On Assurance
SERMON SUMMARY:
Drawing from 2 Peter 1:5-11, this sermon addresses the doctrine of assurance, exploring whether a believer can truly know with confidence that he or she is saved. The pastor distinguishes between the general call of God, which goes out to all people everywhere, and the effectual call, which God directs to particular persons and which is effective to bring them to saving faith. The sermon argues that Christians are not only permitted to seek assurance of their salvation but are actively called by Scripture to pursue it with diligence. Assurance is confirmed not by emotional feeling alone but through the visible evidence of godliness growing in a believer's life. The classic Reformation summary is applied: faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone. Good works do not earn salvation, but they serve as visible confirmation that saving faith is alive and active. The sermon closes with a call to pursue godliness not out of fear but out of confidence in what Christ has already accomplished.
QUOTES:
God's effectual call, if we can put it this way, is not just a call to our ear, it's a call to the heart. A call that goes all the way down to the deepest self to touch even our will.
This call of God effectively brings believers to life. causing us to see the gravity of our own sin and to see our need for Jesus so that all of those whom God calls and elects will come to Jesus.
This effectual call of God then is not like the cook's call, come to dinner. This is more like the Creator's call, let there be light. And there is light.
It is not selfish to seek joy from the Lord. It is not selfish to seek peace from the Lord. It is not selfish to seek love from the Lord. It is not selfish to seek assurance from the Lord.
Assurance then is not about taking what doesn't belong to us. Assurance is about thankfully receiving what God has gladly given to his people.
God has not called his children into a life of perpetual insecurity. It is good and right for us to know that we belong to God, that we are citizens of God's kingdom.
Please do not think that your doubts mean that God must not have called you. Don't think that.
Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone.
We are to show that our faith is alive by the kinds of work that faith produces.
There will be many confident people in hell.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
2 Peter 1:5-11 serves as the primary text, with particular focus on verse 10
Romans 10:18 is referenced to illustrate the general call going out to all the earth
Romans 8:30 is referenced to describe God's effectual call, predestination, justification, and glorification of particular persons
Hebrews 10:21-22 is referenced to support the call for believers to draw near to God with full assurance of faith
James 2:17 is referenced to support the inseparability of living faith and works
KEY POINTS:
- God's effectual call is not merely an outward invitation but a call that reaches the heart and effectively brings believers to saving faith in Christ.
- Assurance of salvation is not a luxury reserved for a select few Christians -- it is God's desire for all of his people.
- Confirming our calling and election is primarily something we do for ourselves, not for God or others, so that we may walk with proper confidence and not stumble.
- Assurance is not the same as faith itself. Christians can be genuinely saved while still wrestling with doubt, and doubt does not mean God has not called you.
- Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone. The practice of godliness serves as visible evidence of the invisible reality of God's work in us.
2 Peter 1:5-11
Romans 10:18
Romans 8:30
Hebrews 10:21-22
James 2:17-18
Matthew 7:21-23
Matthew 7:24-27
John 14:6