Assurance Provides Hope

In contrast to the world’s definition, the Bible defines hope as the confident expectation of a future outcome that is based upon a trust in God who will fulfill his promises.

It is often closely associated with faith in God. . . therefore, hope in God can be seen synonymously with faith or trust in God.

While faith takes God at his word, believing that he will do as he has promised, hope is the anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s promises.

The Bible says over and over again that we should hope in God. . . and the reason for this is because the object and basis of hope determine the strength and certainty of hoping.

Therefore, because God is trustworthy, good, faithful, and true, by hoping in in him, our hope will be strong and certain. . . our hope will sustain us and help us to persevere in our faith when things get difficult.

For us as Christians today, our hope should be in Jesus Christ and his return. . . for when Jesus comes back, he will make all things new, he will destroy sin and death once and for all, and those that have trusted in him will reign with him in the new heavens and new earth.

The return of Jesus can be understood by the big word of “eschatology,” which simply means “end times.”

The Bible says that our eschatological hope in the future determines our ethical practices in the present.

In other words. . . what we hope for in the future will directly affect the way we live our lives on earth in the right here and right now.

This means we must have our hope in Jesus and not in anything else if we are to live holy lives that are pleasing to him.

So, this week, we will talk about specific reasons and truths that will increase and strengthen our hope in Christ. . . and tonight, we are going to look at how our assurance of salvation can strengthen our hope and help us to live holy lives for Jesus.

Have you ever wondered if you were truly saved?

Have you ever struggled with the assurance of your salvation?

Helmet of salvation is necessary to feel confident in battle. . . to feel confident when facing hardships.

Assurance in salvation is necessary to have hope when facing hardships.

Like us, the Thessalonians too were struggling with confidence in their faith.

They were facing persecution for following Jesus and were probably beginning to doubt if all of this was worth it.

Yet, Paul wrote them this letter to assure them of their faith and to teach them how to put their faith into practice.

Lets now read chapter 1 together to see some of the reasons why we can have confidence in our salvation along with the Thessalonians to be strengthened to live holy lives for Jesus in the midst of hardships.

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Key Point: As we begin this journey in our study on hope, tonight, we will see that assurance of salvation provides hope and promotes holiness during hardships.

Paul lays out three reasons we can have assurance of our salvation in Christ:

Assurance from the Root (vs 2-4)

Assurance from the Seed (vs 5)

Assurance from the Fruit (vs 6-10).

So let’s now look at the first reason the Thessalonians. . . as well as ourselves can have assurance in our salvation in verses 2-4. . . as we see that assurance of salvation first comes from the root or the source.

1. Assurance From The Root (vs 2-4)

Paul makes clear in these verses that God is the root and source of the Thessalonians’ faith.

In verse 1, Paul grounds the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verses 2-3, He thanks God for the transformed life of the Thessalonians. . . further demonstrating that their salvation is from God and his work.

And In verse 4, Paul says that the Thessalonians were loved and chosen by God. . . once more affirming that their salvation is founded in God.

The Thessalonians’ salvation was sure because it is based on God’s sovereign choice, not based on anything that they had done.

The Thessalonians did not earn God’s love, but rather their salvation was rooted solely in his love he freely chose to give to them.

2 Timothy 1:9 “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,”

We must remember who God is, he is holy, righteous, good. He can do no wrong. He is also all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present, which means he has the power to save us and he has the power to keep us.

Paul also reminds us that God is triune, as he mentions the Father, Son, and Spirit in these verses.

This shows us that the one who’s source of salvation is in God can be assured of their faith since their salvation is orchestrated by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Spirit. . . it is completely secure because it is rooted in God!

The source of the Thessalonians’ salvation can be linked to the importance of a solid foundation. . . get someone to come up and demonstrate by pushing them over with one foot.

So what is the foundation of your faith? Who, or what, is the source of your salvation?

Are you basing it off of how you have earned God’s favor and love for the good things you do for others. . . and so your good character is why he chose to love and save you?

True assurance of salvation can only come if it is founded not on what we can do, but rather what God has done for us in Christ.

If we have done something to earn salvation, then we can do something to lose it. . . but if it founded solely in God and what he has done. . . and freely received through faith. . . then we cannot lose something that we never earned.

If you are in Christ, know tonight that it is because God freely chose to set his love and affection on you from before time began.

Not because you deserved it, but rather because he is rich in mercy. . . and because he has chosen you, your salvation is secure and should lead you to praise his name for the grace he has given to you.

This assurance should give us hope as we endure hardships for standing up for Jesus before the world. . . and it should lead us to pursue lives of holiness so that our lives would be a sacrifice of praise to God for all he has done for us in Christ.

So, assurance of salvation is first found from the root, which is God.

2. Assurance From The Seed (vs 5)

Second, assurance of salvation is found from the seed, which verse 5 tells us is the gospel.

Paul was confident in the Thessalonians’ salvation because they had heard the gospel that was proclaimed by him and Silas.

This gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. . . but what was the content of the gospel message they preached to them?

God

The holy and righteous creator of all things made us in his image for a relationship with him.

Our

But we rejected him and our sins now separate us from God and have led to the consequence of death and judgement.

Sins

Our sins cannot be forgiven or cleansed by anything that we do.

Paying

Paying the price for our sin, Jesus lived a perfect life, died in our place, and rose again from the grave.

Everyone

Everyone who responds by turning from their sin and trusts in Jesus alone will be saved.

Life

Abundant life with Jesus starts now, and will continue forever for those who trust in him. . . but those who reject him will face his wrath for eternity in hell.

Paul says in verse 5 that this gospel was proclaimed, not just by the words of men, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. . . and Paul was fully confident that it had gone forth in power.

In 1 Thess. 2:13 we see that the Thessalonians did not see this gospel as just Paul and Silas’ words but they saw the gospel for what it truly is. . . the word of God!

Paul also says in verse 5 that the Thessalonians can be assured of their salvation because of the sincerity of Paul’s gospel ministry to them.

To produce the right fruit. . . we must plant the right seed. . . Show seed and say, “you need to produce some apples. . . and need to grow an apple tree. . . What type of seed is this?

What seed has taken root in your heart?

What “gospel” are you trusting in for your salvation. . . the words of men. . . or the words of God?

The words of men tell us:

God just wants you to be happy. . . so follow your heart.

Live your truth

Jesus is a model for living more than a god to be worshipped.

Gracious behavior is more important than right belief.

YOLO.

Love is love.

True assurance of salvation is only founded if the right seed of the gospel is sown into our hearts. . . it is only through the words from God, not the words of men.

Only the words of God have the power to forgive us of our sin. . . only the words of God have the ability to give us hope to sustain us during hardships. . . and only the words of God have the power to give us victory over sin and help us to live lives of holiness.

So, we can have assurance of our salvation from the roots being in God, from the seed being in the gospel, and lastly, in verses 6-10, we see that we can have assurance of salvation through the fruit that both God and his gospel produce.

4. Assurance From The Fruit (vs 6-10)

The third reason Paul was confident in the Thessalonians’ faith was due to the way they responded to the gospel. . . and how their response produced abundant fruit.

The evidence of a transformed life in the Thessalonians can be seen in three ways.

First, verse 9 tells us that they turned to God from idols.

Thessalonica was steeped in Greco-Roman paganism. There were many gods and goddesses that were worshipped in the temples. There were also mystery religions that were practiced by the locals.

The word “to turn” implies not simply a change in attitude but in action.

They did not just stop worshipping the idols in the city but they worshipped and served the one true God instead.

But what’s an idol anyways. . . I mean, none of us are bowing down to statues, right?

Idolatry is normally seen in the heart (Ezek. 14:3) by what we love and cherish most. Our idols are what we spend all our time doing or thinking about, or spending our money on other than God.

For us, idols normally are not bad things in and of themselves, but rather are good things that we have turned into ultimate things.

An idol, then, is something we will either sin to get or sin if we do not get.

What idols are ruling your heart right now? Have you turned from a pattern of idol worship in your life to worship the one true God?

Can it be seen in your actions and the way that you live?

True conversion comes through repentance. . . and true repentance is demonstrated through a transformed life.

Second, their faith produced abundant fruit that was evident to all who saw them.

In verse 6, Paul says that the Thessalonians became imitators of him and Christ. They began to model their lives after Jesus and his servant.

One way they imitated Paul is by receiving (accepting, taking hold of) of the gospel even in affliction and persecution (1 Thess. 2:13-14).

Remember that the church was founded in persecution.

Another way is that they received the gospel with joy in the Holy Spirit.

Even facing suffering and affliction for believing in Jesus, the Thessalonians had joy (2 Cor. 8:1-5).

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake (Matt. 5:10).

Who are you imitating in your life, Christ or the world?

Verses 7-8 tell us that the Thessalonians’ reception of the gospel was so evident that their transformed life became a witness to the surrounding regions of Macedonia and Achia (Modern day Greece/Athens).

Paul boasted about the Thessalonians to the churches in Macedonia and Achaia (2 Thess. 1:3-4).

But not only was it spreading to Macedonia and Achaia, Paul says that the gospel was sounding out everywhere. . . which means the Thessalonians were going out and boldly proclaiming the gospel to all those around them.

Remember. . . they had only been Christians for a few months, yet they were already going out as missionaries to proclaim the gospel to anyone they could speak with!

This truth demonstrates that genuine faith produces a transformed life that can be seen by others.

What about you, can your faith be clearly seen by others when they watch how you live, how you talk, how you dress, who you hang out with, what you do with your time, with your money, what you watch, or what you listen to?

Does your life resound with the gospel? Are you actively seeking to proclaim the gospel to others?

Third, their transformation was seen in the holiness and hope their lives.

Going back to verses 2-3, Paul constantly thanked God for the faith of the Thessalonians.

He was so affected by their transformation that he constantly remembered them and mentioned them in his prayers.

Notice that verse 3 makes clear that their lives exhibited faith, love, and hope, which were all founded in Jesus Christ.

But also notice what these three Christian virtues produced.

Their faith produced good works.

Their love for God produced love and service for one another.

Their hope in Christ produced steadfastness in their faith.

They were persevering in their faith even in the midst of persecution and suffering.

We also see a pursuit of holiness from the Thessalonians in verse 10, where Paul says that they are waiting on the return of Jesus.

“waiting” can also be understood as “hoping in” and it communicates an active, not a passive response.

Waiting should not be understood as just sitting around and doing nothing, but rather serving and pursuing a holy life until Christ returns.

This means that the expectation of Christ’s return has strong implications for our moral lives.

But why would they pursue holiness and hope in Jesus? Because verse 10 tells us he is. . .

God the Son. . . who died for our sins. . . delivered us from God’s wrath. . . rose victorious from the grave. . . ascended on high and sits at the right hand of the Father. . and will come again to judge the world in righteousness and make all things new.

Response

So where is assurance of our salvation found? Its found in God who is the root, the gospel which is the seed, and a transformed life, which is the fruit.

Do you have this assurance tonight?

In response to our text tonight I want you to compare your life to the lives of the Thessalonians, and examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith.

First, Is there evidence in your life that you have born of the Spirit and chosen by God?

Does the fruit of the Spirit characterize your life?

Do you. . .

Read and rely upon the word of God?

Have a deepening prayer life?

Have a desire for the message of the gospel to transform others and seek to share it with others?

want to be with the people of God?

Receive correction from authority figures with humility?

Second, Is there evidence in your life of a present and active trust in Christ and a continual pattern of growth in holiness?

Have you turned to God from idols or are you still worshipping idols in your life?

I am not asking if you have made a decision to trust Christ in the past. . . but who are you trusting in right now?

Can your faith be seen by others around you through the way you live?

Third, Are you actively sharing the gospel and seeking to make disciples for Jesus?

Remember that the Thessalonians had only been Christians for a few months. . . but they were going out as missionaries and proclaiming the gospel to others.

How long have you been following Jesus?

How many people have you shared the gospel with since coming to faith in Christ?

How many disciples have you made that are now going out and making disciples themselves?

Are you using the power and grace God has given you to make disciples and glorify his name?