Blessed Assurance - March 30, 2009

Blessed Assurance

New York City in the year 1873: a blind song writer listens to a tune composed by her friend, Phoebe Knapp and immediately writes the words to that famous hymn, Blessed Assurance. Fanny Crosby wrote many great hymns, but this one may be the most famous. How could she write these words?

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine,
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

How did she know that we have this blessed assurance? If Jesus can give us this assurance, then the answer will be in His holy Word, the Bible. The answer should not be difficult, requiring years of scholarly study; else we would have to take the word of Bible professors. The answer cannot be visual, for Fanny Crosby did not see the world of sunlight as we do. The answer must also not be hidden, for you and I would have no idea where to look for it.
For this answer, I will use only the words Jesus spoke in John 3:1-21. This book is my favorite book in the Bible; I read it over and over, continually finding new wisdom and meaning. For this response, the key knowledge is found in one conversation between Jesus and one seeker of salvation. What did Jesus have to say about our assurance of eternal life, the result of salvation?
Late one night a man came to Jesus seeking answers, just as we seek those same answers. You might say that this man, Nicodemus, represents each of us as we come to Jesus. Most believers in Jesus came to Him in the same manner. Seldom does a person stand up in a crowded hall and bellow out: “Does anyone here believe in Jesus? I have some questions!” No, in most cases we slide into a back pew in a church, or we find a Christian and ask individually in a quiet, out of the way spot. Some folks find a large church to get lost in the crowd, others a small church to minimize the chance of being recognized. Whatever method we use, the seeking begins.
Our friend Nicodemus starts off with what he thinks is important: Teacher, here is what I know… Does Jesus give him a pat on the back, a “good job” for his effort? No, Jesus tells him what he needs to know.

“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Nicodemus reacted from his human learning, just like many of us did when first hearing about being born again. “Eh? How can you come out of your mother’s womb again?” As a Pharisee, Nicodemus probably enjoyed an education that would equate to a college degree today. However, the new birth is not based on human understanding.
This may not seem very assuring, but read on:
Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and of the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.” (John 3:5-6)

Our entry into this life is of water; our entry into the next is of the Spirit. The expression, “her water broke” is still used today as a baby is born. As Jesus said; humans reproduce human life, the Holy Spirit takes care of eternal life. The answer is not in something we must accomplish, as in birthing a baby, but is something given to us by the Holy Spirit. A couple of places in John 3 note the giving of eternal life; in the verses above and later we will see another very famous example. Before we get to that verse Jesus gives assurances to those who will believe.
Note the start of each important statement from Jesus – “I tell you the truth…” in verse 3, “I assure you…” in verse 5, and one more time to start verse 11:
“I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen…”
Why the change in persons there? Jesus starts with “I” and then changes to “we”. In Jewish custom, the word of two witnesses was required. Jesus is one; the Holy Spirit is the other. Jesus gives us his assurance of what both he and the Holy Spirit know and have seen. Jesus then goes on to tell us and Nicodemus how salvation will be assured.

“And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)

In other words, Jesus foretold his own death on the cross by crucifixion in the Roman fashion. Jesus paid the price to save all who will believe in Him. Of course if we know the ‘how’ we will want to know the ‘why’, and Jesus provides that in what is probably the most famous verse in all Christianity; John 3:16

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

How do we have assurance of our salvation? God loved us enough to pay the ransom through the death of his own Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the price, the Holy Spirit gives us new birth, and God grants us mercy because of this. We base our assurance of salvation on Jesus’ own words:

“God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world though him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” (John 3:17-21)

A person cannot assure himself of eternal life; Jesus gives us the assurance we seek when we believe in Him. If a person believes in Jesus, he or she believes what Jesus said. There is no middle ground; without belief - no assurance is given; with belief – eternal life is assured on the Word of Jesus.