You are not good enough. You are not educated enough. You are not experienced enough, skilled enough, or holy enough. It’s not found in the depth of your prayer life or your good deeds which benefit others. Your baptism does not provide it. Church attendance doesn’t hold it all together. No, not your parental devotion, your marital excellence, your bible studies nor your consistent offerings to your church can provide it. As a matter of fact, the very best you can offer on your very best day is unable to assure you in this. To what do I refer? The confidence of your heart and security in your mind mind concerning your hope for eternity.
Sometimes there is an inner gnawing in us that produces uncertainty in our fickle little minds. That intrusive, lurking question, “What if I’m not really…?” finds its way into our thinking and our heart races a little. Our gut knots up. Our chest feels heavy. We scramble around in our hearts and heads, doing a quick inventory of why we should not fret about where we stand with God. Surely there is clear evidence that we are not always who we should be. We say things that we know are wrong only to feel the jab of conviction concerning the words we can no longer retrieve. Flashes of anger, layers of unresolved bitterness, chunks of pettiness toward others…these things are with us from time to time. Then there is the issue of our indifference; we don’t feel connected to the things of God sometimes. His bible goes another day unread by us. Sleep seems more appealing than gathering for Sunday worship so we decide to attend Bedside Baptist, Mattress-spring Methodist or Pillowtop Presbyterian for another week. The advance of the Gospel is the last thing that we concern ourselves with and we opt out for another week on sharing the message of hope in Christ with others. What about those moments of our jealousy, selfishness, lust or covetousness? Hmmmm….the longer the inventory of our hearts lasts the more evidence appears that we are unfit candidates for God’s highest Heaven. How can we really know that we are safe? It just doesn’t feel right to declare that our souls are secure when our lives are not always declaring that we belong to Christ. We ask with Job, “Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?” (Job 4:17).
So we worry. We fret. Dread enters in and seeks a place to hunker down. Guilt leads out with a loud, off-key song of accusation. Peace gets up at that ugly song and leaves the room and we see that Assurance goes out with him. In moments like these it’s just us and the mess in our heads. If our security before God really depends on us then we have no other conclusion within reach other than realizing we are in big trouble. Good thing that the rumor is absolutely true. That’s right, it doesn’t depend on us.
“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…” – Jude 24
I’m going to leave you with something scandalous today: your final destination is either in the secure hands of Christ or you are absolutely hopeless. You are unable to provide extra security by your deeds. You cannot help out God with this issue of your salvation – He’s not requesting aid. The power for your cleansing has never been contingent upon your performance and this is why all of the eventual praise and glory will be unidirectional – straight to Heaven’s throne whereupon is seated the most glorious and capable King who has ever reigned. He chose you, perfectly comprehending every post-conversion sin you would commit. He justified you, knowing your continual weakness. He is sanctifying you, fully cognizant of the catalog of inconsistencies between your valid faith and vacillating faithfulness to Him. He has decreed that you, one of His very own, will be perfected like unto His own Son when all is said and done. He cannot lose you. He will not forsake you. It is impossible that He would ever weary of you and leave you as you are. Your good days do not result in greater security with Him. Your sorry days do not threaten to diminish His relentless commitment to you. He has said that it is easier for a nursing mother to forget the infant at her breast than it would be for Him to forget His vow to you (Isaiah 49:15). Yes, Christian friend, your God is not like you and this must become the confidence of your mind and the relief of your heart. He is too wise to leave your soul’s security up to you. He’s going to accomplish this great work Himself. He commands you to believe Him on this one.
Fragile conscience, fretful soul, worried brother & sister…remember what He has said to you: “You are My servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:9-10
I have been there for such a long time, but praise God, He has lifted all that from me…..Oh yes there is still sin in my life. I try hard to not sin but it comes anyway, and I try to keep short accounts with him and not hold on to it as it does nothing but drag me down. Praise God, He is
my light and my salvation. Thank you for being my Pastor