Assurance of faith in Christian preaching refers to the confident hope believers have in God's promises and salvation through Christ, grounded not in feelings but in His unchanging truth (Hebrews 11:1). Illustrations often contrast steady faith with worldly uncertainty, using images like light in darkness or the sun's constancy to depict unwavering confidence in God's righteousness and eternal promises (Romans 5:1).
One's confidence and strength depend on the firm foundation they stand upon—God Almighty.
A short man wanted to drive a nail in a wall to carry a big picture. He stood on a chair, but it was not high enough. His wife set out a small box and, balancing himself precariously, he began to give the nail hesitating taps with the hammer. His wife said, "Why don't you give a brave blow or two, and settle it?"
He replied, "How can a man give a brave blow or two when he is standing on a foundation like this?"
That settles the question of certainty or uncertainty. It depends upon the foundation upon which the person is standing. The Hebrew prophets never sounded a note of uncertainty, for God Almighty was their Foundation, and they knew that He stood behind their "Thus saith the Lord."
Never again will I fear or doubt because God provides strength, wisdom, and peace.
Never again will I say, "I can't," for "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13).
Never again will I admit lack, for "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
Never again will I fear, for "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).
Never again will I harbor doubt and lack of faith, for "The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear" (Psalms 27:1).
Never again will I allow the supremacy of Satan over my life, for "the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
Never again will I admit defeat,for "God always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him" (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Never again will I lack wisdom, for "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5).
Never again will I be worried and frustrated, "Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
Never again will I be in bondage,for "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Lack of belief in success is often the true cause of failure.
When Rear Admiral Du Pont explained to his superior officer, Farragut, why he had failed to take his ships into Charleston Harbor, Farragut heard him through to the end and then said, "Admiral, there is one explanation which you haven't given."
"What is that?" asked Du Pont.
"This: you didn't believe that you could do it."
That lack of confidence has been the secret of failures not only in the field of war but also in this greater warfare of the soul.
Great faith trusts God's sufficiency and makes unbelief seem absurd.
Spurgeon speaks of an evening when he was riding home after a heavy day's work. He felt weary and depressed, when as suddenly as a lightning flash came this verse, "My grace is sufficient for thee." He said, "I should think it is, Lord," and he burst out laughing. It seemed to make unbelief so absurd.
"It was as if some little fish, being very thirsty, was troubled about drinking the river dry, and the river says, 'Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee.'
"Or, it seemed like a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt after seven years of plenty fearing it might die of famine, and Joseph might say, 'Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee.'
"Again, I imagined a man away up on yonder mountain saying to himself, 'I fear I shall exhaust all the oxygen in the atmosphere.'But the earth might say, 'Breathe away, oh man, and fill thy lungs ever; my atmosphere is sufficient for thee.'"
Little faith will bring our souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to us.
Faithfulness may seem madness to the world but assures peace and joy in Christ.
Two friends, one an army officer, met after an interval of ten years. They had been attached to each other and shook hands cordially. After a little chat, the civilian, looking at the other man with a curious air, said, "By the way, General, they tell me you have gone mad over religion." "Well," responded the general, "I'm not aware of being crazy; as far as I know I'm enjoying all my senses. But you know, if I am, there is one comfort; I've got Jesus Christ for my keeper and heaven for my lunatic asylum, so I think I shall not do badly after all." The world may consider the faithful, practicing Christian crazy, but what counts is that God declares him righteous over and over again. A Rewarding Life
The closer to God we are, the more peace and happiness we shall experience. A baker never expects to get a better cake than the ingredients he puts into it. Yet many people who complain that life is not as rewarding as they expected it to be, forget that in leaving out God they have left out that which alone can give life its glory, hope, love, and joy.
Believing God's promises is like endorsing and cashing a check for eternal life.
“He that … believeth … hath everlasting life.” John 5:24
Believing God’s testimony is like endorsing a check and cashing it. A gentleman went into the home of a very poor old lady who had applied for relief. He saw something on the wall that attracted his attention. It was a piece of paper in a neat frame.
He asked, “What is that on the wall?”
She replied, “I just don’t know what it is, but it is a paper my uncle sent me and I just don’t like to throw it away and so I keep it there in remembrance of him.”
He exclaimed, “Don’t you see what it is!”
“No, I just don’t understand it.”
“Well, it’s a bank check. Look! There is the name of the bank on which it is drawn and it says, ‘Pay to Jennie Johnson the sum of $5,000.00’ and there is your uncle’s name at the bottom of it.”
“What,” she said, “did he intend me to have that money? and I have been living in poverty all these years!”
How many people are like that. They believe the Word and God’s promises — in a certain sense. They know Jesus died to put away sin. But they have never cashed in, they have never trusted Him for themselves.
A child trusts Jesus to care for him after his mother's death, showing childlike faith and hope.
I remember seeing a story some time ago in print. It has been in the papers, but it will not hurt us to hear it again. A family in a Southern city were stricken down with yellow fever. It was raging there, and there were very stringent sanitary rules. The moment anybody died, a cart went around and took the coffin away. The father was taken sick and died and was buried, and the mother was at last stricken down. The neighbors were afraid of the plague, and none dared go into the house. The mother had a little son and was anxious about her boy, and afraid he would be neglected when she was called away, so she called the little fellow to her bedside, and said, "My boy, I am going to leave you, but Jesus will come to you when I am gone." The mother died, the cart came along and she was laid in the grave. The neighbors would have liked to take the boy, but were afraid of the pestilence. He wandered about and finally started up to the place where they had laid his mother and sat down on the grave, and wept himself to sleep. Next morning he awoke and realized his position--alone and hungry. A stranger came along and seeing the little fellow sitting on the ground, asked him what he was waiting for. The boy remembered what his mother had told him, and answered, "I am waiting for Jesus," and told him the whole story. The man's heart was touched, tears trickled down his cheeks and he said, "Jesus has sent me," to which the boy replied, "You have been a good while coming, sir." He was provided for. So it is with us. To wait for results, we must have courage and patience and God will help us.
Sincerity alone does not guarantee truth; faith must be based on sound reasons and knowledge.
Once there were a couple of men arranging a balloon ascension. They thought they had two ropes fastened to the car, but one of them only was fastened, and they unfastened that one rope, and the balloon started to go up. One of the men seized hold of the car, and the other seized hold of the rope. Up went the balloon, and the man who seized hold of the car went up with it, and was lost. The man who laid hold of the rope was just as sincere as the man who laid hold of the car. There was just as much reason to say that the man who laid hold of that would be saved because he was sincere as the man who believed in a lie because he is sincere in his belief. I like a man to be able to give a reason for the faith that is in him. Once I asked a man what he believed, and he said he believed what his church believed. I asked him what his church believed, and he said he supposed his church believed what he did; and that was all I could get out of him. And so men believe what other people believe and what their church believes, without really knowing what their church and other people do believe.
Accepting God's testimony without doubt brings assurance of salvation.
I remember Mr. Morehouse, while here four years ago, used an illustration which has fastened itself on my mind. He said, suppose you go up the street and meet a man whom you have known for the last ten years to be a beggar, and you notice a change in his appearance, and you say, "Halloo, beggar, what's come over you?" "I ain't no beggar. Don't call me beggar." "Why," you say, "I saw you the other day begging in the street." "Ah, but a change has taken place," he replies. "Is that so? how did it come about?" you inquire. "Well," he says, "I came out this morning and got down here intending to catch the business men and get all the money out of them, when one of them came up to me and said there was $10,000 deposited for me." "How do you know this is true?" you say. "I went to the bank and they put the money in my hand." "Are you sure of that?" you ask; "how do you know it was the right kind of a hand?" But he says; "I don't care whether it was the right kind of a hand or not; I got the money, and that's all I wanted." And so people are looking to see if they've got the right kind of a hand before they accept God by it. They have but to accept his testimony and they are saved, for, as John says, "He that hath received His testimony hath set his seal that God is true." Is there a man in this assemblage who will receive His testimony and set his seal that God is true? Proclaim that God speaks the truth. Make yourself a liar, but make God's testimony truthful. Take Him at His word.
Faith in Christ is the true light; evidences without Him are meaningless like a sun-dial without the sun.
"A sun-dial may be well and accurately set, and yet, if the sun shines not, we cannot tell the time of day." Our evidences of grace are in much the same condition: they are good signs, but we cannot see them unless the grace of God shines upon them, and then we can almost do without them, even as an observant person can tell the time of day without a sun-dial, by looking to the sun itself. Present faith in a present Saviour is better than all the marks and evidences in the world. Yet let no man be content if the marks of a child of God are absent from his life, for they ought to be there, and must be there. The presence of sensible evidences must not be too much relied on; but the absence of them should cause great searching of heart. Our main concern should be to look daily and hourly unto Jesus, trusting in Him, and not in evidences; judging the progress of our soul's day, rather by our view of the Sun of righteousness than by our own sun-dial. If Jesus be gone, all is gone: without his love we are darkness itself. What a sun-dial is without the sun, that is the fairest character, the choicest past experience, and the maturest knowledge without Jesus' fellowship. Rise, O Sun of my soul; end my doubts, if I have any; prevent them, if I have none.
A simple faith quenches spiritual thirst but needs discernment to avoid credulity.
"As men in a deep thirst swallow their drink before they know the nature of it, or discern the taste of it, so when we are under a great thirst, or under great famishment as to spiritual comfort, and have great troubles upon us, we take up with comfortable notions of Christ and salvation by him, and easily drink in these and other truths, catching at them without looking into the grounds or reasons of them. Afterwards we see the need of care and watchfulness of soul, to strengthen our assent and fortify ourselves against those doubts of mind which shake us. Then we desire to settle our hearts in those supreme truths which in our necessity we accepted without discussion." This is a very natural figure. See how the thirsty man turns up the cup and drinks the contents at a draught; he cares little what it is, so that it quenches his raging thirst. "Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth." But now, mark him in cooler moments! He is careful of his drinking, lest he be made top-heavy, or become nauseated. A simple, receptive faith is a fine thing for the speedy removal of the soul's thirst; but if it were not soon qualified by spiritual discernment it would lead to credulity, and the man would be ready to take in anything which might be set before him. The rapid believer would soon become the victim of superstition. The more study of the Scriptures, and testing of doctrines thereby, the better. Careful investigation may save the mind from being injured by poisonous teaching, and it will certainly endear the truth to us, and strengthen our confidence in it. What a draught was that which some of us had at the first! Little enough we knew; but our enjoyment of what we did know was intense! Lord, thou hast now revealed to us the ingredients of that divine cup; grant that this may give us a new and deeper joy; but do not allow us to forget the bliss of satisfied thirst because we are gifted with fuller knowledge. Such a gain would be a loss most serious.
Even weak faith with faint trust in Christ is genuine and worth cherishing.
A poor child that is newly born, and hath nothing that discovereth reason almost, but the shape of a man, — that poor child is a reasonable creature: so that faith that begins with weak apprehensions and faint leanings on Christ, is, notwithstanding, a true faith, and therefore to be cherished.
— Spencer
Laying hold of Christ is like grasping a plank that saves from sinking in a storm.
A vessel is wrecked: one after another of her crew is swept away, and disappears. As she heaves to and fro, it seems as if every moment she would break up, and send her shivering passengers down into the deep. There is the cabin-boy, thinking of his mother and his home, and praying, though scarcely hoping to be saved, when a plank floats past. Eagerly he lays hold of it, rests his whole weight upon it; and, while others perish, he is safe. That describes you again. As you are just about to go down, the plank floats along, comes near you, — within reach, within arm's-length. That plank is Christ. Lay hold of him, rest yourself upon him. He can bear your whole weight, — the whole weight of your sins, which would have sunk you to perdition, — the whole weight of your soul. Try him; and, like a sailor who tried him, you'll be able joyfully to say even in dying, "The plank bears, the plank bears!" J. H. Wilson.
A boy wisely chooses the Bible over money, gaining unseen spiritual riches.
A wealthy old gentleman residing in London, on one of his birthdays invited his servants into the house to receive presents. "What will you have," said he, addressing the groom, "this Bible, or a twenty-dollar note?"—"I would take the Bible, sir; but I cannot read: so I think the money will do me more good," replied the hostler. "And you?" he asked the gardener. "My poor wife is so ill, that I sadly need the money," responded the gardener with a bow. "Mary, you can read," said the old man, turning to his cook: "will you have this Bible?"—"I can read, sir, but I never get time to look into a book; and the dollars will buy me a fine dress." Next was the chambermaid; but she had one Bible, and did not want another. Last came the errand-boy. "My lad," said his kind benefactor, "will you take these twenty dollars, and replace your shabby clothes by a new suit?"—"Thank you, sir; but my dear mother used to read to me that the law of the Lord was better than thousands of gold and silver. I will have the good book, if you please."—"God bless you, my boy! and may your wise choice prove riches and honor and long life unto you!" As the lad received the Bible, and unclasped its covers, a bright gold-piece rolled to the floor. Quickly turning its pages, he found them thickly interleaved with bank-notes; while the four servants, discovering the mistake of their worldly covetousness, hastily departed in chagrin.
True Christians have confident hope and assurance unlike uncertain worldly ventures.
The merchant adventurer puts to sea, rides out many a bitter storm, runs many a desperate hazard, upon the bare hope of a gainful return; the valiant soldier takes his life into his hands, runs upon the very mouth of the cannon, dares the lion in his den, merely upon the hope of victory; every man hazards one way or other in his calling, yet are but uncertain venturers, ignorant of the issue: but so it often falls out, that the greedy adventurer, seeking to increase his stock, loseth many times both it and himself; the covetous soldier, gaping after spoil and victory, findeth himself at last spoiled, captivated: but the confident Christian, the true child of God, runs at no such uncertainty.
— Spencer
Faith remains steady by relying on God's eternal promises, not worldly instability.
In the midst of a tumultuous sea, the nodes of the compass remain immovable, because they govern themselves not according to the winds, but according to the influence of the heavens; and so the faith of the faithful remaineth firm amongst the rude agitations and distracted variations of the world, because it governeth itself not according to the instability of the affairs of this world, but according to the promises of God, which are from all eternity. Spencer.
Faith in God's promises sustains ministry despite apparent lack of results.
Dr. Judson labored diligently for six years in Burmah before he baptized a convert. At the end of three years, he was asked what evidence he had of ultimate success. He replied, "As much as there is a God who will fulfil all his promises." A hundred churches and thousands of converts already answer his faith.
True Christian knowledge comes through obedient experience, leading to assurance and glory.
Practical sciences are not to be learned but in the way of action. It is experience that must give knowledge in the Christian profession, as well as in all others; and the knowledge drawn from experience is quite of another kind from that which flows from speculation or discourse. It is not the opinion, but the path, of the just, that the wisest of men tells us shines more and more unto a perfect day. The obedient, and the men of practice, are those sons of light that shall outgrow all their doubts and ignorances, that shall ride upon these clouds, and triumph over their present imperfections, till persuasion pass into knowledge, and knowledge advance into assurance, and all come at length to be completed in the beatific vision, and a full fruition of those joys which God has in reserve for them whom by his grace he shall prepare for glory. Dr. South.
A child's simple faith and prayer led to God providing a school patroness for him.
A poor little German boy, who desired admission to the Moravian School, wrote a letter, and put it into the post-office, addressed to the Lord Jesus in heaven. It ran about thus: "My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I have lost my father. We are very poor; but I know that thou tellest us in thy word, that whatsoever we shall ask God in thy name he will give it to us. I believe what thou sayest, Lord Jesus. I pray, then, unto God, in the name of Jesus, that he will give my mother the means of placing me in the Moravian School: I should like so much to continue to be taught! I pray unto thee already; but I will love thee still more." The postmaster, seeing the strange address, opened the letter. It was read at a meeting of the Moravian Society, when the Baroness de la Leppe became his patroness, and sent him to the school he desired.
True faith reveals unseen spiritual realities like a telescope reveals distant stars.
One says, "I received a package, the other day, of samples of telescopes and other glasses. I examined them to see if they were the right articles.
When it began to be dark, I unwrapped one of the telescopes, to try it. After arranging the slides, I placed it to my eye, when, to my astonishment, a star was quite visible. I took away the glass again, and I found there was no star to be seen with the natural eye; but, through the glass, it was seen plainly, and seemed to be near. 'Well,' thought I, 'the telescope that gives such a sight of a star where, to the natural eye, there is not one, must be the right sort of glass.' True faith is exactly like this telescope."
Assurance from a trusted leader can transform despair into hope and joy in trials.
During the dark hours of the late Rebellion, while the colored people were despondent, and uncertain of their fate, one of their number, approaching Gen. Grant, said, "How do do Ginral Grant?" and extended his hand, which the general cordially shook. "How am tings goin', ginral?" The general's reply was, "Every thing is going right, sir." In a brief period, the assuring words passed around the contraband camp, changing their despondency to hope and joy. If the despondent Christian will go to his Commander, he may be assured "every thing is going right."
Faith is the instrument that receives Christ's merits, making it superior to other graces.
Take a piece of wax and a piece of gold, of the same magnitude: the wax is not valuable with the gold; but as this wax is placed at the end of some will, by virtue of which some great estate is confirmed and conveyed, so it may be worth many hundred pounds. So faith, considered purely in itself, doth challenge nothing more than other graces; nay, in some sense it is inferior, it being an empty hand. But as this hand receives the precious alms of Christ's merits, and is an instrument, or channel, through which the blessed streams of life flow to us from him, so it doth challenge a superiority over, and is more excellent than, all other graces whatsoever. Spencer.
Faith expects God's promises even when circumstances remain unchanged.
An old lady was one night reading that passage in the Bible which speaks of the faith that can remove mountains. Now, there was behind her humble dwelling a high hill, which hid the nearest village from her view. She had often wished that this hill might be taken away. So, before retiring, she prayed that this hill might be removed, because she had faith that it would be done. But in the morning, when she arose, she lifted the curtain, and, lo! the mountain was still there. Then the old lady said to her son who was then coming in, "Just as I expected, John: the old hill stands yet."
Faith believes in the promise of glory, and hope patiently waits for its fulfillment.
The heir must believe his title to an estate in reversion before he can hope for it: faith believes its title to glory, and then hope waits for it. Did not faith feed the lamp of hope with oil, it would soon die. Ambrose.
True faith must be proven and tested like a sword before battle for assurance.
There was a British regiment once ordered to charge a body of French cuirassiers. The trumpets sounded; and away they went boldly at them, but not to victory. They broke like a wave that launches itself against a rock. They were sacrificed to a trader's fraud. Forged not of truest steel, but worthless metal, their sword bent double at the first stroke. What could human strength or the most gallant bravery do against such odds? They were slaughtered like sheep on the field. And, ever since I read that tragedy, I have thought I would not go to battle unless my sword were proved; I would not go to sea with anchors that had not been tried. But, of all things for a man's comfort and peace what needs so much to be proved as his faith its truth and genuineness? Anyway, it is serious thing to face death, and meet the King of Terrors on his own ground; but were our faith never tried till we stood face to face in the valley with our last enemy, face to face with our God at the bar of judgment, it were still more serious. Dr. Guthrie.
Faith in Christ is steady and unchanging, unlike fluctuating feelings and emotions.
Our union with Christ is the union of the covenant, and therefore not dependent upon frames and feelings. — A. L. Newton. — The rock does not shake nor change, though the sea may ebb and flow about it. — Rutherford. — He who looks upon Christ through frames and feelings is like one who sees the sun on water, which quivers and moves as the water moves; but he that looks upon him in the glass of his word, by faith, sees him ever the same.
Relying on feelings in religion is unstable; faith must be steady like the sun and earth.
To depend upon feeling in religion is unsafe and dangerous. A man may as well think of holding fast to the clouds, building upon running sand, or relying on the wind. The clouds, the sand, the wind, are no more changeable and uncertain than are feelings. A change in circumstances, or a change in health, or a change in friends, will often produce an equal change in feeling. Our religion should be like the sun; cloud, or no cloud, go on in its shining course: like the earth; wind, or no wind, roll on in its orbit. We should "stand by faith," "live by faith," and "hold fast the profession of our faith."
— Date
With God on your side, being right means you are in the majority even if alone.
A man in the right, with God on his side, is in the majority, though he be alone; for God is multitudinous above all the nations of the earth. Beecher.
Faith provides believers with peace and security even in lonely or dangerous places.
A gentleman crossing a dreary moor came upon a cottage. When about to leave, he said to its occupant, "Are you not afraid to live in this lonely place?"—"Oh, no!" said he; "for faith closes the door at night, and mercy opens it in the morning."
A young girl prays through temptation and finds joy and assurance in Christ.
A girl of twelve years of age, in one of the S. Schools of Mass., was known for some time to be very serious, and anxious to have her teacher converse with her about her soul. At length, a beam of joy lighted up her countenance.
She said to her superintendent one day,
"Oh how I love my Savior!" One
Sabbath, soon after this, she came to him, at the close of the school: as he took her by the hand, she burst into tears. "Elizabeth," said he, "do you love the Savior now?" "Yes," said she, "but I have been tempted this week. Something seemed to say I was not a Christian, and it made me very unhappy."
"What did you do then?"
"I prayed that I might be delivered from temptation, and then I felt happy."
She gave most decided evidence of being a child of God. Her exercise of mind and her prayers were like those of mature Christians.
Confidence before God comes from hope in Christ's pardon, not personal merit.
"My confidence is," said the pious Dr. Doddridge shortly before his death, "not that I have lived such or such a life, or served God in this or the other manner; I know of no prayer I ever offered, no service I ever performed, but there has been such a mixture of what was wrong in it, that instead of recommending me to the favor of God, I needed his pardon, through Christ, for the same. Yet I am full of confidence; and this is my confidence—there is a hope set before me: I have fled, I still fly, for refuge to that hope."
Plain gospel promises provide enduring support and assurance in faith.
The faith of Dr. Watts in the promises of God was lively and unshaken. "I believe them enough," said he, "to venture an eternity on them." To a religious friend, at another time he thus expressed himself: "I remember an aged minister used to say, that the most learned and knowing Christians, when they come to die, have only the same plain promises for their support, as the common and unlearned; and so," continued he, "I find it. It is the plain promises of the gospel that are my support: and I bless God, they are plain promises, which do not require much labor and pains to understand them; for I can do nothing now but look into my Bible for some promise to support me, and live upon that."
Christ fully pays our debt, cancelling all obligations and assuring salvation to believers.
I have read of a godly man, says Mr. Brooks, who living near a philosopher often strove to persuade him to become a Christian. Oh, but, said the philosopher, I must, or may, lose my all for Christ. To which the good man replied. If you lose any thing for Christ, he will repay it a hundred-fold. Ay, but, said the philosopher, will you be bound for Christ, that if he doth not pay me, you will? Yes, that I will, said the good man! So the philosopher became a Christian, and the good man entered into bond for the performance of covenants. Some time after it happened that the philosopher fell sick. On his death-bed, and holding the bond in his hand, he sent for the party engaged, to whom he gave up the bond, and said, Christ hath paid all, there is nothing for you to pay; take your bond and cancel it; no man shall
### 193. HEARERS OF
Assurance that nothing can separate believers from God's love in Christ Jesus.
A soldier lay dying. A visitor asked him, “What church are you of?” “Of the church of Christ,” he replied. “I mean of what persuasion?” “Persuasion,” said the dying man. “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall he able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.”
Luther’s confident last words show firm faith and trust in God at death.
As Luther lay dying, Br. Jones said to him, “Do you die firm in the faith you have taught?” He opened his eyes, which were half closed, looked fixedly at Jones, and replied, firmly and distinctly, “Yes.” He then fell asleep. Soon after, those nearest saw him grow paler and paler; he became cold, his breathing was more and more faint; at length he sent forth one deep sigh, and was dead. His last words are given as, “Take my soul up to Thee, Father; into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”
Knowing God and Christ is sufficient assurance and comfort in facing death.
When Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, came out of the Tower of London and saw the scaffold on which he was to be beheaded, he took out of his pocket a Testament, and, looking up to Heaven, he exclaimed, “Now, O Lord, direct me to some passage which may support me through this awful scene.” He opened the book, and his eye glanced on the text, “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” He instantly closed the book and said, “Praise be the Lord! this is sufficient for me and for Eternity.”
All believers, learned or not, find equal comfort in the plain promises of the gospel.
When Watts was almost worn out by infirmities, he observed, in conversation with a friend, that he remembered an aged minister used to say that the most learned, when they come to die, have only the same plain promises of the gospel for their support as the unlearned; “and so,” said he, “I find it.”
The Bible's trustworthiness is proven by fulfilled prophecies and promises experienced by believers.
“The highest proof of the infallibility of Scripture,” said the late A. J. Gordon, “is the practical one that we have proved it so. As the coin of the realm has always been found to buy the amount of its face-value, so the prophecies and promises of Scripture have yielded their face value to those who have taken the pains to prove them. If they have not always done so, it is probable that they have not yet matured. There are multitudes of Christians who have so far proved the veracity of the Bible that they are ready to trust it without reserve in all that it pledges for the world yet unseen and the life yet unrealized.”
Faith is the root that produces assurance and is the foundation of all trust in God.
Bishop Ryle has very well likened faith to a root whose flower is assurance. To have the latter, he says, it is necessary that there must first be the hidden source of faith.
Faith is the simplest and most universal experience in the world. Call it by whatever name you may, confidence, trust, or belief, it is inseparable from the human race. The first sign of a dawning intelligence in the mind is the exercise of the infant’s faith toward those it knows, and its fear toward those it does not know. We cannot even remember when we first began to have faith.
A sick child trusted God’s promises and faced death with faith and hope in heaven.
JACOB BICKS was born in Leyden, in the year 1657. He was visited with sickness upon the 6th of August, 1664. In his distemper he was very sleepy till near his death, but when he did awake he was wont still to fall a praying. 2. Once when his parents had prayed with him, they asked him if they should once more send for the physician? "No," said he, "I will have the doctor no more; the Lord will help me; I know he will take me to himself." 3. When his parents had prayed with him, he said, "Come, now, dear father and mother, and kiss me: I know that I shall die. Farewell, dear father and mother; farewell, dear sister; farewell, all. Now shall I go unto God and Jesus Christ, and the holy angels. Father, know you not what is said by Jeremiah? 'Blessed is he who trusteth in the Lord.' Now I trust in him, and he will bless me; and in 1 John ii, it is said, 'Little children, love not the world, for the world passeth away.'" 4. "Away then all that is in the world, away with all my pleasant things in the world; away with my dagger, for where I go there is nothing to do with daggers and swords; men shall not fight there, but praise God. Away with all my books: there shall I learn true wisdom without books." 5. His father said, "My dear child, the Lord will be near thee, and uphold thee." 6. "Yea, father," said he, "the Apostle Peter saith, 'God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble.' I humble myself under the mighty hand of God, and he shall help me and lift me up." 7. "O, my dear child," said his father, "hast thou so strong faith?" 8. "Yes," said he, "God hath given me so strong a faith in himself through Jesus Christ, that the devil shall flee from me: for it is said, He who believeth in the Son hath everlasting life, and he hath overcome the wicked one. Now I believe in Jesus Christ my Redeemer, and he will not leave nor forsake me, but shall give unto me eternal life, and then I shall sing, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Sabaoth." Then, with that word, "Lord, be merciful unto me a poor sinner," he quietly breathed out his soul, being about seven years old.
Knowing Jesus removes doubts and brings deep rest and assurance in faith.
When a soul has drawn near to Jesus, and has been fed by Him, it is no more troubled with doubts than a man at the equator is bitten by frost. "I believe in the Bible," said one. "How can you do that?" sneered another. "Because I know the Author," was the fit reply. If you are walking in the light with your Lord, questions and doubts are heard no more but you adore in deep restfulness of soul, "knowing that it is the Lord."
Long-standing faith brings assurance and focus on serving others faithfully.
a lighthouse for years. A visitor who came to see the lighthouse, looking out from the window over the waste of waters, asked the good woman, "Are you not afraid of a night when the storm is out, and the big waves dash right over the lantern? Do you not fear that the lighthouse and all that is in it will be carried away?" The woman remarked that the idea never occurred to her now. She had lived there so long that she felt as safe on the lone rock as ever she did when she lived on the mainland. As for her husband, when asked if he did not feel anxious when the wind blew a hurricane, he answered, "Yes, I feel anxious to keep the lamps well trimmed, and the light burning, lest any vessel should be wrecked." As to anxiety about the safety of the lighthouse, or his own personal security in it, he had outlived all that. Even so is it with me: "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day." From henceforth let no man trouble me with doubts and questionings; I bear in my soul the proofs of the Spirit's truth and power, and I will have none of your artful reasonings. The gospel to me is truth : I am content to perish if it be not true. I risk my soul's eternal fate upon the truth of the gospel, and I know no risk in it. My one concern is to keep the lamps burning, that I may thereby enlighten others. Only let the Lord give me oil enough to feed my lamp, so that I may cast a ray across the dark and treacherous sea of life, and I am well content.
Instead of doubting, believers should live out their faith and enjoy their identity in Christ.
When a ship first leaves the stocks it is well for it to go a trial trip, but to have a ship always being tried would be very absurd; it is time that it took voyages in real earnest, and was registered in the merchant service; there will be then trial enough in the actual execution of service. Some Christians, by a continual introspection, are always raising the point, "Am I a Christian?" Brother, be a Christian. "Am I a child of God?" Brother, be a child of God, and enjoy it; and do not spend a lifetime in searching for the family register.
Communion with Christ strengthens faith and dispels doubt through His presence.
The best way to get your faith strengthened is to have communion with Christ. If you commune with Christ you cannot be unbelieving. When His left hand is under my head, and His right hand embraces me, I cannot doubt. When my Beloved sits at His table, and He brings me into His ban-queting-house, and His banner over me is Love, then, indeed, I do believe. When I feast with Him, my unbelief is abashed and hides its head. Speak, you that have been led in the green pastures and have been made to lie down by the still waters; you who have seen His rod and His staff and hope to see them even when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death; speak, you that have sat at His feet with Mary or laid your head upon His bosom with the well-beloved John; have you not found when you have been near to Christ your faith has grown strong, and when you have been far away from Him, your faith has become weak? It is impossible to look Christ in the face and then doubt Him. When you cannot see Him, then you doubt Him; but you must believe when your Beloved speaks unto you, and says, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." There is no hesitation then; you must arise from the low-lands of your doubt up to the hills of assurance.
Believers must examine themselves to be sure they truly know the grace of God.
not have tasted that the Lord is gracious, and it is needful to inquire whether we are among the number who know the grace of God by heart-experience. There is no spiritual revelation which may not be a matter of heart-searching. At the very summit of holy delight we meet the challenge of sentinel "If" — "If ye then be risen with Christ"; and at the very bottom of the hill, even at Repentance-gate itself, He meets us with a warrant of arrest, until He sees whether our sorrow is the godly sorrow which needs not to be repented of. "If thou be the Son of God," is not always a temptation of the devil, but often a very healthy inquiry, most fittingly suggested by holy anxiety to men who would build securely upon the Rock of Ages. At the Lord's Table itself it is proper for us to pray, "Lord, is it I?" when there is a Judas in the company. And after the most intimate fellowship, Christ exclaimed, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" Let no enjoyment of ordinances, let no high and rapt fellowship which we may have known, exempt us from the great duty of proving ourselves whether we be in the faith. Examine yourselves then in this matter, and rest not satisfied until you can say, "There is no 'if about it; I have tasted that the Lord is gracious."
Faith in God's promise and the sprinkled blood brings peace and assurance amid danger.
Among the Hebrews is preserved a legend of two sisters, who on the night of the Exodus, when the destroying angel passed through the land of Egypt, remained indoors with the family.
One was ready for the departure, and filled with assurance and peace, so partaking of the paschal lamb. The other was restless and fearful lest the death angel would not pass them by. “Is the blood sprinkled?” she kept asking anxiously, reproaching her confident sister for being so unconcerned. “Oh, is it sprinkled?” “Why, yes,” said the sister, “the blood has been sprinkled, and we have God’s word that when He sees the blood He will pass over.”
A dying soldier confidently affirms assurance of salvation in Christ's love at death.
Immediately after one of the fiercest battles of the Civil War a chaplain of one of the Federal regiments passed over the field of conflict in the performance of his duty. He noticed among the prostrate bodies one which moved, and quickly was at the side of a dying soldier. Recognizing that the man had not long to live, he at once proceeded to administer, but in rather a formal manner, the consolations of religion. Kneeling at the man’s side, he asked him to what church he belonged, and the surprizing answer came, “The Church which God hath purchased with His own blood.” “Oh, but that is not what I mean,” said the minister, “what is your belief?” The mortally wounded disciple replied, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” “Oh,” said the chaplain, “but you do not understand me--what is your persuasion?” The answer came from lips which were quivering in the agonies of death, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” and with these words the soldier passed into the presence of Him who is the Savior of all them that believe in Him.
Stepping onto the platform of faith activates God’s blessings like water for cattle.
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Faith is the standing-ground of the hopeful, the conviction of facts unseen. Sam Jones used to illustrate it in this way. Out West they have a place for watering cattle where the animals have to mount a platform to reach the troughs. As they step upon the platform their weight presses a lever, and this throws the water into the troughs. They have to get on the platform through faith, and this act provides the water. The steer that slips round to the barnyard and looks into the trough will find it dry, for it needs his weight on the platform to force the water up. If you slide back you will find life barren and dry, but if you step upon the platform of full assurance in God’s Word, blessings will flow abundantly.
We have continual access to God's throne at all times of need.
We are not limited to certain moments in our addresses to the King of Kings. Have access to His throne in every time of need
True religion is proven by the peace and joy it brings at life's end.
Wesley always insisted on judging religion by the most severely practical tests. Life was one test, and he mistrusted profoundly a religion which did not fill life or its possessor with gladness and strength. But he knew that death, with its mystery and loneliness, was the last and sorest test of religion. Did the religion he preached make that last darkness luminous? Did it put songs on dying lips and gladness in dying hearts? “The world,” wrote Wesley, “may not like our Methodists, but the world can not deny that they die well,” and the religion which teaches men to die well may surely find in that fact its best credentials.--W. H. FITCHETT, “Wesley and His Century.”
