“I have it in the Word,” was the blessed confession of one who had learned to trust the Savior, and. to rest in what the Word of God declares concerning Him, and the work He accomplished for sinners. Weak from heart disease, unable to drink of the world’s streams as others, this dear young girl had heard the joyful sound, had received the glad tidings of salvation, and was now quite sure that she was saved. Why this certainty? From whence does this rest of conscience and heart spring?
Does she differ from you or me? Is she, because she is shut out from the world around, any less of a sinner? No, she made no mention of her own goodness, her happy feelings, her good training, her grand experiences. What then made her so sure of her salvation?
“Ah well; whatever happens to her, she is ready for both worlds.” Turning to the sufferer, I asked her if this was true? “Yes” she said at once. Wishing to be quite plain with her, I said “Then are you really saved?” “Yes” was her decided answer again. Seeking still further to know the ground of her confidence, I asked what made her so sure about it? With a bright smile she looked at me and repeated “I HAVE IT IN THE WORD.” So it was; for as a lost sinner she had believed God’s record about His Son, that He had come to seek and to save that which was lost. In other words, she had appropriated to herself the Savior that the word of God reveals. God’s “faithful saying” (1 Tim. 2:1515Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. (1 Timothy 2:15).) and Christ’s finished work (John 19:3030When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30).) were the ground of her confidence, and therefore she could be quite happy about her soul’s salvation.
Many others have this same confidence and would endorse the sweet and blessed confession of this bright young believer “I have it in the Word.” What a perfect answer to all the unbelief of the human heart, and the insinuations of the devil! And if confidence in God’s Word gives certainty, rest, and peace in view of eternity, do we not want it too? It is a common thing to speak of the “uncertainty of life;” but how blessed to have God’s own authority that I am “secured for eternity,” as I once read on a country tombstone.
The Word of the Lord Endureth Forever
Christ Himself says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:3535Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)). If this Word is not the ground of our confidence we are still on the wrong road, and bound for judgment. But if we have believed God’s Word, then we can rejoice in the glad tidings and make our boast in the work that has been done, and better still, in the One who has done it. If challenged by man or devil as to our salvation, let this be our simple answer “I have it in the Word.” What a resting place! That Word which can never fail — that “faithful saying” which is as true tomorrow as today, and as certain for eternity as now.
T.E.P.