Letters to My Grandchildren: Assurance

My Dear Grandchildren,

Time for another letter, or as your mother has labeled them, another epistle. And this time I’m, again, writing about something that she thought would be helpful. The topic is assurance.

So, do we start with a definition? Well, not exactly. One reason that I stress the need for good definitions is because so much depends on clarity. This time I’m not going to offer a definition of assurance but rather a different way of talking about it, a way that will clear up some things.

A Little More Theory: Election and Therefore Assurance

We looked at some theory last week. And as I thought and prayed about it this week, it seemed good to do a little more of that. So, this morning we’re going to look at the doctrine of election. It’s important to understand that every theological tradition has some sort of teaching about election. And the reason for that is obvious. The Bible talks about it, sometimes by using the word ‘election’ or other words just like it, and sometimes by talking about the concept. So, whatever kind of theology a person has, he or she needs to have something to say about election. So, to be clearer let me restate what we’re going to be doing this morning. We’re going to look at the Reformed understanding of the Bible’s teaching on election.

Being Sure

I remember this time, decades ago, when I was at a Christian conference, and the speaker asked a question of those of us present. He asked how many struggled with assurance, struggled with doubts about being a Christian and on the way to heaven. Most of the people raised their hands, and there were many people at this conference. Here were all these Christians, and these were the ones motivated enough to go to a conference, who struggled with being assured when it came to the state of their souls. That’s a problem. These were people who were stressed about life.

These days I don’t hear much about people struggling with assurance. Actually, these days the problem is in the opposite direction. The problem for many today is not a lack of assurance that all is well with their souls but rather the presumption that all is well with their souls. It’s not that these folk have good reasons for that conclusion. They just assume it’s all good. These are people who walk into eternity blind.

So, there are those who aren’t sure about their eternal fate when they can be, and those who are sure about such things when they shouldn’t be. This is a problem not only for the people involved but more so for the kingdom. Those who presume to be Christians, but actually aren’t, can live in a way that makes Jesus look bad. Holiness for them is an unimportant virtue. On the other hand, those who aren’t sure of their standing before God lack the confidence that they can have to live boldly by the Gospel before a watching world. And again, it makes Jesus look bad.

This morning I’d like to talk to you about how you can be sure about your standing before God without falling into the sin of presumption. And to do that I’m going to take a look at a couple of things in Jude’s letter.

Making Sure

One of the pressing problems that many Christians faced when I was growing up had to do with the whole area of assurance, knowing for certain that you are a Christian. I was at a conference run by Bill Gothard once where this really hit me. The name ‘Bill Gothard’ may not mean anything to most of you, but he put on conferences intended for motivated Christians of a decidedly conservative theology. At one point in this conference the people in the audience – motivated, conservative Christians – were asked to raise their hands if they were not sure that they were Christian, if they had issues with assurance. It was a large crowd. Most of the people raised their hands. Now, a lack of assurance is a problem because it’s hard to follow Jesus well if you’re not sure that you’re following him at all. The question of assurance doesn’t seem to be as pressing today. But that’s not because Christians today are doing a better job when it comes to knowing that they are true followers of Jesus. The common assumption of way too many these days goes something like this. ‘Well, of course, I know that I’m a Christian. I know that because I know God loves me. After all, it’s what He does. He loves people.’ That’s not biblical assurance. That’s presumption. I wonder what this person would say if I told him that hell will be filled with people whom God had loved. And presumption never works when life gets hard and difficult questions demand thoughtful answers. The issue of being sure that you are one of the saved is still with us today, even if it shows itself in a different form.

Now, why am I talking about this? It’s because of something that our world is in great need of: Christians who are confident. I’m talking about Christians who, because they are confident, are ready to act in response to Jesus’ call, ready to deal with whatever, for Jesus’ sake. I would use the word ‘bold’, but that usually implies being loud and flashy. I don’t mean that. Maybe a good word would be ‘fearless’. We need Christians who are fearless because of what they know, and that includes knowing that they are among the saved. These are the people who will be used by Jesus to change this world. And that, after all, is the point of the Gospel. What we have, instead, are a lot of timid Christians, Christians whose lack of confidence shows when that confidence is most needed. Some are timid because they are not sure that the Father loves them. Others are timid because they simply presume that He does. This timidity needs to go.

In speaking to you on this topic I am not suggesting that you are timid Christians. In fact, I have seen in some of you the clear evidence of a biblical certainty that you are followers of Jesus. But even though that is true, we all need to grow in this area. There is no standing still. A Christian is either growing or sliding backwards. And I want all of you to be growing. And that’s why I want to talk about this area of making your calling and election sure.

So, please listen as I read our text, 2 Peter 1.1-15.

Faith Alone Is Not Enough

2 Peter 1.1-15

Slogans can be helpful. By means of a well-crafted slogan you can proclaim an important truth very quickly. 'Give me liberty or give me death.' 'In God we trust.' 'Faith alone.' But slogans – because they are so brief – can be misunderstood and misleading. 'Faith alone' is a precious slogan summarizing a key aspect of the Gospel. Our efforts at obedience to God will gain us nothing, and that is true because those efforts at obedience will ultimately fail. Our only hope of rescue from sin and death is faith in Jesus, faith alone in Jesus apart from the works of the Law. And so, all we need is faith in Jesus, and it's all good, right? Well, yes – but. And that's why this portion of Peter's letter is so helpful. Whatever else Peter is saying in our text, one thing is clear. Faith alone is not enough. Peter wrote, 'But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith ...' Peter writes to a group of Christians. He knows that they have a true and living faith in Jesus. And he also knows that that is not enough. So, he calls them to action. He calls them to add to that faith. And by this Word of the Lord, the Spirit is telling us the same thing. We're going to look at why we should add to our faith and how we are to do that. But before we do either of those let's take a quick look at what we are to add to our faith. Let's start by looking at this list of things to be added.

There are seven items on Peter's list. I don't intend to say a lot about each, just enough to give you the flavor of what Peter is after. The first is virtue. The basic idea here is excellence, especially moral excellence. The opposite of excellent is not failing. The opposite of excellent is mediocre, adequate. So, there is striving toward real holiness or there is simply being satisfied with not being all that bad or even just not as bad as some. Next, there is knowledge. But, knowledge of what? Is Peter talking about knowledge of Jesus? Of holy living? Something else? I don't know. But it's clear that whichever knowledge Peter is referring to it begins with a knowledge of the Bible, a knowledge of Bible content. Who did what where, why and with whom – and what did God have to say about it? Without Bible knowledge all other knowledge – of Jesus, of following Him – is impossible. Then there's self-control. This can be seen in the life of someone who has set his sights on certain goals and who refuses to be distracted from them by less important things. Perseverance, next on the list, is related to self-control. It's pursuing the goals that you have set your sights on and not quitting, come what may, until they are reached. Godliness is a nearly forgotten quality in our day. That becomes evident when you consider some of its synonyms: piety, reverence, the fear of the Lord. The last two qualities – brotherly affection and love – seem to be related. The first is about love for those within the Church and the second love for those outside of it. That's Peter's list. It's not exhaustive. It isn't intended to be. He could have included many more qualities to be added to faith. But this gave his original readers – and it gives you – a sense of what he was thinking about. Maybe I can illustrate what's on Peter's heart with this. The student who asks, 'Will that be on the test?', is looking to just get by. The many who think that faith alone is enough have the same attitude. Peter was teaching those saints not to be like that. Instead, strive for more when it comes to following Jesus. And that's why at the beginning of his list he tells the saints to 'make every effort' to add to their faith. '... make every effort...' The Spirit calls us to work at these things, to strive for excellence in these things. This is to be a priority of us. And that's because faith alone is not enough.

Now, we're ready for the 'Why?' question. Peter actually gives two reasons why we should be working at this. The first is in verse 8. 'For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.' Do you see what Peter is saying? Developing these qualities leads to knowing Jesus well. Please understand what that phrase means. It's not about knowing the Gospels and the events recorded in them. It's not about understanding certain doctrines of the Scriptures. It's about getting to know a person, and developing a friendship with Him. And Peter tells us that as a disciple gets to know Jesus in this sense, his life will blossom in such a way that he will have a powerful affect for good on those around him. This disciple will not be 'ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.' So, beside whatever benefits there may be to a disciple himself – and there are significant benefits – the reason why a Christian needs to make every effort to add to his faith is for the sake of ministry and mission. Those who are growing in the knowledge of Jesus, growing in their friendship with Jesus, are those who are best able to care for others and spread the Gospel. Or to put it another way, those who know Jesus well, love others well. Loving other people – whether saints or lost – is hard. It takes effort. It is costly and not convenient. It is not something that comes naturally. But this is what Jesus did. He loved. And it cost Him His life. Who can love like that except those who draw closer to Jesus so that He can teach them how to do it? So, here's the first reason why you should work at adding these and other qualities to your faith: so you can love like Jesus did and does.

Peter gives a second answer to our question 'Why?' Listen. '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.' Please note what Peter just did in writing these words. He gives a label to His earlier command to add to faith. Here, he calls it 'making your calling and election sure.' And he says that those who heed his instructions in this, 'will never fall'. In fact, those who heed his commands will find that their path into heaven will be made clearer and clearer and thus easier to follow. To put this into more familiar language, Peter is talking about assurance of salvation. It used to be that one of the really big problems for so many Christians was knowing, with some degree of certainty, that they are among the saved. That's less pronounced these days because most no longer even pause to raise the question of assurance. It's just assumed based on the flimsiest of reasons. And yet, when the busy noise of life is quieted and the fears of life come out of the shadows, the questions loom. 'Is this all for real? Am I really one of Christ's? Am I going to make it to heaven?' Doubt. The longed-for solution is assumed to be some special experience or a change in feelings which results in that mystical something called 'assurance'. 'Aha! Now I know that I'm a Christian and that all my sins are forgiven and that I'm really on my way to heaven.' There's nothing of that here. Peter speaks of no special experience or any surprising 'Aha!' moment that comes out of the blue. No, for Peter assurance develops – 'making your calling and election sure' – by making every effort to add to your faith. It is as these qualities he's listed – and others – grow that assurance also grows. Faith alone is not enough.

This matter of assurance is so important but not just for the sake of peace of mind. Doubts about the state of one's soul are, at the very least, a distraction. The goal for the Christian is not to be assured of his own salvation. The goal is for him to love his God and love his neighbor. The sooner that doubts about his soul are put to rest, the sooner he can get at the important matters of life: heartfelt worship, love of the brethren, living and proclaiming the Gospel before a world that is on its way to hell and that with increasing speed. Being diligent to add to your faith – with its resultant assurance – prepares a foundation for faithful living and for that reason it is important. So, what I labeled as Peter's two answers to our question 'Why?' actually end up pointing to the same thing. We work at adding to faith so that we can be about the Father's business in ministry and mission. Faith alone is not enough.

Now for the 'How?' question. How are you to actually put the Spirit's commands here into practice? Peter has already told us. Listen. 'His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.' Now, that's a fairly complicated sentence. So, let me take it apart for you. We've been rescued from the corruption that is such an essential part of this world. The Spirit has done His work, and we are now Christians. Peter tells us that the point of this is that we might be 'partakers of the divine nature'. Here, think of 'nature' as 'character'. The point is that we might share in God's character. Or to put it in more familiar terms, that we might be like Jesus. If you think about it, that's what these qualities – excellence, self-control and all the rest – are about, being like Jesus. That leads to the key to the answer to 'How?' '...He has granted to us His precious and very great promises... ' It is through these promises that we will be able to add to our faith, that we will be able to become like Jesus. '...He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature...' How else could such a thing happen? It's all about the promises.

It seems fair to say that all the promises boil down to Jesus saying this: 'I will take care of you'. There is great variety in the specific promises, but I think that they all echo that one thought. There is this variety because, for one thing, we're dense and don't get it very easily. Repetition and variety help the promises to penetrate our hearts. Sometimes He offers a promise in a certain way because of the specifics of the need He is addressing. Sometimes the promise is phrased differently because of something else that He's already said. But understanding all of that, the promises all seem to be some aspect of this pledge. 'I will take care of you.' The way it usually happens, the Spirit points to some specific expression of that promise, some particular verse that renews the pledge in a specific way to your life. Most often when He does this, the first thing He has us do is to repent. Though this isn't always the case, He often nudges us because we have doubted Jesus' pledge. Repentance is appropriate and needed. But then He calls us to renew our faith in Jesus and in His pledge to us. So, having been reminded by the Spirit that Jesus has promised, 'I will take care of you', we reply, 'I'm sorry. I do believe you. I trust you.' But living faith doesn't just sit there and say, 'Yep, I believe that.' It also acts. How it acts depends on the specifics of the situation.

Let's take one promise, a promise for the fearful. 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' Jesus promises peace instead of fear. 'I will take care of you.' And faith, believing Jesus, will result in enjoying that peace. But notice that the promise calls for faith to act, in this case to pray. Be anxious for nothing but in everything pray. A living faith will pray. Part of the prayer will be requests, not generic requests but requests specifically about the things that that person is anxious about. Another part of the prayer will be thanksgiving, even including thanks for that situation that tempts the person to fear. And then, there is supplication. But what is that? It must mean something. If the person doesn't know what it means he will find out so that he can incorporate that also into his prayers. That is one example of being diligent to add to your faith. And what quality was being added? Fearlessness, enjoying the peace of God in the face of trouble. 'And if these qualities are yours and are increasing they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

Let me close with this. For some of you this sermon is an encouragement. The Spirit has been doing His work in your life. You know that faith alone is not enough. You're working at adding to your faith. You're aiming at excellence in following Jesus. Today's sermon has reminded you of 'why' and of 'how' and maybe even some of the 'what'. As you continue to work at adding to your faith, you will see your faith become stronger and more fruitful. You will see marked progress to your goal of excellence as a disciple of Jesus. So, let me urge you to keep at it, depending on the grace of the Spirit. He will bless your efforts.

I fear, though, that there may be some of you who are not being diligent to add to your faith, who are content with who you are, who assume that faith alone is enough. So, there is no striving after excellence, knowledge, self-control or any other aspect of Jesus' character. Where you are is good enough. It's adequate. If I have just come uncomfortably close to describing you, then understand that for Peter and for the Spirit there is no category called 'adequate'. Peter, himself, warns you. 'For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.' I'm not going to get into the details of that blindness. I don't need to. It's enough to say that it's not good. According to the Spirit who inspired this text, there are but two alternatives. There is being diligent to add to faith or there is becoming blind. There is no other category. So, just as I encouraged those who are working at these things I would warn any who aren't.

I Am Loved

Romans 8.15-17

We're back again looking at the work of the Spirit. This week we're going to consider another simple sentence that reveals something profound about the Gospel. 'The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God...'

From time to time I encourage you to meditate on Scripture. The benefit of meditation is that you have to slow down to see more of what is going on in the bit of Scripture that you are meditating on. As we slow down for this verse one thing stands out: we are children of God. This really is a big deal. I think that I can say that this element of our faith is unique among the world religions. I'm no expert on Islam, but from what I understand, no Muslim person would ever say that he is a child of God. Allah is far too distant for that kind of relationship. Such a tie just doesn't fit. Likewise, a Jewish person doesn't identify himself as a child of God. He is much more likely to identify himself as a child of Abraham. God as Father is not an important theme in modern Judaism. But we who follow Jesus are different. We call ourselves children of God and we should because it's the truth. God as our Father is a primary emphasis in our religion. Though our God is the great and awesome God over all creation, He is near to us as our Father. We are children of God. This is something that we can relish.

Many things flow from this, but I am going to pick just one. Because we are God's children, we are loved. It is so important that you feel what this means. So, let's do this. Think about some of your sins, the wicked attitudes that reside within your heart, the things that people never see. Consider your words, things that you've said that have hurt others so much, or the things you failed to say that could have healed deep wounds. I want you to call to mind the different ways that the ugliness of sin still lives within you. Do you see it? Do you have a sense of your sinfulness? We deserve the worst of the wrath of God. He should toss us all into the lowest pit of hell and throw away the key. Just a moment's honesty will bring any person to that conclusion. So, right now, I want you to say this to yourself: 'I deserve hell.' A truer statement has never been uttered. 'I deserve hell.' Have you said it to yourself? Now, tell yourself this: 'But... because of the Gospel, I am loved. God is my Father, and I am His child. I am loved.' That is simply astounding. But it's the truth. It's the Gospel.

There is, however, a problem. How well do you believe what you just told yourself about being loved? I don't think that I am far off if I say that one of the great needs for so many Christians is to know that they are loved. To know it. It seems to me that so many doubt that. Now, I'm not saying that people go around saying, 'I wonder if I'm loved?' But every time you give in to worry you doubt that your Father loves you. Every time you push yourself because you figure that you can only depend on yourself, you doubt that your Father loves you. Every time you give in to discouragement, maybe even to the point of giving up hope, you doubt that your Father loves you. It is simply a fact of the Gospel that we are loved. God is our Father and we are His children. We are loved. But it is also a fact that, in this or that situation, we doubt that.

Now you have before you two facts. Fact one: your are children of God and because of that you are loved. Fact two: To a greater or lesser extent, you doubt this way too often. Two facts. Wouldn't it be great to be able to increase your assurance about that first fact and progressively eradicate the second. But how? What do we do to be more assured that we are loved by the Father? How do we remove all doubt about that fact so that our hearts are fully persuaded? The Gospel answers that. And the Gospel answer is that you are to do nothing. Nothing. And the reason for that is clear. You are to do nothing because there is nothing that you can do to effect this kind of change. This is something that only the Spirit can do. 'The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God.' Being assured of God's Fatherly love is a work of the Spirit. Do you see why I said that this is a profound statement? It almost makes you believe that the Gospel is completely a matter of grace and not at all of works.

It's appropriate to ask a question at this point: How does the Spirit do it? How does He bring about assurance? There are some of us who would like it if He just sent us a letter in the mail. 'Dear Leon, You are my child and I love you. With all My love, God.' The problem is that even if we did receive such a letter would we believe it? I know that I would be looking for the return address of the jokester who send me such a letter. So, how does the Spirit effect this kind of change so that we would be assured that we are loved. I was listening to Pastor Mark Driscoll recently. During his talk he referred to 'Daddy dates'. He takes each of his daughters out to dinner and something else on a regular basis. In the talk I was listening to, he was talking about a 'Daddy date' with his four year old, Alexi. His goal in this is to protect his daughters. He knows that at some point there's going to be some teen age guy who's going to want to date his daughters. He wants to make sure that when that happens none of his girls are desperate for love and go off and do something stupid with that boy. His theory is that his girls will be kept safe from such a danger because they will just know: My Daddy loves me. And how would they know that? Well, they could point to the 'Daddy dates', but they won't have to. By then, they'll just know that their Daddy loves them. They'll just know. That's what the Spirit does with you. He does His work within you, by different means, so that you just know, 'I am loved. God is my Father. I am His child. I am loved.' You just know. And that is a great comfort.

All of this is so very important. It makes a huge difference in how we deal with life in this fallen world. Paul reminds us of this in our text when he mentions suffering. '[We are] heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him...' Suffering is a necessary part of being a Christian. Whenever you are confronted with some aspect of the sinfulness of this creation, and you press on to be faithful to Jesus, you will experience suffering. Some of the suffering that you face is no huge ordeal. But there are experiences of suffering that are great wrestling matches. They are hard. Paul lists some examples of what he has in mind here. Listen. 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." ' This is not an exhaustive list, just suggestive. Some of our suffering comes from other people, things like persecution. But there is also famine, distress, and danger. These are the kinds of things that come from life in a fallen world. And these sorts of things are Christian suffering because we deal with them for Jesus' sake. That's why Paul wrote, 'for your sake we are being killed all day long.' We wrestle with sin and suffer as a result because of our devotion to Jesus. We follow Jesus and we keep doing that even though it costs.

Now, this is where things begin to come together. When suffering for Jesus' sake gets hard, there is only one thing that will keep you at it: 'I am loved. God is my Father. I am His child. I am loved.' This is something that you need to know. If you know this then, when the suffering gets hard, you will be able to say, 'God's plan for me is good and wise and loving.' It is this assurance that will give you the hope that you need to continue on as a faithful disciple of Jesus. It is because of this assurance that you can cry out, 'Abba, Father.' You may cry out in great pain, but you cry out confidently, knowing that your loving Father will hear and that He will get you through it.

And being able to endure like this is important because the world is watching. Remember, we exist to make Jesus look good, and that is especially true when life gets hard. That's not to say that there aren't benefits for you in this. As you face suffering and endure as a confident child of God, your sense of joy will grow. And the reason for that is clear. As you suffer, you begin to see how very small your strength is. And as you see that, you then are forced to depend on your Father more. His promises become more important to you because you come to see more clearly that they are so necessary. And then, a funny thing happens. You discover that your Father really does keep His promises to you. Those words that used to be just some memory verses that you felt obligated to learn, become real. And what used to be something that you doubted becomes something you believe. 'Dear Leon, You are my child, and I love you. With all My love, God, Your Father.' That experience becomes fertile soil for a joy inexpressible and full of glory. As a result, hope blossoms. What it means to be an heir, to have 'an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you...' becomes so much richer.

So, suffering will come. There will be tears as you wrestle with choices and emotions and temptations. But underneath it all, holding everything else up, will be this confidence. 'I am loved. God is my Father. I am His child. I am loved.' And that confidence will be there not because of you. It will be there because of what the Spirit does in your life. He is the one who makes us confident in the Father's love. It is up to Him alone to create that kind of confidence. Remember we are not in control. The Spirit sovereignly acts. He will bless when He is good and ready to. We are not in control. And yet, as I said last week, we can put ourselves in the place where the Spirit does His work. It was in that context that I told you to read your Bible, commune with your God and use the community of the saints. There are other things to do also, but these are where you start. So, let me encourage you to continue to work at these spiritual disciplines. As you do, you will see more and more evidence that the Spirit is at work in your life. And that will bear some awesome fruit.