Yesterday we looked at a quote from Jerry Bridges' book, The Gospel for Real Life, on having confident assurance in our salvation and conquering the doubts that force us to ask ourselves "Am I really a Christian?" by looking at the promises of God in His Word. Today we'll look at how the witness of the Spirit helps us to conquer these doubts:
The Witness of the Spirit
"Although the promises of God are the primary means by which He assures us of our salvation, they are not the only means. God knows our weaknesses, and He knows our tendencies to sometimes doubt whether those promises are true for us. Therefore, He has given us a second strong means of assurance, the witness of His Spirit. Romans 8:15-16 is the key Scripture that assures us of this truth: "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Here we get into an area that we cannot analyze or describe. How the Holy Spirit interacts with our human spirit is mysterious. It goes beyond the boundaries of our investigative abilities. However, though I cannot explain how the Spirit interacts with our spirits to give assurance, I have certainly experienced it.
I still remember the night, now more than fifty years ago, when I asked Jesus to be my Savior. I was a teenage church member, but had no peace about my relationship with God. But the moment I asked Jesus Christ to me my Savior, my heart was flooded with peace. I had peace with God as a result of Jesus' work on the cross. And I had the peace of God, that is, the inner witness of His Spirit that I now had eternal life.
This inner witness of the Spirit is highly personal. That is, the Spirit tailors His witness to our particular temperament and circumstances. Each of us comes to the point of trusting in Christ from different experiences - some from a flagrantly sinful life, others from a highly moral and even religious background. For the former, there may be a deep, penetrating assurance that his sins are forgiven, that he has been washed clean and has a new life in Christ. For the moral or religious person there may be a sense of relief that she no longer has to try to earn God's favor. ... In every case, though, it is the Spirit's application of the gospel to our lives that produces this inner witness.
We need this inner witness of the Spirit, not only at the time we come to Christ, but throughout our Christian lives, especially in times of severe temptation and failure."
The Witness of the Spirit
"Although the promises of God are the primary means by which He assures us of our salvation, they are not the only means. God knows our weaknesses, and He knows our tendencies to sometimes doubt whether those promises are true for us. Therefore, He has given us a second strong means of assurance, the witness of His Spirit. Romans 8:15-16 is the key Scripture that assures us of this truth: "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Here we get into an area that we cannot analyze or describe. How the Holy Spirit interacts with our human spirit is mysterious. It goes beyond the boundaries of our investigative abilities. However, though I cannot explain how the Spirit interacts with our spirits to give assurance, I have certainly experienced it.
I still remember the night, now more than fifty years ago, when I asked Jesus to be my Savior. I was a teenage church member, but had no peace about my relationship with God. But the moment I asked Jesus Christ to me my Savior, my heart was flooded with peace. I had peace with God as a result of Jesus' work on the cross. And I had the peace of God, that is, the inner witness of His Spirit that I now had eternal life.
This inner witness of the Spirit is highly personal. That is, the Spirit tailors His witness to our particular temperament and circumstances. Each of us comes to the point of trusting in Christ from different experiences - some from a flagrantly sinful life, others from a highly moral and even religious background. For the former, there may be a deep, penetrating assurance that his sins are forgiven, that he has been washed clean and has a new life in Christ. For the moral or religious person there may be a sense of relief that she no longer has to try to earn God's favor. ... In every case, though, it is the Spirit's application of the gospel to our lives that produces this inner witness.
We need this inner witness of the Spirit, not only at the time we come to Christ, but throughout our Christian lives, especially in times of severe temptation and failure."