1. **🛡️ **Assurance Is Rooted in God's Faithfulness** Our confidence in salvation begins not with our performance, but with God's character. - **2 Timothy 2:13** — _“If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself.”_ God’s faithfulness is not contingent on our consistency. - **John 6:37** — _“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”_ Jesus doesn’t say “unless you mess up.” He says _never_. - **Philippians 1:6** — _“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”_ The work of salvation is God’s project. You’re not the foreman—He is. 2. 🚫 **God Does Not Want Us Paralyzed by Fear** Obsessive fear of losing salvation distorts the gospel and undermines joy. If you’re always afraid of losing your salvation, that fear can become a prison. God didn’t save you so you’d live in anxiety. He saved you to walk in freedom and joy. - **Romans 8:15** — _“You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption.”_ Fear is not the mark of adoption—freedom and intimacy are. - **1 John 4:18** — _“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”_ Fear flees where love reigns. - **Galatians 5:1** — _“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”_ God didn’t rescue you to keep you anxious. He saved you to walk with Him in peace. Fear is not a fruit of the Spirit—joy is. 3. **Unhealthy Fear Breeds Self-Centered Introspection** Excessive self-examination can shift focus from Christ to self. When you’re constantly analyzing yourself, you risk becoming self-centered instead of Christ-centered. The goal isn’t to obsess over whether you’re ‘good enough’—where your walk becomes about performance metrics rather than communion with Christ. The goal is to trust that Jesus is enough. Look to Him, not just to yourself. - **Hebrews 12:2** — _“Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”_ Faith begins with Him. It matures through Him. It ends in Him. - **2 Corinthians 3:18** — _“And we all… are being transformed into His image… by beholding the glory of the Lord.”_ - **Colossians 2:6** — _“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him.”_ You didn’t start by earning. You started by trusting. Keep trusting. **God’s love doesn’t leave you when you stumble.** God’s love is covenantal—it’s loyal, enduring, and patient. He doesn’t abandon His children when they fall. - **Psalm 103:13–14** — _“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.”_ God’s expectations are not unrealistic. His compassion is calibrated to our frailty. - **Micah 7:8** — _“Though I fall, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”_ Falling isn’t the end. It’s the moment God draws near. - **Luke 15:20** — _“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion…”_ God runs toward the repentant, not away from them. **## ✅ **If You’re Trusting Christ Today, You’re Secure** The presence of faith—even trembling faith—is evidence of grace at work. - **John 10:27–28** — _“My sheep hear my voice… I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”_ Eternal life isn’t temporary. And God’s hand doesn’t slip. - **1 Peter 1:5** — _“Who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation…”_ Faith is the channel. God’s power is the shield. - **Romans 8:38–39** — _“Nothing… will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”_ Not even your fear. Not even your doubts. You don’t need to be perfect. And if you’re afraid of being far, that’s already a sign you’re not. *“He will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick.”* Isaiah 42:3