Assurance – Grace Evangelical Society

Why Many Puritans Died Without Assurance

April 5, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Assurance, Puritans, R. T. Kendall

The Puritans remain immensely popular. But reading them can be dangerous for your assurance. R. T. Kendall explains why. Kendall went to Oxford to study the Puritans and was surprised by how they lacked assurance of their salvation. He explains it in the introduction to his book Grace: I went to Oxford in 1973 to

Why Isn’t Everyone in Christianity Born Again?

March 18, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Eternal Security, evangelism

I came to faith in Christ for my eternal salvation nearly fifty years ago in September of 1972. Back then all of us Jesus people (as we were called) were concerned for everyone within Christendom who did not have “a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” The Jesus movement as a whole was quite diverse. Not

Assurance Cannot Be Upgraded to Full Assurance

February 2, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, certainty, full assurance

It is quite common among people who hold to Lordship Salvation to speak of two types of assurance of everlasting life. The first kind of assurance is simply called assurance. What is meant by assurance is that one has reason to believe that he may be born again. Typically, the reason for this level-1 assurance

Did John’s Readers Lack Assurance? Re-Examining 1 John 5:13

January 21, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - 1 John, Assurance, belief, essence of saving faith

Someone recently challenged the idea that assurance is of the essence of saving faith by quoting 1 John 5:13. That question has been answered before (see here and here). But I’d like to put an answer in my own words. The verse in question reads: These things I have written to you who believe in

The Teaching That You Cannot Be Sure That Christ Died for You Is One of the Worst False Teachings of All Time

January 20, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 1 John 2:2, Assurance, John 1:29, limited atonement, unlimited atonement

A reader of our blog, K, cited one of my blogs in which I said that you know you are believing in Jesus to save you if you have assurance of everlasting life. K responded with this cry for help: I do not have assurance of everlasting life. I want to be saved. I’m terrified I’m

I Did Not Realize How Prevalent Assurance by Works Is

January 14, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, assurance and works, John 11:25-27

I have mentioned before that our 2006 annual conference ended up being controversial. There were two messages on assurance of everlasting life that were met with a divided response. I thought those messages would be well received but about half of the people agreed, while the other half thought that the messages by Zane Hodges

The Unsaved Christian

December 15, 2020 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, false assurance, what must I do to be saved?

The title of my blog is the title of a book by Dean Inserra. The subtitle helps explain what he means in the title: “Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel.” I have often said that most Evangelicals need evangelizing (see here, for example). So, I agree in principle with Inserra. However, there is a major

Two Motivations for Ministry: A Lesson from Anthony Norris Groves

November 10, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Anthony Norris Groves, Assurance, Missions

There are two very different motivations for ministry. The first motivation begins in doubt, and the second begins in assurance. That was the experience of Anthony Norris Groves, one of the first “Plymouth Brethren,” and often called “the father of faith missions.” In his interesting biography, Robert Dann notes how Groves went through both kinds

Free Grace and Works Salvation

October 15, 2020 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, believing in Jesus, Eternal Security, promise of life, works salvation

The other day Shawn and I received the following email from BP who listens to our daily podcast: You said, “Well it is funny because I know some people in Free Grace circles who would say, ‘I know for sure I have everlasting life. It is simply by faith in Christ apart from works. I

Is Salvation a Gift or a Bargain? An Illustration from Steven Hein

September 4, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Assurance, eternal life, gift, lutheran, Works

I like Steven Hein’s analogy for two ways of presenting salvation. He compares it to the difference between receiving a diamond as a gift vs. purchasing it yourself for a bargain: What is the difference between receiving the largest, most valuable diamond in the world as a free gift—and getting it for a penny? If