It is not difficult to convince a truly gracious person that he is displeased with his sinful heart, thoughts and deeds; that he grieves in his heart about this; that he longs for God, for reconciliation with Him, to be at peace with Him, and to walk before His countenance in humility and godly fear; that he knows Jesus as Surety and Savior, desires Him, makes Him his choice, turns to Him, receives Him, surrenders to Him, and through Him goes to God in order thus to become a partaker of the benefits of the covenant of grace. A gracious person cannot deny that he finds within his heart an aversion for sin, sin being contrary to the will of God; that he has an inward desire to live holily before the Lord in a manner pleasing to Him; that this is time and again his goal, intent, and objective; and that he has occasionally enjoyed a sweetness and resting in God. Yes, an explicit presentation of these matters will function as a clear mirror in which he can perceive that these matters are to be found in him.
However, to convince and assure the truly gracious in this way that they are in the state of grace, and to cause them to rejoice in this, cannot be accomplished easily, for the special operation of the Holy Spirit is a requisite for this. “Now we have received … the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (1 Cor 2:12). The Spirit first bestows grace upon them; however, they then also need to have it shown to them that they have received this grace. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom 8:16). There are many gracious souls who, with Samuel, do not know the voice of the Lord. Even if they are possessors of true grace, they nevertheless do not perceive it within themselves. If they may perceive something, they then find so many arguments to the contrary that they do not dare to come to the conclusion that they truly have grace.
Some are not very much troubled about this. This can either be due to ignorance, or because they are subject to a poor ministry and lack guidance. They therefore do not know that one can be assured of his spiritual state. They occupy themselves with prayer, longing for Jesus and refraining from sin, hoping that they may acquire salvation. Others are despondent and do not know how they may attain assurance; they travel upon their way, oppressed by the power of their corruption. Others are drowsy and lethargic, and are not very much concerned about their state. Again, others are very much concerned about their spiritual state and live in much fear and anxiety.
Regardless of how much or little one may be concerned about his spiritual state, to be without assurance concerning his state prevents him from rejoicing in God, manifesting gratitude, and glorifying God; and it impedes spiritual growth. We shall present the nature and causes of this spiritual disease and endeavor to facilitate its cure.
We wish to premise this by saying that we are not addressing unconverted people who either know that they are indeed without grace, do not think about this, or who very easily pacify themselves and continually assure themselves of their salvation. We also are not addressing those whose conscience is under conviction but who nevertheless live in sin and do not truly go to Christ. In the meantime, such get attention by their ability to complain, and by way of subtle devices, seek to arouse the pity of good ministers who do not have a great measure of the spirit of discernment. Such ministers, due to their tender disposition toward the weak, will greatly trouble themselves to answer their objections and show them that they do indeed have grace. Instead, it would be better if they would deal roughly with them, so that they might become spiritually healthy and repent. Or, if they have been exposed as complaining for the sake of complaining, such ought to return to the world where they belong, so that they would no longer hinder the godly and cause upright ministers additional grief as they preach to and edify others. Let them say whatever they wish when they insist that such a minister neither understands the life of the soul, nor is capable of dealing with souls. When such individuals are exposed, other weak persons will be less hindered in availing themselves of the guidance of such upright ministers. We are thus not addressing such individuals; instead we are addressing those who have grace and indeed desire to be helped. These are not all in identical circumstances; the one is troubled by this and the other by something else. We shall therefore present several cases and comment upon them.
The First Cause of Doubt: Doubt About One’s Election
The first cause of unbelief concerning one’s spiritual state is a doubting of one’s election. Faith is peculiar to the elect. It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy (Rom 9:16). There is a calling according to the purpose of God, and if I am then not elected, I also cannot be saved. Whatever motions of faith and repentance I may pretend to have are not right and it is thus a lost cause. The longer I think about election, the more I believe that I am not one of the elect, but a reprobate instead. I perceive this to be so in my heart, which declares most plainly to me that this is so whenever I desire to pray and flee to Jesus. This grieves me in both body and soul.
Answer: First, God rarely communicates with His dear children in an immediate sense, and would He then deem reprobates worthy of granting them such immediate revelations? Be assured that this is not God’s voice, but rather your own foolish, unbelieving heart, the devil’s devices being intermixed with this. You have not stood in the counsel of God and thus you ought to leave the secret things for the Lord. Be not so brazen as to pretend that you should know that which God has not revealed in His Word. Has God revealed to you the reprobation of someone else? Indeed not! What grounds do you then have to believe that God would reveal your reprobation to you? Therefore, do not live by illusions and your own ideas, but rather conduct yourself wisely.
Secondly, there have been many others who have been subject to the same temptation as you are, and have perhaps been mired in this more deeply than you. Their deliverance taught them that they truly were of the elect and that they had embraced lies by assuring themselves that they were reprobates. Thus they had only been a hindrance to themselves in the way of godliness.
Thirdly, we must not examine our faith, hope, and love in the light of election; rather we must ascend from them to election. You are thus conducting yourself in an entirely wrong and foolish manner. You would tell others not to conduct themselves in this manner, and thereby you can perceive your own foolishness in rejecting your election. God does not grant faith, repentance, life, and love to those whom He has not elected, but to the elect alone. If the Lord has thus granted these matters to you in principle, you have reason thereby to make your election sure.
Fourthly, God has given us His infallible and sure Word, and we are to govern our faith and life accordingly. Focus upon that, and consider the exhortations, the offers of Christ, and the promises made to those who are pleased with Him; rely upon them. Are you not able to ascend to your election thereby? You will most certainly not discover your reprobation there—yes, even if it were true that you were presently still unconverted. Even if you were the most abominable person alive, you may still not conclude that you are a reprobate and cannot be converted. Therefore, set these foolish and unfounded imaginations aside. Let them no longer trouble you and deal circumspectly according to the Word of God.