Friday, August 1, 2008

Assurance - August, 2008

Beginning last month, we are sharing in Sightings some sections from Glad Hearts: the Joys of Believing and Challenges of Belonging (Covenant Publications, 2003), an anthology of Voices from the Literature of the Covenant Church with over 700 readings from the mid-19th century to the present. We are doing so for the sake of increasing numbers among us who are largely unaware of their inheritance as Covenanters in both life and thought. The complete Glad Hearts volume is available for purchase under the Resources Link on the Home Page of the rootedwings.com website. Comments or questions regarding any of the readings here are always welcome.

Biblical Moorings

Assurance that one is now in fact a child of God is born within by “the Holy Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). Objectively--almost tangibly--we have the assurance in the Word of God. “As many as received him, as believed in his name, to them gave he power to be the sons of God” (John 1:12). “You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding Word of God” (I Peter 1:23).

If, to the best of our ability, we have done what is required for salvation, then, as God is faithful and cannot lie, we have what he promises. Have I believed that he is the Savior, and have I trusted him as my personal Savior to the best of my faith and understanding? Then the Word of God says that I am a child of God.

Paul P. Fryhling (1912-1973), “Being a Christian and Showing It”
From Donald C. Frisk, Paul P. Fryhling, and Herbert E. Palmquist, The Christian Fellowship: an Introduction to the Church (1958), pp. 38,39.

Among the pagans there is never any assurance with respect to spiritual things. They make their sacrifices, go on long pilgrimages, perform their religious rights “in the hope” that the spirits will be propitious and deal kindly with them. Only future events can prove if their hopes are justified. In the Old Testament God worked to remove such uncertainty and give his people assurance that they were in the will and pleasure of God. One of the great purposes of the New Testament is to give the believer assurance in [his or her] faith. Over and over we hear such expressions as “we know,” “we are assured,” and “we are confident.”

There are some who hold that we cannot know if we are saved until we have departed this life and gotten to glory. Others take their salvation for granted but cannot give “reason concerning the hope” they hold. What joy, what spiritual power there is in the life of the Christian who is able to say with the saints of old, “I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard,” and “We know that we are of God....”

The Test of God’s Word. This is the final authority. If you have honestly and sincerely believed in Christ as your Savior, then you have become a Christian (Acts 2:21; 13:39; 16:31). If you definitely have accepted him as your Lord, then you are his disciple and have eternal life (John 1:12; 1 John 5:12). Have you done this with a sincere heart? Then you must believe that God has done his part of the transaction. Otherwise you make God a liar (1 John 5:10).

The Test of your life. Does your life ring true? Does it reveal the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22)? Are the interests of life Christian? Is the habitual bent of your life Christlike in character?
The Test of the Holy Spirit. The soul that has wholly yielded to God will receive the quiet but assuring testimony of the Holy Spirit. He [or she] can say, “I know I am saved,” and not just be making an idle boast. [One then] speaks from an inner conviction born of God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14,16; 1 John 3:24; 4:3).

Leonard J. Larson (1894-1973), “Christian Youth and Assurance”
From Covenant Graded Lessons, Special Unit, 1949, p. 84.

We commend ourselves in and of God, that God is our God and we are his children. If the son of a king says that he is the king’s son, it is perfectly proper when he is so. But if you or I should say, “I am the king’s son,” that would be foolish. But that the king’s son acknowledges his status and takes pride in it–through that he honors his father. If the ungodly person confesses himself to be so, that would be foolish and untrue. It would not be humility if the king’s son identified himself as the son of a peasant, and neither is it humility in a child of God to hide this high status. It is both healthful and necessary that we hold fast our confession, that is, that God is our father and we his children through Jesus Christ. To be a citizen of the United States and to become president is, of course, a great thing. To be a child of God is the highest goal one can reach. Nothing is greater than to be God himself. To be God’s child is not only the highest dignity to which a human being can come but also the only status which all can reach. Not all can become presidents, kings, or queens; not all can become farmers, shoemakers, or tailors. Only the one status, which at the same time is the highest, can all achieve, namely, to be God’s children.

Paul Peter Waldenström (1838-1917), from a sermon preached in 1889
Quoted in Eric G. Hawkinson, Images in Covenant Beginnings (1968), pp. 78,79.

If asked whereon I rest my claim to full salvation’s joy,
if nothing more I need to name or other words employ
besides our Savior’s blood and wounds, to me all satisfying grounds,
I answer then, “My claim is good! ‘Tis based on Jesus’ blood.”

This is my hope’s foundation firm, which ever shall endure;
and, at the end of life’s brief term, I’ll rest thereon secure:
then dreaded death shall lose its sting as of my Savior’s wounds I sing;
his precious blood shall be the key that opens heav’n for me.

Brödraförsamlingen (Copenhagen, 1748), tr. A. Samuel Wallgren (1885-1940)
The Covenant Hymnal: a Worshipbook (1996), No. 353.

Thy holy wings, dear Savior, spread gently over me;
and through the long night watches I’ll rest secure in thee.
Whatever may betide me,be thou my hiding place,
and let me live and labor each day, Lord, by thy grace.

Thy pardon, Savior, grant me, and cleanse me in thy blood;
give me a willing spirit, a heart both clean and good.
O take into thy keeping thy children great and small,
and while we sweetly slumber enfold us one and all.

Lina Sandell (1832-1903), tr. & © Ernest Edwin Ryden (1886-1981). Used by permission.
The Covenant Hymnal: a Worshipbook (1996), No. 80.

The Role of Trust

Question: How can I know if I am born again, and through what means does this take place?
Answer: It is usually said that there are born and fabricated children, that is to say, those who are born of God and those who have imitated such and in a certain measure become like them. As a sign of the new birth love for the brothers and sisters was mentioned (1 John 3:14; 4:7). This love is not founded on any qualities in its object. The person who is born again is not born again because others are like him or belong to the same denomination but because they are born of God (1 John 5:1). Furthermore, the newborn is not a debtor to the flesh (Romans 8:12; 1 John 3:9). Now one serves God's law inwardly even though his experience is that the law in his members contends against this and takes him prisoner (Romans 7:22-25). Furthermore, he who is born of God knows his voice. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:29). They do not follow just anyone, nor do they listen to just anyone. He who is a stranger they do not know (John 10:5, 8). The born of God cannot live without God's Word. As no one can live without food, so a Christian cannot live without the Word of God. He who is born again has found himself short of his own works. He has learned to despair about himself and is always in his own eyes the chief of sinners. He knows of no other counsel to blessedness than to live by grace only. The promises of the gospel are precious to him.

Even though one is born again and has all these signs of life, one cannot always find them in oneself, and in times of distress and harassment the believer finds no comfort in these evidences. Then it is only Christ and what he has done for sinners that can comfort and give consolation. If, for one's own part, one wants to know if one is born again, the answer is that if one always needs to live by grace, then one is surely born again.

“Report of a Mission Meeting, Salina, Kansas,” November 29-December 1, 1873.
Quoted in Eric G. Hawkinson. Images in Covenant Beginnings (1968), pp. 120,121.

I longed for assurance, but I could not accept it.... [Then one day when home alone recovering from an illness] the thought struck me like lightning, “You are saved and blessed--it is done, it is finished, it has long been your experience but you have not seen it. Christ is your Savior--you have the forgiveness of your sins--you don't have to pray any more to be forgiven: you can rejoice, for you are saved, blessed for time and eternity. All your doing, all your striving, all your praying is nothing–[Christ] is all.” I flew up from the sofa and got hold of a Bible. The Holy Spirit led me to look up Romans, and I read it through without stopping. He himself explained the contents to me. Everything fell into place.... The snare was broken and the bird was free.

Witness of Mathilda Foy, Witness in1850-51
Quoted in Karl Olsson, By One Spirit (1962), p. 65.

Driving to Salina one day I picked up a young man at a filling station who was going west. As we drove along the conversation turned to spiritual things and he confessed he was not a Christian and did not know how to become one. Verse by verse we showed him what it meant to be a Christian and how to appropriate Christ unto salvation. At last he yielded and asked the Lord to accept him and cleanse him from his sins and make him his child. Then somewhat bashfully he asked, “Is this all there is to it ? I don't feel like a Christian.” Taking a quarter from our pocket we gave it to him and he taken by surprise thanked and confessed that he only had fifteen cents left with which to buy lunch until he got to Denver. “Are you sure this quarter is yours now?” we asked. “Sure, you gave it to me, didn't you?” was the response. “Well, do you feel it belongs to you?” “No, but I know it is mine because you said I could have it.” Then he smiled as his face lighted up, “Oh, now I see, that’s just the way it is with being a Christian. I took Jesus like God told me to so I must be a Christian even though I still feel as I did before.”

Leonard J. Larson (1894-1973), “The Believers’ Assurance”
From Christian Doctrines (1936-37), p. 25.

In Doubt and Distress

Even though one is born again and has all these signs of life, he cannot always find them in himself, and in times of distress and harassment he finds no comfort in these evidences. Then it is only Christ and what he has done for sinners that can comfort and give him consolation. If, for one’s own part, one wants to know if one is born again, the answer is that if one always needs to live by grace, then one is surely born again.

As to the means of grace we have the examples from the fathers in the Old Testament who, through faith, received the approval of God. They had only the promise but believed it and received approval (Hebrews 11:15). The foundation of their faith was the promise. The promise awakened faith in them. The means to the new birth is the proclamation of that which Christ has done for the world. This, and only this, can bring forth life when the Spirit is allowed to bring it to the heart.

From a Mission Meeting in Salina, Kansas, 1874.
Quoted in Eric G. Hawkinson, Images in Covenant Beginnings (1968), pp. 121,122.

Are you afraid, lonely, dismayed, thinking yourself forsaken?
God is your stay, trust him and pray, new life he will awaken.

Mercy and love, gifts from above, come in abundant measure.
Great things and small God gives to all, graciously in his pleasure.

Friends may deceive, cause you to grieve, God is your consolation!
Faithful and true he is to you, comfort in tribulation.

Always his grace you may embrace, he is your constant blessing.
When you are tried, flee to his side, need for his help confessing.

Courage and might, guidance and light, God will in mercy render.
In ev’ry pain, conflict and strain, he is your true defender.

Praise now his name! Hear him proclaim, “I will forsake you never!”
Unto the end on him depend, he is the same forever.

Selma S. Lagerström (1859-1927), “Are You Dismayed, Lonely, Afraid,” tr. E. Gustav Johnson (1893-1974), from The Covenant Hymnal (1973), No. 83.

Remaining in the love of Christ is a real concern for believers. The apostle corroborates this by the question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” It arouses disturbing thoughts and indicates that the comfort offered by Paul is needed. Christians are not satisfied with present comfort only, but they are concerned about remaining in Christ's love to the very end.

This is a wholesome concern, even though it indicates a weakness in faith. Nevertheless, the fear of losing our treasure in Christ is a good sign; it denotes that we sense our weakness against the enemy forces, and that the treasure has become precious and indispensable to us. It is the nature of our hearts that in the degree that something has become precious we fear the danger of losing it.

If my treasure is small and cheap, than my fear of thieves and robbers is negligible. But if the treasure is large--such as a half million dollars--then no “strong box” would be sufficiently safe. One who never fears losing his salvation-treasure in this world of danger must not evaluate the treasure very highly. “But in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (v.37). They who are disturbed concerning God's grace will be comforted by this grace. This is a cardinal principle prevailing throughout God's Word.

It is a great and divine comfort that our Lord is faithful. He will sustain us in all our temptations and help us through them safely. He will do this even though we fail to grasp the consolation we desire and long to possess. We do have our Lord's comfort whenever we feel the need of it. He is faithful and strong.

C. O. Rosenius (1816-1868), Romans: A Devotional Commentary, J. Elmer Dahlgren and Royal F. Peterson, translators (1978), p.104.

The painting of your life cannot become a masterpiece if it is done only in light colors. The artist blends light and shadow for complete beauty. Often it becomes necessary for God to shut the soul within darkness in order to speak to it. It was at night that God spoke to Samuel. In the noonday of life, when all is action and hurry, there are many sounds to captivate the ear. The promptings of the Spirit are drowned in the din of the world, and God gets no reply. Life has so many plans, such great prospects, such high hopes, that the mind is totally preoccupied. When God crushes the plans, when the future is cut off and hope fades away, then God gets a reply. Oh, soul, if you hear the voice of God in the night, then answer, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.”

Gustaf F. Johnson (1873-1959), “An Evening Hymn”
From Gustaf F. Johnson, Hearts Aflame, trans. Paul R. Johnson (1970), p. 71.

Great hills may tremble and mountains may crumble,
God’s loving kindness is ever secure;
peace he will give to the contrite and humble:
so says the Lord–his promise is sure.

Though peace be shattered by war’s agitation,
though change and tension give birth to great fears,
God still remains an unshaken foundation,
strong to support us through turbulent years

Strong to preserve us in moments of danger,
strong when frustration and frailty increase;
strong to equip us for loving the stranger,
strong when our human resources may cease.

Teach us, O Lord, your commandments to ponder,
help us to heed them wherever we roam,
waiting the day you will call us up younger,
trusting your promise to carry us home.

Based on Isaiah 54:10, sts. 1,4, Lina Sandell (1832-1903), tr. E. Lincoln Pearson (1917- ), sts. 2,3, Bryan Jeffery Leech (1931- ), from The Covenant Hymnal: a Worshipbook (1996), No. 416.

In Life Threatening Situations

Some...years ago our family life fell in, and the storm began to rage so violently that it appeared we would not be able to keep our heads above the water. And for a while at least, we tried to find some solid ground on which to stand, and there was none (or so it seemed). Our youngest son lay dying in the intensive care unit of one of the large medical centers in Minneapolis, and we were helpless. When the dreaded day came and we were told that our son had died, it was unbearable. There is no more profound grief for a parent than the death of his or her child! My faith was tried and my strength was gone. And yet through that experience I held stubbornly--and sometimes desperately--to my faith in the God of whom the Apostle Paul speaks when he writes that "in everything God works together for good with those who love him." And, though I have yet to see and discover that good, I am more confident than ever that God can work through the storms of life!

For life is like that. There are long periods of quiet and calm when our lives are lived on the placid waters of a peaceful and secure life. But the wind begins to blow, as inevitably it will in all of our lives, and changes everything and disrupts our tranquil existence....

There is a peace that you and I can know even when the storm is raging and the waves are swamping the boat. It is not the peace of escape--and many people escape into easy answers to the terrible questions that life poses for us when we are being blown apart. Nor is it a peace that comes from a sheltered existence, or one that is insensitive to the hurts and the crying needs of others. Certainly Jesus lived no sheltered life. From the time of his baptism and temptation, his life was lived at the center of the storm. And yet, in it and through it, there was an inner trust and security that held him together when the storm reached its height and he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" It was the peace of right relationships, the "peace that passes all understanding," to use Paul's words.

And this peace is offered to you and to me, when the wind is blowing strong and your life is in danger of breaking into pieces. "My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." Those words of Jesus were spoken to his disciples just as the tempest was coming with full force....

It's one thing to sleep with Jonah in the midst of the storm, hoping beyond hope that in our flight and in our sleep we can escape God and his call to responsibility in our lives. But it's quite another thing to sleep with Jesus in the midst of the storm, and to be [as Eric G. Hawkinson once put it], "gathered ... up into that spiritual dimension of life that triumphs over every tragedy."

Herbert M. Freedholm (1937- ), “When the Wind Is Against Us”
From Grace and Glory: a festschrift on preaching in honor of Eric G. Hawkinson (The Covenant Quarterly, 1981-82), pp. 135,136,138,139.


So you are facing surgery. I know the feeling, though I suppose one never really knows what another person feels. (Doesn't it get to you when well-meaning friends share their horror stories and battle scars surrounding an operation, thinking they are being helpful?)

This surgery is uniquely yours, even though thousands before you have undergone something similar. Each of us carries a mixture of our own feelings as we approach any of life's uncertainties....

I remember when I was faced with surgical biopsies, and I recall the subsequent relief when the reports came back indicating “benign,” all is well. However, it was a different story when a later biopsy uncovered cancer. That “Oh, no!” feeling registering shock and disbelief was immediate, and it was quickly followed by a desire to run. But there was nowhere to run! Of course, the imagination continued to work overtime. The days and weeks of needing to wait for surgery didn't help, either.

The chances of totally removing my cancer were good. But in the interim we, the family, had to live with all the uncertainties. Now, if there is anything that makes us climb the walls as mortals, it is uncertainty. Right? Even bad news is in a sense better; for one can at least deal with that.
Perhaps uncertainty, not knowing, not being in control, and a sense of helplessness are parts of what you are going through. That's really rough. Where do you turn for help?

I'm suggesting that you talk about it; share with a relative, a friend, clergy or other professional, any person who will understand and accept you right where you are--your feelings, your thoughts, whatever. Talk it out and get it out! If you only go inward you will end up feeling unnecessarily isolated....

As you move toward your moment of surgery, allow yourself to take that active step of faith, placing yourself and your body into the control of the anesthesiologist, the surgeon, and each helping person on the healing team. That is best coupled with placing yourself in the supportive arms of our loving and everlasting God. See this as a willing surrender, not as giving up. See it more as letting go of each one of your concerns--one by one if need be.

Let go through prayer, confession, forgiveness, worship, annointing, meditation, and whatever other assistance the family of faith affords. God will be there! “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

Roger J. Nelson (1933- ), “Facing Surgery” (Covenant Tract, 1987).

When we came back to Chicago my husband was far from well. The diagnosis made at the Mayo Clinic had discouraged him. By Christmas time he was exceedingly weak and to all appearances he was rapidly failing. Nevertheless, God had given me the assurance that there was a task he was to perform before he would be called home.

One day his friend, Dr. Nils Lund [Dean of North Park Seminary], called on him. While we chatted over the coffee cups, we talked of God's many ways of healing. Before Dr. Lund left we knelt in prayer. An unspeakable peace filled my soul. As we arose from our knees my husband's face beamed with an unforgettable smile, which said, “You have won.” God had sent our friend.

Edla C. Matson (1883-1993), Peter Matson, Covenant Pathfinder in China (1951), p. 245.

About Me

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Nearly seventeen years into retirement, I am enjoying the opportunity to share thoughts and life experiences on a regular basis. This blog is part of a larger personal website at www.rootedwings.com. Your comments, thoughts, and life experience responses are not only invited but welcome!