Assurance of Salvation... on what is it based?

[Ransom]

FSSL said:

I reject Zane Hodge's (Grace Evangelical Society) attempts to establish the thought that assurance is a right given to every believer, no questions asked, no perseverance needed.

One of my theology profs once said something like (and I don't know if this is something original to him or if he was quoting someone else): To the Roman Catholic, assurance was anathema; to the Puritan it was a duty; to the Bible it is a fact.

He wouldn't have agreed with Zane Hodges, as he didn't believe you could easily objectify assurance of salvation by pointing to the date you were baptized or walked an aisle as assurance of anything. Assurance is largely subjective, in other words. I tend to agree with him. If subjectively I have some uncertainty, the objectively I am not assured, however founded or unfounded my doubts may be.

 

[Holy Mole]

"Do you love God and love people? How does that play out in your everyday life? Do you, as a general rule, find yourself striving to be more like Jesus or less? Do you want to be more like Jesus? Are you finding yourself able to trust God more with things and thereby worrying less than you used to? Is the trajectory of your thoughts/fears/dreams focusing more on others than on yourself?"

Very good thoughts.

Can anyone answer this question? "Do you have the right to claim you have 100% assurance of salvation if you are in habitual sin?"

Apart from studying the syntax of the text this does not specifically label "habitual sin" by name but it would seem logical that if the sin of God's child would bring chastisement then regularly practiced sin would bring consistent chastisement. 

Hebrews 12:4-8  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

 

[Agent P]

Haven't you all been following the Church of Christ thread?  Assurance is based on WATER!!!!

 

[OZZY]

Haven't you all been following the Church of Christ thread?  Assurance is based on WATER!!!!

As fssl stated to me we are talking about assurance here, not salvation.

 

[christundivided]

I'm little concerned that none of you have mentioned Romans 8:16. I know many of you are essentially reformed in doctrine and reformed teachings generally doesn't lend itself to embrace the truth found in Romans 8:16. This is one of the few things that's good about Baptist doctrine. It doesn't require adherence to a solely academic revelation of Scripture.

If you ask me why I have assurance..... I'd answer its because God treats me as His own. His Spirit witnesses to my spirit that I am his child. Its more than an academic understanding of Truth. It's more than a complete abandonment of self in pointing to believing the Scriptures. It's a son knowing his Father.

Yes. Romans 8 is definitely a part of this discussion. Thank you for bringing that up.

I have been focusing on the perseverance side of the issue. While we are adopted and have the Spirit's witness, we are told that “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” (1 John 3:24).

The Holy Spirit's witness is connected to the word of God. If we continue in disobedience, we grieve the Spirit. It is, during those times, we have a sense of doubt.

This is my approach to the  issue of one's assurance. I reject Zane Hodge's (Grace Evangelical Society) attempts to establish the thought that assurance is a right given to every believer, no questions asked, no perseverance needed.

While I agree with your overall presentation, we must embrace the exceptions presented in the Scriptures. While I would love to say every saint of God has adequately "persevered" in Christ, I can't honestly make that assertion. Yes, we are commanded to be such. Paul presented a perfect understanding of how the saints should live for God when he said...

2Ti 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Yet, he did not stop there. We went own to explain how in every "great house"..... there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earth. Some to honor. Some to dishonor.

Regardless of how we like to ignore it, we all still have some "wood and earthly" vessels in this "great house" we have received of God. Absolution or an entire eradication of sin is not an absolute determination of our position in Christ. In the end, many do not receive "assurance of salvation" solely on their ability to entirely reject sin. Thank God our secure position is not based on our own merit.

If we sin or even constantly sin after having accepted Christ, which we do, then how do we honestly find assurance? This is what I meant by having more than an "academic understanding" of the Scriptures. The Scriptures reveal tangible assurance. Heartfelt, empowering assurance of our faith in Christ.

I admitted to backsliding in another thread earlier. I admit that I willingly and purposely walked away from actively serving God when my wife left me for a good friend at the time. I was bitter. Horribly bitter. My understand of serving God had been destroyed and I couldn't accept that my faith could not change my situation. I do not justify my choice. I was stupid. Yet, that is the way I felt. For the life of me, I couldn't get past it. It took me years and many failures to finally realize my foolishness.......Yet, through all that time, my bitterness and my active lifestyle of sin.... God never treated me as an outcast. He treated me as a son. He chastened me. He actively pursued me through and by His Spirit. I didn't go crawling back to God and asking Him to save me. I knew Him. I knew exactly what was between me and Him. When I got "right with God", I approached Him as a foolish son and not as a castaway. I knew my Father and He knew me. I praise Him for His long suffering and patience. This is why I believe assurance is tangibly expressed in God's active work in the life of His Children. Its a revelation given to His own through their experience of knowing Him. Its a tangibly felt fellowship we have with the Father that's expressed through His loving relationship with His own. Its more than knowing the Scriptures, more than claiming the Scriptures. Its experiencing the Scriptures for yourself in this present life. God does this for all His children. If you want to examine "assurance", then ask yourself..... does God treat you as His own?