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.
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