Can A Believer Have Assurance of Salvation?
This question comes with much debate within the church. I remember growing up in church, and hearing the phrase, “Once saved, always saved” within my church tradition. I also remember going to a friend’s house to spend the night in which I also attended church with their family and discovered that many who walked down the aisle at the end of the service felt like they had lost their salvation and was getting saved again. This created a lot of questions for my young mind that was in immediate confusion trying to make sense how two churches, two seemingly faithful groups of believers, had come to completely different views regarding the assurance of salvation. This, inevitably, created a lot of doubts, particularly in my teenage years, where emotions run high, and reason is in short demand. As I attended youth revivals, some of the same teenagers year after year walked the aisle to give their life to Christ as if their commitment to Christ the last year either was not real or had somehow worn off. It created a personal skepticism in a lot of church meetings, such as evangelistic or revivalistic services, because it seemed too heavy on the emotional side of things and not enough on reason and commitment. Today, I believe both are essential in our relationship with Christ, but both have their proper place.
The purpose of this writing is to address the question, “Can a believer have assurance of salvation?” The Apostle John writes, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:12-13 English Standard Version). Without question, the Apostle John desires for his readers to understand that there is, in fact, assurance of eternal life through Jesus Christ the Lord. So, where do the questions come from regarding assurance? To answer this, we must begin with an understanding of faith itself.
The Question of Faith
Before addressing the question of faith, it is important to discuss what creates roadblocks to faith: doubts. There seem to be two types of doubt that every human can struggle with: Emotional doubt and Evidential doubt. Emotional doubt is more of an internal struggle in which many “feel” they have lost their assurance because it is rooted within an emotional scenario, such as, for example, committing a sin that they thought they never would have. It is a doubt driven by the emotions, in which emotions change, either for good or bad. It is for this reason that many doubt their salvation. The other type of doubt is more external and can be described as evidential doubt. This form of doubt is more in the way of an intellectual questioning of whether there seems to be significant proof of a particular claim. An example of this might be a doubt regarding the resurrection of Jesus until one begins to investigate the reactions of the early disciples, the credibility of the New Testament, the reaction of the antagonists, the explosion of the early church, and the fact that women were said to be the early eyewitnesses within all four Gospels. The original Gospel authors would not have put women in the story if this were a made-up claim, had it not been true, because women in that day were not credible witnesses. John, himself, was an original eyewitness (1 Jn 1:1-4). These, and much other evidence, point to the fact that a resurrection event concerning Jesus might be the best explanation.
Regarding faith, the Biblical definition of faith is a trust, a belief, rooted in evidence. It would not be described as a blind leap into the dark, but rather a reasonable stepping into the light. The book of Hebrews states that faith is one of proof and evidence (Hebrews 11:1). This understanding of faith pushes back on the often misunderstood, yet pop culture definition of faith, as a belief in something where there is no reason. The Biblical understanding of faith could be said to be in relationship with reason, not opposed to it.
Moreover, faith produces an action, such as repentance, not merely a statement of acknowledgement, but invokes a response in how one lives as proof that faith has really been established within the person. James, the half-brother of Jesus, speaks of a faith that calls the person to action, and any such understanding of faith that does not is pointless (James 2:14-26). Faith is a trust, a belief, rooted in evidence, like the scientific method, in which such trust, or belief, is rooted in the reasonableness of one’s research and conclusions to the evidence. Yet, it is not merely an exercise of the mind, regarding its rationality, but also of the will being submitted to the conclusions of the evidence as an exercise of the heart.
The Object of Faith
Now that a Biblical understanding of faith has hopefully been established. Faith must have an object. In other words, what is the thing that gives reason to exercise faith? Obviously, the Christian position is faith in none other than Jesus of Nazareth. It is in this area of our discussion that a lot needs to be said because many within Christian culture may be guilty of placing faith in a pastor, a famous preacher, a denomination, etc. The list could go on, but this is a reminder for all of us that nothing deserves to be the object of our faith other than Christ himself.
The uniqueness of Christ is the cornerstone for which there is good reason to place faith in Jesus of Nazareth. What Christianity offers in Christ, there are no close seconds from other worldviews/world religions. Christ is the special revelation of the unseen God of Scripture who is the Maker of Heaven and Earth (Col. 1:15-20). In Christ, God has come to us, which is essential. To give an illustration of this, if God and humanity were playing hide and seek, God can hide in places that are not accessible to humanity. Therefore, God must reveal himself so mankind may know and recognize him (Jn 1:1-14, Heb. 1:1-4). This is why Jesus demonstrated himself through signs and wonders (Mt. 14:13-36, Jn 1:48, 2:1-12). The purpose of these signs was to reveal that he, a true human, was Yahweh, the Creator. Christ, the perfect human, not only stepped out of Heaven for the sake of revelation, but also to bear the penalty of human sin so that an opportunity for reconciliation between God and man could be restored to what it once was in the beginning (Jn 4:26, 1 Cor. 5:21, Gen. 3:8, 1 Jn. 4:10). Christ is where the favor of God is, and God, through Christ, is inviting mankind into such a relationship to be, as the Apostle Paul put it, “in Christ” (Romans 8:1). In the same way, those outside the Ark in Noah’s day were not saved, so also, those outside of Christ when the judgment takes place will not be saved from the wrath of God (Mt. 24:36-41). Those who are not in Christ remain under the judgment of God, but those in Christ have the favor of the Almighty because of who Christ is (John 3:36).
The Assurance of Faith
This final section will specifically pertain to the assurance of faith, and how one can be certain of this assurance. Referring to the verses again in 1 John 5:12-13, the Apostle wanted his audience to be assured of their salvation. Why? Because God is good to his word, and the Bible describes Jesus as God’s word. Faith is not by works but is a gift that God freely gives to those willing to accept it (Ephesians 2:8-10). Moreover, now knowing that God’s favor is in Christ alone, it is vital to recognize whether one is, or is not, “in Christ.” Imagine Christ is like a bus traveling to the New World, in which only the bus enters through the gates. One cannot walk alongside the bus as if to slip in, nor speak highly of the bus from afar as to gain favor. No one enters except those who are in the bus. In the same way, only those enter into eternal life by being “in Christ.” Christ is not simply the way to eternal life, but he is eternal life (John 17:3). Sadly, many see Christ as simply the door mat to eternal life, but eternal life is Christ; therefore, he can say that because he lives, we too shall live, which gives assurance (John 14:19).
The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church to test themselves to see if they are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Here are three questions that may assist:
- What is the reason for which you question the assurance of faith?
- Have you placed faith in the one unique Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth?
- Are there signs within your life that would say you are within the faith?
The first question is really the place to start because it gets to the root cause of why one may be doubting. This analysis may reveal more of an emotional platform on which you doubt. Once you have sufficient evidence for faith, then going over the evidence often removes the emotional doubt because Christianity is the most rational choice for faith. As one grows in faith, the deeper the assurance.
Many, because of sin, doubt their salvation as if they could sin their way out of faith, but God already knows that we sin, which is the very purpose for which Christ came. A believer will never become sinless, but the closer to Christ one becomes, the less one ought to sin (1 Jn 3:4-6). God fully expects the believer to wrestle with sin when his Spirit resides within the believer this is why he offers forgiveness so that sin does not reign in the believer’s life (1 Jn. 1:9). The closer one gets to the light, the more sin will be revealed within each one, but the desire for sin to be revealed so that it may be eradicated is a sign that saving faith has come (1 Jn. 1:5-6, Jn. 3:19-21).
The second question is vital for true assurance because it ensures you are in the right “bus,” as stated a moment ago. Do you confess Christ as Lord? As John states earlier in his letter, those who confess Christ remain in him, and he in God (1 Jn 4:15). Only Christ is the way to eternal life because he is eternal life. This is why Paul encourages each person to test themselves to ensure the object of their faith is in Christ alone. Faith, itself, cannot save, but only faith in Christ. Christ is key! People have faith in many different things, but only faith in Christ brings with it the assurance of salvation. Jesus said that if one is in his hand, they can never be snatched out, and in Christ, they are also in the Father’s hand to never be snatched out (John 10:27-30). I believe if it were possible to lose salvation, as many debate from passages such as Hebrews 6:1-8, it would only be, not because they struggled and sinned against Christ, but because they willingly turned away from the source of salvation himself.
The final question is one of an existential nature, asking if present signs of Biblical faith are within one’s life. If, as Paul states, we test ourselves to see if Christ is the object of our faith, then we must also test ourselves to see if there are signs that Biblical faith is present within us. As John emphasizes that those who practice righteousness have been born of God (1 Jn 2:29). No greater proof of this, as stated earlier by John, is the question of a faith in action to love one’s fellow human (1 John 2:9). Furthermore, the signs of the Spirit, called the fruits of the Spirit, should be developing within the believer as one grows in their faith (Gal. 5:16-25).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Christ is the revelation of God’s love for humanity in which God seeks to drive away fear (1 Jn 4:18-19). If one has put their faith in Christ, then God has made himself vulnerable for us, the creature, to hold him accountable to his word. Who is the Word of God? Jesus of Nazareth is the Word of God (John 1:1, 1:14). In Christ, God has given humanity his word so that they may know, not hope, feel, or wish, but know through faith in Christ, they have eternal life because God is good to his word. In Christ is the eternal security of the believer.
