I want to challenge your faith!
Section Three: "Feel the Wrath!"
"Escaping God's Fury" Part Two, Application Chapter
The Blessed Assurance
In our home, talking about going to be with God is a common topic. In fact, every evening at supper time the family and I use three important questions to prompt positive discussions during our meal. First, I ask everyone to give the highlight of their day. Second, we each tell something that we learned during that day. Last, and most important of all, we each tell what we think Heaven might be like and what it is that makes us want to go there.
Long ago, we exhausted all the biblical descriptions of Heaven, so now we are into the dreaming stage of our descriptions. When the Holy Spirit recorded the words, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (I Corinthians 2:9, NKJV), I believe He was giving us a challenge. We try to meet that challenge at every supper meal. Dreaming about Heaven is a very important part of our daily schedule.
Recently, during one of our many dreaming sessions, Gabriel announced, “God is comin’ to our house!” Intrigued by his unique insight into the timing of the second coming I asked, “How long will it be until He gets here?” Gabriel, age three, only glanced up for a second and then, without losing step in the conversation, he responded, “Free hours”.
Of course, God didn’t come “Free hours” later, but that didn’t stop Gabriel from wishing. Later, we were in another discussion and he asked, “When is God and Jesus going to come and pick us up in their car?” We explained to him that God and Jesus do not need a car to get around in. With a puzzled look on his face, he hopped off Cindy’s lap and went about his business. Later, Gabriel made another try at God’s transportation problem. Out of the blue one day, he announced to the family, “God doesn’t have a car. He rides a bike!”
As I hope you can tell, we try to create an atmosphere in our home where God is real and He is expected to arrive at any moment. Cindy and I believe that this is the best way to promote longing for His presence and passion for His values.
Just a few days ago, Cindy brought Gabriel into my office. He obviously did not want to come. Dad is the one who provides most punishment in our family and, when Mom brings you to his office, it can mean that punishment is on its way.
As Gabriel shuffled his feet and half hid himself behind his mother’s legs, Cindy said, “Tell Daddy that you’re having a hard time obeying today.” He didn’t respond. “Gabriel, come here,” I said. “Are you having a hard time obeying your mother?” He wouldn’t make eye contact. He just nodded his head. I cupped his little face between my hands and said, “Son, look at Daddy. Son, do you need a spanking?” For the first time Gabriel looked up at me. “Gabriel, do you need a spanking?” I asked again. “No, Daddy,” he responded. “I need a kiss.”
Yes, I know, he was playing on my soft spot. And you know what, it worked. I picked him up, gave him a big kiss and then I told him not to disobey his mother again. With that, he sucked his lower lip back into its normal position and, with a look of “Wow! It worked!”, he hopped off my lap and ran off to play.
As he left my office, I thought about God. He too has power to deliver punishment or forgiveness. He too loves His children and provides grace liberally to those who submit to His will.
In I John 5, there is a powerful passage that begs for application in the lives of the “Jeremiah Generation”. In one small verse, John not only summarizes the entire book but also states the certainty of a blessed assurance.
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (I John 5:13) Not guess, not wonder, not hope, not maybe, the Holy Spirit says Christians can “know” they have eternal life.
In the opening verses of this great book, John explains how a person can avoid God’s fury and arrive at a confidence of salvation. Notice I John 1:5-10.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
In this passage, John records three very important principles about walking in the light.
1. Walking in the Light is a Journey, Not a Single Step
If ever there was a lesson the “Jeremiah Generation” must teach with conviction, it is this one. Life is a journey, not a single step. Walking in the light is a process, not a point in time. Like physical birth, the point of salvation can certainly be traced to the moment a person leaves the womb of water. (John 3:5, Romans 6:4) But, like any journey, this single step does not constitute a completed process. The “Jeremiah Generation” must understand the importance of faith, growth and unyeilding spiritual endurance.
2. Walking in the Light Brings Fellowship With God
In verse 7, we are told that “...if we walk in the light we have fellowship with one another...” Although the context may be talking about fellowship between Christians, it is important to remember that no fellowship is possible without God and Jesus at its center. In verse 3 John stated this fact when he said, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
Many, it seems, believe that attending Christian services makes a person a Christian. This verse clearly shows that all lasting fellowhip, is first rooted in a relationship with God, not first in a relationship with the church. God saves and then adds to the church. (Acts 2:47) The church does not save and simple identification with a church bearing a biblical name does not constitute salvation.
The “Jeremiah Generation” must remind God’s people that, although names are important, the only name that saves is Christ, not the name of the church.
3. Walking in the Light Does Not Mean Sinlessness
In verse 7, John says that walking in the light means that the blood of Jesus “purifies us from all sin”. If walking in the light meant sinlessness, then there would be no sin to purify.
In the very next verse he goes on to say, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) Obviously, John is not talking about a sinless, perfect walk, he is talking about a journey that is under constant purification in spite of our sin.
Does this mean once a peron is saved they can never lose that salvation? No, read on. In order for a person to remain on the path of light, there are three things that John says they must do. Notice the immediate context.
1. To remain on the path of light, a Christian must be honest about his sinful nature. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) Whenever a person denies the sin he has committed, he strays from the path and the light of God no longer governs his jouney.
2. To remain on the path of light, a Christian must confess the sin that his honesty has revealed. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
3. To remain on the path of light, a Christian must make continual application of God’s Word in his life. “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” (1 John 1:10) When a Christian makes continual application of God’s word in his life, it reveals his sin (point 1) so that he can confess his sin (point 2) so that he can continue on the journey of applying God’s Word to his life (point 3).
Yes, it certainly is possible to lose one’s salvation. Consider the stories of Simon (Acts 8) and Demas (II Timothy 4:10). But it is equally certain that a Christian who honestly confesses his sin through constant application of God’s Word can “know” that he has eternal life. (I John 5:13)
Blessed assurance - if anyone should have this confidence, it should be those who would claim to be the “Jeremiah Generation”. Without this confidence, evangelism has little appeal and Christianity is reduced to a series of educated guesses and wishful thinking.
I once taught a class on the subject of grace. In the audience was a well-respected older gentleman. He was an elder of the Lord’s church and a self-proclaimed student of the Word. At one point, he interrupted my comments and, in the presence of all his flock, boldly announced, “Sonny, I hope I go to Heaven. But I’m here to tell you, if I make it inside those pearly gates, it will be by the skin of my teeth!”
Perhaps his statement was a poor attempt at humility or a sad admission of ignorance, but however it was intended, it was an insult to the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. The Lord did not spend over six hours on the cross to give us a “by-the-skin-of-my-teeth” salvation. When Jesus saves, He saves all the way. His blood doesn’t pull a person just inside the pearly gates, it takes him completely into the presence of God. If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we can have full confidence in our salvation and full assurance in our home with God.
The blessed assurance of the grace of God is the certain truth that Christians can “know” they have eternal life. (I John 5:13) Do you have a convincing story of certain salvation or is yours a timid guesswork of “Maybe I will make it”? For the “Jeremiah Generation” to recapture the high ground for the church, they must demonstrate a mature understanding of spiritual security. Do you “know” that you have eternal life?
Copyright 2006 by Childs Family Publications