ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

JESUS TAUGHT ASSURANCE OF SALVATION - 1

Jesus came ‘to seek and to save the lost’ [Luke 19:10]. He did not come to save them only to lose them again – the word save is in the Aorist tense, indicating a once-for-all, decisive action. The eternal security of those whom he saves is evident in his teaching. Consider what he taught:

In Matthew –

11:28-30 – ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’ Note the repetition of the word ‘rest’. Rest is possible only when there is assurance of salvation. An uncertain salvation, a salvation that can be ‘lost’ does not produce ‘rest’. It generates anxiety.

[We will look at the Parable of the Sower, 13:1 – 23, in a later meditation; some use it to teach that salvation can be lost, but it actually teaches assurance of salvation. See this study. ]

13:24-30, 37-43 – In the parable of the weeds among the wheat it is clear that the ‘weeds’ were always ‘weeds’ and the ‘wheat’ was always wheat. There is no suggestion that the 'wheat' (representing believers - the saved) can become 'weeds' (representing unbelievers - unsaved). The farmer’s over-riding focus is the safety and security of the ‘wheat’ – a parable of God’s preservation of the ‘sons of the kingdom.’

20:1-16 – In the parable of the labourers in the vineyard, the outcome at the end of the day is grounded in the landowner’s promise, not in the amount or the quality of the work done by the workers.

In Luke –

15:11-31 - The lost son, repenting and enjoying his father’s forgiveness, has assurance of his father’s love and acceptance, without any good deeds to depend on; the older brother, focusing on his good deeds, has no assurance of his acceptance with his father, nor any joy and peace. This lack of assurance will always be present when a person is looking to his/her actions to maintain acceptance with God (unless, of course, like the Pharisee below, that person is full of pride). It is precisely because Christians know that their relationship with God is neither established nor maintained by their actions that they can have complete assurance of salvation.

18:9-14 - The Pharisee brags about his religious resumé, thinking that thereby he will gain acceptance with God; the tax-collector, knowing that he has nothing to brag about, casts himself on God’s mercy, and goes home with the assurance that he is justified before God. Trusting in God’s mercy gives assurance; trusting in our own merit gives no solid or permanent assurance.

In John –

1:12 – Our identity as children of God is dependent not on works but on receiving/believing in the name of Jesus Christ – this receiving/believing is the result of the will of God, not of any human will. The fact that a person has true faith means that God has been, and is, at work in that person. It is not something that we can undo and lose.

3:15,16,36; 6:47 – The one condition or prerequisite of having ‘eternal life’ is believing ‘in him’ – believing in Jesus Christ. Note that Jesus said ‘whoever has the Son has eternal life’, present tense. Eternal life is eternal – but if it can be lost, if I can have it today but lose it tomorrow, it actually isn’t ‘eternal’.

4:14; 6:35 – Permanent spiritual satisfaction – never thirst, never be hungry or thirsty again. This speaks of confident assurance and completeness – an assurance and completeness which is the blessing of everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ and not in their own performance.

Permanent spiritual satisfaction – nothing lacking, no emptiness – is promised to those who come to Jesus/believe in him. Any teaching that denies assurance of salvation unavoidably creates an emptiness, a hunger and a thirsting. To have Jesus Christ is to know fullness and satisfaction permanently. If one thinks about it, it can be no other way, for Christ is God himself – how can we have God himself and still be empty? How can we be united to him, and still have no assurance?

5:24 – There are three secure facts here that are true of all who believe in Jesus Christ: ‘has eternal life’ – present tense: not will have, not might have, but, like the verses in John 3 ‘has’ – at this present moment. This is grand assurance. ‘Will not be condemned’ – future tense (every moment from this moment onwards): the person who believes in Jesus Christ will never return to the condemnation from which Christ has delivered them. ‘Has crossed over from death to life’. This does not speak of the possibility of being spiritually alive one day and spiritually dead the next, then alive again, dead the next, dependent on our works of obedience. It speaks of a once for all, permanently effective state. The tense in the Greek perfect tense: which means that something has been done, and the results of that action are still effective right now. So – here we have people who, at some time in the past (when they believed) crossed over from death to life, and that is their present and permanent position. Added to that, Jesus prefaced these words with the solemn words of assurance – ‘amen, amen, I say to you’ – indicating something utterly trustworthy and utterly significant.

In most of the above, note the direct connection between believing in Jesus, and Jesus’ assurance of life, of eternal life.

We will look further at Jesus’ teaching next week.