As a footnote to the previous post about assurance of salvation, God wants His children to know that we are saved. If that were not so, why is the following in the Bible:

1 John 5:11-13 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

There are four categories of assurance of salvation:

Not saved but believe you are saved.
Not saved and know you are not saved.
Saved and not know you are saved.
Saved and know you are saved.

#1 is the worst category to be in. Why? Because if you think you are saved, though you are not, there is a reduced chance that you will respond to the gospel, since you think you are already saved. Praise God that He still saves people out of this category. (I was once in this category.)

#2 is lost, which is not good, but because you know you not saved, it is more likely that you will respond to the the gospel.

#3 is a good category to be in because at least you are saved. However, it is not the best category to be in, since you lack the assurance of salvation God wants His children to have (1 John 5:11-13).

#4 is obviously the best category to be in because you are saved, and know it!

For more on assurance regarding how the saved can know they are saved, and how that assurance affects how one lives the Christian life, stay tuned.