The Assurance of Salvation: Part 1

How do you know you are saved? This is a question that has

been asked over the years and many answers have been offered

by Christian thinkers and spiritual writers.

The ‘Protestant (or Puritan) work ethic’ is a concept that was

offered by sociologist Max Weber as an explanation for the economic

progress in predominantly Protestant (and especially Calvinist)

European nations.

Calvinists emphasised that the elect are saved by God’s grace according

to God’s predetermined choices. If this is the case, how can someone be

sure that he is saved? There is a measure of anxiety in such a question.

The answer, according to Weber, is found in the Calvinist values of hard

work and frugality – these lead to a degree of prosperity which, together

with the contributing virtues, give evidence that one is saved.

John Wesley offered a somewhat different answer to the persistent

question, ‘How can I know that I am saved?’ Wesley preached two

sermons – ‘The Witness of the Holy Spirit’ and ‘The Witness of Our

Own Spirit’ to address this question.

Wesley offered a middle way (via media) between extreme

objectivism and extreme subjectivism. The songs we sing illustrate this:

for instance, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so”

places confident knowledge in what the Bible says. This addresses the idea of not relying on your feelings, but trusting in the facts.

In another direction, the chorus, “You ask me how I know He

lives … He lives within my heart” connects confident knowledge with

subjective experience.

Going too far in either of these directions can result in serious

problems. Wesley saw this in his own time.

On the one hand there were the extreme rationalists who embraced

deism, which had no place for any idea of God’s present interaction

and communication with us. Wesley warned against a religion of “mere

formality” with no power. On the other hand there were enthusiasts

who were “liable to run into all the wildness of enthusiasm”.

Wesley turned to Scripture to find guidance and a satisfactory

pastoral solution. Romans 8:16 assures us that “the Spirit himself

testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God.” This is one of

the important aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work in us. Wesley found this

to be true in his and others’ experience. He wrote:

By the testimony of the Spirit, I mean, an inward impression

on the soul whereby the Spirit of God immediately and

directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God;

that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given himself for me;

that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled

to God.

These words echo his testimony of his heart being “strangely

warmed”:

About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the

change which God works in the heart through faith in

Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust

in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was

given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and

saved me from the law of sin and death.

In this Aldersgate experience, Wesley found assurance that God

had forgiven him and adopted him as His child.

For Reflection: Reflect on Romans 8:15-16. How does the Holy Spirit bring

personal assurance that one is a child of God? Reflect from your

own experience and think about the difficulties and questions people have

about this kind of experience.

Upcoming Article: How can we navigate the danger of seeking false assurance? How does John Wesley's teachings help us?