Can You Be Sure?

“Yes, assurance is not only possible but Christians are exhorted, as a duty, to seek and find heartfelt assurance." –John Reisinger

In a post-modern world where relativity is rampant and absolute truth is void, assurance in anything seems impossible. In fact even during past centuries by other religions such as the Catholic Church, assurance was “the sin of presumption”. Assurance brings freedom from doubt and inspired confidence that provides comfort and peace in that which you are seeking assurance in. For the Christian salvation through Christ alone is the prime doctrine that distinguishes us from every other religion and is the foundation for all we believe. Having assurance in one’s own salvation is vital. However innate in fallen humanity is the capacity for doubt, confusion, and despair; it is because of this that one must find confidence in the faith that they proclaim to possess and live a life that reflects that. 1 John 5:13 reads, “These things have I written unto you...that ye may know that ye have eternal life." The Christian can be assured of their salvation and it is Scripture and Scripture alone that makes that very clear.

In order to have assurance in anything one must understand what it is that they are being assured of. A Christian must fully understand what it means to be a follower of Christ, a Christian, in order to gain confidence in that. Many times a lack of comprehension is what causes the uncertainty in grasping the concept of salvation; in other words one does not fully understand how they were saved. Scripture makes it clear in passages like John 3:18 where we read, “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.” Unfortunately although the Gospel message saves, if not understood properly and not lived out we must question whether it is saving and transforming to all who proclaim to accept it. John MacArthur puts it this way, “Many who profess to believe in Christ may act like Christians to a certain degree, but turn out to be impostors or are simply misinformed about the nature of salvation. Either way, it becomes obvious that they did not really know the truth.” With all that said it is still understood by the Christian that to be genuinely saved an individual must repent of their sins and put their faith and trust in the saving work of Christ, God in human form, on the cross; it is only then through the transforming work of the cross that one can be assured of their salvation.

Piper explains eloquently what saving faith in its essence contains. He explains, “Faith is a spiritual sight of glory (or beauty) in the Christ of the gospel.” The Gospel should be an amazing and sweet aroma to the individual, a magnificent act, something so great once can only respond in humble adoration. Piper also says that, “Second, faith is a warranted resting in this glorious gospel for our own salvation. What this means practically is that we should continually look to the cross and the work of God in Christ, because this is where God makes the light of the gospel shine. We should continually pray for God to "enlighten the eyes of our hearts" (Ephesians 1:18). Thirdly, we should love each other; because, as John said, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren." In the end, assurance is a precious gift of God. Let us pray for each other that it will abound among us.”

The Christian, according to Scripture, must be “born again”. We read about this, and Nicodemus’ transformation, in John 3 when he begs the question to Jesus himself of how to gain eternal life, his response was simply, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (v3). A spiritual rebirth must take place. A life change must occur. A radical transformation within the individual that only God can do happens. For as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

There are countless reasons why an individual may not be assured of their salvation, many of which stem from human fear and worry which in essence is sin. It may be that the individual does not remember the time or point in which they actually first turned from their sins and put their faith in Christ. Various churches teach varying views on the “process” in which one is saved, this too can cause confusion. As Christians we still struggle with sin, the difference now is that we have the power through the Spirit to not sin. This however can cause worry when a new believer doesn’t realize why they still struggle despite the fact that they have been “regenerated”. People fear because the theology or doctrines they are being instructed in are false, such as a works plus the work of Christ. However, according to Professor J. Keathly the primary reason that people struggle with their assurance in salvation is, “…doctrinal misunderstanding and the consequent lack of faith in the finished work of Christ. This means a failure to understand the Word and its teaching regarding mankind, his sin and inability to work for or maintain his salvation, God’s perfect holiness, and the finished nature and sufficiency of the work of Christ.” This is only a small list of what could be causing confusion, but the commonality between them all is a lack of faith in the Word of God. Scripture alone teaches us what salvation is and the way in which we might be saved and it is through faith and understanding in that that one can find promise.

Many might say “I feel/don’t feel like I am living for Christ”, but although that may be true, feelings cannot be our source for assurance in anything, Scripture, which is our only truth, is our source for answers. John MacArthur and John Piper divide assurance into two categories: subjective and objective. Subjective assurance is invisible; it is what is going on within us, internally, unseen to anyone else; in other words our process of sanctification. 2 Corinthians 1:12--Paul says, "Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, we have behaved ourselves in the world." Paul was saying, "I know what's going on in my life because of the testimony of my conscience. Something rings true in my conscience that my behavior is pleasing to God." Objective assurance is outward, seen by others; it is based on Godly things being produced in our life, “fruit” as the Bible explains. We see this in 2 Peter 1:5-9 where we read, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”

There will be proof visibly to not only the individual himself but to the church and other believers and to the world as a whole. Often times we hear we are not to “judge” others for that is for the Lord to do. However this idea is quite often misunderstood. Scripture teaches us that we can know where people who claim to be Christians stand by their “fruit” (Matthew 7). Look at 1 Corinthians 5:12 “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?” We are to judge those who are within the church. As Christians we can be fruit-inspectors of fellow Christians, seeing if indeed there is visible proof that salvation has taken place. Other Christians and even non-Christians should see something different from pre-salvation. The individual should see a radical change as well within themselves that will evidence salvation.

If all of this is true, then what the one claiming to be a Christian must do is test himself to see if what he is claiming is even true. MacArthur divides it into two categories: the doctrinal test and the moral test. Doctrinally we are taught throughout Scripture that you must confess Christ as Lord, 1 John 4:2 says, “By this know you the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." One must also confess their sins, 1 John 1:6, 8 says "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie .... If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." However that is not enough. Is God’s work enough? Absolutely! However there will be a life-change that takes place and is evidenced morally.
J. C. Ryle explains that there are “six great marks of a born again Christian” the first being the “doctrinal test” Macarthur explained. Second, as a born-again believer there will be no more “habitual sinning”. 1 John 3:9 says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin”. Now this does not mean that the Christian does not ever sin but it means more simply that “he true Christian hates sin, flees from it, fights against it, considers it his greatest plague, resents the burden of its presence, mourns when he falls under its influence, and longs to be completely delivered from it”. The Christian no longer finds pleasure and joy in doing things against the will of God. The one that truly understands the sheer repulsiveness of sin and the cost of God’s wrath poured on Christ will strive not to sin. Next, a true believer must “practice righteousness”. 1 John 2:29 says, “Every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him”. The righteous man’s desire is to live a holy and blameless life. Although he knows that within himself there is moral corruption and perversion he seeks to overcome that and live set apart. Fourth, a Christian must love other Christians. 1 John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren”. This man has a passion for his fellow disciples, like that of Christ. Or as Ryle puts it, “He is never so much at home as when he is in their company.” Fifth, “a man who is born again does not use the world's opinion as his standard of right and wrong”. 1 John 5:4 says, “Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world”. In other words his only desire is to please the Father and he no longer cares about the opinions or pleasures of the world. And finally, we read in 1 John 5:18, “He that is begotten of God keepeth himself”. He is concerned about his soul and keeping it pure or blameless before the Lord. Ryle states, “He desires to live like a soldier in an enemy country—to wear his armor continually and to be prepared for temptation. He is diligent to be watchful, humble, prayerful man”. After carefully considering all of these “marks” an individual can determine whether or not they are genuinely “born again” and part of God’s family…if they past the tests.

Understanding the work of Christ on the cross is the fundamental and the key to finding assurance in His saving work. Many Christians may have the marks stated previously but they may still not fully grasp the height and depth and breadth of what Christ did for us at Calvary. It is only at the foot of the cross that one can humbly find grace. One must realize that salvation is all on Him, He did everything, we did nothing to merit His grace and good favor, and we can do nothing to earn or repay it either. The work on the cross was sufficient, it fulfilled the requirement, and it was finished, or brought to its final desired state, and accomplished, or successfully completed in the person of Christ. Christ’s substitutionary death for the Christian. A Christian must understand what Christ died for. Christ didn’t die for only the big sins in our life but for EVERY sin. He died for every unclean thought, every careless word, every malicious act, and every spiteful deed; he paid for it with his life and experienced the wrath of God we deserved. And then He raised three days later and conquered death for those who put their faith in Him. Not only did He conquer physical death, as is obvious, but He conquered spiritual death as well. He conquered Satan and sin once and for all through that atoning work on the cross. Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us that it is not we that saved ourselves but by grace, it is a gift, and one we must not take lightly. In order for a Christian to fully be satisfied in their redeeming grace they must understand what Christ did to the fullest extent. It is not something that can only be pondered on once at the moment of salvation but it should be an ever present thought constantly being thought upon.

Although Christ returned to heaven after His resurrection He left us with the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. As Christians we possess the Holy Spirit within our beings. He is our witness to the testimony of Christ. The Holy Spirit gives understanding and wisdom. 1 Corinthians 2:12 says, “Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.” Professor J. Keathley explains that, “The Holy Spirit assures our hearts through the Word that we are children of God”. Romans 8:15-16 states this perfectly, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children.” What an amazing reality that is. We cry out to our Father in heaven as “Abba” which in today’s terms is like “daddy”. We can have this closeness of a relationship with the living God! The Spirit has been given to the Christian for even more assurance of salvation.

Once an individual is certain that they understand the Gospel of Christ and the depth of what that means and has claimed that they believe and trust in that and have repented from a life of sin and depravity and are in turn living a transformed Holy life for Christ, they can then gain a confidence that only the Word and the Spirit can provide. Professor J. Keathley speaks of two principles that can be thought upon in order to gain that assurance in the salvation that the person is claiming to have: Faith in facts and not feelings and faith in facts and not works.
Many times, as previously discussed, there is this idea that we find assurance from how we are feeling. We as fallen humanity cannot trust our feelings. We read in Jeremiah 17:9 that, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”. Our faith cannot come from within ourselves and our own intuitions but it must stand on the only truth that is true, the Word of God. Keathley explains, “The biblical order is: FACTS leads to FAITH which leads to FEELINGS. Feelings are the responders of the soul or heart. They are to follow and respond to our understanding of Scripture, but they are never a safe guide to what we should believe or of the state of our salvation.”

We have to make sure that our assurance is coming from solid facts from Scripture and not from our own works. Innate within ourselves is our pride which motivates us to do things for ourselves in hopes that we might merit or earn things; however salvation cannot be earned or merited…ever! “Works or the biblical changes that occur in our lives as a result of the grace of God can confirm the reality of our life with God” (Keathley). If it were based on us and our works our salvation would be ever so contingent. One must rest in the FINISHED work of Christ at the cross at Calvary.

One question that all of this might beg is, ‘is it possible for the truly saved Christian to doubt’? The answer is yes. Tim Challies puts it this way, “There is nothing unusual about occasionally doubting one’s salvation. The only thing unusual about doubt would be to experience it and not deal with it”. Doubt is different than unbelief, it is a state or short period of questioning in some regards that sanctifies. Doubt matures us in the Lord as the individual increases their knowledge of His truth throughout Scripture and are even more rooted in the truth of the Lord. It is not necessarily sinful to struggle with doubt at times in the Christian life, however the true believer will wrestle with this and through the Spirit’s power overcome the deceiving temptations leading to this. This doubt many times will lead to further dependence on Christ and study in the Word which leads to firm assurance.
Once someone is fully convinced and assured in their salvation there is a peace that surpasses understanding as it is a peace that can only come from God. However one must realize that assurance of salvation does not permit or promote promiscuous Christian living. We as Christians are stewards of God’s grace (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) and therefore we are responsible to steward our time, gifts, and resources for the glory of God. There is a joy in serving Christ and being His steward and there is an eternal reward waiting. Although believers will not be judged for their sins we are responsible before the Lord for being stewards at will stand before Him at the Bema and be judged by our works (2 Corinthians 5:10). So as J. Keathley puts, “it is sufficient for us to realize that while we are secure in the Savior as far as heaven is concerned, we have a wonderful stewardship for which we are each responsible”.

Assurance is confidence and confidence leads to boldness. As Christians who can be confident in their salvation because of the truth of Scripture, we are called to reflect that to others in hopes that they too might find salvation through Him who gives. Although our world teaches us that assurance in anything is impossible, Christians can stand out here in a dark world like lights and proclaim the truth that we have found to be true and are assured in, that Jesus Christ is Lord forever and ever amen!