Lesson 3: The Forming Power of Biblical Assurance

Note to class leader: Review Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 with these questions: What is the goal of every Christian? What are the three aspects of the journey of spiritual formation discussed in Lesson 2? Ask students who are willing to share their personal prayers from Lesson 2.

By the end of this lesson, the student should:

(1) Understand why assurance of salvation is important.

(2) Know the building blocks of assurance.

(3) Be able to articulate the gospel clearly – the foundation of assurance.

(4) Be able to answer the question: What is living faith?

(5) Understand the witness of the Holy Spirit.

(6) Pass the Ten Tests of Assurance.

Have you ever been lost? I have. I’ll never forget the time in the Philippines when a group of us missionaries and national pastors lost our way. We had concluded a Bible conference in a part of the Cordillera’s where there were no roads and decided to hike back out in the cool of the evening. The trek should have taken us four or five hours. After mistakenly taking a wrong path, however, we wandered around in the rain forest through the night for more than eleven weary hours. About halfway through the night, at least one adult member of our team sat down and cried! The rest of us certainly felt like it. The physical and emotional toll of being lost is beyond description.

Being lost, or even feeling lost, produces fear, insecurity, weariness, and defeat. Assurance, on the other hand, produces confidence, peace, and power. This is the effect of knowing! In the Christian life, spiritual certainty leads to enduring faith, spiritual confidence, and victorious kingdom living. Therefore, the journey of spiritual formation begins with assurance.

The image of God can be renewed in us only if the living presence of Jesus dwells in us.

After many years of ministry, I have discovered that many believers struggle with assurance. When the enemy steals our assurance of salvation, he will also steal our confidence and erode our faith. To struggle with assurance does not necessarily mean that a person is not saved, but it does mean that they are much more vulnerable to the attacks of Satan and of conscience. A lack of assurance will lead to timidity and fear rather than power and love and self-discipline.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”[1]

So, if we claim to be children of God, what is the basis of our claim? How do we know that we are who we claim to be? This is a vital question that you must know the answer to; for the enemy of our soul will do everything he can to accuse you,[2] devour you,[3] and to wreck your faith. Paul counsels us to test ourselves to see if we are of the faith.[4]

[1] 2 Timothy 1:7

[2] Revelation 12:10

[3] 1 Peter 5:8

[4] 2 Corinthians 13:5

Spiritual Formation Is Only for Those Made Spiritually Alive by the Holy Spirit

"The instant true faith is present in the heart of the believer, conformity to the image of Christ begins. We are becoming holy. If we are not becoming holy, then Christ is not in us and our profession of faith is empty."[1]

However, being formed into the image of Christ is only for those who have already been made alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Growth cannot happen without life – Jesus’ life! Spiritual formation cannot give us a new nature. Spiritual formation into the image of Christ is only possible because we have his new nature.

When the Scriptures call us to “walk even as he walked,”[2] or to “be imitators of God,”[3] or to “follow in his steps,”[4] they are not commanding this to spiritually dead people but to children of God who have been redeemed and made alive in Christ, and in whom the Holy Spirit now dwells.

Just as we wouldn’t think of walking into a graveyard and commanding dead corpses to become Christ-like, so we must not think that we can become Christ-like apart from new birth.

An example of new birth from Ephesians 4:25

Spiritual new birth opens the door to spiritual formation into the image of Jesus Christ. When Paul tells the Ephesian Christians to “put on the new man,” he goes on to say, “which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.”[5] In other words, Because God has created you into new men and women who are righteous and holy, behave like it. Paul follows this with, “Therefore, putting away lying, let each of you speak truth to his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”[6] The reason we can tell the truth is that we who were once dead in sins have been created spiritually by God. We already have the life of God within.

Another example of new birth from 2 Peter 1:4

Peter reminds us that through personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we are “given all things that pertain to life and godliness,”[7] and have been made “partakers of the divine nature,” and “escaped the corruption of the world.”[8] It is this divine nature implanted in our souls which makes the following possible:

"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love."[9]

Virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and godliness are all characteristics of the Lord Jesus which we may share in because we already have received the seed of the divine nature.

The question is, “Do you have God’s seed in your soul?” Are you born again?

An illustration from sports

I enjoy the game of golf, though I am not a very skilled player. What if it were possible for the world’s #1 professional golfer to enter into my body? And what if I willingly yielded control of my mind and body to his control? Would that make a difference in my game? Certainly!

Through faith in the gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ has come to indwell us by the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18), both as individuals and as the whole body of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:15). This indwelling means that the same power is at work in us as was at work in Christ (Ephesians 1:19; 3:20). This makes conformity to the image of Christ possible for every believer.

Spiritual Formation Involves the Cultivation of the Divine Nature within but Cannot Produce That Nature

We don’t produce the nature of God within our own hearts, but we must produce the conditions by which his nature will grow to maturity.

We can’t produce the nature of God in ourselves, for it has been planted in us by grace through the Holy Spirit. But, we must produce the conditions and plant the seeds by which the nature of God – the life of Jesus – will grow to maturity in our character.

We can’t produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Paul said that this fruit is “the fruit of the Spirit,” not our fruit. But, we must exercise ourselves to do the walking necessary for the Holy Spirit to produce it. “Walk in the Spirit,” Paul urges us (Galatians 5:16). Walking speaks of a conscious choice, of attentiveness to the Spirit’s direction, and to a degree of effort.

The farmer has no power to produce even one kernel of corn, but everyone knows that a farmer is a very busy man. He fertilizes and cultivates the soil.[13] He plants the seed. He pulls up the weeds which threaten to suffocate the young seedling. In short, the farmer does everything he can to create the conditions for an abundant harvest. Every Christian is the farmer of his own soul. If the spiritual virtues of love, patience, kindness, and self-control are not growing to maturity in our character, it is not God’s nature within that is defective, but the attentiveness of the farmer. How attentive are you to the cultivation of God’s “seed” within you?

Two Deadly Extremes to Avoid: Eternal Insecurity and Unqualified Eternal Security

I would like to acknowledge two deadly extremes circulating today – eternal insecurity (a “Christian” can never be secure) and unqualified and unconditional eternal security (a “Christian” is secure even when his life bears no fruit). Both extremes are destructive to the gospel and to spiritual formation.

I believe there were some elements of eternal insecurity in the denomination I grew up in. The biblical emphasis on true repentance, careful obedience, heart purity, and godly behavior, when it was not carefully balanced with the biblical teaching of grace, led some to unhealthy introspection and despair. We were sometimes led to believe that any sin after salvation could cause one to lose his salvation, and little hope was offered to those struggling with the besetting sins of spiritual youth.

I remember after one particular school revival, where most of my friends and I had “gotten saved” again, we determined to try our best to “stay saved this time!” What we meant was that we wouldn’t sneak and watch bad movies on the neighbor’s television, argue with our siblings, disregard the school rules, disobey Mom and Dad, or think bad thoughts! We would do our best not to sin! We would be very, very careful, because as far as we knew salvation was a very fragile thing which could be easily lost. Though we put forth a valiant effort to be true Christians, after about two weeks we finally decided that it was just too hard and gave up! We even felt a sense of freedom now to misbehave, and we knew that there would be other revivals where we could get “saved” all over again. Maybe someday we’d be good enough to stay saved, we thought; but deep inside we doubted it.

When faith and assurance is in oneself and not in Christ’s merit and accomplishment at the cross, the result will be insecurity. When one’s faith is in his righteous works, rather than Christ’s righteousness at work in him, he will falter. When good works, rather than grace, become a means of salvation rather than the fruit of salvation, the good news will become bad news.[14] Constant self-evaluation apart from Christ-centered faith leads to defeat, then despair, and then to spiritual shipwreck. Eternal insecurity is as deceptive and destructive to faith as unqualified, unconditional eternal security.

On the opposite extreme there is unqualified eternal security – “salvation” or “forgiveness” without regeneration. The Bible absolutely teaches that believers are secure, and that their security rests, not in themselves, but in Christ’s finished work. But there are multitudes today who have been taught that one can be justified or forgiven without being regenerated or made new. They are taught this even though the Scriptures are abundantly clear that trust in Christ brings “newness of life” to them that were dead.[10] Because of this erroneous teaching, many are careless concerning righteousness, numb to conviction, and blind to their true spiritual condition.

One radio conversation between a popular Bible teacher and a caller illustrates this sad reality. The caller said something like this: “Sir, I accepted Christ when I was a child, but I drifted away from the church and for many years now I’ve been living a life of immorality. I’ve been on drugs, committed adultery many times, and even spent time in prison. Do you think I’m still saved?” To this the Bible teacher replied, “Well, if you truly accepted Christ when you were a child, then no matter how wicked you’ve become, you are indeed on your way to heaven and you can never get off that road.” That was it. No warning. No loving rebuke. Just encouragement.

After I heard this conversation serious questions came to my mind:

• How could anyone biblically justify offering assurance to a man living in willful sin?
• Do biblical authors ever offer assurance of salvation to one presently living in disobedience?
• Do the writers of the New Testament ever seek to assure one practicing sin?

Never! In fact, Jesus warns: “Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.”[11]

Paul urges professing Christians to assume nothing: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified.”[12]

Many professing believers do not fully understand the gospel. They believe that God has forgiven them through Jesus’ death on the cross, but they can’t explain how. A person can be saved without a full understanding of the gospel; confidence and assurance will be strengthened through knowledge. Because they lack understanding, many Christians find themselves unable to resist the accusations of the Enemy. They are sometimes overcome by doubt and despair. This is not how God intends us to live. 

[1] Ligonier Ministries, “Conforming to the Image of Christ.” (Originally published in Tabletalk Magazine.)  Retrieved from https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/conforming-image-christ/ September 18, 2020.

[2] 1 John 2:6

[3] Ephesians 5:1

[4] 1 Peter 2:21

[5] Emphasis added.

[6] Emphasis added.

[7] 2 Peter 1:3

[8] 2 Peter 1:4

[9] 2 Peter 1:5-7

[10] 1 John 5:12; Ephesians 2:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17

[11] Matthew 7:21

[12] 2 Corinthians 13:5

[13]Spiritual Formation will help us learn how to cultivate the soil of our hearts that the image of Christ may grow up in us.

[14]“Flowers do not bring spring, but you cannot have spring without flowers. It is not the birds that bring the summer, but you have no summer without birds. It is not righteousness that saves me, but salvation brings righteousness.”
– A.W. Tozer

► Take the Assurance Test and evaluate how well you understand the gospel.  Feel free to use your Bible.

Click here to download a PDF of the Assurance Test.

(The Assurance Test and the Assurance Test Key are found in the Appendix for future reference.)

There are three building blocks of assurance we want to discuss now:

1. Faith in the finished work of Christ, affirmed by
2. The faithful witness of the Holy Spirit and
3. The fruitful walk of the Christian.

In the following pages, we’ll examine these more closely.[48]

We Find Assurance through Faith in the Finished Work of Jesus Christ Alone

The solid foundation of saving faith is not rooted in the changeableness of our emotions, the fallibility of our experiences, or the inconsistency of our spiritual performance but on God’s unchangeable and eternal work of redemption.

Feelings and experiences are wonderful in the Christian life, but they are also inconsistent, diverse, and unreliable. Even false religions can provide spiritual experiences, for “the angel of light” is a master counterfeiter.[1]

Righteousness is the result of salvation, but even the greatest saints have experienced moments of failure. Our salvation is based on something much more reliable than ourselves, our emotions, and our experiences: the truth of the gospel.

We are told that when a pilot flies through clouds, he must not trust his senses, but his instruments. In the same way, when believers pass through spiritual storms, we must not trust ourselves, but the Word of God.

My father told me of a hunter who became disoriented in the forest; though he had a compass, he would not trust it. Sadly, after several days of searching, authorities found him dead. The Word of God is the compass of salvation we must trust.

What is Christ’s finished work?

What do we mean by the finished work of Jesus Christ? It means I must be saved through his name alone,[2] that Jesus died as my substitute, paying the penalty of my sin which was death:[3]

• Jesus became my substitute man. Since man sinned, man had to pay the price. Jesus became man (the God-man) to take man’s place in judgment and to reconcile man to God.[4]
• Jesus shed his sinless blood as the atonement for sin.[5]
• Jesus bore our sin in his own body, becoming the perfect sin sacrifice.[6]
• Jesus became separated from his Father and bore the wrath our sins deserved, so that we would not have to be eternally separated from God.[7]
• By faith in Jesus’ death for sin, our old life of sin passed away with him.[8]
• By the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we, too, have been raised to newness of life.[9]
• By his resurrection, Jesus conquered sin, death, and every evil power; and by faith, this same resurrection power is at work in us.[10]
• By the resurrection, the Holy Spirit imparts new life to those who were dead in trespasses and sins.[11]
• Christ in us is “the hope of glory.”[12]
• Salvation means that we have become a partaker of the divine nature[13] and that our life is now hidden with Christ in God.[14]

Those who believe the gospel are saved by faith alone in this message, not by their efforts to please God.[15] The faith that saves us is the same faith which preserves to the end.[16]

We must come to the place in our Christian life where all our confidence for all eternity rests in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross alone. Good works are the fruit of salvation but never the source, just as a husband’s acts of kindness toward his wife are never the basis of their marriage covenant but the fruit of it. In our Christian lives, as in our human relationships, our love is imperfect, our performance often flawed, and our experiences sometimes disappointing.

I’ll never forget the story one of my professors in Bible college told about two of his students. This lovely couple fell in love, eventually were engaged, and a date was set for the wedding. The wedding came, the ceremony was beautiful, and their vows were repeated with sincerity and emotion. A few hours later, this newly married couple became terribly sick with food poisoning (as I recall the story) and spent their honeymoon in the hospital!

“Was the couple any less married because of how they felt in the days after their wedding?” my professor asked our class. Of course, we knew the answer. Marriage, like salvation, is based on an unchangeable promise, or covenant, and not on unreliable emotions and experiences.

The nature of faith

If salvation is by faith, it’s vital to understand the nature of this faith. The Word of God clearly teaches that faith which saves is a living faith. Faith is trusting Christ now! Living faith trusts Christ’s work of redemption today. Living faith permitted God to save in the past and to keep on saving us in the present. Living faith will show evidence. “Dead faith” is faith without works –  the faith that even demons have.[17] We see living faith in the following verses:

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”[18]

“Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed at the last time.”[19]

From these passages, and many others, we learn the following about living faith:

(1) Living faith is sincere – it comes from “a true heart.”

A sincere believer enjoys a clear conscience. He is not a sinless believer, but one who has been “sprinkled from an evil conscience.”[20]

A sincere believer is a humble believer. He is no longer hiding or covering sin. If the Word of God convicts him of “missing the mark” spiritually, he confesses it and refuses to live in hypocrisy.[21] A sincere believer receives the painful discipline of God as from a loving Father.[22] This pain is also a sign of true life.

A sincere believer practices obedience.[23] A professing believer who habitually disobeys God is called a liar.[24]

(2) Living faith produces assurance – “full assurance of faith.”

Assurance begins with knowledge of the gospel[25] which is the basis of assurance. Understanding and assurance is a strong defense against doubt, fear, temptation, and the accusing lies of the devil.[26]

(3) Living faith is faith which is preserved by the power of God – “kept by the power of God through faith.”

This word kept means to defend as in a castle or fortress. God’s divine power through faith defends, preserves, and will ultimately lead us to heaven. Believers with living faith look to Jesus as the “author and finisher” of that faith.[27] He is the One who started a good work of salvation in them and will bring it to completion.[28]

Let’s be very, very clear: all grace for this spiritual journey comes from God. He is “able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”[29] God only needs a channel of genuine faith to pour his grace through. Through God’s power, appropriated by faith, we receive the grace which preserves our souls unto eternal life.

(4) Living faith is faith which perseveres. If keeping depends upon faith, then faith is always present tense.

Jesus and every New Testament writer plainly taught that true faith is faith which perseveres:

“If ye continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel.”[30]

“The just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”[31]

“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.”[32]

Biblical faith is a present tense faith which clings to Christ as its only hope of salvation.[49] Especially in those moments when we fail, we must plead the cross, even as we repent. If moving away, drawing back, or letting go of faith in the gospel were not a frightening possibility, why would the New Testament writers warn us so strongly? We must examine our faith.

The result of saving faith

Living faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ brings us into union with him.  When we are saved we are spiritually united with Christ and become part of his body, or church.  The moment we are saved, a number of wonderful things happen:

► Have the students read the verses corresponding to these points. Which one of these truths is most precious to you right now?

1. We are justified. Through faith in the redemptive work of Jesus, God the Father now freely declares us righteous – just as if we’d never sinned.[33] The Bible also teaches that at the moment of saving faith God “imputes righteousness apart from works.”[34]
2. We are made alive. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we are made spiritually alive, or born again.[35] Through the cleansing of Christ’s blood[36] and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,[37] the guilt and stains of our sin are washed away.
3. We are sanctified. God now calls us holy! In other words, he sets us apart unto himself. We now belong to him alone.[38]
4. We are reconciled to God. Through the sacrifice of himself, Jesus brought a holy God and sinful man back together. Now we are no longer enemies of God, but friends.[39]
5. We are adopted into God’s family. God has made us his own sons and daughters with all the rights and privileges of this Father-child relationship.[40] Through faith in the finished work of Christ, we become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
6. We are promised an inheritance. This inheritance will not fade away and is reserved in heaven for us.[41]

We aren’t aware of all this grace the moment we are saved; but as we grow in our understanding, these truths will become more and more precious to us, and we will become more and more faithful to this new identity when we focus on it.

Living faith then yields assurance.

A certain man once wrote to John Wesley claiming that believing one could lose salvation could lead believers into despair. This man exclaimed to Wesley, “If [this be] so, then farewell all my comfort.” To this the passionate heart of Wesley responded:

"My comfort stands, not on any opinion, either that a believer can or cannot fall away, not on the remembrance of anything wrought in me yesterday; but on what is today, on my present knowledge of God in Christ, reconciling me to himself; on my now beholding the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; walking in the light as he is in the light, and having fellowship with the Father and with the Son. My comfort is that through grace I can believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit doth bear witness with my Spirit that I am a child of God. I like comfort in this and in this only, that I see Jesus at the right hand of God, that I personally for myself, and not another, have a hope full of immortality, that I feel the love of God shed abroad in my heart, sin being crucified to me. My rejoicing is this, the testimony of my conscience, that in simplicity and sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God I [live my life] in this world. Go and find, if you can, a more solid joy; a more blissful comfort this side of heaven. If you take up with any other comfort short of this, you lean on the staff of a broken reed, which will not only not bear your weight, but enter your hand and pierce you."

What Wesley is saying is that true saving faith is not past, but present. It is alive. Biblical faith is a daily looking to Jesus and a daily experience of his grace. Do you have this faith?

We Find Assurance through the Faithful Witness of the Holy Spirit

The second building block of biblical assurance is the witness of the Holy Spirit.

"For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."[42]

Biblical assurance comes through the witness of the Holy Spirit that we are now sons and daughters of God. This is the internal confidence and spiritual consciousness that we have been forgiven and born of God.

The biblical concept of redemption and adoption is a wonderful truth. Slavery was a sad reality in New Testament times. But we are told that through the payment of a determined price, slaves could be redeemed and become free men. After purchasing the freedom of a slave, the redeemer could then adopt him or her as his very own child and heir of all he possessed. Adoption completed the redemption process.

The Bible says that when we were still unconverted we were slaves. Our master was sin. By shedding his own blood, Christ paid the price of our redemption from sin, breaking its power to enslave us, and has adopted us as his very own sons and daughters. By faith we are now “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”[43] The confirmation of this spiritual transaction is what the Bible calls the witness, or testimony, of the Holy Spirit. It is an inner awareness that we are now a beloved child of God.[44] God is no longer an enemy or stranger, but One whom we know increasingly as “Abba Father!” – one with whom we relate at a most intimate level.[45]

An intimate relationship with God is one of the most important building blocks of spiritual formation. Are you enjoying this testimony of the Holy Spirit? Have you ever realized how much God wants you near him? Do you understand the price God was willing to pay so that you and I could be close to him? Do you know how much God wants to bless you and to lavish his grace on you?

We Find Assurance through the Evidence of a Fruitful Christian Walk

The third component of biblical assurance is a fruitful walk with God. Though we are saved by grace through faith alone and kept by grace through faith alone, yet saving faith is never alone. Every true believer will be able to identify clear evidence in their character and life. True believers will show their faith by their works:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”[46]

“But do you not know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”[47]

Jesus taught that a fruitful Christian life is the evidence of true discipleship (John 15:8). If one’s life is not characterized by fruitfulness it is a sign of spiritual death.

[1] 2 Corinthians 11:14

[2] Acts 4:12

[3] 2 Corinthians 5:21

[4] 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:19

[5] Hebrews 9:22

[6] 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:5-6

[7] Galatians 3:13; Matthew 27:46

[8] Romans 6:6

[9] Romans 6:4

[10] Ephesians 1:19-21

[11] Ephesians 2:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17

[12] Colossians 1:27

[13] 2 Peter 1:4

[14] Colossians 3:3

[15] Ephesians 2:8-9

[16] 1 Peter 1:5

[17] James 2:14-20

[18] Hebrews 10:22, emphasis added.

[19] 1 Peter 1:4, emphasis added.

[20] See also Acts 23:1; 24:16; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 1 Timothy 1:5, 19

[21] Matthew 6:12

[22] Hebrews 12:5-11

[23] John 8:31; 15:10

[24] 1 John 2:3-4

[25] 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Colossians 2:2

[26] Ephesians 6:17

[27] Hebrews 12:2

[28] Philippians 1:6

[29] Jude 1:24

[30] Colossians 1:23, emphasis added.

[31] Hebrews 10:38, emphasis added.

[32] 1 Timothy 1:19, emphasis added.

[33] Romans 3:24; 5:9

[34] Romans 4:6

[35] Ephesians 2:5; John 3:3

[36] 1 John 1:9

[37] John 3:1-8; Titus 3:5-6

[38] 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

[39] Colossians 1:21-22; Romans 5:10

[40] John 1:12-13

[41] 1 Peter 1:4; 5:4

[42] Romans 8:15-16; 1 John 4:13

[43] Romans 8:17

[44] 1 John 4:13

[45] Galatians 4:6

[46] Ephesians 2:10, emphasis added.

[47] James 2:20, emphasis added.

[48]“It is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure; that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of assurance.”
– Westminster Confession of Faith

[49]“For it requires the same merit and power of Christ’s blood to keep us clean as it did to make us clean.”
– Adam Clarke

The following are ten tests by which we may examine ourselves to see whether or not our faith is truly alive and bearing fruit (2 Corinthians 13:5).[14] While the finished work of Christ is the root of salvation, these ten questions help us examine the fruit of salvation:

(1) What do I do in secret?

Saved people experience a radically changed secret life. Salvation changes what you look at on the internet and what you do when no one is looking. If your secret life hasn’t radically changed, you may not be a changed person. In the saved man or woman rises a longing for a pure heart![1]

(2) Is there real repentance?

Salvation produces a humble, repentant heart ‒ not just at the moment of conversion, but whenever God convicts you of missing the mark spiritually. Peter, already a disciple for over three years, wept tears of grief after denying the Lord.[2] When Paul rebuked the Corinthians for wrongdoing, godly sorrow led them to repentance – a zealous turning from sin and a running to God![3]

(3) Do I have a love for Christ?

Salvation produces a strong affection for Jesus. Jesus said that if God is your Father you will love him.[4] No one has to wonder if they’re in love with someone, especially God. Love is that which thrills the soul. It’s that which we think about when we wake up in the morning and go to bed at night. It’s that which drives us. It’s that which makes us willing to sacrifice. It’s that which we live for.

(4) Do I love people?

The apostle John writes that the person who does not love people in very practical ways (like sharing our possessions) and with cross-like love is not of God.[5]

(5) Am I surrendered to God’s Word?

A surrender to the Word of God is one of the clearest signs of new birth. Jesus said that we are true disciples when we obey his Word.[6] And he said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven.”[7] Does God’s Word have authority on your life? Or, is it easy for you to ignore it?

(6) Where is my mind?

Salvation produces a change of mind. In Romans, Paul says that those who live according to the sinful flesh (non-Christians) set their minds on the things of the sinful flesh. This is death! But those who live according to the Holy Spirit (true Christians) set their minds on the things of the Spirit. This is life and peace.[8] Do you find yourself thinking more and more of God, of Scripture, and of heavenly things? A Spirit-filled thought life is a discipline, but it is also a result of a new nature.

(7) Are my idols being eradicated?

Through the prophet Ezekiel, God promised to sprinkle clean water on sinners, cleanse them from all their filthiness and idols, give them a new heart and a new spirit, replace their heart of stone with a tender heart, and put his Spirit within them so that they will keep his Word.[9] Has he done this in your life? Is he still doing this in your life? God is jealous for your love and affection; and if you are his child, he is eradicating everything which competes for that love.

(8) Am I a new creation?[15]

Do others see changes in me? Becoming a Christian is passing from spiritual death to spiritual life. No one rises from the dead without it becoming known! You are not raised from the dead unless other people have noticed the change God’s grace has wrought in you.

(9) Do I trust Christ?

A heart which radically trusts Christ is strong evidence of salvation. True believers trust Christ not only for eternal salvation but for everyday life, like food and clothing.[10] Do you find yourself willing to get out of the safe zone and walk to Jesus on the water, even when others misunderstand and misrepresent you? Do you trust him? Decisions you make show whom you trust – money, the arm of flesh, or Christ.[11] If you are a believer, then you are making decisions regarding your finances, your family, your health, your job and many other things which non-believers regard as foolish.[12]

(10) Do I see Christ and people in a new way?

True believers will see people differently. Paul said that from now on we no longer see people according to the flesh – according to their social or economic standing – but according to their spiritual standing – as people whom God loves and for whom Christ died and rose again.[13] Just as we no longer regard Christ as just an ordinary human being, so we now see our fellow believers for who they are – new creations reconciled to God. Do you see men differently than you once did?

[1] Psalm 139:23-24

[2] Luke 22:62

[3] 1 Corinthians 7:9-11

[4] John 8:42

[5] 1 John 3:10, 16-19

[6] John 8:31

[7] Matthew 7:21

[8] Romans 8:5-6

[9] Ezekiel 36:25-27

[10] Matthew 6:25

[11] 1 Timothy 6:17

[12] 1 Corinthians 1:27

[13] 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

[14]Adapted from a message by Pastor Tim Conway, “Am I Saved? 10 Tests of Assurance - Tim Conway.” Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/ September 18, 2020.

[15]“Even as an oak sapling is an oak, so a baby Christian is a Christian. But just as it would be ridiculous to call a bramble bush an oak tree, so it is ridiculous to call a man a Christian who has none of the characteristics of a Christian.”
- Unknown

Here are some spiritual formation questions to consider:

• Are you trusting right now in the finished work of Christ? Is your hope built on his sacrifice alone?
• Do you need to repent of trusting in your own efforts and righteousness to make yourself acceptable to God? Your own performance?
• Have you allowed your unreliable emotions or an awareness of failure to steal your confidence in the gospel?
• Do you enjoy the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit that you are a child of God?
• Are you learning more and more about the privileges and responsibilities of your relationship with God?
• Do you see the fruit of saving faith in your life? If you were charged in a court of law of being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Perhaps right now would be a good time for you to bow before the Lord. If you lack faith, believe and receive the gospel. Ask the Lord to help you trust Christ completely. If you’ve become aware of unbelief and sin, repent and ask the Lord for grace and mercy. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.[1]

[1] James 4:6

(1) Review the Assurance Test this week and give the test to at least three professing Christians before next class meeting. Be prepared to talk about the results of the tests during next week’s class.

(2) Take a test based on the material from this lesson.

(3) Spend at least thirty minutes this week reviewing this lesson, including the Scripture references, asking the Holy Spirit for insight.

(4) Record in your journal any specific changes that ought to be made in your life, as the Lord reveals them to you.

(5) Meditate on at least one Psalm in your daily devotional time, and record in your journal what the psalmist says about the nature and character of God.

(6) Record in your journal a personal prayer for spiritual transformation and growth based on this lesson.

(7) Practice using Dr. Brown’s Daily Prayer Guide in your daily private prayer.

(1) Retake the assurance test.

(2) What are the three building blocks of assurance discussed in this lesson?

(3) What are six results of saving faith?

(4) Name some of the fruits of true salvation.