Assurance and Emotion

That kid from Toy Story wrote his name on the feet of Woody and Buzz. Homer got a bowling ball with his name on it (for Marge, but that's a different matter). Old school moms theoretically write the kids' names on their underwear. There are titles for cars, deeds for houses, patents for ideas, trademarks for names, and so on. What's the point? Ownership. In a fallen world where people don't do the right thing, we feel the need to be able to show who owns what.

Well, that doesn't stop in the material world. There is ownership in the spiritual world too. Those true believers who genuinely follow Christ are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and that's God's way of showing that he owns us. When we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are given the Holy Spirit as promised. Now that's some seal! We have the spirit of God living inside of us, guiding our actions and guarding our hearts. At that point, we're his and he's not going to let us go.

Check it out. Romans 8:9 says that "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." You see? If you have the Holy Spirit, you know without a doubt you belong to Christ. If you do not have the Holy Spirit, you know without a doubt you do not belong to Christ and need to repent and turn to him.

So how do we know if we have the spirit of God in us? Well let's ask some questions. Is our faith in Christ alone? Are we trusting him for our salvation? Is there evidence of that faith through a changed life, through walking in obedience with the Lord, through conviction when we sin?

If the answers to these questions are yes, yes, and yes, then the answer seems pretty clear to me. We do have an assurance of salvation. There is no doubt. God seals us with his Spirit, and we know we are his now and forever. Freed from sin. We can live our lives in service to our king without ever doubting, without ever asking "am I going to make it?"

And when we yield to the Spirit God has put in us, and let him guide us, the feeling it brings is wonderful. I have never experienced the peace and joy that being filled with the Spirit brings through anything worldly. It is an absolute pleasure to serve Christ, who has given me the most precious gift imaginable. If wonder if all unbelievers could know, understand, and feel the same up front, would there be any unbelievers left in the world? Probably (what a stiff necked people we are), but not as many!

That is not to say we should based our assurance of salvation on our feelings alone. There are plenty of people following numerous false religions across the world who have emotional experiences that are very powerful. You'll be able to find "conversion experience" stories from people joining any of the major world religions and cults that seem powerful and moving. And there is no doubt in my mind that for those people, the emotions they felt are completely real. And why not? Satan is the king of counterfeiters, and he can certainly manufacture a false sense of closeness with God, to keep people away from actually following Christ.

Clearly emotions are not enough. Our hearts are so deceitful, we cannot trust the feelings we think we have all on their own. Rather, we need to get into the written word of God so that it gets into us. We need to understand what it means to repent and turn to Jesus. We need to understand the significance of what he did on the cross for us. We need to understand what it means to die to self and live for Christ. When we follow the Living Word in the manner given to us in his written word, we know we are his without a shadow of a doubt. Then when, not if, the joy in serving him comes, we know also without a shadow of a doubt that it, too, is real.

If you, dear reader, do not know the light and love of Jesus Christ, then please turn to him. Know and admit your utter spiritual bankruptcy, that you have nothing to offer God on your own to make yourself right with him. Turn to Jesus for your salvation and trust in him. Receive the free gift God is offering you. Follow Jesus and experience the greatest joy in this world. You won't regret it, especially when you consider that such joy is merely a pitiful shadow of things to come.

Grace and Peace