CHAPTER 18: Of the Assurance of Grace and of Salvation
(Parts Six and Seven)
This doctrine is often wrongly caricaturized by the phrase “once saved always saved.” The literal meaning of that phrase is altogether biblical. When God saves a person, He gives that person eternal life (John 10:27-29). Eternal, not temporary or provisional. God adopts that person as His child (Romans 8:14-17). He does not disown His children. Those He saves are the objects of His affection and nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39). And while opponents of this wonderful biblical doctrine admit that God will not abandon His people, they insist that we can abandon Him.
But doesn’t Romans 8:39 say that “no other created thing” can separate us from the love of God”? Are we not “created things”? Then we cannot separate ourselves from His love either.
The unbiblical understanding of the phrase “once saved always saved,” is that if a person recites some sort of “sinner’s prayer” he is guaranteed entry into Heaven even if he lives like Hell until he dies while he presumes he will go to Heaven. Nothing could be further from the truth. Salvation is not merely a ticket to Heaven. It is a new heart and new affections for the Lord Jesus Christ. Though Christians still sin, we cannot adopt a lifestyle of sin (1 John 3:6) without confession and repentance. Rather, when we sin we experience godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10) leading to confession and repentance.
(Part Seven)
One last point on the subject of the Perseverance of the Saints. While God wants all His children to have assurance of their salvation (1 John 5:11-13), new believers and those walking in disobedience cannot enjoy assurance, as does a seasoned saint who is walking with the Lord and has done so for some time.
Do not be confused. Salvation and assurance of salvation, though related, are two different things. True believers experience doubts from time to time, but the longer we walk with the Lord, the greater the assurance that our faith is lasting and therefore genuine. The longer one walks with the Lord, the fewer and farther between doubts become.
True believers can (and sometimes ought to) lack assurance, since living in sin is no way to enjoy the joy of one’s salvation. But when we have confessed our sins and sought diligently to repent of them, the joy of salvation found in assurance is ours once again.
But even in periods of doubt, the redeemed are no less redeemed, since our salvation was won on the cross by Jesus Christ. Our salvation is not based on our longevity in Christ, on our performance, or on either our confidence or our doubts.
Peter charges believers (2 Peter 1:10) to “make your calling and election sure.” How? By diligently adding to your faith: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (v.5-7). Only then can a child of God enjoy the fullest joy associated with the assurance of his salvation.