April 7 I Saturday

1 Samuel 7-9

Luke 9:18-36

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

—2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

The other reasons we can be assured of salvation are because of the work God does in us when we are saved. The fourth reason is that He has purposed to complete our salvation. Paul writes of his confidence in this regard, saying, “…that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). This “good work” refers to the fact that God always finishes what He starts.

The fifth reason is the “predestination” of God. This theologically charged word simply means we have been confirmed in advance to arrive at a particular destination. Much like a passenger on a commercial flight cannot choose midway to fly to Sydney instead of London, a Christian’s eternal destiny is locked in. Paul explains, “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
And those he predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

Paul was so confident of something yet to happen he speaks of it in the past tense—“glorified.” Once we are in Christ, we are sealed by the Spirit to go all the way to be being glorified, which is to be fully conformed to the likeness of Christ. We can draw assurance from this every time we sin. Though we may give into temptation, our security before God is found in knowing He will one day fully restore us to His perfect moral character.

Finally, we can be assured of salvation because of the Holy Spirit’s transformative power within us. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” This satisfies the deep inner longing of our hearts to be known and to be loved. The first evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence in us is a hunger and thirst for righteousness we never had before. This turns disinterest into a joyful devouring of spiritual things and produces a disposition of trust and repentance before God.

To know we are Christians is a gift of the Holy Spirit. He bears witness to us that we are saved, and His presence in us confirms God’s faithfulness. If it were up to us, we would have lost our salvation a long time ago, but the wonderful thing is salvation depends not on what we do for God, but on what God has already done for us as believers through the cross of Christ.

Prayer: God in Heaven, thank You that my salvation does not depend on me. I ask for a fresh, deep work of Your Holy Spirit in transforming me into an ever-increasing reflection of Your life in me. Thank You, Lord.