Giving Assurances

We can be saved, but can we know we are saved? The idea is called "assurance." The Catholic Church denies it vehemently. (They call it "anathema.") There are a lot of others that aren't too keen on it, either. "People can and do lose their salvation," they assure us. (That's the only "assurance" they allow on the subject.) "It's wrong, wrong, wrong to be confident that Christ has saved you. You need to check it out, work it out, be constantly looking over your shoulder -- do the work."

So, which is it? Is there room in Scripture for assurance, or are we to be in a constant state of concern and awareness to keep ourselves in line? The hardline "Once Saved, Always Saved" folks (I mean the hardliners, not just the average) will tell you that once you're saved it doesn't matter what you do, so sin all you want. No rules at all. The "You can lose it so be careful" extremists, on the other hand, are pretty sure we all lose it from time to time and need to keep getting saved ... often. Are there answers in Scripture? Sure!

First, to the "You can't ever know" folks, John disagrees. "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13) Sorry, guys. You can know. Next, to the "Go ahead and sin all you want" types, again, John disagrees. "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." (1 John 3:9) Now, we can discuss this "practices sin" phrase and explain how it is "ongoing" and assure everyone that it is not sinlessness, but there is no doubt that those born of God experience a decrease in sin and cannot "sin all you want" because, well, they don't want to. And to those who argue you can lose it and need to keep coming back to get saved again, be aware that Hebrews 6:4-6 makes it clear that if you do lose it, you cannot ("impossible" is the word used) get it back. So neither "There can be no assurance" nor "You can be so assured you can sin with abandon" works biblically. There is, therefore, assurance. We just want to make sure we do it biblically. "Well, you said the prayer/walked the aisle/made the right choice, so you are in" isn't biblical. Let's see what is.

Premises
So, biblically what can we determine? By "biblically" I mean we will premise this on Scripture. So what does Scripture use as its premise? The message throughout God's Word is that God is faithful. "Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass." (1 Thess 5:24) Like that. Oh, wait ... what was the context of that claim? "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess 5:23) See that? That's the premise. Salvation, beginning to end, is God's work, based on Christ's sacrifice for sin, and empowered by the Spirit in the lives of believers. Paul says that we're saved that way and we're sanctified that way (Gal 3:1-3) and anyone who doesn't see that is "foolish." Paul told Titus, "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5) The premise, then, is that we are not saved by our efforts, so assurance is possible on the basis of the work of God.

Promises
So what does God say on the subject? Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." (John 10:27-29) Jude assured us that He is "able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy." (Jude 1:24) While many Scriptures warn of our need to work and test and such, every biblical reference to God's work in salvation is one of complete assurance that He will complete it. That's His promise.

Performance
What a relief, eh? It's all about Him and nothing about us! Well, sort of. Paul does say, "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith." (2 Cor 13:5) That is, it is possible to find evidence in your own life that you are "in the faith" -- that you are saved. Maybe "I prayed the prayer" isn't a good way, but there are concrete, biblical offerings on where to look. John wrote that 1 John 3:9 text above. Very important. If you're perfectly comfortable with sin, you might have a problem. He also wrote, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers." (1 John 3:14) If you have little love for believers, you might want to be careful. Paul wrote, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." (Rom 8:16) Anything like that going on with you? We have "the deeds of the flesh" (Gal 5:19-21) in contrast with the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:22-23). Which seems more like you? The author of Hebrews argued that the Father disciplines His children (Heb 12:5-6). He warns, "If you are without discipline ... you are illegitimate children and not sons." (Heb 12:8) If you don't feel like God ever disciplines you, you shouldn't feel comfortable in your salvation. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15) Something to consider. Mind you, none of this saves. Not at all. Salvation is a work of God, beginning to end. But God doesn't fail to save those He saves. That is, you can't be saved without having a changed life (2 Cor 5:17). So this "performance" concept is not what we do to obtain it, but the natural results of a changed life. This "performance" is God's performance in a believer.

The Scriptures are full of these kinds of "tests" or "indicators" and you should probably look for yourself. You should definitely examine yourself. But Scripture is equally clear that it is God who saves and God who sustains and that we can know if we have eternal life. (Note: If you "have eternal life" and lose it, it's not eternal, is it?) Don't look at the date of your prayer or the time you walked down the aisle. Those are well and good, but not always indicators. Certainly not biblical indicators. Look to Christ. Know what He has promised and count on it. And test yourself, because changed hearts make changed lives. You can know.