“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” – 2 Timothy 4:7,8.
Christian history and tradition agree that the Apostle Paul wrote these lines in his final letter to Timothy not long before his execution in Rome. It affirms fundamental doctrines of the faith, the authority of Scripture (“the pattern of sound words”), leaves strong prophetic words about “the last days,” warns of coming apostasies, encourages Timothy to “not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.” Paul wrote with conviction about his certainty of the assurances of the faith he held. In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, he looks downward to his approaching death, backward to his faithful Christian life and forward to the Day of judgement when he will receive his crown of faithfulness. His certainty and assurance encourage believers today.
Assurance of believers is a true and scriptural thing. It is greatly to be desired and nurtured. It is rooted in faith in the teachings of Bible Scripture. Believers are often weak in assurance, filled with doubts, fears, apprehensions, troubled by their own besetting sins and failures. While faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit, it finds itself in a warfare between world, flesh, devil and the soul. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8). Mountain top experiences exist alongside deep valleys of doubt and failure.
J C Ryle, an outstanding Bible teacher and writer of the past, has written encouragingly: “A true Christian can reach a degree of faith in Christ that he can feel entirely confident as to the safety of his soul, his forgiveness from all sin…can look forward to death and judgement without fear.” Ryle’s words are supported by those of the Apostle in the letter to Timothy.
Our world today – local, regional, international – is filled with violence and corruption, the sound of war and intractable warmongers, horrendous sufferings, and our faith is much troubled as are our receptions of the daily news from the world, at home and abroad. Aging bodies, sickness, increasing deaths of relatives and friends, coupled with personal anxieties, all serve to trouble our faith. We don’t doubt, yet our minds and lives are so caught up with fearful apprehensions, that we often look away from our Biblical Christian faith and its certainties.
An assured hope, strong confidence, is to be desired. To be certain that you are safe with God. Given all the raging, ruling beasts creating chaos in our world now, the believer must be sure, beyond religious jargon, that Jesus Christ is risen from the grave and is King of kings and Lord of lords. Before His Ascension, he said to His disciples, “All authority is given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Paul had revealed to the Athenians that God “has appointed a Day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30).
The assurance of believers, no matter the personal or public situations, rests on their acceptance of the authority of Bible-revealed Scriptures. Paul writes to the church at Rome, “..we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28). The rest of that chapter presents some of the strongest promises to believers that their faith in the God of the Bible, in the Lord Jesus Christ crucified and risen, is not in vain. Their faith is not only to provide earthly, material comforts but speaks to matters of life, death, salvation, eternity. At the end of Romans 8, Paul writes with powerful certainty of his own faith, to encourage believers down the ages: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38, 39).
Assurance reflects a full-grown, doctrinally-sound faith. The Bible is not some kind of magic book, to be used for superstitious purposes. Its theology can be rightly, soundly interpreted. Its interpretations and meanings are not to be derived from personal, subjective points of view, without logic. Yes, the many denominations of Christendom have come up, over centuries and in more recent times, with their own interpretations of Bible teaching. Catholicism, Orthodox and Protestantism are divided into their camps because of the interpretations of Scripture that have derived from their scholars and teachers.
The basics of the Christian faith, summed up in the Creeds and Confessions that have been shaped from its earliest days, can be identified: the reality of Triune God as Creator, Humanity as God’s creation, a Fall into sin, the coming into the world of the Son of God as Saviour, His Lordship, His death and Resurrection, a Judgement Day with Christ as Judge, a new Heavens and new Earth – are clearly set out. The Biblical Gospel calls humanity to be saved from future rejection by God through faith in Christ. Believers are assured everywhere in Scripture of God’s love and faithfulness. And are exhorted to remain faithful no matter their circumstances. The confidences of believers are rooted in their faith in the revelations of God’s mercy and love set out in the Bible. And taught by churches who are faithful to the doctrines and teachings found in the Bible.
So believers are exhorted to practice assurance! To echo in their lives the faith of Paul, the apostles and faithful believers down the centuries. Against the unbelieving and contradictory noises of our world. Against their own inevitable failures. Against false doctrine. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Ultimate salvation is the great hope and assurance of believers who hold the Bible Scriptures in reverence and confidence.
“And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (2 Timothy 4:18). What a wonderful acclamation of assurance for all believers!