Thread: Can the Calvinist be sure of his election?

I've been debating friend of mine and last night he insisted that Calvinism taught that a person cannot know if he/she is elect? In other words, one cannot be sure of his salvation.

I hadn't this in detail, only remembering hearing a couple of lectures on the Puritans that they did struggle with assurance.

Is this true?

No.

Canons of Dordrecht, 1st Head, Article 12: The Assurance of Election

Assurance of this their eternal and unchangeable election to salvation is given to the chosen in due time, though by various stages and in differing measure. Such assurance comes not by inquisitive searching into the hidden and deep things of God, but by noticing within themselves, with spiritual joy and holy delight, the unmistakable fruits of election pointed out in God's Word-- such as a true faith in Christ, a childlike fear of God, a godly sorrow for their sins, a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and so on.

Canons of Dordrecht, 5th Head, Article 9: The Assurance of This Preservation

Concerning this preservation of those chosen to salvation and concerning the perseverance of true believers in faith, believers themselves can and do become assured in accordance with the measure of their faith, by which they firmly believe that they are and always will remain true and living members of the church, and that they have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

You should challenge your friend to prove what he says. The Reformed confessions say otherwise.

He's mixed up. It is the Arminian and the Romanist that cannot have assurance.

This is not true. We absolutely can be most sure of our election: for if we apprehend Christ by faith, we see our election in him. There may, indeed, be time before one comes to assurance of this, but it is certainly there for the believer.

I think it is natural to struggle with assurance but the Scriptures do say that we can know. If we can know that we have eternal life then we can know if we are the elect because it is the elect who have eternal life.

1 John 5:13

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

Amen and Amen

Originally Posted by steadfast7

I've been debating friend of mine and last night he insisted that Calvinism taught that a person cannot know if he/she is elect? In other words, one cannot be sure of his salvation.

I hadn't this in detail, only remembering hearing a couple of lectures on the Puritans that they did struggle with assurance.

Is this true?

There has been some discussion within the Reformed community about how exactly and to what extent one comes to the assurance of faith. Speaking broadly, some Puritans seemed to make it rather difficult. However, by no means have any Reformed denied the possibility of assurance. The best treatment of this question is Joel Beeke's Quest for Full Assurance.

The argument from the non-Calvinist runs thus. If two people can have remarkably similar spiritual experiences, and if one falls away and is therefore to be regarded as non-elect, then present spiritual experience cannot testify truly to election. One must wait to see if he perseveres before being certain of his election. Thus, present certainty is impossible.

There is an error in this argument, though. It assumes that the believer cannot be sure of his own perseverance. Although when I look at others, I ultimately have to judge by perseverance (not being able to see the reality of faith inside), when I consider myself, I look to Jesus Christ and find in him my perseverance. Perceiving that I do indeed trust in Him, I believe also that I will persevere in the faith that He has granted me. No one who is looking to Christ has even the slightest possibility of failing to persevere.

We can be absolutely sure of our election not by peering into God's secrets but by being absolutely sure of our calling. The Holy Spirit can work this infallible assurance of faith in us.

The Calvinist believes the Bible and the Bible says we can be sure.

Originally Posted by CharlieJ

The argument from the non-Calvinist runs thus. If two people can have remarkably similar spiritual experiences, and if one falls away and is therefore to be regarded as non-elect, then present spiritual experience cannot testify truly to election. One must wait to see if he perseveres before being certain of his election. Thus, present certainty is impossible.

Yup, this is precisely the argument that was posed: suppose a person believes and has assurance, then turns away and loses his assurance. Assurance that is lost is not assurance. I understand the argument. Suppose I am, right now, fully assured of my election, and then proceed to deny the faith and live in the flesh. I should for all good reasons begin to doubt my election, no?

There is an error in this argument, though. It assumes that the believer cannot be sure of his own perseverance. Although when I look at others, I ultimately have to judge by perseverance (not being able to see the reality of faith inside), when I consider myself, I look to Jesus Christ and find in him my perseverance. Perceiving that I do indeed trust in Him, I believe also that I will persevere in the faith that He has granted me. No one who is looking to Christ has even the slightest possibility of failing to persevere.

So does this mean that we can only have full assurance only of our present spiritual condition, but not of our ultimate and final salvation?

The Apostle Peter seemed to have thought we could make our "calling and election sure:"
2 Peter 1
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Originally Posted by Beoga

The Apostle Peter seemed to have thought we could make our "calling and election sure:"
2 Peter 1
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Is it safe to say that while God's election is unconditional, our growing in assurance in election is conditioned on diligence and effort? I'm willing to accept it cause it seems to make sense.

thanks.

Originally Posted by steadfast7

Suppose I am, right now, fully assured of my election, and then proceed to deny the faith and live in the flesh. I should for all good reasons begin to doubt my election, no?

If you denied the faith you wouldn't even be concerned about being chosen by God, no? In other words you wouldn't at that point doubt your election but deny the truth of election.

One's own assurance of salvation is, arguably, subjective insofar as one may have a profession of faith which can be false. (Matthew 7:22; John 2:23-25) However the original question was whether or not we can be assured of our salvation and the answer is, objectively, yes. If one falls away without being restored it is clear that their assurance was misguided or false because it was based upon something other than Christ Himself. In other words it was no (real) assurance at all.

We can be sure of our salvation/election:

Rom 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Originally Posted by steadfast7

So does this mean that we can only have full assurance only of our present spiritual condition, but not of our ultimate and final salvation?

Quite the opposite. Our present assurance is the ground of our future assurance. Believing that God is NOW propitious toward me for Christ's sake also includes the idea that He always will be, else what good is Christ? If I determine that NOW I am truly believing, I can be assured that I will always continue to do so, since God gives and upholds faith.

Originally Posted by Poimen

Originally Posted by steadfast7

Suppose I am, right now, fully assured of my election, and then proceed to deny the faith and live in the flesh. I should for all good reasons begin to doubt my election, no?

One's own assurance of salvation is, arguably, subjective insofar as one may have a profession of faith which can be false. (Matthew 7:22; John 2:23-25) However the original question was whether or not we can be assured of our salvation and the question is, objectively, yes. If one falls away without being restored it is clear that their assurance was misguided or false because it was based upon something other than Christ Himself. In other words it was no (real) assurance at all.

So very true. It is a fine line that many cross over from objective to subjective.

Psalm 139 has helped me on this score.

Originally Posted by steadfast7

I've been debating friend of mine and last night he insisted that Calvinism taught that a person cannot know if he/she is elect? In other words, one cannot be sure of his salvation.

I hadn't this in detail, only remembering hearing a couple of lectures on the Puritans that they did struggle with assurance.

Is this true?

HyperCalvinism says you can't be sure. It sounds like someone has a label swapped.

These are some of my notes that I keep in my Bible dealing with Assurance. I have a small booklet by Dr. Beeke on assurance that was invaluable. Hopefull I have understood them correctly since the discussions of the puritans uses of syllogisms lost me. I also keep a copy of the relevant sections from the creeds but I did not include those in my response.

Our Struggle with Assurance
· Assurance belongs to Faith (Heb. 11:1; Ps. 23; Rom. 8:38; 2 Tim. 1:12; 1 Jn. 2:3; 3:14; 5:13)
· Believers struggle with the occasional experience of an unrelieved absence of the consciousness of divine favor (Ps. 38; 73; 88).
· Believers are to overcome their lack of Assurance (Heb. 6:11; 2 Pet. 1:10; Ph. 1:6).
· Not only must we struggle with the certainty of salvation in Christ, we must struggle with the certainty of our saving faith and our personal salvation.
· An unsaved person may have a false assurance (Jer. 17:9; Mt. 7:24-27; 25)

Though saving faith inherently contains trust and assurance by definition, full assurance of personal salvation must be regarded as a fruit of faith rather than of faith’s essence. While the Puritans distinguish full assurance from the initial trust of faith, they will not allow a division between the two, for full assurance grows out of an assurance implicit in the first act of faith. Personal assurance may be ascribed especially to the economical work of the Holy Spirit through an application of God’s promises in Christ which the believer appropriates by faith. The Spirit’s sealing work is based on the sure covenant of grace and the saving work of Christ, which in turn is grounded in God’s sovereign good pleasure and love in eternal election. God cannot and will not disinherit His adopted children nor break His covenant made with us in Christ.

The Grounds of Our Assurance
· The primary objective ground of our assurance: the divine truth of the promises of salvation. We are to first and primarily trust in God’s faithfulness to us in Christ as revealed in the promises of the gospel. (see Perseverance of the Saints)
- Understanding the nature of Salvation (2 Pet. 1:2-8; 3:18)
- The immutability of the gifts and calling of God (Rom. 11:29)
- Christ’s Work in the New Covenant (Heb. 7-10)
- The blessings of our Sonship in Christ (Rom. 8:16; see Spiritual Adoption)
· The secondary subjective grounds of our assurance: Practical and Mystical. Subjective experiences may sometimes feel more sure than faith in God’s promises.
- Inward Evidences of Graces
a. Practical: based on the believer’s sanctification and good works in daily life
§ Increasing godly characteristics/fruit (2 Pet. 1:5-10; Gal. 5:22-23; Mt. 7:16-20; Jn. 15:1-8; Jas. 2:17-18; Heb. 6:11-12)
§ Keep His commandments (1 Jn. 2:3-6; 5:2)
§ Loves his brother (1 Jn. 2:10; 3:10,14,17; 4:7; 5:2; Mt. 25:31-46)
§ Stays within the church (1 Jn. 2:19)
§ Does not make a practice of sinning but practices righteousness (1 Jn. 3:9-10; 5:18)
§ The chastening of the Father when we backslide (Lk. 22:31-32, 54-61; 24:34; Mk. 16:7; Jn. 21:15-19; Heb. 12:5-6)
b. Mystical: based on the believer’s internal exercises and progress in the steps of grace. We don’t trust our own trusting apart from the Spirit. But see in ourselves Christ’s special, peculiar and distinguishing graces as they conform to the Word of God. More time and energy should be spent seeking to the receiving and increasing of your grace than for the discerning of it.
§ A Present Trust in Christ for Salvation (Col. 1:23; Heb. 3:14; 6:12; Jn. 3:16)
§ Heart Evidence (Mt. 7:22; 1 Cor. 3:12; Gal. 5:22-love, joy, peace)
§ Believing Right Doctrine (1 Jn. 2:23-24; 4:6)
§ Abiding with God (see Communion with God)
§ Self-Examination (2 Cor. 13:5)

The Witnessing Testimony of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:15-16; 1 Jn. 4:13; Gal. 4:16)
The Puritans were unclear whether the Spirit works in conjunction with the inward evidences of grace to confirm assurance to us or if He communicates it directly to us. Either way, He is at work in the whole process of giving us assurance, even in our trusting the promises of God. Without the application of the Spirit, the promises of God lead to self-deceit and fruitless lives. Without the enlightening of the Spirit, self-examination tends to introspection, bondage, and legalism. The witness of the Spirit divorced from the promises of God and from scriptural inward evidence, is prone to reap unbiblical mysticism and excessive emotionalism.

We can have assurance of our salvation. However, I want to be careful to point out we don't have a "once for all time" notion of assurance. Namely, the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is fundamentally different than the common evangelical notion of "once saved always saved." The former carries with it the idea of assurance based upon the ongoing evidence of faith and the work of the Spirit, the latter attempts to gave absolute and infallible assurance on the basis of a one-time profession regardless of what transpires in the remainder of the person's life.

My pastor recently taught a SS series on the Biblical doctrine of assurance.

1. Am I believing in and trusting Christ alone for my salvation?
2. Am I bearing fruit in keeping with being a new creation in Christ?
3. Do I have the testimony of the Holy Spirit that God is my Father?
4. Am I persevering in the Way?

Self Examination
4 Standards
Walking in the Light
Evangelical Law Keeping
The Love of the World
The Love of the World Part 2
Doctrinal Integrity
Do I Love The Brethren?
Do We Love God?
An Issue of Speech
Sins Of The Tongue
Godly use of our speech
Dying to Self
Witness of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives
Look to Christ!

If at all relevant to the discussion I enjoyed this from the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church's website (don't worry I am not converting).

Rom. 8:32, 33: "He that spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Luther's pastoral advice is therefore in accord with Scripture: "Gaze upon the wounds of Christ and the blood shed for you; there predestination will shine forth."