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Six Ways to Pray for Missionaries

By Pastor Josh Wamble

Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged to approach God with confidence knowing that He will receive us and that He wants to hear from us.  Philippians 4:6-7 say, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Over the next few weeks, we will be posting specific ways you can be praying for different groups of people inside and outside of the church.  This week, we want to think about missionaries.  We do not want to just be sending out missionaries from our church, we want to be supporting them and their work as well.  We want to join them in their work.  One of the best ways we can do that is by regularly praying for them and their families.  Below, we offer six specific ways that you can do so.

1.  Pray for Their Personal Holiness

The nature of mission work means that often God calls missionaries to go where there are few if any believers.  It can be difficult and isolating work.  They do not have a local church near them to worship with, sing with, pray with, study the Bible with.  They often do not have opportunities to hear the Bible preached.  It is easy for them to get discouraged.

Pray that God would be near to them and that they would feel His presence.  Pray that God would keep them faithful.  Pray that even in their busyness to spread the word that they would be faithful to study His word and to read it devotionally.  Pray that their hearts and souls would remain warm toward Christ and the gospel.

Pray that God would protect them from temptation and sin.  Pray that they would be quick to repent and confess their sins to God.  Pray that they would rest in His forgiveness and provision for their souls.

2.  Pray for Them to Get Acclimated to their New Culture

Serving in another context can be very lonely.  The people are different, the food is different, the customs are different, the language is different—everything is different.  They are separated from their families and friends and church in the US, and they often feel disconnected from the people they are serving.  Differences in culture can cause misunderstandings or miscommunications.  They can make missionaries feel like they stick out and don’t fit in or lead to unintentional offenses (sometimes without even knowing that they are being offensive).

Pray that God would bridge this gap.  Pray that they would quickly learn the cultural norms of their new home.  Pray that they would make genuine friendships in their new setting.  Pray for their marriages and their children.

3.  Pray for Gospel Opportunities

People serving as missionaries want to befriend their neighbors and others around them.  They want to build relationships with people in their new cultures.  But, ultimately, they want these friendships and relationships and positions of influence to be used for the spreading of the gospel.  They want to meet the most important need their new friends and neighbors have.

Pray that God would provide opportunities for them to share the gospel with the people around them.  Pray that God would help them to do so in ways that are understandable and clear.  Pray that God would work in the hearts of their hearers that they would respond to the gospel message.

4.  Pray for Their Physical Needs

It is not uncommon for missionaries to suffer from sicknesses or other physical needs.  Eating different foods, coming in contact with different germs or allergens can cause problems.  Often missionaries serve in areas where they are not as familiar with the medical procedures or where access to specific medical care is not available.  Often visits to a doctor or obtaining certain medications can require significant travel.  On top of this, concerns about physical wellbeing (for himself or his family) can take a missionary’s attention away from the work the Lord has called him to

Pray that God would keep them healthy and free from injury.  Pray for the health of their families.  Pray that God would remove these distractions so that they can focus on gospel ministry in their place of service.

5.  Pray for Their Financial Needs

Through the Cooperative Program of the SBC, our church supports more than 3500 missionaries serving with the SBC’s International Missions Board.  Each of these missionaries is fully funded through the financial gifts of churches like ours throughout the US.  We also support missionaries who serve with other agencies and are required to raise some or all of their financial support.

Pray for their support team to grow and that God would provide the finances they need to meet their needs and the needs of their families.  Pray that they would not be worried or anxious over their finances and that they could focus on the work that is before them.

6.  Pray that God Would Call More Missionaries

There is an immense need for missionaries around the world.  There are still many people groups who have not yet heard the word of the gospel.  There are languages and cultures that do not have a single follower of Jesus.  There are others who only have a handful of believers or perhaps even have some churches but still need someone to help them grow to maturity or help them disciple and prepare the men God has called to lead their churches and serve as pastors.

Pray that God would call other individuals and families to go and teach His word.  Pray that God would call individuals and families from our church.  Pray that God would help us to be a good sending church that prepares and supports our missionaries well.

Four Ways to Pray for Your

Fellow Church Members

By Pastor Josh Wamble

Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged to approach God with confidence knowing that He will receive us and that He wants to hear from us.  Philippians 4:6-7 say, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Over the next few weeks, we will be posting specific ways you can be praying for different groups of people inside and outside of the church.  This week, we want to think about church members.  We hope that you are regularly praying for your fellow church members.  Below, we offer six specific ways you can do so.

1.  Pray for Their Personal Holiness

God saves His people by grace alone through faith alone.  He gives new life to people who are dead in their sins.  He transforms His people into new creations in Christ.  We do not and cannot earn our salvation before Him.  Salvation is wholly His work; yet, He calls His people to be holy even as He is holy.  Our obedience comes out of the transformation that He works in us.  Philippians 2:12-13 say, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Pray that your fellow church members would work out their salvation with fear and trembling.  Pray that they would take sin seriously and fight against it by the power of the Holy Spirit working in them.  Pray that they would spend time in God’s word and prayer and that God would give them grace to live according to it.  Pray that they would resist temptation and sin.  Pray that they would be humble before the Lord and go to Him in repentance and confession when they do sin.  Pray that their consciences would be soft and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

2.  Pray for Opportunities to Use Their Spiritual Gifts

The bible says that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all of His people and that God gathers them in churches where those spiritual gifts can be used for the building up of the whole body.  Pray that God would reveal to your fellow church members the gifts that He has given them.  Pray that they would be bold and confident to use those gifts.  Pray that God would provide opportunities for those gifts to be used in our church.  Pray that our church would be strengthened through each one using his gifts.  Pray that we would each be growing in Christ through the relationships that we have with one another in our church.

3.  Pray for Unity in the Church

Pray that our church would be unified in Christ.  Pray that God would be using His word in the life of our church to sanctify each individual.  Pray that no one would be looking out for his own interests or desires or preferences.  Pray that everyone would be putting others before themselves.  Pray that there would be no rivalries or jealousies among the members of our church.  Pray that we would be quick to forgive each other when we have been wronged.  Pray that we would be humble and quick to ask forgiveness when we have wronged one another.  Pray that gossip and complaining and backbiting would be absent from our church.  Pray that we would be growing together as we study together, worship together, sing together, pray together, listen to preaching together, and serve our community and the world together.

4.  Pray for the Families in the Church

Pray for the many families in our church.

Pray that God would save the children in our church.

Pray for the parents to be faithful in leading their children to the Lord and pray that God would bless those efforts.  Pray that they would teach their children how to read the bible and how to pray.

Pray for the grandparents to be modeling for their adult children and grandchildren what maturity in the faith looks like.  Pray that they would leave a legacy of faithfulness for their families to follow in.

Pray for the many young families in our church who are currently pregnant.  Pray for mothers’ health and that the babies would be growing and developing.  Ask God to be preparing them to be new parents and that Jesus would be at the center of their parenting.  Pray that God would save their children.

Pray for those in our church who would like to have children but have not yet been able to.  Pray that God would give them children.  Pray that he would give them contentment with their current situation.  Pray that God would keep them from any envy or jealousy and that He would give them genuine happiness for those around them who do have children.

Pray for the marriages in our church.  Pray that husbands would love their wives and wives would love their husbands.  Pray for them to be patient with each other and serve one another.  Pray that they would prioritize each other and their family time above everything else.

Life can be hard, and all believers face temptations and difficulties.  We need each other.  Commit to faithfully and regularly pray for your fellow church members and pray that God would strengthen His church.

Six Ways to Pray for Your Pastors

By Pastor Josh Wamble

Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged to approach God with confidence knowing that He will receive us and that He wants to hear from us.  Philippians 4:6-7 say, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Over the next few weeks, we will be posting specific ways you can be praying for different groups of people inside and outside of the church.  This week, we want to think about pastors.  We hope that you are regularly praying for your pastors.  Below, we offer six specific ways you can do so.

1.  Give Thanks to God for Them

In Ephesians 4:11-12, Paul says that God gives pastors to His churches for the purpose of building them up and equipping them for the work of the ministry.  Thank God for how He has blessed our church with the pastors that He has given us and that He would use their different gifts in the life of our church.

 2.  Pray for Their Personal Holiness

A 19^th century Scottish pastor famously said, “The greatest need of my people is my own holiness.”  This is certainly a great need in the church if not the greatest.  Far too often, we have heard about pastors who have made a shipwreck of their ministry in one or another.  Some have fallen into some grievous sin like adultery, out of control anger, pornography use, plagiarizing sermons, or the like.  These sins do not just affect the individual pastor.  They are difficult on the pastors’ families and their churches as well.

Pastors face temptations that are unique to ministry as well as temptations that are common to all believers.  Pray that God would keep your pastors from temptation and deliver them from temptations when they do come.  Pray that they would be quick to confess their sins and repent of them.  Pray that they would love the Lord and His word and seek to follow Him in all areas of their lives.

3.  Pray for Their Preaching and Teaching

Maybe the biggest responsibility a pastor has to his church is to rightly preach and teach God’s word.  Pray that they would prioritize time to study God’s word.  Pray that the Holy spirit would help them to understand it well.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead them to apply it well to the church.  Pray that God would help them to present what they have learned in a way that connects with the church and it easily understood and applied.  Pray that they would have the boldness and conviction to preach and teach the truth even when it is hard or challenging.

4.  Pray for Their Leadership

Pray that God would lead them as they lead His church.  Pray that they would think well about how to lead in specific situations.  Pray that they would work well together and have good discussions that lead to clarity on how the Lord is directing them.  Pray that God would give them wisdom and help the to see things from His perspective.  Pray that the church would follow their lead.

5.  Pray for Their Families

Ministry can sometimes be hard on families and especially children.  Many pastors’ kids grow up to resent the church for taking so much time from their dad or for how their parents were treated by the church.  Pray that that would not be the case with the children of our pastors.

Pray that our pastors would manage their time well and prioritize time with their families and children.  Pray that they would not feel pressure from the church to be perfect.  Pray that they would see and feel the church’s love for their dads and for their families.  Pray that the pastors’ wives would feel supported, respected, honored, and loved by their church.  Pray for their marriages and for their parenting.

6.  Pray for Their Health

Pray that God would keep your pastors healthy.  Pray that the anxiety and worry they feel for the members of the church would not weigh them down.  Pray that they would deal with the stress of their positions in healthy ways.  Pray that they would get good rest and have healthy patterns of time off and away from the work of the ministry.

Life can be hard, and pastors face many of the same challenges and difficulties that other believers face.  There are also unique challenges and pressures that come with being a pastor.  Be faithful and regular in praying for your pastors and pray that God would use them to strengthen His church.

Answers in August: Part Four

Questions and Answers

By Pastor Josh Wamble

This past Sunday, we continued our annual Answers in August series.  This year we are studying the doctrine of Eternal Security or the perseverance of the saints.  We started this series off last week by talking about the view that it is possible for people to fall away from salvation.  You can watch week one here or listen to week one audio here.  You can watch week two here or listen to week two audio here.  You can watch week three here or listen to week three audio here.  You can watch the final week here or listen to week four audio here.  Below, I want to provide a short summary of the questions and discussion we had on 8/27.

1.  What Biblical passage is most assuring to you that God will keep you secure?

Romans 8:31-39

John 6:37

Ephesians 1:7-14

Hebrews 7:22-25

2.  Why was this topic chosen?

This doctrine is very strengthening to believers and their faith.  Often believers have questions or a lack of assurance especially as they see people who have fallen away from the church and are no longer around.  Studying what the Bible says about God’s determination to save His people is very reassuring to believers.

3.  How do we keep in balance what the Bible says about the need for believers to persevere and the promise that God will keep those who are His?

There is a need to read the scriptures and believe all that they say.  Everything int eh Word is true.  Some things are harder to understand or accept than others, but as followers of God, we need to work hard to understand all that the Bible says in light of everything else the Bible says.

4.  Is there a danger in presenting salvation as “just believe and you will be saved”?

There is a danger or problem, but it is not corrected by changing the message of the gospel that we preach.  The Bible does say that salvation is by grace alone though faith alone.  The problem comes in when the church and individual believers do a poor job of discipleship after someone has believed the message of the gospel or a poor job of following up when someone leaves the church.

5.  How should we respond to someone who seems to have fallen away from the truth?

We should be direct with them and not avoid the difficult awkward questions, but it must happen in the context of a relationship of love and trust.

6.  How do we counsel and help people who are coming back from a time of sin discern whether they were genuinely saved before or are just now being saved?

Believers continue to fight against temptations and sin.  It is not surprising or confusing when we see believers sinning and fighting sin.  That doesn’t mean the person was never genuinely saved, but it could mean that.  When we try and help people think through that situation, we should help them to ask questions of themselves and their own situation.  In the end, we cannot make that decision for anyone else as we trust the Holy Spirit to convict them and assure them and convince them.

7.  Should we use books, sermons, or other materials that were written by people who seemed to be faithful at the time but have since denounced the faith and rejected God?

This is a very complicated and perplexing question.  If the person is known enough that their name being connected to the material could be a distraction or cause a problem, do not use that material.  If the material is good and the book or resource was written long enough ago that their reputation or life situation is unknown and not likely to cause a distraction, then we should be free to use that material.

8.  Can/does the Holy Spirit use unbelievers the same way He does believers?

God can and does use anyone that he wants.  He can and does use the talents of unbelievers to glorify Himself and strengthen His church.  In Phil. 1:15-18, Paul speaks of some who preach the gospel out of envy and selfish ambition.  Even in this case, Paul rejoices because God is using this preaching of the gospel with bad motives to accomplish His purposes.  However, we should be careful with these types of resources knowing that those who produce them are not seeking to honor God with them.

9.  If you were going on a trip and could only take the Bible and one other book, what would the other book be?

Pilgrim’s Progress, Michael Jordan biography, book of maps

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, Wendell Berry novel, large phone book (for kindling)

Church directory as prayer tool

Historical biography or other historical book

10.  How should we relate to other believers/denomination who disagree with us on this doctrine?

There are some things that we can partner with and other things that we can’t.  To the extent that partnering with them would cause us to compromise on what we think the Bible teaches, then we would not be able to.  We could partner together for the sake of ministries such as distributing food to people who need it or cleaning up after a tornado or other natural disaster, but we could not partner together to preach or plant churches, or etc.

11.  If we are visiting a different type of church with different doctrine should we participate in their worship? More specifically, should we participate in the Lord’s Supper at a church whose understanding of what the Lord’s Supper is and what it does and what it’s for is different from ours?

There are some churches whose doctrine is so different from ours that we should not participate in the Lord’s Supper.  Catholic churches come to mind.  Their understanding of the Lord’s Supper is so different that we shouldn’t join them in it.

Answers in August—Part Three:

Scripture’s Consistency

By Pastor Josh Wamble

This past Sunday, we continued our annual Answers in August series.  This year we are studying the doctrine of Eternal Security or the perseverance of the saints.  We started this series off last week by talking about the view that it is possible for people to fall away from salvation.  You can watch week one here or listen to week one audio here.  You can watch week two here or listen to week two audio here.  You can watch week three here or listen to week three audio here.  Below, I want to provide a short summary of what we talked about on 8/20.

During this final teaching week of this year’s Answers in August series, we considered three topics: Firstly, how should biblical passages that seem to talk about people actually falling away from the faith be understood?  We looked at three specific passages.  Secondly, how should believers treat people they know who seem to have fallen away?  Thirdly, can people have real assurance of their salvation?

How Should These Biblical Passages be Understood?

1.  Acts 5:1-11

In this passage, we read about Ananias and Sapphira, a married couple, who sold some land that they owned, kept some of the money, and donated the rest of the money to the church.  None of that is a problem.  The problem is that they both claimed to have donated everything to the church.  The issue is not about money; the issue is about lying to God and to the Holy Spirit.  God directly killed both Ananias and Sapphira for their lies.  Many people read this passage and conclude that Ananias and Sapphira were believers who fell away from grace and lost their salvation.  There are two problems with this understanding.

Firstly, the text of Acts 5:1-11 does not say that either Ananias or Sapphira were believers.  Secondly, the text of Acts 5:1-11 does not say that either Ananias or Sapphira fell away from grace and lost their salvation.  In fact, the Bible does say that if they did fall away from grace, they were never believers to start with.  One of those statements must be false.  Either they were not believers, or they did not lose their salvation.  Both of those things cannot be true.

It seems to me that they were probably true believers.  They were members of the early church, and nothing in the passage leads us to believe that they were not genuinely converted members.  However, the text never tells us that they stopped being believers.  It only says that they suffered punishment or consequences for their sin.  Suffering or experiencing consequences for sin is not something that believers are immune to.   Believers are forgiven for the eternal consequences for sin, but that does not mean that they always avoid temporal consequences for sin.  History is full of believers who have suffered greatly on earth for their sins.  These consequences include jail, sickness, broken relationships, lost ministry positions, lost trust and reputations, and even death.

Consider Moses who sinned against God.  God did not abandon him or turn away from him.  Moses did not lose his relationship with God.  However, he did suffer the consequence of not being allowed to enter the Promised land.  Instead, he died on the opposite side of the Jordan River.  It seems to me that Ananias and Sapphira found themselves in a similar situation.

2.  Hebrews 3:12-14

In these verses, the church as a whole is encouraged to watch out for one another—to help one another follow the Lord faithfully.  The church is even warned that there may be some who are members of the church who do in fact fall away.  They are to watch out for these people and do what they can to help them not fall away.

The key to understanding this passage correctly is found in verse 12.  The author presents the possibility of some in the church having “an evil unbelieving heart, leading [them] to fall away.”  What is significant here is the order that these events are listed and what situation causes the other situation.  He does not describe someone who falls away and stops believing.  Instead, he describes someone whose evil unbelieving heart leads him to fall away.  The evil unbelieving heart comes first, and it is what causes the falling away.

In other words, he is describing someone who is in the church but is not really a believer.  He has an unbelieving heart.  He is not truly believing or trusting in Jesus.  The result is that this unbeliever will eventually fall away from the church.  He is not falling away from God or from salvation.  He never has faith in God and salvation to begin with.

3.  Hebrews 6:1-9

This passage is probably the hardest NT passage to understand if it is true that someone cannot fall away from the faith and lose his salvation.  What makes it so difficult is how the person who falls away is described.  In verses 4 and 5, this person is described as having “once been enlightened” and having “tasted of the heavenly gift” and having “been made a partaker in the Holy Spirit” and having “tasted the good word of God.”  On the surface, it seems almost undeniable that these are descriptions of a genuine believer.  When those four descriptions are added together, the argument is even stronger.

The key to understanding this passage rightly is found in verse 9.  There, the author says, “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.”  He says that he is convinced of better things in the lives of those he is writing to—things better than having “once been enlightened” and having “tasted of the heavenly gift” and having “been made a partaker in the Holy Spirit” and having “tasted the good word of God.”  Moreover, these “better things” are things that “belong to salvation.”  This means whatever the other things (being enlightened, tasting the heavenly gift, partaking of the Holy Spirit, and tasting the good word of God) are describing, they are not describing things that belong to salvation.  This may be counter-intuitive because of what comes into our minds when we hear and think of these “other things” (partaking of the Holy Spirit, being enlightened, and etc.), but we should let the author tell us what they mean or don’t mean and not make those assumptions ourselves.  He doesn’t tell us what he means by those things, but he does tell us what he does not mean by them.  He does not mean “things that belong to salvation.”

If we start with the understanding that they do not describe the benefits or fruit of salvation, we can try to deduce what they are describing.  If we are told that “being enlightened” does not mean “being saved” then maybe it is describing someone who has heard the truth, understood the truth, and even to some extent believed the truth but has not trusted in Jesus for salvation.  This shouldn’t be too hard for us to imagine.  Surely, we all know people who would agree that the principles of the Bible are good and maybe believe that following them will lead them to being a better person or that the morality of the Bible is good or that they want their children to grow up in church and be influenced by the truths of the Bible, but they, themselves, do not believe the gospel.  They are not trusting in Jesus for salvation.

If “tasting the heavenly gift” doesn’t describe someone who is being saved, then maybe it describes someone who has experienced the benefits of the goodness of God.  They have received blessings from God and/or from His church (genuine believers) but they, themselves, are not repenting of their sin and trusting in Jesus alone for salvation.

If “being made a partaker in the Holy Spirit” does not describe someone who is being saved, then maybe it describes someone who has a connection to a church and have experienced or partaken in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps this person is even an active member of a church and serves alongside genuine believers.  Perhaps he attends regular worship services and Bible studies with genuine believers.  Perhaps he has partaken in the gifts of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), but he is not genuinely trusting Jesus’s death and righteousness for his own salvation.

If “having tasted the good word of God” does not describe a genuine believer, maybe it is describing someone who has been connected to a church for a significant amount of time and has learned the Bible.  Maybe he has heard it preached and taught for years and recognizes God’s goodness in it; yet, he is not trusting in the good news of Jesus that the word describes for his own salvation.

Although the author doesn’t tell us precisely what he means by these phrases, he does tell us very clearly what he does not mean by them.  They do not describe the benefits and fruit of salvation.  They do not describe people who have been genuinely saved.  They do not describe his readers.  In the case of his readers, he is confident of better things—things that actually do belong to genuine and true salvation.

How Should Believers Treat People Who Seem to Have Fallen Away?

1.  Treat Them with Love

People who fall away from the faith are either people who have never believed the gospel to begin with and are walking away from the church or are people who are genuine believers but are in the midst of serious sin but will one day repent and come back to the Lord.  Either way, we should treat these people with love.  Often these are people that we know and have deep relationships with—people that we have known for a long time and are close to.  We have loved them for a long time and should continue to love them

We should continue spending time with them and talking with them about the gospel.  It is tragic to think of people who have left the church for whatever reason and never hear from those who remain who were so dear to them for such a long time.  We should call them and send them cards and go out to eat with them and invite them to our homes and go to their homes.

2.  Treat Them with Concern

The way this love looks is that we try to bring them back.  We should treat them like we would any other unbeliever.  Whether they are truly unbelievers who have never trusted the gospel or genuine believers who are in the midst of serious sin, they are living like unbelievers, and we should treat them as such.  Of course, this doesn’t mean that we treat them badly or avoid them or shame them.  If means that we should look for opportunities to speak to them about the Jesus and the gospel.  We should ask them about their lives and what is going on with them.  We should genuinely listen to them and try to help them with their problems, suffering, questions, doubts, anger, or whatever they may be dealing with.

We should also pray for them like we would any other believer.  We should pray that God would convict them of their sins and open their hearts to trust in Jesus.  We should pray that the Holy Spirit would be spurring them to read their Bible and using His word in their lives.  We should be praying that God would make Himself known to them and give them the faith to believe.  We should pray that God would give you and others opportunities to speak to them about the gospel.

3.  Treat Them with Seriousness

Finally, we should treat them with seriousness because they are in a very serious situation.  This doesn’t mean that we can never have fun with them, but it does mean that we should take their situation with the utmost seriousness.

There may come a time (after much prayer and pleading with them) to remove them from the membership of the church.  This should not be done lightly or flippantly.  It should not be done quickly.  If this time comes, it should only be done out of a desire for their good and for the good of the church.  It should be done through much grief and many tears but with their good in mind.  The goal is always that they would see the seriousness of their situation and turn to the Lord.  The goal is for their salvation.

Paul describes this happening in the church in Corinth.  We read about it in 1 Corinthians 5:5.  There Paul tells the church to remove a certain man from the church.  He says doing so is the equivalent of turning him over to Satan.  This is not in any way an act of anger or malice.  Instead, Paul says the goal is the destruction of his flesh and the salvation of his spirit.  Paul teaches the Corinthian church, and us, that this drastic measure is a way of helping the man to see the end of his sin and turn from it to the Lord in faith and repentance.  This is always the goal.

Can People Have Real Assurance of Their Salvation?

In 1 John 5:13, he says that he has written that particular letter so that his readers would know that they have salvation.  Below, I want to highlight three specific foundations for our assurance of salvation before the Lord.

 1.  The Author of Your Salvation

The Bible is clear that God is the one who saves His people.  We do not save ourselves.  Salvation is a work of God from the beginning to the end.  If God has decided to save His people, there is no one or no thing that can prevent Him from doing so.  Further, the Bible tells us that if God begins saving someone, He will not stop.  He will bring that work to completion.  God never fails in anything He sets out to do.  This should bring us great assurance and confidence before the Lord.

2.  The Nature of Your Salvation

Over the last couple of weeks, we have talked about what salvation is.  We have used an analogy from middle school and high school science class.  In scientific vocabulary, there is a difference between a physical reaction and a chemical reaction.  Physical reactions include things like mixtures and suspensions.  In these reactions, different substances are combined.  Their physical characteristics may change, but their chemical properties remain the same.  Mixtures and suspensions and other physical reactions can be reversed, and the components go back to their original states.

With chemical reactions, there is such a drastic change that they cannot be reversed.  Fire is an example of a chemical reaction.  In a fire, wood and oxygen and heat are combined in such a way that they can never go back to the way they were.  They are changed into a new substance—ash.

God’s work in saving sinners is like a chemical reaction.  There is no going back.  The old is gone and all things are new.  The sinner changes into a saint.  The rebel is changed into a friend.  The dead are made alive.  When this happens there is no undoing it.  This should also bring us great assurance and confidence before the Lord.

3.  The Circumstances of Your Salvation

Finally, there is a very practical ground of assurance in the life of a believer.  Often when believers are doubting their salvation, they are told to look back and remember the Lord working in their life.  This is not necessarily bad advice.  The Bible is full of examples where God tells his people to set up a monument as a reminder of His working in their midst.  Sometimes they are told to regularly practice certain rituals and festivals during which they recount the goodness of God to their children and each other.  These are good things for us to do as well.  We should look back on and remember when the Lord saved us, when we professed our faith publicly in baptism, and when He has worked mightily in our lives.

However, there is another ground for our assurance.  It is a better indicator of whether or not we are following the Lord.  In 1 John (the book that John wrote so that his readers would know they are saved), John points us to the present instead of the past.  You should ask yourselves a couple of questions:  Are you currently believing and trusting the Lord?  Are you currently repenting of your sin?

If you cannot answer yes to both of these questions, there is something in your life that needs to be addressed.  It may be that you are not a believer and have never believed or repented, or it may be that you are genuinely converted but you are in the midst of some serious sin that you are not dealing with.  Either way, you should seek the Lord in repentance, confession, and trust.  If you can answer yes to both of these questions, that should bring great assurance and confidence before the Lord.

We hope that you have enjoyed this year’s Answers in August series and from this blog series.  We hope that you have benefitted from both.  Of course, this is a big topic, and we have only had a limited amount of time to consider it.  We only looked at 3 passages in detail even during our last service.  I am sure you have other questions that have not been addressed.  If so, we invite you and encourage you to be present for our final meeting this Sunday (8/27) at 6:00.

During this service, we will spend the entire hour doing nothing but taking and discussing your questions.  All four of your pastors will be up front to address and discuss anything that you want to bring up.  If you have questions, there are several ways that you can get them to us.

1.  You can come and ask those questions yourselves in person on Sunday night.

2.  If you are not comfortable asking out loud in front of everyone, you can send those questions in through email or by phone. You can email any of your pastors or the church office.  If you would prefer, you can call the church office and leave your question with our administrative assistant.  Contact information is available on this website.  We will be happy to answer these questions on Sunday.

3.  If you prefer, you can write your questions on a slip of paper and hand them to one of your pastors or turn them in in the church office.

4.  You can ask one of your pastors in private between now and Sunday, and we will address it in front of the group.

All of these questions that are not asked in person will be kept anonymous.

Whether you have questions or are interested in hearing your pastors answer other people’s questions, we hope to see all of you on Sunday!