Assurance (theology)
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Assurance is a Protestant Christian doctrine which states that the inner witness of the Holy Spirit allows the justified disciple to know that they are saved. Based on the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo, assurance was historically a very important doctrine in Methodism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism, and remains so among some members of these groups today.
Contents
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* 1 St. Augustine
* 2 Lutheranism
* 3 Calvinism
* 4 Wesley & Methodism
o 4.1 Resources
* 5 References

[edit] St. Augustine

See Augustine of Hippo

[edit] Lutheranism

See Lutheranism

[edit] Calvinism

Calvinism teaches that believers may have assurance of their salvation especially through the work of the Holy Spirit and also by looking at the character of their lives. If they believe God's promises and seek to live in accord with God's commands, then their good deeds done in response with a cheerful heart provide proof that can strengthen their assurance of salvation against doubts. This assurance is not, however, a necessary consequence of salvation, and such assurance may be shaken as well as strengthened.[1]

Additionally, the Augustinian doctrines of grace regarding predestination are taught in the Reformed churches primarily to assure believers of their salvation since the Calvinist doctrines emphasize that salvation is entirely a sovereign gift of God apart from the recipient's deeds or feelings (compare perseverance of the saints).

[edit] Wesley & Methodism

John Wesley believed that all Christians have a faith which implies an assurance of God's forgiving love, and that one would feel that assurance, or the "witness of the Spirit". This understanding is grounded in Paul's affirmation, "...ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The same Spirit beareth witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God..." (Romans 8:15-16, Wesley's translation). This experience was mirrored for Wesley in his Aldersgate experience wherein he "knew" he was loved by God and that his sins were forgiven.

"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 my sin, even mine." - from Wesley's Journal

Early in his ministry Wesley had to defend his understanding of assurance. In 1738 Rev. Arthur Bedford had published a sermon in which he misquoted Wesley's teachings. Bedford had understood Wesley as saying that a Christian could be assured of persevering in a state of salvation, the Calvinist view.

In a letter dated September 28, 1738 Wesley wrote, "The assurance of which I alone speak I should not choose to call an assurance of salvation, but rather (with the Scriptures), the assurance of faith. . . . [This] is not the essence of faith, but a distinct gift of the Holy Ghost, whereby God shines upon his own work, and shows us that we are justified through faith in Christ...The 'full assurance of faith' (Hebrews 10.22) is 'neither more nor less than hope; or a conviction, wrought in us by the Holy Ghost, that we have a measure of the true faith in Christ..'"[2]

[edit] Resources

* Questions of Clarification for Wesley's Doctrine of Assurance by Michael E. Lodahl
* The Relationship of Assurance to Justification and Regeneration in the Thought of John Wesley by Scott Kisker
* Sermon #10: "The Witness of the Spirit, Part 1" by John Wesley
* Sermon #11: "The Witness of the Spirit, Part 2" by John Wesley
* Sermon #12: "The Witness of Our Own Spirit" by John Wesley