Assurance of salvation

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:11-13).

Basic truth

Assurance of salvation is the confidence the believer has that he is genuinely saved. The believer’s assurance rests on the certainty that what God has begun, He will complete (Philippians 1:6) and the effectiveness of Christ’s atonement (1 John 5:13).

Assurance is often confused with eternal security. Eternal security is the fact that God keeps the believer saved.

Discussion

[1] The objective basis of a genuine believer’s salvation is the finished work of Christ on the cross. The genuine believer believes the promises of God to save and keep him (John 1:12; 3:16; 10:28-29).

[2] The subjective basis for assurance is the genuine believer’s perseverance in faith and good works like living a godly life (1 John 1:5-7); keeping God’s word (1 John 2:5); correct doctrine (1 John 4:6); not loving the world (I John 2:15), living a pure life (I John 3:3), true love for the brethren (I John 3:14, 18-19), and overcoming the world (I John 5:4).

[3] The Holy Spirit provides the true believer an inner testimony of his salvation (Romans 8:16).

[4] Regarding salvation and assurance, there are three groups of people:

A. Those who are secure but not sure;
B. Those who are “sure” but not secure; and
C. Those who are secure and sure.

The first category comprises conscientious believers in Christ who are saved but lack assurance. In the second category are professing Christians who say, “Even though I’m living in sin, I’ll make it. After all, ‘once saved, always saved!’“ The third category are born-again believers who enjoy a warm, secure relationship with Christ each day.

[5] Fruits of righteousness (saving faith always produces good works)

• Deuteronomy 6:25
• Joshua 22:31
• Psalm 1:3; 15:1-5; 24:3-5; 101:3, 4; 106:3; 112:4-8
• Proverbs 2:5-20; 10:2,16; 11:5,6,18,19,30; 12:28; 13:6; 14:34; 21:3; 29:7
• Isaiah 28:17; 32:16-18; 33:15-17; 55:12,13; 58:6-14; 62:1
• Ezekiel 18:5-9; 33:15
• Daniel 12:3
• Hosea 10:12
• Malachi 3:3 4:2
• Matthew 5:20; 12:35, 50
• Mark 3:33-35
• Luke 3:10-14; 8:15
• John 3:21, 33; 8:47, 49; 13:35; 14:21-24; 15:4, 5,8, 12
• Acts 9:36; 11:29, 30; 19:19
• Romans 5:1-5; 6:19-22; 7:4-6; 8:4-6; 14:17-19; 15:1-7
• 1 Corinthians 4:19, 20; 12:3; 13:1-13
• 2 Corinthians 2:17; 7:10, 11; 9:10; 10:5; 13:5
• Galatians 4:6; 5:22, 23; 6:7, 8
• Ephesians 1:13, 14; 5:9
• Philippians 1:11, 27-29; 2:13; 3:12-14; 4:11-13
• Colossians 1:12, 13; 3:3, 5, 9-17
• 1 Timothy 1:3, 9, 10; 2:9, 10; 5:9, 10
• 2 Timothy 1:3-5; 2:22; 4:6-8
• Titus 2:2, 11, 12; 3:14
• Philemon 1:5, 6
• James 1:27; 2:14-26; 3:11-18
• 1 Peter 3:1-11, 14; 4:2
• 2 Peter 1:5-9
• 1 John 2:3-6,10,11,24,29; 3:3,6,7,9-11,14,17-24; 4:4-21; 5:1-5,10,13,18
• 2 John 1:9
• 3 John 1:11
• Revelation 2:2, 3, 19

[6] General verses on assurance:

• Job 19:25-26
• Psalm 3:6; 4:3; 17:15; 23:4; 27:3-5; 42:11; 46:1-3; 73:26
• Isaiah 12:2; 32:17
• Luke 4:18
• Romans 5:1; 8:16; 8:38-39
• 1 Corinthians 6:15
• 2 Corinthians 4:8-10; 4:16-18; 13:5
• Ephesians 3:12; 5:30
• Philippians 1:6; 3:21
• Colossians 2:2
• 1 Timothy 1:4-5
• 2 Timothy 1:12; 4:7-8
• Hebrews 3:14; 3:18; 6:11; 6:19; 10:22; 12:28
• James 1:12
• 2 Peter 1:10-11
• 1 John 2:5; 3:2; 3:14; 3:19; 3:22; 4:13; 4:18; 5:13-15
• Revelation 5:10

Further study (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Materials by J. Hampton Keathley, III , Th.M

• Assurance of Salvation
• Assurance Regarding the Gospel (also available in Chinese, Spanish, French, Indonesian and Rwandan)
• Assurance of Eternal Security (also available in Chinese and Rwandan)
• Introduction to the Truth of Assurance (also available in Chinese, French and Indonesian)

[2] Assurance of Salvation (Session 5), by Emery Nester Ed.D., D.Min.

Sermons on assurance of salvation (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Sermon illustrations

[2] JP2 When Guilt Wont go away, by Chuck King , Gateway Baptist Church

[3] SF530 - WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT SALVATION (1 John 5 11-13), by Timothy McGhee

[4] 1 John- The 4 tests of assurance pt1, by Michael d'Offay

[5] Security, by Terry W. Wiese

[6] Salvation And Assurance, by Christopher Nerreau

[7] sf1008 - Real Assurance (1 John 5 13), by Timothy McGhee

[8] For other available sermons, please surf to Sermon / Preaching resources. Sermons are also available from South McGehee Baptist Church, McGehee, Arizona; Central Baptist Church, Lowesville; First Baptist Church, Mountain View, Missouri; Swift Creek Baptist Church; Word of Life Baptist Church, Pottsville, Philadelphia; Palm Springs Baptist Church, California; South Woods Baptist Church; Grove Baptist Church, Ulster; Dudley Baptist Church, United Kingdom; Independent Fundamental Baptist Sermons, Fundamental Christian Radio Broadcasts, Off-Site Audio Page and The Christian Radio Tuner

Notes: (1) This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials. (2) This lesson is part of the projected 300 plus lessons. From time to time, the lessons will be updated, revised, combined, formatted, and edited to comply with the VOA Simplified English word list. Later on, these lessons will be categorized, numbered sequentially, and made available as PDF downloads.