8-Assurance of Salvation

In his Foreword to ASSURED BY GOD, R. C. Sproul insightfully writes, "The full assurance of salvation is not an extra benefit that accrues only to those believers who have striven mightily to reach a higher level of sanctification. Rather, assurance is a gracious gift of God provided for us in salvation and is to be secured early in our Christian lives. In his second epistle, Peter writes: 'Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ' (2 Pet 1:10-11). This exhortation follows on the heels of Peter's call for Christians to manifest the fruit of the Spirit, in a manner similar to the way the apostle Paul urged Christians to manifest the fruit of the Spirit. The key to fruitfulness, the key to manifesting a productive Christian life, is to have a life that is founded solidly on the assurance of one's salvation in Christ. The unsure Christian is the Christian who lacks stability in his or her faith. The unsure Christian is tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. The unsure Christian is easy prey for the assault of Satan, who does everything in his malevolent power to undermine the Christian's confidence of salvation in Christ. A Christian who lacks such confidence can easily become trapped in insecurity and may lack the boldness to venture out into the domain of a fallen world, armed with the whole armor of God." So let us help you, dear Christian friend, to grow in your own confidence of what God has wrought in you! Join us for midweek Bible study and our ongoing study of "The Doctrine of Salvation" so that vacillating doubts that weaken your profession would be removed once and for all! Our live-stream study at 6:00 deals with "Assurance of Salvation."