Solomon’s Song 2:16, “My beloved is mine, and I am his;…”
The Bible is abundantly clear in the declaration of Eternal Salvation by Grace and Grace Alone. Man, of his/her own self cannot and will not come to God. The only way a person will have a home in heaven and be delivered from the condemnation of sin is that God loves them and by His irresistible power saves them from their sins. According to scripture, everyone that God loved before the world began, were justified in the death of Christ and shall be effectually called to life by the direct work of the Holy Ghost.
Question: Is it possible for a person to be saved (born again) and yet not have assurance of salvation? Or another way, can one to be saved and live a life of fear and doubt of the condemnation of sins that Jesus has already paid for? The answer is YES! I am living proof of this. Very often the born again children of God, because of the attacks of Satan and false teachers flooding their minds with misinformation, live a life of defeat and discouragement because of the severe lack of assurance.
In our study verse we read the words of the Shulamite in Solomon’s song. She was a little farm girl who fell in love with a man she later learned to be the King of Israel, Solomon himself. The verse declares her love for him and the assurance she had of them being together and firmly believing that nothing could keep them apart. Question: How many times do you think her neighbors and friends asked, “Why do you have so much assurance that you will be married to him? You are a farm girl and he is the king of Israel? Are you sure he said he loved you?” The words of our study verse reveal to us her confidence that she and her Beloved would be together, and nothing would keep them apart. “How can you have so much assurance and confidence O Shulamite?” The answer is found in her experiences she tells. Throughout Solomon’s Song, the Shulamite will tell of the experiences she had with her beloved Solomon. In those experiences, she had come to the place of assurance and confidence in His love for her.
A few days ago, I was blessed to receive a telephone call from a precious brother in Jesus Christ. The brother told me a story about his mom. His mom’s dad (the brother’s grandfather) served in the United States military during World War II. While serving our country faithfully, he was killed in action in 1944, but before his death, he was able to come home and visit his daughter (the brother’s mom) for a few days. She (the daughter) was only 6 months old when this servant was killed in action in Italy. The daughter’s mother told her many times about her daddy and told her he loved her. After the death of her mother, the daughter found a box in the attic of her mother’s home. In the box were letters and gifts from her dad to her mom that he sent before his death. In the box was one letter that was unopened. Examining the dates, she and her son (the brother that called) determined the letter was written before her dad’s death in Italy and, because of the slow travel of mail at the time, was received after the news of his death. When reading the letter, her dad wrote about the dangers and troubles of the war. He wrote about his love for his wife. In the last paragraph of the letter, he wrote and asked his wife to tell his precious little darling girl that he loved her with all his heart. The daughter had been told over and over how much he loved her, but this letter was something written by her daddy’s own hand declaring his love for his little girl. The son said that this letter gave confirmation to his mother of her daddy’s love. He and his mom were thankful for this rich blessing from God and firmly believed it was God’s will for her to open the letter and read it herself. She was assured that her mama and daddy were in heaven and one day they would all be together.
Brothers and sister in Christ, I tell that story because it touches my heart and reminds me of the ways my Father in heaven manifests His love to and for me. When I think about the times He has blessed me to read His word and understand by the help of the Holy Spirit; when I enjoy an undeserved blessing from God in my life; when I go to Church and the preacher is blessed to preach something that fits my case, I think it’s kind of like the sister who opened the letter. The Lord gives things to His children to confirm to them and give assurance that He loves them and one sweet and glorious day we will all be together in peace and happiness forever and ever. Solomon’s Song 6:3, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine;…” Amen!