Assurance of Salvation
by Evangelist John R. Rice
(Chapter 1 from Dr. Rice's excellent book, Steps For New Converts)
"They that gladly received his word . . . " —Acts 2:41
Here are some lessons in the Christian life. Every Christian
starts out as a baby Christian. One has to learn after one is saved. One has to
grow in grace after being saved. A good example is in the book of Acts, after
Pentecost, when they had three thousand people saved. The Lord tells us how they
did after they were saved - these new converts. My, how happy and fruitful they
were!
In Acts 2 we begin to read with verse 41:
"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there
were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly
in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in
prayers."
Today I want you to see that "they that gladly received his word were baptized."
Who was baptized? That is, who publicly took on himself the name of Christian?
Who was it that counted themselves committed, branded, lined up with God's
people? Those who gladly received His word.
Let us imagine that here a great number of people come. They say, "Peter, I have
been saved. I have trusted the Lord." Peter says, "Are you taking God's word for
it? Are you believing that He died for your sins? Are you relying on His death,
that He paid for your sins? Are you relying on His promises, that He gave you
everlasting life when you trusted Him?"
"Yes."
"All right. then you may be baptized."
Those that gladly received His Word were baptized. I am talking about assurance
of salvation.
When I was a boy back at Gainesville, Texas, I remember that Dr. Talley was the
pastor. At prayer meeting a woman said, "Dr. Talley, a neighbor of mine says she
knows she is saved. Now isn't it presumptuous for anybody to say she knows she
is going to Heaven?"
Dr Talley very wisely answered, "No. If she is relying on the Word of God, she
has a right to know that she is saved."
Can you know you are forgiven, and know that you are going to Heaven? Yes, you
can. In II Timothy 1:12 Paul says, "I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day." "I know whom I have believed." It is already done. I have already
believed. Not "I am believing," but by an act of faith I committed myself to
Christ, I relied on Christ. "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded (or
convinced) that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him." Now
Paul committed himself and the saving of his soul to the Lord. He said. "And I
know He will keep what I have already committed to Him." Paul knew he was saved.
Paul could say in Romans, chapter 8, in the triumphant closing of that great
passage, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us." That settles that Jesus is taking up for me. I have been saved.
I read on in Romans, chapter 8, beginning with verse 35:
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature (No, Paul says not any other created thing), shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
One Can Know by Plain Statements of Scripture
Oh, Paul said, "I know whom I have believed. I know He is keeping that which I
have committed to Him." Can one know he is saved? Oh, yes. I read in I John
5:11-13: "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life." That
is interesting. God gave it. It is not bought. You are not earning it. You are
not working it in. But "God hath given to us eternal life." What kind of life?
Eternal life. He not only gave me life but He gave me eternal, everlasting life.
Oh, how often He said, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the
Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you (in the Bible)
that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have
eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." John says.
I have written these things so you can know you have eternal life.
Now, how am I going to know? By the record in the Bible. God loves me. Jesus
died for me. My sins are all paid for. He said they would be blotted out and not
held against me any more if I would come to Jesus and rely on Him. The Bible
says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). The
Bible says in John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life." The believer
already has it! He is not going to have it some day, but he has it now." ...
HATH everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from
death unto life." So He said, "I have written these things that you may know
that you have eternal life when you believe on Jesus." Thank God, one can know!
After Years of Ignorant Doubt, I Learned I Had Everlasting Life
Why don't people know? For three sad years after I was converted I did not know
for sure I was saved. When I was a boy about nine years old, in the First
Baptist Church of Gainesville, Texas, the pastor, dear Brother Ingram, preached
on the prodigal son. He told how when he was a boy he ran away from home and got
a job in a print shop, and how he made a botch of it when he spilled a whole
font of type, making pie out of it when every letter, every period and comma had
to be set by hand. He spilled that and the fellow fired him and didn't pay him.
He was hungry and went home and his father loved him and forgave him and took
him back home when he had run away.
This preacher said, "As that prodigal son came home to his father and the father
ran to meet him and fell on his neck and kissed him, so you can come to Christ
now, and He will take you."
When the invitation was given, I walked down the aisle and told the preacher,
"All right, I have come to trust Jesus." But nobody then took the Bible and
showed me how Christ had promised to us everlasting life. Nobody showed me any
Scripture. They just said, "Now, John, you ought to join the church."
Well, I went home that day and said, "Dad, what about me joining the church? (I
didn't know how to tell him what had happened.) He said: "Well, Son, when you
are really old enough to repent of your sins and be regenerated, then will be
time enough to join the church." Well, I didn't know what those big words meant,
but if my dad didn't think I was saved, I guessed I wasn't, since he was the
smartest man in the world. So sadly I put it aside. I supposed I was too young.
Dad seemed to think so, and I supposed I was not saved.
The next morning as I went to school, I stopped down at the creek bottom and
knelt on the sand bar under a willow tree and prayed, "Now, Lord, I guess I am
too young to be saved," - and I mentioned this one and that one and others I
knew. I said, "Lord, they are not too young, they can be saved, Lord, save
them."
Isn't it a strange thing that I had a burden for people to be saved when I
didn't know for sure I was saved myself? Well, I went on a time wondering. A boy
that day had come who was twelve and he was crying. I wondered if I would have
been saved had I cried more. I didn't know what it took to be saved.
I went on doubting for three sad years. Then I decided to leave this thing with
Jesus. I remember I asked a preacher to pray for me and I didn't say, "Tell me
how to be sure." He didn't know how to tell me, I suppose. All he said was, "All
right, John, I'll pray for you and you pray for yourself."
So I went home and knelt down by my bed that night and prayed, but I didn't feel
any better. I went to bed and I didn't feel good and I said, "I had better get
this settled." So I got up and knelt down and prayed again. Well, I decided I
would join the church and try to live for Christ the best I could.
But after I had been saved for three years I started reading the bible. I read
the Scripture which says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life"
(John 3:36). I read where "he that believeth on him is not condemned" (John
3:18). I read John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." I read John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." I
said, "Here it is. When I believed in Jesus, when I trusted Jesus, I got
everlasting life! That is what the Bible says." And, God is my witness, as far
as I know, I have never had a second of doubt about my salvation since then.
People Doubt Because They Partly Depend on Good Life
Now why do people doubt their salvation? Well, it is a natural thing to do. In
the first place, we don't like to admit we are wicked old sinners who can do
nothing to earn salvation. We like to feel respectable.
Lynn Tompkins who worked for us and who is now at Dr. Tom Malone's school, one
night at 10:00 had not won anybody that particular day. He said, "I must get
somebody saved before I sleep." (He usually won somebody every day.) So he went
downtown and found a store which had not yet closed. A line of people were
waiting at the check-out counter. A boy with long hair was in the line. He
walked up to this fellow and said, "If you died right now, would you go to
Heaven?"
The young fellow said, "I think I would."
Lynn Tompkins said, "What makes you think so?"
"Well, I'm a pretty good boy."
Lynn said to him (this is a little brash), "No, sir, you would split Hell wide
open. You would go straight to Hell!"
Well, the fellow became a little indignant at that and said, "Who said so?"
Lynn said, "Jesus did. Look here in John 3. He said you must be born again and
if you don't get born again, you will never see the kingdom."
It wasn't long until he had the fellow on his knees there in the check out line
while everybody waited patiently as the young fellow prayed and trusted the Lord
and was saved!
What I am saying is, aren't you glad you know you are saved? I know I am and I
thank God I know it.
Everybody likes to feel he is a pretty good fellow. You don't like to admit you
are an old sinner who deserves to go to Hell. I don't deserve God's mercy.
Neither do you. But we don't like to admit our sinful condition. Everybody likes
to think he can earn part of it. An old song says:
