The Assurance of Our Hope

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Easter Sunday morning the 12th of April, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service, also streamed live, due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  This service included an observance of Holy Communion.  Our YouTube streaming channel is http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today we find ourselves with sickness and death all around us, our TVs filled with nothing but grim and foreboding news.  We’re restricted to our homes, not even allowed to be with those we usually seek comfort and support from.  Nobody seems to have any answers for how best to fight this disease, or when will the worst finally be over, when can we return to a normal life.

In times like these, it is easy to lose hope.  It’s easy to put our trust and faith into those we consider experts and professionals.  It’s easy to forget about the promise God made for us, sealed by the blood of Jesus.

Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote about promises and trust, in his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, in chapter 15 verses 1 through 8 and verses 12 through 26, reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

1 My friends, I want you to remember the message that I preached and that you believed and trusted. 2 You will be saved by this message, if you hold firmly to it. But if you don’t, your faith was all for nothing.

3 I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is:

Christ died for our sins,
as the Scriptures say.
4 He was buried,
and three days later
He was raised to life,
as the Scriptures say.
5 Christ appeared to Peter,
then to the twelve.
6 After this, He appeared
to more than five hundred
other followers.
Most of them are still alive,
but some have died.
7 He also appeared to James,
and then to all
of the apostles.

8 Finally, He appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time.

12 If we preach that Christ was raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life? 13 If they won’t be raised to life, Christ Himself wasn’t raised to life. 14 And if Christ wasn’t raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. 15 If the dead won’t be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that He raised Christ to life, when He really did not.

16 So if the dead won’t be raised to life, Christ wasn’t raised to life. 17 Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. 18 And those people who died after putting their faith in Him are completely lost. 19 If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.

20 But Christ has been raised to life! And He makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. 21 Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. 22 Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. 23 But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and His people will be raised to life when He returns. 24 Then after Christ has destroyed all powers and forces, the end will come, and he will give the kingdom to God the Father.

25 Christ will rule until He puts all his enemies under His power, 26 and the last enemy He destroys will be death.

--1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 12-26 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we who believe know full well that You raised Your Son Jesus from the grave, bodily raised Him back to life.  Jesus conquered death and by His resurrection we are promised that we too will share in that victory.  We will have everlasting life with You in heaven.  Thank You, Father, for forgiving our sin.  Thank You for raising Jesus back to life.  Thank You for allowing us to share in that victory.  Thank You for giving us the faith to believe.  Father, please help us to always be true and faithful to our Lord Jesus, no matter what may befall us in this world.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and thoroughly understand Your message of comfort and assurance we so desperately need in this age.  Speak to us of Your promise for our future with You, equal heirs with Your Son.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Preacher, theologian, author H. A. "Harry" Ironside once related a conversation he had with an elderly gentleman who said, "I will not go on unless I know I'm saved, or else know it's hopeless to seek to be sure of it. I want a definite witness, something I can't be mistaken about!"  Ironside replied, "Suppose you had a vision of an angel who told you your sins were forgiven.  Would that be enough to rest on?"  "Yes, I think it would.  An angel should be right."  Ironside continued, "But suppose on your deathbed Satan came and said, 'I was that angel, transformed to deceive you.'  What would you say?"  The man was speechless.  Ironside then told the man that God has given us something more dependable than the voice of an angel.  He has given His Son, who died for our sins, and He has testified in His own Word that if we trust Him all our sins are gone.  Ironside then read 1 John 5:13, "You may know that you have eternal life."  Then he said, "Is that not enough to rest on?  It is a letter from heaven expressly to you."


We all long for some proof, for something we can be completely sure of, whether it’s evidence that God exists, or assurance of our own salvation.  We seem too often to be filled with doubts, especially in times like these when our life has been turned upside down.

Ironside quoted part of what the Apostle John wrote in his 1st letter to the early church.  Hear the rest of that assurance God gives, from chapter 5, verses 9 through 13…

9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

--1 John 5:9-13 (NKJV)

This is our letter from heaven, from God to us.


Doubts creep in.  In the absence of proof, doubts take hold.  Right now we’re getting opinions and instruction from so many experts and professionals, including some that seem to contradict others.  We’re told all the things we need to do to prevent the spread of COVID-19, yet the reported case numbers keep going up.  We wonder about our health and the health of our loved ones.  And with death so prevalent in all our communities, some may be having doubts about their salvation, like the elderly man Ironside spoke with.

But family, if there is one thing a believer should not doubt, it is that we are saved!  We are save, not by any deed or word on our part, but by the precious blood of Jesus Chris shed on our behalf!  This is the testimony of God, the assurance from God, that He loves us so very much, He sent His own Son into this world that all might be saved.

Jesus died on the cross to wash us clean of our sin.  And then He was bodily resurrected by God, defeating death, to show us we too will be given new life.  We who believe in the name of Jesus, the Son of God, know that we have eternal life.  Our salvation is assured, and God told us so.


Jesus knew we would have doubts.  He came to earth as one of us so He could relate to us, and us to Him.  There were a couple of times when even He briefly expressed something kind of like a doubt.  For instance, right before His arrest when He prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me.”  Or on the cross, when He cried out, “My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

So naturally He expected us, and even His twelve chosen disciples to have doubts, to not fully understand what He had been trying to teach them.  After all, He told us what to expect and they had trouble with that.  Listen to what Jesus said, as recorded by the Apostle Luke in his Gospel account, chapter 18, verses 31 through 33…

31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

--Luke 18:31-33 (NKJV)

But in our Sunrise Service scripture this morning, we read that after Peter and John witnessed the empty grave, they still didn’t completely understand what He told them here.  They had doubts.  And if they weren’t sure that He would rise again from the grave, do you think they’d see how His resurrection would also apply to them?

The problem is that they, and we, forget what God has told us.  We read the letters from heaven without paying attention to what we’ve read.  We hear the words of the prophets spoken in our scripture, but we don’t listen.  One such promise from God was spoken through Hosea, in the 6th chapter of his book of prophecy verses 1 and 2…

1 Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bandage us.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.

--Hosea 6:1-2 (NKJV)

Right there is our promise, our assurance.  Jesus was torn and stricken, but He heals us and bandages all our spiritual wounds.  He was revived and raised up and we will be too, so that we may live forever in His sight!


We need have no doubts about our salvation.  As Paul noted in our opening scripture, “Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say.  He was buried, and three days later He was raised to life, as the Scriptures say.”

The risen Jesus was witnessed by over 500 people and no one has ever refuted their testimony!  To say that Christ was not raised back to life would make a liar out of God, and God does not lie.  Christ Jesus has been raised to life and He makes certain that others will also be raised.  Just as we will die to this life because of the sin of Adam, we will be raised to life eternal because of the righteous act of Jesus.


We who believe have no reason to doubt.  We’ve been sent letters from heaven.  But what of those who do not believe?

Sadly, their fate is also certain.  Their disbelief, their refusal to accept Jesus as Lord even after hearing and reading God’s word, will be their own condemnation.  God doesn’t condemn us – we condemn ourselves.

If you have not fully accepted Jesus as Your personal Lord and Savior, then please do so now.  If you still have doubts, maybe it’s time to recommit yourself to Jesus, now, before we take Communion together.  Follow along with me and repeat this simple prayer, either out loud or silently, in your heart…  Dear Lord Jesus, I need You.  I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness.  I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead.  I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life.   I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.  Make me the kind of person You want me to be.  In Your dear name Jesus I pray. Amen.


Believe in Jesus, the one true Son of God, follow His voice, and be saved.  In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, there should be no doubt that You love us.  You even sent Your own Son to us, knowing how badly He would be treated, watching as He suffered and died.  But all this because You love us and this was the only way we could be cleansed of our sin, by the blood sacrifice of the one true Spotless Lamb.  Thank You, Father, for showing us this kind of love.  Thank You for assuring us of our salvation through Jesus through Your words and Your letters from heaven.  Please help us, dear Father, as we struggle with our doubts.  Please forgive us our little lapses that occur because of the stresses of the times we are in.  Help us understand and see the fullness of Your love.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, even though You knew what had to be done, and why, and even though You completed the task given You, there were a few times You wondered if it really had to be done that way, times when You may have entertained small doubts.  So You know, Lord, that we are too often filled with doubts, doubts about many things.  But the one thing we should never doubt is our salvation through Your sacrifice.  Thank You, Jesus, assuring us by Your own death and resurrection that we too will be raised again from the dead to life eternal with You and our Father God in heaven!  Thank You for defeating death and for allowing us to share in that great victory if we would only believe in You and follow Your voice.  Please help us stay strong in our faith and service, even in these very challenging times.  Help us reach out to a hurting, fearful world with the calming assurance of our eternal life with You in heaven.  Help us remain calm and faithful during the turmoil, ever trusting in You and our Father God.  And help us find ways to share the Good News You brought to the world.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.


Now let us seek God’s forgiveness by confessing our sin…

Merciful God, we confess that so often our discipleship has been weak, when we have failed to serve as Jesus served; Father, forgive us.

When we have failed to love one another as Jesus loves us; Father, forgive us.

When we have been happy to proclaim our devotion to Jesus with our lips and then denied Him by our actions; Father, forgive us.

Merciful God, empower us by Your Spirit to be steady and true to You in every time of trial; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Jesus said: "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world", and having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them even to the end.  The good news therefore is this:  In Jesus Christ, we are loved and we are forgiven.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.