Book Review: Assured by Greg Gilbert

Many Christians struggle with assurance in many ways. Some struggle with it because they do not feel saved. Others because they have a sin that they keep repeating after asking God for forgiveness and repenting from it. Still they are some that struggle with it after a sermon they heard from their pastor which promoted legalism rather than grace.

Can a Christian know they are saved? How can we have assurance we are saved? This is what Greg Gilbert covers in his latest book, Assured. In this book, he gives our four sources of assurance based on the Word of God:

The gospel of Jesus Christ.

The promises of God.

The witness of the Spirit.

The fruit of obedience.

The gospel is the message that God has saved sinners from their sin and has given them eternal life. In His Word, God has promised that the ones who are His will never be forgotten or let go despite out sins. The witness of the Spirit is God's Spirit testifying with our spirit that we are His children as taught in Romans 8. The fruit of obedience is our outward expression of our love for God as we seek to do what pleases Him. Jesus said the one who loves Him, is the one who obeys Him (John 14:21).

At the end of book, Gilbert addresses besetting sins. Those are the sins that we seem to not get rid of no matter how mature we are in the faith. Gilbert tells his readers while it is discouraging that these sins are still within us, we must not lose heart. This is not an indication that we have lost our salvation. Jesus promised that no one, not even ourselves, can snatch us from the Father's hand.

Finally, Christians should always strive for assurance. The way to do that is to be constantly reminded of the promises of God in the gospel. We must also do the things that please God and not walk in this journey alone, which means Christians are to be faithful church members. Get together with a family believers that will walk with you and you walk with them in our journey to be more like Jesus.

Greg Gilbert has been one of my favorite writers for some time. I have enjoyed every book he has written and Assured is no exception. The book is short and easy to read that will be a great tool to go through a fellow believer who is struggling with assurance of their salvation. This is will also be good for you if you are struggling with assurance as well.

Thanks Baker Books for letting me review this book.