Full Assurance of Faith
|
|
|
 11080 |
 |
March 21, 2010 |
|
|
|
 "Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22).
There are many ideals and concepts that are not deemed "sinful" or "evil" by this world's measure, but are indeed deemed as such when measured against God's Word. True peace and joy this world cannot provide will make their dwelling in our hearts as much as we have harbored God's Word in our heart and cast off evil, and as our spirits have been renewed. Furthermore, once our hearts have taken after the heart of the holy and perfect God and we have attained a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, each of us will be able to lead a life of prosperity. What steps must we take to attain full assurance of faith?
1. We must recognize evil in our conscience.
In one's life in Christ, a failure to recognize his own evil will slow the growth of his faith. By the same token, when one does not make an effort to cast off that which he has recognized within himself, his spiritual faith cannot grow. Through the attributes of evil with which many of us can identify ourselves and presented in this message, I exhort you to examine how much of evil in your conscience you have come to recognize and to what extent you have cast it off.
The first area concerns all ulterior motives and greed, including greed for material wealth, fame, and authority.
Also included in this category are ego; a desire to be respected and recognized; a heart to insist on only one's opinions and preferences; and a heart to always put oneself and/or his family above others. Many forms of evil are derived from ulterior motives and greed. An individual with such a mindset deceives others, looks only after his own good, and when he is unable to fulfill his greed, that mindset will be displayed in deed in the forms of jealousy, hatred, murder, anger, and quarreling (James 1:14-15). I exhort each of you to attain full assurance faith by accomplishing a clean and pure heart in which there are no emotional attachment and greed (Galatians 5:24).
The second area concerns adultery and fleshly desires. Adultery is a sin God greatly loathes (James 4:4).
God searches a person's heart and is even aware of a fleeting thought or a desire embedded in a glance.
God asks of us more than merely abstaining from committing sin in deed. As Jesus tells us, "[B]ut I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28), we must not only abstain from harboring "lust" but must also root out the source of all fleshly desires. Therefore, I urge each of you to consider and treat members of the opposite gender "in all purity" without any fleshly desires (1 Timothy 5:2).
The third area concerns a changing heart.
Prior to entering spirit, many believers say, "Now that I know how futile flesh is, I have resolved to enter spirit." Such resolutions, however, fade out. Some believers set aside time for devoted prayer and fasting but, as their hearts change, they put an end to those resolutions as well. Such changing of heart stems from evil. As evil is stirred, the individual is unable to guard his heart necessary to accomplish goodness.
When an individual changes his heart frequently, he will not take to his heart the Word he hears and be able to use restraint in pursuing the fleshly desires and wants. Thus, he will face many obstacles in accomplishing sanctification. Therefore, I exhort you to make a habit of sticking with even the smallest and the most trivial of resolutions.
2. We have to have our bodies washed with pure water.
Only when we have our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience by God's Word and our bodies washed with pure water, can our faith grow. Here, "water" spiritually signifies God's Word and having "our bodies washed with pure water" refers to a process in which one casts off his evil by living according to God's Word that pierces "the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow" and compels believers to cast off even the most minute of sins. No one individual can undertake such a process on his own, however. The person must first make an effort and that effort must be accompanied by God's grace and strength and the help from the Holy Spirit. A life in Christ is a continuous process of "having our bodies washed with pure water" until we have attained full assurance of faith.
The extent to which we can accomplish "a sincere heart in full assurance of faith" corresponds directly with the extent to which we wash our hearts with spiritual water. That will ensure our entry into the best heavenly dwelling place, New Jerusalem in which God's throne is seated. I exhort each of you to constantly wash your body with pure water and attain full assurance of faith in gratitude and in gladness.
3. You have to be transformed until you have attained a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.
God wants each of His beloved children to attain a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Accomplishing this requires hearing the Word with an earnest heart and fervent prayer to remove elements of evil in one's conscience.
Furthermore, the believer must make an effort to transform himself by keeping the Word close to his heart and living according to it. He must not become disappointed or grow weary when he finds the same attributes emitted from within even when he feels as though he had been casting off evil. I urge each of you to rejoice and be thankful when you find each attribute of evil, and give yourself a positive reminder that you are one step closer to sanctification.
Even as he greatly manifested God's power and communicated in depth and intimately with God, the Apostle Paul confessed that he unceasingly pressed on to reach the level of faith with which God is pleased (Philippians 3:13-14). May your life and place of work abound in testimonies of blessings and may you reach a glorious place in heaven by wholly attaining a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ I pray!
For additional information or to read the message's text in its entirety, please visit Manmin Central Church on the web at (www. manmin. org) , select the "English" menu, and click on "Words of Life."
|
|
Manmin News 
