Parkwood Presbyterian Church: From the Pastor, November, 2000

From the Pastor...
November, 2000

HOW DO WE KNOW WE BELONG TO GOD?

As we celebrate the Protestant Reformation on October 29, we are reminded that we are saved by the grace of God and not by our works. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." In spite of this primary emphasis of the Reformation, we may well ask ourselves, "how do we know we belong to God?" Do we have any evidence to prove that we are saved?

The Bible teaches that we are to have assurance. Hebrews 3 and 6 speak about being confident, trusting in the promise of God, and keeping our hope firm to the end: "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast...? This hope is in Christ Jesus, who is the Author and the Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2), and when he has begun a good work in us, He is faithful to complete it" (Philippians 1:6).

One reason many people do not have assurance is because they are not grounded in the knowledge that their salvation is based on the righteousness of Christ and not their own works. Another reason is because they do not see enough fruit in their lives. Resting on God's promises is only part of our assurance. There is a need to examine ourselves for fruit in order to have assurance. If we do not see any fruit, we cannot be assured of eternal life. But while we may struggle with sin, no Christian can ever be devoid of all fruit. The key to assurance is realizing that as we struggle with sin (a struggle which is in itself evidence of salvation), we are always producing some fruit. Seeing that fruit plus resting on God's promises produces assurance.

The first letter of John is a helpful outline on assurance. John begins by establishing that unless you are obeying the commandments of Christ, you cannot claim to know Him. "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments" (l John 2:3). John goes on to say that all true Christians abide in Christ, love God and not the world, love fellow believers, practice righteousness, confess Christ, obey Him out of faith, and pray in confidence to Him. These are evidences of salvation put into the context of relying on God's grace. Without these marks we cannot be assured of our salvation, but we do not base our salvation on these marks. And even when we do sin, our assurance need not be shattered because we can go to Christ and find forgiveness with Him.

It would be a helpful exercise to make a list of the fruit described in l John, that you see in your life. Make another list of that fruit which seems to be lacking in your life. If you do not see fruit, growing and alive, pray that God will change your heart so that you would produce fruit for His glory.