Assurance of salvation

Do you enjoy the company of fellow believers?

I always find it a great refreshing time, when I can get together with 1 or 2 close believers and talk about struggles, whether it be over theology, or lack of faith in a particular matter.

Could you depart from the faith willingly, and enjoy it to the full extent?

I personally tried this maybe 2-3 years ago, and ran from God knowingly. I sinned willingly for this period, and said, "God, if I'm yours, You'll come get me... if not, I'll go to hell, cuz there aren't many alternatives."

Throughout this period of 2-3 years, I knew in the back of my mind that God would come get me... and every time I sinned I knew I was sinning against Him. But I grit my teeth and did it anyway, sinning spitefully, purposefully, in order to hurt God out of malice towards Him.

How did I manage coming back to Him? It's a long story, I can probably send you a private message if you want further details.

What is your relationship towards Jesus Christ?

Do you simply give mental assent to the cross? Do you simply give mental assent to the resurrection?

Or do these events play a crucial role in the way you speak, the way you think, the things you do, and want to do?

Before I came to Christ, I coulda gave a crap about church, although I was a pastor's son. I only went because I had to, put on a show on the exterior; that I was the best kid coz I knew the most Bible verses / stories. But I was rotten, filled with pride and hate, always scheming the downfall of other kids in my youth group.

After coming to know Christ, God has been changing me from the inside out, through the cross.

How?

God granted me the gift of faith to believe in the grace of the cross at Calvary. I would have never come to God during my freshman year at VCU. I was living the life, shoplifting, swearing for fun, hanging with the wrong crowds, loving pornography, lying to my girlfriend who was back at home.

Then God showed me who I was, and that I was living a lie of Christianity, using Christianity to castigate others who didn't know as much, or who openly drank, and openly fornicated... Christianity was nothing but a crutch of pride for me.

And so began the journey for finding the meaning of true Christianity...

I hope this has been of some help.

Butters, one of the best ways you can begin to understand assurance is to do a serious study in the book of 1 John. This epistle deals with a great deal of questions about assurance. Sermons and opinions aside, there is no getting around verses like these.

"If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Chris his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
-1 John 1:6-7

"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." -1 John 2:3

"He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked." -1 John 2:6

"He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now." -2:9

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." -2:15

"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." -3:14

Romans 6:14 says also, "For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

These are just a few ways the New Testament gives us assurance of faith. The question of how to get to these points is another topic of conversation, but I hope that the Word of God is the place we look to understand how to receive assurance.

How these verses play out in my own life and walk is how I receive assurance.

Do you enjoy the company of fellow believers?

This is a great question btw.