Christian Concepts

Bringing your Potential to Light

Eternal Security

Faith Is Assurance

Faith Is Assurance

by Leave a Comment

Reading time: 4 minutes

Faith is an indicator of spiritual life. The person with faith is certain about God’s promises. Assurance, therefore, is like the heartbeat, breathing, and blood flow. The Christian without assurance is like a body without a heartbeat.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him

Hebrews 11:1,6 ESV

Is Absolute Assurance Possible?

Christians can have complete assurance, but our feelings and worldly experiences will interfere. We know there is no condemnation for those in Jesus (Romans 8:1). Therefore, absolute assurance is possible, but the subjective side of it–human emotions–can be volatile.

Assurance based on fact is different than assurance based on feeling or experience. One is objective, the other subjective. One stands for all time, the other is circumstantial but necessary and helpful. One is constant, and the other ebbs and flows some.

Assurance of salvation is based on fact, faith, and feeling to varying degrees:

  1. Fact: the words, and ideas of what has objectively happened as the Gospel is described in the Bible. The fact of salvation is either True or False (mathematically 1 or 0).
  2. Faith: the Spirit enabled spiritual sight. If the Fact of salvation is True, then the Faith of salvation must be some positive quantity (mathematically > 0). The person can have faith as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20).
  3. Feeling: the human emotion based on subjective body chemistry. The Feelings of salvation can be negative or positive (mathematically any value).

For a person to be saved, they must know it as a Fact: “I am saved because Jesus lived a perfect life and died for me,” and have Faith as small as a mustard seed or greater: “I know I am saved.” Feelings are not required; however, they are expected to be more positive the greater the person’s Faith.

Faith is neither objective (physical) fact nor subjective (sensual) feeling. It is objective spiritual knowledge relative to God’s kingdom and subjective spiritual knowledge relative to a new creation’s spiritual senses. Faith sees God with certainty (Hebrews 11:1) but the world is spiritually blind.

Confidence is viewed as a subjective conviction. But in Hebrews 11:1, it is not that at all, but ‘the reality of the goods hoped for.’ From our perspective on earth we say that what is visible or tangible is solid, but in the estimate of the writer to the Hebrews, what is visible is what is shadowy, shaky, and subject to destruction. But what is invisible is sure, solid, and to be counted on.

Sure Enough by Dr. John Gilmore, Page 95

Therefore, all of the following are essentially the same:

  • confidence
  • reality
  • assurance
  • faith

Faith is confidence in the spiritual reality. It is hoped for as nothing less than a certain future. There is no “blind faith” because faith is spiritual sight.

How to Increase Assurance

If assurance is faith, then lack of assurance is doubt. Everyone struggles with doubt at some point. Doubt thrives because of weak faith, like gravity can overpower weak muscles. Low faith is under the oppressive weight of doubt–like darkness is the absence of light. The light shines but the darkness cannot overcome it.

Training can strengthen assurance. What causes low assurance?

  • guilt or condemnation
  • negative experiences
  • lack of support
  • lack of theological understanding
  • lack of seeing God clearly
  • lack of correct application

Doubt will thrive in people who shift their focus from Christ to self. Whether they believe they are too unworthy or too worthy, their focus is off-target. Doubt grows when we value our negative experiences more than we value our God experiences. Assurance grows the more we know God for who the Bible says He is.

Deviation from the truth is possible when we sin, take our eyes off Jesus, and put our trust in worldly philosophies or treasures. When we are in the flesh, we are once again expressing our distaste for God.

The only fatal doubt is complete unbelief that rejects God as real and loving (which is impossible for a believer). The best way to overcome doubt is to refocus on the Gospel message to stir up the power of faith which will eventually produce the fruit of good works.

Learn more about full assurance of hope.
Image by rony michaud from Pixabay

Claim Full Assurance Of Hope

Claim Full Assurance Of Hope

by 3 Comments

Reading time: 4 minutes

You can know with certainty that you have eternal life. God desires that you earnestly claim full assurance of hope.

What does eternal life have in common with being pregnant? Just like you can’t be a little bit pregnant, you can’t possess a fraction of eternal life. They are both all-or-nothing. You are either alive or you are dead.

Many life disappointments can stir up insecurity and doubt. You might think, “Maybe I’m not saved. Maybe Jesus doesn’t care about me. Maybe I’m beyond God’s love. Yes, I’ve fallen away and my situation is hopeless.” But God provides so much for us believers so that we do not have to doubt our salvation.

The Holy Spirit Provides Full Assurance of Hope

God wants you to feel secure in His love. If your heart has impurities like anxiety, doubt, and fear, He will want to work out the impurities. As this happens, your faith and confidence will grow. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians should convince you that it’s okay to have a goal to become more confident in your faith.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

Jesus Provides Full Assurance of Hope

Being confident in your faith requires humility as you trust God more. But being confident in yourself, in what you can do without God, is only pride. In this context, I present to you a difficult passage for many Bible readers.

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 6:4-6

Is this saying it’s possible to fall away from a believing faith with no return path possible? No. Here’s why.

Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians (read more about this). They were raised under the old way, the law. They converted to the new way, faith in Christ. However, they were tempted to return to their old, familiar ways. They doubted the simplicity of the Gospel. In a moment of weakness, in their insecurity, they considered turning back to the OT (or falling away from the NT).

In Hebrews 6, Paul reiterates that there is no turning back. The only way is the way forward by faith in Christ. Returning to Egypt is futile. “If you come this close to the truth, but reject it and choose to keep looking elsewhere, you won’t find another way.” Paul is emphasizing an all-or-nothing truth. You’re either all-in or all-out. There is no in-between.

Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. If you find that one way, then you gain access to everything that comes with it. You have truth and eternal life.

You must choose which way you’ll tip. The purpose of such scriptures is exactly to sort out the issue. You must know whether you are saved or not. So which is it? State it loud. State it boldly. State it confidently.

God Provides Full Assurance of Hope

Any doubt or concern is proof you’re not one of the ones who fall away. The following verses apply to you (more on this):

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:9-12

God bless you with, “full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish.” Have unhindered energy to pursue the things of God. Amen.

Read more about Eternal Security.
Image by egor105 from Pixabay

How To Make Trusting God Easier

How To Make Trusting God Easier

by 5 Comments

Reading time: 3 minutes

Are you trusting God more or less than you were yesterday? If you are trusting Him less than you used to, perhaps something has happened to cause you to give up on God. God promises you are not wasting your time when you seek Him, trust Him, and make your requests known to Him.

Trusting God throughout your day can be challenging because of distractions. Some distractions are positive and some are negative. Either way, consider how much you have increased your trust in God today. The best thing you can accomplish each day is to end it by trusting God a little more.

Strengthen your faith requires an intentional effort to cleanse negative memories with God’s truth. If you want to trust God more, you must apply biblical truth to infected memories. Infected memories cause you to doubt God’s character.

Trust God Because He Knows Everything

In Isaiah 46, God says much about who He is and what He likes to do. God promises He will act. He isn’t a worthless idol. God doesn’t forget about you. He knows your future so of course, He knows your past. He’s been attending to you since even before you were born.

I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born.

Isaiah 46:3 NLT

Trust God Because He Keeps You Safe

But that’s not all. God proclaims that He will care for you and carry you throughout your future.

I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

Isaiah 46:4 NLT

If you put your trust in something other than God, you will be disappointed. But God cares about you enough to rescue you from trouble.

[An idol] can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

Isaiah 46:7 NLT

God has already rescued you and is more than capable of keeping you safe.

Trust God Because He is in Control

God is in complete control of the past, present, and future. Only God can make such bold statements as these:

Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.

Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT

God can and will do whatever He wants. For those who are friends of God, this should provide increased comfort and trust. For those who are yet enemies of God, this is likely scary and irritating. I remember the emptiness I felt when I was unable to understand who God is.

Memories Can Help You Trust God

If you are a believer, then you must have some positive memories. At the very least, God has done a work in your life to cause you to cross over from death to life. Can you remember what that felt like? I remember how uplifting and hopeful I felt when I first believed.

Remembering what God has done in your life is a source of spiritual strength. When you recall the ways God has touched your life, it helps you trust Him with current life challenges. When God breaks into your life, that’s God building trust with you. Use it for all it’s worth to make your faith solid.

As you focus on the positive, be equally willing to revisit the negative memories. These significant life events desperately need to be considered in light of the truth you now know. Learn details of how to cleanse hurtful memories so you can trust God more.

God is real. Let’s pray with anticipation of the good things He will do. No matter what is happening around us, God is still good and in control.

Photo from pxhere
Last Updated 2024/09/22

Bad Theology Leads To Poor Mental Health

Bad Theology Leads To Poor Mental Health

by 1 Comment

Reading time: 4 minutes

Bad theology can lead to poor mental and emotional health. Bad theology results from not understanding what the Bible says. This can happen by blindly trusting other people, communities, or institutions to interpret the Bible for you, instead of allowing Holy Spirit to teach the correct meaning. For the church’s health, all Christians must seek to develop their convictions.

Having Bad Theology Means You Are Deceived

Many beliefs are implicit. This means it is possible to believe something strongly but, at the same time, not be fully aware of what you believe. You might think you know what you believe, but your actions reveal what you actually believe.

This is why it is important to make your beliefs explicit. This is done by externalizing them through writing, speaking, or other form of expression. When you put your beliefs into words, you become more aware of what you believe, so you can compare it to what the Bible says.

When seeking to understand the Bible, it’s important to see the big picture message. This is done by observing how the Bible speaks to foundational truths, like the Gospel message, across many verses, chapters, and books. The Bible does not contradict itself, so passages that seem to present opposing ideas must be studied in context and reconciled to a coherent teaching.

Imagine believing that it’s possible that God can change His mind, break His promise to never abandon us, and revoke His love. The consequences on a person’s mental and emotional health would be devastating. If this were true, it would be normal to live in constant apprehension.

Fortunately for the true believer, the Bible teaches that perfect love eliminates fear. Everything God is doing in your life, because He is love, is to reduce your anxieties and increase your faith and trust in Him.

Good Theology Sees the Gospel Correctly

Good theology starts with an accurate understanding of the Gospel. The Gospel is the foundation of biblical teaching. Once an understanding of the Gospel is established, it can interpret other, less central, passages. Everything in the Bible depends on understanding the Gospel correctly. If the understanding of the Gospel is wrong, everything else will be wrong. If the Gospel has been interpreted correctly, it will be difficult to misinterpret less central passages.

The Gospel is the foundation for mental and emotional health. An accurate understanding of who God is leads to healthy thinking, feeling, and actions. An inaccurate understanding leads to unhealthy thinking, feeling, and actions. For example, believing God’s acceptance is conditional upon performance, will encourage a fear-based relationship with God. This “bad theology” leads to fear which leads to a need to continually ask, “Have I performed sufficiently today to remain in good standing with God?”

How this is bad theology becomes clear when we consider the consequences of not performing. What happens if performance is not good enough? The Bible says that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient to cover all sins and imperfections. But bad theology would say that God might remove a believer’s salvation so that she is no longer a child of God.

Such a consequence would be traumatizing because it would mean being abandoned by God. The Gospel is only effective if, by faith, a person relies 100% on Christ’s effort and 0% on self-effort. Because a person cannot gain salvation through self-effort, any amount of self-effort (whether large or small) cannot disqualify someone as God’s child. Salvation is God’s gift that He does not take back.

Any amount of faith in Christ less than 100% would indicate a similarly sized doubt in Christ’s sacrifice. The question becomes, is Christ’s sacrifice sufficient or lacking in some way? If people conclude it is lacking, then how can they put faith in it?

It is certainly possible to be permanently saved by Christ’s efforts, and simultaneously consider it essential to continue to cooperate with Christ to work out one’s salvation. Suppose God purchased a multi-million dollar house for you. You can enjoy the house and work to maintain it without the danger of God seizing it and kicking you out. God is committed to teaching stewardship, not setting a time limit for His children to get their act together.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call].

Romans 11:29 AMP

God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. But during the remainder of this life, we constantly need renovation. The born-again person is a new creation who is spiritually aligned with God. The animosity resulting from being God’s enemy has been crucified, leaving only a spirit that desires fellowship with God. Therefore, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38). He can continue to remodel us for the rest of our lives. God finishes what He starts (Philippians 1:6).

Learn more about correct theology.
Image by gurlwithapen from Pixabay

Trust God To Save You

Trust God To Save You

by Leave a Comment

Reading time: 5 minutes

God will not save everyone, but that doesn’t mean you need to be insecure about your salvation, if you are a born-again believer. Place your full trust in God’s power to save you and you will enter into God’s rest.

The Bible does not teach universal salvation – that everyone will be saved. So then, what does 1 Timothy 2:4 mean? “God … wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4 NIV). Doesn’t this verse teach that God wants to save all people, and if He wants it then it will happen? Here are some possible meanings of “wants” and “all people”:

  • A: “Wants” is a general statement of compassion, different from “wills”. “Wants” says more about the nature of God than it does about what will happen. What God wants may or may not happen. What God wills, will happen; it cannot be stopped or thwarted.
  • B: “Wants” is the same as “wills.” What God wants will happen.
  • C: “All people” means “all kinds of people”, not every single person that has ever existed.
  • D: “All people” means literally every single person that has ever existed.

Given these two possible interpretations for the two phrases, we can consider four (2×2) overall meanings:

  1. Universal Salvation: God wills (B) that every single person (D) that has ever existed will be saved.
  2. Universal Inclusion: God wills (B) that all kinds of people (C) will be saved.
  3. God Frustrated: God wants (A) every single person (D) to be saved (but it won’t happen).
  4. God Satisfied: God wants (A) all kinds of people (C) to be saved (and it will likely happen – there is no reason to say it won’t happen because the statement is reasonable – it is essentially the same meaning as #2 Universal Inclusion).

God does not save everyone, but He will not let everyone perish. God wants all kinds of people to be saved, but He does not intend everyone to be saved.

God Saves All Kinds of People

The overall point of 1 Timothy 2 is focused on believers avoiding discrimination as in James 2:1-7. God wants His people to not favor one kind of people over another, but realize that the Gospel is not exclusive to one race, income level, or sex.

The context of 1 Timothy 2:4 speaks of various kinds of people:

  • Kings and those in authority contrasted with regular, everyday people
  • Gentiles contrasted with Jews

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 NIV

The point is that the Gospel is for all kinds of people. It is not only for Jews. It is not only for the poor. It is not only for men. The Gospel levels the playing field. No one should judge whether a person is fit for salvation by their outward appearance (James 2:1-7).

How Do We Know that God Doesn’t Save Everyone?

The reason we know that everyone won’t be saved is the power to save is fully with God and not in the least with man. God chooses who will be saved (John 6:44), who will repent (2 Timothy 2:25–26), who is appointed for salvation (Acts 13:48). John Piper links this 2 Timothy passage with the 1 Timothy passage by the phrase “knowledge of the truth”, counting it as evidence that God must grant repentance before a person is saved.

Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:25-26 NIV

God must grant repentance to people. God is the gatekeeper, deciding who will come into His kingdom (John 10:3-16). God will eventually sort everyone by their relationship to Him. He knows His sheep and He will move them to eternal life; He also knows the goats and He will move them to depart to eternal punishment (Matthew 25:31-46).

We know that at least one person (such as Abraham, Moses, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) will be in heaven. We also know that at least one person (such as Judas) will not be in heaven. The only way to guarantee this is if the power of choice is in God’s hands, not in man’s. Otherwise, Jesus’s sacrifice would have failed to save even one person.

We don’t know who God wants to save. So, we preach the Gospel to everyone, indiscriminately. The power of the Gospel and the Spirit working is what saves a person.

How is this relevant to a person’s mental health? We know that because God chooses to draw His people to Him and because He will never abandon His people, that truly saved people are secure in their salvation. God is responsible for authoring and perfecting their faith (Hebrews 12:2). Stand on the truth of the Gospel to dispel all anxiety. Rest in God.

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

In repentance and rest is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust is your strength…

Isaiah 30:15 NIV

Learn more about being secure in God’s love.
Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Holy Spirit Makes The Heart Right With God

Holy Spirit Makes The Heart Right With God

by Leave a Comment

Reading time: 4 minutes

Salvation happens in the heart. The spiritual heart (not the physical one) is the key to understanding salvation. Circumcision, similar to baptism, is a picture of what happens to a saved person.

Physical Circumcision and Baptism do not Save a Person

The spiritual heart is invisible, internal to a person, and therefore only accessible by God. During physical circumcision, physical flesh is removed from the body. During Old Testament times, God used this sign to mark His people. Circumcision was simply a way to differentiate God’s people from other nations (though this does not mean that circumcision saves a person).

There are two Israels. There is the physical nation, which is God’s people of the Old Testament. And there is the spiritual nation, which is the true believers in Christ. Circumcision was a sign of faith, given to the physical nation, chosen by God over all other nations. Likewise, baptism is a sign of faith, given to the spiritual nation, those chosen by God out of all people.

Both circumcision and baptism take place after people become true believers. Their purpose is to publicly identify with Christ, not to save a person from sin. They are a sign of what has happened; they offer no value toward saving a person. They are a physical (external) sign of a spiritual (internal) reality.

Abraham was circumcised after his faith. Non-believing infants were circumcised and non-believers today can be baptized, but there is no reason to do this. NT believers are baptized only after the testimony of their faith. This is why Paul can argue that circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing (Galatians 5:6).

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Romans 2:28-29 NLT

Circumcision of the Heart Permanently Identifies a Person With Christ

To become a believer, Christ must perform a spiritual circumcision on the heart. He must cut away the sinful nature, causing the spiritual heart to come to life. Once done, the person’s union with Christ is complete and irreversible.

For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.

For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Collosians 2:9-14 NLT

Just like it is impossible for a man to become uncircumcised, it is impossible for a true believer in Christ, who has been spiritually circumcised in the heart, to return to spiritual death. The Christian who has been circumcised has had his physical nature cut away. It cannot be “glued back on.” The person who has become alive in Christ is fully identified with Christ. Just as Christ lives forever, so will the person whose record of charges has been crucified.

God resurrects His people to spiritual life. He will never then kill them, returning them to spiritual death. The Christian is a new creation in the sense that his heart is spiritually different than the non-believer’s. If you are saved, recognize your circumcised heart and rejoice in what God has done for you. God’s saving is a profound alteration that brings a person to such fullness of life that it can never die.

For further reading:
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/circumcision-heart
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/how-do-circumcision-and-baptism-correspond
https://christianconcepts.com/guard-your-heart-or-you-will-become-lost
Image created by Matt Pavlik using Photoshop AI