10 words of assurance that will “ROCK” your faith…

 

 10 words of assurance that will “ROCK” your faith…

#1 Assurance of Salvation

Our biggest fear is what will happen to us after we die.  It’s the great unknown.  Where do we go?  What will it be like?  Is there a heaven and hell, and who goes?  Death is the great mysterious future for all of us.  Hebrews 9 says - “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…”  (9:27)

So, all of us will one day have to face death face to face.  Then what?  Some believe in reincarnation, where, based on your last life, and how you lived it, you can move up or down the food chain.  Some believe in oblivion, or nothingness.  That when we die, that is the end.  Still others believe in levels of heaven and oblivion or extinction for non-believers.  Two more - some believe in heaven and hell and a place in-between where you get a second chance to work your way to heaven. And the last one I will share, though I am sure there is more, is what the Bible says, and that is this.  There is  a heaven, and there is a hell.  Heaven is for those who have placed there faith and trust in Jesus Christ as there savior.  Hell is reserved for those who have rejected Jesus finish work on the cross as the only way of salvation.

As a Christian, this is where the assurance of Salvation comes in as a rock to hold on to, especially during a crisis in your life.  How can we be sure?  What does the Bible say about my salvation?  Here are a few verses to help us:

1 - Remember, Salvation comes from God as a gift, and God isn’t an Indian-giver:

Romans 6:23 - “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God, (salvation), is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

1 John 5:11-12 - “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

John 3:16 - ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

2 - Remember - Salvation provided what we needed - forgiveness from our sinfulness:

1 John 4:10 - “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

John 3:18 - “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”

John 3:36 - “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them.”

Hebrews 2:9 - “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

Revelation 1:5 - “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…”

3 - Salvation is because of God’s amazing love for us:

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:32 - He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Eph. 2:4 - But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),…

2 Thessalonians 2:16 - May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope

1 John 3:1 - See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 4:9 - This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

4 - God’s desire is that we receive his Salvation

John 6:40 - For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."

John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;

5 - Salvation’s promise is Eternal Life in Heaven with Jesus Christ.

1 Jn 2:25 - This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

John 3:15 - that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him."

John 6:40 - For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."

John 10:28 - I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

1 John 1:2 - The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

1 John 5:13

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Salvation is through Jesus Christ, because of his great love for us and given to us by God.  It comes through faith and only because of grace and mercy (Titus 3:5).  And one other thing - it hits at the heart of our greatest fear - what will happen to us after death.  Paul, the apostle, said this in Philippians 1

“…as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better…”

Now there is someone who fully understood what a rock the assurance of Salvation is to us.  Crisis may lead to death, yes, but what does the Christian have to worry about?  To be with Jesus is a one million percent upgrade!  Hold on to the joy of your salvation.  Your sin is forgiven, your salvation is secure, your home will one day be in Heaven with the author and perfecter of your faith - Jesus Christ!

You are Loved!

If you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ to Save you, to forgive you from your sins and to restore your relationship with God, then GOOD NEWS.  You can do that today.  The Bible says that Salvation comes to those who 1) repent of there sins and 2) Ask God to save them in the name of Jesus.  Romans 10:9-13 -

“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

You can have the same assurance of salvation by praying by faith these words:

Dear God, please forgive me for not believing you.  Forgive me for thinking I could work my way to heaven.  Forgive me for not believing Jesus is the way to you.  I place all my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who died for me and who you raised from the dead and is now at your right hand as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Your word says that if I call to you to save me, you would save me.  God, I am asking you to save me today.  I am asking in the only name I can ask, in the Name of Jesus Christ my savior.  Thank you