Tag: confidence

Exchanging Confidence

Confidence is a strange thing. Some people have tremendous confidence and others seem to have none at all. Furthermore, confidence itself can be well-grounded or foolishly assumed. If confidence is based upon a proper foundation, then it is right and good. But if confidence is merely based on presumption or even error, then confidence is reckless and dangerous.

Jesus Christ is both an example of godly confidence and the basis of such confidence. While the religious and political leaders of His day were confident in all the wrong places and for all the wrong reasons, Jesus’ confidence in God provides an exemplary posture worth imitating.

Even more important, Jesus is the reason why any sinner may have confidence in God at all. Because He died as the substitute for the guilty, He has gathered into one all the children of God.

May we learn to trust in Christ as our substitute, and may we learn to entrust ourselves to God as we follow Christ’s example.

Are you sure?

“In [Christ] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13–14).

God has promised eternal life to all who rest and trust in Jesus Christ. And yet, many Christians struggle with the idea that God will always extend to them the same grace that He once did. Anyone who has honestly assessed their remaining desire for sin and their continued lack of personal righteousness will have to answer a piercing question:

“How can I be sure that God’s promise of eternal life will always remain true for me?”

If we rest our hope in personal obedience, then we are sorely disappointed. None of us are nearly as virtuous as we know we should be, for we do not love God with our whole heart. If we rest our hope in the strength of our faith, even then we are left with a merely subjective and circumstantial anchor. Our faith may be strong on some days, but it will wane on others.

The assurance every Christian may have is not based on anything in them, but rather is based upon God’s faithfulness and strength. Every Christian is indwelt by God Himself, and in this, the Christian may find great security. Since God has already given His Spirit to those He saves, they can know that their salvation will most assuredly be completed in due time.

May God grant us the grace to know and love Him, and the assurance that His love for us is steadfast and sure.

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