The certainty of saving assurance

As Christians, we must know the difference between real and false doctrines. Real doctrine comes directly from the Word of God. False doctrine comes from the corrupt heart, and confused mind of fallen man. Knowing this difference is a constant battle. A hallmark of being a Christian is the desire to seek install correct doctrine.

Many times we rely on our feelings or circumstances to base our certainty of saving assurance on. This allows a bad day, a fall into sin, or unfortunate circumstances degrade or remove this assurance, which can further expose us to sin, despair, and depression. Our actual assurance has not been lost, but our Christian testimony and usefulness to the Kingdom has been put on the sideline.

Fortunately our Lord so moved John to give us instructions in his Epistles on how we can be certain of our assurance from the Word, not our feelings or the friends around us.

As you listen to this sermon think about how sure you are of your salvation, then think about what standard you are using as a measure. Is it the Word? Or something else?