Lacking Assurance? Think on These Things

If you want to be totally encouraged today and feel secure and have surety, meditate on Chapter 17 of The Westminster Confession of Faith. It is astounding to think about God's grasp on those who are in the Beloved! I have taken the liberty to use the Modern English Version which you can find online. Read slowly and really think about what each point is communicating to you. Also, take the time to look up unfamiliar words.

Of the Perseverance of the Saints

1. Those whom God has accepted in his Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere in it to the end and be eternally saved.

2. The perseverance of the saints does not depend upon their own free will, but on the unchangeableness of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; on the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ; on the continuing presence of the Spirit and the seed of God within them; and on the nature of the covenant of grace. These are grounds of the certainty and infallibility of their perseverance.

3. Nevertheless, they may—through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the pervasiveness of the corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means by which they are to be preserved—fall into grievous sins and for a time continue in them. In so doing they incur God's displeasure and grieve his Holy Spirit; some measure of God's graces and comforts is taken from them; they have their hearts hardened and their consciences wounded; they harm others and give them occasion to sin, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.

Does assurance really matter?

"People who do not have the assurance of salvation, and doubt whether they ever can, tend to be self-centered, focusing on how to know they are saved or how to "keep" themselves saved.....On the other hand, when a person is assured of his salvation he may get on with living, growing, showing concern for others. He doesn't have to focus upon self." Jay Adams, Commentary on 1 John, pg. 210

Ponder and Post:
1.How do you see the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints impacting your daily life?
2. What would you recommend to a person who lacks assurance of their salvation to gain assurance?