When I struggled with assurance in recent days I've discovered all new the battle strategy to go to a verse like this and to say it to

myself over and over again it is not primarily begotten by myself analysis in analyzing the relative degrees of my advancement in holiness.

It is by focusing on the promise of God rooted in his faithfulness and say he'll do it.

So what is the path of assurance?

John Piper walks us along the path of assurance in 1st Thessalonians 5, 23 and 24, in this episode of Light and Truth.

This sermon was originally preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church on April 12, 1992.

Today's sermon is an effort to show where assurance comes from in the light of the necessity of holiness.

Let's go to the text.

This is 1st Thessalonians, chapter 5, versus 23 and 24.

I want you to see three things too briefly, one more extended. First, Paul in verses 14 to 22 are a list of

commandments or exhortations of things we should do, Things like don't return evil for evil and pray and don't

despise prophesy and don't quench the spirit and the last one in verse 22 is abstain from every

form of evil. Now what he's doing

that is saying be holy, be sanctified, be good people, be pure, be upright, be

honest, be loving, be that way.

So my first conclusion is when I argue that God sanctifies, which I'm going to argue from

verse 24, that God sanctifies he does it by means of

commandments. So don't ever say well he's commanding me to do things and therefore I am the one who has to do it and therefore it's not sure.

Don't conclude that. He uses commandments. Number two, verse 23. He shifts from

commanding God or commanding us to be holy to asking God to make us holy.

Let's read it.

May the God of peace himself sanctify you holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of

...