INTRODUCTION
Author: Pastor André B. Coetzee
Overview
Blessed Assurance should be the foundation of every believer’s walk of faith. So many believers in Jesus are still so unsure of their future after this life. Jesus is the guarantee to eternal life and that fact will never change. To put your faith in facts rather than feelings is like taking your first breath as a believer. Our feelings can change, but the Bible never changes.
Jesus is the big fact in our lives. The fact that Jesus took our place on the cross, gives us the assurance of a better future with God forever.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
- List some facts, that gives assurance of your eternal life in Christ.
- Discuss your testimony of eternal life through your faith in the Word of God.
- Relate to your new identity as a child of God, based on your understanding of our faith in Jesus.
- Use this material to help other people to get blessed assurance.
DEFINITIONS
| Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
| Identity | The fact of being who or what a person or thing is. |
| Assurance | A positive declaration intended to give confidence; a promise. |
| Lost | Not made use of, won, or claimed a lost opportunity. No longer possessed a lost reputation. Ruined or destroyed physically or morally. Desperate a lost soul. Separated from God. |
WE BASE OUR FAITH ON FACTS
You may ask, “what if I may have doubts whether or not I am born again?”
The enemy’s first tactic is to cast doubt on the work God has done in your heart. He will try to plant thoughts in your mind to convince you that you are not really born again. One day you may really think you are saved and the next day you may not; therefore, you can see that your intellect is to a good judge to go by. The enemy may also try to make you feel as if you are not saved. One day you may feel very born again and the next day you may not. Therefore, your feelings or any emotional experiences you may have are not a good standard to go by.
How do you know that you are truly a born-again Christian? How do you know you have eternal life? How do you counterattack the enemy when he works against your mind and feelings? The first thing you need to know is that your assurance of salvation is based on the authority of God’s Word, not on your intellect or emotional feelings.
You must go by the facts. Facts do not change. What are the facts? God’s Word is the only source of stability concerning your Christian life. God knows every fact; His Word contains the facts. Faith is our trust in God and His Word. Feelings are the result of our faith. We do not depend of feelings or emotions to be saved; we are saved by placing our trust in God.
TAKE THE ASSURANCE TEST
WHAT ARE THE FACTS?
What are the facts? God’s Word is a fact. According to the Bible, what can you be assured of now that you have believed and received Jesus Christ as your Saviour?
Read the following scriptures, meditate on them for a while and then answer the questions.
Facts, faith and feelings: A preacher once expressed this idea of believing the facts of God’s Word when he said: “God said it. I believe it. And that settles it!”
