What Does Assurance Look Like?

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb 10:19-25)

Over and over in John's first epistle John repeats the phrase "By this we know." That is, assurance is possible. In this text from Hebrews, the author urges us to "drawn near with a true heart in full assurance of faith." On what is this assurance based? We have been "washed with pure water." What "pure water" is that? Well, that's a metaphor for what he already wrote. We have "confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh." The "pure water" is "the blood of Jesus" that cleanses us from sin. But you probably knew that.

Okay, so, what does that assurance look like? If we had that assurance, what would we do different?

Well, obviously, instead of retreating from God like the world does (Rom 8:7), we would draw near to God. That's what he said. But in what ways? The first thing listed is "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering." Unwavering faith and hope. A confidence in what we believe. Not subject to constant doubts. Like James says, "The one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord." (James 1:6-7) Hold fast.

What else? Consider how to stir one another to love and good works. Now, some of us might be thinking, "Yeah, right. I'm having a hard enough time keeping myself stimulated to love and good works." But the one who comes with full assurance of faith will do both -- love and good works which includes stirring others to love and good works. It's a natural outcome of full assurance.

And, of course, if you aim to stir "one another" to anything, you have to be around "one another." That's just plain logic. So the third natural outcome of full assurance of faith is that we don't neglect to meet together. The author of Hebrews says it is "the habit of some" and not in a good way. It has been the case, of course, and increasing as time goes by that more and more forsake assembling together. Some do so out of "superiority." "I don't need a church to feel close to God." Because they fail to grasp the "one another" aspect of the faith. And because they don't appear to know that hating the brethren is a sign of not being one of them (1 John 3:15). Others do it out of discouragement. "There aren't any good churches out there." And I get that. I really do. Except it would seem to me that the "one anothers" would drive you to gather with believers and the degraded church, although degraded, is still a place where you can gather with one another to do what Christians are supposed to do. What is that? Instead of forsaking fellowship, we are to be "encouraging one another." And where would that be more necessary than a degraded church?

It is interesting to note, at the end of this passage, the driving force at the backside of all this. "The Day is drawing near." Christ is soon to return. Every day He doesn't we are a day closer to His return. And when He returns, we can no longer practice the bearing of one anothers burdens or restoring one another or encouraging one another or so many other "one anothers" we are designed to do in this life as followers of Christ.

Assurance of faith is possible and commendable. If it is real, it should produce results in us. We would draw near to God. We would seek to stimulate others to love and good deeds. We would make a point of gathering with believers. (As a side note, I have to say that, while a streaming service or an online Bible study or even masked and socially-distanced services are better than nothing at all, they are not "gathering together" in this sense. They are restricted gatherings. It's not spiritually healthy or reasonable to "gather together" remotely for an extended period of time and expect these "one anothers" to continue.) Remember, Jesus is closer to His return today than He has ever been. Those who are His true followers have a special emphasis on loving fellow believers. That can't be done effectively at a distance. We need to be encouraging one another. Time is short.