All who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ may have the firm confidence of salvation based upon the infallibility of Gods Word. A divinely produced gift, assurance is bestowed by Gods Spirit to all true believers. This means every sinner, if. But here's another question: Does it make any difference whether we knowwe can't lose our salvation? If we are ever wavering between confidence and doubt with regard to our standing with God, it will be difficult if not impossible to be decisive in spiritual matters. (3) John 19:30, NASB. They often raise the questions, Am I really saved? or How can I be sure I will go to heaven when I die?. And what lessons can we learn today from their pastoral specialization in the vast field of experiential Christianity connected with the assurance of salvation? Pastoral Help 3: Assurance of salvation is not essential for salvation or for the being or existence of saving faith, though it is essential for the well-being of faith. They believe this to be an irrevocable step that eliminates the penalties of past sins and guarantees, no matter what might happen from that point forward, that nothing can undo or rescind ones salvation. Then too, the Puritan stress on duty reinforced the conviction that assurance must never be regarded as the privilege only of exceptional saints, but that at least some degree of it is normative for every believer. This ought not be surprising. Until I started to really meditate on Gods word and thats when I realized that Jesus has paid the price of my salvation in full. God ordains these trials for his glory and the benefit of his elect, so that they learn, like Job, to trust in a withdrawing God as our greatest friend, even when he seems to come out against us as our greatest enemy (Job 13:15). When I put my complete trust in what the Lord Jesus has done for me and received Him as my Savior, I was assured of my salvation. St. Paul speaks about this in 2 Timothy 2:11-13: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself. Now the just shall live by his faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Heb.10:38 I think its time for those who can express it best add a bit of common sense to the masses. Take care to notice the particular if in this passage. I might consider turning this article into a series of teaching videos, thanks Philip. Of the first, Edwards says, "True religion, in great part, consists in holy affections." Simply put, the believer in Christ has a new appetite that they didn't have before. False 23. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" Many people struggle with the certainty of their salvation, especially new believers. Youre right, if we are in Christ we have assurance of salvation and we should never doubt that. Assurance of salvation means possessing salvation possessing the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:36). Question 21 2 out of 2 points How does a Christian possess assurance of their salvation? In John 8:31-32 Jesus said to the Jewish believers that if you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. Jesus is saying that one evidence of genuine faith is continuing in His words, that is, continuing to believe in Him and living a life of obedience to His commands. It is here that God begins His actual application of salvation unto His elect. Another evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit is continuing to believe and accept the sound teaching and doctrines of the faith. Pastoral Help 11: Happily, assurance of salvation can be revived. I was raised in the traditional faith (RC) but Ive always considered myself to be a Christian until such time that God opened my understanding on what it really takes to be a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. Hi Robert, thanks for dropping by. The line of demarcation must be clearly drawn if we are to enter experientially into the joy of salvation. Local: 704-401-2432 Rather, they wanted to trace out in detail the Holy Spirits saving work in their own souls in order to (1) give glory to the triune God for his mighty and miraculous work of salvation in them, (2) do good to their own souls by building up their convictions about God and their own salvation, and (3) assist weak believers who needed pastoral advice and assistance to grow in their knowledge and assurance of Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, and through this precious Mediator, to grow in their knowledge of each divine person of the Trinity. All who have been born again will see clear evidences of a new life in Christ. We find the most important confessional chapter ever written on the subject in the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 18, Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation. I will provide three pastoral helps from each of these four paragraphs (hereafter: WCF 18.14). The Puritans stress in WCF 18.4 that even in the believers darkest struggles for assurance of salvation, the Holy Spirit abides in him and bears him up, keeping him from utter despair. Indeed, the child of God may be losing assurance even while he advances in grace. There are many biblical texts that talk about insincere repentance and apostacy. Its message is based on the Bible. However, many Christians do not believe that it is possible to be sure of salvation now. What guarantee do you have that you will not fall away from Christ, remain a Christian until you die, and will in fact live with God in heaven forever? For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Pointing toward their sin of spurning their Savior, St Paul declares: They [i.e., those who lost their salvation by rejecting Christ] were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. Remember that the second part of the definition of assurance of salvation is that only those who persevere to the end have been truly born again. So those who continue to trust in Christ gain assurance that God is working in them and guarding them. Assurance is essential for true joy in God. 1) In John 6:38-40 Jesus says that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. the Beatitudes, the book of James, 2 Pet 1:5-10, etc. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. We have fellowship with Christ. Do not misuse the name of God. It says in verse 1, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.". The only "action" necessary for us is to turn to Jesus and place our lives in his hands. The loss here is only for a short time; soon we will have perfect assurance and perfect enjoyment of God forever in the eternal Celestial City. The answer is yes, and in this post we'll discuss whythis is so important. This article does a good biblical breakdown of what scripture says about salvation. The answer is yes. The Bible says, We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us.(5) By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.(6) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.(7) This means, the Holy Spirit who convicted, called and converted us also convinces us that we belong to Christ. They added more volumes on how to do our daily work to Gods glory, how to live a godly life in our secular professions, and how to live zealously for the glory of God in every area of life. Romans 8:12-17. The sacrament of the church 3. (2 Corinthians 13:5). God loves the world. "Just like first century Christians, their twenty-first century counterparts question aspects of their theology, doubt the existence of God and mourn his seeming absence during hard times. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Just as salvation comes from believing in Christ alone, so does assurance. While Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that those who are truly born again will continue to the end and will certainly have eternal life in heaven with God, there are other passages that speak of the necessity of continuing in faith through life. In Scripture, doctrine takes on a broader meaning. Sin is an act that is against God's will and therefore morally wrong. Two Bible passages commonly cited in support of this view are: 1 John 5:13: I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life., John 10:27-29: My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. Salvation is eternal life; it is the life of God; it is Divine life. Once again, those given to the Son by the Father will not be lost. There are many passages that teach that those who are truly born again, who are genuinely Christians, will continue in Christ until death and will then go to be in heaven with Him. Many Christians place their faith in Christ alone for redemption but still live wi If you doubt your salvation, does that mean you are not truly saved? It appears that the only sure foundation for assurance is the Traditionalist view that assurance is based on the accomplishments of Christ and His promises to anyone who believes by faith. That feeling of uncertainty definitely made me anxious over the next 3 days while waiting for the result to be released. The Gospel's great theme . You did raise an excellent point that I seldom get to raise myself:- you are saved when you were saved by being born again so where is the doubt? By maintaining this conviction, Puritan pastors sought to avoid the problem of a two-tier Christianity in which few in the first tier ever make it to the second. These include those who received their glorified bodies at the rapture and those who survived the Tribulation. Look with me especially at this third point as we address the question, How did the Puritan pastors use their doctrine of personal assurance of salvation to assist believers in living the Christian life? Sadly, there are many Christians who become lukewarm in their faith and relationship with Jesus. The proper starting point for all true assurance of salvation is the divine truth of the promises of salvation set forth in Holy Scripture, the promises of God sealed with Gods own yea and amen in his Son, Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:1920). The Puritans taught that this may actually benefit believers, as it may have the purpose of allowing them to taste the bitterness of sin, or to grow in humility, or to treasure the gift of assurance more, or to depend more fully on the grace of Christ and endeavor after a closer walk with God. If we possess eternal life, then we are saved! After I said I was writing a book about how we can be sure we are going to heaven, she marveled, You mean you can know that you are going to heaven?, Realizing God had opened a door for me to tell her about Christ, I reinforced that we can know for certain our eternal destiny, saying, We can afford to be wrong about going to Sisters, Oregon, but not about going to heaven.. 2:5-11; Rom. For the Puritans, this point is preeminently pastoral, because each minister would have believers in his flock who at times would seem to lose ground in growing their assurance even when they were diligently engaging in the spiritual disciplines. Generally speaking, they were thoroughly Reformed and intentional in their theology. This means that Christians will stay in heaven only for a period of 7 years, the same time that the Tribulation is happening on earth. Hence, the Puritans wrote at least thirty books on how to live to Gods glory in marriage and family life. Romans 8:16 says the Holy Spirit bears witness within our hearts that we are Gods children and this is just one aspect. What are some of the signs of genuine saving faith? The doctrine of assurance of salvation also referred to as the perseverance of the saints, means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by Gods power and will persevere until the end and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again. But first, lets consider St. Johns other statement: No one can snatch out of Christs hand, those whom the Father has given him. Im sure it will bless many souls and encourage them to continue in their walk with God. He then exhorts us to be more zealous and diligent to confirm our call and election (2 Peter 1:5-10). Neither can we work it up within ourselves. But you and I are entirely capable of going back on our word by abandoning Christ and, thereby, forfeiting his gift of salvation. When the Bible speaks, God speaks. Pastoral Help 7: Though God remains sovereign in granting various degrees of assurance, assurance of salvation usually grows by degrees within believers in conjunction with the growth of knowledge, faith, and experience, especially through trials. 4) Another assurance of true believers persevering to the end is Pauls statement in Philippians 1:6 that the work God has begun in them will continue and will be completed on the day of Christs return. In a word, assurance enables faith to reach greater heights, from which all other aspects of Christian character flow. Do not commit adultery. Selected Answer: Through (5) 1 John 3:24, NASB. To fall away is to deliberately reject the light that was given about Jesus Christ and the gospel. What is the Difference between the Sabbath and the Lords Day. According to the Bible, assurance of salvation rests on four unshakable pillars. Assurance of Salvation S alvation is a work of God. Third, assurance comes through the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. Are the fruit of the Holy Spirit evident in your life? Assurance is not a self-given persuasion, but a Spirit- They include negligence and spiritual slothfulness, falling into sin, or yielding to some temptation. Pastoral Help 2: Some degree of assurance of salvation is biblical and normative in the lives of Gods people. I believe that we can be assured of salvation if we are in Christ and remain in Christ. In 1 John 5:13, John said, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.". When Jesus died on the cross, He bore our iniquities, enduring Gods wrath, and cried out, It is finished!(3) By this, He meant that the full atonement for all our sins-past, present and future-has been made. Your heartfelt writing and reaching out through the Word is a beam of hope to many. The understanding and clarity will help many in their Walk or future Walk with God and his Son. 3. 3) Pauls writings and other New Testament epistles also indicate that those who are truly born again will persevere to the end such as in Romans 8:1 where it says that no condemnation remains for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the entire penalty of their sins has been already paid. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. You can have assurance of eternal life. God saves us from the pleasure or love of sin before He delivers us from the penalty or punishment of sin. Necessarily so, for it would be neither an act of holiness nor of righteousness were He to grant full pardon to one who was still a rebel against Him, loving . 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Will Graham Devotion: Praying for Your Spouse to Be Saved? When a person gets born again, the Holy Spirit will start to indwell him and will testify that he belongs to God. We saw the clear and definite assurance the Bible gives us that once we believe in Christ and receive Him as our Savior, we're saved eternally. First off, I want to thank you for all of the work you put into this website, its fantastic that you have chosen this topic to build a site. His work of redemption now completed, our entire sin debt is paid in full. (See also Galatians 4:6) But if the Holy Spirit is genuinely at work in our lives, He will be producing the kind of character traits that Paul calls the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Am I really saved? Will Graham Devotion: The Perfect Sacrifice. The H&W Manager will handle service recovery, customer relations, exercise leadership, quality and safety assurance and program management for this area. How does a Christian possess assurance of their salvation? St. John's assurance that "you have eternal life" is a proclamation of every Christian's moralnot absoluteassurance of salvation. Contact Us. Thank you so much for your post regarding a heavily difficult and often confusing topic for most of us. Living in Sin Christians who are living in sin often forfeit their assurance. The reasoning goes like this: "All people are saved by a loving and merciful God. What can give real assurance to a genuine believer? (16) Hebrews 6:11, NASB. Hebrews 10:26-27 says that if we continue to sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth then there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Calvinists insist that perseverance of the saints is a scriptural doctrine. Thats something I always have struggled on, but now I have a great insight from your post. There is nothing more I could do because Jesus already accomplished it. What about you Robert? Assurance is your rightful possession, and God wants you to have it as your portion. E. Assurance enables us to effectively serve the Lord by telling others about Jesus. This is because the grace and essence of faith abides with the believer even though he is blind to the acts and practice of faith. In the context of this article, I will use their term "Bible Christians" to present what Christians since the time of Christ have believed the Bible teaches regarding eternal life and the assurance of salvation. Like what you pointed out, its not from God. There is eternal life in Him, forgiveness, escape from hell, and entrance into the glories of God's own heaven. This implies that our assurance of salvation can grow and increase over time. 1 John 1:7-9 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Do you trust Jesus today for the forgiveness of your sins and have confidence that He will take you without blame to heaven for all eternity? a. True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as, by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which woundeth the conscience and grieveth the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation, by Gods withdrawing the light of His countenance, and suffering even such as fear Him to walk in darkness and have no light: yet are they never utterly destitute of that seed of God, and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart, and conscience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance may, in due time, be revived; and by the which, in the mean time, they are supported from utter despair. (17) 1 John 5:13, NASB. God gives this warning (you can never be restored) to prevent Christians from falling away. Well, I thought I did well and I could tell you that I really gave it my all but I was still uncertain about the outcome. Just hours before his betrayal and arrest, Jesus offered his famous High Priestly Prayerone of the most intimate moments between Christ and his Father recorded in Scripture. This is demonstrated by the following verses: Romans 11:13-22: that first of all, contains a description of (and warning to not be like) those individual Jews living at the time of Christ who forfeited their salvation by deliberately rejecting Jesus Christ as Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior. View Test Prep - theo 104 quiz 6 from THEO 104 at Liberty University Online Academy. While we will never become perfect in this life, we will, nevertheless, experience a changed life. The second half of the definition makes it clear that continuing in the faith is one the evidence that a person is truly born again. How can I know for sure? No, Catholics have no certainty of their personal salvation, but they do have 1) an assurance that God intends to save humanity through his church, and 2) a hope that they may be among the saved. However, perhaps you can clarify the following two scriptures, which seem to indicate the opposite. Is it possible for a Christian to lose salvation? The Salvation Army Mission: The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Giving full assurance of hope(16) regarding our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, these pillars provide unshakable confidence of eternal life. Anyone who falls away from their profession of faith in Christ and life of obedience in Him was never really saved. assurance of salvation. They feel no assurance that they are Christ's, and so feel a hesitancy about breaking with the world. The second way Satan causes you to doubt your salvation is to have you wrongly define salvation. A second reason for the loss of assurance is not in the believer as such but in God. The Puritans made this distinction so that weak believers or newly saved believers would not despair if they did not yet possess full assurance of salvation, but also that they would not rest content without full assurance of salvation. Assurance of salvation means possessing salvation - possessing the Lord Jesus Christ ( John 3:36 ). In other words, that person will receive the seal of ownership as proof that he belongs to God. Some of them could be in the process of moving towards genuine saving faith. But this does not necessarily mean that all unbelievers within the church are false brothers and sisters. Pastoral Help 5: Assurance of salvation is strengthened by the Spirit shedding light on the believers biblical marks of grace such as the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:2223, and the various evidences sprinkled throughout 1 John so that the believer can clearly see at least some of these saving marks of grace being worked out in his or her own heart and life by the very grace of that same Spirit, and thus cannot but conclude he or she is a child of God. How we live our life will determine that. (15) As we see this spiritual fruit produced in our lives, we may be confident that Christ lives within us. While many Scriptures help one develop assurance of salvation (i.e. If we possess eternal life, then we are saved! Pastoral Help 10: Assurance of salvation may be disturbed, diminished, or even lost for a time, in the experience of a believer, due to his or her own fault or due to Gods sovereign withdrawal. Born-again Christians, defined as people who not only claim to be Christian but also believe that when they die they will go to Heaven only because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, were least likely to hold the "salvation-can-be-earned" view. You have His word on it. By 7:21-23; Matt. Here are the four sturdy pillars on which the assurance of our salvation rests. This invigoration of faith results in a new release of spiritual energy at every point in a persons Christian life. Matthew 7:21-23 is one of the most alarming passages in the Bible. Copyright 2011-2023 Got Questions Ministries - All Rights Reserved. I appreciate the fact that you give a clear black and white image of salvation because the reality is that you cant be lukewarm in being in relationship with Jesus. For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, The Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.. Ask yourself: Is there any way someone could escape the defilements of the world other than by Gods grace and forgiveness (what many refer to as being saved)? We can know Jesus has received us because, quite simply, He said so! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201 Not only does it give assurance of salvation, but with that also comes a greater assurance of God's provision in all areas of life. But you and I are entirely capable of going back on, But first, lets consider St. Johns other statement: No one can snatch out of Christs hand, those whom the Father has given him. In Puritan thinking, this also implies that believers may possess saving faith without the joy and full assurance that they possess it. Jews who practice Judaism are doing their best to follow the Law while Muslims could only hope that at the end of their journey here on earth, their good deeds will far outweigh their bad deeds. Assurance of salvation means possessing salvation - possessing the Lord Jesus Christ ( John 3:36 ). It is this inward transformation that provides strong confirmation of our salvation. Hi Alice, Assurance has to do with our comprehension of the facts and provisions of salvation through faith in Christ. Many people hold to justification by death, which is the creed of the universalist. If we possess eternal life, then we are saved! Christ offers us the gift of salvation, and he will not go back on his word. When it comes to the assurance of salvation for believers, its so very important to stick to the Word as many among the so-called Christian denominations tend to lean more on good works while others solely depend on grace. But what does the Bible really say? About this post, it really makes me to better understand how I can be sure of having salvation is Christ. By maintaining the normativity of assurance growing over time through exercises of faith and various trials in the daily experience of life, and yet allowing for young believers at times to have large dosages of assurance, the Puritans aimed to minister pastorally to their people, encouraging them to press on to make their calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:510). God freely grants us new birth and initiates us into the body of Christ in baptism. search my heart and see if I possess salvation, if Jesus truly lives within. That we never doubt HIS words but continue to believe in HIM in our lives. Here John is saying it is characteristic of a believer to love God and to love Christ. Assurance of salvation is not presumption or pride but taking Gods word for it. 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