You may be surprised to learn that the doctrine of assurance
is relatively young in the nearly 2,000 year history of the church.
Prior to the original dispensational Plymouth
Brethren leaders, Christians "knew little
or nothing of the primary doctrine of the security of the believer,
considering it presumptuous to declare one's assurance of salvation."
Lack of assurance was a reality for both Catholics and generally Protestants
as well.
This spiritual anemia is still widespread outside Pauline Dispensational
circles and has become a growing problem for those dispensationalists who
have fallen for so-called
Lordship Salvation. It is
the theological influence of the Reformation's 'rule of law' for the
Christian life that is to blame.
Below is Chapter 20 from Miles Stanford's book
The Complete Green Letters
which touches upon the doctrines of justification, assurance, and the
witness of the Holy Spirit. It is actually the second chapter in a
series of foundational messages about the Christian life. It is being
provided to online readers because of the widespread lack of assurance among
believers who write this ministry. Many are sadly confused and fearful
regarding Jesus's warning about self-deception--e.g., "Not
everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say
to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in
your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will
tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
Matthew 7:21-23.
Our hope is for readers to become established in grace
and the assurance of their salvation. We also hope this sampler will
motivate readers to obtain their own copy of the book.
It may help us to see the importance of the principle of
position in our Christian life if we consider the fact that God began
training us in positional truth before we were born again!
JUSTIFICATION
According to His faithful ministry, the Holy Spirit brought about an initial
conviction of sin by revealing our needy condition. Through varied pressures
and circumstances, we came to realize our sinful state before God.
[Despite the teachings of Calvinism, this initial work of the Spirit should
not be confused with
regeneration.]
Then the Holy Spirit may have used a faithful witness to make clear to us
from the Word that we were lost sinners, positionally. We were in the wrong
family—we had been born into the fallen, sinful, condemned Adamic line. “…As
in Adam all die” (I Cor. 15:22). In our natural birth, we were born “dead in
trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). “…By one man’s [Adam’s] offence death
reigned…” (Rom. 5:17).
In His perfect love and holiness, God made it possible for us to be removed
from our position of death in Adam, and to be eternally born anew into His
family through our position in the Lord Jesus Christ. By His grace we were
brought to turn from our natural, fallen condition and position, and to
believe on His Son as our own personal Savior, our new position before God.
Much of this wonderful transaction and transition, no doubt, was not
understood at the time. However, it is all-important that the truths of our
new birth and justification become crystal clear if we are to experience the
benefits our position in Christ. Superficiality in this foundational step
inevitably makes for shallowness and immaturity throughout our subsequent
walk.
The meaning of justification is to pronounce righteous, not to make
righteous; what is imputed is not, in fact, imparted. To be justified means
that the believer is viewed in Christ as righteous, and is treated as such
by God. The righteousness of our position in the Lord Jesus is increasingly
manifested in our condition, as we “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). “But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us … righteousness, and … redemption”
(I Cor. 1:30).
Until we clearly see the positional perfection of our justification in
Christ, our conception of, and faith in, all the other aspects of our
position will be out of focus. In Old Testament type, God explained to
Israel that “the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to
you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood
that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11). Now, the value of the
life sacrificed is the measure of the worth of the blood shed. In that these
type-sacrifices were animals, innocent and spotless though they were, still
“it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away
sins” (Heb. 10:4). All of this was a cancellation in anticipation of God’s
perfect sacrifice of “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world” (John 1:29).
God the Son became also the perfect Son of Man in order that He might go to
the Father’s altar, the cross of Calvary and there willingly shed His
precious Blood in full atonement for our sins. Complete payment made, He was
free to rise again in resurrected, ascended, and glorified eternal life. “In
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). There are two important
factors in this verse: (1) “In whom we have redemption.” Here we have our
position of justification. When we received Him as our Savior, He received
us and we were born into Him in “newness of life”—His life. (2) Because of
the perfection of His atonement, it was all “according to the riches of his
grace.” Complete and eternal justification is a gracious gift, utterly
impossible to be earned in any way whatsoever. “…To him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for
righteousness” (Rom. 4:5).
A further fact to be remembered is that all our sins were future at the time
they were paid for, since the work of the Cross was accomplished when we
were yet unborn. Our Father took everything into consideration before He
made a single move on our behalf. Hence we can be fully assured that all our
sins, past, present and future, have been forever forgiven. “…Through this
Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that
believe are justified from all things”… (Acts 13:38, 39, italics mine).
Since justification is in Christ and not in ourselves, it is a truth of
position, not condition. We receive justification in the Lord Jesus by faith
in the Word; it is a fact believed, not an experience received. It has
nothing to do with our condition, but everything to do with our position.
However, as we rest in our justified position, our spiritual condition is
affected. We experience something of the new-found peace and joy of the
Lord, and His love for us.
ASSURANCE
The blessed assurance of salvation, and of justification in particular, is
based squarely upon our position in the Lord Jesus as our righteousness.
Being non-experiential, justification can never be founded upon our
condition. Assurance of justification results when we realize what our
Father has done and said; it is never based on feelings. Someone has said,
“Because God has spoken, I am sure; because I am sure, I feel at rest.” “Set
your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Col.
3:2, NASB).
It is here that the first major mistake in our Christian life is often made.
In taking the position of justification by faith in the Lord Jesus, this new
standing of life began to make a marked difference in our state. Because of
this, we shifted the basis of our assurance from eternal position to
temporal condition. We looked, and felt, and sounded saved, hence we were
assured of our salvation.
But then, one morning came the dawn! We didn’t look very saved, we didn’t
feel at all saved, and so we didn’t sound saved either. All day long
everything and everybody went wrong, and by nightfall we found ourselves at
the end of our assurance. Thoroughly shaken, we determined to rectify
matters the next day. On that day we strove to look saved, to feel saved,
and to sound saved. But, because we were centered in our condition, all was
wretched failure. We even began to question our salvation. “…If the LORD be
with us, why then is all this befallen us?” (Judges 6:13).
In the Lord’s time, the Comforter refocused our faith upon our position by
means of the Word, and our assurance of salvation was again anchored upon
the Rock, Christ Jesus. With this assurance reestablished, our condition
began to improve as a result of the position in which we stood by faith. We
had learned our first important lesson: the necessity of knowing and abiding
in our position. Apart from this abiding, there is nothing but frustration
and failure. “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect
of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever” (Isa. 32:17).
THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT
"The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own
spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16, Amp.). It is
a temptation for many to hanker after something more tangible than the
positional testimony of the Word, in order to be more sure of their
assurance. But it is at this point that the faithful Spirit would teach us
total reliance upon the Word, nothing added. "…Receive with meekness
the engrafted word…" (James 1:21).
There may be other ground for assurance of our salvation,
such as, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love
the brethren" (I John 3:14), but this is secondary, not foundational.
Besides, there will be times when our love for some brethren may falter, and
then what of our assurance?
The witness of the Spirit is His witness to the Word wherein
lies God’s revelation of our eternal position. And in that Word He testifies
concerning the Lord Jesus, who is our position before God. Although the Holy
Spirit abides within and witnesses to our spirit, we must remember that the
human spirit lies beyond the range of consciousness. Therefore, assurance of
salvation is not gained through the senses. As we rest in our position by
faith in the scriptural facts, the Spirit of truth gives us a deep,
inexplicable assurance that cannot be altered. We not only believe, we
know; our knowledge is established in the eternal, Spirit-ministered
Scriptures. "…for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that
He is
able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim.
1:12).
All seems so simple and solved during the infant stage of
our Christian life. But the Lord must take us on from milk to meat, to
become responsible, spiritually intelligent, adult believers. We must not
only become firmly and clearly established in the deeper truths ourselves,
but we must be qualified to share them effectively with others. Once we are
sure and sound, the Lord can establish others through us. But, "if the
trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?"
(1 Cor. 14:8).
Until we are solidly founded upon the first principles of
spiritual birth, we cannot be taken on to the principles of growth and
maturity. "For every one that useth milk is unskilled in the word of
righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are
of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine
of Christ, let us go on unto perfection [maturity]" (Heb. 5:13, 14; 6:1).