Blessed Assurance

Read time: 9mins

For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

Colossians 1:27 NLT

Are you going to heaven? No, I really want you to answer. What do you think? When Jesus comes back and raises the dead to be united with Him, will you be among those who journey with Him to heaven and accompany Him in the earth made new? Yes? Maybe if you’re honest you’d say you aren’t always sure. It sounds like a heavy question but it’s a lot more simple than many of us realize.

The Bible teaches us that it’s simple to accept God's free gift of salvation. Jesus says that if we simply have faith—that’s a Bible word that basically means trust—we’d have eternal life. If we lean on Him, rely on Him, and believe that He is telling the truth about all of this, we are good. It doesn’t take anything else from us. He literally saw a problem you didn’t and thought of a solution before you knew you’d need it. It’s like a friend bringing extra money to the restaurant because He knew you wouldn’t have enough for your bill and all you have to do is believe He brought enough for both of you. All you have to do is let Him pay. He applied a credit to your life that allows you to be acquitted from the penalty of sin as your record is expunged from all of the wrong you were born into. He not only paid your price and covered you so that you wouldn’t have to face the penalty of sin that you deserve, that’s justification. He promised to do a work in you and accomplish a mission for you to both abolish the power of sin in your life and liberate you from the presence of sin around your life. That is called sanctification and glorification. He lived the life you couldn’t and died the death you should’ve so that you'd be free to live a life abundantly. 

While that sounds good on its own, what really makes me wanna shout is that none of this is or can be earned by me. It’s not like I gotta figure out how to have enough discipline or self control to be perfect enough to earn points with God. Paul says that my best is filth anyway. We are told that none of us can boast about this gift or act better than anyone else because none of us were good enough. All of us were the undersevering, unmerited, bad option. This is a gift. By definition, it’s free. I can’t add to it or take away from it. Only accept or deny it. 

Ok got it. It’s a free gift and all that but how do I know it worked? How do I know it’s working? It sounds too good to be true. How do I know it’s not? 

There are so many people who feel that their eternal destiny is up in the air. They look at their mistakes and proclivities and question if God really meant them when He said “whoever.” They question whether or not they have an assurance of salvation or if that is something for everyone else. They feel like God is doing random searches like a teacher does a pop quiz to determine whether or not they are good enough to be a citizen of the earth made new and they really aren’t sure if they make the cut. You may be one of those people, but I’m here to let you know that you don’t have to live in the fear of uncertainty. Here’s the deal, it doesn’t matter when judgment is if you know you’re covered. It doesn’t matter when the teacher grades the test if you know that the best student did the work for you and put your name on it. We don’t have to be afraid of judgement because we can know for sure that the judgement is in our favor. How? Because Christ in us is in the assurance of glory. The Bible says that we can have a blessed assurance that Jesus is ours. How? Our proof is in the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Paul in Colossians says that Christ in us is the assurance and hope of glory. In chapter one of Paul’s second letter to Corinth, we are also told that we can stand firmly in Christ with the understanding that He has commissioned and called us. Why? Because He has identified us by His Spirit. It goes on to say that the Spirit in us is likened to a first installment for the future glory we have been promised. It’s proof that God intends to come through on this plan of salvation. We know that He who shall come will come and will not tarry, but the Spirit is proof that He will finish the work He began in you. It’s like the down payment to let us know God's intent to move us into our new heavenly home. While God doesn’t owe us anything, the Spirit is almost like collateral to prove that God is good on His promise. The Spirit is your evidence. The Spirit that will comfort, guide and lead us into all truth. That's the proof. God gave us the Spirit as proof that He would come back for us. He gave us the Spirit as proof that He had chosen and called us. The Spirit gives you your assurance. 

In 2 Corinthians 5, we are told that the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee that He has prepared us for our heavenly bodies. In Ephesians 1, we are reminded that the Spirit is not just God's guarantee that He will give you everything He has promised as an inheritance because of your adoption into His family, it’s the sign, a symbol or a seal that you are His. The Holy Spirit is the proof of who you belong to. It’s your brand. It’s your logo. It’s proof that you aren’t a knock off or a counterfeit. It’s proof that you are His and a guarantee that you will be in that number when He comes back to recuse His property. He has identified you by His Spirit. He has given the gift of the Holy Spirit as a sign that you have been set apart and saved. 

But now I know what you’re asking. Pace, how do I know I have the Spirit? Well the Spirit is proof of salvation and fruit is the proof of the Spirit. What do I mean by fruit? Fruit is the side effect or symptom of having the Spirit, and it’s what Jesus said we can look for to tell if people are on His side or not. 

When you get the flu, you can tell by symptoms. You may start to cough more, sneeze more or ache more. Someone doesn’t have to get on a stage and announce that they’re sick if you see or hear the symptoms. They don’t have to convince you because the symptoms are signs. Symptoms alert you of the sickness. In the same way, fruit can alert you of the Spirit. In Galatians, we’re told that the fruit or symptoms of the Spirit are things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control. You can tell that the Spirit is at work when these things start to grow in you.

Paul does something cool when He compares the Holy Spirit's work to the work of alcohol. Paul says to not get drunk on spirits like whiskey, vodka, tequila and gin, but to be filled with a different Spirit that will bring life within. Getting drunk will have you walking, talking and acting differently. The Holy Spirit will have you doing the same thing. Many of us use alcohol for an escape, a feeling of joy, or a comfort and confidence we wouldn’t otherwise have. But Paul is arguing that the Holy Spirit will bestow all of this upon you and some. 

The Spirit won’t just lead you to walk and talk differently, it will lead you to feel differently in the midst of storms. It’ll give you a peace that surpasses understanding and what feels like an ever flowing spring of joy and gratitude. It will give you a sense of purpose in a world that is groping for identity. It will give you security in a world that is desperate for safety. The Spirit will lead to complete life change. As it leads you, you will experience more of its effects. As it grows you, you'll see more and more of a difference in who you were before. The presence of the Holy Spirit will change how you and others view yourself. It is a cheat code that will revolutionize your life. 

The Spirit will lead you and guide you. He will tell you when to say yes and when to say no. He will help you discern who you should allow to sit at your table and who you shouldn’t. The Holy Spirit can lead you to pick the right spouse, choose the right degree or purchase the right building. 

The Holy Spirit in you means that the same power that rose Jesus from the grave is in you. The same power that allows dry bones to come alive is in you. The same power to make lame things walk and dumb things talk is in you. 

The Holy Spirit will give you the right words to say in tense situations. He will give you a calm and confident demeanor when facing uncertainty and stress. The world will look differently to you when you allow Him to direct your steps. Success will fall in your lap. Authority will be yours. The presence of God in your life changes everything. It doesn’t just change who you are, God will lead you to change the world around you. 

I want to be clear. I’m not saying that people with the Spirit are perfect from our earthy standards, but they are committed to progressing by heavenly ones. The Spirit will push you to grow. God in us will give us not just the power but the desire to do what pleases Him. While you should be content, you should not be complacent. There’s a complacency that kills conviction. I like how Paul says it in Ephesians. “Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted (Ephesians 4:30 MSG).” I like how the New Living Translation renders it. “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30 NLT).” Paul says to not grieve God and break His heart by ignoring the Spirit’s prompting push, before reminding us that God has identified and sealed us as His own, guaranteeing that we will be saved on the day of redemption. We are called to be a peculiar people, and proof of that is often found in the Spirit’s push for progress. Stagnation is the antithesis to sanctification. 

So how do I make sure I have this Holy Spirit? How do I accept this gift? The Bible says that if earthly fathers can give good gifts to their children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Spirit to those who ask. If deadbeat dads can get Christmas right every once in a while, you can be sure that Jesus will pour the riches of heaven out for you if you make room for Him. Ask for it. Believe for it. Jesus Himself said that you cannot produce real and lasting fruit without abiding in and remaining connected to Him. He’s the source of this life altering power. Just tap in and ask. I promise you that God will speak and things will begin to change. 

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

[I’m an] Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

[I’m] born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Perfect communion, perfect delight,

visions of rapture now burst on my sight.

Angels descending bring from above

echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest.

I in my Savior am happy and bless’d,

watching and waiting, looking above,

filled with his goodness, lost in his love. 

This is my story, this is my song,

praising my Savior all the day long.

This is my story, this is my song,

praising my Savior all the day long.

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