The Surety of Assurance
Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 07:43AM In recent weeks, our Bible study has been grappling with a tough passage--Hebrews 6:
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Apostacy and Assurance. Two controversial subjects dealt with in one controversial passage.
We worked through the section on apostacy and this week we are taking a short side trip into the subject of assurance of faith. We have read and will discuss a chapter of J.C. Ryle's Holiness on Assurance.
After presenting scripture after scripture, both from the Old Testament and New, Ryle confirms "the language of persuasion, confidence, knowledge--nay, I may almost say, of certainty" regarding the doctrine of assurance.
It cannot be wrong to feel confidently in a matter where God speaks unconditionally--to believe decidedly when God promises decidedly--to have a sure persuasion of pardon and peace when we rest on the word and the oath of Him that never changes. It is an utter mistake to suppose that the believer who feels assurance is resting on anything he sees in himself. He simply leans on the Mediator of the New Covenant, and the Scripture of truth. He believes the Lord Jesus means what He says, and takes Him at His word. Assurance, after all is no more than a full-grown faith.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end.
Reader Comments (3)
It never fails to overwhelm both my emotions and understanding when God so gloriously reveals both His full justice and His full mercy.Seeking to inherit His promises.Have you read the chapter, Elle? If not, do take time to print it out and read it this weekend.
That is a difficult passage! John MacArthur's commentary is one resource I used to help me understand it better.I haven't seen MacArthur's commentary. I'm using Richard Philips and John Owen in my prep (with forays into Calvin and Augustine). Dorothy is using John Brown. I can never remember the name of the guy who wrote Carol's commentary. This is the first time we've studied this way together, each using a different commentary. It has been a rich study for all of us and our times of discussion are lively!
I couldn't believe my eyes when I read your post, at the Ladies' meeting on Wednesday evening, we studied the remedy for sin and the believer and sin. We discussed assurance in the context of our sin and the Lord's mercy."If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
I think you'd be blessed by Ryle's work on assurance. I may be sharing some more quotes from it--it is really a wonderful piece. The book that it comes from, Holiness, is one of my favorites.