It Is Finished (Chapter 4)

'You Are Saved' Book

Here’s the third chapter in my upcoming book, You Are Saved: The Christian’s Assurance!
My proof copy is arriving this week, so the release date is rapidly approaching.

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You can read the Intro free and unlocked here, Chapter 1 here, Chapter 2 here, and Chapter 3 here.

Chapter 4 - It Is Finished

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow
- Elvina M. Hall, ‘Jesus Paid It All’

In 2013, I helped Focus Press conduct an informal survey of those who had grown up in the churches of Christ yet no longer attended. We wanted to know their reasons for leaving and what they believe now, and we also wanted to know what their families’ spiritual habits were like as they grew up.

We received many informative answers, but none stood out to me quite like this one:

“There is no real understanding in the [churches of Christ] of the words Jesus spoke, ‘It is finished.’ It isn’t finished for members of the [churches of Christ].”

The churches of Christ are not the only ones with assurance issues, as we’ll examine in a later chapter. However, we certainly have our fair share, thanks to a common over-emphasis on our part in salvation.

And that explains the saddest part of the comment; what he wrote about Jesus’ words is true in far too many cases. “It is finished” should be three of the most joy-filled, life-giving words you ever read—and yet, too many people struggle to trust the completed work of Jesus Christ.

That’s why this is the most important chapter in this entire book, because when we struggle with assurance, we display a failure to grasp, appreciate, and worship Jesus and all He did for us.