DISCIPLESHIP-ASSURANCE part 1

Satan often tries to get Christians to doubt our salvation. The assurance of salvation study is to show us that when you accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you can KNOW for sure you are saved forever. Salvation is not based on a feeling. After you get saved you do not always "feel" saved and especially when you sin again(because ALL men do-saved or not!). Doubts will come but the Lord does not try to trick us. He wants us to know and he shows us how we can in His word.
Assurance of salvation is the intellectual and spiritual certainty that you have eternal salvation, that you are a child of God forever.

2nd Timothy 1:12 says ".....I am not ashamed: for I KNOW whom I have believed, and am PERSUADED that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

1st John 5:13 says"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"

God tells us right there that we can KNOW we have eternal salvation and not only that but he WANTS us to know. It is not something we have to guess at. He then tells us why we need the assurance of our salvation. Read 1st John 1:4 1st John 3:19,21 Colossians 2:2 and James 1:8.

These versus tell us that assurance brings us JOY, CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD, COMFORT OF HEART AND STABILITY. Well that makes perfect sense!! When we are SURE of anything, we have joy, confidence, comfort and stability in regards to the thing we are sure of. It only makes sense that God would provide us a way to have each of these things in our life in regard to our walk with Him. When we have an assurance of our salvation it also enables us. Read 1st John 5:4,5 John 1:40,41 John 4:28,29 and acts 16:10. Assurance enable us to overcome the world and effectively serve the Lord by telling family, friends and strangers about Jesus. So we do not have to guess about our salvation-it is not something that we feel, our feelings can change daily, hourly and sometimes every minute but our salvation does not! God gave us His word and we can find the answers to anything he has for us to know. The Bible is His word-straight form Him to us and it is UNCHANGING. What was in there yesterday is still there today and IT STILL APPLIES!!
1st John 5:11,12 says "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."
There are 3 grounds for our assurance...
1.God-God said it so that settles it! read Titus 1:2 and it tells us that God CAN NOT lie. It doesn't just say that He wont lie but that he CAN'T. He is a Holy and Righteous God so He is not ever capable of telling a lie.
2.The promises of God-read John 5:24 John 6:37 and Romans 10:13. God promises that I have everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, Because I came to Jesus Christ, He will in no wise cast me out and the who ever calls upon the name of the Lord SHALL be saved. He says I HAVE everlasting life-I posses it, own it, it is mine to keep and he will not ever cast me out and anyone else that calls on his name SHALL, not might, not could but SHALL BE SAVED.
3.The presence of God-read Romans 5:5 and Romans 8:16. God tells us that when we are saved he gives us His Holy Ghost to dwell in our hearts and the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are in fact God's child. God gives us His Holy Spirit. He does not loan it to us or send it to us sometimes to check in-He gives us His Spirit and it dwells(stays, lives) in our hearts.