Assurance of God’s Grace

The Prayer of Confession should always follow with an assurance that God forgives us.

It should be brief.

It can be a Scripture verse.

The Assurance should end with “This is the Good News of the Gospel, therefore let us sing to the glory of God.” These words help serve as a cue for the Organist to start the Gloria Patri.

You may construct your own. Following are a few suggestions.

1
The mercy of the Lord
is from everlasting to everlasting.
I declare to you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
we are forgiven.
May the God of mercy,
who forgives you all our sins,
strengthen us in all goodness,
and by the power of the Holy Spirit
keep us in eternal life.
This is the Good News of the Gospel, therefore let us sing to the glory of God.

2 Based on I Timothy 1:15 and I Peter 2:24
Hear the good news!
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
He himself bore our sins
in his body on the cross,
that we might be dead to sin,
and alive to all that is good.
I declare to you in the name of Jesus Christ,
we are forgiven.
This is the Good News of the Gospel, therefore let us sing to the glory of God.

3 Based on I Timothy 1:15
Here are words you may trust, words that merit full acceptance:
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
This is the Good News of the Gospel, therefore let us sing to the glory of God.


4 Based on Romans 8:34 and II Corinthians 5:17
Hear the good news!
Who is in a position to condemn?
Only Christ,
and Christ died for us,
Christ rose for us,
Christ reigns in power for us,
Christ prays for us.
Anyone who is in Christ
is a new creation.
The old life has gone;
a new life has begun.
Know that we are forgiven
and let us be at peace.
This is the Good News of the Gospel, therefore let us sing to the glory of God.

5 Based on I Timothy 1:15
Listen! Here is good news.
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
God will forgive you in your failure.
God will accept you as you are.
God will set you free from evil’s power.
God will make you what you were meant to be.
This is the Good News of the Gospel, therefore let us sing to the glory of God.


6 Based on I John 1:8,9
Hear these comforting words from I John 1:8 and 9.
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us, but if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful
and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.”
This is the Good News of the Gospel, therefore let us sing to the glory of God.


7 Based on Joel 2:13
We read in Joel 2:13 this exhortation:
“Return to the Lord your God,
for God is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
This is the Good News of the Gospel, therefore let us sing to the glory of God.


8 Based on John 3:16
We read in John 3:16, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.”
This is the Good News of the Gospel, therefore let us sing to the glory of God.


9 Other helpful passages for those who may wish to construct a different Assurance of God’s Grace
· Psalm 32:5
· Psalm 51:2-5
· Proverbs 28:13
· Isaiah 45:21-22
· Jeremiah 33:8