Confidence
Submitted by Pastor Kevin Stevicks
Fellowship Baptist Church Bearden, AR
July 31, 2024
1Jo 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Our salvation does not depend on us. Rather it is all of God. He wants those of us who have received His free gift of salvation to be fully assured that we have it.
Satan has used doubts about salvation to hinder many believers from being effective in their service to God. If we are not confident in our own salvation, how can we expect to point others to Christ? There have been false professors of faith ever since Judas Iscariot, and we must be certain that we are truly saved. Paul wrote, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Cor 13:5).
But there should not be constant doubt and dread that we have truly been saved and are secure. The same God who saved us keeps us safe and secure in Him.
Samuel Rutherford wrote, “I rejoice in the hope of that glory to be revealed, for it is no uncertain glory that we look for. Our hope is not hung upon such an untwisted thread as, 'I imagine so,' or 'It is likely,' but the cable, the strong tow of our fastened anchor, is the oath and promise of Him who is eternal verity. Our salvation is fastened with God’s own hand, and with Christ’s own strength, to the strong stake of God’s unchangeable nature.”
The apostle John wrote the epistle of 1 John to help believers have the assurance that they are saved. He gave a number of indicators of a new birth and new life, including the verse above about having a love for other Christians. None of these things are done so that we can be saved, but rather are done because we have been saved. The more closely our lives align with God's Word and God's will, the less opportunity there will be for doubt to creep in and undermine our confidence.
Confidence in our salvation grows from a reliance on His faithfulness and a recognition of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.
