2 – ASSURANCE – CAN YOU BE SURE? – New Life Church, Teesside

1 John 5:11-13

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Becoming a Christian is the beginning of a new life, something the Bible calls “being born again.” When a baby is born it needs to grow, learn and get to know its parents and become part of the family. In the same was as a `new born’ Christian you also need to grow, learn and get to know your heavenly Father and become part of your new spiritual family.

New Life – New Start

One of the problems that some Christians struggle with is in the area of assurance – they hope that their sins are forgiven and that they are on their way to heaven, but their not really sure about it.

So can you be sure that God has accepted you? The answer is a very definite yes! Indeed, it is very important that every Christian understands that God has accepted them. Unless you fully understand this you will struggle to become the strong and secure Christian God want you to be.

You can’t relax your full weight into a chair if you’re not confident it is strong enough to bear your weight. Neither can you relax fully into your relationship with God if you’re not certain that He has accepted you.

SO HOW AND WHY CAN YOU BE SURE THAT GOD HAS ACCEPTED YOU?

God has given us three main means for assurance.

1. THE CLEAR TEACHING OF THE WORD OF GOD

Turn to (N.T) 1 John 5:11-13. From these verses answer the following questions.
Who gives eternal life (v11)_______________________________________________________

Where is eternal life found?_______________________________________________________ Who has eternal life?(v12) ________________________________________________________ Who does not have eternal life? ___________________________________________________ What must you do to have eternal life? (v13)________________________________________ Why did John write these things? _________________________________________________

If you have given yourself fully to Jesus Christ by believing and asking Him to be your Lord and Saviour then you “have” the Son of God and you can be certain (know) that Jesus has accepted you and you have eternal life. For the person who does this JESUS HAS PROMISED TO ACCEPT YOU!

In (N.T) John 6:37 Jesus says, “All that the Father gives me, and whoever comes to me I will NEVER drive away.”

What will Jesus never do? ________________________________________________________

Would Jesus ever break a promise?

a) Sometimes. b) Never. c) Only rarely.

(Underline the right answer)

When you accepted Christ you came to Him, so you can rest assured that He will hold on to you and never reject you.

From (N.T) John 1:12. What is given to those who receive Jesus? ______________________ __________________________________________________________

When you receive Jesus, you become a member of God’s family!

Turn to (N.T) John 6:47. What do you receive when you believe in Jesus? ______________ ________________________

Eternal life is a different kind of life that begins the moment you give yourself to Jesus. It is life with a new meaning, a new power and a new purpose.

In (O.T) Isaiah 43:25 God says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, and remembers your sins no more.”

What does God do with our transgressions (sins) when He forgives us? ________________

_________________________________

Does God remember our sins? ______________________

When God forgives us, He forgets our sins and does not hold them against us in the future. They are FORGIVEN! FORGOTTEN! GONE!

2. THE CHANGES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN YOUR LIFE.

When a person becomes a Christian things change. Sometimes you don’t even realise the changes that take place until you really think about it.

In (N.T) 2 Corinthians 5:17 we are told, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”

Look at the list below and tick the changes that have already taken place in your life since you became a Christian. You might be surprised by the changes that have already taken place.

____ An Inner Peace.

____ I have stopped swearing.

____ A new joy.

____ A sense of being forgiven.

____ A desire to pray.

____ A desire to please/obey God.

____ A new love for God.

____ A new interest in the Bible.

Can you think of any other changes that have taken place in your life since you became a Christian? Write them down below.

_________________________________________________________________________________

3. THE INNER WITNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Another evidence of God’s acceptance of you is the inner witness of the Holy Spirit that you have become God’s child. The moment you became a Christian the Holy Spirit came to live within you. His presence in your life is a continual confirmation and reminder that your are forgiven, that God has accepted you and that you are His child.

Romans 8:15-6 speaks about the work of the Holy Spirit in a Christian.
From verse 15, what does the Spirit help us to call God? _____________________________

The word “Abba” actually means ‘Daddy.’ The Holy Sprit helps us see that God is our loving ‘Daddy.’ Many human fathers leave a lot to be desired, but God is far better than the best human father you could ever imagine.

From verse 16, what knowledge does the Holy Spirit give to our spirits? He tells us we are ______________________________________________________________________________

As you place your trust in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit will plant deep in you heart that assurance, conviction and confidence that YOU are one of God’s children – a member of God’s family.

4. Forgiving those who sin against you

Unforgiveness and bitterness are the source of many of our problems. They produce arguments, hate, violence, wars, family strife, political unrest and breakdown in communication. Sometimes our resentments may seem justified because we have been badly wronged, or we cannot understand the other person’s attitude. Jesus taught a new way of approaching these satiations – we are to treat people as God treats us.

Turn to (N.T) Luke 6:27-36. From this passage what should we do for our enemies?

V27 Love _________________________ Do __________________________________________ V28 Bless _________________________ Pray ________________________________________ V31 Do ________________________________________________________________________ V35 – What is our reward? ________________________________________________________ V35-36 – In what ways should we be like our Father?
We should L______________________ We should D_______________________
We should be K_________________ We should be M_______________________

Review your life and consider if there are people whom you find it hard to forgive, whom you resent, or who have wronged you, or you have wronged. They could be:

* Parents * Children * Husband * Wife * Friends
* Previous Spouse * Employer or employee * Landlord or tenant
* Ex boyfriend or ex-girlfriend * Those who have influenced you in a harmful way * Those who have abused you.

From (N.T) Luke 23:34 what were they doing to Jesus when He prayed for their forgiveness? _____________________________________________________________ From (N.T) Matthew 18:21-22 what did Jesus mean by 77 times? How often should we forgive? _______________________________________________________

NOW – Pray for these people and begin to love them knowing that God loves them and cares for them. Extend your forgiveness to them – if you find this difficult, ask God to help you. Your forgiveness needs to be like your Father’s….

Forgiven! Forgotten! Gone!