Assurance of Salvation
by William J. Baldwin, March 14, 1997

The New Testament positively bristles with assurance of salvation. To a lesser extent, so does the Old, for example, in Psalm 23. But with the coming of Christ in his Incarnation, Life, Death, Burial, Resurrection, Ascension, and Session (being seated at God's right hand), assurance springs from every page. The first chapter of Ephesians alone assures early believers in expansive terms that God has chosen them, that Christ has redeemed them, and that the Holy Spirit has been given them as a guarantee of their salvation. Yet believers today struggle with doubt. Why? How much doubt is "acceptable"? What can we do about it?

IS ASSURANCE OF THE ESSENCE OF FAITH?

1. Assurance of the truth of God's promises and the efficacy of Christ's work (Yes)
   1. Hebrews 11:6
   2. Romans 4:20,21
   3. James 1:6
   4. A simple argument
      1. What is the opposite of faith? Doubt
      2. What is the opposite of doubt? Certainty
      3. Thus certainty or assurance of some sort are of the essence of faith.
      4. So at least we must believe faith is an assurance of the truth of the object of faith (viz. the promises of God and the person and work of Christ.)
   5. Nevertheless, it is argued, "the demons believe that God is one and shudder" (James 2:19). So this sort of assurance is useless unless accompanied by a subjective assurance that I am saved. (The above, though, has begun to suggest that this is a meaningless distinction)
2. Subjective assurance that I personally am saved (Debated, but yes)
   1. Roman Catholics (esp Jesuits)
      1. No. This assurance is only granted in extraordinary cases (to Paul and certain other saints)
      2. Such assurance is ordinarily not desirable since it would cause the believer to become lax in good works. (Arminians also said this.)
   2. Westminster Standards
      1. Larger Catechism 81 appears to say no: "Assurance of grace and salvation not being of the essence of faith, true believers may wait long before they obtain it...."
      2. To be safe, I took an exception to the Standards at my ordination exam. But I really don't think I needed to.
      3. Compare with Confession of Faith XVIII.1-3: "Such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus...may, in this life, be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace.... This infallible assurance does not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties before he be a partaker of it."
      4. Here, I think, is the point: Faith itself is certain. But my own subjective feeling of that certainty may be assailed by many doubts so that I cannot always testify with certainty that I am saved.
         1. My faith testifies certainly. In that sense, assurance is of the essence of faith.
         2. But my doubt testifies against it and sometimes gains the upper hand (though never totally or permanently). In this sense my experience of assurance is hindered without robbing me of faith.
   3. A Christian may (and ought to) grow in this subjective assurance
      1. 1 John 5:13
      2. Thus, those who already believe may hope for an increase of assurance and growth in faith.
      3. So it is clear that the tiniest amount of faith and assurance infallibly point to the truth of God and the efficacy of the work of Christ and thus become the instrument of salvation.
   4. But is this necessary for salvation? Hebrews 3:14 would seem to indicate yes, but...
3. Subjective assurance of my salvation, which assurance is never assailed or hidden by any doubt? (No)
   1. Calvin "Still, someone will say: 'Believers experience something far different: In recognizing the grace of God toward themselves they are not only tried by disquiet, which often comes upon them, but they are repeatedly shaken by gravest terrors. For so violent are the temptations that trouble their minds as not to seem quite compatible with that certainty of faith.... In order to understand this, it is necessary to return to that division of flesh and spirit which...most clearly reveals itself at this point. Therefore the godly heart feels in itself a division because it is partly imbued with sweetness from its recognition of the divine goodness, partly grieves in bitterness from an awareness of its calamity; partly rests upon the promise of the gospel, partly trembles at the evidence of its own iniquity; partly rejoices at the expectation of life, partly shudders at death.'"
   2. Luther: Sin boldly and repent all the more boldly. Don't you understand that the whole gospel is outside you.
   3. Saving faith may coexist with doubt (Mark 9:24)

WHAT ENCOURAGES TRUE ASSURANCE?

1. The same things that provoke faith (because assurance is of the essence of faith). Thus, anything that connects us with the promises of God and the objective truths of the gospel
   1. The preaching of the gospel of Christ
      1. Romans 10:14 applies to believers as well
      2. Romans 8:31-39
      3. God, who cannot lie, has made promises
         1. Hebrews 6:18
         2. John 6:37; 10:28,29
         3. Everyone who seeks, finds. Everyone who asks, receives.
            1. Matthew 7:7,8
            2. To struggle with assurance of salvation is a mark of faith. Who but a believer would care whether the blood of Christ has availed for him? And to care is to desire. And to desire is to ask. And to ask is to receive.
         4. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn but to save (John 3:17)
            1. Matthew 7:9-11
            2. God does not delight in condemning the wicked but rather that they should turn and live (Ezekiel 18:31,32)
            3. God will not awaken you to a sense of your peril and then laugh as you vainly struggle to justify yourself. If you fear condemnation and know that you have no hope to escape it except in the blood and righteousness of Christ, and your only worry is whether this will apply to you... don't worry. To desire is to ask. To ask is to receive.
      4. Christ has undergone everything on your behalf
         1. Romans 4:24,25
         2. Ephesians 2:6
         3. So the preaching of Christ provokes you to faith that these things are true of you as well.
      5. Hebrews 10:19-23
   2. The sacraments
      1. Baptism
         1. Baptism preaches to you that you've died to sin and been born again to righteousness (Romans 6:3-8)
         2. Thus it calls you to faith that these things are true of you (Romans 6:11)
      2. The Lord's Supper
         1. John 6:56 (note proximity to John 6:37)
         2. Participation ahead of time in the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Jesus speaks to us sweet words of comfort that we have already passed through death into the new life. He has chosen us as his own and will not reject us.
   3. Prayer
      1. Mark 9:24
      2. Colossians 2:2, 4:12
   4. Fellowship
      1. Our love for the brethren: 1 John 5:1
      2. Their love for us
      3. Our common goals, i.e. the fellowship of the gospel.
   5. These all point to the primary and fundamental basis of assurance
      1. The faithfulness of God
      2. The objective truths of the gospel
2. The Spirit of adoption
   1. Romans 8:15,16. The Spirit himself cries out within us that we belong to God.
   2. This is the inner confirmation of everything that was said above.
   3. Somewhere between a Primary and a Secondary assurance
      1. Primary in the sense that all believers cry out to God as to a Father and, if they lack assurance, are troubled by that and frightened of the consequences. Thus this crying out points to the primary ground of assurance.
      2. Secondary in the sense that the subjective experience of this will vary widely between believers and within the same believer at different moments. So again, this inward testimony is not the ground of our assurance but points to the ground of our assurance: the promises of God and the objective truths of the gospel.
3. The testimony of the elders of the Church
   1. Matthew 18:15-20
   2. If the elders have admitted someone to the church on the basis of a credible profession, you owe that person a "judgment of charity"
      1. I.e. you treat them as saved. Who are you to contradict the elders? If you have evidence to the contrary, go to them.
      2. You owe this same judgment of charity to yourself. Who are you to contradict the elders who have declared your profession of faith valid? If you believe otherwise, go to them.
         1. They will hear your confession of sin or doubt
         2. They will hear that you hate your sin and long to be free from it
         3. They will hear that you hate your doubt and long to be assured
         4. And they will say, "Brother, there is no basis to excommunicate you. You bear the marks of a true believer."
   3. Also somewhere between a Primary and a Secondary assurance
      1. Secondary in the sense that it cannot properly be the ground of our assurance.
      2. Primary in the sense that it entitles me to preaching and counseling that tells us the promises of God are mine, that Christ died for me.
4. The fruit of the Spirit and the good works that flow from there
   1. 2 Peter 1:5-11
   2. 1 John 2:3; 3:10,14,18-19,24
   3. The practical syllogism:
      1. Only those who are saved have evidence of God's grace working in their lives
      2. I see evidence of God's grace working in my life
      3. Therefore, I am saved
   4. Beware of danger of elevating this to a primary assurance (Romans 7:14-8:4)
   5. By it's nature, this is a Secondary assurance
      1. Elevate it to a primary assurance and it will be no assurance at all
      2. It cannot be the ground (basis) of our assurance
      3. These works are the offspring, not the mother of faith
      4. But the children may in turn nourish the mother on whom they depend
   6. Calvin on 1 John 2:3 "The certainty of faith dwells only in Christ's grace. But godliness and holiness of life distinguish true faith from a fictitious and dead knowledge of God. For the truth is, as Paul says, that in Christ we have put off the old man."

WHAT ENCOURAGES FALSE ASSURANCE?
AND/OR
WHAT WRONGLY FOSTERS DOUBT?

1. Perversion of the means of grace
   1. Wrong Preaching and Counseling
      1. Antinomianism (We are freed from the Law so we don't have to do good works.)
         1. False assurance
            1. "15 seconds of faith" can save you forever
            2. Even though I have no love for good works (and thus don't seek them) I am still saved.
         2. Wrong doubt
            1. It seems obvious that "15 seconds of faith" can't really save, so I must not be saved
            2. I don't feel free from the Law (for I long to do what it says.) Maybe I'm still trying to be justified by my own works.
      2. Legalism (Preaching assurance on the primary basis of good works.)
         1. False assurance
            1. "I thank you, Lord, that I am not like that tax collector over there."
            2. I'm making myself do good works, so I must be a believer.
            3. If I lack assurance, it's my own fault. I'll feel better when I make myself get out there and do good works.
         2. Wrong doubt
            1. I struggle so much with sin, I can't imagine that I'm saved.
            2. A real Christian might commit this sin once, but not over and over again. My "repentance" must be false.
            3. Others in the church seem so much more godly than I am. I must not really be saved.
      3. Preaching to the congregation or counseling church members as though they are (potential) unbelievers
         1. I had a pastor once who used to stress the deceitfulness of the heart so much that he said anyone could apostatize
         2. This terrified the tender consciences of some in the congregation.
         3. They thought to themselves "If anyone can, then certainly I may. As sinful as I am, I'm a prime candidate."
         4. And they began to wonder if they already had apostatized. Maybe they were just "faking it." That would explain why they were so often reluctant to come and hear the preaching of the word and to fellowship with God's people.
         5. (The real reason, of course, was that the preaching robbed them of assurance and God's people were judgmental)
         6. This is church discipline without due process
      4. Preaching or counseling that a lack of subjective assurance points to a weak (or non-existent) faith and/or the presence of unconfessed sin.
         1. I know a woman who became severely depressed and was counseled that if she repented, God would forgive her. Her pastor maintained that this was counseling "on the basis of the gospel."
         2. I counseled her-on the basis of her confession of faith which had not been denied by excommunication-that she was a believer and that God would care for her during this bleak time.
         3. To do otherwise is to exercise premature de facto excommunication. (More on this in a moment)
   2. Improper administration and use of the sacraments
      1. Baptism
         1. "Believer's baptism"
            1. A child grows up in the church but is denied the sign of his membership in the covenant until he is "converted" and professes his faith.
            2. How is he to reflect on his childhood in which he believed in Jesus according to his capacity and saw the outworking of grace in his life?
            3. Clearly those were false works of grace and a false faith. They happened prior to his "conversion." But how is he to distinguish between those false works of false faith and the real things?
            4. He cannot. So he concludes he must be an unbeliever still.
         2. "Presumptive regeneration"
            1. The idea that children of believers are (or will certainly be) saved.
            2. The child begins to rely on the external sign of the covenant, like the unbelieving Jews (Romans 2:17-29)
            3. Thus he is falsely assured of his salvation and faith is not nurtured in him.
         3. "Baptismal regeneration"
            1. The idea that the act of baptism actually saves a person
            2. The person will then presumptuously rely on baptism rather than the objective truths to which baptism points and seals to him only as he lays hold of them by faith.
      2. The Lord's Supper
         1. When it is withheld from believers who have repented of their sins (on the grounds of the seriousness of their sin), they are taught that they must become better before seeking the grace of God.
         2. People are, in my opinion, also taught this when the Lord's Supper is not administered each Lord's Day.
            1. They are told, "You are so wicked we dare not give you this means of grace."
            2. When a contrite heart and a faith in Christ, represented and sealed in that supper, are all that is required
            3. However, there is much difference of opinion on this. I do not wish to suggest that those who argue for monthly (or longer) intervals necessarily do so out of legalism. But I do believe they do so out of misunderstanding-whether of the nature of the Supper or of faith.
         3. When it is granted to those who have not been admitted to the church, they are encouraged to presume upon their own salvation rather than submitting their confession to the elders.
   3. Wrong understanding of prayer
      1. Prayer as a work that will gain favor with God
         1. The more I pray, the more spiritual it makes me.
         2. Those who devote themselves externally to this work sometimes become presumptuous
         3. But even the Pharisees prayed
         4. Prayer is, rather, the reflex of faith offered by those who have gained favor with God on the basis of another's work.
      2. "Preparationism" in prayer
         1. The idea that you can't come to God until you've prepared your heart
         2. But only God can prepare your heart.
         3. So this leads to the false assurance that I can come to God on the basis of my preparation (rather than with confidence in the work of Christ)
         4. Or it troubles the tender conscience who dares not come boldly to the throne of grace for fear that he is not "prepared." Christ has prepared him!!!
   4. Bad fellowship
2. Focus on subjective aspects of assurance
   1. Assurance can and should be subjective
   2. But it is arrived at by focusing on objective truths not on some "burning in the bosom"
3. Improper or non-existent rules of membership and church discipline
   1. Refusal to have membership
      1. Elders refuse to exercise rights of binding and loosing
         1. Some, without a credible profession, believe they have one.
         2. Others, with a credible profession but weak in faith, lack the encouragement of formal admission from God's appointed elders.
      2. They admit anyone to the table on the basis of personal examination of heart
         1. Some, without a credible profession, come, eating and drinking judgment to themselves
         2. Others, with a credible profession, deny themselves this means of grace on slight reasons of which their elders ought to dissuade them.
   2. Refusal to administer church discipline
      1. "Bad company corrupts good morals"
      2. "If he can get away with that and still remain in the church, then surely I'm ok with this sin I nourish."
      3. "The only reason I'm still in church is that the elders aren't doing their job and kicking me out."
   3. Excommunication for sins repented of (note context before and after Matthew 18:21,22)
   4. Admitting people to the church on insufficient grounds
      1. Even though their profession of faith was not recognizable as true faith or they seem to have no desire for good works.
      2. False assurance: The elders let me in; I must be saved.
   5. Denying admittance although there are sufficient grounds to admit
      1. E.g. extra-Biblical standards of membership (Can't smoke or be divorced... whatever)
      2. Or requiring belief in important tenets of the Reformed Faith (such as infant baptism or limited atonement) rather than requiring only a credible profession.
      3. False assurance: I passed the rigorous test that others who merely "believe" failed. I must be saved because I'm so good.
      4. Wrong Doubt: They kept me out. Am I really saved?
4. Focus on good works as primary means of assurance
   1. False assurance
      1. I make myself do good works so I must be saved
      2. I am so much better than others. Clearly if good works are the means of assurance, then I'm way beyond the cutoff point
   2. Wrong Doubt
      1. I sin so frequently and am filled with such temptation. How can I be a true believer?
      2. My works do not seem good to me, for I know that they are tainted with sin and not a single one of them was done with a proper motive.

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