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...that you may know that you have eternal life

The Biblical Teaching Of Assurance

Article 2: Positions on Assurance

by Larry Harriman

In the first article in these series we talked about the importance of this issue of assurance. I presented to you what I believe the scriptures clearly teach on this subject. In this article I will give brief summaries of the various positions and their modern day adherents.

In upcoming articles, I will address these positions in more detail.

Here are the five main positions (understanding that there are some variations inside the camps):

This view holds the position that warnings in scripture against loss and falling away are do refer to authentic believers and are speaking about the loss of ones salvation. They believe however, that these warnings are only hypothetical situations that would never really occur.

This view holds the position that warnings in scripture against loss and falling away do refer to authentic believers and are speaking about the loss of ones salvation. They believe it is not only possible, but also an occurring fact that true believers fall away and loose their salvation. The Assemblies of God USA are one many proponents of this belief:

"Sin and unbelief are closely related. Sin jeopardizes faith, and loss of faith means loss of standing. Hebrews 3:12-14 bears this out. The writer warned the brethren against unbelief which will lead to a departure from the living God. He mentioned the deceitfulness of sin as the cause of unbelief and reminded them that we are partakers of Christ only if we hold the beginning of our confidence unto the end.

It is possible to believe for a while and in time of temptation to fall away (Luke 8:13). It is possible for the weak brother to perish for whom Christ died (1 Corinthians 8:11). It is possible for a name to be written in the Book of Life and then removed from the Book (Revelation 22:19)."
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This view has gone by many names most recently being labeled the "Lordship" view of assurance. Others have called this the "Test of Genuineness" salvation view. This view from the Protestant reformation till recently was known as the Perseverance of the Saints doctrine. It was one of the five main points of Calvinism. In 1988 a new label for this doctrine "Lordship Salvation" came as a result of a book by John MacArthur called "The Gospel According to Jesus". Here are some quotes from John MacArthur to clarify this position:

"Salvation by faith does not eliminate works per se. It does away with works that are the result of human effort alone (Eph 2:8)Biblically it is defined by what it produces, not by what one does to get it. Works are not necessary to earn salvation. But true salvation wrought by God will not fail to produce the good works that are its fruit (cf. Matt. 7:17)." ("The Gospel According to Jesus", John MacArthur page 39)

"Must we literally sell everything we have and take an oath of poverty in order to be saved? No. Nor do these parables teach that sinners must rid themselves of their sins before coming to Christ. They do mean that saving faith retains no privileges and makes no demands. It safeguards no cherished sins, treasures no earthly possessions more than Christ, clings to no secret self-indulgences. Instead faith begets a heart that longs to surrender unconditionally to whatever the Lord demands.

Eternal life is indeed a free gift (Rom. 6:23). Salvation cannot be earned with good deeds or secured with money. It has already been purchased by Christ, who paid the ransom with his blood. He has secured full atonement for all who believe. There is nothing left to pay, no possibility that our own works can be meritorious. But that does not mean there is no cost in terms of salvation's impact on the sinner's life. Do not throw away this paradox just because it is difficult. Salvation is both free and costly. With eternal life comes immediate death to self...That was what Jesus meant when he spoke of taking up one's own cross to follow him. And that is why he demanded that we count the cost carefully. He was calling for an exchange of all that we are for all that he is. He was demanding implicit obedience unconditional surrender to his lordship." ("The Gospel According to Jesus", John MacArthur page 147)

"Faith that does not result in righteous living is dead and cannot save (James 2:14-17)." ("The Gospel According to Jesus", John MacArthur page 29)

The "Means of Salvation" view is a relatively new view of assurance. It was first presented in a book called "The Race Set Before Us" published in 2001 and authored by Thomas Schreiner (Southern Baptist Seminary) and Ardel Caneday of Northwestern College. The major difference between this view and the other four views is that it views salvation as a process rather than an event in a person's life.

Throughout the book, the theme of salvation being an "already and not-yet" fact is presented. The most radical concept of this new view of assurance (and really salvation) is that the "prize" spoken of in the New Testament does not refer to optional rewards believers may attain, but it actually speaks of our eternal salvation. Here are some quotes from their book, "The Race Set Before Us":

"We believe that God's promises have their own function, namely, to establish belief in the God who keeps his promises and to assure us the he is faithful to his people. Biblical warnings and admonitions are the means God uses to save and preserve his people to the end." ("The Race Set Before Us", page 40)

"Persevering in godly behavior and sound teaching are necessary to obtain salvation" ("The Race Set Before Us", page 51)

"Salvation is depicted as a future inheritance, not a present possession." ("The Race Set Before Us", page 51)

"good works and following Jesus(Rom 2:6-7;Mk 10:29-30) are also necessary to obtain eternal life on the last day." ("The Race Set Before Us", page 67)

"The Christian life is like a race, and we run to win a prize. Paul exhorts us in I Corinthians 9:24 to "run in such a way as to get the prize." To win the prize, believers must go into "strict training"(vs.25) and run diligently (vs.26). We must exercise discipline and perseverance so that we "will not be disqualified for the prize"(vs.27)." ("The Race Set Before Us", page 46)

"the prize to be won is nothing other than eternal life itself, entrance into the heavenly kingdom and final redemption. Nothing less than our eternal inheritance is at stake, and thus the issue of perseverance is weighty indeed." ("The Race Set Before Us", page 86)

"Without discipline one cannot be godly, and without godliness one cannot gain the eternal life of the age to come." ("The Race Set Before Us", page 108)

"Belief in Jesus Christ entails denying oneself both gratification of sinful appetites and any pleasure, though not evil in itself, that steals affection for Christ. One who believes in Jesus Christ picks up one's own cross, an instrument of death to sin, and follows after him. Apart from denying ourselves and putting sinful desires to death, we will lose our souls." ("The Race Set Before Us", page 135)

The Loss of Rewards view is the view I am closest to. One of the major proponents of this view today is Charles Ryrie. The main proposition of this view is that Salvation is a completely free gift. The only thing a Christian can loose due to a lack of works or sin are rewards in heaven. I would add to this that I believe a Christian could loose his life (God could take him home early) for direct rebellion against God as a Christian. I also would add that I believe we can loose the joy of salvation here on earth because of unrepentant sin or not following the will of God as a Christian. Ryrie and others who hold to this view at Dallas Theological Seminary call themselves the "Free Grace Movement". MacArthur lovingly calls their teachings "cheap grace" and "easy-believism".

Another major difference in the Loss of Rewards view verses most of the other views is that repentance is seen as a change of mind about Jesus Christ as Savior. I would add that it is a change of mind about our state that we are sinner, and then changing our mind about Christ as our Savior. It is not turning from sin as many of the advocates of the other positions assert. They say that not only must we acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a savior, but that we must also turn from our sin to receive the gift of eternal life. But if we must do something to receive it, even turning from our sin, would it still be a gift? But even when it comes to their belief that we must turn from our sin in order to receive the gift of salvation ,they are very ambiguous as to what that means. Must we completely turn from our sin? (that would be perfection) or must we mostly turn from our sin?

My position is that turning from sin is not a precondition to salvation, only the acknowledgement of our sin is. We can never truly turn from our sin while we are in these sinful bodies. But we are encouraged and exhorted to live holy lives throughout the scriptures not because we fear we will loose our salvation, but because we will loose our reward and dishonor our savior. Love is the motivator not fear. Salvation is either completely free to us, or costs us something, it cannot be both.

Ryrie and I agree with MacArthur and Schreiner that true salvation will result in fruits being produced. But where we disagree is as to the quantity and the visibility of these fruits.

I agree for the most part with Ryrie with some exceptions. A major issue we disagree on is that I do not believe a true believer can ever really stop trusting in Christ as his Savior - Ryrie does. I think it is possible though, for a Christian in a moment of fear, to deny Christ just as Peter did, but this denial was not heart felt and Peter still trusted in Christ as his Savior even during his fearful denial. A Christian can even get mad a God and say he does not believe in Christ anymore, but if he has truly been born again he can never loose that belief in the depths of his heart. There are some other finer points where I would disagree with his position as well but that is the major sticking point.

Here are some quotes from Charles Ryrie to demonstrate the Loss of Rewards view:

"Every Christian will bear spiritual fruit. Somewhere, sometime, somehow. Otherwise that person is not a believer. Every born-again individual will be fruitful. Not to be fruitful is to be faithless, without faith, and therefore without salvation" (So Great Salvation, page 45)

"Having said that, some caveats are in order. One, this does not mean that a believer will always be fruitful ... Two, this does not mean that a certain person's fruit will necessarily be outwardly evident ... Three, my understanding of what fruit is and therefore what I expect others to bear may be faulty and/or incomplete. ... Nevertheless, every Christian will bear fruit; otherwise he or she is not a true believer" (So Great Salvation, page 45).

"Second, there is a repentance that is unto eternal salvation. What kind of repentance saves? Not a sorrow for sins or even a sorrow that results in a cleaning up of one's life. People who reform have repented; that is, they have changed their minds about their past lives, but that kind of repentance, albeit genuine, does not of itself save them. The only kind of repentance that saves is a change of mind about Jesus Christ. People can weep; people can resolve to turn from their past sins; but those things in themselves cannot save. The only kind of repentance that saves anyone, anywhere, anytime is a change of mind about Jesus Christ. The sense of sin and sorrow because of sin may stir up a person's mind or conscience so that he or she realizes the need for a Savior, but if there is not change of mind about Jesus Christ there will be no salvation" (So Great Salvation, page 94).

"Security never gives a license to sin, but at the same time sin does not cause us to lose our salvation" (So Great Salvation, page 143)

The next article in this series will be "The Gospel of Christ vs. The Gospel of John MacArthur".