Chapter 18 of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith concerns the doctrine of assurance. It asks whether Christians may know, in this life, that they are in a state of grace. The first paragraph begins with a careful distinction:
Temporary believers and other unregenerate men may deceive themselves in vain with false hopes and fleshly presumptions that they have God’s favor and salvation, but their hope will perish. Yet those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love him sincerely, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may be certainly assured in this life that they are in a state of grace. They may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, and this hope will never make them ashamed.
The paragraph is doing two things at once. First, it warns that false assurance exists. Some people believe they possess God’s favor and salvation when they do not. Their hope is vain, fleshly, and perishing. At the same time, the Confession insists that true assurance is possible. Those who truly believe in Christ, love Him sincerely, and seek to walk before Him in good conscience may know that they are in a state of grace.
If we deny assurance altogether, we rob true believers of the comfort God intends them to have. If we give assurance carelessly, we may confirm unbelievers in a deadly deception. The Confession refuses both errors.
The Error of Denying Assurance
It is spiritually devastating that many believers have been taught they cannot have assurance of salvation.
The Roman Catholic Church, especially in the Council of Trent, denied that ordinary believers may know with certainty that they have obtained the grace of God. Trent declared, “No one can know with a certainty of faith … that he has obtained the grace of God.” It also said, “Except by special revelation, it cannot be known whom God hath chosen unto Himself.”
The matter becomes even more severe when Trent pronounces an anathema on those who say that every true and justified Christian ought to believe certainly that he is among the predestined. In other words, the person who is convinced that he belongs to God is not comforted but condemned. Roman Catholic doctrine does not permit the ordinary Christian to possess assurance of salvation.
But Rome is not alone in creating this problem. Arminianism, lacking a sound doctrine of perseverance, cannot finally sustain a sound doctrine of assurance. If salvation can be lost, then assurance is always provisional. A person may feel safe today, but if he may fall away tomorrow and perish, then his confidence can never be settled.
Even among some Calvinists, who confess the doctrines of grace and the perseverance of the saints, there has sometimes been a reluctance to teach assurance plainly. Some fear giving false assurance to those who ought not have it, so they effectively deny assurance to everyone. Charles Spurgeon saw this in his own day and described such preaching with characteristic bluntness:
I have seen their long faces. I have heard their whining. I have read their dismal sentences in which they say something to this effect: “Groan in the Lord always, and again I say groan! He that mourneth and weepeth, he that doubteth and feareth, he that distrusteth and dishonoreth his God shall be saved.” That seems to be the sum and substance of their very un-gospel-like gospel.
That kind of preaching mistakes misery for humility. It treats doubt as a virtue and confidence in God’s promise as a spiritual danger. But Scripture does not speak that way. Assurance is possible. It is not wrong or sinful for Christians to know that they belong to the redeemed family of God.
John explicitly writes to believers so that they may know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13). One of the primary purposes of his first epistle is to give assurance to genuine Christians.
John was writing to believers who had watched others depart from the faith. These were not outsiders. They had once been among the church. They had sat in the assembly, confessed the truth, and appeared orthodox. Then they left. They renounced the faith they once professed. It would have been natural for those who remained to wonder, Am I next? Am I truly a child of God? Is it possible for me to know?
John’s answer is yes. He writes so they may know.
Assurance and Perseverance
The Bible also speaks of assurance in passages where the doctrine is not the explicit subject. At the end of Romans 8, Paul is teaching the perseverance and security of God’s people. God is for His people. Christ died, rose again, intercedes for them, and nothing in all creation can separate them from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:31–39).
One might say Paul is teaching perseverance there, not personal assurance. That is partly true, but Paul does not treat perseverance as an abstract theological mechanism. He speaks of it personally, with real confidence. He is sure that nothing can separate God’s people from the love of Christ.
Paul’s life bears this out. Why would a man endure beatings, imprisonment, danger, hunger, rejection, and eventually death for Christ if he had no assurance? He knew he belonged to God, and that assurance strengthened him to persevere.
So we may say two things together: we can have assurance because God preserves His people, and we persevere because we have that assurance.
Why the Confession Begins with False Assurance
The great burden of Chapter 18 is to teach that true believers may have assurance, but that is not where the paragraph begins. It begins with a sober concession:
Temporary believers and other unregenerate men may deceive themselves in vain with false hopes and fleshly presumptions that they have God’s favor and salvation, but their hope will perish.
This concession is necessary because false assurance is not a small danger. If someone is not a true believer, one of the most tragic things we can do is convince him that he is safe.
Imagine someone who made a profession of faith twenty years ago at a youth conference. His friends were making professions, the room was emotionally charged, and he joined in. But once the conference ended, the zeal vanished. His life returned to its former habits. He never truly grieved over sin. He never repented. He never sought Christ for forgiveness. He was simply caught up in the drama of the moment.
Twenty years later, a Christian asks him, “Are you saved?”
He says, “Well, I professed faith twenty years ago, but I haven’t really been back to church, read my Bible, or prayed since then. So I don’t know.”
The worst response would be, “Well, if you made a profession of faith, you must be saved.”
That may sound encouraging, but it is not loving. This person should have doubts. He bears no fruit of repentance, no fruit of saving faith, no evident love for Christ, and no interest in Christ’s people. At one point, he may have said the words, “I believe in Jesus,” but bare profession is not the same thing as saving faith. Even demons believe certain truths about God (James 2:19).
What happens if that man walks away convinced he is saved?
Nothing. That is the tragedy. He remains where he was, untouched by repentance, unmoved toward Christ, and still in his sins.
Jesus warned even religious people that unless they believed in Him, they would die in their sins (John 8:24). Heaven is not the default destination of the human race. Unless a person is brought to sincere repentance and genuine faith in Christ, he will perish.
So the most loving thing we can say to a person who shows no evidence of regeneration and conversion is not, “I’m sure you’ll be fine.” The loving thing is to warn him and carefully set the gospel before him. We do not give false assurance. We point him to real salvation in Christ alone, through faith alone.
Biblical Warnings and Their Purpose
Warnings against false assurance appear throughout Scripture. John the Baptist warned the Pharisees and Sadducees not to presume upon their descent from Abraham, but to bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:7–10). Paul told the Corinthian church to examine themselves, to see whether they were in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Why are such warnings given? It is not because John the Baptist, Jesus, or the apostles wanted to destroy the assurance of genuine believers. These warnings are given to mercifully awaken false professors. They are meant to lead nominal Christians, religious hypocrites, and self-deceived unbelievers to true repentance and faith.
That is one reason the Confession begins where it does. Its authors are preparing to confront the Roman error that denies assurance to everyone. They want to tell sincere Christians, “Yes, you can have assurance, and here is how.” But first, they acknowledge that some people do not rightfully have assurance. Such people do not need to be told, “You are fine.” They need to be told, “Examine yourselves. Your everlasting life depends on it.”
False Assurance and the Protection of the Church
The Confession’s opening concession also protects the church.
Some people have a deeply confused view of the local church. They think that, in the name of Christian love, anyone who wants to join automatically belongs. But the church is not built on mere interest, sentiment, or inclusiveness as the world defines it. The church is built on genuine professions of faith.
When Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus declared that this confession had been revealed to him by the Father and that He would build His church on that rock (Matthew 16:16–18). Peter’s profession was genuine because it came from a heart taught by God.
While we cannot see into a person’s heart as Christ can, Scripture teaches that a changed heart produces a changed life. A tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 7:16). On the day of Pentecost, when the hearers asked what they should do, Peter did not merely ask them to make a vague religious gesture. He called them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:37–38).
The church should not build impossible walls around itself. The church is made of sinners, but it must be made of repentant sinners, that is, people who are growing in holiness, who are being sanctified, and who are being distinguished from the world.
That distinction begins with entrance into the church and continues throughout life in the church. This is why the New Testament teaches church discipline. Paul tells the Corinthian church not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother while living in open, unrepentant wickedness (1 Corinthians 5:11–13). The church has an obligation to guard its holiness. A little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6).
It is not good for temporary believers and unregenerate people to remain comfortably embedded in the church. It is not good for them, and it is not good for the church.
Temporary Believers
The Confession names two categories: “temporary believers” and “other unregenerate men.” Notice the word other. Temporary believers are unregenerate. They are not people who were truly saved and then lost their salvation. Scripture gives no such category. Christ’s sheep hear His voice, follow Him, receive eternal life from Him, and will never perish (John 10:27–29).
Temporary believers are people who appear to believe for a time but are never truly converted.
Jesus describes them in the parable of the sower. Some receive the word with joy but have no root, so when tribulation or persecution arises, they fall away. Others hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke it, and it proves unfruitful (Matthew 13:20–22).
These are not atheists sneering from outside the church. They respond positively for a time. They may show excitement. They may speak warmly of spiritual things. They may seem persuaded. But their faith has no root. Eventually, pressure exposes them. The gospel they once appeared to embrace becomes something they abandon.
This was also the situation behind 1 John. John says that some went out from the church because they were not truly of the church. If they had belonged, they would have continued (1 John 2:18–19).
That is the nature of temporary faith. Such people are close enough to “go out,” because they had once been “in” outwardly. They joined themselves to the church. They appeared to belong. But eventually they revealed their true nature.
Oil and water do not mix. The world and the church do not finally mix. A person may remain outwardly attached for a time, but if he is not born again, he is not of the same substance as the people of God.
Other Unregenerate Men
The Confession also speaks of “other unregenerate men.” These are distinct from temporary believers. They may not clearly fall away. They may remain attached to the church, continue professing faith, and even hide their true nature from themselves. Others may never join the church at all, while still assuming they have God’s favor.
This category is painfully familiar. Many nominal Christians in the West claim to be Christian, though their lives show little or no evidence of true Christianity. Others belong to churches or religious systems that do not proclaim the true Christ or the true gospel. They may claim allegiance to Jesus. They may assume they will go to heaven. But they have never known, or perhaps openly deny, the true way of salvation.
Some trust in good works. Some trust in being a decent person. Some trust in a profession made twenty years ago. Some trust in baptism, communion, church membership, family heritage, or religious activity. But without the new birth, without genuine conversion, they have deceived themselves with “false hopes and fleshly presumptions.”
Jesus gives the most chilling example of this in Matthew 7. Many will say “Lord, Lord” and point to impressive religious works done in His name, but He will declare that He never knew them (Matthew 7:21–23).
These are not temporary believers in the obvious sense. They are still professing at the end. They are emphatic. They call Jesus “Lord.” They appeal to prophecy, exorcisms, and mighty works. But they never submitted to Him as Lord. They did not do the will of the Father. They may have fooled others. They may have fooled themselves. They did not fool Christ.
The Nature of Fleshly Presumption
False assurance is not founded on Christ. It is not founded on the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel. It is not built on the inward evidence of the Spirit’s graces. It is not based on the testimony of the Spirit of adoption.
It is a fleshly presumption. It says, “I have God’s favor because I was baptized.” Or, “I am saved because I made a profession.” Or, “I will be in heaven because I am a good person.” Or, “I am a Christian because I call myself one.”
True assurance speaks differently. It rests entirely on Christ. It says, “Lord, save me, because I cannot save myself.” It comes with repentance, faith, love for Christ, love for His Word, love for His people, and the evidence of the Spirit’s work in his life.
So the question is not merely, “Have you claimed to be a Christian?” The question is, do you depend entirely upon the blood and righteousness of Christ for salvation? Have you humbled yourself before Him in repentance and faith? Do you love Him, His Word, and His people? Are the graces of the Spirit evident in your life? Has the Spirit of adoption testified with your spirit that you are a child of God?
If not, assurance is not true assurance. It is false hope.
Judas and the Danger of Proximity
Judas Iscariot may be the clearest biblical example of false assurance and false profession. He lived in close proximity to Christ for the better part of three years. He was numbered among the disciples. He heard Christ teach in public and in private. He saw the miracles. He participated outwardly in the ministry. Yet he had no saving union with Christ.
Jesus said one of the twelve was a devil (John 6:70). He also said it would have been better for Judas if he had not been born (Matthew 26:24). And still, the other disciples did not immediately suspect him. When Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him, they did not all turn and point to Judas. They wondered whether they themselves might be the traitor (Matthew 26:20–25).
Judas teaches us that proximity to holy things is not holiness. Nearness to the means of grace is not the same as receiving grace. A person may attend worship, offer prayers, hear sermons, join Christian fellowship, participate in ministry, and even preach sermons while remaining a stranger to the inward saving work of God.
Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom (Matthew 7:21–23).
A Necessary Warning, Not the End of the Doctrine
Whenever the reality of false Christianity is addressed, sincere believers often begin to tremble. Like the disciples in the upper room, they ask, Is it I? Could I be false? Could I be deceived? That concern is understandable, but this warning is only the first sentence of the chapter.
The Confession begins with false assurance because false assurance is real and deadly. But the doctrine of assurance does not end there. The warning is necessary, but it is not the whole message.
Assurance is possible. More than that, assurance is good. God does not preserve His people while refusing to let them know they are His. He does not intend sincere Christians to spend their lives trapped in spiritual uncertainty.
Can a Christian know that he is saved? Yes. The question that remains is how.
