CAN THE BELIEVER BE SURE HE HAS SAVING FAITH?

By Gary Ray Branscome

The words, “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life,” tell us that we can “know” whether we have saving faith or not (1John 5:13). However, because of the inner confusion, doubts, and fears that are “bound in the heart” of man, many believers lack the “full assurance of faith,” (see Proverbs 22:15, Hebrews 10:22). And, we need to know how to deal with that lack of assurance.

The words, “The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him,” coupled with the words, “No man can come to me, unless the Father who has sent me draws him,” tell us that God is dealing with those who seek assurance of salvation (1Corinthians 2:14, John 6:44). And, if they believe that there is forgiveness in Christ, and simply want assurance that they have it, then the seed of faith has already been planted in their hearts. A person with such doubts might be pointed to the words, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” and then asked to confess his sins to God, asking for forgiveness (1John 1:9).

However, it is not always that simple. There are always some who lack assurance of salvation because they are seeking righteousness by the law. Having gone through that struggle as a teenager, I know that it is possible for a person to profess to believe that salvation is by grace, while looking to works to make them righteous, because they are using the law as a motivation to resist the flesh. My deliverance from that double-mindedness came from realizing that God’s standard of righteousness was so much higher than mine that it would condemn all my efforts at making myself righteous “as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). And, realizing that I had to confess my sins and throw myself on God’s mercy. It is only as I realized that the law would condemn me no matter how hard I tried, that I understood that freedom from the law is not freedom to sin, but freedom to be righteous. As it is written, “By Him all who believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). And, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one who believes” (Romans 10:4).

God wants us to be sure of our faith. The words, “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” tell us that our faith should bring us peace with God (Romans 5:1). But, we are not going to have that peace if we are not even sure that we have faith. The words, “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,” tell us that faith should give us “full assurance” of salvation (Hebrews 10:22). And, the words, “Being confident of this, that He who has begun a good work in you will continue it until the day of Jesus Christ,” tell us that God expects us to be “confident” that God will keep us safe unto salvation (Philippians 1:6). However, we cannot be confident if we are not even sure that we have faith.

God has not only given you His Word so that, “You may know that you have eternal life” (1John 5:13). The words, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God,” tell us that the Spirit of God works through that Word to give us the inner assurance that what it says is true, and applies to us (Romans 8:16). The words, “He who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart,” again testify to the internal witness of the Holy Spirit (1John 5:10). However, the Bible also speaks of an external witness.

The words, “He who is of God hears God’s words: therefore you do not hear them, because you are not of God,” tell us that those who truly have faith are not going to reject what the Bible says (John 8:47). While the words, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts,” tell us that those who trust in Christ will see an improvement in their behavior (Galatians 5:22-24). However, the words, “Who will transform our vile bodies, and make them like His glorified body, by the power by which He is able to bring everything under His control,” tell us that none of us is going to be totally free of sin in this life (Philippians 3:21). At the same time, even though the external witness exists; whenever people base their assurance of salvation on what they do, they are in danger of trusting in works rather than in Christ. And, they need to be reminded of the words, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness” (2Corinthians 11:14-15). Those words tell us that even the unsaved are able to appear outwardly as righteous. And, those who look to external behavior for their assurance of salvation can easily deceive themselves. As it is written, “You… outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:28).