"The Doctrine of Assurance" by Shane C. Montgomery

  Are you a Christian? Are you saved? If so, how do you know? It is a fair question, one that you should be asking yourself everyday. I bring this up because we see two sides to this coin. We as believers tend to take assurance either to one extreme or the other, for the most part I encounter those confessing Christians who rest on the finished work of Christ on the cross for their salvation, this is all they need, someone told them that if they trust in Christ they have eternal life and this is something no one can take away from them. Well, most people when pressed will tell you they trust in Christ and I hope they do, but the problem lies in they are taking John 3:16 and crawling up on top of that verse and just living there, that was never the intent of that verse.


Simply saying a sinners prayer or going up to the alter one Lord's Day does not make you a Christian! What is missing then?
How about some self reflection? How about "examining ourselves to see if we be in the faith?" The point I am trying to make is a simple one, if you are saved, and I no longer care for that word, I prefer "regenerated" then you will act as such. If you claim Christ but live like the world you are deceiving yourself big time. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." The world does not keep His commandments. The natural man hates the things of God, they love the things of Satan, can you look at your life and discern if you live for Christ or for Satan/Self? Is your pleasure your center point or is Christ Jesus? If you are regenerate, then you will bear the fruits of it. Jesus spoke a parable about four types of hearers, four types of soil where the seed of grace was sown, three of those types were self deceived, the other of course, was good and grew to bear a tree of good fruit.

Humble, repentive, broken over even the most minor of sins, (and no sins are minor since they are all against God) these are signs of a regenerate man. I mentioned two sides to this coin, the other side would have to be the man who questions his salvation to the extreme, so much so that he is truly not saved, you see there is a middle ground that we have to tread here in assurance, it is not us who sanctifies, it is His Holy Spirit and we should be able to tell, with a little probing, if He resides in us. I can tell you that the Holy spirit is not going to live in a soul that is world centered or self centered, just will not happen. So were are you in your assurance? Maybe a little more time in prayer and a little more time in contemplating your own soul, never assume you are safe simply because of one verse in Scripture, more often taken out of context anyway. My favorite Psalm is Psalm 51, here David is torn apart by his sins and begs God to search his heart and mind to see if any sin yet remains so he can be done with them. Is this where you are? If not, you should be, just as I should be and just as every other believer should be, rest assured He that began a work in you will finish it, but make sure you are at least in the ball park before you retire on it.

May God extend His Grace to us all! Shane C. Montgomery