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Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God's Grace

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Many believers, if they are honest, have often questioned their own salvation. They see their sins and struggles and wonder if they are really saved or not. Editor Burk Parsons and the other contributors to Assured by God, desire to help everyday Christians find their assurance and hope in God's promises. As Parsons writes in the preface, "...many people who sit in the pews of evangelical churches throughout the world do not possess full assurance of their salvation. When trials come into their lives, many Christians find themselves doubting their salvation, doubting the imputed righteousness of Christ, doubting God's sovereignty, and doubting the grace of God instead of fleeing to their loving Father's arms. In this fallen world of despair and doubt, with minds and hearts that have been corrupted by sin, every Christian needs to understand fully the promises that the Lord God Almighty has established for us and within us." (pp. 12). Do you ever wrestle with feelings like that? This book is for you!

The authors cover a range of areas, but they all weave their chapters together to form one wonderful picture of a God who has planned out every step of our salvation, and who has "granted to us his precious and very great promises" (2 Peter 1:4) for us to trust in and believe so that we might have hope! This is an encouraging book for any believer, so that they can understand how secure their salvation is, and yet also not be presumptive - as John MacArthur writes in his chapter: "Still, self-examination is a necessary and biblical aspect of gaining assurance. It is the process by which we evaluate the quality of our own faith, and the fruit of repentance is the evidence we must seek. This is especially crucial in the contemporary evangelical environment. Multitudes believe that they are saved merely because someone told them so after a cursory conversation, the simple reciting of a canned prayer, the raising of a hand in a public meeting, or sometimes even less." (pp. 135). It is a fine balance between presumption and assurance, but this book helps you navigate that channel with clear guidance!

As I recommend books, my desire is to find works that are readable, Scriptural, and helpful. I think that this book is all of those things, and will benefit all who read it. Assurance of God's saving grace is something to be sought and desired by all who follow the Lamb - and it is possible, as R. Albert Mohler writes: "Assurance of faith is possible and is in one sense a Christian responsibility. Pernicious doubt concerning salvation may be an indication that the believer does not truly trust the character, power and purposes of God. Therefore, a believer's insecurity--sometimes disguised as artificial humility--can be evidence of a heart that does not adequately trust in the promises of God. This point must be strongly emphasized. Christians who are constantly or recurrently anxious about their salvation demonstrate inadequate faith in God's promises or deficient understanding of the gospel." (pp. 56-57).

In addition to the contributors I have already mentioned, R.C. Sproul, Jerry Bridges, Sinclair Ferguson and Philip Graham Ryken also contribute excellent and helpful chapters to this work. The book is only 178 pages, and as I mentioned earlier, is very readable. Consider reading this book to bring "tidings of comfort and joy" more securely into your heart and experience in the Christian life! You won't be sorry!

'Everything that God does for our salvation, He does in Christ.'
Philip Graham Ryken, p 39

Ryken surveys from eternity to eternity in a rich exposition of Ephesians 1. Assurance stems from the threefold divine work: that what the Father has decreed in eternity past (predestination) and that what the Son has accomplished (redemption) and that the Holy Spirit effectually seals 'every spiritual blessing in Christ' (Eph 1:3) to each and every believer, thereby applying redemption. 'By doing this work in us, the Holy Spirit makes our salvation a present reality.' p 40

'But whatever words we use to describe it, the point is that our salvation from sin depends on a gracious co-operation within the Godhead.' p 38

'God's participation in history depends on His purpose in eternity. The Bible could hardly be stronger on this point: 'being predestined according to the purpose [Gk: prothesis] of Him who works all things according to the counsel [Gk: boule] of His will [Gk: thelema].' Ephesians 1:11 In this verse, three different Greek words are used to describe God's plan: thelema simply refers to God's will in general; prothesis means God's purpose, especially His foreordained purpose; and boule refers to God's deliberate counsel. Taken together, these words show that nothing lies outside the divine intention.' p 43

Burk Parsons deals with a passage of Scripture that exhorts believers most to perseverance: Hebrews 12:1-6. Says Parsons:

'In Hebrews, we are called to run the race set before us (12:1). If our perseverance in the faith is dependent on us, we will surely fail and will by no means finish the race set before us. (p 21) For not only is He the creator and sustainer of the universe, He is the creator and sustainer of our faith. (p 25) The author of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). In fact, the author of Hebrews uses an intriguing Greek word to describe Jesus as the author of our faith: archegos, a compound composed of arche and the verb ago. The word arche is familiar to us in English words such as archaeology and archetype. The general meaning of the prefix is 'early', 'beginning' or 'at the outset of'. The verb ago is not familiar to us, but it simply means 'to lead'. Together, the two make a fascinating word. (p 30) But what is more, we are in constant war with our own sinfulness (Heb 12:4). (p 32) He is our Father who continually demonstrates His love for us by revealing to us our sins, enabling us to repent, and reminding us of His holiness. The Word of God does not say that the Lord disciplines all people, but only those whom He loves (Heb 12:5-6). Such discipline is a gracious provision of the Lord whereby we are assured by God of His love for us and His protection of us. When we begin to yearn for God's loving hand of discipline, and, dare I say, pray for such discipline, that is when we will experience the most wonderful growth in our lives. For His glory He preserves us to the end.' (p 36)

These authors bring the assurance of our salvation to us, clothed in gracious words. They re-affirm with warmth. The soteriological aspect of faith grounded in right thinking, is first and foremost their agenda. It was enriching and thought-provoking to be reminded so generously of the provision of salvation we have in Christ through serving those with recurring doubt.

'Pernicious doubt concerning salvation may be an indication that the believer does not truly trust the character, power and purposes of God. Therefore, a believer's insecurity - sometimes disguised as artificial humility - can be evidence of a heart that does not adequately trust in the promises of God.' R Albert Mohler, p 56 Mohler adds a most enlightening point often missed: 'The promises made to the believer are secured further by the promises the Father has made to the Son. The eternal covenant of redemption is the larger context in which the doctrine of perseverance and the gift of assurance are to be understood.' p 65

The Westminster Confession of Faith states:
'It is an infallible assurance of faith, founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidences of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God: which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption.' 18:2

The ever-perceptive Sinclair B Ferguson advances our knowledge of the doctrine of perseverance when he attaches our assurance to the doctrine of Paul: justification. He insists that to be justified is a sinner's status, not nature. He then makes an observant word study of 'justify': 'Despite the form of the word in English (from Latin iustus [righteous] and facere [to make]), in the Bible the verb 'justify' means to count righteous, not to make righteous.' pp. 89-90 This leads Ferguson to conclude: 'We are as irreversibly justified as our Lord Jesus is. The only justification we have - our only righteousness - is that of the Lord Jesus.' p 91 Speaking of 'the wonderful exchange' significant to the Reformers, Ferguson draws out another biblical-theological implication: 'Or in covenant-specific language: Christ became a curse for sinners. We become blessed in Christ (Gal 3:13).' p 92 As for the relation between justification and faith, Ferguson demonstrates some Scottish 'common sense realism' of his own: 'The NT expresses this central role of faith in various ways: we are justified through faith (Rom 3:22), and by faith (3:28, 30-31). But justification is never said to be on account of faith. Thus, according to The Westminster Confession of Faith: 'Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification.' (11:2) The important point is that the object of faith is always the covenant promise (in the OT) or its fulfillment, Christ (in the NT), and not justification itself. Thus Paul is able to say that 'the promise (of justification) comes by faith, so that it may be by grace'. (Rom 4:16)' p 93

Ferguson drives the discussion inevitably to the New Perspective on Paul. He illumines how that justification, as do, for example, adoption, reconciliation and regeneration, all equally reflect on ecclesiology, but lose their individual significance when denied their soteriological import, saying: 'they are not amorphous metaphors all denoting the same thing - they each nuance a different aspect of how this takes place.' p 184, n 1

The concept of grace is especially strengthened by each of these authors employing key word studies to great effect, most likely in an effort at correcting degenerate concepts of those words that have been reduced with deliberate intent.