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Section 10 Assurance We believe it is the privilege, not only of some, but of all who are begotten again by the Spirit through faith in Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, to be assured of their salvation from the very day they take Him to be their Savior, and that this assurance is not founded upon any fancied discovery of their own worthiness or fitness, nor hopeful self-reflection that they are "persevering" in faith, godliness or good works sufficient to "confirm" their salvation. Rather, assurance is wholly based upon the testimony of God in His written Word to whosoever believes (Luke 10:20; John 5:24; 6:47; 1st John 5:9-13; 2nd Timothy 1:12; Heb. 10:22). Accordingly, we deny that lack of commitment, lack of appreciation or other emotions, or lack of "fruit" constitutes proof that someone was "never really saved."
We believe that the numerous admonitions in Scripture for Christians to live a holy and godly lifestyle would be pointless if such changes were, within this lifetime, the automatic consequences of saving faith. We affirm that a life marked by holiness, godliness and good works can, and should follow regeneration, though not necessary to a firm assurance of eternal life (Luke 22:31-32; Ephesians 2:10; Titus 3:8). The ungrateful lepers remained cleansed in spite of their ungratefulness (Luke 17:11-19).
(a) Assurance and the Perseverance of the Saints Perseverance of the saints is defined herein as a doctrine taught within the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, Part 1 of the Second Part, Treatise on Grace, Questions 109-114; Early American Puritanism, and other sects, particularly within modern Reformed Theology. The false doctrine of perseverance holds, as its fundamental axioms:
1. That genuine believers will, in this lifetime, irresistibly and without exception, experience a visible and enduring fruit of faith and good works.
2. Therefore, serious or habitual sin would constitute proof that true conversion was never experienced - that the person was "never really saved."
3. Since at any moment anyone may backslide into serious or habitual sin, thereby "proving" that he was "never really saved", no one can be absolutely sure that they are saved.
4. Assurance of one's salvation therefore is not derived from one's certainty of his faith in Christ, but circumstantially from evidence of one's changed life. Assurance can never be absolute.
In view of the foregoing statements related to assurance, we believe that the doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints" is fundamentally incompatible with the doctrine of assurance, and therefore constitutes a denial of the doctrine of assurance.
We believe that sincere attempts to reconcile carnality with perseverance, by statements like, "the believer may fall away for a time, but the true believer will always return," imply that the carnal Christian is impervious to death when engaging in sin, the very opposite thing as taught in Scripture. As such, we believe the logical conclusion of the doctrine of "perseverance" is an invitation to carnality.
We believe that, when taken to its logical conclusion, perseverance of the saints is a form of justification by works, offering a forensic declaration that someone is truly saved only after a life of good works has preceded that declaration. We believe that this errant view of sanctification and assurance is often predicated on an errant view of the meaning and operation of "grace."
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