V. The Absence And Cultivation Of Assurance:
deliberate comparison would not be able to make more sure, though it might render it more intelligible. Whatever assurance may be attained in this way, can only result from a true spiritual insight into the promises of God; from a self-examination that is performed with candid honesty, with great thoroughness, in a prayerful frame of mind, and above all under the illuminating influence of the Holy
Spirit; and from a conclusion that is based on a correct interpretation of the promises of God, and of such Christian graces as are clearly and unmistakably recognized as fruits of the Spirit.
Some object to this method of seeking assurance altogether. They claim that it directs believers to seek the ground of assurance within themselves, and thus encourages them to build on a self-righteous foundation. But this is clearly a mistake. Believers are not taught to regard their good works as the meritorious cause of their salvation, but only as the divinely wrought evidences of a faith that is itself a gift of God. Their conclusion is based exactly on the assumption that the qualities and works which they discover in their life, could never have been wrought by themselves, but can only be regarded as the products of sovereign grace.
THE ABSENCE AND CULTIVATION OF
ASSURANCE
a. The Absence of Assurance
"THIS infallible assurance," says the Westminster Confession, "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."
These words embody the objection that is often raised to the position that assurance is of the essence of faith. The argument is that, if it were, believers would be sure of being in a state of grace, and consequently also of their future salvation, from the very moment of their accepting Jesus Christ as their Saviour. But both Scripture and experience teach that in reality the situation is quite different. The Bible contains examples of saints that are lost in a maze of perplexities and are struggling with doubt and uncertainty; exhorts believers to examine themselves as to whether they are in the faith; and urges them to strive for the full assurance of faith and hope.
Moreover, experience teaches us that there are many serious-minded people, who lead a truly Christian life and thus give evidence of sharing the life of the Spirit, and nevertheless grope about in uncertainty and hesitate to affirm that they are children of God and heirs of eternal life. Sometimes even those who had apparently obtained a sure footing in the promises of God, who experienced a temporary assurance, and rejoiced for a season in the hope of salvation, are cast back upon the waves of doubt and find reason to cry out:
"But ah! too soon my fears return, And dark mistrust disturbs anew; What smothered fires within yet burn!
My days of peace, alas, how few!
These heart-throes,—shall they ne'er be past?
These strifes,—shall they forever last?
It would seem to follow, therefore, that faith does not always carry assurance with it, that believers may remain in doubt for a long time
and will perhaps never in this life enter into the light of Christian certitude.
We should bear in mind, however, that they who assert that assurance belongs to the essence of faith, generally want it clearly understood that this does not imply that all believers at once, or at least after a very short time, enjoy the full assurance of salvation; nor that, after this has been obtained, it may not be shaken and undiminished and even for a time appear completely lost in doubt and perplexity. Calvin fully admits and enlarges on this possibility.
And the Synod of Dort, no less than the Westminster divines, testifies to the fact that believers in this life have to struggle with various carnal doubts, and are not always sensible of the full assurance of faith and of the certainty of persevering. No other note is sounded by the Marrow-men of Scotland, who were accused of teaching and did actually teach that assurance is of the essence of faith. There are two extremes that should be avoided: on the one hand the position that it is possible to have a true living faith without any degree of subjective assurance; and on the other hand the standpoint of Jean de Labadie that no one is in a state of grace who does not have absolute assurance. Though there is a subjective certitude that is of the essence of faith, it is quite possible that a true believer will, for a considerable time, lack the consciousness of this blessed assurance.
This will hardly be fully understood without bearing several distinctions in mind. In the first place it is necessary to remember that assurance is not always of the same kind. We should distinguish between the assurance that is implicit in faith and that which becomes explicit in consciousness. The former may be merely a general sense of security, of which the believer does not even give himself a clear account, and that does not yet give him courage to say that his sins are forgiven, or that he is a child of God and an heir of eternal life. At the same time it is of the utmost importance, because it is the germ of all further assurance. Quite different from this assurance that is involved even in the first act of faith, is the certitude
that results from the continued and ever increasing activity of faith, that gradually rises into clear consciousness and is often called "the full assurance of faith." It consists in the blessed certainty of the believer that he is incorporated into Jesus Christ, that his sins are pardoned, and that he is already in possession of a salvation that will issue in eternal glory. Though he who has accepted Christ by faith always has a certain sense of security in believing, however vague it may be, he may live for a long time without this full assurance of faith, an assurance that is firm even in the most adverse circumstances, and that enables its possessor to hope against hope.
It is already apparent from the preceding that we cannot make the distinction between different kinds of assurance without distinguishing between faith in its initial stages and faith in its more developed form. Just as a new-born babe is at once perfect in parts, containing all that is necessary unto the making of a man, so true faith is at once perfect in parts but not yet in degree. Scripture clearly teaches us that there are different degrees in faith. Christians are exhorted to exercise the gifts imparted to them "according to the proportion" (or, "measure") of their faith (Rom. 12:6). There are examples of a weak and of a strong, of a little and of a great faith. The disciples pray, "Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5), and Paul trusts that, as their "faith groweth," the Corinthians will have a more favorable opinion of him (2 Cor. 10:15). He gives thanks to God because the faith of the Thessalonians "groweth exceedingly" (2 Thess. 1:3). And the writer of Hebrews speaks of "babes" and "full-grown men," Heb.
5:13, 14. Now a little faith naturally carries with it but a small measure of assurance, while an abundant faith is marked by a certitude that fills the heart with a joyous hope. Experience teaches us that believers, as a rule, gradually grow into the full assurance of faith, though in cases in which they are brought to Christ by a sudden and tremendous change, they may experience a great measure of assurance at once.
Another distinction that should be borne in mind, is that between faith as it is in itself and faith as it is exercised by different believers
and in various circumstances of life. While faith in itself always includes a measure of assurance, it is possible to exercise faith in such a way that this element is not properly developed. There are some believers who stress the element of knowledge in faith at the expense of that of the trustful repose that is also essential to a well balanced faith. Some find it comparatively easy to lose sight of themselves and their works and to look only to Christ, while others are much given to introspection and habitually look in a direction in which no assurance can be found. There are those who are deeply conscious of the fact that their good works are in no sense meritorious, and who contemplate them exclusively as the fruits of faith; but there are also such as, perhaps unconsciously, proceed on the assumption that their salvation depends, at least in part, on their good works, and thus render assurance impossible. Again, there are
Christians that have their eyes fixed primarily on the threatenings contained in the Word of God, while others preferably dwell on the glorious promises of salvation in Jesus Christ. These differences are bound to result in different degrees of assurance. There may be various circumstances that rob the believer of the desired certitude of faith. A sense of great unworthiness may sometimes cause him to hesitate in the appropriation of the Gospel promises. Spiritual apathy may shroud his soul in a darkness that renders the joy of salvation impossible. Severe trials may fill his heart with doubts as to the goodness, the love, and the mercy of his God. And the direct assaults of Satan may rob him of the peace of God that passes all understanding.
It is quite possible therefore that a believer may go without the full assurance of faith for a long time. It is also possible for him to lose it again after he has possessed it for some time. The Bible testifies to this in recording some of the experiences of the saints. The poet of the forty-second psalm was evidently a man of faith; yet he found occasion to ask: "Why art thou cast down, O, my Soul? And why are thou disquieted within me?" David, the man after God's own heart, even said in his haste: "I am cut off from before thine eyes" Ps. 31:22.
Asaph debated within his soul respecting the mercy and faithfulness