidence, trust for persuasion, uncertainty for knowledge? Though I fall I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me. This is not just intellectual assent, but a that is not associated in a change in one's heart and thus in one's behavior or actions. Lean more entirely on the Lord’s arm. “We desire,” says Paul, “that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.” (Heb. Then we’ll enjoy new birth. 5:13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. I am inclined to think that justification and sanctification are insensibly confused together in the minds of many believers. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD." It is a letter from heaven expressly to you." 1 John 5:5-13 Is Christianity Merely Psychological? We pant after them: but they seem far from us.”. 2 “We do not vindicate every vain pretender to ‘the Witness of the Spirit;’ we are aware that there are those in whose professions of religion we can see nothing but their forwardness and confidence to recommend them. There are believers of several growths in the Church of God,-fathers, young men, children, and babes; and as in most families there are more babes and children than grown men, so in the Church of God there are more weak, doubting Christians than strong ones, grown up to a full assurance. All God’s children have faith; not all have assurance. The leprosy will never be out of the walls of the old house till death takes it down. I have written to you who believe in … the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. This shall give you more real comfort than the world has ever done. Depend on it, one secret cause of halting between two opinions is want of assurance. 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