assurance
| as·sur·ance noun 1: the act or action of assuring: as a: pledge, guarantee b: the act of conveying real property; also: the instrument by which it is conveyed c chiefly British: insurance 2: the state of being assured: as a: security b: a being certain in the mind 3: something that inspires or tends to inspire confidence |
What do you think of when you hear the word assurance?
2. He has the assurance of continued support from his boss.
3. He spoke with quiet assurance about his future plans.
4. She gave him every assurance that she would be there when he returned.
Or maybe you think of:
- Assurance (Pokemon Move), a dark type pokemon move - dark type? Really?!
- Assurance services, offered by accountancy firms to improve the quality of information - not perhaps to be found at companies such as Enron ;-)
- Life assurance in British usage, an insurance on human life, payable on an event which is certain to happen, but of unknown timing – they mean good ol’ fashioned death, right??
- Quality assurance, processes designed to ensure the quality of a product or service – “if you like my driving, call…”
- HMS Assurance, the name of several Royal Navy ships – couldn’t they come up with more names?!
- Mount Assurance, a hill in New Hampshire, United States – sounds pretty [2]
But since you are reading a Christian text, hopefully your thoughts are turning to assurance the Christian doctrine or theology! Traditionally a Protestant Christian doctrine, assurance is the “inner witness of the Holy Spirit [that] allows the justified disciple to know they are saved. Based on the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo...”[3] Huh?! Yup, my mind started drifting at “Hippo.” I mean really, I would get a new hometown! It turns out St. Augustine lived a wild life (he is the patron saint of brewers!), but he became so aware of his sins and finally turned to the Bible for answers and found the means to be forgiven of his sins, and out of a fullness of this mercy lived the rest of his life trying to bring glory to God. He moved from insecurity and doubt to…well, assurance.
The Westminster Confession of Faith states:
...infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it: yet, being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God, he may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of ordinary means, attain thereunto. And therefore it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure; that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance...[4]
This 1646 life application can be stated in the 21 century in my {Yvette} loose paraphrase
assurance isn’t part of some kind of “salvation” bundle. We are likely to struggle a bit before we experience it, but the Holy Spirit will show us this free gift God is giving us, and we don’t have to be rocket-scientists or holy rollers to get it. Regular folks, if they make the effort to determine if they have a relationship with Christ, can experience the peace and joy through the Holy Spirit and will react with love and thankfulness to God and will feel strengthened and joyful about doing what God asks of them.
But, as with all things, the best source is the Bible itself… so let us look at a Biblical reference to assurance.
…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:22-23)
[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assurance
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assurance
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assurance
[4] Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 18, paragraph 3
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