1
John 3:18-20 Little
children, let us not love in word or talk but in deeds and in truth. By this we
shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for
whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows
everything.
Hypocrites and other
unregenerate men may deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions
about their being in God’s favor and about their being saved. Their
presumptions will die with them.
However, those who truly
believe in the Lord Jesus, who honestly love him and try to walk in good
conscience before him, may in this life be assured with certainty that they are
in a state of grace.
This certainty is not based
on the fallible hope of guesswork or probabilities. Rather, it is the infallible
assurance of faith, established on the divine truth of the promises of
salvation. There is also the inner evidence of spiritual insight, given to us
by God, to which these promises are directed. And there is the testimony of the
Spirit of adoption, witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of
God. This Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance. By him we are sealed until
the day of redemption.
Therefore it is every
believer’s duty to establish the certainty of his calling and election so that
his heart may be filled with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, with love and thankfulness
to God, and with strength and cheerfulness of obedience. These are the true products
of assurance, which is never conducive to an undisciplined life.
The assurance true believers
have of their salvation may be shaken, lessened, or interrupted for various
reasons: from neglecting to preserve it; from committing some particular sin,
which wounds the conscience and grieves the Spirit; from some sudden or strong
temptation; or from God’s withdrawing the sense of his presence and allowing
them to walk in darkness. Nevertheless, they are never completely without God’s
seed, the life of faith, the love of Christ and of other believers, and the
sincere heart and obedient conscience, out of which the Spirit may revive this
assurance in due time and by which they are in the meantime kept from complete
despair.
The Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Confession of Faith