Imagine that you are a child lost at sea, struggling at the end of your strength with no way to reach the shore. You are lost and you are afraid and you begin to sink into the water as your strength fails you. In the moment that you begin to sink below the surface, you feel your father's arms around you, and his strength pulls you up, and the grip of his hands will not let you go. And he begins to carry you to shore. And you know, you know you were lost, but now you're safe. in your father's arms, and you rest in his arms, and you trust your father to carry you home. Along the way, you might have moments of fear and doubt, and at times, in that fear, you might kick and flail as your trust in your father weakens and the fear overwhelms you. But your father will not let you go. Your faith may falter, but His faithfulness will not. Even in the darkest moments of doubt, deep down you know He is your Father, that He loves you, that He will bring you safely home. The moment of fear comes and it passes and you trust him and you trust his strength and his love and his faithfulness gives you peace as you rest in him and he carries you safely to shore. Many believers struggle with doubt, fear, A lack of assurance that the promises of the gospel belong to them. Maybe they grow discouraged when they see their sin. Or when they fail to see the spiritual growth that they long and they pray for. Or maybe they simply fear because they've seen others who appear to have faith fall away. rightly comprehending the depth of their sin and the impossibility of standing before the perfection of God apart from Christ, they may wonder how they can ever have assurance. And they may say, we're not doubting Christ, we're doubting ourselves. God's people are not called to live in such fear and doubt and condemnation. In Romans chapter 8 verse 31 through verse 39, Paul, the Apostle Paul spoke to this fear and he endeavored to dispel it. You may struggle with fear and doubt in your life as a Christian, but there is no cause for that fear and doubt in Christ, because it is God who justifies you. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ Nothing, because it is Christ who died and Christ who rose. This is the message of this passage. It is right for you to have this assurance of your salvation. It's why we have these words from the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter eight. It is right for you to receive them as yours. It is right for you to have this assurance because the principal source of that assurance is the gospel itself, your knowledge that it is indeed God who saves you by the person and work of Jesus Christ. Your assurance comes not from anything in you, but from trusting, not only that Christ died for sinners in general, but that he died for you. Many years ago, a young man joined an Augustinian monastery. He joined that monastery full of zeal and yet just as full of fear. He began to study the word of God in earnest and the more he studied, the more fearful he became. He grew, as he studied, more and more aware of his sin. and aware that he could never attain to the demands of God's perfect justice and holiness. This led to fear, and it led not to hope, but to hopelessness. So this young monk became notorious for spending hours upon hours in the confessional, confessing even the slightest hint of a sinful thought. to the point that his confessor eventually barred him from the confessional unless it was for some truly grievous sin. So the young monk began confessing his sin to other monks instead. He was full of fear because he knew the perfect standards of God. He knew that he could never meet those standards and he knew that every sin deserved condemnation. How could he ever find peace? How could he ever be confident and assured of his salvation? It was during a study of Psalms and Romans that by the work of the Holy Spirit, he came to see this thing that became so clear to him when he discovered it in God's word. He found that when the word of God speaks of the righteousness that saves, It speaks not of the righteousness in the life of the sinner, but the righteousness of God. Manifested apart from the law, Romans 3.21. In this truth he came to rest, not only in the understanding that salvation is by faith and not works, But he also found the precious assurance of salvation that gave him the peace and the comfort that the Word of God promised and freed him from the fear of condemnation that had plagued him. The young monk's name, of course, was Martin Luther, and so the Reformation began. As Luther found, the gospel of faith is also a gospel of assurance. Look to our text. Leading up to verse 31 in Romans chapter eight, Paul describes the unbreakable chain of redemption. We know that God works all things together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom He knew, He predestined. Those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, He also justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified. And now in verse 31, Paul writes, what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? This message is meant for you. It is meant for you to hear and to receive and believe. This is encouragement that is for you. You are meant in the Gospel to have this assurance. God gave His Son for you. Therefore, you ought to know with confidence that God will graciously give you all things. The point of this passage is to give you a certain knowledge of God's faithfulness. Not to other people, not to people in general, but to you personally. And the reason you know this is because you know that God gave His Son, not to someone else, but for you. And if He did not spare His Son, then surely He will graciously provide for you, and He will finish the work that He began. This message only makes sense, it only makes sense if you are able to know that God indeed gave His Son for you, that Jesus Christ is yours. That knowledge is not about seeing into the secret mind of God. It is about receiving the saving work of Christ that he accomplished for you. Receiving it, responding to it in faith, trusting that it is true, trusting that it is true, not just for others, but for you. The foundation of this truth comes when we recognize that we are saved by faith, but that faith Be careful to understand that faith by which we are saved is not the grounds of our salvation. See in verses 33 and 34, who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ. Jesus is the one who died, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Believers need not fear condemnation. And why? It is because it is God who justifies. Because God is the one who justifies, therefore there is no higher judge, no higher authority, none who can condemn. In the same way, because Christ is the one who died, no one and nothing can condemn for the sins which he paid for. There is no one, no accuser who can say that the blood of Christ is not sufficient to cover your sin, none. Because Christ died for you and because he rose, There is no cause to doubt that He will indeed finish the work He began and you will be raised together with Him. That is a sure promise. You are meant to take hold of that promise. We are saved by faith, but that faith is not the grounds of our salvation. Because it is God who justifies. The grounds for salvation is the work of Christ. It is Christ who died, Christ who rose. The grounds of our salvation is the person and work of Jesus Christ. He did the work, and so the work is complete. It is not your act of faith that justifies. It is God who justifies, the faith Whether that is some strong faith or however weak that faith may be, the faith is the receiving of that work. It is nothing but the blood of Christ, His death, and His resurrection that accomplishes salvation. Faith, even though it be as small as a mustard seed, is the open hand that received the salvation that Christ has purchased for you, that says, I believe that Christ died and that he died for me. The Heidelberg Catechism offers this as a precious comfort in answering the question, what is true faith? The answer given, true faith is not only a certain knowledge whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in his word, but also an assured confidence, which the Holy Spirit works by the gospel in my heart, that not only to others, but to me also. Remission of sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits. John Calvin defined faith as a firm and certain knowledge of God's benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise of Christ both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Elsewhere he said, faith is a firm and solid confidence of the heart by means of which we rest surely in the mercy of God which is promised to us through the gospel. This is a right and biblical doctrine. Hebrews 11 chapter 1 teaches us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. It's not a blind, uncertain hope that we are given in the word of God. It is a sure hope with assurance and conviction because it is grounded in trusting in the gospel promises and resting in the certainty of what Christ has accomplished for you. It is taking hold of the truth of what God has done. Looking to Romans chapter 8 in verse 35 and onward, consider these words carefully and consider how the confidence that Paul describes in this passage, it rests upon and builds upon the faith that trusts completely, not only that Christ saves, but that Christ has saved you. These promises, this assurance is meaningful to you when you believe and you accept that Christ has done this for you. The Word of God says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. We are completely victorious through Him who loved us. How are you to know then? How are you to know then that your faith will withstand in times of trial? How can you know that? How can you know that when the worst comes that your faith will endure? It is because of the very nature of your faith itself, because you believe not only that God saves, but that He has saved you. You can know that nothing will separate you from Him. Paul wants you to know that you will be and you already are completely victorious in every trial. And the way that you know that, the way that you know that now is by trusting that He has saved you. How do I know? that I will be victorious in those trials? It's not in myself, but it's because of Him who loves me. How do I know? Because Jesus loves me. This I know. How can you know that you won't fall out of God's hand? That you won't fall away? in times of the deepest darkness, when you've lost everything? How do I know? Through Him who loves me. How do I know? Because I know that Jesus loves me. I believe it. And I know that He will hold me fast. It's not about trusting that I will hold fast. It's about trusting that He will hold me fast. That is the essence of faith. To rest in the salvation of Christ and to know that He will never let you go. Your faith may be battered and shaken. It may be weakened and beset with doubts and fears from time to time. It may be as small as a mustard seed, but it will move mountains. It's far more powerful than to move mountains. It is powerful enough to save even you. Return to our friend Martin Luther. In his day, he Had a beloved brother whose name was Jeremy Weller who went through a season of depression and began to doubt his salvation. Was overwhelmed with the fear of hell that he would fall away. Listen to the words that Luther wrote to his friend. When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares that we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus. I admit I deserve death and hell. What of it? Does this mean I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? By no means. For I know one who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, where he is, there I shall be also. This truth that was so dear to Luther was at the heart of the Reformation. If we have lost sight of it now, it was surely seen very clearly then, not only by Luther, but by his opponents. The implications were very, very clear, that the gospel of faith is a gospel of assurance. The Council of Trent convened between 1545 and 1563 to condemn the theology of the Reformation. They had in their sights not only justification by faith, but the assurance that flows directly, inevitably, from justification by faith. Some prominent Roman Catholics insisted that for all the errors that they saw from the reformers, assurance was the greatest of all Protestant heresies. The Council of Trent regarded it as audacity that anyone should ever seek to claim, seek or claim assurance of salvation. Instead, the Council held that it was right and good that people ought to be uncertain and doubtful concerning their salvation. All the better to compel them in fear and doubt to contrition into holy life. They said, we don't doubt God. We're not doubting God. Don't say we're doubting God, it's just we doubt ourselves. And that might give the appearance of a form of humility, but it distorts a gospel of grace into a gospel of works. Salvation by believing, but assurance only by working are incompatible. There is a category for self-examination, for seeking fruit in your life. We don't deny that. There is. But the principal basis of your assurance, the reason why you are able to take hold of it, is believing that it is God who saved you, and resting in the work of Jesus Christ. So you say, what about working out our salvation with fear and trembling? Remember that Paul writes that in Philippians chapter 2 verse 12, only after telling us that we can be sure that he who did begin a good work in us will bring it to completion. He says, work out your salvation, which means that you have salvation. The fear is not the fear of an enemy of God, it is The fear of a beloved child for a loving father. And why does Paul say to work out your salvation? Don't stop reading with verse 12. Because in verse 13, because it is God who works in you. That's why. You examine yourself so that you will be pointed to God. You don't just look at yourself and stop there. You look at yourself so that you will be pointed to God. You examine yourself and you will find sin. You will find fear. You will find doubt. Lord willing, you will also find the work of the Holy Spirit in you. Though in times of deepest darkness, it may be difficult to see. That's why you don't stop there. Calvin warned that faith totters if it pays attention to works, since no one, even of the most holy, will find there anything on which to rely. If all you do is look to yourself, to your works, you will not find assurance. You will never find it. You will never take hold of the peace and the joy that is promised to you in the gospel. you'll only find doubt and fear and uncertainty. The very reason why you examine yourself is to be pointed to God. Praise God when you see the evidence of His grace in your life. But when you examine yourself and you find sin and unbelief, it reminds you of your need for a Savior so that you will turn your eyes to God The purpose of that self-examination, the purpose of working out your salvation is not to cause you to doubt, but to cause you to respond to God's work in faith. You don't look at yourself and stop there. You examine yourself so that you will turn to God and rest in Him, in His work, because it is Him who works in you. Do you remember the father of the boy who was possessed by an evil spirit in Mark chapter 9? Who turned to Jesus for help and said, Jesus, help me, if you can. And Jesus said, what do you mean, can? He said, all things are possible for one who believes. The father of the child cried out and said, I believe. Help me in my unbelief. In your times of deepest darkness, when you're beset with doubts and fear, if you only look principally to yourself, you'll be tempted to wonder, can even one such as I be saved? Jesus says, what do you mean, can? All things are possible for one who believes. Believe that I have saved you. And you can cry out, I believe. Help me in my unbelief. Believe in Christ, rest in him, and find assurance. Assurance of salvation is a right and biblical doctrine. We are called to have this assurance. It is normative. And not only is it normative, it is a precious gift of the gospel. You are not called to doubt, to uncertainty, and condemnation, and fear. You are called to a gospel of assurance. God's people can come to Him with confidence, without fear. This has always been true from the Old Testament to the New. In Genesis chapter 15, verse 1, God told Abraham, fear not, Abraham. I am your shield and your exceeding great reward. God promised him a son and descendants as numerous as the stars. And he believed the promise. He received it. for himself. And he was counted righteous in that very act of simply trusting in the promise. The prophet Joel prophesied concerning the coming Messiah. And he told the people of Israel to rejoice, that they should have no fear, that the Lord God will be their God. Joel called on the people to have full confidence in this, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord in truth shall be saved. In the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 10, 19 through 22, calls us to draw near to God with full assurance of faith, holding fast to our hope without wavering, and the confidence to stand before God, not because of anything that we can see in ourselves, but because we trust that He is faithful. Peter's epistles show faith as a confident hope in an indestructible, assured inheritance. That sure salvation for Peter brings about boundless love and joy. First Peter chapter one, verse three through 12. This assurance is why the jailer at Philippi rejoiced the very moment he received the good news. It's why Paul wrote in Romans chapter five, verse one, that since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God. We have it. Not can have, not will have, do have now. The gospel does not call you to fear, but to peace and joy. The Scottish hymn writer Horatius Bonnard wrote, Listen to this. It is a true and sure gospel, so that he who believes it is made sure of being saved. If it could not make us sure, it would make us miserable. For to be told of such a salvation and such a glory, yet kept in doubt as to whether they are to be ours or not, must render us truly wretched. What a poor gospel it must be, which leaves the man who believes it still in doubt as to whether he is a child of God, an unpardoned or a pardoned sinner. Till we have found forgiveness, we cannot be happy. We cannot serve God gladly or lovingly, but must be in sore bondage and gloom. This is the view of the matter which scripture sets before us, telling us that salvation is a free, a sure, and a present gift. This is the gift of salvation, that you can believe this. This is why Luther found so much peace and so much joy in the word of God through the doctrine of justification by faith. And why he also found so much cruelty in the teaching that left people in a darkness of doubt as to their own salvation. He wrote that any teaching that taught men to believe that they could not have assurance of faith was a doctrine that, in his words, utterly defaced the doctrine of faith, tormented men's consciences, banished Christ out of the church, darkened and denied all the benefits and gifts of the Holy Ghost, abolished the true worship of God, set up idolatry, contempt of God, and blasphemy against God and men's hearts. For he that doubts of the will of God towards him and has no assurance that he is in grace, cannot believe that he has remission of sins, that God cares for him and that he can be saved. The assurance that we are able to have because it is God who justifies is the basis and foundation for the joyful confidence that we are given in Romans chapter 8, verses 38 and 39. Cry out with joy. I am sure. that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. That assurance belongs to you. The gospel invites you to cry, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. The call of the gospel is a call to faith. It is a call to believe that everything necessary for your salvation, not somebody else's, yours, has been accomplished for you in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is a call to trust that Christ has saved you. Trust in Christ. Trust Him. Trust that He is yours. Put away your doubts and your fears and take hold of Him. Know that His promises are true. Know that they are true for you. Stop looking to other things. Stop looking to yourself. Look to Him. Call on His name and know that you will be saved. The beauty of the gospel is that trusting in Christ, you may come before the throne of God with confidence. You may call God your Father. And know that if you call on His name, if you trust Him, if you rest in Him as your Savior, then you are his beloved child and he will never let you go. As your father holds you in his arms, as your rescuer carries you to shore, you may have moments of doubt and of fear. There may be times in that fearful doubting that you kick and flail against him. But He didn't save you so that you would be left in the same fear and uncertainty that you were before. He saved you so you could have peace. Trust Him. He will not let you go. He will finish the work He began. Hold fast to Him. Because you know that He will hold you fast. In that knowledge is the fullness of the joy and the peace of the gospel. That the penalty for sin is already paid and Christ paid it for you in his crucifixion. That eternal life is already purchased and Christ purchased it for you by his perfect righteousness. That he is risen and that you will surely share in his resurrection. Rest in Him, and He is yours. You may be shaken by fears and by conflicts, but you can set that aside, because what He has done is unshakable. And you can know that He has done it for you. All you need to know in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you can know this as surely as the sun does rise, all you need to know is that His blood was shed for you and He has bid you to come and rest in Him. Let's pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for the gospel of Jesus Christ, by which we can come before you with confidence, by which we may call you Father, not because of anything in us, of anything from us or that might be seen in us, but only because of the work of Jesus Christ, Him crucified and risen. Lord, may we come before your throne with confidence. May we rest solely in Jesus Christ alone who has accomplished our salvation. May we take hold of that truth and may it transform our lives as we hold fast to that truth day after day. May we be encouraged in it. May we rest in it. May we stop our wrestling and our fear and our doubt. And may we know that you will never let us go because it is God who justifies, Christ who died, Christ who rose. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.