b. In the Confessional Period
calm never disturbed by any storms." He evidently intends to teach that, though faith contains and always retains the element of assurance, the believer does not always so exercise faith that he is constantly free from doubts and perplexities. In other words, that the sense, the feeling of assurance, increases and decreases with the rise and decline in the exercises of faith. b. In the Confessional Period If we turn to our Confessional Standards, we find that the Heidelberg
Catechism also takes the position that assurance is of the very essence of faith. Its classic reply to the question, "What is true faith?" is well known. "It is not only a certain knowledge whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in his Word, but also a hearty trust which the Holy Ghost works in me by the Gospel, that not only to others, but to me also, forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits."
This answer of the Catechism can be traced back to the Smaller Catechism of Ursinus, which, in turn, is dependent on his Larger
Catechism. In the former we read: "Faith is a strong assent by which we accept all that is revealed to us in the Word of God; and a sure confidence created by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of God's elect, whereby each one feels assured that, through the merits of Christ alone, remission of sins, righteousness and eternal life are freely given by God, only for the merits of Christ." This answer, as was said, may again be traced back to the Larger Catechism: "Faith is a firm assent to every Word of God, and a firm confidence, by which every one holds that forgiveness of sin, righteousness and eternal life are given him by God, freely, on account of the merits of Christ; and through confidence is an illumination in the hearts of the elect by the Holy Spirit, making us living members of Christ and producing in us true love of God and prayer."
There can be no doubt as to the standpoint of the Catechism on the question of assurance. It is even more evident from Ursinus'
Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, edited by his pupil, David Paraeus, which states that, where this confidence is not found, but rather distrust, despair, or constant doubt, there is no true saving faith; and declares it to be certain that they who believe also know that they believe. Moreover, it is perfectly clear that the Catechism's emphasis on the assurance of faith is in harmony with the general tenor of its teachings, and that it was determined by its opposition to the doctrine of the church of Rome. Over against the Roman Catholic idea that religion is fear, the Heidelberg Catechism sounds the joyous note that religion is a comfort. Its keynote is found in the precious answer to the first question, "What is thy only comfort in life and death?" "That I with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ, who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore by his
Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him." This note of personal assurance, sounded in the very first answer, recurs time and again, as appears from the following questions and answers: 21, 26, 28, 32, 39,
44, 52, 54, etc. Faith clearly stands forth as a trustful reliance on, an appropriation of Christ as the Mediator given of God, and as such carries with it a certitude that fills the heart with the joy of salvation.
The Canons of Dort were framed in opposition to the Arminians, who moved in the direction of Rome without going to the same extreme.
They granted the possibility of the assurance of being in a present state of grace, but denied that believers could be sure of their future salvation without a special revelation, and held that such assurance in believers generally would only lead to carnal security, and would be highly detrimental to a truly pious and holy life. On the other hand the Canons of Dort maintain that believers can, in their present life, obtain the assurance of their future salvation, and that they
actually enjoy this assurance according to the measure of their faith.
This would seem to imply that Christian certitude is of the essence of saving faith. They further assert that this assurance does not result from any special revelation, but is based on the promises of God in his Word, on the testimony of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers, and on the exercise of a good conscience and the production of good works as the fruits of faith. It is admitted that believers are not always conscious of this full assurance of faith and this certainty of persevering to the end, since this may be obscured by doubts and uncertainties; but it is also maintained that out of these spiritual struggles faith will again rise triumphantly to the height of assurance. Moreover, this assurance is regarded as highly desirable, since it does not minister to pride and carnal security, but is rather a source of humility, filial reverence, true piety, patience in tribulation, constancy in suffering and confessing the truth, and of solid rejoicing in God.
The Westminster Confession apparently sounds a different note, when it says: "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 a partaker of it: yet, being enabled by the Spirit to know the things that are freely given him of God, he may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of ordinary means, attain thereunto." Presbyterian divines generally interpret this to mean that, though faith carries with it a certainty respecting the truth of the promises of salvation in Christ, it does not include what is usually called "the assurance of salvation," or "the assurance of hope," i.e. the personal assurance of being in a state of grace, of having a saving interest in Jesus Christ, and of being an heir of everlasting life. But it is possible to put a different interpretation on the words of the Confession, as was done by the Marrow-men, who were accused in 1720 of teaching contrary to the doctrine of the Confession that assurance is of the essence of faith. It should be noted that the Confession speaks of a complex assurance, resting in part on the promises of God, and in part on the evidence of the inward graces wrought in the life of believers and the testimony of