How You Can Have The Assurance Of Salvation

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. ~1John 5:11-13

There is a gift that I would like to present to every Christian. It cannot be packed in excelsior, wrapped in brightly colored paper, tied with polychrome ribbon, or sealed with good wishes. It cannot be purchased with silver or gold. It is more valuable than all the treasures of this world. All the gold in all the nations of the world could not suffice as a down payment. It is not a material gift of this secular world but a real gift of the spiritual realm. It is intangible, but it is of inestimable and intrinsic value. Many who are rich would pay a handsome sum to possess it. Multitudes strive for it but find it just out of reach. As we face a future filled  with fear and foreboding, it might appear as a will-o’-the-wisp. It is desperately and devoutly desired but seldom attained.

The world lists this gift as peace of mind, as a feeling of security that all is well for the future. Psychology defines it as a well-integrated personality freed from frustration. Scripture is more specific. The Bible sets forth this gift as a knowledge, a certainty, and an assurance concerning one’s personal relationship to God. Simply stated, it is the assurance regarding one’s salvation.

Can we know experientially that we are saved and that we are the children of God? For years, my soul was tossed on the troubled sea of uncertainty and insecurity. Finally, there dawned upon my darkened mind the light of Philippians 1:6 –

Being confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work in you will perform [perfect] it until the day of Jesus Christ.

It was then that the sun of Scripture rose with many shafts of light and penetrated the dark recesses of fears and doubts. I pray that I may be given wisdom and power to convey to your fearful heart the assurance of your salvation, if it is not already your present possession. For those who have experienced the assurance of salvation, perhaps these few words will stabilize and strengthen the fabric of your faith. Assurance is your rightful possession, and God wants you to have it as your portion.

First of all, we need to distinguish between one’s eternal security and his assurance of salvation.  The line of demarcation must be clearly drawn if we are to enter experientially into the joy of salvation.

Eternal security  is an objective fact; assurance of salvation  is a subjective experience.

Eternal security  is not in the realm of experience, and therefore is totally independent of a person’s feelings; assurance of salvation  is truly an experience – an inner consciousness and confidence that a right relationship exists between the soul and God.

Eternal security rests upon certain objective facts that are established and sure; it depends upon God’s  faithfulness. A simple illustration will clarify this point. The Battle of Bunker Hill is a fact in American history. You and I did not experience the Battle of Bunker Hill, and our feelings are, therefore, no guide to the accuracy of history concerning it.

Eternal security rests upon what God says:

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1John 5:12) 

The most wonderful statement in the Bible (or out of the Bible, for that matter) is Romans 8:1 –

  There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus… 

In conjunction with this verse are verses 33 and 34 of the same chapter (Romans 8:33-34):

Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? Shall God that justifieth? Who is he that condemneth? Shall Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us?

The throne of God is behind every sinner who has trusted in Jesus. Christ’s work of redemption is adequate enough to secure the perfect salvation for the sinner who trusts Him. If not, then the work of Christ was of no avail, and it was not a finished transaction but must be written down as “unfinished business.” However, He, as it were, wrote over His cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

God is offering eternal life – everlasting life – to those who believe in Christ. It is not temporary or uncertain. It is not paid for on the installment plan. It is a gift the moment one believes, but for longer than a moment – for eternity.

You may or you may not have the assurance of this salvation that God offers as everlasting life. An anomalous situation exists today. Some Christians believe in the security of the believer but do not themselves have the assurance of their salvation; “My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (James 3:10), but they do exist.

God wants you to know that you are His child through faith in Jesus Christ:

But as many as received him, to them gave he power [the right] to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

It is not honoring to Him for you to have misgivings, doubts, and a lack of assurance. “Maybe” and “perhaps” should not be in the vocabulary of a born-again Christian when the matter of salvation is the subject. It is not a “hope so” but a “know so” salvation that God offers. It is always described as everlasting or eternal life; it is not temporary or conditional. 

Listen to God and be assured:

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1John 5:12-13) 

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)

This is not the language of uncertainty. There is a remarkable passage in this connection expressed in Isaiah 32:17 –

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.

The righteousness mentioned here is not man’s, but it is the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel. This is the righteousness of Christ, which is made over to us and gives us a standing before God. It cannot be improved upon because it is perfect, and it cannot be disturbed because it is given to the lost sinner who trusts in Jesus.

God wants all who trust the work in Christ to come to a place in experience where each can say with confidence, boldness, and much assurance, but with true humility:

. . . I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2Timothy1:12)

To fall short of this goal is to miss the best that He has for us. It reveals a defect in our understanding and in our appreciation of His “so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3).

A very simple and homely illustration will show that God wants us to enjoy and be assured of our salvation. Traveling by air is something I do only in an emergency. Candidly, I have never enjoyed an airplane trip; I lack assurance and confidence in this method of travel. Pictures of train wrecks and statistics of highway fatalities do not increase my relish for air travel.

A trip from Los Angeles, California, to Phoenix, Arizona, only made matters worse. On the way over and on the way back, the trip to me was hazardous. It was a summer Saturday morning on the way over. The intense heat of the desert was threading its way into the cool fog of Southern California between the San Jacinto and San Gorgonio mountains. The plane hit rough air and began to bounce around. Then the pilot found that the higher he went, the rougher it got; he leveled off and went through the pass at what appeared to be about 10,000 feet. At times, the plane would drop, and it seemed to me that it would never stop. I grabbed the seat in front of me and held on for dear life. Of course, the seat in front of me was dropping just at fast as the one in which I was sitting! A fellow traveler aboard, who had been around the world by air several times, stated that this was the roughest trip he had ever experienced. I concurred with him thoroughly, for it surely was my roughest trip – and, as I felt then, my last trip by air.

Across the aisle from me sat a man who was a former pilot. He was asleep by the time the plane took to the air. He was merely annoyed at all the disturbance and turned over and went back to sleep. He had flown many missions over Germany during World War II. When we landed and commented on the rough trip, he simply smiled and confessed that he had enjoyed it all. Frankly, I did not enjoy one minute of it.

Now, I was as safe as that man. Whatever security the plane offered was mine as well as his. We both had faith enough to enter the plane, but he had the faith, understanding, and experience to enjoy the trip. He had assurance, but I did not. What could have been a pleasant experience for me was a sad ordeal!

My friend, God wants you to enjoy your salvation. His “plane” cannot fall, and you do not have to hold on to the seat in front of you. He holds you!

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29) 

He never lets go. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy your salvation. Someone has said, “All the way to heaven is heaven.” 

By Dr. J. Vernon McGee © Thru the Bible Radio Network, www.ttb.org.