I'm at 929 coffee bar, where Mark and I had our wedding reception, drinking an iced, non-fat, vanilla latte. I am pondering over obedience to Christ, freedom in Christ, ultimate joy in Christ, and the assurance of salvation.
Has doubt ever crept into your mind and festered there to where it has bothered you so much? Maybe it was about his goodness and faithfulness. Maybe it was about God's promises for your life or his word. Maybe, if yo hare like me, doubts creep in about your salvation.
"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."Doubts aren't necessarily a bad thing if they cause you to cling closer and harder to Christ. In spite of doubt, you know God's truths but it's hard to take accept it some times.
-Ephesians 1:13
God promises that we are his children when we believe that we are in need of a savior because we are a fallen people. When we believe that Jesus Christ, his perfect Son, is that savior who died a criminal's death in our place, we are counted as his heirs. When we repent of our sins and turn to Jesus for that redemption, we are his children. We are to believe into the saving grace of Jesus Christ, trust that Christ's plan for our lives is better and far more rewarding that anything this world could offer.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kinds toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand."However, doubt still creeps in. We know we believe, but why would God allow this doubt to spring into our lives. Perhaps it is to wake us up and strive for a more intimate relationship with Christ. Maybe it is God himself opening our eyes and calling us to himself for the first time. Maybe it is revealing that we truly care where our relationship with Christ rests. Sometimes we tend to become anxious about the things we care about most, and a relationship with Christ could be the same. It could be the enemy trying earnestly to squelch our passion for Christ and discourage us from living set apart lives.
-Ephesians 2:4-10
When I doubt, I cling to God's word. I examine my own life and remember who I was without Christ. I look at my sister, who surrendered her life to Christ in the Fall of 2014. She is a beautiful reminder of God's promises and grace and transforming power.
Regardless of this, doubt is a part of the Christian walk. We can see examples of doubt in some of the people who loved Jesus most: Peter, Thomas, and James the brother of Jesus.
Jesus, however, drew them closer to himself and showed each one of them that He was better than the world had to offer, that He was the true Messiah, that He was worthy of putting all of their trust in.
So if you ever doubt, here are some comforting verses straight from God's word which is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."That is a promise. He will.
-Philippians 1:6
"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life."God provides us reassurance that we have eternal life when we believe in the name of the Son of God (Jesus). Eternal life isn't a distant concept, but a here-and-now reality as we walk in obedience for the pursuit of enjoying Jesus more deeply.
-1 John 5:13
"...who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."Those who God has saved, he will keep. His Holy Spirit provides that power, not you and your own purposing.
-1 Corinthians 1:8
"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit himself bears witness with out spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and fellows heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."We could not (and would not) cry out to Jesus in an intimate way such a Father if we were not united with Christ by the grace of God.
-Romans 8:14-17
"And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."The only thing you can do with this verse is marvel in the omniscience of the Lord. If Jesus knows you will be saved, he is not going to let you slip away.
-Romans 8:30
"And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled."Jesus prays for us that we would be one as Jesus and God are one. Jesus and his saving power keeps us for all time when we surrender our ambitions to him. This is believing in Christ.
-John 17:11-12
"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."
-1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
If it is Jesus who saves us, it is Jesus who keeps us. He is faithful. That is a promise.
"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."God is the only one who is able to keep us and he will keep us when we surrender our lives. In fact, it is HIS JOY to present us to God as holy and blameless.
-Jude 24-25
I hope these verses remind you of the great love that God has lavished on us. If you are experiencing a season of doubt, cling to Jesus. There is something that Jesus will teach you through this storm. He is the one who will keep you until the end. If you have never surrendered your life to Christ, what is stopping you? There is an unmatched joy rooted in Christ.
