Faith and Assurance (2)

Rev. J.J. van Eckeveld, Zeist, the Netherlands

Do God’s children, those who know of a true faith, always have assurance? That is the question which is placed before us in these articles. It is a personal question which can weigh down so severely in personal life. If there are so many doubts in my personal life, do I really know something of true faith?

The Epistle to the Hebrews states very clearly what true faith is: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The words substance and evidence speak of a certainty, of steadfastness. How should this be perceived?

It very clearly states here that faith directs itself to the faithful Word and living God, even though it cannot be seen. “I have hoped upon Thy Word” (Psalm 119). We like to see what is placed before us. We first want to see and then believe. ”Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29b). Not seeing and yet believing. We would like to have it in our own hands. We would like to take control of it, but in faith, it is the other way around. It is believing without seeing. It is hoping—hope against hope. Therein it finds its certainty.

We must note that assurance is inherent in faith. When faith may truly believe, then, at that moment, there is no doubt. It is the firm foundation of things a person hopes for and an evidence of the things that man does not see. That is the assurance of faith. That assurance is inseparably connected to faith; it is not something which comes to faith, for faith, when it may truly believe, holds fast to the sure Word of the living God.

Only true faith unites with Christ and is indispensable to salvation. True faith learns to lose all grounds which are outside of Christ and learns to direct itself to Christ alone. Without faith it is impossible to please God. It is not for nothing that the apostles call us to prove ourselves to see if we are in the faith.

My thoughts go back to where I regularly sat under that old minister who often said in his prayer, “Lord, give us faith to believe, a hope to hope upon, and a love to love.” How totally dependent upon the administration from above are God’s people in that believing. When faith is not in exercise, then I cannot hold on to anything anymore. With the faith that we have, we must always say, “Help Thou my unbelief” (Calvin).

Faith is necessary

It must be clear that saving faith is necessary. It is only through faith that I receive a portion in Christ and the finished work of the Savior. When it concerns the justification of the ungodly, the Heidelberg Catechism states:

“In as much as I embrace such benefit with a believing heart.” In the original it actually states,“If only I receive this benefit with a believing heart.” In German it states,“Wenn ich allein.” That underscores the necessity of faith. Faith is the only means which unites us with Christ because the Lord has so ordained it.

When we read Paul’s epistles and those of the other apostles, we read there of an unfeigned faith, the faith of God’s elect, the precious faith, the most holy faith, the faith of the working of His mighty power.

The Catechism speaks of a true faith because there is so much faith which is of man, faith that is not true. There is, alas, an experience of faith which is not from God. Only true faith unites with Christ and is indispensable to salvation. True faith learns to lose all grounds which are outside of Christ and learns to direct itself to Christ alone. Without faith it is impossible to please God. It is not for nothing that the apostles call us to prove ourselves to see if we are in the faith.

Knowledge and trust

To repeat the words of the Catechism, that faith consists of knowledge and trust. These two words are so essential. It is not the knowledge of a historical faith where trust would then be added to it. No, it is a knowledge by faith. The word “to know” has such a deep meaning in the Bible. That word is used for the depth of the marriage bond when we read that a man may “know” his wife. What a deep significance is contained in this word. It speaks of the meeting, the tender and close relationship which is carried on in love. That is the knowledge of faith the way the Bible speaks of it.

It is, therefore, all and all love. In conversion when the making-alive work of God begins in the heart, faith is planted in the heart, and the love is poured out. It is from this work that knowledge and trust come forth. A man who knows his wife because of the love between them also trusts her. So the knowledge of faith directs itself with a hearty trust upon the Word of the living God. That knowing and trusting is to pay heed to this Word as a light shining in a dark place. This is how we learn who God is and who we ourselves are. The two always go hand in hand.

Calvin begins his Institutes with an important observation that the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self are inseparably linked together. When the light of the Word shines in our heart, we begin to learn who God is and who we are over against Him. Then there remains a deep need in the soul which causes us to say, “Woe is me, that I have sinned so greatly against that God.” That is what makes sin so bitter and causes us to feel so deeply the weight of sin. In and of ourselves we no longer have any ground to stand on before God, but in this way room is also made for Christ who becomes so precious by faith as He has revealed Himself in the gospel. As miserable and lost as we are, when the Holy Spirit brings faith into exercise, we learn to trust in the Word, in the Christ of God.

Rome and the Reformation

We are considering the question of whether or not there is assurance in faith. According to Rome, that is not the case. Rome does not believe in the certainty of salvation. According to Rome, in order to come to any certainty, it is necessary in every case to have special godly revelations. In the sixteenth century, the Council of Trent proclaimed, “He who in this life thinks to be certain of his salvation is accursed.”

Just think about that for a moment: “He is accursed.” That is a very strong statement. That is fully consistent with the teachings of Rome where it is alleged that a person also has to merit something toward his salvation. That makes salvation so uncertain, for when have I merited enough for my salvation?

Over against Rome, the Reformation has firmly expressed that there is assurance (certainty) in faith. Calvin writes in his Institutes his well-known definition of faith, “Faith is a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor toward us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ, and revealed to our minds, and sealed on our hearts, by the Holy Spirit.” (Institutes III. 2, 7). Calvin emphasizes that faith directs itself upon the Word of God, and especially upon the promises of salvation. He states that, if you take away the Word, faith no longer remains, but, according to Calvin, that does not exclude the fact that the believer is frequently tormented by anxiety and is sometimes shaken with heavy terrors. Our faith, he states, is imperfect and mixed with doubt, but Calvin also speaks of growth and of increase in faith. In this manner the root of faith is never rooted out of a pious heart.

With these words of Calvin I wish to close this article with the observation that the important thing for us is if this root of faith has been implanted in our heart. No matter how much it may be assaulted, that root will never be removed. The Lord Himself will take care of that.

(to be continued)

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