What is genuine faith? - Part 2

All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family.  Now we live in the hope of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead.  And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.  And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it because you are trusting him.  It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see.  So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here.  These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure.  It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return.  You love him even though you have never seen him; though not seeing him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with the inexpressible joy that comes from heaven itself. And your further reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. - 1 Peter 1:3-9 (Living Bible)

The assurance of salvation is the Christian’s highest joy. Assurance will yield two heavens: one to come and one in the present. The highest bliss this side of heaven is the ability to enjoy all the blessings of salvation, which is only possible to people who believe they’re saved. If you live with doubt and fear, you literally shut the door to the treasure house of blessing, and you find it very difficult to have an inexpressible joy that is full of heavenly glory. The greatest thing we can desire is our own salvation, and the sweetest thing we can desire is the assurance of our salvation. In this life we cannot get higher than to be assured of the next life to be enjoyed. All saints shall enjoy a heaven when they leave this earth; some shall enjoy a heaven while they are here on earth. Being in a state of grace makes a man’s condition happy, safe, and sure. But the knowing of himself to be in such a state is that which renders his life sweet and full of comfort. This assurance is the beauty and apex of a Christian’s happiness in this life. It produces the strongest joy with the sweetest comforts and the greatest peace. It is a pearl that most want and a crown that few wear. - Thomas Brooks, Heaven on Earth

And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God’s people), and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength which He produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come. And He put all things [in every realm] in subjection under Christ’s feet, and appointed Him as [supreme and authoritative] head over all things in the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills and completes all things in all [believers]. - Ephesians 1:18-23 (Amplified Bible)

No matter what the world brings, the believer should be marked by joy. So you get that joy when you know you’re the real thing. And you know you’re the real thing when the Lord has so changed your nature that you believe the gospel and you love the Savior. - John MacArthur

I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I am not one of those who treats Christ’s death as meaningless.  For if we could be saved by keeping Jewish laws, then there was no need for Christ to die. - Galatians 2:20-21 (Living Bible)

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is what opened heaven to all of us. At least a dozen times in the New Testament it says God raised Jesus. But we also know God slew Jesus. It pleased the Father to bruise Him. God killed Jesus. He was God’s chosen Lamb as a substitute for sinners. God made Him the sacrifice for our sins. And then God raised Him to validate the sufficiency of His sacrifice. And heaven opened for Him and He ascended back, and heaven opened for all of us as well. That’s why the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so essential. It’s the cornerstone of the Christian faith. We have eternal life because He conquered death for Himself and for us. Our best life is yet to come with Him in glory. And I hope that will be your best life as well. - John MacArthur

And so, dear brothers, I plead with you to give your bodies to God.  Let them be a living sacrifice, holy—the kind he can accept.  When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think.  Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you. - Romans 12:1-2 (Living Bible)

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the promises You’ve given us. You are a God who is faithful, loyal, loving, and fulfills all promises. Lord, it is a corrupt world in which we live, but we don’t want that world to steal our joy. Our citizenship is in heaven. We’re strangers and aliens in this world. Help us to have no expectations for what the world might be. Help us to turn away from trying to find our joy in the world and find our joy in heaven, in Your promises, and all that we anticipate with the living hope that is continually kept alive and stoked like a fire by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who witnesses to us that we belong to You. Fill us with joy, inexpressible and full of glory, we pray. Amen.

Be Encouraged to live in the joy of the assurance of salvation.



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