THERE is a great danger owing to the fact that many who profess to have assurance of salvation are only deceiving themselves that true believers should belittle the importance of the doctrine. The fact that some may hold an erroneous view of a doctrine or abuse it does not justify anyone in relegating that doctrine to the background. In modern evangelistic circles the doctrine of the assurance of salvation is asserted with a kind of religious abandon which creates a suspicion that the foundations upon which it rests are anything but secure. It is, therefore, necessary that God’s people should have true and scriptural views on a doctrine which is so beneficial and comforting to them. Perhaps in none of the Reformed creeds is the doctrine of assurance so scripturally stated as in the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Westminster Divines, after having set forth the Christian life, in all its varied experiences, “describing its origin in divine grace, its essential quality in faith, its characteristic repentance, its fruition in good works, and its permanent and blessed perpetuity, add their chapter on Assurance of Grace and Salvation (chapter xviii). In this chapter they speak not only of the perseverance of the believer, but of the full, perfect and happy certainty to which he may through grace attain. For the benefit of our readers we will quote the sections of the chapter dealing with the doctrine under discussion, which are as follows: “1. Although hypocrites, and other unregenerate men, may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of
being in the favour of God and estate of salvation; which hope of theirs shall perish; yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love Him in sincerity, endeavouring to walk in all good conscience before Him, may in this life be certainly assured that they are in a state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God; which hope shall never make them ashamed. 2. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion, grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith, founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God: which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption. 3. This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties, before he be partaker of it; yet, being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God, he may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of ordinary means, attain thereunto. And therefore it is the duty of every one to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure; that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance: so far is it from inclining men to looseness. 4. True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as, by negligence in preserving it; by falling into some special sin, which woundeth the conscience, and grieveth the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation; by God’s withdrawing the light of His countenance, and suffering even such as fear Him to walk in darkness, and to have no light; yet are they never utterly destitute of that seed of God, and life of faith, that love of Christ, and the brethren, that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit this assurance may in due time be revived, and by the which, in the meantime, they are supported
from utter despair.” The same doctrine is clearly set forth in the Larger Catechism. In answer to the question: Can true believers be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace, and that they shall persevere therein unto salvation? The Divines say: “Such as truly believe in Christ, and endeavour to walk in all good conscience before Him, may without extraordinary revelation, by faith grounded upon the truth of God’s promises, and by the Spirit enabling them to discern in themselves those graces to which the promises of life are made, and bearing witness with their spirits that they are the children of God, be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace, and shall persevere therein unto salvation.” Again, in answer to the question: Are all true believers at all times assured of their present being in the estate of grace, and that they shall be saved? They answer: “Assurance of grace and salvation not being of the essence of faith, true believers may wait long before they obtain it; and, after the enjoyment thereof, may have it weakened and intermitted, through manifold distempers, sins, temptations, and desertions; yet are they never left without such a presence and support of the Spirit of God as keeps them from sinking into utter despair.” Our readers are now in possession of a full statement of the Confessional doctrine of assurance and will be in a better position to follow the discussion in this article.
Needless to say the Divines gave considerable attention to the statement of this doctrine as is indicated in the Minutes of the Westminster Assembly and produced a well-balanced statement which steered clear of the views held by so many of the Reformers that assurance of one’s salvation was of the essence of faith, while on the other hand rejecting the Romanist and Arminian view that such assurance is not attainable. The Westminster Divines were not simply theologians, expert and careful expounders of the doctrines of the Christian faith, but they were men deeply taught by the Holy Spirit. The theology of the Westminster Confession is infused with life and the
warmth of a heart-experience suffuses it and without which it would lose much of its appeal to Spirit-taught men and women. Perhaps in no chapter do these characteristics show themselves so distinctly as in the words quoted above. It was one of the finest features in the theology presented in the Confession that the Divines were careful not to make their experience the basis of their doctrine as some of the Reformers did in the doctrine in question but checked their experience by the doctrine they found set forth in God’s Word. The theologian taught by God’s Spirit must seek to avoid presenting a system of truth, tasteless and devoid of life while on the other hand he must equally be on his guard against basing his doctrine altogether on his experience. The Westminster Divines, as we have seen, avoided these pitfalls into which so many have fallen, by taking their doctrine from the living oracles and bringing to the touchstone of these same oracles their experience. How necessary these precautions are is vividly brought home to one in reading some dry statements of doctrine or, on the other hand, listening to the presentation of certain phases of experience, which may be nothing more or less than the vagrant thoughts of uninstructed expounders. It was not so with the Westminster Divines. They laid the foundation on sound scriptural doctrine and it is to their teaching on this important doctrine we now turn attention.
To begin with, it may be necessary to explain what the Divines mean by “assurance of grace and salvation.” They evidently mean the believer’s assurance that he is in a state of grace and that he has a personal interest in the salvation of Christ. In stating their doctrine, they had in view, as already stated, the errors of the Romanists and the Arminians on this subject. 1. The former deny that it is possible to attain more than a probable persuasion of salvation, except by extraordinary revelation. This erroneous view is founded on their view of the nature of faith. Saving faith, according to Romish teaching, was essentially assent (assensus). The Reformers maintained that it was essentially trust (fiducia). Dr. Cunningham says: “There is an appearance of greater simplicity and metaphysical accuracy
in representing faith as in itself a mere assent to truth, and trust and other graces as its necessary consequences. But the right question is, What is the meaning attached in scripture to the faith which justifies and saves? Upon this question we agree with the Reformers in thinking, that in Scripture usage faith is applied, in its highest and most important sense, only to a state of mind of which trust in Christ as a Saviour is a necessary constituent element” (The Reformers and Theology of the Reformation, p. 122). 2. The Arminians in denying the doctrine of the believer’s final perseverance were led into this false position of denying the possibility of any man attaining to a greater certainty of salvation than that he who perseveres unto the end shall be saved. Through this view, founded upon their erroneous and unscriptural teaching of perseverance, they fell into error. It will thus be seen that both the Romanist and Arminian doctrine on this subject was founded on error and led to error. It is a warning to us to see that the foundation is well and truly laid according to the plan set before us in the divine oracles.