I think the missed, rather, theologically punted point is that no amount of life time examination can yield a “certainty”. In fact to carry it to logical absurdity neither can an infinite amount of lives lived yield this certainty for the Word of God strictly forbids it. Seeking the majesty of God a man will be thrown down every time. A distinction between ‘the revealed God’, that is Christ, must be made between ‘knowledge OF the fact of the secret will of God’. The later meaning for example we have ‘knowledge of the FACT of the secret will of God that He in fact elects from eternity. BUT we DO NOT have primary and majestic naked knowledge of those elect, not even ourselves. Else it was pointless for Christ to come to earth and reveal the Father, pointless to baptize, pointless to have the Lord’s Supper. Election is known only through the objective facts trusted in for one’s self. The only elect there are – are those nakedly trusting in Christ alone. Those who find their election elsewhere are in fact proving themselves reprobate. To seek election nakedly, the majesty of God, is the mark of the fall, not the faithful, and a great sin, it is to be like God for ourselves and to know what we’ve been forbidden to know.
1. Men can and do fake anything.
2. No man sustains good works perfectly throughout life externally let alone inwardly. Anyone who says he does is a liar, that’s not accusation but FACT.
3. To constrain good works to a “finite list”, anyone’s list is false good works and proof positive a man is working his way to heaven EVEN if he falsely attributes it to grace. Humility is at the heart of grace and humility must be caused from the outside, laid upon a man. Self appointed humility is absolute pride in its purist form and hence complete sin.
4. Doing good works to assure one’s self or sanctify one’s self is false and is utterly selfish and against the Holy Law, hence utter sin against the Holy Law.
5. Observers of men, sinners themselves, cannot examine the heart behind the good works done purely themselves, let alone another man. No man can plumb the depths of the human heart, not his own nor another’s.
6. Only God sees the heart to claim otherwise is calling God a liar. Likewise to pretend to see the heart by secondary causes is to also call God a liar, it matters little whether one claims to see the heart nakedly or pretend to read it through a veil, the claim is false either way.
7. All works are perfectly tainted with sin as to magnitude, frequency, amount and all permutation thereof, even post conversion. This means every ounce and way of measure of a good work by the eyes of men.
8. Simul Justus et Peccator is not a 50/50 mixture as modern evangelicalism like Rome pretends, but 100% by 100%, 100% sinner STILL, and yet 100% justified for Christ’s sake. Hence again #4.
Thus, the whole idea of measuring immediately or by secondary causes is false from start to finish and misses the ENTIRE point of baptism.
Blessings In Christ Alone,
Larry
