Our Footsteps: Blessed Assurance

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Blessed Assurance

Blessed Assurance, written by Fanny Crosby has always been a favorite old hymn of mine. I have memories of singing it often in church - the tune and the words just stuck glue in the hymn book of my mind all these years.

I never ever forgot the Biblical truth that this song conveys: that when you are truly saved from the grip of sin - bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ - you not only have assurance... you have Blessed Assurance!

One of the great old voices of truth in the past - it was either Edwards or Spurgeon - said something to this effect (my paraphrase) - "I could swing over the pit of hell on a thread and have no fear of falling in because of the assurance and security I have in Christ Jesus".

The reason he could say that, and the reason we can sing this song, is because of the power of Christ to keep that which is His own (John 10:28; Romans 8:35-39; Jude 24 just to name a couple scriptures - and there are MANY). The doctrines of 'assurance' and 'eternal security' are some of the most comforting doctrines. Many people do not have assurance of salvation and eternal life. There are a variety of reasons for that: 1). they may not actually be saved 2). they may be saved, but holding on to a certain sin. Habitual sins rob people of their assurance. 3). they may be walking in obedience but do not have a firm grasp on the doctrine of eternal security - the fact that if Christ was able to deliver them from sin in the first place then he is certainly able to keep them. Its the argument from the greater to the lesser. If Christ can accomplish the greater thing (salvation), then keeping someone saved is not that hard for him. This is cause for 'praising my Savior all the day long'. Right?

1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Refrain: This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.

2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)

3. Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
(Refrain)

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I Believe...

1). I believe that there is one God. I believe God consists of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2). I believe that God is holy, righteous, loving, and just.
3). I believe that mankind is separated from God by sin; that sin entered the world through Adam and death through sin.
4). I believe that, because of sin, man is condemned. Because of God’s utter hatred for sin, there is an eternal conscious punishment in hell for all those who do not come to God on His terms, dealing with their sin.
5). I believe that confessing our sins and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is the only way to properly deal with the sin that has infected everyone. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt on the cross; reconciliation by substitution. There is nothing we can do to add to the finished work of Christ.
6). I believe in the security of the believer, that once he is truly born-again, there is nothing that would cause him to lose his salvation.
7). I believe that upon the death of a true believer in Christ, that he is ushered immediately into the presence of the Lord, where he will live in everlasting joy in Heaven, experiencing eternal fellowship with God.
8). I believe in believer’s baptism by immersion. I don’t believe baptism is necessary for salvation, but it is a beautiful outward profession of an inward possession.
9). I believe in a literal 6-day creation where God created the heavens and the earth and then rested on the seventh day.
10). I believe that the words written in the Bible are truth. I believe that the Bible is inerrant in its parts and in its whole. I believe that the 66 books that make up the canon of scripture make the Bible complete and that God inspired the words written therein. The things that were written down in the Bible are sufficient for every need we have. Not only is God’s Word sufficient, but it is far superior to any other method of handling the problems that man faces, since He has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness.