STUDY #4: GAINING ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

AIM: This study is designed to explain the basis upon which we gain assurance in our new relationship.

• The key message of this study is that we can take God at His word. We can be sure of our heavenly destiny. Sadly, many people are unsure. God has provided promises in His Word that we can memorise and recall when doubts come.
• People with little religious background will often testify to a dramatic conversion when a great burden of guilt was rolled away. For those raised in a Christian environment from childhood, this experience is usually less pronounced but just as real.
• In explaining the Parable of the Sower (see Mt.13:18-23) Jesus made it clear that the response of joy and elation to the gospel is an unreliable basis of growing in Christ. We must teach converts to base their faith on facts and not feelings (Lesson 1 illustration). It is faith in the Living Word as revealed in the written Word that provides us with an objective basis for our salvation (see Rom.10:17; Heb.11:6). This is crucial for a new believer to understand.

PRAY TOGETHER.