ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

REST FOR YOUR SOULS

We have seen previously that Jesus promised ‘rest’ to those who come to him, ‘rest for your souls’ – Matthew 11:28, 29. We have also seen that Paul taught that because we have been justified by faith ‘we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ – Romans 5:1.

But many Christians (possibly even the majority of Christians), seem to live without this ‘rest’ and ‘peace’; their lack of assurance of salvation makes these statements made by Jesus and Paul seem meaningless or even false.

And here we must ask: Were Jesus and Paul deceived? Or, did they deliberately make false promises? The answer to both questions can only be ‘No!’ The failure of these promises is not due to any lack of integrity in the promises, but to our human response to these promises, and to the many other similar promises.

The question that every believer needs to face is: ‘Do I believe God, or do I not?’

Consider these texts that focus on this question:

Genesis 15:6 – ‘Abram believed the LORD and he credited it to him as righteousness.’

John 5:24 – ‘…whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.’

1John 5:9-11 – ‘We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.’

The concept of spiritual ‘rest’, and the role that believing God plays in it, is taken up in Hebrews 3 and 4.

There the writer reminds us of a significant lack of faith in the history of Israel that resulted in all except two of the adults redeemed from Egypt failing to enter the land to which God was taking them. The original report is in Numbers 13 & 14.

Here is a brief summary of what happened:

God promised that he would give the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – Genesis 12:6,7; 13:14-17; 15:13-16; 26:2-5; 28:13-15.

When God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, his purpose and promise was to bring them to the promised land of Canaan – Exodus 3:16-17; 6:6-8; 12:25; 13:5,11.

In their safe passage through the Red Sea, and the destruction of the pursuing Egyptian army, they saw the mighty power of God that was active for them – Exodus 14:13,14,29-31; 15:1-21.

Leaders from all the tribes of Israel were sent into the land of Canaan to explore the land – Numbers 13. Only Caleb and Joshua believed that God would lead them into the land and give it to them as he had promised. The rest did not believe God; they rebelled, and refused to go into the land – Numbers 14:1-4.

Because they did not believe what God the promise of God, that whole generation of adults (except Caleb and Joshua) did not enter the land – Numbers 14:20-38.

In Numbers, this failure to believe God’s promise is called rebelling against the LORD, disobeying God, testing God, treating God with contempt, grumbling against God, turning away from the LORD. In Hebrews 3, it is called hardening our hearts, rebellion, testing and trying God, going astray, having a sinful, unbelieving heart, disobeying, unbelief.

In the Gospel of Jesus Christ God gives us his ultimate promise – rest for our souls. But our enjoyment of that rest is dependent on whether or not we really believe what God tells us is ours in Christ Jesus: that in Christ we have, right now as our present and permanent possession, his complete salvation package. Not because we are ‘good enough’, but because of what he has accomplished for us by the death of his Son.

The Israelites could not enter the land because they did not believe God’s promise. Even so, Christians, although saved through Jesus Christ, fail to experience the spiritual rest/peace promised in the gospel. They are still in the mindset of thinking that their present relationship with God depends on them, on their works.

Hebrews 4:10,11 puts it this way: ‘anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their own works …Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest …’

It is hard, it takes great effort, for our human egos to accept the gospel truth that we do not contribute to our own salvation, that we are saved by Christ alone. We so much want to make it ‘Christ plus some merit of our own.’ And in that ‘plus’ we fail to believe God. In that ‘plus’ we treat God and his promise with contempt. Just like the Israelites on the edge of the promised land.

In that ‘plus’ the ‘rest for our souls’ and the ‘peace with God’ are disempowered. And there is no confidence. No certainty. No assurance.