For Reading and Meditation:
Hebrews 10:19-25
In every religion in the world apart from Christianity there is a note of uncertainty concerning this matter of personal salvation. Many modern religious attitudes are expressed in the limerick: For as much as without Thee We are not able to doubt Thee, O grant us Thy grace To inform the whole race That we know nothing whatever about Thee. Can we be satisfied with this? St. Augustine said he wished to be as certain of things unseen as that seven and three make ten. The human heart longs for certainty - it needs to know without a shadow of doubt that the salvation of the soul is secure. The good news is that in Jesus Christ such security is found. When we turn from other religions to the Word of God, it is like stepping out of thick fog into clear and brilliant sunlight. Our text today talks not just of assurance but full assurance - the full assurance of faith. What is faith? Faith is simply taking God at His Word, accepting what He asserts and acting accordingly. Listen to just one of the many things God says concerning this matter: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). Have you called on Christ and received Him into your heart? Then you have scriptural warrant for believing on that basis alone, quite apart from personal feelings, that you are a child of God, and that you are going to spend eternity with Him. What a salvation! What a Savior!
My Father and my God, what a joy it is to know that You make available to me not just assurance but full assurance. Fill the cup of my heart until it is overflowing with the sense of divine assurance. And keep it full, dear Father. In Jesus' Name. Amen.