Unity
# 33: Infallible Assurance
Dear Father,
You are the one good Shepherd who teaches
and feeds all of Your sheep with tender loving-kindness and power. You will
guide us until the end. You will never leave us or forsake us, but You are with
us even until the end of the age. Grant all of us infallible assurance, and
please console Your people with Your Word. You are our salvation; we will trust
and not be afraid. You are our strength, and song, and You have become our
salvation. May we please joyously draw water from Your springs of salvation,
praise You, thank You, and make Your deeds known among the earth. For You have
done excellent things and You are great in the midst of Your people. (Is
12:2-6)
In Jesus Christ’s
Name,
Amen
Dear Beloved,
God has granted me the special gift of attending the Fellowship 2013
conference this past weekend. When Mrs. Mona Leiter (Charles Leiter’s wife)
invited us, it seemed an impossibility, but God arranged for Dad, Anand, and me
to go to Denton, TX while mom, Prasanna, and Neethi stayed home in MN. Please
see my summary of the conference. I speak of this conference as I introduce
this letter, because I am becoming more and more certain in my soul that false
Christianity is pervasive and damning. There
is a horrifyingly large number of professing Christians who remain under God’s
wrath. Free Grace Theology has taken over many, likely most, of the
churches in America, leaving a false sheen of “protection” over those whose
souls have never been regenerated. Oh dear ones, if we are truly a part of Him,
we are far outnumbered, and by His grace we are covered in the life of Christ,
for His blood alone has made full atonement for our sins. Are you sure that you have been regenerated? For there is a false
type of faith that does not save: this false faith may involve an intellectual
acknowledgement of the facts of the Gospel when the heart has never been raised
to life and the person remains enslaved to sin; this false faith may involve a
type of outward moral reformation while the heart has no union with Christ;
this false faith may involve a self-deception within a person raised in the
church who knows the terminology of the Scriptures, yet refuses to entrust
one’s soul to the Savior; this false faith may involve a subconscious trusting
in one’s work rather than the work of Christ; this false faith may involve an
erroneous view of God as lacking power to sanctify and secure the souls of His
people. If you lose your soul, you lose
everything! Are we sure that we have been brought from death into life? If you have not been saved, and you are
filled with the anguish of the fear of judgment, it is a gift to you, that you
may turn to Him, and that you may seek Him with all that is within you.
In
this letter I will be writing about the infallible
assurance of the one who is truly saved by grace through true faith. Let
the Scriptures speak for themselves for your consolation and exhortation if you
are saved, and for your terror if you have been deceived. There is so much that
I could include in this letter, but I will try to start with some key texts. I
pray that you look up the Scriptures and look to Him to reveal the Truth to
you. I can do little justice in this letter.
What is Saving Faith?
We know that we are saved by grace through faith. You think that you
have faith, right? But there is a type of false faith that does not save. It
may lead to outward transformation, emotional experiences, and a reputation of
refinement among the church organizations of this day and age. But it cannot
save, for it has not accompanied a casting of one’s trust completely on Christ
and His atoning sacrifice. It has not resulted in the inward transformation
that occurs from the removal of the veil of blindness and unbelief of the
heart. Ultimately, this false faith will result in the falling away of the one
who possesses it or a persistent gruesome silent deception that results in
devastation on the Day of Judgment. What
is saving faith? True faith is the
assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it
the men of old gained approval. (Heb 11:1-2) Such a faith inevitably results in
good works, whereas false faith has no true Spirit-driven works and is dead. For
even the demons believe and shudder. Faith without works is useless. Abraham’s
faith and his work to offer up Issac, his son, on the altar worked together;
his works perfected, or authenticated, his faith. In hope against hope he
believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that
which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be”.
Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as
dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;
yet, with respect to the promise of God,
he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and
being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
(Rom 4:18-21). Because Abraham believed God, it was reckoned to him as
righteousness and he was called the friend of God. Similarly Rahab’s, the
harlot, faith was authenticated by her reception of the messengers and sending
them out by another way. Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also
faith without works is dead. (James 2:17-26). If Abraham and Rahab had not
acted the way that they did, it would have shown that they did not believe God.
But because they were assured of what they hoped for and convicted of what they
could not see, they acted in obedience to God. If we have truly believed that Christ is our only way, that He alone is
the Son of God, the Savior of the world, we will surely turn the course of our
lives towards Christ and away from the world.
Christ is the Object of Saving Faith
Not only was Abraham’s faith credited to him as righteousness, but our
faith is credited to us as righteousness. Our faith is in Him who raised Jesus
our Lord from the dead, in Christ who was delivered over because of our
transgressions, and raised because of our justification. (Rom 4:23-25) Those
who escape judgment, who overcome, are those who believe that Jesus is the Son
of God, that He is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. The
Spirit, the water, and the blood of Christ testify in agreement to us. If we
receive the testimony of men, how much more do we receive the testimony of God
which is far greater! The testimony of God is this: He has testified concerning
His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself;
the one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not
believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this: God has given us eternal life, and this
life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have
the son of God does not have the life. (1 John 5:5-13) Thus, we must believe
that Christ has made atonement for all of our sins, not just for other people’s
sins, or for sin in a general sense, but for our own sin. We must believe the testimony of God that He has given
us eternal life and this life is in His Son. False faith trusts in something in
addition to or apart from Christ. For example, the Mormons believe that they
can earn some of their salvation by good works, and the remaining by Christ’s
atonement. This false “gospel” will not stand on the Day of Judgment. Were God
to ask us on that Day why He should allow us into the everlasting Kingdom, our
answer must only be: because of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who took away my
sin, and who has been my Savior and Lord. For
many, perhaps all people, would desire to escape the agonies and torment of the
hell fires, of the pouring out of the hatred and wrath upon themselves for all
eternity, but few will be saved in the end. For few have been regenerated such
that the new heart and spirit have been implanted in them which desire to know
and behold the glory of their Christ far above all else!
Faith to the Preserving of the Soul
Those with true faith face the remainder of
their earthly lives and they heed the warnings of Scripture against falling
away/drifting away from such a great salvation. They are confident that the One
who calls them is faithful to preserve their bodies, souls, and spirits until
the Day of the Lord. They are confident of this very thing, that He who began a
good work in them will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).
They do not throw away their confidence, which has a great reward. They know
that they have need of endurance, so that when they have done the will of God,
they may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is
coming will come, and will not delay. God tells us “But My righteous one shall live by
faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
(Heb 10:35-29) They suffer, but are not ashamed; for they know whom they have
believed and are convinced that He is able to guard what they have entrusted to
Him, that is, their souls, until that Day. They retain the standard of sound
words which they have heard from God’s people, in the faith and love which are
in Christ Jesus. They guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in them, the
treasure which has been entrusted to them. (2 Tim 1:12-14) They show consistent
diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that
they will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Heb 6:11-12).
Hope that Enters Within the Veil
God desires to show to the heirs of His promise the unchangeableness of
His purpose and thus He interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable
things (His promise and His oath) in which it is impossible for God to lie, we
who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope
set before us. The hope of the saints is
theirs as an anchor for their souls, a hope both sure and steadfast and one
which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a Forerunner for us,
having become a high Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek
(Heb 6:17-20). For the Lord rescues the souls of His servants and none of those
who take refuge in Him will be condemned (Ps 34:22). Though we do not see the
full glory of God, our faith and our hope give us sight of the glory of God.
For when we have truly turned to the Lord, the veil is taken away. The Lord is
the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, that is indwelling us, there
is liberty. But we all, with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory
of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:16-18) True faith orients the physical life of the saint according to their hope
that has entered the heavenly realms.
Assurance by Obedience and Love
By this we know that we have come to know
Him, if we keep His commandments. If we say that we have come to know Him,
and do not keep His commandment, we would be liars and the truth is not in us;
but if we keep His Word in us the love of God has truly been perfected. By this
we know that we are in Him; the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to
walk in the same manner as He walked. (1 John 2:3-6) Furthermore, we know that we have passed out of death into life,
because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides is death.
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and we know that no murderer has
eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life
for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We cannot close
our heart against our brothers in need of the world’s goods, but we must love,
not with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. (1 John 3:14-18) For those who have false faith or profess no
faith in Christ, the heart is stone and unregenerated, and there can be no true
love or obedience to Christ’s commands. But those who are truly saved will
surely love the saints and obey Christ’s commands, not perfectly, but
certainly, progressively, and persistently.
Hearts Assured before Him in whatever
our Heart Condemns us
Because we love the saints in deed and truth (1 John 3:14-18) we will
know that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever
our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and
whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do
the things that are pleasing in His sight. (1 John 3:19-22) Our infallible
assurance is not automatic nor does it certainly accompany salvation. This is
evident in 1 John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in
the Name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life”.
We have already believed, and yet, the book of 1 John is written so that we may
know that we have eternal life. We will be convicted. We will tremble. We will
cry out and call out for assurance. And
in His good time and pleasure and by His discipline, and refinement, He will
grant us increasing measures of assurance founded on Christ alone. When we
have sinned, rather than abandoning the faith, and allowing ourselves to be
given over to depravity, we know that since we have a great High Priest who has
passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, and we hold fast our
confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without
sin. Therefore let us draw near with
confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may find mercy and find grace to
help in time of need. (Heb 4:14-16)
Discipline Means Adoption!
We know that we are children of God, and thus we do not regard lightly
the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when we are reproved by Him; for those
whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives
(Heb 12:5-6). We know that although He was angry with us before our conversion,
that is, His righteous wrath remained on us, His anger has turned away and He
comforts us (Ps 12:1).
The Spirit’s Testimony of our
Eternal Inheritance
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of
God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if
indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (Rom
8:16-17). Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet
what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we
will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him
purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:2-3) We ourselves, having the
first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting
eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we
have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he
already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait
eagerly for it. (Rom 8:23-25)
Love in Christ,
Preethi
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