The assurance of our salvation is a tremendous benefit from God. Does it give you daily confidence? Believers have an enemy who’s always trying to disrupt our faith. And our flesh wages war against the Lord’s best for us.
This month, find comfort in some essential truths from Dr. Stanley, and trust you’re forever safe in God’s hands.
Once, a young woman called me saying, “I want to be saved.” Now that’s a very good desire! But then she said, “I think I’ve already been saved, but I need to do it again.”
What would cause someone to think a second salvation was necessary? In her mind, she believed she hadn’t done enough to stay saved. She felt defeated and burdened by all the standards, rules, and expectations she had placed on herself.
I fear that this may be the state of many Christians today. Instead of a life of joy in the Lord, they are plagued by doubts and exhausted from their efforts to maintain their salvation.
This is exactly what happened to the Galatians. They had readily accepted the gospel when Paul came to them, but after he left, they became convinced they also needed to obey the civil and ceremonial laws given to Israel.
Every believer is called to a life of grace, not works; a life marked by gratitude and a desire to pursue only the law of love, written on our hearts. Yet too often, having received salvation by faith, we try to figure out what we can do to deserve it.
We did nothing to earn our salvation, and there is nothing we can add to keep it. Knowing this, why would we ever try to live the Christian life by works? Paul reveals several reasons in his letter to the Galatians.
We might be influenced by false teachers.
“You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you” (Gal. 5:7-8).
The Galatians started listening to a group called the Judaizers. They didn’t deny that salvation is through Jesus Christ, but they added adherence to certain religious practices as a requirement.
There are denominations and teachers today who do the same thing. Early in my Christian life I was taught that I could lose my salvation if I didn’t follow all the rules set by the church. I felt burdened and continually doubted my salvation until I learned the truth about God’s grace.
Christians sometimes return to a life of works because of a misunderstanding of the nature of salvation.
“Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3).
Good works and acts of service are the result of our salvation. We’ve been given a new heart that delights in obeying and serving God, but these things don’t keep us saved. God is the one who saves and keeps us.
The appeal of the flesh can also lure us into relying on works.
“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).
The fleshly pride in us wants to see that we’ve done something to deserve salvation. God accepts us in Christ despite everything He knows about us, not because of it. Our salvation is based on what Christ did for us.
Nobody can put us in bondage, or tie us to any kind of entanglements, because Jesus Christ has liberated us from a yoke of bondage.
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).
We’re grateful for Dr. Stanley’s clear descriptions of the ways we can drift or be pulled away from a full appreciation of God’s great salvation. Remember, the only freedom that lasts is the freedom of a close, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
It’s our prayer that you’ll walk with greater awareness of, and confidence in, our Father’s amazing grace. Till next time, God bless you.
For His glory,
Your friends at In Touch Ministries
P.S. This month we honor and celebrate the dads in our lives. We are thankful for the men that love and serve as our Father intended—whether it’s your own dad, a family friend, your spouse, or even you. May God bless these men who love us the best they can.
Happy Father’s Day, from our family to yours!