Thanks for the references thus far. I've also found some excellent material in certain chapters of
Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry, as well as Beeke's
Puritan Reformed Spirituality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by moral necessity  Just a quick comment, for lack of time at the moment.
What is shaky is not the God in whom we trust in for our assurance, but rather the degree of faith that we have in that God. As our faith grows, our assurance grows; yet, the foundation of what our assurance was and is in, always has the same infinite strength.
The ground of our assurance is never any stronger than it was when we first believed. And that ground of our assurance is the promise of God. But, our faith often waivers, due to the weakness of our flesh and of indwelling sin. Since faith is a fruit of sanctification, it naturally ebbs and flows as does everything else in sanctification. We never get beyond the prayer, "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief."
Blessings! |
The assurance wasn't the original issue; it sprang from a discussion of
Sola Fide versus a justification that incorporates a works righteousness of our own to some degree. It was even mutually understood and agreed that our own works are constantly tainted by sin and we could never actually be perfect so as to purely earn God's just acceptance; but that in turn brought up the issue of how Sola Fide as a means could possibly be a sufficient solution since even our
resting and trusting itself (in the spiritual sense; think Peter sinking in the water) as well as our minds' own
intellectual justification for God's existence (in the apologetic and epistemological sense; think Thomas after the Resurrection) are continually wavering and paved by weakness.