"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
One essential element in hearty spiritual development is assurance of salvation. Without assurance, the Christian wavers in prayer, fears affliction, and can even fall into despair. When doubt hangs in the mind of a Christian, he can become paralyzed in spiritual duties, service, and worship. Many true Christians desperately need this assurance, yet either because of wrong instruction or morbid introspection, they have lost sight of the promises of God and the assurance that they give.
While assurance is necessary for vital spiritual development, it is not necessary for salvation. There must be a certainly in faith that knows there is no other way to be saved than through Jesus Christ. If there is doubt in this area, a person cannot be a Christian. However, uncertainty and doubt can be common in the Christian experience. A person can believe the truth of the Gospel, but he may not know whether he has true, saving faith.
What makes assurance such a slippery doctrine is that while a Christian needs to gain assurance, there are many people who have assurance but who are not really saved. Presumption is a plague in the church as people sit in church every Sunday thinking they are going to heaven, when in fact they are heading to hell. Like the Israelites, they cry “Peace” when there is no peace.
How then can you help someone grow in assurance without encouraging presumption? First, you must understand that the presumptuous person either has a wrong understanding of how to be saved, or a wrong evaluation of his state in grace. If a person is convinced he can earn his salvation by good works, he has a wrong understanding of salvation. He may have assurance of that salvation, but the means to eternal life that he hopes in is a delusion. The Bible teaches that no other path leads to heaven, except through Jesus Christ. The only way a person is declared righteous by God and adopted into His family is through faith—a faith that is a gift of God and not by works. To be believe anything else except salvation through Christ alone, is to believe a lie.
We will continue to look at assurance tomorrow to discover how you can rightly evaluate whether you are in a state of grace.
Read John 3:16; Acts 15:11; Romans 3:19–28; Ephesians 2:8–10; 1 John 1:9. What do these passages have to say about salvation? Do works have anything to do with it? Why do people need to believe in Christ only for salvation? Think about what you believe. Can you be assured that you believe the truth about salvation?
