DAVID DECLARES IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS Devotion 4 of 28 There is a real need to speak about assurance and confidence. By this, I do not mean self-confidence, but confidence in the Lord – knowing you are His child and He is your Father. I speak of knowing you are not condemned, and that you have access to the throne of all grace. This is the knowledge of sins forgiven, and of being received by the very God we had offended. THIS TEACHING IS IMPERATIVE These unfortunate conditions are not unique to our time. Early in the history of the church, subverting teachers arose, injecting legalism and variant teachings into the life stream of the church. As a result, the souls of men became emaciated, confidence waned, and a distance began to form between the people and the Savior who had delivered them. It was not long until problems and divisions erupted, and moral decline began to appear. These are the clutter that is left behind when the full assurance of faith and hope are driven from the heart. – Tomorrow:
"But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin." (Romans 4:5-8, NKJV)
No child of God begins new life with doubt and fear. That is simply not how the new birth is accomplished and newness of life realized. Were that the case, joy would not attend conversion. But it does, and consistently so! The new convert may not be able to perceive or explain the magnitude of salvation, but there is no question about its reality. That is why partaking of Christ is associated with "the BEGINNING of our confidence" (Heb 3:14), as well as "confidence and rejoicing" (Heb 3:6).
On one occasion, Jesus found a man who was born blind. After a brief dialog with His disciples about the man's condition, Jesus "spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay." He then told the man, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam." The man did as he was told, and "came seeing." He immediately confronted neighbors and religious dignitaries who questioned him at length about his healing. All he could tell him was that a "man named Jesus made the clay and opened my eyes." After being grilled by Jesus' enemies and cast out of the synagogue by them, the Lord Himself found the man. He asked him, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" The man replied, "Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?" Upon hearing Jesus identify Himself as that Son, the man said, "Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him" (John 9:1-39). Here was man who was healed by the Son of God, and did not know who it was that healed him. However he DID know that once he was blind, but now he saw.
That is somewhat of the condition of many believers. They know they are forgiven. They know they are no longer what they were. But the fulness of the One who has wrought these things within them is not yet realized. Assurance and confidence have to do with that realization. They occur when hope matures, and faith is not longer infantile. When the heart is assured of Divine acceptance, it moves the believer into the most holy place, where Divine fellowship and strength are realized.
Lifeless religion has robbed people of this confidence. Without exception, as soon as the heart and mind are diverted to theological wrangling, one's status with God becomes unsure. One only has to traffic among those with a penchant for Law to have this confirmed. A systematized theology also robs the soul, taking joy and confidence from it, and replacing them with lifeless views, personal doubt and stern judgmentalism.
It is to be understood that God cannot be confidently or boldly approached where assurance is lacking. Furthermore, there are needed resources that can only be obtained when the heart can confidently come into the presence of the Lord. Nor, indeed, can Satan be effectively and consistently resisted where assurance lies wounded in the vestibule of legalism and institutionalism. The soul MUST be refurbished and strengthened with the knowledge of its acceptance in Christ Jesus!
The redeemed must not allow themselves to get beyond the sound of the Gospel, or the recollection of their deliverance through Jesus. That is one of the resounding arguments for regular participation at the Lord's table. And, the proclamation of the Person and accomplishments of Jesus must be the pivot upon which all preaching turns, and where all teaching finds its focus and ultimate expression.
PRAYER POINT: Father, thank You for providing a salvation that warms the heart, floods the mind, and charges the emotions.