ents and ordinances
of the Lord blameless." Besides, the perseverance for which we plead
is a perseverance in holiness to the end; and how can this doctrine
have any tendency to make men careless about the commission of sin?
Add to this, that the more firmly the believer is persuaded that
nothing shall be able to separate him from the love of God, and the
more he feels the love of God shed abroad in his heart, the more
powerfully will he be constrained to live so as to promote the glory
of God.—2 Corinthians 5:14, 15.

The certainty of the saints' perseverance affords no encouragement
to any to neglect the means which God has appointed for their
preservation. "Watch and pray," said our Savior, "that you enter not
into temptation." "Beware lest you fall from your own
steadfastness;", said his apostle. "Look to yourselves, that you
lose not those things which you have wrought." The Scriptures abound
with such exhortations and admonitions; and they are greatly
mistaken who infer, from them, that the saints may fall totally and
finally away from grace. God deals with his people as rational
creatures, and these exhortations and admonitions are the very means
which he employs, and which he renders effectual, for preventing
their apostasy, and for promoting their final perseverance. God
works in believers, both to will and to do; but he requires them to
do their part while he is doing his. Let every Christian, therefore,
be "steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as he knows that his labor is not in vain in the Lord."



18. Of Assurance of Grace and Salvation

SECTION 1. Although hypocrites, and other unregenerate men, may
vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions
of being in the favor of God and estate of salvation; which hope of
theirs shall perish: yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus,
and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good
conscience before him, may in this life be certainly assured that
they are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the
glory of God; which hope shall never make them ashamed.

SECTION 2. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable
persuasion, grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible
assurance of faith, founded upon the divine truth of the promises of
salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these
promises are made, the testimony of the Spirit of adoption
witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God: which
Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to
the day of redemption.

Exposition of 18.1–18.2

By the "assurance of grace and salvation," treated of in his
chapter, is meant the believers assurance that he is "in the state
of grace," and has a personal interest in the salvation of Christ.
The statements on this subject are directed against certain errors
of the Church of Rome, and of the Arminians. The Church of Rome
denies that it is possible for any man in this life to attain more
than a conjectural and probable persuasion of salvation, except by
extraordinary revelation; and they build some of the most gainful
parts of their traffic upon that perpetual doubt and uncertainty,
with respect to their final salvation, in which they keep their
votaries, and which they profess in some degree to remove by the
prayers of the Church, the merits of saints and martyrs, and the
absolution which the priests pronounce in the name of God. The
Arminians, in consistency with their denial of the certainty of the
saints final perseverance, hold that it is not possible for any man
to attain a greater certainty of salvation than this, that, if he
shall persevere in the faith to the end, he shall be saved.

1. In opposition to these errors, our Confession teaches, that the
saints, without any special or immediate revelation, in the due use
of ordinary means, may attain, not merely a conjectural or probable
persuasion, but a certain assurance of their being in a state of
grace, and of their final salvation. This is confirmed by such
considerations as the following—1. In the Scriptures, Christians are
enjoined to examine themselves, and give all diligence to attain
this assurance. The Apostle Paul exhorts the Corinthians to "examine
themselves whether they be in the faith," and speaks of it as an
argument of something very blamable in them, not to know whether
Jesus Christ be in them or not.—2 Corinthians 13:5. The Apostle
Peter directs all Christians to "give all diligence to make their
calling and election sure", not to others, but to themselves; and
informs them how they may do this.—2 Peter 1:5–11. The exhortation
is addressed to them that have "obtained precious faith through the
righteousness of God, even our Savior Jesus Christ;" they are
directed to "add to their faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge,"
etc.; and they are informed, that by so doing, they would attain a
certain assurance of their calling, and election, and have a certain
admission into the everlasting kingdom of God in Heaven. This
direction is of the same nature with the exhortation of the Apostle
Paul to the Hebrews (6:11): "We desire that everyone of you do show
the same diligence, to the full assurance of hope unto the end."
These exhortations make it manifest, that Christians have the means,
without any special revelation, of assuring themselves of their
present piety and future safety. 2. The Scriptures exhibit many
marks or characters of genuine believers, by which they may be
certainly assured that they have believed to the saving of their
souls. "Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his
commandments." "Whoever keeps his word, in him truly is the love of
God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him." 1 John 2:3, 5.
"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love
the brethren." "Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall
assure our hearts before him." 1 John 3:14, 19. The scope of the
whole of that Epistle is, to propose such sure marks to believers,
by which they may "know that they have eternal life." 1 John 5:13.
3. We have many examples of the attainment of this assurance, in the
history of the personal experience of the saints. The saints
described in Scripture were in the habit of expressing their
assurance of salvation. "As for me," said David, "I will behold your
face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your
likeness." Psalm 17:15. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever." Psalm 23:6. "You shall guide me with your counsel, and
afterward receive me to glory." Psalm 73:24. Job, too, in the midst
of his accumulated afflictions, spoke the language of assurance: "I
know that my Redeemer lives," &c.—Job 19:25. The experience of New
Testament believers is still more plainly expressed. The Apostle
Paul may serve as an example. These are his triumphant assertions in
behalf of all the saints: "We are more than conquerors through him
that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall
be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord." Romans 8:37–39; see also, 2 Corinthians 5:1. Upon another
occasion he declares his assurance that be had believed in Christ,
and his full persuasion of his future felicity: "I know whom I have
believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I
have committed unto him against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12. So
confident was he who, when "absent from the body," he should be
"present with the Lord", that he expresses his willingness, nay, his
ardent desire, in consequence of his assurance, to be released from
the body, that he might immediately enter upon the heavenly
enjoyment: "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my
departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall
give me at that day." 2 Timothy 4:6–8; see also 2 Corinthians 5:8;
Philippians 1:23. These examples must be sufficient to establish the
general principle, that an assurance of salvation is in this life
attainable by believers.

2. This assurance is "founded upon the divine truth of the promises
of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these
promises are made, and the testimony of the Spirit of adoption
witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God." It is
not founded upon any of these things singly, but upon all of them
combined. The promises of salvation in the Word furnish us with the
distinguishing characters of true Christians, and infallibly assure
us, that all in whom these characters are found shall be saved. The
inward evidences of grace assure us that we possess these
characters; and we are then warranted to draw the conclusion, that
we are now in a gracious state, and "shall be saved with an
everlasting salvation." "Assurance is generally attained by a sort
of sacred syllogism, or reasoning in this manner—Whoever believes in
the Lord Jesus Christ is in a state of grace, and shall be
saved.—Acts 16:31; Romans 9:33. But I believe in him; therefore, I
am in a state of grace, and shall be saved. So long as we believe
the Scriptures of truth, the first of these propositions cannot be
called in question. All the difficulty respects the second, namely,
Whether we truly believe in Christ. For it cannot be denied, that a
man may think himself to be something when he is nothing, and so
deceive himself.—Galatians 6:3. As little can it, that the mental
eyes may be held, as sometimes the bodily have (Luke 24:16); and in
such a case, even he who fears the Lord must walk in darkness
(Isaiah 1:10); not knowing that he is in Christ, though he certainly
is. It is not sufficient that the man is conscious of certain acts,
as of faith, repentance, love to God and all his saints. In order to
reach the heights of holy assurance, he must be satisfied as to the
specific nature of these acts, that they are sincere, and not
hypocritical. But how he can attain to this, without the assistance
of the Holy Spirit, is inconceivable. He who gave him faith and
repentance, must also make him know the things which are freely
given him of God.—1 Corinthians 2:12. As the sun cannot be seen but
by his own light, neither can we know, but by the Spirit, that we
have the Spirit."

Some have taught, that every man who believes in Christ must be
immediately conscious that he does so; and that this consciousness
is the first evidence which a man has that he is in a justified
state. Our Confession is altogether silent concerning this evidence;
or rather, it plainly indicates, that this consciousness is by no
means an inseparable concomitant of true faith. This consciousness
is the same thing that many theological writers have termed "the
reflex act of faith." By this they meant a consciousness of the
direct act of faith, or a knowledge that one has believed, arising
from reflection. Now, by declaring that the "assurance of grace and
salvation" is not essential to faith, our Confession teaches that a
person may believe in Christ, and may be justified by his faith,
before he attain the assurance that he is in a justified state; or,
in other words, he may believe in Christ, and not be immediately
conscious that he has truly believed to the saving of his soul.
Faith admits of different degrees, and the evidence of it will be
proportioned to its strength. When large communications of the
Spirit are given, by means of which faith becomes very strong, then
it may carry along with it the most convincing evidence of its
truth. Doubtless the faith of many of the saints recorded in
Scripture, as of Abraham, the centurion, and the woman of Canaan,
was such as left no room to doubt of it. But this will not warrant
us to assert, that every believer must be instantly conscious of his
believing in Christ, and that his faith is sincere. "If faith
consisted merely in an assent of the understanding to the truth of a
proposition, on perceiving the evidence on which it rests, there
could be no doubt of the person being conscious or certain of it;
but if the heart be in any sense the proper seat of saving faith,
more uncertainty will attend the evidence arising from
consciousness. If no opposite dispositions to God and to the way of
salvation by grace existed in the soul, the matter would be very
easy; but that is not the case. The heart, in regeneration, is not
altogether delivered from the deceit occasioned by sin; so that it
constantly attempts to deceive and mislead the soul. There is not
one gracious spiritual disposition or exercise of the heart but may
be, in some degree, counterfeited by the mere working of natural
principles; and the remaining deceit of the heart may so operate as
to render it very difficult for the believer to discriminate the one
from the other. Many morally serious persons are deceived in this
way, mistaking those affections which they sometimes feel, and which
are excited by various causes, for the work of grace. It must,
indeed, be past a doubt, that the saving operations of the Spirit
must produce very different effects on the soul from any other cause
whatever; and, therefore, his work may certainly be discriminated
from every other. Still, however, considerable difficulty will
remain where faith is weak. Nor can it be otherwise, while there is
in the believer's members a law warring against the law in his mind;
and while the flesh lusts against the Spirit, preventing him from
doing the things that he would. Nor is the inference fairly drawn
from the case of the primitive Christians, who seemed to have no
hesitation about the truth of their faith, and declared readily that
they believed. Much larger measures of grace seem then to have been
given, and given to all, than are given in general, and since that
time."

There can be no question in regard to the reality of the witnessing
of the Spirit; for an inspired apostle expressly declares: "The
Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God." Romans 8:16. There are different opinions,
however, in regard to the manner in which the Spirit gives this
testimony. Some have thought that the Spirit witnesses the
believer's adoption by inward revelation, or by way of immediate
suggestion. "The Spirit," says one, "by himself, witnesses in a
distinct way from that which is by water and blood, by shedding
abroad the love of God upon the heart in a soul-ravishing way."
"This is evident," it is added, "from the experience of the saints.
Many of them have been brought to assurance in this immediate way;
and not merely by reflection upon marks, and signs, and
qualifications within, which is the Spirit's witnessing by water or
sanctification." The greater part of divines, however, concur in the
opinion, that the Spirit witnesses by means of his operations, or by
the effects produced by him in the heart