Full Assurance of Our Faith in Jesus      Hebrews 10:12-25

What are you absolutely certain of? You have no doubts at all; obviously, some things like basic maths (we are all certain 2 plus 2 is 4…I hope), but something a little more. We might say we can be certain of 2 things: death and taxes. That’s true, but are you certain about things concerning your faith in Christ? How much doubt actually rules in your heart? If we had no doubt in our faith, we would be more bold in our prayers, more faithful in our service, more committed to bringing in the kingdom, seeing people hear about Jesus. I think when we lack fervour in our faith, it’s because our assurance gets abandoned and our conviction gets clouded.

Some things require a fair bit of assurance that they will work. We need to have a fair bit of faith in the situation. Some of you, including my wife, have jumped out of a perfectly good aircraft having full assurance that the parachute was going to open.

A bit of background to the book of Hebrews:- By the time Hebrews was written, Christianity had been around for about 25 years; before AD70, because the writer spoke about sacrifices being offered every year. (Hebrews 10:1) That stopped in AD 70, with the destruction of the temple. But complacency had stepped into this Jewish Christian community. They had not grown in their faith; they still had an elementary or simple understanding of Jesus and other Christian teaching. The writer said you should be teachers by now, but you are babies still requiring milk. (Hebrews 5:12)

The writer to the Hebrews, in chapter 10, just spoke about having full assurance of faith. I want full assurance of faith regarding my salvation, my hope of a resurrection; a complete conviction that my home is in Heaven. Certainly, with respect to the resurrection, in my heart of hearts, I’m with Thomas who said, “"Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." (John 20:25) You see, the other disciples had already seen the resurrected Christ; they didn’t need any more proof. Thomas hadn’t seen and experienced what the other disciples had seen and experienced.

But Jesus said these words, “Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:27-29)

That’s you this morning, if you are here and believe that Jesus is the Christ and He has risen from the dead. What I want to ask you this morning is: how sure you are in that conviction? Our assurance of Heaven is inherently based on the fact that “He is risen.”

Assurance of faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-3)

For our Assurance to grow this morning, there are two things that need to happen.

The first is: our heads need to be convinced of the undeniable evidence of the resurrection.

Secondly, and more importantly, we need a supernatural encounter upon our hearts. God Himself needs to fill us up with the joy, hope and power of those truths. We need both; why?

Because the facts concerning the resurrection of Christ alone do not translate to an empowering conviction of the heart. We may have the facts of our faith in our heads, but not know the transforming power of that reality in our hearts. Judas saw miracles and performed them. Yet he was filled with remorse, not repentance. The gambler knows in his head the money he is losing is taking his family’s wealth away, yet back he goes to the pokies.

So, the head and the heart need to be convinced and converted. Sometimes one happens before the other. (Personal testimony) But others are convinced in a rational sense first (e.g. Lee Strobel: reporter set out to prove Christ’s resurrection was a lie. The evidence was overwhelming; he got converted.)

How to convince your mind. Look at the Scriptures and the evidence and see if/how they match. (Romans 12:2) “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” If the Scriptures are true, the evidence around us, and available to us, should match.

The resurrection should be verifiable and the evidence should be profound, and it is. Stay afterwards if you want to know more about that: creation/evolution discussion, Noah’s flood, stones and bones should confirm or deny the scriptures. What evidence do we see?

Scriptures of Assurance: (John 5:24) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (Romans 10:9) “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

What does assurance in our faith cause in us? We live boldly for Christ!

My favourite verses: (Romans 8:31-39) “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died---more than that, who was raised---who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, … nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Therefore, how should we live? With full boldness, joy and peace. Go for it! What are your desires in Christ? If you could do anything for Jesus, what it be?

What’s stopping you?

You want to know what is even more certain than 2 plus 2 equals 4? Christ’s love for you, His sovereignty over everything that is happening, and His return for His bride.

Now what? Let’s stop and dream for a bit. If you were 100% confident of Jesus’ love for you and your entrance into glory, how should you live the rest of your days? Christian, hear me. Live with no regrets at the end of your life. Go for it!