Putting Blessed Assurance to the Test
This past Wednesday, I was the one in the pulpit. The name of the message was ‘Walk As Children Before God.’ My pastor had been after me for several months to share the Word again and God had been dealing with my heart. As the mother of a 17 month old, however, putting together sermon notes can be quite challenging!
God directed me to teach on Blessed Assurance…and just how you can have that assurance that God is in complete control of your life. My interest in the term ‘Blessed Assurance’ was first sparked by a lady I know who has refused a Bible study and refused to alter her life despite being confronted with Biblical truths contrary to her lifestyle, citing that she has the Blessed Assurance.
The Blessed Assurance doctrine is just about as dangerous as the Once Saved Always Saved doctrine, in that both are completely contrary to the Word of God.
Philippians 2:12 says to “search out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” which tells me that salvation isn’t something you should take lightly. It takes effort. It takes you doing something.
However, God never meant for his children to live in fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” So, where do you strike a happy yet Biblically correct medium between caution over salvation and peace that God is in control?
Psalm 1:6 says that “the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous.” 2 Samuel 22:33 says that “God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.”
Through my study of the Word of God about assurance, I decided to add a condition to the idea of Blessed Assurance. The key ingredient the denominational world is missing in the equation is that Total Obedience must be in place for a saint to have Blessed Assurance.
Isaiah 32:17 says that the “effect of righteousness [is] quietness and assurance for ever.”
The crazy thing is that just a few days after I taught this message—which includes not only how to have peace and assurance but also how to calm the avenger when you’ve angered God—I have been given the opportunity to test my faith in the message I just ministered.
I recently received an email that my supervisor, who has been a wonderful influence in my life and has been kind enough to allow me to work from home with my son, has just been promoted and will no longer be in our department. The future is uncertain; there is no way of knowing who the new supervisor will be or how my work and schedule may change.
If you know anything about me as a person, you know that I hate change. Anxiety and stress are almost my middle name…and yet, I just taught on having complete assurance that God is in control. In fact, I taught the principle that if you are faithful and true with God and man, any change in your job—even losing your job—is an act of God where He is rearranging the chess pieces to bring a blessing.
Now is my time to prove I believe what I taught. And, even more importantly, now is God’s opportunity to prove Himself faithful to the message he gave me just a week ago.
God, I’m looking forward to what is ahead. I know you are in control no matter the changes that come. You are the author and finisher of my faith. And, my way is in your hands because, by obeying your Word and giving my best to both God and my employer, I have been obedient and can rest in the Blessed Assurance that God is directing my steps. Thank you, Lord, for your timely instruction even if I’m the one who taught it to myself!
To hear more about Blessed Assurance, Total Obedience, and Stilling the Avenger, check out the podcast “Walk As Children Before God.”
