HEBREWS+—An Illustrated Summary of Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible by G. Campbell Morgan

"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.

GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS, 

DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA, JUDGES, RUTH, 

1 SAMUEL, 2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS,  2 KINGS, 

1 CHRONICLES, 2 CHRONICLES, EZRA, 

NEHEMIAH, ESTHER, JOB, PSALMS, 

PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES, 

SONG OF SOLOMON,  ISAIAH, JEREMIAH,

 LAMENTATIONS, EZEKIEL, DANIEL, 

HOSEA, JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH, 

MICAH, NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH,  

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI,

 MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, JOHN, 

ACTS, ROMANS, 1 CORINTHIANS,

2 CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, EPHESIANS, 

PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, 1 THESSALONIANS,

2 THESSALONIANS, 1 TIMOTHY,  2 TIMOTHY, TITUS,

PHILEMON, HEBREWS, JAMES, 1 PETER, 2 PETER,

1 JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN, JUDE, REVELATION

Hebrews 1:1-2 "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son." The first fact is God. Without definition, argument, or apology of any kind, the writer names God. This Letter to the Hebrews advances the biblical view of God from the very beginning. The second fact is that God speaks and makes known His will to His creation. These are the foundational facts of true religion. Notice the interrelationship between the past and the present: God did progressively speak in the past over a long period of time in different ways by various prophets, but now He has spoken fully and finally in His Son. Men and women since then will progressively apprehend the meaning of this final speech, but will never exhaust its depth and profundity. Moreover, the interrelation is part of one whole. Only because He spoke as He did in the past was it possible for Him to speak in His Son. It also was necessary since all He had said beforehand was incomplete, yet apart from the first partial messages, the full and final message would have been incomprehensible. Biblical theology reveals the progression and wisdom of divine revelation.

Hebrews 2:1-3 "Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.... How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" That salvation is well described in this chapter. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, "has been crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone ... in bringing many sons to glory." Why did He need to suffer death? Because we desperately needy human recipients of salvation are made of "flesh and blood. He Himself likewise took on the same so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." The Lord Jesus "had to be made like His brothers in every respect so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of His people. Because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted." In the midst of fear and temptation, however, we can drift away from keeping these truths central in our minds and hearts. The remedy is to pay attention now to this great salvation, and keep our faith firmly and perpetually fixed in it.

Hebrews 3:1 "Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession." The surest way to pay close attention and avoid drifting from God's truth about salvation is to consider Jesus carefully. In this verse we see that consideration of Him is to be in two ways: as apostle and high priest. Jesus as the apostle of our confession marks the divine authority of His message. An apostle is one sent by God. Jesus's preeminence in this matter is shown by this chapter's comparison of Him with Moses and Joshua. Moses is described as a servant in God's house, but Jesus as the Son over the house. Moses led God's people out, but he could not lead them in. Jesus leads out of bondage and into the promised possessions. Joshua led the people into the Promised Land, but he could not give them rest. Jesus gives rest. Jesus is also the high priest of our confession, a concept we will see developed in several chapters throughout this Letter to the Hebrews. The emphasis of this chapter is on careful contemplation and attentive thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ. How sadly we often fail here! This holy exercise demands time, method, and diligence. When faithfully practiced, it will help us from drifting spiritually.

Hebrews 4:14 "We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens: Jesus, the Son of God." With these words the writer begins his more careful consideration of Jesus as the high priest of our confession. To his Hebrew audience the term high priest expressed the highest form of priestly service. The service of Jesus is higher still because He is the one and only great high priest "who has passed through the heavens." That statement is far stronger than saying He passed into the heavens. It helps us think of the Lord Jesus Christ entering into the very place and being of God Himself. We are told that "the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. No creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." Yet because our great high priest is now where He is, we have no need to fear because "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses." Indeed, in every respect He had "been tempted as we are, yet without sin." This chapter ends with the good news that we are invited to draw near with confidence "to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Hebrews 5:6 "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." This is a quotation from a messianic Psalm of David, which means it is about the Greater David, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. His priesthood is described like that of Melchizedek, with emphasis on the word forever. Since our high priest is the Son of God, there is no end to the period of His priesthood, and there can be no successors. The quote from David's Psalm suggests that the nature His priesthood is not only that of dealing with sin, but also of sustaining life amid service and conflict. Melchizedek appears only once on the page of Hebrew history, back in Genesis 14. The patriarch Abram had been engaged in battle in the interest of righteousness. His service was wholly on behalf of others. As he returned victorious, the king of Salem (later known as Jerusalem) went out to greet Abram and to bless him, the only person we see serving as both a king and priest until the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. The historical Melchizedek was a type or pointer to Christ, who is clearly revealed in this Letter to the Hebrews as the King of righteousness and peace. His priestly function is that of sustaining and blessing those who serve in the Kingdom of righteousness and peace. That should forever be a comfort to His loyal subjects.

Hebrews 6:12 "That you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Before delving deeper into the encouraging realities of Christ's priesthood, the writer turns aside to exhort his hearers to diligence, and to warn them against the deadly peril of apostasy. There are, in fact, several of these warnings laced throughout this Letter to the Hebrews, which the author himself describes as a "word of exhortation" (Hebrews 13:22). Here he makes a contrast between those who are sluggish and those who are faithful and patient. Slowness and dullness is a condition of soul into which we inevitably pass if we fail in the utmost diligence. Unless we resolutely maintain our attitude of mental alertness to the greatness of our Savior, we shall lose the power to see, realize, and profit by His greatness. Faith and patience invigorate our diligence, working together since patience reinforces our faith and helps keep it operative. This kind of patience or longsuffering is active rather than passive. The cure for sluggishness is intentional activity that persists in conforming one's life and habits to the faith one professes. This chapter closes with intent focus on the unchangeable character of God, our refuge in whom we "hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place ... where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever."

Hebrews 7:25 "He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them." This ability is based on two things: Christ's never-ending priesthood and our availing ourselves of it. The assumption of this statement is that it is only when men and women are near to God that the priesthood of Jesus is operative in all the continuous activities of Christ's intercession through which salvation is carried out to its consummation. "Not yet being perfect or having attained," to quote Paul in Philippians 3, we may yet remain near to God, who is the God of all patience.  As that nearness is maintained, our high priest is the mediator through whom all the resources of divine wisdom, strength, and grace are communicated to us. Growing up into Him in all things, our saving to the uttermost progresses towards its completion, which is when we see Him face to face in heaven. Departure from nearness to God separates us from the operation of our high priest. That is a truth we must never forget. Standing alone, it is likely to discourage us, but the second truth stated here is that our nearness to God is through Jesus, our great high priest. Two phases of His priestly work are in view. The first is atoning. Through that we draw near and abide in nearness. The second is intercessory and perfecting. That operates as we are near to God through His atoning work.

Hebrews 8:6 "He is the mediator of a better covenant." That word covenant includes everything that applies to the believer through the priesthood of Christ. The writer used it once before in the previous chapter, where he describes Jesus as the "guarantor of a better covenant," explaining that "a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect)." The problem was not with God's Law, for that is holy, righteous, and good, but with us fallen lawbreakers (Romans 7). The New Covenant described here in Hebrews 8 is the fulfillment of the New Covenant promised by the prophet Jeremiah. God kept this promise: "I will put My laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.... I will be merciful toward their iniquities and remember their sins no more." This covenant is not like a contract, into which two parties have entered and which involves obligations and responsibilities on both sides. It is a testament or will made by One, in the making of which the other is not consulted, but the benefits of which that other can appropriate only as he or she fulfills the terms laid down by the One. The covenant between God and man that our Lord Jesus Christ has mediated is the disposition of God on behalf of those who have saving faith in Christ. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God.... For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

Hebrews 9:24 "Christi has entered ... into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." This is the fact that made the New Covenant possible. It was the supreme act of Christ's priesthood, and it is continuous. The Son of God, in His glorified manhood, entered into heaven to be manifested before the face of God the Father. There, as a man, God beheld Him, and He beheld God. This was on behalf of His people. In His humanity ours was represented, our sin covered by His completed atonement, our imperfections canceled in His perfection, our weakness ended in His strength. We are accepted in the Beloved, and all the wisdom, might, and love of God are given to us through Him in the covenant God made with us. This chapter concludes that Christ "has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him." The Bible concludes with Christ Himself saying, "Surely I am coming soon." The apostle John in the Book of Revelation responds, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with us all" (Revelation 22:20-21).

Hebrews 10:22 "Let us draw near." In Hebrews 7:25 above, we considered that the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus Christ is operative only on behalf of those who draw near to God through Him. In these words we are  called to avail ourselves of that privilege. He has opened up access to God! That very access is the supreme result of what our great high priest accomplished for His people. Everything that excluded fallen men and women from God has been put away through Christ. This is the significance of the Temple veil that was torn from top to bottom when Jesus breathed His last on the cross. What was once a symbol of man's exclusion from God because of sin suddenly became a symbol of access to God. The death of Jesus paid for the sins of those who trust in Him and grants them access to God at all times and under all circumstances. Therefore the appeal is not to prepare ourselves or make a way for ourselves, but simply to come, draw near, and enter in. This we do only through our great high priest, but this we may do through Him without hesitation or fear. We are then encouraged to "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another all the more as we see the Day [of His return] drawing near."

Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." This chapter has been called the Faith Hall of Fame because it describes the faith of godly men and women from the earliest pages of Genesis to centuries and millennia beyond, as recorded in Holy Scripture. The emphasis is not on their great deeds, but on their great God, whom they kept their hope fixed on to receive promised rewards beyond what they experienced in their lifetimes. They are a model for us today. Notice how Hebrews 11:1 describes this kind of faith: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." It is an intelligent faith. All the faithful heroes chronicled here, like faithful Christians in our day, have discovered by experience that what the Bible says is both true and compelling. That is crucial, since as verse 6 clarifies above, it is impossible to please God without that kind of faith. As we see, it is characterized by two essentials: believing that God indeed exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Faith like that will sustain us through all the difficulties described in this chapter and far beyond. It is the kind of faith Jesus Himself modeled for us in His days on earth, whom we are to focus on, as the next chapter now details.

Hebrews 12:1-2 "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." This running analogy begins with what we need to do to run this race of faith effectively: "lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely." God intervenes in the lives of believers to train them in holiness. Verse 7 describes that intervention as discipline: "It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons.... We have had earthly faithers who disciplined us and we respected them.... For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." That was the consistent example of the Hebrews 11 heroes of faith, and now it is our turn to run the race of faith with endurance. They looked to promises from God; we look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We have seen the prophecies and promises of God fulfilled in Him. He is supremely the vindicator of faith in the promises of God. Now He, like us, awaits the final consummation, waiting until His enemies shall be made the footstool of His feet, but waiting in perfect assurance of the final victory. Meanwhile, we race with endurance and rest in our Lord's assurance.

Hebrews 13:20-21 "May the God of peace ... equip you with everything good that you may do His will." This is the ultimate prayer of the writer of this Letter to the Hebrews, written on behalf all who will listen and obey what God has spoken through His prophets and especially His Son (which is how he opened the letter in Hebrews 1). The equipment referred to here is every good thing needed for us to do God's will. Believers in the past believed God's promises and served their generations by the will of God. Now He speaks through the Lord Jesus Christ completely and finally that in Him the message may prevail in making those who hear and obey it fit for all life and service. In this connection the author refers to God as "the God of peace." That is who He is in Himself. It is only as men and women hear His Word and live by it that they can know peace. What did God the Father do to bring about that peace? The closing verses of this chapter tell us: He "brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant"—themes we have seen repeated throughout this Letter. In Christ the God of peace perfectly equips all believers in Him so that each may confidently say, "I nothing lack if I am His, and He is mine forever."

Read All the Applications for Yourself!

Illustrated Summary of Saved Without a Doubt by John MacArthur

 

When editing this book for Pastor John MacArthur, I poured over his sermon transcripts on the key biblical passages dealing with Assurance of Salvation, and decided to arrange this vital topic in three parts:

1.  IS IT A DONE DEAL? What the Bible Teaches  About the Lasting Nature of Salvation
2.  IS IT REAL? How You Can Tell Whether You Are Truly a Christian
3.  IS IT SOMETHING I CAN FEEL? How You Can Experience the Assurance of a Secure Salvation

A friend who grew up in a church that denies Assurance told me this was the best book he ever read on the topic. I hope you read it as well if this summary captures your interest (order information is at the end of this post).

Pastor John MacArthur begins, "It's a heartache to me as a pastor to realize that so many Christians lack assurance of their salvation. They lack the confidence that their sins are truly forgiven and their place in heaven is eternally secure." He found himself wondering how a person could take the monumental, life-changing step of becoming a Christian, yet not be assured of the results. On the other hand, some people have assurance who have no right to it. To quote an old Negro spiritual, "Everybody talkin' 'bout heaven ain't goin' there." Some feel all is well between them and God when it isn't. They don't understand the truth about salvation and their own spiritual condition.

Some people, however, believe no one can have real assurance—not even a true Christian. They reject God's sovereignty in salvation, thereby destroying the theological basis for eternal security and assurance. That is the historical Arminian view (named after a Dutch theologian). It asserts that if a Christian thinks he is secure forever, he is apt to become spiritually negligent. That is also the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. The Council of Trent declared it anathema to say "that a man who is born again and justified is bound to believe that he is certainly in the number of the predestined" (canon 15 on justification). What does the Bible say?

The Apostle John says, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of god, in order that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). The Prophet Isaiah writes, "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever" (Isaiah 32:17). Where God grants righteousness, He also adds the peace of assurance. It is true that someone can be saved and doubt it. One may go to heaven in a mist, not knowing for sure he's going, but that's certainly not the way to enjoy the trip. God wants you to enjoy that trip.

IS IT A DONE DEAL? 

What the Bible Teaches About 

the Lasting Nature of Salvation

We will examine the classic biblical texts affirming the forever quality of salvation and the objective grounds for assurance, but will not ignore the troubling passages that seem to indicate otherwise.

A Collective Work

Arm locked in arm, deep in concentration, united in purpose, and falling to earth at almost 100 miles per hour, formation sky divers experience the exhilarating rewards not of luck but of hard work, preparation, and teamwork. The inherent dangers of formation skydiving require that each member work in harmony with the other members. Each individual must look out for the good of the group and not merely his or her own well-being. That kind of commitment enables the team to achieve graceful, awe-inspiring unity. There's no greater illustration of teamwork in the spiritual realm than the work of the Holy Trinity in securing our salvation. I believe Scripture makes that abundantly clear. In it we see no less than a collective work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit on our behalf.

Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My Word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life" (John 5:24). That may be the most monumental statement in the Bible relative to the security  of salvation. In addition Jesus says, "All whom the Father give Me shall come to Me" (John 6:37). All whom God the Father sovereignly chooses will come to Christ. What the Bible teaches regarding divine election, however, should not restrain anyone from coming to Christ, for our Lord goes on to say in the same verse, "The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out."

Further on Jesus says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand" (John 10:27-29). Perhaps you think that while God holds tightly onto us, perhaps we can wiggle or fall out of that heavenly grasp? Not so. God made an oath toward that end. Since He "could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself....For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as a confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, in order that...we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:13-18).

God's direct Word about our security should be sufficient for us, but in His graciousness He makes His promises even more certain in that we were sealed "with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession" (Ephesians 1:13-14). When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in his or her life. He remains within to empower us and equip us for ministry. The Holy Spirit is our Helper and Advocate. He protects and encourages us. He also assures us of our inheritance in Jesus Christ: "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:16-17). Saint Augustine well concluded that being assured of our salvation is not arrogant stoutness. It is faith. It is not presumption. Rather it is confidence in God's promises.

 

Those Troubling Verses

No Christian would deny that the promises regarding our secure salvation at the hands of our Triune God are indeed encouraging. Perhaps, however, you have been troubled by other sections of Scripture that seem to undermine those promises. What about Paul's statement to the Galatian church that some had fallen from grace? What about a passage in the Book of Hebrews that speaks of those once enlightened who cannot be renewed to repentance? What about Jesus' frightening statement in John 15 that those who don't abide in Him are thrown away as dead branches, gathered up, and burned? What about perhaps His most frightening statement of all, in Matthew 12, where Jesus says there's such a thing as an unpardonable sin?

 Galatians 5 and Falling from Grace

The Apostle Paul writes, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by Law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness" (Galatians 5:1-5). Who is being addressed, and in what sense had they fallen from grace? 

All the people to whom Paul wrote had made a profession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord or they would not have been part of the churches of Galatia. Many came from a Jewish background emphasizing legalistic self-effort to please God. At first they responded positively to the Gospel message of justification before God through faith in Christ alone, but some of those individuals, known as Judaizers, began teaching that what Moses began in the Old Covenant and Christ added in the New Covenant had to be perfected by one's own efforts (circumcision being the centerpiece as a symbol of spiritual merit to this group). Paul combated that heretical notion by explaining that any attempt to be justified by Law is to reject the Gospel of grace. A person who falls from the concept of grace is a person who never was a true Christian and remains in need of salvation.

Hebrews 6 and Those Once Enlightened

It is possible for people to go to church for years, hear the Gospel over and over again, and even be faithful church members, but never commit their lives to Jesus Christ. We meet such people in Hebrews 6. The writer was specifically talking to churchgoers similar to the legalistic Galatians, but this warning applies today just as well: "In the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have ... tasted the good Word of God and ... then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way" (verses 4-9). The warning, therefore, is clearly addressed to unbelievers with a church background, not true believers.

John 15 and the Burning Branches

We see Jesus giving the same warning in John 15:1-6: "I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit....As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me....If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up. Then the harvesters gather the dried branches and cast them into the fire." It is the essence of the Christian life to bear fruit: "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). The fruit of salvation is good works for "faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" (James 2:17). Good works don't save a person but they show that his (or her) faith is genuine.

Matthew 12 and the Unpardonable Sin

Picture a man who hears the call of salvation and responds. He starts reading Christian books. His mind, excitable by nature and undisciplined academically, begins to be fearfully disordered. He becomes preoccupied with religious externals, spending an inordinate amount of time in religious activities and feeling obligated to give up every innocent earthly enjoyment. He begins to look for miracles to confirm his faith. Things become darker still: He's now convinced he's committed the unpardonable sin mentioned by Jesus. That leads him to envy the beasts of the field, the birds in the air, the stones on the street, and the tiles on the roof, for they are incapable of the blasphemy his conscience so searingly accuses him of.  At length the clouds break and he comes to enjoy peace and assurance in the mercy of God. You can read his story in his autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. His name is John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, one of the most popular books of all time.

Now imagine Jesus' ministry going on for over two years and all the miracles He performed, clearly proving that He is God in human flesh. But the religious establishment essentially concludes the opposite. They state that His power is satanic. Jesus gives a dry response to that claim: "If I'm casting out Satan with Satan's power, what do you think Satan is doing?!" Obviously, the devil would be destroying his own kingdom, which makes no sense at all. The religious leaders' hatred and jealousy drives them to twisted logic. Therefore Jesus says to them, "Any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven...in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:31-32). Concluding that Christ's miraculous works—affected by the Holy Spirit to prove Christ's deity—were actually done by Satan showed they were in a hopeless state of rejection. The religious establishment had concluded the opposite of what was clearly true, and they had done so despite full eyewitness revelation. Focus on the key point: The great news that unregenerate people can be forgiven anything if they are willing to repent and come to Christ.

What Happens If the Lights Go Out?

During World War II, an American naval force in the North Atlantic was engaged in heavy battle with enemy ships and submarines on an exceptionally dark night. Six planes took off from a carrier to search out those targets, but while they were in the air, a total blackout was ordered for the carrier to protect it from attack. Without lights on the carrier's deck, the six planes could not see to land. The pilots radioed a request for the lights to be turned on just long enough for them to come in. But because the entire carrier, with its several thousand men as well as all the other planes and equipment, would have been put in jeopardy, no lights were permitted to be turned on. When the six planes ran out of fuel, they crashed into the freezing water and all crew members perished into eternity. There comes a time when the lights go out, when further opportunity for salvation is forever lost. One who rejects the full light can have no more light—and no forgiveness. May that strike terror into the hearts of all who now reject Christ, but not those who have embraced Him as Savior and Lord.

The Ties That Bind

If the preservation of salvation depends on what believers themselves do or do not do, their salvation is only as secure as their faithfulness, which provides no security at all. According to that view, believers must protect by their own human power what Christ began by His divine power. Arguing against that view, in Romans 5 the Apostle Paul presents six links in the chain of truth that binds all true believers eternally to their Savior and Lord:

1. Peace with God (Romans 5:1)
2. Standing in Grace (verse 2)
3. Hope of Glory (verses 2-5)
4. Possession of Divine Love (verses 5-8)
5. Certainty of Deliverance (verses 9-10)
6. Joy in the Lord (verse 11)

Romans 5:1 Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
 6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Perhaps nowhere outside of Scripture has this deepest level of Christian joy been expressed more beautifully than in these stanzas by Charles Wesley:

O for a thousand tongues to sing

My great Redeemer's praise,

The glories of my God and King,

The triumps of His grace!

Hear Him ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,

Your loosened tongues employ;

Ye blind, behold your Savior come;

And leap ye lame for joy!

The Inevitable Glory

Many texts in the Bible discuss the security of the believer, but none are as pointed as Romans 8:28-30. There we find God's firm purpose that everyone who has been redeemed by Jesus Christ—without exception—will be glorified: "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son....And these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."

God is completely sovereign:  He is free to make whatever decisions He wants. You are a Christian not because of something you did, but because of something God decided. Much of contemporary evangelism leaves people thinking their salvation is predicated on their decision for Christ. Actually it is based on God's decision for them. After all, an unbeliever "does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Also, "the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the Gospel" (2 Corinthians 4:4). There is no way we can muster up enough of whatever it takes to turn around and accept Christ as Savior and Lord.

God's purpose is to redeem an eternally holy, Christlike, glorified community of people. Romans 8:29-30 outlines five elements in God's sure process of bringing His people to glory: Foreknowledge, Predestination, Calling, Justification, and Glorification. The first two mean more than simple foresight into the future because both are used to describe Christ's crucifixion as a predetermined act (Acts 2:23-28). God's call reaches us through the Gospel, which convicts us of sin and draws us toward the Savior. To be justified is to be made right with God. How does that happen? The sin in our lives must be removed. Specifically, God "has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross" (Colossians 2:14). "Whom He justified," Paul concludes in Romans 8:30, "these He also glorified." Our glorification or ultimate perfection as God's people is so secure, God's Word speaks of it in the past tense!

IS IT REAL? 

How You Can Tell Whether You Are Truly a Christian:
Eleven Tests from the Apostle John

Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you'" (Matthew 7:21-23). Many people are and will be deceived about their salvation. That is why the Apostle Paul says, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" (2 Corinthians 13:5). How can you tell whether you really are a Christian? How do you know if your faith is real? The Apostle John wrote his first letter to address that issue, saying, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). Throughout John's letter is a series of tests to determine whether you possess eternal life. If you don't pass these tests, you'll know where you stand and what you need to do. If you do, you'll have reason to enjoy your eternal salvation with great assurance.

Test 1: Have You Enjoyed Fellowship with Christ and the Father?

John begins, "We have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you eternal life...that you may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:2-3). We might be tempted to think, Well, good for John and his fellow apostles, but theirs was not an isolated experience, for John declares, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the Son begotten of Him" (1 John 5:1). It is characteristic of any Christian to love God and Christ. Have you experienced communion with God and Christ? Have you sensed Their presence? Do you have a love for Them that draws you to Their presence? Have you experienced the sweet communion of prayer—the exhilarating joy of talking to the living God? Have you experienced the refreshing, almost overwhelming sense of grace that comes upon you when you discover a new truth in His Word? If you have, then you have experienced the fellowship of salvation.

Test 2: Are You Sensitive to Sin?

"God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all," declares 1 John 1:5. Light and darkness do not coexist. One drives the other away. "If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:7-9). God's Word declares that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Since unbelievers are so insensitive to the reality of their condition, human sinfulness is the right starting point in sharing the Gospel. True believers, on the other hand, have a right sense of sin. They come to Christ for the one-time cleansing of salvation, and keep the relationship fresh through periodic cleansing as needed. 

Test 3: Do You Obey God's Word?

First John 2:3 couldn't be clearer: "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments." This echoes  Jesus' last words before ascending to heaven: Make disciples by "teaching them to obey all things that I have commanded" (Matthew 28:20). If you desire to obey God's Word out of gratitude for all Christ has done for you, and if you see that desire producing an overall pattern of obedience, you have passed an important test indicating the presence of saving faith.

Test 4: Do You Reject This Evil World?

"Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15): This love speaks of our deepest constraints, our most compelling emotions and goals. Jesus said that those who follow Him are not of the world just as He was not of the world. We still move about in it to do His will as long as we are alive, but we are not of it. Do you reject this world's false religions, godless living, and vain pursuits? Instead, do you love God, His truth, His Kingdom, and all that He stands for? That doesn't come naturally since the human tendency is to love darkness rather than light to mask evil deeds (John 3:19-20) and mirror what the devil desires (John 8:44). If you reject worldly vanities and devilish desires, that indicates new life in Christ. And since that new life is forever, settle into it with an abiding sense of assurance.

Test 5: Do You Eagerly Await Christ's Return?

John, the gentle church father that he is, writes, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him just as He is. Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2-3). Do you love Christ so much that you eagerly await to see Him face-to-face at His return and be made like Him? Such  hope has ethical power because saving faith instructs "us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and appearing of...our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:11-13). This is a sensible hope, leading to sensible living. It compels you to act more like Christ in reaching out to others and fulfilling all that God has sent you to do. If you have such holy longings and affections, you've passed an important test indicating the reality of your eternal salvation.

Test 6: Do You See a Decreasing Pattern of Sin 

in Your Life? 

First John 3:4-10 spells out this next test in detail: "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness because sin is lawlessness. Christ appeared to take away sins and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him continues in sin....Let no one deceive you: the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared that He might destroy the works of the devil.... By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God." To experience salvation is to be saved from something, and that something is sin. Christ's sinless life and sacrificial death for His people served the very useful purpose of taking away not only the penalty of sin, but also the pattern of sin in their lives. John's defining sin as lawlessness means living as if there were no divine Law. A person who rejects God's authority doesn't care what God thinks about his habits, and is obviously not a Christian. A Christian, however, has a drastically different way of relating to God. If you are not all you ought to be but certainly not what you used to be because you are experiencing victory over sin, you show important evidence of having eternal life.

Test 7: Do You Love Other Christians?

First John 3:10 mentions two obvious facts: that "anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God" and neither is  anyone "who does not love his brother." Jesus went so far as to say, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). Do you honestly care about other believers or are you cold, uncaring, and indifferent? It is natural for the Christian to "do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith" (Galatians 6:10). Your love for fellow Christians is a benchmark of the Christian faith, and solid grounds for assurance.

Test 8: Do You Experience Answered Prayer?

Another source of confidence and assurance is this: whatever we as believers ask of God "we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3:22). In fact, "this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him" (1 John 5:13-15). God always answers prayers that are according to His will. Obedient believers know His will as stated in His Word, and tailor their prayers accordingly. The answers that result bring confidence and assurance.

Test 9: Do You Experience the Ministry 

of the Holy Spirit?

First John 4:13 states, "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." John, speaking of the Spirit, says, "The anointing which you received from Him abides in you and...teaches you about all things" (1 John 2:27). When you read the Bible, is its meaning illuminated to you? Do you understand what it says? In fact, do you sometimes understand it so well you wish you didn't because of the obvious implications? Ask yourself, Does the Word convict me when I'm sinful? Does it make me rejoice when I'm worshiping God and seeking to advance His Kingdom? Those are signs of the Spirit's illuminating work in your life. Let's look at other ministries of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5:19 Paul explains that the filling of the Spirit leads to "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord." What about the fruits of the Spirit, which Paul in Galatians 5 describes as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control"? Those attitudes are spiritual graces. Have they graced your life as a whole?

Test 10: Can You Discern Between Spiritual Truth and Error?

So far we've taken nine tests for determining the presence of saving faith. In the tenth is the one time John actually uses the word test: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God" (1 John 4:1-3). Every false religious system in the world violates that test. From the moment of your salvation, there's one thing you're clear about and that's who Christ is and what He did, or you wouldn't be saved. It's the Holy Spirit who made that clear to you. This test is not moral or experiential but doctrinal. It is good to be a believer but it is also good to be skeptical. As John says, "Do not believe every spirit." The Christian learns to think biblically, which is a rigorous, ongoing examination of whatever and whomever you expose yourself to. You don't have to be a seminary graduate or an expert on cults and world religions to distinguish truth from error. If you aren't swayed from the basic truths of Christ's divine person, work, and Word, that's evidence of genuine saving faith.

Test 11: Have You Suffered Rejection Because of Your Faith?

This eleventh and last test is painful: "Do not marvel, brethren, if the world hates you" (1 John 3:13). Have you experienced  hostility, rejection, bitterness, alienation, ostracism, prejudice, or outright persecution from representing and advocating what is right? If so, that's a sign you belong to the One who suffered the same way for the same reason. The people of the world "are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you" (1 Peter 4:4). You're a threat to their belief that this world is all that's worth living for. Now if you're hated because you're obnoxious, there's no virtue in that "but if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God" (1 Peter 2:20). Part of that favor is being assured of your salvation.  

 IS IT SOMETHING I CAN FEEL?

How You Can Experience

the Assurance of a Secure Salvation

Here we examine the subjective grounds for assurance to see what God's Word says to the many believers who struggle emotionally with being assured of their salvation.

Dealing with Doubt

One reason people lack the assurance of their salvation is that many of them aren't saved. As we have seen, one of the reasons the Apostle John wrote his first letter was to help people in that position to  do something about it. But what about Christians who lack assurance? Here are seven basic reasons for that, but the first thing to notice is not all of them are bad:

• Strong Preaching: Some lack assurance because they are under strong preaching on God's holy standard, which forces people to see their sinfulness and acknowledge that the holiness of God calls them to a lofty standard of living. Now that kind of preaching is both biblical and necessary to prevent the problem John was dealing with about people in the church with a false sense of security. The pulpit is supposed to create anxiety but it should also give comfort and assurance to people who exalt Christ and desire to be more like Him. Good biblical preaching maintains that balance.

• Guilt: Some Christians lack assurance because they allow themselves to be tyrannized by their emotions and feel they are too bad to be forgiven. Be warned: Satan is "the accuser of our brethren" (Revelation 12:10). He will do all he can to obscure the  graciousness of God. If you allow Satan to crush your head with the holy requirements of God stripped of the love of God, you will doubt.

• Ignorance: Many Christians lack assurance because they do not understand that salvation is an utterly divine, sovereign operation. Assurance is built on the historical reality of what Jesus Christ accomplished. You will never have the subjective feeling of assurance until you comprehend the objective truth of the Gospel. "Come now and let us reason together," says the Lord engagingly. "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool" (Isaiah 1:18). When God forgives you, it is complete.

• Uncertainty: Some Christians lack assurance because they don't know the exact time of their salvation. They can't remember when they believed the Gospel. Some can't remember ever not believing. Because they can't pinpoint the exact moment, they doubt whether the moment actually occurred. But if you didn't know the date of your birth, you wouldn't wonder whether you were alive! I don't look for a past event to make my salvation real to me: I look at the present pattern of my life.

• Temptation: As Christians who dwell in this fallen world, we are new creations incarcerated in unredeemed flesh. In fact we "groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for...the redemption of our bodies" at our Lord's return (Romans 8:23). Until that day of liberation comes, we will occasionally be drawn into the Romans 7 battle between flesh and spirit, doing what we don't want to do and not doing what we want to do. It's easy to read Romans 7 in an imbalanced way. If you focus on the flesh, you'll be overly negative about your spiritual condition. If, however, God's will has become your highest joy, and submission to His lordship your greatest delight, you are indeed a child of God—no matter how strong the pull of sin.

• Trials: Some Christians become spiritually unstable because they can't see the hand of God in all their trials. People who think like that not only sentence themselves to doubt, but also miss what is actually the strongest source of assurance—proven faith. Remember Romans 5? We "exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint." We're to rejoice in our trials because they produce hope and assurance.

• Disobedience: The most obvious reason for lacking assurance is disobedience. Hebrews 10:22 makes that strong connection: "Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our body washed with pure water." High degrees of assurance cannot be enjoyed by those who persist in low levels of obedience. To live in sin is to live in doubt. Here's a practical way of dealing with sin: Eliminate a major sin in your life and the rest will follow. When the general is killed, the troops scatter.

 Adding Virtue upon Virtue

The Apostle Peter was very concerned that his readers enjoy assurance, which is why he began his second letter with vital teaching about salvation. Experts tell us that the most exploited victims of cults are insecure Christians who consistently doubt their salvation. But to those who are confident in their salvation—confident in their true knowledge of the Savior and the spiritual riches He has endowed them with—false teachers have nothing to offer. Second Peter 1:1 mentions the source of salvation: "the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ" and verses 3-4 the sufficiency of our salvation: we have "everything pertaining to life and godliness." Verses 5-8 proclaim the certainty of salvation that comes from putting to good use all the spiritual resources we have by adding virtue upon virtue:

"Applying all diligence, add to your faith moral excellence; and in your excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance; and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness; and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Gaining Victory

These verses have given me great assurance through the years: "Brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8:12-13). Have you noticed a pattern of bad news then good news in understanding God's revealed truth? You can't accept the good news of salvation until you deal with the bad news of sin. Likewise, you can't experience victory in Christ until you deal with the residual sin in your life. As we've been noting all along, some believers become so confused by the bad news of the internal struggle that's part of being a Christian, they doubt their salvation altogether. They need to see the good news: We can win the struggle! Here's how:

• Don't Sugarcoat Sin in Your Life: The first step to victory in warfare is identifying the enemy. If you don't know what to shoot at, how are you going to hit it? That's why David prayed, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me" (Psalm 139:23-24). Deal with whatever sins you find debilitating your life. Look for them to manifest themselves in anger and bitter words, unkind thoughts, excessive criticism, self-conceit, lack of understanding, impatience, weak prayers, immoral thoughts, and even overt sins.

• Be Consistent in Dealing with Sin: "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed" said David (Psalm 57:7). That speaks of undivided devotion to God in every area of life. If you have that kind of attitude, you won't be satisfied with cleaning up sin in one area of your life, but leaving it alone in another.

• Use the Word to Poison Your Sins: The way to kill sin in your life is to feed it Scripture. It's a foolproof poison against the weed of sin. Whatever dominates your thinking will dominate your behavior. Victorious, Spirit-filled living requires that you give yourself to the Word. Saturate yourself in it. Hear it preached and taught. Learn it yourself and meditate on it day and night.

• Use Prayer to Expose Your Hidden Sins: You can confess a few sins here and there but until you pray, "God, show me all the sins of my life, and may they become as detestable to me as they are to You so I  never repeat them," your prayers will be lacking a spirit of repentance. A way I test my heart in prayer is if after saying, "Lord, please forgive me for that sin," I  willingly add, "And Lord, may I never do it again." That keeps me honest before God. I would feel like a hypocrite asking forgiveness for something I fully intend to repeat. Honest prayers are a preservative against sin.

• Relentlessly Move Forward: A good description of the Christian life is, as Peter said, "obedience to the truth" (1 Peter 1:22). If you want to engage in a real battle with sin, just set your course day by day, moment by moment, and step by step on a path of obedience to God's Word. At first it will seem hard and progress will seem slow, but if you stay with it, obedience will become habitual.

• Do a Personal Inventory: Ask yourself a few basic questions: 1. How is your zeal for the things of God? 2. Do you love the Word? 3. How do you regard prayer? 4. How do you regard sin in general?  Recognize that as a believer, you're not under any obligation to sin. The Spirit of God has already bent you toward life and given you the means to kill the residual sin in your life. Tap into those means so  you will have a life of virtue, joy, peace, and usefulness to God. If you deal confidently and consistently with the sin in your life, you will experience the effect of righteousness, which Isaiah 32:17 defines as everlasting assurance and security.

Persevering Through It All

A man who had been deeply moved by the death of a friend spoke to the minister who conducted the graveside service. The man expressed his desire to become a Christian but added, "There's just one thing that makes me hesitate: I'm afraid I won't be able to hold out. I work with a pretty rough group. They're hardly what you would call religious. I don't think there's a real Christian in the bunch, and I know they won't take kindly to there being one." The minister stooped down to pick up of the flowers at the grave and commented, "Take a good look at this flower: it grew in the mud and slime and decay of the earth, yet see how clean and spotless it is. That's because God kept it. And He can keep you too!" The theological label for that encouraging reality is the perseverance of the saints.

• The Happiness Endurance Brings: When preaching through the Book of James I became enthralled with the doctrine of perseverance when I came to this verse: "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). James later reiterates the same thought: "Behold, we count those blessed who endured" (5:11). People who successfully endure trials are truly happy. One of the main reasons is the sense of assurance that endurance or perseverance brings to the faithful.

• Perseverance as Proof: Some people come to church, profess Christ, and even get baptized. Yet when trouble comes into their lives, they're gone. "They went out from us," says John, "but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But they went out in order that it might be shown that they are not of us" (1 John 2:19). If you truly love God and His people, you will stick with them through thick and thin. And Peter says you'll have reason to rejoice when you do: "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold...may result in praise and glory and honor at the return of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and...greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible" (1 Peter 1:6-8).

• The Human Equation: The perseverance of the saints is the human response to the predestinating work of God. You reveal you are kept by God if you don't abandon your faith in the midst of a trial. We as Christians are energized to endure by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Continuance in the faith is an ongoing theme in the New Testament. Jesus said repeatedly to those "who had believed Him, 'If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine'" (John 8:31). That was the main point the author of Hebrews tried to drive home to his churchgoing audience: "We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it" (Hebrews 2:1). "Let us hold fast our confession" (4:14). "We are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul" (10:39). Whenever trials come into your life, look at them as opportunities to persevere and thereby prove the genuineness of your faith. Having persevered, you can look back and say, "Yes, I know I belong to the Lord." Look at life that way and you won't have any trouble being assured of your salvation.

• The Crown at the End: Paul said to fellow believers, "I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). Just before his execution he wrote, "I know whom I have believed and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day....In the  future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing" (2 Timothy 1:12; 4:8). Peter wrote, "When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4). And John recorded this promise from the lips of Christ to the persevering church: "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). Perhaps the course laid out before you is rough. Maybe, like the man I spoke of at the beginning of this section, you're afraid you won't be able to hold out. As the minister assured him, let me assure you: you will hold out if you're God's child. He will see to that for sure.

How to Order This Book