Confidence:
“Blessed Assurance”

Date: June 29, 1997-P.M.
Speaker: John Phillis
Main Scripture Reference: 2 Thessalonians 2:8-17

Tonight, I want to talk about a basis for our confidence. And that was why I asked Ron Wilkerson to lead that good song that we had before the lesson tonight, “Blessed Assurance.” We could also say, “Blessed Confidence.”

All of us have confidence in someone or something. And even though this is a word which we commonly use, and I think that we all commonly understand the meaning of the word, nonetheless, I’ll take just a moment to define the word since it is the subject of our lesson tonight. The dictionary definition of the word “confidence” means: “to have full trust, belief in the trustworthiness of, or reliability of, a person or thing.” The word “confident” means: “to have strong belief, or full assurance…” and there’s our word that we sang in the song tonight—assurance, “to be sure, to be bold.”

Understanding these definitions, let’s think for a few moments about things in which we place our confidence, things in which we have assurance. Well, I think about the government. Now, there’s something that we can believe in!! There’s something that we can be sure about!! The government is always reliable and dependable and can be trusted to do the right thing!! (I see Doug Brown over there choking on something—I don’t know what that is! Doug works for the government, of course. “Amen” would be appropriate, Doug.)

We can have assurance and confidence in our monetary system!! There’s nothing more sound, nothing more reliable than the good old U. S. dollar!! We’ve often heard the expression that someone, or something, is as sound as a dollar.

What about the Dallas Cowboys football team!! There is a real American institution! They are the proverbial symbol of “motherhood and apple pie.” Fans can always depend on the Cowboys to win every game!!

What about friends? Now, I can always depend on and have confidence in my friends to do the right thing at the right time in the right way!!

What about family? My family is always there for me, and I am confident that they will never fail me or disappoint me!!

Well, I can have confidence in myself! Hey, self confidence!! You bet!! I believe in myself, and I’m confident that I will succeed, that I will always do the right thing, that I will always meet every challenge!!

Well, perhaps I’m being a bit cynical. These examples, as well as others that I’m sure that you have thought of—perhaps some that you’ve experienced yourself—demonstrate the fallacy of placing our trust, our confidence in things. This also demonstrates the difficulty that we have in finding something that is lasting, something that is permanent, to PUT our confidence in.

Oh, we have a wonderful democratic system of government, no doubt—one which is the envy of much of the world, and one which we rightfully and properly should give thanks for! I appreciated again Brother Loyd Redman’s prayer this evening, thanking God for the country that we live in where we have the freedom that we do. I also appreciated Brother T. J. Archer’s prayer this morning, as he acknowledged and prayed for our government. But can we really place our full trust and confidence in the government? I don’t think we should.

Our monetary system is great. Our economy is strong. And much of the world relies on the good, old “greenback” for their own trade and their “fiscal soundness”. Like one fellow said, “I must have good credit! Everybody has some of it!” But we don’t want to place our confidence—our assurance—in the U. S. dollar.

Now, I know I’m treading on some dangerous ground here, but…how sound is it for us to be confident in the Dallas Cowboys? Think about this realistically! Even you “diehard” fans know that they don’t win every game, and that they don’t always go to the Super Bowl. You just think they do!

Well, you see where I’m going with these analogies. Friends, family, and, yes, even ourselves, should not be the basis for our confidence. We have all, at one time or another, been disappointed, or let down, when our confidence in an institution, an organization, a team, or a person, has been betrayed, or destroyed.

So in this world of changing institutions, changing traditions and standards, where DO we place our confidence? What is there that we can really believe in, that we can really trust in, that we can really have confidence in? Certainly, as Christians, we need a basis for assurance.

Is our belief, and therefore our hope, simply an accident of some historical flux? What sign do we have that our lives are really important? What assurance do we have that our salvation is of greater consequence than our mere personal ambition? Can we really be sure that our hope is grounded in more than our own strength and might?

The text for our lesson tonight is taken from 2 Thessalonians, the 2nd chapter. I would like to read that text, 2 Thessalonians 2, beginning with verse 8, and reading through verse 12: “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendor of His coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the Truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the Truth but have delighted in wickedness.”