In the Full Assurance of Faith

The way through the flesh is briefly described in Hebrews 10:19 and the following verses. There we are shown a way that goes through the flesh and on which we need to go in the full assurance of faith. This way went through Jesus’ flesh, and in His blood we have boldness to walk on it.

There is also a way that leads to Jesus: that is, when the Father draws to the Son. He calls and draws people from sunrise till sunset by means of sickness, tribulations, and many different things. By His Spirit He convicts people of sin, righteousness, and judgment, so that they might come to Christ in their need and have their sins forgiven.

However, we do not advance a single step on the new and living way which Jesus consecrated and which now goes through our flesh until we have put off the old man with all his deeds and have, once and for all, said farewell to him. We must walk on this way with a true heart and in the full assurance of faith.

A wife needs to possess the full assurance of faith in order to submit to her husband in all things; an assurance that is almost full is insufficient. We are to walk in Jesus’ own steps in the same spirit, in the same faith, and in the same devotion in which He walked. The husband must possess the full assurance of faith so he never becomes bitter again. This attitude and resolve are necessary for us to advance on the new and living way.

One could ask: “Is it really possible to possess such an assurance of faith?” and, “What sort of ‘believer’ am I without it?”

The assurance we possess in our life of faith is in exact proportion to the personal sacrifices we bring. Jesus gave Himself as a pleasing sacrifice to God and submitted Himself fully to God’s will in all things. Consequently, He possessed an unlimited assurance, rest, and peace; and for this reason He always gained the victory against Satan and his designs.

By fully committing ourselves to Jesus’ death, just as Jesus committed Himself to full obedience to His Father, we receive the full assurance of faith in our hearts. Abraham brought his sacrifice after he had been accepted and was abundantly blessed by God in a special way. Nobody in the new covenant who sacrifices his Isaac can avoid being mightily blessed by God. This blessing consists of being enabled to go forth in the full assurance of faith. When Jesus gave His soul as an offering for sin, the promise was that He would see His seed and prolong His days. Isaiah 53:10. When we give our life as a grain of wheat into the death of Christ, the full assurance of faith will come, and we cease from sin.

Lot did not possess the same rest of faith and lack of anxiety that characterized Abraham. Neither do we hear about him that he sacri­ficed his dearest possession. There is a precise and lawful relationship between what we offer up to God, and what we receive from Him.

If we do not possess this full assurance of faith, our faith will be considerably cheapened. A believer who has this “faith” that he is going to become bitter and angry again essentially believes in noth­ing more than what he can manage in his own strength. This has nothing to do with the faith of Jesus Christ, the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, and for which we are exhorted to contend earnestly. Jude, verse 3.

May Jesus find this most holy faith in our hearts when He soon comes again.