12 - Walking In Confidence
September 11, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 John 3:19–24
The Word of God gives the prescription for HOW we are to be saved (believe and confess). The Work of Christ secures the WAY we our saved (atonement and sacrifice), and the fruit of the Spirit bears evidence THAT we are saved (good works that bespeak a transformed life). Those three things, in and of themselves are the bedrock upon which we have assurance of salvation. In 1 John 3:19-24 John adds a fourth criterion: the conscience. And while the human conscience is not the end all to be all (as it can give bad readings on occasion), it is still a respectable guide (if informed by the Word of God) for knowing our standing before God.
04 - Walking In Assurance
June 26, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 John 2:1–6
God does not want believers to suspect that they might be saved; God does not want believers to simply cross their fingers and hope that they are elect. Rather, God wants us to know it and understand it so that we can walk in confidence and in the joy of our salvation. Our conduct, says the apostle John in 1 John 2:1-6, is but one piece of evidence for the assurance of our salvation; along with our confession of Jesus Christ as Lord, our conviction that he rose from the dead, and our conscience informed by the Holy Spirit that bears witness to both (Romans 8:16; 10:9-10 cf. 1 John 3:21).