Assurance of Salvation
by
Olga Coetzer
Salvation, Rebirth, Regeneration, Repentance, Assurance-of-salvation, Giving-your-heart to God, Becoming-a-child-of-God, Accepting-Jesus-as-your-personal Saviour are all different terms used to express the same experience viz. That of KNOWING THAT YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN and that Jesus lives in your heart.
HOW DOES ONE GET THIS ASSURANCE OF SALVATION?
I’ll try and explain by referring to my own experience and testimony: I had the privilege to be born to Christian parents both of whom were children of God both having a testimony to such an experience.
DID THIS PRIVILEGE GIVE ME HIS ASSURANCE?
NO. Because like everybody else “I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps.51:5), and so I had to come to Jesus personally to make friends with Him. I was baptized as a baby.
DID BAPTISM GIVE ME THIS ASSURANCE?
NO. Baptism does not cleanse us from sin. The Blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin, (1John1:7) Accordingly I had a religious upbringing, attending Sunday School and Church.
DID MY RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING GIVE ME THIS ASSURANCE?
NO. I was good, naughty and got spanked like all children. The fruit of my life showed that I had sin in my heart. But the advantage of my Christian upbringing was that my parents told me that if I wanted to go to Heaven I should have the Assurance that my sins were forgiven. I was afraid of going to Hell and at six years of age, I sometimes realized that I was lost.
One night I dreamt that my head was being cut off. I was terrified and asked God to forgive me my sins. When I woke up I was so relieved and glad that it had only been a dream. So for a while, the fear of death was gone.
DID MY DREAM GIVE ME THIS ASSURANCE?
NO. Dreams as such do not give us rebirth. It is the Word of God that regenerates us, (1Pet.1:23).
While at High School I attended S.C.A. Conventions regularly. Once on such an occasion I cried and cried. For a whole week, I felt so “light”. But that passed away too.
DID MY TEARS GIVE ME THIS ASSURANCE?
NO. Tears do not cleanse us from sin. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3).
I was confirmed and became a Church member.
DID MY CHURCH MEMBERSHIP GIVE ME THIS ASSURANCE?
NO. While I promised God in the presence of the Congregation that I would serve God with my whole heart, with my whole soul and all my strength, I knew that I did not have the power to do so. I felt like a deceiver and was homesick in my heart. I wanted to be saved so that I could go to Heaven for I did not want to go to Hell. But the pleasures of the world had just begun to fascinate me in spite of my strict religious background, and I was not willing to give these up just then. Though my name was recorded in the Church register it was not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, (Rev. 20:15).
The next day I partook of Holy Communion.
DID HOLY COMMUNION GIVE ME THIS ASSURANCE?
NO. Though I lived in peace with my fellow man I had not as yet made peace with God. My iniquities separated me from Him, (Isaiah 59:2). We had never become friends; I was still His enemy, (James4:4). So, I had been partaking of Holy Communion unworthily and was guilty, (1Cor.11:27).
After that, I went to the University College where I enjoyed life! But, whenever I came back to my room after a wonderful dance or a good picture, there was such an emptiness in my heart, such a famine! I did not find satisfaction.
When I had written my final examinations I went to live with my widowed mother and taught school. In order not to hurt her I accompanied her to Church, to prayer meetings and joined her in family worship. In other words, I lead a godly life.
DID THE ADAPTATION TO A GODLY LIFE GIVE ME THIS ASSURANCE?
NO. “For by grace are ye saved through faith... not of works”, (Eph.2:8-9). Even though everybody spoke kindly of me and I too had a high opinion of myself, there was rebellion in my heart. Oh, I was so bored and dissatisfied. At this stage, I stopped reading the Bible, which to me was such a dry and uninteresting book. I decided then that I was going to do as I liked and enjoy the pleasures of the world.
THEN HOW DID I GET THIS ASSURANCE?
When my mother realized what I was heading for she persevered in prayer for my salvation. A few weeks passed and two Evangelistic Preachers came to our village. One of them asked me a direct question, “Are you saved?” I answered “No”. He gave me a tract to read. I do not know what I read. All I knew was that I was desperate about my lost condition... the uncertainty about eternity. On the last page of the booklet, I found the “recipe” of how to come to Jesus, how to get saved.
This is what I did:
- I acknowledge that I was lost. If I should die I would go to Hell.
- I asked Jesus to forgive me my sins. At the moment I could not remember any individual sin to confess before Him. I brought the whole bundle.
- Then I said, “Lord, I believe that thou hast forgiven me right now” according to His Word in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,” and in 1 John 1:7 “The Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
- I thanked Him, believing His Word that He forgave all my sins without me feeling anything strange, or seeing a supernatural vision or experiencing any ecstasy. Physically I was still the same person, but the burden of sin was gone. What a relief! Also, the fear of death and the judgment thereafter disappeared the craving in my soul for satisfaction was appeased for Jesus Himself came in and filled the void. The Bible which had been so dry and uninteresting became Alive! As I read it was as if a Person was talking to me. It is still like that today. And in my heart, I had the Assurance of sins forgiven, (Rom. 8:16). I was saved! I was able to tell others about it and did just that.
DOES THIS ASSURANCE LAST?
God promises to keep me, (Ps 121) to be with me, (Math. 28:20), to keep me from falling, (Jude 24). This is His part on condition “Abide in Me and I in you. He that abides in me, the same bringeth forth much fruit. If a man abides not in Me, he is cast forth...into the fire,” (John 15:4-6)
HOW DOS ONE ABIDE IN HIM?
By Daily: talking to Him...by praying
allowing Him to talk to me...by reading the Bible.
talking about Him, telling others what He means to me.
And by beginning to seek Holiness. In that way, one abides in Him and wins souls for Him.
Thus far, by His grace, I have never lost my Assurance of Salvation. Wouldn’t you like to make sure that you are saved? Do not waste time as I did. You may have ASSURANCE OF SALVATION right now.
