Assurance of Salvation

Tiff

Christ came into my life in the same way as the thief, without requesting God to come into my heart and forgive my sins. Saying this actually places a condition to your salvation and unintentionally usurps God's sovereignty.

Back when I got saved I was watching a crusade on TV and the people coming to the front for the altar call, weeping and submitting themselves to Jesus. No words spoken by me or from the program; all of a sudden I was indwelled with the Holy Spirit.

From one Junior to another, welcome on board.

 

Nice thoughts on eternal security. Here are some of my thoughts.

Eternal security comes from:

1. Realizing you are in Christ - II Cor. 5:17
2. Realizing it is the "faith of" Jesus Christ that justifies not our faith - Rom. 3:22; Gal. 2:16. (All the modern verions change "of" to "in".)
3. Realzing salvation is in a person (Christ) and not in a system of beliefs or things (as the world believes).
4. Realizing you are a part of Christ's physical and literal body - Eph. 5:30 and because of this you are in heaven right now - Eph. 2:6.
5. Realizing and believing all the past tense words of Ephesians 1.

Regarding assurance - the old Puritan writers believed one got assurance from obedience. When people live a life of disobedience then they have doubts. doubts have a tendency to dissapear when there is a life of obedience. Obedience doens't save but does give assurance.

God bless and welcome aboard.

 

Interesting thoughts Tiffany,

I agree with you that all Christians have an assurance of Salvation. If we did not we would have to constantly be re baptisted for the remission of sins.

Every single one of us will approach God with some measure of sin in our lives, yet it is the blood of Jesus that covers that sin and therefore we can be in His prescence.

I would encourage you to have a look at a book written by Charles Swindoll called "The Grace Awakening". It changed my life when I came to realise what the Grace of God in my life really meant.

 

Posted by Prophesynut: Christ came into my life in the same way as the thief, without requesting God to come into my heart and forgive my sins. Saying this actually places a condition to your salvation and unintentionally usurps God's sovereignty.

Saying the words is just a canned way of stating what must be heartfelt for salvation. When the thief on the cross asked Christ to remember him he was surrendered. He knew he deserved his fate and knew he needed Jesus to save him from his impending fate. God knows our heart.

The bible teaches we are saved by grace and not of ourslves. As far as assurance goes we have a God that cannot lie. When He says : He who comes unto me I will in no wise cast out, it is a promise that cannot be broken.

We cannot lose our salvation by turning away or doing bad works. If you couldn't do anything to earn it, how can you do anything to lose it?

 

All the assurance you need is in the Holy Bible. The Bible is the word of God, God cannot lie. The Bible says Jesus is God in the flesh, and that He died to pay for your sins. Jesus says to believe on Him and be raised up on the last day. It is finished. When we look at our works as evidence of our salvation, we are looking in the wrong place.

John 3
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Num 21
8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Do you believe your works? Or do you believe God's word?

 

This is one of my favorite passages speaking to eternal security of all those that the Lord has saved. Salvation is permanent and thankfully we do not have to rely on our own works to keep it.

 

Matt 7:323 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (He doesn't say, I USED to know you)
John 3:1-7 Ye must be born again
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life (HATH - present tense)
John 4:13-14 shall never thirst...a well of water springing up into everlasting life (The Greek literally says, "In no wise shall thirst forever")
John 6:28-69 ...he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst...He that believeth on me hath everlasting life...Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day...It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life...thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. (HATH...ETERNAL LIFE)
John 10:28-29 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish (NEVER)
John 11:25-26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die (NEVER)
John 17: 2-3 that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him (ETERNAL)
Acts 10:47 which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? (HAVE received)
Acts 13:38-39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses (ARE justified, not going to be)
Rom 3:20, 24, 28 a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (If you lose it then works played a part)
Rom 4:1-8 Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (sounds secure to me)
Rom 8:1-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (NOTHING)
I Cor 2:14 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. (IS spiritual)
Galatians (Whole book, really)
Gal 2:16, 21 for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified...if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (ANY law or works)
Gal 3:1-2 Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (If you answer works then Paul says you are foolish)
Gal 5:4 whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. (If you are justified by works then you aren't justified by grace)
Heb 6:18-19 ...impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation...Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast (Inspires my confidence)
Heb 7:25 ...he is able also to save them to the uttermost...seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (He will win all his cases)
Heb 13:5 I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (the Greek literally says, "In no wise will I leave thee nor in any wise will I forsake thee". It can also be translated, "I will not, I will not cease to sustain thee, I will not, I will not, I will not let you down".)
I Pet 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God (We are kept till we actually experience heaven)
I Per 2L24-25 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree...ye were as sheep going astray; but are now....(we WERE...but NOW...)
I John 1:7 the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (What is left for me to lose my salvation over?)
I John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life (KNOW...HAVE PASSED)
I John 5:1, 10-13 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God... he hath given us of his Spirit. .(IS BORN, and HATH given)
Jude 1 to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Chris (ARE sanctified and preserved.)
Jude 24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless (He is able and who's going to stop him?)
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, (HAVE redemption)
Eph 1:13-14 in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (SEALED untill REDEEMED)
Eph 4:30, 32 the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption...(ARE sealed)...as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. (HATH forgiven)

Salvation, present tense, sealed, guaranteed till we get to heaven. Sounds like Eternal Security to me.

 

Sorry guys but the thief did recognise he was a sinner.
Luke 23
39. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41. And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

the Thief recognized Jesus as being fully man and fully God and that He was crucified for the sins of the world.

we must First realize we all are sinners, Because of our transgressions is what seperates us from God. The law of moses was given that we may know what sin is and no matter how hard we try to keep those laws we fail Jesus was the Fulfillment of the law.

Romans 6:23 says, 23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans Chapter 7;12-25
tells us of our flesh nature concerning the law

12. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
13. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
14. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Romans 8

1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Sin Is the only reason Jesus had to come down from his throne in Heaven to be crucified on the cross. we must be under conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit before we can be saved.

 

once saved always saved, once truley saved.

my scripture for assurance of salvation is 1 John 1:9