Iv. The Foundation Of The Assurance Of Faith:
THE FOUNDATION OF THE ASSURANCE
OF FAITH a. The Promises of God IT WAS one of the great mistakes of the Pietism of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that, in seeking the assurance of faith, or of salvation, it divorced itself too much from the Word of God. The basis of assurance was sought, not in the objective promises of the Gospel, but in the subjective experiences of believers. The knowledge of the experiences that were made the touch-stone of faith, was not gathered from the Word of God, but was obtained by an inductive study of the subjective states and affections of believers. In many cases these were not even put to the test of Scripture, so that the true was not always distinguished from the counterfeit. Moreover, there were unwarranted generalizations. Individual experiences and experiences of a very dubious character were often made normative, were set forth as the necessary marks of true faith. The result was that they who were concerned about the welfare of their soul turned attention to themselves rather than to the Word of God, and spent their life in morbid introspection. It is no wonder that this method did not promote the assurance of faith that fills the heart with heavenly joy, but rather engendered doubt and uncertainty and caused the soul to grope about in a labyrinth of anxious questionings, without an Ariadne-thread to lead it out. This method of seeking assurance by looking within rather than by looking without, to Jesus
Christ as He is presented in Scripture, and by making the experiences of others, especially of those who are regarded as "oaks of righteousness" normative, has not yet been abandoned entirely in our own circles. Yet it is a most disappointing one. Archibald
Alexander in his Thoughts on Religious Experience quotes the narrative of a certain R—— C——, who makes the following pertinent statement: "I had spent much time in reading accounts of Christian experience, and those which lay down the marks and evidences of true religion, such as Owen on Spiritual-Mindedness, Edwards on The Affections, Guthrie's Trial of a Saving Interest in Christ,
Newton's Letters, Pike and Hayward's Cases of Conscience, etc. I also conversed much with old and experienced Christians, as well as with those of my own age. But all these having, as it seemed to me, very little facilitated my progress, and the evils of my heart seeming rather to increase, I hastily resolved to lay aside all books except the Bible, and to devote my whole time to prayer and reading until I experienced a favourable change." The sequel shows that he did not make that trial in vain; by the study of God's Word and prayer he was led into light.
The experience of R—— C—— points the way. If we would have the assurance of faith, the first great requisite is that we make a diligent study of the Bible, and more particularly of the glorious promises of forgiveness and salvation. After all it is only in the Word of God and in the living Christ, as He is mirrored in the Word, that we find the objective basis for the assurance of grace and perseverance to the end. The free promises of God are the foundation of our faith, and it is only on the strength of these that we place our trust in Christ as our Saviour. These promises are absolutely reliable and have their confirmation in Jesus Christ. "For how many so-ever be the promises of God, in him is the yea; wherefore also through him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us." 2 Cor. 1:20. Desiring to give the heirs of salvation full assurance in this respect, God even confirmed his promise by an oath, "that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." Heb. 6:18.
A real conviction of the truth of the promises inspires trust, and trust confidence, and these, in turn, are the sure foundation of a living hope. The promises are not only sure, but also unconditional, i.e. they are not conditioned by any work of man. This is a very essential
element in connection with the assurance of salvation. If they were not entirely gratuitous, they would throw us back upon our own works and thereby make assurance for the future impossible. Calvin says: "Therefore, if we would not have faith to waver and tremble, we must support it with the promise of salvation, which is offered by the Lord spontaneously and freely, from a regard to our misery, rather than our worth." Faith has no firm footing until it rests in the mercy of God. Moreover, the promises of God are all-comprehensive. They make provision for our natural life and for our spiritual needs; they hold out prospects of strength for the weary and of joy for the afflicted; they give the assurance of sufficient grace for the present, of perseverance to the end, and of future blessedness.
But promises do not necessarily constitute a sure foundation for faith and trust and hope. Experience teaches us that many promises fail.
Men are often very liberal with their promises, but soon forget about them, or simply ignore them, or find that they have promised more than they can accomplish. And doubly unfortunate are they who accept such promises in good faith, who trust to their fulfilment, and who pin their hopes on them for the future. It is quite evident that the real value of promises as a foundation on which to build depends on the reliability, the faithfulness, and the power of their author. And it is exactly when believers consider the Author of the promises on which they build the house of their hope, and then only, that they are in a position to evaluate them aright and recognize in them a foundation firm and sure. In their perplexity they may occasionally ask, "Hath God forgotten to be gracious?" Yet they may rest assured that He will never forget his people (Isa. 44:21), nor be unmindful of his covenant (Jer. 50:5). He cannot forget the promises made to his people. "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee." Isa. 49:15. Believers may and often do become unfaithful and ignore their covenant responsibilities, but in spite of the perversity of his children, God remains faithful to his covenant.
The Bible is full of assurances respecting the faithfulness of God. We
find a touching expression of it in the eighty-ninth psalm, verses 28– 34:
"My lovingkindness will I keep him forevermore, And my covenant shall stand fast with him.
His seed also will I make to endure for ever, And his throne as the days of heaven.
If his children forsake my law, And walk not in mine ordinances; If they break my statutes, And keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
But my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, Nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
My covenant will I not break, Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips."
It is hardly possible to find a stronger statement of the faithfulness of our covenant God than is found in Isa. 54:10, "For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall my covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah, that hath mercy on thee." But even the faithfulness of God would not be an absolute guarantee for the fulfilment of his promises, were there any power in heaven or on earth that could
thwart his gracious purposes. But our covenant God is the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth, the Ruler of the universe, who holds all things in the hollow of his hand, and has absolute control of all powers and principalities. In connection with the incredulous laughter of Sarah the Lord said: "Is anything too hard for Jehovah?"
The expected answer to this question is an absolute negative. Of Abraham we are told that he believed against hope. Though the fulfilment of the promise which he had received seemed to be a physical impossibility, he wavered not through unbelief, but was fully assured that what God had promised He was able also to perform. A similar faith finds expression in the words of Paul: … "for I know
Him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day." 2
Tim. 1:12.
Now the believer's trust in God and in Jesus Christ for the blessings of grace and the joys of salvation is based on the promises of their covenant God. These constitute the only objective foundation on which he can build. And the measure in which he trusts in Christ and thus appropriates the promises of the Gospel will, if all other things are equal, also determine the strength or weakness of the feeling of security that fills the heart, and the degree of the consciousness that his sins are forgiven, and that he is an heir of everlasting life. Isaiah says: "They that wait for Jehovah (i.e. who trust in Him and are confident that He will fulfill his promises) shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." 40:31. Mindful of the comforting significance of the statutes of the Lord, which are regarded as including his promises, the psalmist sings: "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." Ps. 119:54. Well may believers utter their joy in the words of the well-known hymn:
"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!