For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:14-17 CSB

“But wait, there’s more!”

Sorry, friend, I couldn’t help myself; I just had to say it.

Holy Spirit truly is one of God’s good and perfect gifts that just keeps on giving and giving and giving.

Counselor. Teacher. Guide. Intercessor. Giver of good fruit.

And now, in Romans 8:14-17 we see another good and perfect gift God gives us through Holy Spirit: Assurance!

As the old hymn of the church goes:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood

Do you know what the opposite of assurance is?

In my mind, it is doubt.

You know who revels in our doubt?

The enemy of our souls, the planter of doubts, the deceiver, Satan.

I had a very specific doubt that I struggled with for years and years; a doubt I thought to be uniquely mine until one evening a couple of years ago when a beloved Sister shared that she has struggled with the same doubt off and on in her lifetime.

A doubt that can be completely wiped away by the blessed assurance provided by Holy Spirit if we just lean into God’s voice.

You see, my dear Sister and I gave our hearts to Jesus as young women, children really, and so, all of our lives we’d heard these massively transformational conversion stories from men and women of God. Men and women who’d given their hearts to Jesus and felt years of shame and guilt melt away at the altar, who’d had addictions broken and strongholds crumbled at the feet of Jesus. But we were young. Our greatest sins as we could see them (that’s a whole ‘nother post isn’t it, how we rank sin as if all sins are not equal in God’s eyes) were not cleaning our rooms the first time our parents asked or maybe pulling our brother’s or sister’s hair or peeking at a friend’s answers on a pop quiz.

We simply did not relate to those intensely transformational stories and so we wondered, without a big conversion experience, were we really saved? Had giving our hearts to Jesus really “taken hold” when we were younger?

Maybe you gave your life to Jesus as a child and have a similar experience? Or maybe you already had strong moral excellence when you came to Jesus as an adult and weren’t under a burden of guilt or shame that suddenly lifted? Maybe you’ve wrestled with that same doubt: Am I really saved without a major conversion in my mind, emotions, or behavior at my time of salvation?

If that’s you, let me put your heart and mind at ease with something my pastor has said to our congregation several times: You can’t have the Spirit of the Living God inside of you and not know it.

Where does my pastor take that truth from?

Romans 8:14-17, specifically, “The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs – heirs of God and coheirs with Christ”.

You see, blessed assurance comes when Holy Spirit testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children.

How?

By many of the ways we have already discussed.

• Holy Spirit provides us counsel. We KNOW that still, small voice when it gives us comfort in times of pain, when it speaks peace to us in times of chaos or conflict. We KNOW the power that draws our hands or our eyes heavenward when we give praise or call out for help. We KNOW who gives us the words as we testify of God’s love to an unbelieving friend or suddenly offer forgiveness when all we could think of was revenge.

• Holy Spirit teaches us through God’s holy word and Jesus’ example. Phrases thousands of years old jump off the page and into our hearts; those words in red of our Savior break our hearts for what breaks His. We are convicted to think and act differently than the world around us.

• Holy Spirit brings people to our mind and says, “Pray for him/her” or “Check in on him/her”. During our prayers, we suddenly realize we’re being selfish and change our request or suddenly feel convicted by a thought or interaction and ask God to help us understand why – we confess, acknowledging God is right, and commit to repent, to turn away from those thoughts, words ,or actions in the future.

• Holy Spirit develops fruit of the Spirit within us. We who were once impatient grow more patient. We who were once fickle become more faithful. We who once fell easily to a temptation exhibit greater self-control. We who once cursed or entertained foul jokes feel convicted to stop using or listening to such words. We are strengthened to act on our commitment of repentance in a way that shows we have turned or are turning away from sin.

Friend, there are thousands, likely millions, perhaps an infinite number of ways that Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit on a daily basis that we are God’s children, His heirs, purchased by the blood of Christ, and sealed by Holy Spirit with a seal that cannot be broken:

My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. – John 10:27-29

Jesus says that His sheep hear His voice. How do we hear it?

That’s right: Holy Spirit.

Jesus says that His sheep follow Him. How are we able to do that?

That’s right: Holy Spirit.

And no one is able to snatch Jesus’ sheep from His hand or from His Father’s hand. Who seals us against the enemy’s hand?

That’s right: Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Living God within us.

Blessed assurance is not only possible, friend, it is promised!

It is a good and perfect gift indeed!

And friend, beloved of God, I don’t know the condition of anyone’s spirit but my own, but if you read the examples of how Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit above and none of them related to your walk with God, to your daily living, if you’ve experienced no call to change in your life whatsoever, no moment when a sermon or a passage of God’s word convicted you to repent, to go a different way or to follow God more closely in an area, then right now would be a great time to go to God in prayer and ask Him for His blessed assurance of salvation.

God is good to give assurance to those who have called upon Him to be saved by faith through Jesus Christ. How do I know? Because I’ve asked Him for it many times when I’ve been confronted by own lack of a major conversion story as a believer who came to God as a child. He has always been faithful to point out to me ways that I have grown in Him throughout my life, times He has spoken to me and I KNEW His voice, how I am different today than I was last week or last year or ten years ago.

I know from the testimony of close friends that God is also very, very good to show us the condition of our hearts and convict us to receive salvation if we believe that we had at one point, but truly did not understand what we said or were not mature enough or ready enough to be truly repentant. Often times, we call this rededication.

Whether He gives you assurance or gives you a new salvation or rededication story, I can promise you, friend, that God will address your need, your doubt, or your concern more perfectly than you could ever imagine. Go to Him, one way or another the gift of blessed assurance can be yours today!

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