BLESSED ASSURANCE

May 9, 2009

Do people need love and comfort more than they need conviction and conversion?

Recently I was contacted by a professing Christian salesman who was selling computer software and growth strategies for churches. According to his statistics 80% of the people who visit a church are coming because they have a problem and they are looking for answers.

Furthermore, he said most visitors do not return because they do not feel that they are included and genuinely welcome by the congregation. (We work hard to be sure that everyone is welcome here!)

I asked, Do you think that churches should emphasize love and acceptance more than repentance?" "Absolutely!" He quickly shot back.

It's too bad that Jesus wasn't coached by this salesman. For that matter, John the Baptist and the Apostles Peter and Paul could have used his help as well. The first message each preached urged "repentance." See for yourself:

THE LORD JESUS
"From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
Matthew 4:17

JOHN THE BAPTIST
"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:1-2.

THE APOSTLE PETER
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:38

THE APOSTLE PAUL
Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, but showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Acts 26:19-20.

Clearly the first priority for the Son of God, as well as for the Sons of God, was to call the lost to repentance. Sincere repentance prepares the heart to receive "the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." (Romans 5:5). And "The love of God" is the deepest need of every heart.

Unless people repent, literally change their minds about sin and self, the Holy Spirit will not be welcome. But all those who do repent--who turn from loving sin to hating sin, and then begin to "hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matthew 5:6) will be filled. Repenting souls are sick and tired of their own rebellious ways. Repenting souls unconditionally surrender their will to the "good, acceptable, and perfect" will of God. (Romans 12:2). Repenting souls deny themselves, take up the cross, and follow Jesus. They pray, "Not my will, but thine be done." (Luke 22:42).

The Apostle Peter could not have been more specific. "Repent, and be baptized,...and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38).

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST

The Bible tells us that when God created Adam he "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:27). You will notice that it was not until God breathed into man's nostrils that he became "a living soul."

Shortly before returning to Heaven, Jesus met with His disciples and "breathed on them," saying, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." (John 20:21-22).

As the body could not and can not live without the breath of God, so the spirit of man cannot live without the Spirit of God. That is why Jesus urged Nicodemus to be born of the Spirit or "born again." He said, "Verily verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit." (John 3:5,6)

The Spiritual person--or one who is "born of the Spirit" discovers the Holy Spirit to be:

The SPIRIT of LIFE (Romans 8:2)
The SPIRIT of ADOPTION (Romans 8:15)
The SPIRIT of TRUTH (1 John 4:6)
The SPIRIT of WISDOM (Ephesians 1:17)
The SPIRIT of COMFORT (John 14:16)
The SPIRIT who ASSURES (Romans 8:1, 16)
The SPIRIT who GUIDES (Romans 8:14)
The SPIRIT who EMPOWERS (Acts 1:8; Romans 15:13)
The SPIRIT of RIGHTEOUSNESS (Romans 14:17)
The SPIRIT of PEACE (Romans 14:17)
The SPIRIT of JOY (Romans 14:17, Galatians 5:22)
The SPIRIT of LIBERTY (2 Corinthians 3:17)
The SPIRIT of HOLINESS (Romans 1:14)
The SPIRIT who SANCTIFIES (1 Peter 1:2)
The SPIRIT of LOVE (2 Timothy 1:7)

Just think how different our lives, our churches, and our world would be, if this Holy Spirit lived in every heart. You can see now why WE BELIEVE THAT THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER--THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT--IS THE GREATEST NEED OF OUR DAY!

Because I have limited space, I would like to focus for a moment on one aspect of the Spirit-life, namely "Assurance."

There is a profound difference between the assurance that comes from God's Spirit, and the assurance that comes from people. THE BEST WE CAN OFFER OURSELVES, OR THAT PEOPLE CAN OFFER US, IS FINITE, OR LIMITED. I'm afraid that sometimes people base their salvation on the words or the witness of other people, rather than the clear witness of God's Spirit.

BUT WHEN GOD'S SPIRIT ASSURES US, WHEN HIS SPIRIT WITNESSES TO OUR SPIRITS THAT WE HAVE BEEN BORN OF GOD HE OFFERS US HIS INFINITE BEST! My Grandmother Jones said that there were some things that you know that you know, that you know that you know! Certainly those who are "born of the Spirit" have that wonderful confidence that they are indeed saved from their sins.

It was this kind of assurance that inspired the Methodist hymnwriter Charles Wesley to pen:
...HIS SPIRIT ANSWERS TO THE BLOOD, AND TELLS ME I AM BORN OF GOD!

It is our prayer that in every service of the Church those who are longing for this kind of spiritual assurance will "seek and find." (Matthew 6:33, 7:7). There is nothing that we can do that is more important than leading souls into the knowledge of that Blessed Assurance. In fact, if that is your heart's desire, you can experience that assurance right now.

The blind poet Fanny Crosby rejoiced in that "Blessed Assurance" in her classic hymn. Her first verse is one of praise, her last is one of surrender--both are keys to Assurance:

Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood!

Perfect submission, all is at rest.
I in my Savior, am happy and blest.
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love!

May we all rejoice in that Blessed Assurance today, and as we gather to worship our Lord on Sunday!