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assurance in the elect is not the fruit of a special revelation, but springs from faith in God’s
promises, from the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and from the exercise of a good conscience and
the doing of good works, and is enjoyed according to the measure of faith. This certainly implies
that it belongs in some measure to the essence of faith. It is explicitly stated, however, that
believers frequently have to struggle with carnal doubts, so that they are not always sensible of
the assurance of faith. The Westminster Confession, speaking of the full assurance of faith,
asserts that this does not so belong to the essence of faith that a true believer may not have to
wait for it a long time. This has given some Presbyterian theologians occasion to deny that
personal assurance belongs to the essence of faith. Yet the Confession does not say this, and
there are reasons to think that it did not intend to teach this. The Marrowmen in Scotland
certainly gave a different interpretation of its position.[Cf. The Assurance of Faith, pp. 24-29.]
4. After the confessional period there were several departures from this position.
a. Antinomians considered this assurance to be the whole of the essence of faith. They ignored
all other activities of faith, and regarded faith simply as an intellectual acceptance of the
proposition: Thy sins are forgiven thee. De Labadie (Dutch theologian) recognized no one as a
member of the Church who was not fully assured.[Cf. Heppe, Geschichte des Pietismus, pp.
240-374.]
b. On the other hand a pietistic Nomism asserted that assurance does not belong to the very
being, but only to the well-being of faith; and that it can be secured, except by special
revelation, only by continuous and conscientious introspection. All kinds of “marks of the
spiritual life,” derived not from Scripture but from the lives of approved Christians, became the
standard of self-examination. The outcome proved, however, that this method was not
calculated to produce assurance, but rather tended to lead to ever-increasing doubt, confusion,
and uncertainty.
c. The Methodists aim at a methodical conversion that carries immediate certainty with it. They
place men before the law, cause them to see their utter sinfulness and terrible guilt, and
frighten them with the terrors of the Lord. And after they have thus brought them under the
terrifying influence of the law, they at once introduce them to the full and free gospel of
redemption, which merely calls for a willing acceptance of Christ as their Saviour. In a single
moment sinners are transported on waves of emotion from the deepest sorrow into the most
exalted joy. And this sudden change carries with it an immediate assurance of redemption. He
who believes, is also sure that he is redeemed. This does not mean, however, that he is also
certain of ultimate salvation. This is a certainty to which the consistent Methodist cannot attain
since he believes in a falling away of the saints.