WE ARE CONSIDERING those “signs” or experiences in the life of individuals which prove nothing concerning the authenticity of their spiritual state. So let’s continue.
(8) The order or sequence in which one experinces religious affections proves nothing certain about their origin or nature
Does Scripture teach a particular sequence from conviction of sin to assurance of salvation? In other words, is it always the case when God is savingly at work in the human soul that a person will first experience deep pains of conscience, followed by a sense of humiliation for having failed God, only after which comes that comfort and joy which are the fruit of forgiveness?
There are undoubtedly countless examples in Scripture where this “order” or “scheme” is characteristic of God’s people. Both in his dealings with corporate Israel as well as in his work in the individual heart, it makes sense that “before God delivers persons from a state of sin and exposedness to eternal destruction, he should give them some considerable sense of the evil he delivers from; that they may be delivered sensibly, and understand their own salvation, and know something of what God does for them.”
On the other hand, it would be unjustified to conclude that joy is always genuine simply because it follows upon the fear of hell. There is a great difference between being terrified of eternal condemnation and experiencing conviction of conscience for having sinned against an infinitely holy God. Numerous individuals “have frightful apprehensions of hell, a dreadful pit ready to swallow them up, and flames just ready to lay hold of them, and devils around them ready to seize them; who at the same time seem to have very little proper enlightenings of conscience, really convincing them of their sinfulness of heart and life. The devil, if permitted, can terrify men as well as the Spirit of God.”
The point is that if Satan can counterfeit those affections that are the result of the saving and gracious operations of the Spirit, he can also counterfeit those experiences that are preparatory to the reception of saving grace.
Due to differences in personality and temperament, some people are more prone than others to react to perceptions of hell and judgment. In other words, the imaginations of some are more vivid and easily stirred at the thought of impending judgment and the horrors of hell. Thus the mere experience of such fears is no proof that such people are recipients of the Spirit’s saving operations.
Even on those occasions when the Spirit is the one responsible for people reacting in fear of hell and judgment, the joy of forgiveness will not necessarily follow. Men and women can quench the Spirit’s work and in turn produce for and in themselves a hope and a joy that is grounded in something other than the efficacy of the saving work of Jesus.
The Spirit’s work is mysterious and varied and subject only to the sovereign pleasure of his own will. What we must be concerned with is the nature of what God has produced in the soul and not the Spirit’s method of producing it. So, in summary, the sequence or steps or perceived causal relation of various spiritual experiences proves little, perhaps nothing at all, concerning the origin and nature of what has happened. For that proof we need to attend to what Scripture has explicitly set forth as true signs of true affections.
(9) One might think that fervancy in the normal affairs of worship and religious duty would be a sure sign of gracious affections. But this is not the case.
Once again, we cannot deny that those who are graciously and savingly influenced by the Spirit will invariably enjoy reading Scripture and praying and singing God’s praise. They most assuredly will! We can even say that a person who neglects the standard expressions of piety and zeal for the Lord has no basis on which to claim that he or she is the recipient of God’s saving presence.
Consider several well-known examples in Scripture. Anna’s life was characterized by fasting and unceasing prayer (see Luke 2:37). Those in the early church were together on a daily basis, sharing table fellowship and praising God (see Acts 2:46–47). Daniel and David were faithful to give themselves to thrice-daily prayer (see Ps. 55:17). And nothing is more characteristic of authentic spiritual affections than joy in the worship and celebration of God (see Ps. 26:8; 27:4; 84:1–2; 89:15; 135:3; 147:1).
But “persons being disposed to abound and to be zealously engaged in the external exercises of religion, and to spend much time in them, is no sure evidence of grace; because such a disposition is found in many that have no grace.” This was certainly the case with many in Israel (see Isa. 1:2–15) as well as with the Pharisees in the days of Jesus.
So, whereas the chronic absence of fervent prayer and praise and fellowship (just to mention a few expressions of zeal) is an indication that a profession of faith is likely spurious, the mere presence of such activities is not sufficient to prove that one’s professed faith is gracious and saving in nature.
(10) Not even the vocal praise of God is a sure and certain sign of gracious affection
This is an extension of the previous point but with a focus on that one activity that many consider infallible proof of the Spirit’s influence. Again, no one will deny that those who are truly saved will love to sing the praises of their Lord and Master. But singing praises is not sufficient to prove that Christ is indeed their Savior. There are simply too many instances in Scripture where people “praise” and “glorify” God but are bereft of his saving operations.
Many praised Jesus on the performance of his miracles, yet time revealed they knew nothing of him in a saving way (see Mark 2:12; Matt. 9:8; 15:31; Luke 4:15; 5:26; 7:16; Acts 4:21).
(11) Merely having a deep and profound assuarance that one is saved proves nothing about the authenticity of one's faith
Some argue that there is no such thing as full and confident assurance of salvation. Therefore, those who profess to have experienced it demonstrate that they have not as yet tasted saving grace.
Most, however, concede that there are numerous instances in the Scriptures where true believers are said to have an assurance of salvation (see Job 19:25). One also thinks of the countless times in the Psalms where David spoke without hesitation and in the most positive manner possible of his relationship with God. Numerous times in the Upper Room Discourse Jesus went out of his way to assure his disciples of the certainty of their inheritance and the assurance of peace with God (see John 15:11; 16:33). Such declarations are also found in Paul’s writings (see Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21; 2 Tim. 1:12; 4:8; Heb. 6:17–18).
But once more we must point out that merely having assurance of salvation and a confident peace of mind and heart is not an infallible proof that one is accepted of God. Those who loudly and without the slightest doubt declare the certainty of their relationship with God may be like the Pharisees “who never doubted but that they were saints, and the most eminent of saints, and were bold to go to God, and come up near to him, and lift up their eyes, and thank him for the great distinction he had made between them and other men.”
The unregenerate heart is quite capable of self-deception, self-flattery, and a self-confidence that leads it to heartily assert its safety with God. True believers embrace the assurance of salvation with humility and caution, whereas the false assert it with a brazen confidence that borders on arrogant presumption. True believers, unlike hypocrites, are also keenly aware of their own sin and the potential it has for leading them into a false sense of security. It is also the case that Satan will leave a hypocrite undisturbed in his false assurance (and perhaps even embolden him in it), whereas he may constantly attack the born-again believer lest the power of hope in his heart strengthen his commitment to holiness and purity of life. The hypocrite “looks clean and bright in his own eyes” while the true saint is made ever more aware of his failings and corruption.
The grounds for this false assurance can vary from self-congratu lation that comes from the diligent performance of religious external duties to that sense of self-righteousness that follows from having allegedly received revelations from God or feeling the subjective impression of a Scripture text spontaneously brought to mind. Regardless of what one thinks about the validity of such extra-biblical “revelations” and “impressions,” they are not the biblical grounds for assurance of salvation. Many who have never “heard” from God in this manner arrogantly think they have and base their confidence of eternal life on that alone.
Those who have truly been born of God maintain their assurance “by the soul’s being kept in a holy frame, and grace maintained in lively exercise. If the actings of grace do much decay in the Christian, and he falls into a lifeless frame, he loses his assurance. But this kind of confidence of hypocrites will not be shaken by sin. They (at least some of them), will maintain their boldness in their hope, in the most corrupt frames and wicked ways, which is a sure evidence of their delusion.”
Some actually revel in their assurance of salvation in spite of the absence of gracious works and godly obedience and a knowledge of God as revealed in Christ. They claim that this is what the Scripture means when it speaks of “living” or “walking by faith” and “not by sight.” But the Bible knows nothing of “any such faith in Christ or the operation of God, that is not founded in a spiritual sight of Christ.”
Some imagine that “living by faith” means believing you are saved even though there is no evidence in life or experience of ever having encountered the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. You are simply to “believe” and “trust” that your relationship with God is good in spite of there being no evidence—or even having all evidence to the contrary. Thus he who believes he is saved despite all evidence to the contrary is honored as one who has extraordinary faith.
Of course, it is true that we are to trust in God and maintain our faith even when times are confusing and dark and there appears no evidence of his presence or activity. He may seem distant and dull to our prayers, and his providence may frown upon our best efforts. “But how different a thing is this from trusting in God without spiritual sight, and being at the same time in a dead and carnal frame!”
That some Christians fall into doubt regarding the state of their souls is not always a bad thing. Their failure to believe and trust in the certainty of their salvation is not a failure of faith on their part but a merciful gift from God. “For so hath God contrived and constituted things, in his dispensations towards his own people, that when their love decays, and the exercises of it fail, or become weak, fear should arise; for then they need it to restrain them from sin, and to excite ’em to care for the good of their souls, and so to stir them up to watchfulness and diligence in religion. But God hath so ordered that when love rises, and is in vigorous exercise, then fear should vanish, and be driven away.”
In summary, people “directly thwart God’s wise and gracious constitution of things, who exhort others to be confident in their hope when in dead frames; under a notion of living by faith, and not by sight, and trusting God in the dark, and living upon Christ, and not upon experiences; and warn them not to doubt of their good estate, lest they should be guilty of the dreadful sin of unbelief. And it has a direct tendency to establish the most presumptuous hypocrites, and to prevent their ever calling their state in question, how much soever wickedness rages, and reigns in their hearts, and prevails in their lives, under a notion of honoring God, by hoping against hope, and confidently trusting in God, when things look very dark.”
(12) That true Christrians are impreesed by the external behaviour nad attracted to the lifestyle of another person proves nothing concerning the nature of the latter's religious affections.
The fact is, true believers do not have the necessary discernment to determine who is and who is not saved. They may know in their own souls the reality of saving grace, but this is something they can neither feel nor see in the heart of another. We can at best observe others’ behavior, “but the Scripture plainly intimates that this way of judging what is in men by outward appearances, is at best uncertain and liable to deceit.” This is confirmed by God’s word to Samuel: “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7; see also Isa. 11:3).
When people give what appears to be external evidence of internal life, it is our responsibility to receive them cordially into fellowship and to love them and rejoice with them as brothers and sisters of Christ. But even then it is possible for us to be deceived as to their true spiritual condition. As we have seen repeatedly in this discussion, people may display a wide range of virtues and religious affections and yet be without a spark of saving grace in their hearts. They may express love for God, admire his attributes, and feel sorrow for sin, yet be devoid of true spiritual life. They may abase themselves in what appears to be godly humility and manifest reverence, submission, gratitude, joy, religious longings, and zeal for the good of other folk, yet know nothing of the forgiving mercy of God.
Such people may experience these affections in the same order and sequence as do those who are truly the recipients of saving grace, yet remain in spiritual death. They may weep and tremble and fall to the ground under what appears to be the weight of some vision or sense of God’s goodness to them, yet be lost. They may speak fluently and fervently of spiritual matters and how Scripture texts and redemptive promises have come spontaneously to mind, leading them to loudly praise and glorify God and to call upon others to praise him for showing grace to such unworthy sinners. Such affections may lead them into every conceivable religious endeavor, such as prayer and study of the Word and singing and attending theological conferences.
Yet, notwithstanding such experiences and professions of faith, “it has been made plain, that there may be all these things, and yet there be nothing more than the common [or non-redemptive, non-saving] influences of the Spirit of God, joined with the delusions of Satan, and the wicked and deceitful heart.” One can add to all of this that a person may have a sweet personality and a solid grasp of biblical doctrine and a capacity to dialogue with other saints on the glories and subtleties of Christian faith, and yet be void of saving grace. “How great therefore may the resemblance be, as to all outward expressions and appearances, between a hypocrite and a true saint! Doubtless ’tis the glorious prerogative of the omniscient God, as the great searcher of hearts, to be able well to separate between sheep and goats.”
It is perfectly understandable why a true believer would be quick to affirm the salvation of another who testifies to having experienced God’s saving influence. When a person uses biblical vocabulary to describe in passionate and articulate terms what appears to be the same experience of a regenerate man or woman, and does so with great delight, joy, and confidence, it makes sense that a Christian would rejoice in what he or she hears. After all, “a true saint greatly delights in holiness: it is a most beautiful thing in his eyes; and God’s work, in savingly renewing and making holy and happy, a poor, and before perishing soul, appears to him a most glorious work. No wonder, therefore, that his heart is touched and greatly affected when he hears another give a probable account of this work, wrought on his own heart, and when he sees in him probable appearances of holiness; whether those pleasing appearances have anything real to answer them or no.”
But we must resist the temptation to make premature judgments about the state of another’s soul. Those who profess faith in Christ, especially in times of revival and the extraordinary outpouring of the Spirit, are often like the blossoms of spring: “there are vast numbers of them upon the trees which all look fair and promising; but yet very many of them never come to anything. And many of those, that in a little time wither up, and drop off, and rot under the trees; yet for a while, look as beautiful and gay as others; and not only so, but smell sweet and send forth a pleasant odor, so that we can’t, by any of our senses, certainly distinguish those blossoms which have in them that secret virtue, which will afterwards appear in the fruit, and that inward solidity and strength which shall enable them to bear and cause them to be perfected by the hot summer sun, that will dry up the others.” Thus, and this cannot be stated too strongly, it is “the mature fruit which comes afterwards, and not the beautiful colors and smell of the blossom, that we must judge by.”
There is hardly anything more explicit in the teachings of Jesus himself than the rules by which we are to judge the sincerity of someone’s profession of faith. We must judge the nature of the tree by the quality of its fruit. But if the fruit of saving virtue is subject to being counterfeited, what good is this as a rule for discerning true from false? The answer is found not in the mere presence of what appears to be fruit, but in its perseverance. If the fruit shows itself not merely once, no matter how fervently and sweetly, but endures and matures over time and through trial, we can more solidly judge whether they be truly of God (although even then our judgment is still fallible).