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| We know... and shall assure our hearts before Him |
We know... and shall assure our hearts
before Him
1John 3
14 We know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death.
19 And hereby we know that we are of
the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him...
24 And he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by
the Spirit which he hath given us.
Bible study note on Chapter 18 of the
1689 CoF
Of the Assurance of Faith
Introduction
a. Assurance of salvation is knowing
that one has eternal life and will enter eternal life on the last day.
- Faith is not assurance: the
scriptural terms for faith clearly distinguish faith and assurance. Assurance
includes the idea of trust and hope. Faith is a conviction of the truth of the
gospel and allegiance to the Christ revealed in the Scriptures. The ground of
faith is always the Scriptures.
- Assurance is knowing for oneself that
one possesses salvation; assurance is of the essence of hope and trust.
- It is a personal, purifying, positive, confident expectation directed towards the unseen future, based on God and His
word, the Scriptures.
- Faith is inseparable from assurance:
faith is the instrumental means of the assurance of salvation. In the heart of
every believer, the seed of assurance has been planted.
1. Assurance of Salvation is Stated
a. The faith assurance acknowledged and
dismissed
- "Although temporary believers,
and other unregenerate men..."
- "... may vainly deceive
themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favour of
God and in a state of salvation..."
- "... which hope of theirs shall
perish."
b. The biblical assurance stated and
affirmed
- "Yet such as truly believe in
the Lord Jesus, and love Him in sincerity..."
: "... endeavouring to walk in all
good conscience before Him..."
- "... may in this life be
certainly assured that they are in the state of grace..."
- "... and may rejoice in the hope
of the glory of God."
- "… which hope shall never make
them ashamed."
2. Assurance of salvation is infallible
a. The fact of its certainty or
infallibility
- incapable of failing, not liable to
disappoint or mislead.
- "… is NOT a bare conjectural or
probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope."
- "… BUT is an infallible
assurance of faith..."
b. The ground of its
certainty/infallibility
- "It is... founded on the blood
and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel."
- "… also upon the inward evidence
of those graces of the Spirit unto which promises are made"
: "... the testimony of the Spirit
of adoption, witnessing with our spirits that we are children of God."
c. The effect of its
certainty/infallibility
- “… a fruit thereof,” the effect of
fruit of this assurance..."
- "... keep the hearts [of God’s
children] both humble and holy."
3. Assurance of salvation is attainable
a. The error of automatic attainment
denied
- "This infallible assurance does
not belong to the essence of faith...”.
- It is NOT an automatic and inevitable
experience joined to faith in Jesus Christ. It is distinct from saving faith.
b. The difficulty of attaining
assurance of salvation
- "… true believer may wait long,
and struggle with many difficulties before he be partaker of it."
- It is attainable in spite of all the
real struggles with many difficulties.
c. The ordinary means of attaining
assurance of salvation
- "… yet being enabled by the
Spirit to know the things which are freely given to him by God..."
Knowledge of the gospel truth and of
God are intimately bound up with attaining assurance.
: "... he may, without
extraordinary revelation, in the right use of means, attain thereunto.”
It has nothing to do with extraordinary
revelation; don’t be conned!
: “… in the right use of means.” Use
the means appointed by God.
d. The solemn duty of attaining
assurance of salvation
- "And therefore it is the duty of
every one to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure..."
This is practical theology at its most
basic level.
e. The proper evidence of assurance
- "... that his heart may be
enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Spirit..."
- "... in love and thankfulness to
God..."
- "... and in strength and
cheerfulness in the duties of obedience."
- These are beautifully summed up here:
“For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2Pe 1:11
- These are “the proper fruits of this
assurance.”
- “… so far is it from inclining men to
looseness”: assurance of salvation does not incline men to slackness or
negligence of gospel duties
4. Assurance of salvation is variable
a. The statement of this variableness
- "True believers may have the
assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished or
intermitted."
- There all sorts of things that can
shake God’s children of their assurance.
b. The various causes for this
variableness
- “…by negligence in preserving of
it..."
- "... by their falling into some
special sin which wounds the conscience and grieves the Spirit..."
- "... by some sudden or vehement
temptation..."
- "... by God's withdrawing the
light of His countenance..."
c. The effects of this variableness
- "... causing even such who fear
Him to walk in darkness and to have no light."
- Even those who fear God may suffer an
eclipse of their assurance of salvation; what about God’s children who don’t?
d. The limits of this variableness
i. "YET they are never destitute
of”, never left without...
: "... the seed of God and life of
faith..."
: "... the love of Christ and the
brethren..."
: "... that sincerity of heart and
that conscience of duty."
ii. Why are these so?
- "… by the operation of the
Spirit..."
- "... this assurance may in due
time be revived…”
- "... by the which, in the
meantime, they are preserved from utter despair.”
What does “by the which” refer to? Are
you reading and thinking?
Is this topic practical or doctrinal?
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
