I have been fighting a hoarse throat for a few days, so it is a good thing that this is a written devotion.  I often wish that I had a better voice with which to share the gospel, but if I had better voice, I could share  the gospel better, but I could never share a better gospel.

There is no more important message than that of the gospel.  Every sermon that is given in our church is built on the foundation of the gospel.  If someone without Christ hears a sermon without the gospel, it becomes just  a good moral story or practical set of instructions.  There are a lot of self-help books out there, but what we really need are true-books and there is only one of those.

But as wonderful as the gospel message is to share and to hear it is even more important to understand.  As important as we all know salvation is, there are still many who are unsure they have truly received it.

I have talked to many who are uncertain about their salvation. Typically I hear some version of the following.  “Well, I hope so.  I think I am better than most.  God is a good God so I think he will take me.  I have done this and this and this, so I feel pretty good about it.”  And many of those thoughts came from people in the church.

Of course there are many that preach this lack of assurance from the pulpit, so of course there will be many confused people out there.

I spoke to someone this week who says the scariest verse in the Bible to them is Matthew 7:21-23 and it sometimes debilitates them.  I will paraphrase it-  “Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven and many will say they have done all kinds of thing in my name, but I will send them away because I did not know them.”

I told her that should not be a scary verse for several reasons, but the main one is John 3:16.  I quoted the verse one line at a time and asked her a question after each one.

“For God so loved the world  (are you part of the world?) yes…  

That He gave his one and only so (do you know who that is?) yes… Jesus  

That whosoever (is that anybody?) yes…

Believes in Him  (do you believe in Him) yes…  

Has eternal life (what kind of life?) Eternal. 

So what do you have?  Eternal life…  

Who needs to be afraid of the verses in Matthew 17.  

Only those who do not have???  Eternal life.  

Is that you.  No.

Don’t be scared…

Someone who can answer the way this woman did ought to be able to say, “Praise God! Glory to God! I know that I’m saved!”  Yet many Christians don’t know they’re saved. They go around with their shoulders all bent over—drooping, wondering, and worrying. They remind me of question marks with their heads bent over, rather than exclamation points standing straight and tall and saying, “I know whom I have believed!”

Rather than being shouting Christians, they’re doubting Christians. Rather than having a “know-so” salvation, they have a “hope-so” salvation. 

Somebody once said, if you could have it and not know it, you could lose it and not miss it. But the truth is, if you have salvation, you know it; and if you have it and know it, you can never lose it.

Please be aware of the powerful word “believe” and the part it plays in our salvation. It is a verb that can change lives and I don’t mean in a Tony Robbins way.

Now there may be some who read this who have had few doubts and others who have many.  Hopefully, what you read over the next couple of weeks can be an encouragement to you or maybe others who struggle with assurance.

If any of us has doubts, we are actually doubting one of two things.  We are not trusting Jesus for our salvation or we are not trusting that the Bible is true.

Some people believe it would be presumptuous to be certain of their salvation.  In fact, part of the reformation movement was backlash against the sin of presumption in the Catholic church.  

But I am not being presumptuous when I say I am certain I am going to heaven. I know I don’t deserve heaven and if I got what I deserve I would be in Hell.  But I am saying I believe what God has said and I am going to rely on it.

So we can bank on these things because God’s Word never changes. Isaiah in 40:8 tells us that “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of God stands forever.”  and in Matthew we are told that “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words shall never pass away.”

Why do we need to be assured?  Because our service is hampered by our lack of confidence. When I was coaching I told players to learn their assignments well, so well they would not have to think about it. I told them that not knowing made them hesitant. They couldn’t get the job done because they weren’t confident they could get the job done. In the same way, if we lack confidence in our salvation it is hard for us to serve the Lord.

During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but all were saved. Ultimately, the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net. God has given us a safety net to work over as we cross the bridge of life. Our confident understanding of Him allows us to serve unhindered by doubt.

So why do we doubt?

This is part one of a two-part devotion on Assurance…  Stay tuned for next weeks Part 2… Cliffhanger!