Saturday, March 29, 2008

The Bible

John Calvin said that we ought “to attempt nothing but by Divine authority.” Next question -- Where is that Divine authority found?
-Not the church
-Not within yourself
-Not culture
-Not government
-Not your personal experience
-Not some new revelation
-Not some priest, nor pope

Divine authority is found in the 66 books of the Bible. (sorry, no Apocrypha) Every word is inspired of God and every word is infallible. Therefore, the Bible alone is the final authority. So, yes, "Scripture Alone" should be the motto of every believer. We test all things by Scripture -- all doctrines, all churches, all our actions, all councils, preachers, priests and popes.

If you are not reading the Bible, learning the Bible and following the Bible, you are living for yourself and have put yourself or something else in the place of authority. If you don't know Scripture, you can't live by Scripture, and if you don't live by Scripture, you are not living by the authority of God. It is in Scripture that we learn about Christ, who is the only way of salvation. It is in the Bible that we find out that "by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." ~ Ephesians 2:8,9

Divine authority is found in Scripture, which is God's holy, inspired, inerrant, infallible Word.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17

"To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." ~ Isaiah 8:20

"The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever." ~ Psalms 119:160

"Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven." ~ Psalms 119:89

"These were more fair–minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." ~ Acts 17:11

The Authority and Inspiration of the Scriptures - B. B. Warfield
http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/bbwauthority.htm

How to Have Assurance of Salvation - Chapter Two

Chapter Two – True and False Assurance

The starting point in the pursuit of full assurance is self-examination.

2Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?"

The Bible clearly calls upon us to question ourselves -- to examine ourselves and determine whether we are saved and have Scriptural reasons for this assurance. The Bible tells us to examine ourselves, not so that we who are saved would begin to doubt; but for the following two reasons:

1) That on the one hand those who are not saved would not be deceived by a false assurance.

2) That those are truly saved would come to have a firm and biblical assurance of it.

The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 18 is titled, “Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation.” There are four paragraphs or sections in this chapter. Dr. Joel Beeke, in his excellent book The Quest for Full Assurance, says “Its four brief paragraphs include the following themes: 1) The possibility of assurance, 2) The foundation of assurance, 3) The cultivation of assurance, and

4) The renewal of assurance.”

Let's look now at chapter 18 section one of the Confession, which has to do with the possibility of assurance:

I. Hypocrites and other unregenerate men may deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of their being in God's favor and about their being saved. Their presumptions will die with them. However, those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus, who honestly love him, and try to walk in good conscience before him, may in this life be assured with certainty that they are in the state of grace. They may also rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, and they will never be ashamed of that hope.

There is a false assurance and on the other hand, a true assurance of salvation. There are those who think they are saved who are not. They are deceived about the state of their soul.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"

Ultimately, only God knows those who are saved. 2Timothy 2:19 says, "The Lord knows those who are his." We can be deceived about our own salvation and about the salvation of others, but the Lord is not deceived. Hebrews 4:13 declares that, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

The confession says that such persons have "false hopes and carnal presumptions of their being in God's favor and about their being saved. Their presumptions will die with them."

The natural man is a religious man. He wants to go to heaven, but has no right or claim to heaven. He flatters himself that he is good enough to be accepted by God. Man naturally has a spirit of self-righteousness and self-confidence.

There are those who say they have faith in Christ, and yet there is no fruit and evidence of that faith. This is what the Bible calls “dead faith.” James 1:22 says, “But become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 2:20 says, “But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”

Then there are some who have outward works that appear to be good, but their trust is in the works and not in Christ for salvation.

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” (Matthew 7:21-23)

Outward works, even done in the name of Christ, may be part of a false profession of faith. Such persons need to repent of their self-righteousness and trust in Christ alone and come to know Him as their Savior and Lord.

How can we distinguish true from false assurance? A.A. Hodge gives four tests that enable us to distinguish true from false assurance:

1) True assurance produces real humility; false assurance begets spiritual pride. (1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 6:14.)

2) The true leads to increased diligence in the practice of holiness; the false leads to sloth and self–indulgence. (Ps. 51:12,13,19.)

3) The true leads to candid self–examination and to a desire to be searched and corrected by God; the false leads to a disposition to be satisfied with appearance and to avoid accurate investigation. (Ps. 139:23,24.)

4) The true leads to constant aspirations after more intimate fellowship with God. (1 John 3:2,3.)[1]

I like what G.I. Williamson said, “It is not the strength of one's conviction which proves the validity of his assurance but the character of one's conviction.”[2]

Professor Sinclair Ferguson summarizes the confession's concern about false assurance well. He said:

It is… terribly possible for someone to have a kind of faith and assurance that is little more than self-confidence, born out of an intellectual conviction rather than out of a helpless casting of one's sinful self upon a willing Savior. But so long as there is a vestige of reliance on my righteousness, my service, my knowledge of Scripture, -- so long as I rely on my faith rather than on Christ's work alone -- so long am I the possessor of a false and temporal assurance. The sands of time are littered with the strewn wreckage of men and women who have made shipwreck of their souls because they went forward with a false assurance, not having really laid the foundation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That is a tremendous danger.[3]

It is interesting that Ferguson said that they “went forward with a false assurance. I am convinced that countless thousands of people in the Bible Belt think they are saved because they “went forward at some meeting! Un-biblical methods of evangelism inevitably lead to much false assurance of salvation.

Look now again at what the last half of section one of the Confession said:

"…those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus, who honestly love him, and try to walk in good conscience before him, may in this life be assured with certainty that they are in the state of grace."

There is such a thing as true assurance of salvation. Genuine faith in the Lord Jesus is the foundation of such assurance. “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.” (1John 5:13)

Sincere love for Christ is also part of that equation. Notice that the confession did not say perfect love for Christ, but sincere love -- i.e. not hypocritical.

Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself (assure him?) to him.” (John 14:21)

Walking in good conscience before God is part of our assurance. A person who goes to God daily, confessing and forsaking sin, will build up his or her assurance.

Lastly, the confession says, “They may also rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, and they will never be ashamed of that hope.” Assurance is a subset of hope, joy and peace. Romans 14:17 reminds us that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

While it is possible to be deceived about one’s salvation, the Bible encourages us to seek and find a full assurance of faith.

__________________



[1] A.A. Hodge, The Confession of Faith, p. 239.

[2] G.I. Williamson, Westminster Confession of Faith: for Study Classes

[3] Quoted in The Quest for Full Assurance, Dr. Joel Beeke p. 121

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

How to Have Assurance of Salvation

Chapter One – What is Assurance?

This short study is for any person who has a desire to be certain of his or her eternal destiny. You may not even believe at this point that it is possible to know such a thing, much less to have certainty about it. Let me assure you, the Bible teaches that a person can know with certainty where you will go after death. Would you like to know and be sure about it? Then read on with prayer that the God of the universe will help you in this pursuit.

In this study of the "assurance of salvation" we will mainly draw from the teaching of Scripture and the Westminster Confession of Faith.

When we speak of the "assurance of salvation" we are talking about something that is somewhat subjective, although many objective elements are involved. Assurance of salvation is a gift of God. Only God can grant assurance but He does so through several means.

Let me give you a definition of assurance by Donald Whitney from his book How Can I Be Sure I'm a Christian.

"Assurance of salvation is a God-given awareness that He has accepted the death of Christ on your behalf and forgiven you of your sins. It involves confidence that God loves you, that He has chosen you, and that you will go to heaven. Assurance includes a sense of freedom from the guilt of sin, relief from the fear of judgment, and joy in your relationship with God as your Father."

Do you know for certain that you are saved and in a state of grace? Are you sure that if you died today, you would enter heaven? My prayer is that after reading this book you will be able to answer these questions in the affirmative, and for the right reasons.

Why ought believers to study this doctrine? For three reasons:

1. Because the Scriptures teach that it is something we may have.

"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." (1John 5:13)

The purpose of the book of 1John is to give believers joy and assurance of their salvation. Therefore, it is a privilege that God's word says we may enjoy.

2. Because it is very beneficial to have this assurance.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1Corinthians 13:13)

Assurance and hope are very much related. Hope, in Scripture, has to do with an assured confidence before God. If we do not have an assured hope, we will be fearful and hesitant in the battle against sin and darkness.

"But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." (1Thessalonians 5:8)

This verse indicates that the hope of salvation will be a helmet to protect us from evil. The context of this verse indicates that this is one way in which we can be prepared for the second coming of Christ.

3. Because we are commanded to seek this assurance.

"Therefore, brothers, rather be diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you shall never fall." (2Peter 1:10) We will look more at this verse later.

Of course there have been many objections to this doctrine of assurance. Here are three:

1. Some believe that it would be presumptuous, or prideful to claim that you know for sure you are going to heaven.

However, if the Bible says we may attain such assurance, it would actually be presumptuous not to seek it! Assurance would be presumptuous if we based salvation partly upon our works, as Roman Catholics do. They say that full assurance is not possible and therefore would be presumptuous to claim it.

2. Some say that the Bible teaches that a person can fall away from grace.

Those passages are a warning to unbelievers in the church who have a false assurance and a disobedient lifestyle. There are many more passages in Scripture which show that a true believer in Christ will never perish.

3. Others say that this teaching leads to slackness in obedient living.

This is far from the truth. 2Peter 1:10 says that in order to attain assurance, there must be diligence in the Christian life. God has tied our assurance partly to our obedience. Though our salvation is by grace alone, our assurance of that grace is enjoyed fully only when we are walking close to Christ and in ways that please Him.

Let's look briefly at that verse in 2Peter 1:10:

"Therefore, brothers, rather be diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you shall never fall."

To say that you are certain of salvation is to say that you are sure you are going to heaven when you die. It is the same as saying that you are sure you have been called by God's Spirit to believe in Christ and be saved. It is the same thing as saying you are sure that you are one of the elect.

Election is the foundation upon which all else rests. In order to be assured of our election, we must reason backwards from our faith, obedience and calling. If you have been called, and if you possess faith and obedience, then you can be certain that you are one of the elect.

Peter is not saying that God's election depends upon us in any way. God's decree of election is certain and unchanging. What Peter is urging is that each individual who professes faith in Christ must seek to become assured of his own election and salvation. I am not to try and assure others of my salvation. The verb in this verse "to make" is in the middle voice. The middle voice indicates the subject performing an action upon himself (reflexive action) or for his own benefit.

Peter is saying that each person who professes faith ought to make certain of his own calling and election. In order to gain such a firm assurance, where does one begin? The starting place in the pursuit of full assurance is self-examination.

2Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?"

So, are you in the faith? Are you sure? Is Jesus Christ in you? Are you one of the elect? I had someone in my church years ago tell me that they didn't think it was right to ever question anyone’s salvation. Of course we are not to judge others' hearts. We can't possibly know the heart of another human being.

But the Bible clearly calls upon us to question ourselves -- to examine ourselves and see whether we are saved and have Scriptural reasons for this assurance. The Bible tells us to examine ourselves, not so that we who are saved would begin to doubt; but for the following two reasons:

1) That on the one hand those who are not saved would not be deceived by a false assurance.

2) That those are truly saved would come to have a solid assurance of it.

Those who are truly saved ought not be shaken by self-examination. Those who are unsaved ought to be shaken -- out of their self-deception.

Over the next few chapters we will look at HOW we can obtain this assurance and WHAT it is that we must do to make sure of salvation.

____________________