Riches Of Assurance

Many people want assurance of salvation to
register in their feelings. This is a common
mistake, which often has a disastrous out
come. God never said that emotions would be
the test of salvation. Assurance is not depen-
dent on psyche, but on His eternal Word. Al-
though the human soul is a masterpiece of
creation, it was made to fluctuate with ex-
perience, registering ups and downs, being
glad, or being sad, according to the state
of the mind, even after salvation. Saved
people do not have ever smiling faces, like
plastic masks. They have entered God's
original plan for their lives, and have no
need to consult their emotions to determine
whether they are saved or not.




Salvation is embedded in the rock of the
eternal Word. Jesus said that ``heaven and
earth will pass away, but My words will by
no means pass away.`` This is the cleft of
rock to which we must flee whenever Satan
attacks us with doubts. We are saved because
the Word of God says that we are saved. What-
ever we feel, our conviction should remain
unshakable.

The first Christians were not uncertain.
Scripture says that they were to ``abound
in hope,`` having ``abundance of joy`` and
``abundance of grace.`` To abound means to
have enough with some to spare; a surplus,
like the twelve baskets of food left over
after Jesus fed the five thousand. assurance
of salvation is not over-confidence, but a
deep, settled peace, which fills the soul
at those monents when the devil whispers
his doubts.

Longing For God

From the beginning of human existence, there
has been a natural longing for God to manifest
Himself in unshadowed reality. The universal
cry is for God to convince the world that He
is God.




``Why do the nations rage, and the people
plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth
set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together. He who sits in the heavens shall
laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
and distress them in His deep displeasure.
Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed,
you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with
fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the
Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the
way, When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in
him.``

Even the ungodly demand hard evidence of God,
and scoff, ``He is not apparent.`` The wicked
man says to himself ``God has forgotten; He
hides His face; He will never see.`` A similar
situation troubled the Psalmist himself, who
asked, ``why do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why do you hide in times of trouble?`` Indeed,
the wish for God to prove Himself is implicit
in many psalms, and the frequent plea is:
``Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered!``