In this daily Bible reading Paul tells the church at Thessalonica that they should be supportive of one another. They should always seek after that which is good for the other person. Paul also tells them to have hope for their Salvation. In this regard, Paul says, “Let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of Faith and Love, and as a helmet the Hope of Salvation.”
Paul never gave the message that we are assured of our Salvation. Rather, we should be hopeful for our Salvation and persevere in living rightly. The Bible does not contain the phrase, ‘assurance of Salvation.’ However, the Bible does contain the phrase ‘Hope of Salvation.’
Many churches today teach the doctrine of ‘assurance of Salvation.’ They teach that once a person professes to believe in Jesus Christ they are saved from Hell. Their entrance into Heaven is assured. However, the Bible does not teach this. The Bible says that ‘it is difficult to be saved.’ The Bible also tells us to ‘work out our salvation with fear and trembling.’ Additionally, the Bible says that ‘he who perseveres to the end will be saved.’ The ‘assurance of salvation’ mindset demotivates the necessary perseverance to be saved. However, with a hopeful mindset, one continues to be motivated to live according to the Word of God. He or she will then walk rightly before God, even during the tough times which we will face.
