Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Cottrell’s Continuing Assurance

Cottrell’s Continuing Assurance

June 13, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Arminianism, Assurance, continuing faith, Jack Cottrell

In his book, His Truth: Scripture Truths About Basic Doctrines, Jack Cottrell, an Arminian theologian, wrote on the subject of assurance.

He did not give a name for the view he defended. I think it would be appropriate to call it the “I hope I keep believing” view.

On Cottrell’s view, salvation is by faith apart from works, but you need to have a continuous faith in order to be saved. The moment you stop believing, you lose whatever provisional salvation you have.

Of course, we would strongly disagree with that.

However, in an odd way, Cottrell’s view of assurance is close to the Free Grace view in this sense: he links assurance to faith in the saving message, not to works:

That God’s protection is ours “through faith” leads to a second conclusion, namely, that our assurance of salvation is not conditioned upon works (His Truth, p. 115).

To put it another way, our sense of assurance derives from knowing we are justified by the blood of Christ, not from our having achieved a certain level of sanctification (His Truth, p. 115).

Cottrell argues that you ought to have assurance so long as you continue to believe the saving message—and he’s right about that! After all, that’s what assurance is: simply believing that what Jesus promised to do for believers is true.

But here’s the big difference between Cottrell and Free Grace: he thinks you lose both your assurance and your salvation when you stop believing; we think you only lose your assurance. We believe that Jesus gives believers eternal life, not provisional life.

If I took Cottrell’s position, I don’t think I could have assurance of my salvation, would you? I could not know if I would keep on believing until I died. On Cottrell’s view, assurance of salvation amounts to thinking this: “If I died right now, I think I would go to heaven. But I have no idea if I’ll go to heaven tomorrow.”

That’s not much of an assurance.

I would be interested in knowing if there are more Arminian theologians like Cottrell, who believe in a faith-only assurance. Let me know in the comments.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Shawn_L

by Shawn Lazar

Shawn Lazar (BTh, McGill; MA, VU Amsterdam) was the Editor of Grace in Focus magazine and Director of Publications for Grace Evangelical Society from May 2012 through June 2022. He and his wife Abby have three children. He has written several books including: Beyond Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation and Chosen to Serve: Why Divine Election Is to Service, Not to Eternal Life.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

February 3, 2023

Romans–Part 05–The Solution

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Kathryn Wright and Ken Yates conclude this short series as they get to the good part of the...
February 3, 2023

Here’s Why Your February Partner’s Letter Will Be Late

We send a letter each month to those who financially support the ministry of GES. We call the newsletter Partners in Grace. We try to...
February 2, 2023

Romans–Part 04–The Problem

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Ken Yates and Kathryn Wright continue this short series about Romans. Jumping to Chapter 3, they begin with...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Inerrancy for Dummies $7.95 $5.00
  • The Journey of Faith $15.00 $9.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Confident in Christ, 2nd Edition $22.00 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube