|
15963 Marcella St., San Leandro, CA 94578 Tel. (510) 276-IBBC or 4222 email: ibbcflame1@comcast.net | Last Updated: Saturday, July 17, 2004 | |
IBBC Main |
home | about the church | congregations | staff | history | constitution/by-laws | institute | academy | medical mission | flame/abot palad | music | discipleship | tracts | events | updates |
||
Dr.
Jose Hernes M. Abante Pr.
Francis Salonga Pr.
Mike Veloria
|
LESSON
TWO – ASSURANCE of SALVATION My father always told me while I was growing up that as a Christian I should not “believe my doubts and doubt my belief”. This simple statement made a profound impact in my life when I started confronting doubts regarding my salvation and my faith in God.
Doubts are common in the life of a believer.
They are not of God. They
come from the great Liar, Satan. It
is also the result of our weaknesses in the flesh which comes when we begin to slack in our Bible reading, praying,
and Church attendance. It
creeps in when our faith weakens due
to lack of the Word of God. Romans
10:17 states, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
God.” Doubts can attack us when we give more focus on our feelings than to the facts of God’s Word. Feelings change depending on our mood. We cannot depend on them. Assurance comes from God. It is based on His immutable promises – the Scriptures. Because He is God, He cannot lie. Assurance comes from the Word of God. We are saved because the Bible declares so. This is how we know we are saved forevermore. To avoid doubts we need to: 1.
Be totally persuaded that God is the only truth.
John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth…” Because
He is the truth, He cannot
lie. It is
impossible for Him to lie. (Romans
3:4) 2.
Realize that God is All Power.
He maintains our salvation by all His power. (John
10:28-29) 3. Constantly be in the Word of God. (Psalm 119:11) To listen to doubts is a sin against God because it is void of faith. (Hebrews 11:6 )Always be under the teaching of God’s Word. 4. Get busy with and for the Lord. Our minds need to be saturated and pre-occupied with the things of God. Remember, an idle mind is the Devil’s workshop. 5.
Personally claim the promises of the Word of God aggressively
in our lives through our services and Christian testimony. The verse that you have memorized in I John 5:13 is an example of a promise that you need to claim. It states, “These things have I written unto you ...that you may know that ye have eternal life…” Faith is taking God at His Word. The Bible teaches that because you have believed, therefore you are saved. Being saved, you therefore know that you have eternal life. We know it because the Bible says so. Just like what somebody said, “The Bible said it, I believed it. That did it.” Praise God we can know for sure. “It
sure does make a difference what you believe.” READING ASSIGNMENT:
FIRST JOHN Chapter two
- MEMORY VERSE: I
JOHN 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” |