HOW DO WE KNOW?
Romans 8: 1-17

           I want to spend some time talking about assurances. Human beings crave assurance. We reach a point in life where we accept that we are not in complete control of every situation. However, we want, and need, the assurance that someone is in control of those situations we cannot control. We crave those assurances in all different aspects of our life. Perhaps at this particular point in time, some of us need the assurance that whether or not the United States Congress gets its act together, our senior citizens will still receive the benefits due to them, our military personnel will still get paid and that government will continue to function as it must. Parents routinely need assurances that their children are cared for or are safe. The list goes on and on of the assurances that human beings seek.

           Not to be overlooked on the list of assurances is the assurance of faith and spirituality. It is not uncommon, throughout one’s faith journey, for them to take a step back and ask how it is known that their faith is valid, that they are “on the right track”. Because the spiritual world deals with those things that often offer little physical evidence, humans seek that assurance that they have not gone astray. Christians are not immune from this questioning and seeking of assurance. At so many different points, we can ask of God and ourselves, “how do I know?” How do I know that God even exists? How do I know that Jesus really is the Way, the Truth, and the Life? How do I know that I have been forgiven? How do I know that I am in a right relationship with God? How do I know that I am even a child of God?

           These are deeply personal and deeply theological questions. From the beginning of Christianity, Christians have sought answers to these questions, and others, and the assurance of those answers. Even some of the great leaders and theologians of the church have wrestled with these questions. For a long period of his adult life, John Wesley struggled immensely with the question of his own “salvation”. Those struggles persisted even after his theological studies and ordination as a priest and in spite of him being raised in the church, the son of a clergyman. In spite of all his training and exposure to the Scriptures, he still sought a measure of assurance of God’s love for him. It was not until May 24, 1738, that Wesley received the assurance he so desperately sought; it was on that date that he “felt his heart strangely warmed” and knew that he was loved and forgiven by God.

           Perhaps some of you are in the same position as Wesley. You are seeking that assurance of God’s love and forgiveness. You are seeking some validity to your faith. You are seeking the assurance that you are indeed a child of God. You are asking “how do I know?” about your faith and/or the faith of the church. Rest assured, your questions are valid and are heard by God.

           We are still faced that question, though. How do we know that our faith and all our faith encompasses is true, for ourselves and for others? Our answer is found in Romans 8, specifically in the 16th verse. Paul declares that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, testifies (or witnesses) to the validity of our faith and the truth we espouse. We know because the Holy Spirit both reveals the truth to us and joins with our own spirit in making this assurance. In other words, we know because the truth is communicated directly to our spirit by the Spirit of God. This communication, this witness, comes in two different ways.

           The first way is an external witness or communication. It is very tangible and is out in the open. The external witness that one is a child of God or in the validity or strength of one’s faith is the obedience to God’s commands. Whether or not one adheres to the commandments of God offers the assurance of being a child of God. If we look at Romans 8: 5-8, Paul speaks about this. Those, Paul says, whose loyalty ultimately lies with the world and the ways of the world will, by their behavior, seek after the things of “the flesh”, the things of this world. On the other hand, those whose ultimate loyalty lies with God will seek after the things of God. Keep in mind, too, that, according to Jesus, the “things of God” can be summed up in the command to love God and to love others.

           Each one of us knows our own behavior. We know how we behave and conduct ourselves in public and in private. At the end of the day, we can ask and answer for ourselves the question, “Have I tried to love God and my neighbor?” The answer to this question is part of the witness of the Holy Spirit, because we know that those who are truly children of God, whose faith is steadfast, will, by grace, be enabled to do these things. Let me say that a day here and there where we can honestly answer “not really” doesn’t exclude us from God’s family; we all have rough days and God knows this. However, if it is a constant “not really” then perhaps the Spirit’s witness is that we are not where we think we are or would like to be in our faith and our relationship with God.

           The second witness of the Holy Spirit is much different than the external witness. As you might have guessed, the second aspect of the Spirit’s witness is an internal witness—something that only we can see, feel, know, and experience. This aspect of the Spirit’s witness is much more difficult to describe. There are really no earthly words to adequately express what the internal witness is or is like. For some, it might be an overwhelming peace, for others it might be a calm confidence, it could a conviction of sin and the need for grace, or it might be that voice that speaks love and forgiveness to us. In reality, it is different for each person. This difference is based upon where each person is in their relationship with God at that particular time. It is as varied as each person.

           This witness of the Spirit is one of God’s many gifts to humans. God knows our questions and our struggles. In response to those questions, God allows the Spirit to communicate directly to each one of us—to communicate the knowledge of God’s love and that we are children of God. How do we know? Because the Spirit tell us so. Thanks be to God! AMEN.

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