Lesson 7…Our Assurance of Salvation - St. James Westminster ...

Lesson 7…Our Assurance of Salvation
Picture the scene. A stranger comes up to you and asks, “Are you saved” What would
you say Tragically, many Anglicans would not know what to say to such a question.
Most probably we would say, “I don’t know.” Or, “I am not sure.” Perhaps we would
think it presumptuous to claim to be saved and therefore modesty or humility would
dictate we reserve judgment.
And yet, to be an effective disciple of Jesus Christ it is imperative that we are sure of our
salvation. God does not intend for us to doubt about the most essential thing in life and
eternity. However, many people live in a cloud of doubt and a haze of uncertainty.
FOR REFLECTION
God could not make it any easier to be saved: repentance of sin and faith in Jesus
Christ. Jesus himself said, “Repent and believe the good news!” ((Mark 1:15)
For a disciple of Jesus Christ, assurance is not only possible, it is necessary. Assurance is
what makes our salvation active, vibrant, and detectable. Without assurance of salvation
there can be no real peace and joy in the Christian life. Without assurance we will lack
vitality and enthusiasm in our service to Christ. We simply must have assurance of our
salvation if we are to grow into strong and effective disciples of Jesus.
FOR REFLECTION
You can’t get excited about being saved unless you are sure you are saved. The Evil
One wants us either to deny our salvation or doubt our salvation. That way we
become ineffective as Christians – unwilling to stretch ourselves for Jesus and move
out of our comfort zone.
There are three things in the Christian life that can make us sure of our salvation.
1. The Word of God Gives Assurance.
We can have assurance of salvation based on the testimony of God in the Bible. God tells
us in the Bible what we must do to be saved, and if we do that, we are saved.
St. Paul wrote in Romans 10:13, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.” Notice what this verse is saying to us:
• Everyone – meaning anyone without exception
• Who calls – ask or pray
• Upon the name of the Lord – meaning Jesus
• Will be saved – having eternal life
Eternal life is an objective fact – it is not conditional. There is an element of certainty
here as if to say “there is no doubt about it.”
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This is the teaching of Anglicanism, and especially emphasized in recent years. For
example, after the confession of sin said at the BAS Eucharist, the priest says the
absolution in these words: “Almighty God have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you
from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in eternal
life…” (BAS 191)
This same absolution is used in the absolution at the BAS Morning Prayer (BAS 46). And
in the Book of Common Prayer, after the administration of communion, the priest thanks
God for “the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour
Jesus Christ; assuring us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us; and that we are
living members of his mystical body, which is the blessed company of all faithful people;
and are also heirs through hope of thy everlasting kingdom” (BCP 85).
Whether in the Sacrament of Baptism or in the Rite of Confirmation, every Anglican has
professed faith in Christ and repented of his or her sins. Therefore, according to the Bible,
every Anglican is saved. We should not doubt our salvation because we profess it
repeatedly at every Eucharist when we receive Christ’s Body and Blood.
I John 5:11-13 says, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not
have life.” This verse makes clear that anyone who believes in Jesus has eternal life.
FOR REFLECTION
There are times we may not feel saved. But our salvation is not a matter of feeling.
It’s a matter of fact. Similarly, salvation is not based on our works but in what God
has done for us. If salvation was based on works, we could never be sure we were
saved.
2. The Work of Christ Gives Assurance
We receive assurance of salvation not only from the work of Christ on the cross but his
work in our lives in the present. There is a great mystery in the Christian faith that many
disciples often forget, According to Colossians 1:27, Christ is in us. In other words, God
wants us to conform to his Son. God’s hope for the world is based on the fact that Jesus
dwells in us, and that throughout our lives we will become more Christ-centered and
Christ-like.
The new life in Christ leads to the new lifestyle in Christ. Accepting the good news of
Jesus leads to practicing the good works of the reign of God. Accepting Christ by faith
leads to living a faithful life. In other words the life we live gives us the assurance of the
life to come.
Paul says, “Continued to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God
who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:12-13).
Notice that Paul presumes that every Christian has received salvation, but that salvation is
also a process of growing in Christ through good works.
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FOR RELFECTION
Christians are not saved by good works but we are saved to do good works. As
Martin Luther put it, we are saved by faith to do good works. True believing in
Christ leads to behaving like Christ.
Christians are saved but also on the way to salvation – we are not perfect and we know it.
But we have a desire to grow in Christ and for Christ to grow in us. Salvation is a oncefor-all
event (in baptism and when we accept Christ into our lives) but it is also a
progressive event and that unfolds as we become more Christ-centered and more Christlike.
One way we know we are becoming more Christ-centered and Christ-like is by our
sensitivity to sin. When we are truly offended by sin, when we recognize sin as a breach
in our relationship with God, we know we are on the way to salvation. Thus,
paradoxically, the more sensitive we are to sin, the more confirmed we are in our
salvation.
Another indication of salvation is our desire to study the Bible, to attend worship, to
receive Holy Communion on a regular basis, and to grow in our relationship with God. In
other words, our basic orientation should be toward knowing, loving and serving God.
Because Christ is being formed in us, the things of God will bring joy to our lives, and
the things that pull us away from God will depress us and leave us feeling empty.
Christ in us forms and transforms us in his likeness. The more we take on the attitudes
and values of Jesus, the more sensitive we are to sin and the more desirous to do God’s
will, the greater the assurance we have of our salvation.
FOR REFLECTION
Consumed by God’s love in his life, St. Ignatius Loyola prayed:
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
all I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours: do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.
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