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No one who trusts in Jesus Christ will be eternally lost. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). Anyone who has come to Christ belongs to Christ forever. Everyone who has faith in Christ has eternal life (John 6:40).
Yet Christians often fear that they have not really come to Christ. They want assurance that their faith is real. They want to know for sure that they are God’s children. The Bible teaches that this desire for assurance conforms to God’s will for His people. (Where does the Bible teach this? Not that it doesn't, but Ligonier represents itself as teachers of the Bible. So the author is obligated to tell us where his key premise is found in the Bible.)
This is seriously confused. Ligonier is Calvinist, and the author wrestles with the tension created between predestination and assurance. We find this kind of struggle often. The doctrines of Calvinism create the need for explanations and work-arounds. So the author believes that God chose who would be saved, so he wonders how the Elect can doubt their salvation.
Well, at first he tries to attribute assurance to faith, then he tells us that trusting our faith will not give us assurance. Finally, he tells us that assurance comes from listening to sermons, getting baptized, and taking communion.
We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.
No one who trusts in Jesus Christ will be eternally lost. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). Anyone who has come to Christ belongs to Christ forever. Everyone who has faith in Christ has eternal life (John 6:40).
Yet Christians often fear that they have not really come to Christ. They want assurance that their faith is real. They want to know for sure that they are God’s children. The Bible teaches that this desire for assurance conforms to God’s will for His people. (Where does the Bible teach this? Not that it doesn't, but Ligonier represents itself as teachers of the Bible. So the author is obligated to tell us where his key premise is found in the Bible.)
God wants believers to know that their faith is genuine. (Where does the Bible teach this?)
He wants them to be sure that they belong to Him and have eternal life through Christ. (Where does the Bible teach this?)
Explanation
Assurance of salvation is the knowledge and confidence that one belongs to Christ (1 John 5:13). Christians find assurance through many means, including their faith. In fact, the Bible defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for” (Heb. 11:1). When the Apostle Paul described Abraham as a model of faith, he said that Abraham was “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Rom. 4:21). Abraham knew that God would keep His promises. Abraham was sure of it. (Yes, of course. But WHY did Abraham have this sureness?)
The assurance of salvation, then, comes from trust in God, and trust entails knowing and believing God’s promises. (That is, assurance is from us?)
Christian faith, like Abraham’s, believes what God says. Christians believe a particular message from God: the gospel. (Our faith is the source of our assurance?)
The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, died for sinners, and rose to life again (1 Cor. 15:3–11). When people believe the gospel, they entrust themselves to Christ and His saving work. Through faith in Christ, Christians receive assurance that God forgives all their sins—past, present, and future—and have the sure hope of eternal life. (Waaait. This article is about assurance, written to Christians who are struggling with assurance of their salvation. But the author just told us we receive assurance when we are saved. If when we are saved we received assurance, how can Christians struggle with assurance? Is it because they don't have enough faith? Or maybe they are not saved?)
Through faith, Christians are justified (Rom. 5:1–2; Gal. 2:15–16). This means that in Christ, God declares a believer righteous rather than guilty (Rom. 8:1). (Let's quote:
Through faith, Christians are justified (Rom. 5:1–2; Gal. 2:15–16). This means that in Christ, God declares a believer righteous rather than guilty (Rom. 8:1). (Let's quote:
Ro. 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...
So the author thinks condemnation is about God's pronouncement of "guilty." This is false. Just a couple of verses later we find out that this is condemnation that comes from the law:
Ro. 8:3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, Ro. 8:4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us...
"No condemnation" means that formerly we were condemned but now we are not because we are in Christ.
This condemnation was our prior state:
Jn. 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
"Already." That judgment was rendered long ago. So God does not proclaim someone guilty, He already did that. Now we are righteous by faith [Ro. 3:22]. The condemnation has been lifted.)
This judgment is final. It cannot be reversed (Rom. 8:33–34). (Let's quote:
Ro. 8:33-34 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
A thoughtful Bible student would immediately ask, "Who is this 'us' God has chosen?" Back in verse 23 Paul tells us who "us" is:
Ro. 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Paul referred to those who received the firstfruits of the Spirit. Contemporary Christians are not in view here. The first century Christians received the firstfruits, not us. The earliest Christians were predestined [Ro. 8:29], not us.)
Christ earned the justification of His people by satisfying God’s justice in their place. (Jesus didn't earn anything, and he did not take our place. He as the Lamb of God [Jn. 1:29] spilled His blood which washed us clean [1Jn. 1:7]. God's justice, as we just saw, had already been rendered, so Jesus' work was to lift that condemnation as an acceptable blood sacrifice.)
In His life, Christ obeyed God’s law perfectly. When He died on the cross, He bore the curse of the law, paying the price for sin. (No, there is no Bible verse that tells us Jesus paid for our sin. He paid for us: 1Co. 6:20, 1Co. 7:23 You were bought at a price...)
Because of Christ’s work, Christians can be assured that God will not condemn them on the day of judgment. Instead, He will give them the kingdom He has prepared for them (Matt. 25:34).
Faith assures Christians that God does everything to save them. (Again, it sounds like things we need to do to have assurance.)
Through the Holy Spirit, He gives them new life (John 1:12–13). He adopts them as His children (Rom. 8:14–15; Eph. 1:5). He sanctifies them, forming in them the character of Christ (Phil. 1:6; Eph. 2:10; 1 John 3:2). He preserves their faith throughout all the dangers and temptations of this life (Rom. 8:35–39). He will glorify them with Christ in eternity (Rom. 8:30).
The promises of God in the gospel are magnificent (2 Peter 1:4). Yet Christians sometimes lack assurance of their salvation. One reason that Christians lack assurance is that often, in practice, they lapse into thinking that trusting in Christ alone is insufficient for salvation. They look for things in their lives that make them worthy of God’s favor. They look for signs that they are good enough to meet God’s perfect standard or have strong enough faith. But Abraham’s trust was not in his own performance. (The author now contradicts himself. Up until now he has told us that our assurance is our responsibility by having enough faith and trust.)
The promises of God in the gospel are magnificent (2 Peter 1:4). Yet Christians sometimes lack assurance of their salvation. One reason that Christians lack assurance is that often, in practice, they lapse into thinking that trusting in Christ alone is insufficient for salvation. They look for things in their lives that make them worthy of God’s favor. They look for signs that they are good enough to meet God’s perfect standard or have strong enough faith. But Abraham’s trust was not in his own performance. (The author now contradicts himself. Up until now he has told us that our assurance is our responsibility by having enough faith and trust.)
Nor does Christian assurance rest on the strength of one’s own faith. (But, but...)
Faith does not earn God’s favor; (Subject change. But this is not about earning God's favor, it is about assurance.)
it simply unites believers to Christ and all the blessings of the gospel. Assurance of eternal life can have no other foundation. Abraham didn’t trust in his own faith; he trusted God. (This is truly a mystery statement. Faith is by definition trusting in God. "Trust in his own faith" is a tautology.)
We find assurance through faith not because of faith in itself but because of the One to whom faith unites us—the Lord Jesus Christ. We look to Him for assurance. (Isn't looking to Him faith?)
The book of Hebrews was written to a church that was tempted to return to the Old Testament law as a seeming means of salvation. The writer told that church, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:22). He told them that Christians could approach God with “full assurance of faith” because when Christ died, He made the final sacrifice for their sin: “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19). Christ, not their own works, made them fit to come to God. (The author gets this right, finally.)
The recipients of the book of Hebrews had professed faith in the gospel, and they needed to hear it again. This is true for all Christians. Assurance grows as believers keep hearing the gospel. This happens mainly through the ordinary means of grace. (???) What is this?)
The book of Hebrews was written to a church that was tempted to return to the Old Testament law as a seeming means of salvation. The writer told that church, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:22). He told them that Christians could approach God with “full assurance of faith” because when Christ died, He made the final sacrifice for their sin: “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19). Christ, not their own works, made them fit to come to God. (The author gets this right, finally.)
The recipients of the book of Hebrews had professed faith in the gospel, and they needed to hear it again. This is true for all Christians. Assurance grows as believers keep hearing the gospel. This happens mainly through the ordinary means of grace. (???) What is this?)
When Christians gather on the Lord’s Day to hear God’s Word preached and receive the sacraments by faith, their assurance is strengthened. (Listening to sermons, taking communion, and getting baptized all strengthen assurance? Where does the Bible tell us this?)
Week by week, year by year, these means of grace (???)
grow a Christian’s faith in God’s promises. ("Means of grace" is apparently sermons, baptism, and communion. "Grace" [God's desire to be near and to bless] has a "means," an avenue by participating in church stuff. Where the Bible says this is a mystery.)
Christian assurance can also be strengthened—or weakened—by the way that Christians live (2 Peter 1:10). (Let's quote:
Christian assurance can also be strengthened—or weakened—by the way that Christians live (2 Peter 1:10). (Let's quote:
2Pe. 1:10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure...
Peter wrote "therefore," which means he's reaching a conclusion from what he wrote before. We find when looking back a couple of verses that we are to ADD TO OUR FAITH goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Those are what makes our calling and election sure. But the author is a Calvinist. He believes the Elect are chosen and predestined. How then can our calling and election not be sure?
This is not about assurance at all, it is about exhibiting the characteristics of a Christian life in order to be effective and productive Christians [vs. 8].)
Christ’s work is the foundation of assurance, but a growing love for God and other people can confirm that one has trusted in Christ. This change of character, called sanctification, is the result of justifying faith. It is a lifelong process, and it can have ups and downs. But all Christians experience an inner war between their sinful nature and their new nature in Christ (Gal. 5:17). (Sigh. Let's quote:
Ga. 5:17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
The sinful nature is in conflict with the Holy Spirit, not our new nature.)
As Christians daily turn from sin through repentance and trust in Christ, assurance usually grows. If they neither repent nor fight against sin, their assurance of salvation will weaken. (So again the author puts the ball back in our court. Assurance is back to being our responsibility. We certainly wish he would make up his mind.)
At times, such contentment in sin reveals that a person has never actually trusted in Christ. (Ohhhhh. So how much is lacking assurance attributable to not being saved at all? There might be people who thought they were Christians, felt assured they were Christians, experienced up and downs, but it turns out they were not saved. Therefore, it is impossible to have assurance of one's salvation. There are evidences in a person's life that suggests assurance, but evidence is not proof. Especially if a person seems to be saved but isn't. Hmmm.)
But true Christians can go through such periods, and Christ will not let them go. (How can Christians tell the difference? Well, they can't.)
Assurance often returns when they repent and renew their faith in the gospel.
Assurance of salvation also comes from the Holy Spirit, who lives in every Christian (Rom. 8:9). (We are tired of chasing Bible quotes. This verse is not relevant to assurance.)
Assurance of salvation also comes from the Holy Spirit, who lives in every Christian (Rom. 8:9). (We are tired of chasing Bible quotes. This verse is not relevant to assurance.)
The Holy Spirit testifies to believers’ hearts that they are God’s children (Rom. 8:16–17). (Finally. A relevant verse. That means, of course, that assurance does not come from faith, it comes from the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Which means we need to keep in step with the Holy Spirit [Ga. 5:25])
In fact, Christians are “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Eph. 1:13). The presence of the Holy Spirit testifies to Christians that they have peace with God and will receive the eternal life He has promised.
God wants Christians to have assurance of their salvation. He wants them to know that they belong to Him and are eternally safe in His hands. This assurance often grows over time, and it can be shaken even in mature believers. Temptations, sins, and overwhelming trials can lead believers to think that God has abandoned them (Ps. 88). But God never casts off those who have come to Christ. In times of darkness and doubt, Christians seek renewed assurance by fixing their minds on Christ, who is both the “founder and perfecter” of their faith (Heb. 12:2). God’s Word assures Christians that Christ, through His Spirit, preserves His people to the end.
Quotes
Real assurance rests on a sound understanding of salvation, a sound understanding of justification, a sound understanding of sanctification, and a sound understanding of ourselves. In all these matters we have the comfort and assistance of the Holy Spirit who illumines the text of Scripture for us, who works in us to yield the fruit of sanctification, and who bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
R.C. Sproul
“Fear Not”
Ligonier.org
Only Christ can save us, and assurance, when lacking, must be found by looking to Him. Apart from faith in Christ, no work on our part will assure us of anything except Pharisaism.
Derek Thomas
“Evidences of Assurance”
Tabletalk magazine
God wants Christians to have assurance of their salvation. He wants them to know that they belong to Him and are eternally safe in His hands. This assurance often grows over time, and it can be shaken even in mature believers. Temptations, sins, and overwhelming trials can lead believers to think that God has abandoned them (Ps. 88). But God never casts off those who have come to Christ. In times of darkness and doubt, Christians seek renewed assurance by fixing their minds on Christ, who is both the “founder and perfecter” of their faith (Heb. 12:2). God’s Word assures Christians that Christ, through His Spirit, preserves His people to the end.
Quotes
Real assurance rests on a sound understanding of salvation, a sound understanding of justification, a sound understanding of sanctification, and a sound understanding of ourselves. In all these matters we have the comfort and assistance of the Holy Spirit who illumines the text of Scripture for us, who works in us to yield the fruit of sanctification, and who bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
R.C. Sproul
“Fear Not”
Ligonier.org
Only Christ can save us, and assurance, when lacking, must be found by looking to Him. Apart from faith in Christ, no work on our part will assure us of anything except Pharisaism.
Derek Thomas
“Evidences of Assurance”
Tabletalk magazine
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