c. The Testimony of the Christian Graces
cannot be uttered, in the manifold experiences of comfort in suffering, strength in weakness, victory in seasons of temptation, and perseverance under the trials of faith. These are all works of the Holy
Spirit. In so far as they are in us and abound, they bear witness to the reality of our reconciliation with God, and in the very voice of the Spirit give us the assurance that our sins are forgiven and that we are children of God. These vital spiritual affections shine with their own light, and thus constitute the testimony of the Holy Spirit that carries conviction to the soul. The more the life of faith develops, the greater our progress in the way of sanctification, the clearer will the voice of the spirit ring out, dispelling all doubts and filling the heart with joy and peace.
We meet with a closely related idea, where Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit as a seal with which believers are sealed, and as an earnest of their inheritance. This twofold significance of the Spirit finds expression in a single passage, Eph. 1:13, 14 … "in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory." Now a seal is used for various purposes: (1) to authenticate or mark as true and genuine;
(2) to mark as one's property; and (3) to insure security or safety.
The sealing of believers has this threefold significance. Being in possession of the Holy Spirit, they have the witness within themselves that they are true children of God, 1 John 5:10; Rom. 5:5;
8:16. By the seal of the Spirit that is impressed upon them they are also marked as belonging to God, so that others readily recognize them as children of God. Moreover, the fact that they are said to be sealed unto the day of redemption, Eph. 4:30, clearly indicates that the sealing of God secures their safety, that they are thereby rendered sure of their final salvation. The Spirit is even the earnest of their inheritance. In him believers possess the first fruits of the full harvest of salvation that will be reaped in the great day of the coming of Jesus Christ. c. The Testimony of the Christian Graces
Finally, Reformed Confessional Standards also clearly indicate that assurance is based in part on the so-called syllogism of faith, in which the believer consciously and deliberately compares the graces that adorn his life and his general conduct, with the biblical description of the virtues and the godly conversation of those who are born of the Spirit, and on their relative correspondence bases the conclusion that he is indeed a child of God. The Bible says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, … blessed are they that mourn, … blessed are the meek, … blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness," etc. And the believer who is purposely in quest of assurance examines his heart and life to discover, whether he is poor in spirit and truly humble, and whether he mourns on account of his sin and really hungers and thirsts after righteousness. His selfexamination determines the conclusion to which he comes. If he finds that these graces do really and truly adorn his life, he will naturally infer from this that he belongs to the number of those whom Jesus pronounces blessed.
It is quite evident that in this logical deduction we are operating with premises derived from the two grounds of assurance to which attention was called in the preceding, viz. the promises of God in his
Word and the testimony of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of believers. When the Holy Spirit originates, strengthens, and increases faith in God's children so that they not only begin but also continue to appropriate the promises of God, this will at once carry with it a certain measure of assurance. It may be that this instinctive and immediate assurance will be but vaguely felt at first; but it will naturally rise to the level of a conscious certitude in the measure in which faith increases and becomes abundant in spiritual fruits, and often rises to that height without any conscious reflection on the grounds, the nature and the operations of faith. Many Christians who enjoy the assurance of faith are not able to give an intelligent explanation of it, and are at a loss what to say when they are asked for the grounds of their assurance, or for proof of the genuineness of their faith. They may be able only to repeat the words of the man whom Jesus cured of his blindness: "One thing I know, that, whereas
I was blind, now I see." Their lack of clear knowledge on this point, however, may cause them to reflect on the nature and grounds of their faith, and on the evidences of the life of the spirit that is born within their hearts. And then they are invariably led to base their assurance consciously and deliberately on the objective promises of God in connection with the subjective fruits of the Spirit.
This method of seeking assurance is perfectly Scriptural. While Paul emphasizes the significance of the inner witness of the spirit in connection with the assurance of faith, John lays the chief stress on the ethical tests of faith and thus illustrates the method now under consideration. "We know," says he, "that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren." 1 John 3:14. Referring to that same test of love to the brethren, a love in deed and truth, he continues in the 19th verse of the same chapter: "Hereby we shall know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him."
Again, he sounds the language of assurance in the words: "We know that we have come to a knowledge of him, if we keep his commandments," 2:3; and, "Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him: he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked," 2:5, 6. We may find the same line of thought indicated in 2 Pet. 1:5–10, where the apostle exhorts his readers to assure themselves of their calling and election by adding to faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge temperance, to temperance patience, to patience godliness, to godliness brotherly love, and to brotherly love, love to all.
But it is quite possible to expect too much of this method of comparison. It seems to be a very easy matter, but in reality it is extremely difficult. Disappointment may follow the attempt to gain assurance by contemplating the fruits of faith. There are several reasons for this. The inner life of man, and especially the religious side of it, is very complicated and therefore constitutes a difficult field to explore. Moreover, in view of the deceitfulness of man's heart, it is not easy to maintain strict impartiality, seeing that he who
collects the evidence and passes judgment on it, is also the interested party. By nature man is not inclined to see himself just as he is, in all his sinfulness and corruption; and even in the regenerated man it requires a large measure of grace to overcome this natural aversion.
Then, too, a faithful self-inspection usually reveals so much that is defective, that the first result is apt to be discouragement rather than the glad assurance of hope. Again, in testing the genuineness of his faith by good works as the fruit of faith, a person may find that he is after all merely reasoning in a circle. The question naturally arises,
What are good works? And the Heidelberg Catechism answers:
"Those only which are done from true faith, according to the law of God, for his glory." He who would know whether his faith is genuine, must investigate, whether it bears real spiritual fruit; and in order to determine whether the fruit is genuine, he must consider whether it springs from a true and living faith. And finally, it should be borne in mind that, while genuine fruits of righteousness do indeed testify to the presence of a living faith, the fact that these fruits have not yet made their appearance does not prove the absence of true faith. How extremely difficult it is to distinguish a Christian from a nonChristian by their respective fruits is clearly apparent from the attempts of some eighteenth century theologians to discriminate between the believer at his worst and the unbeliever at his best. In order to know men by their fruits, the real character of these fruits must be clearly apparent.
It would seem to be a mistake, therefore, to make a comparison of the graces that adorn the Christian's life and the requirements of God, together with the self-inspection which it involves, the only or even the chief ground of his assurance. It can only serve to confirm a conviction that is already more or less present in the mind, and in many cases adds little or nothing to the assurance of faith. Where faith is weak and does not reveal its vitality in the development of Christian graces and in the production of good works, there is no subjective basis for the comparison, and therefore no ground for the certitude of faith. And where faith is strong and vital and abounds in spiritual fruits, it carries an immediate assurance with it, which a