Assurance Of Our Life

Assurance of our Life

Ephesians 2:4-10

“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all day long!” Fanny J. Crosby wrote over 8000 hymns during her lifetime. Among all those songs “Blessed Assurance” is very dear to our hearts. The song illustrates that Blessed Assurance is a personal possession that God wants each of His children to experience.

Fanny Crosby writes about her daily walk with the Lord. She had blessed assurance throughout her life, and God did many great things through her life. Although blinded by an illness at the age of 6 weeks, Fanny never became bitter. One time a preacher in sympathy remarked, “I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight, when He showered so many gifts upon you.” She quickly replied, “Do you know that, if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?” “Why?” asked the surprised clergyman. “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!”

Fanny Crosby shows us what it means to have Blessed Assurance as a personal possession. She was able to see with 20/20 vision through the spiritual eyes of faith. Some may ask, “What gives someone the Blessed Assurance of Jesus?” Some say, “I believe I am a Christian; I’ve repented of my sins and put my trust in Christ, but I don’t feel like I have assurance. What am I missing?” To address these concerns, the Apostle Paul points out 5 truths that we need to understand before Blessed Assurance is experienced in our daily lives.

Listen to Paul’s words to the churches at Ephesus 2:4-10 “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

I. God Made Us Alive in Christ:

The first truth of salvation we need to understand to experience Blessed Assurance is that God made us alive in Christ. Ephesians 2: 4-5 says “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” When God makes you alive together with Christ: the dead live the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the empty are filled, the hungry are fed, and the weary rest. We are made alive to a life we cannot fathom-- a life that brings enrichment and fulfillment. Our Lord promises us in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Understand, God made us alive, not we ourselves. All glory, all credit, and all claim goes to God for He is rich in mercy. His love for us is great (John 3:16, 1 Cor. 6:19, 20). This salvation has brought us life, and that life is found in Christ and Christ alone. We are separated from the enslaving power of our sins and are now together with Him. We will never be alone again -- we will never be left behind or forsaken because grace and mercy have been extended to us at the Cross. And we accepted it as truth, repented, and believed.

You may have heard of the many stories of Commander Napoleon. There was once a mother who went to Napoleon, seeking the pardon of her son who had been condemned to death. Napoleon told this mother, it was the man's second offense, and justice demanded his death. The mother said, "But sir, I'm not asking for justice. I am pleading for mercy." Napoleon said, "But lady, he does not deserve mercy." The mother replied, "Sir, you are exactly right. It would not be mercy, if he deserved it. Mercy is what I'm asking for." Hearing this Napoleon said, "Well then, I will show mercy." And her son was saved.