Basic Truths: Assurance of Salvation - Why People Have Doubts #1

- we're beginning a new series today on "Basic Truths Every

Believer Should Know"

- there are certain topics in God's Word that every believer

needs to know and understand and we want to study some of

those topics with you over the next series of weeks

- today we're going to study the issue of Assurance of

Salvation

- the Scripture makes it clear that God wants you to be saved

- II Peter 3:9 - "The Lord is not slack concerning his

promises as some count slackness, but is

longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should

perish, but that all should come to repentance"

- He also wants you to be sure of your salvation

1) II Peter 1:10 - "...give diligence to make your

calling and election sure."

2) I John 5:13 - "these things have I written unto you

that believe on the Son of God that you might know

that ye have eternal life."

3) Heb. 10:22 - "Let us draw near with a true heart in

full assurance of faith."

- Input - what are some of the reasons why individuals doubt

their salvation?

- (various answers)

- INPUT - why does God want you to have assurance of

salvation?

1) So that our faith is not in vain - I Cor. 15:2b

2) To obey His commands - II Peter 1:10

3) That we might kive a certain kind of lifestyle - Titus

2:11-15, 3:5, 8

- develop - place of works

4) That we might serve out of love - Eph. 1:4b

- ultimate purpose - God's glory

- point so far - God wants us to be saved and to know that

we're saved, yet many doubt their salvation. In this

week and in the coming weeks, we want to show how a

person needs to have assurance:

- historically

- theologically

- experientially

- today we're going to study the "first part of that

equation," those who are having trouble with whether the

historical decision he/she made for Christ in the past was

really valid

- let's talk about three reasons why that may be so

I. One May Doubt Because His Historical Decision Was At Such

An Early Age That His Memory Is Vague

A. The condition

- we're talking about the person that would say

something like: "I thought I was saved. My parents

remember my decision, but to me it is vague."

B. The remedy

- there are a couple of different possibilities for

the person in this condition

- the best way to know what to do in this situation

is to think about what is known in Evangelism

Explosion as the "2 diagnostic questions."

1) Do you know that if you died tonight, you

would go to heaven?

2) What are you trusting in to get you to heaven?

- if a person, or you, can't answer the second

question with something like: "I am trusting the

fact that I asked Jesus Christ to be my Lord and

Savior and I am trusting Him alone to get me to the

Father," then the remedy is:

1. Trust Him today

- this is often the simpliest remedy

- "Lord, I know as a sinner, I could never save

myself. I do believe Christ's death on the

cross and resurrection is the only payment

acceptable for my sins. I trust you, Lord

Jesus, as my savior and Lord"

- the person who made this decision would need to

be baptized (develop - baptism after

salvation)

- on the other hand, you may have answered the

diagnostic questions correctly. If you can say

confidently that you are trusting Christ and Christ

alone as your only hope of heaven, them the remedy in

this situation for you would be:

2.

- "I know I'm a sinner and I do not trust in

myself for salvation. I know that there was a

time that I trusted Him, though I don't know

exactly when. I trust His death and

resurrection alone as my only hope of heaven.

Although I'm not perfect, I love Him and have

been growing in obedience to Him as taught in

his Word."

- of course for a person in this position, they

would not need to be re-baptized.

- the point is - if you were saved early in life, chances

are that you don't remeber a lot about the event. Thats

not the most important thing. The real issue is - "What

are you trusting to get you to the Father?"

II. Many Decisions

- some folks doubt their salvation because they came up

in a theological background where they made many

"decisions to be saved" and as a result are unsure of

any of them

A. The condition

- we're talking here about the person who has based

his salvation on feelings, performance, or a belief

that a person can be saved and then lost.

B. The remedy

1. needs to understand several things about salvation

a. Salvation is not of anything a person has done

or can do. It is not of works

- Rom. 4:4, 5

- Eph. 2:8, 9

b. The test of salvation is never feelings, but

always faith in Christ

- Rom. 4:20, 21

- Rom. 6:11

c. When a person is saved, he does change and

grow, but will have many defeats.

- I John 1:8, 10

- cf. life of David

2. If person has not been changing, consistently

shown no genuine fruit of the Spirit, he needs to

understand salvation clearly and probably needs to

trust Christ as Savior.

3. If however, he has a sensitive conscience over his

sin, fears to hurt his Lord because he loves Him,

and has shown evidence of some growth, admits his

only hope of heaven is Jesus Christ--

- he needs to understand theologically and

continue to grow.

- we'll talk next week about some of the

theological issues we've alluded to in this

section

III. May Be Unsaved

- testimony