Volume 1 Lawrence, Kansas November 1961 Number 11
We wish particularly to point to that part of the above verse where the apostle spoke of "full assurance of faith." The word assurance is defined as "The state of being assured. Certainty. Firmness of mind, confidence, self-reliance." In this verse it refers to the certainty that we can have that our future with God is assured. The shortness of life, the certainty of death, and the length of eternity all make it imperative that before we approach death's dark valley, we must be assured that the future holds no terrors nor even uncertainty.
I believe that the vast majority of those who believe in God and Christ do have a desire to be assured that when they meet the Maker face-to-face at the Judgment, they will be accepted by the Lord into his eternal home; but, sad to relate, there are many different views as to what constitutes assurance. These different views contribute to considerable confusion in the religious world; and our love for mankind prompts us to attempt to clear away the confusion that we might have unquestioned assurance at all times that all is well with our souls. The differing views prevalent among mankind generally fall into three classes, and we shall deal with each one according to the teaching of God's word.
1) One class declares that no one can be absolutely certain that their eternal salvation is assured—that God has locked up that fact in the secret councils of His heart, and the truth will not be known until the Judgment.
If the above is true it would seem strange that the apostle Paul would speak of the "full assurance of faith;" for that very expression implies that each and every one of God's children can have the divine assurance that will comfort them in death's dark hour, and thus give them hope and strength amid life's trials and afflictions. No one can be happy if they are compelled to live in doubt and uncertainty. All the facts needed to convince one of God's love and of his unceasing interest in all sinning creatures, are revealed in God's great book—the Bible.
Peter speaking to the heart-pierced Jews on Pentecost, said, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ"—Acts 21:36. In other words, Peter wished them to have absolute assurance that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. All the evidence needed to prove his Sonship is given in God's inspired record of Jesus' life. "These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name"—John 20:31.
The assurance given to us regarding Christ was given to us that we might have assurance that we could rely upon him for salvation.
To leave his creatures in doubt and uncertainty would be a reflection upon God's love and goodness. It would be difficult for me to believe that a loving Father would deny his children happiness and peace of mind now, while providing for their happiness in the world to come. We have every reason to believe that God's love for us is just as great now as it will be when we reach the portals of the blest. Certainly in view of His proven love for us now, we can be assured that He will be delighted to have His children happy in this present evil world.
Paul told the Corinthians, "We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"—II Corinthians 5:1. In so saying he spoke with absolute assurance in regard to the future, and this harmonizes with his statement in Titus 1:2 that we live in hope of eternal life "which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began." Inasmuch as God's promises are sure and true, there can be no grounds for doubting the happiness of the future if we walk with God.
2) There are many who affirm that we can have absolute assurance of salvation because of emotional feelings in our hearts. They talk about the "witness of the Spirit" referring to Romans 8:16 where Paul declares that "the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God." They make a great mistake in assuming that the Spirit bears witness to their spirits. That is not what Paul taught. There is a wide difference between bearing witness to and bearing witness with our spirits. The witness of the Spirit is not to us but with us. As if two persons were to testify for the defense in a court trial. The testimony of the second witness corroborates the testimony of the first witness; they bear witness to the same facts, but the testimony is given to the jury. If we have the proper testimony as to our lives and conduct, then the Spirit's testimony harmonizes with ours. Paul did not advocate "full assurance of feeling" but full assurance of faith. There is a wide difference between feelings and faith. Faith is defined as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"—Hebrews 11:1. It is the foundation of our hopes; and it does not come from any feelings in our hearts, but from the inspired declarations of God. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"—Romans 10:17. God must speak in clear tones before faith can exist in the heart. Therefore, I can only know I am saved when I have God's testimony to that effect.
Nothing is more variable or changeable than human feelings, nor undependable. Many times we fall into a depression of mind without definite reason. At other times we become unduly optimistic without concrete evidence to sustain our optimism.
We forget that God's book declares that "he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool"— Proverbs 28:26; and "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" —Jeremiah 17: 9. Certainly there is nothing infallible about the human heart and its emotions; and he who will trust in the emotions of the heart is not only leaning upon a very weak reed, but is going contrary to all the admonitions of God's word. Listen to Solomon: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not on thine own understanding"—Proverbs 3:5. In view of all the above scriptures, we ask; What then is the real assurance of salvation?
3) The third and last class of people are those who believe that when we walk by faith in obedience to God's command, we thereby have the full assurance of faith. Jesus said, "Not everyone that with unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven"—Matthew 7:21. We are not to walk by our physical sense as the beasts do; on the contrary, we are to walk by a sublime faith in Christ, our Saviour. "For we walk by faith, not by sight"—II Corinthians 5:7; and the pathway of faith is the pathway of obedience. Paul speaks of "the obedience of faith"—Romans 16:26, and be it understood that unless we have enough faith in the Lord to obey all of his commands, then we can make no spiritual claim to faith in Christ. "Christ became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him"—Hebrews 5:9. And the Bible tells us very plainly that heaven is opened only to the obedient. "Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city"—Revelations 22:14.
When we do just what the Lord commands us to do, then we have the Lord's own word to the effect that we are saved. Jesus declared, "He that believeth, and is baptized shall be saved"—Mark 16:16. Here we have the promise of the divine King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that we are saved. What more could a human being want? Suppose that some morning when you receive your mail, there is a legal-appearing document, and upon opening the envelope you are very surprised to learn from a lawyer that you are an heir of a considerable fortune. This knowledge brings happiness to your heart, so that you rejoice greatly, Now you do not know that you are an heir because you are happy, but you are happy because you have the legal proof that you are an heir. So it is in the matter of salvation. God speaks to you through his inspired word: and therein he has laid down the terms of heirship with him. When we comply with the terms he has revealed, we have his own divine, sacred promise of salvation. We are taught that "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater"—I John 5:9; and God's testimony is revealed in His great book.
I do not know that Christ died for my sins according to my feeling, but by what the Lord has revealed in His word; and by the same principle we know that our sins have been remitted when we have complied with the divine terms of salvation. Pardon does not take place in the sinner's heart; it takes place in the mind of God. A convict in prison will not know he is pardoned until the pardon papers, signed by the governor, are presented to him. The signed papers are the indisputable proof of his pardon, and so the written word of the Lord is our infallible assurance of our personal hope of heaven.
The writer once filed on a homestead in eastern Colorado. In due time he made application to the Land Office in Washington for a deed to the land. Several weeks later a paper arrived from that office signed by the President of the United States to the effect that the land was now his. The signed papers were proof of the right of possession; and, even so, the inspired word of God, sealed with the blood of His Holy Son, gives me unquestioned assurance of salvation when I have obeyed it.