The Doubting Christian?

[ServantofGod]

This has probably been discussed enough to fill a few volumes of books, but it is late, and to try and search through the archives is not a great desire of mine right now.

The most common hyper calvanist acronym I have seen is L.O.G.I.C.

L - Lost People have No Truth in them
O - Only Intellectual Belief is Faith
G - Gospel Never Fails to Assure Believers
I - Imputed Righteousness is the Gospel
C - Christ Alone Not David in the Psalms

The question I pose relates to the G.

In discussion, an acquaintance of mine declared that those who doubt(their salvation that is), are not truly saved, and I have taken from it that he believes doubting is the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. It seems the reasoning behind that is, those who claim to have the Holy Spirit, claim to be indwelled by the One who reveals the truth, and who allows one to embrace it in faith. But he who doubts his salvation, denies the truth and the assurance the Holy Spirit(who is thought to enlighten this person) should have given, denies the power of the Holy Spirit, thereby, claiming to have the Spirit, but not accepting It's attributes, and in doubt, applying to It attributes that are not of God, so thereby blaspheming.

What are your thoughts on this? I have brought my salvation into question numerous times, also doubting certain aspects of the Gospel, such as the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, ect...(just think Roman Catholic), and I wonder, is doubting a fruit of unbelief(in the sense of not knowing instead of denial)? How much doubt is too much; where we should start to seriously question whether we really know Christ?

Forgive me if that does not make sense. Please, just ask, and I will try to clarify.


Securely His,

Ian K.

 

[ServantofGod]

Forgive me, but I should have added the verses that back up their idea:

For we have become partakers of Christ, if truly we hold the BEGINNING OF THE ASSURANCE FIRM TO THE END" Heb 3:14

"he reconciled [you] ... if indeed you continue in the faith GROUNDED and SETTLED and NOT BEING MOVED AWAY from the HOPE of the gospel" (Col 1:21-23)

"but Christ as Son over His house, whose house we are, IF TRULY WE HOLD FAST THE BOLDNESS and REJOICING OF THE HOPE FIRM to the end." Heb 3:6

 

[ChristianTrader]

Ian,
We do not defend hyper calvinism here. So we have no reason to defend things put forward by hyper calvinism.

As far as G goes, ones assurance of their salvation can be more or less at various times in life. That however does not imply that their salvation is gone every time their assurance is weakened for whatever reason.

CT

 

[Presbyterian Deacon]

Assurance is a sometimes fleeting thing if we rely too much upon our feelings.

1 John 3:19-21
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; [20] for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. [21] Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

Our feelings are subjective. Our whims and fancies drive us to distraction, but assurance is based upon the objective truths of God's Word. When our hearts condemn us (subjectively), the objective truth is, "God is greater than our hearts!" (objective truth).

A book I found helpful many years ago when wrestling with assurance is Thomas Hooker's Poor Doubting Christian Drawn to Christ.

 

[MW]

A book I found helpful many years ago when wrestling with assurance is Thomas Hooker's Poor Doubting Christian Drawn to Christ.

Available here: The Poor Doubting Christian Drawn to ... - Google Book Search

 

[Zenas]

To doubt is to be assured because it is the broken and contrite in heart that God adores, for it is the broken and contrite in heart that realizes the depth and depravity of their sin. The person who thinks their sin to too great and vast to be borne is the prime candidate for sonship along with the Lord Christ. The one who never doubts has a self-esteem problem because he doesn't have one, if you get what I mean. This is why I believe to doubt, is to be assured. Those who never question their belief that they will stroll through the gates of Heaven with the lifetime of God-hating rebellion on their back are the ones that will be sorely mistaken. The weeping, broken sinner, afraid to approach the throne of God is the one who will inherit the Son's kingdom.

 

[Presbyterian Deacon]

Those who never question their belief that they will stroll through the gates of Heaven with the lifetime of God-hating rebellion on their back are the ones that will be sorely mistaken. The weeping, broken sinner, afraid to approach the throne of God is the one who will inherit the Son's kingdom.

Well said. This is the difference between presumption and true assurance.

Those who never question their belief that they will stroll through the gates of Heaven with the lifetime of God-hating rebellion on their back are the ones that will be sorely mistaken.

These are the ones like Ignorance who Bunyan pictures in the last paragraph of part one of his Pilgrim's Progress. At the judgment they fumble to find their certificate, and find none. They are conveyed through the air to a door in the side of the hill and cast out on "The Way to Hell, even from the Gates of Heaven."

 

[moral necessity]

In discussion, an acquaintance of mine declared that those who doubt(their salvation that is), are not truly saved, and I have taken from it that he believes doubting is the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. It seems the reasoning behind that is, those who claim to have the Holy Spirit, claim to be indwelled by the One who reveals the truth, and who allows one to embrace it in faith. But he who doubts his salvation, denies the truth and the assurance the Holy Spirit(who is thought to enlighten this person) should have given, denies the power of the Holy Spirit, thereby, claiming to have the Spirit, but not accepting It's attributes, and in doubt, applying to It attributes that are not of God, so thereby blaspheming.

What are your thoughts on this? I have brought my salvation into question numerous times, also doubting certain aspects of the Gospel, such as the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, ect...(just think Roman Catholic), and I wonder, is doubting a fruit of unbelief(in the sense of not knowing instead of denial)? How much doubt is too much; where we should start to seriously question whether we really know Christ?

Forgive me if that does not make sense. Please, just ask, and I will try to clarify.


Securely His,

Ian K.

The question is, what is being doubted? Is it the sufficiency of the work of Christ, or the amount of faith we have in such a work? Those are the only two things to consider. To me, the first permits a bedrock of confidence. The second is what tends to waiver, and is due to our shortsightedness.

 

[moral necessity]

Also, we are to be in a state of readiness for his coming, to where we do not shrink back when he arrives. How will we be ready for such if we look to anything but his promise? When we look within ourselves, doubt is sure to arise. When we look to the finished work of Christ, only there can we find comfort.

 

[AV1611]

A book I found helpful many years ago when wrestling with assurance is Thomas Hooker's Poor Doubting Christian Drawn to Christ.

I have continuously struggled with the issue of assurance. I have found Thomas Goodwin and William Guthrie helpful and I have found Thomas Shepard challenging. Still struggling and at this moment in time I cannot honestly say that I am sure of my salvation.

I put a bit Guthrie onto my blog yesterday that I found helpful.

Guthrie’s Catechism on Assurance « Reformed Anglican

 

[ServantofGod]

To doubt is to be assured because it is the broken and contrite in heart that God adores, for it is the broken and contrite in heart that realizes the depth and depravity of their sin. The person who thinks their sin to too great and vast to be borne is the prime candidate for sonship along with the Lord Christ. The one who never doubts has a self-esteem problem because he doesn't have one, if you get what I mean. This is why I believe to doubt, is to be assured. Those who never question their belief that they will stroll through the gates of Heaven with the lifetime of God-hating rebellion on their back are the ones that will be sorely mistaken. The weeping, broken sinner, afraid to approach the throne of God is the one who will inherit the Son's kingdom.

But wouldn't doubt be the same as a skeptic or an agnostic view? When I doubt, I disregard the only thing that saves me, thereby I just have the same mindset I had as an unbeliever. What I mean to say is, if before I was saved I did not believe that Christ could save a sinner as wretched as me, how am I assured that I am saved when I still have the same sentiment as before? How am I assured that I just am not deceiving myself into believing Christ has saved me? Many people "rest their trust" on Christ without really believing, and doubt seems like a good sign things have not changed.

 

[Amazing Grace]

In discussion, an acquaintance of mine declared that those who doubt(their salvation that is), are not truly saved, and I have taken from it that he believes doubting is the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. It seems the reasoning behind that is, those who claim to have the Holy Spirit, claim to be indwelled by the One who reveals the truth, and who allows one to embrace it in faith. But he who doubts his salvation, denies the truth and the assurance the Holy Spirit(who is thought to enlighten this person) should have given, denies the power of the Holy Spirit, thereby, claiming to have the Spirit, but not accepting It's attributes, and in doubt, applying to It attributes that are not of God, so thereby blaspheming.

What are your thoughts on this? I have brought my salvation into question numerous times, also doubting certain aspects of the Gospel, such as the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, ect...(just think Roman Catholic), and I wonder, is doubting a fruit of unbelief(in the sense of not knowing instead of denial)? How much doubt is too much; where we should start to seriously question whether we really know Christ?

Forgive me if that does not make sense. Please, just ask, and I will try to clarify.


Securely His,

Ian K.

The question is, what is being doubted? Is it the sufficiency of the work of Christ, or the amount of faith we have in such a work? Those are the only two things to consider. To me, the first permits a bedrock of confidence. The second is what tends to waiver, and is due to our shortsightedness.

Hence I never have faith in my faith. Nor will make faith conditional...

 

[ServantofGod]

To doubt is to be assured because it is the broken and contrite in heart that God adores, for it is the broken and contrite in heart that realizes the depth and depravity of their sin. The person who thinks their sin to too great and vast to be borne is the prime candidate for sonship along with the Lord Christ. The one who never doubts has a self-esteem problem because he doesn't have one, if you get what I mean. This is why I believe to doubt, is to be assured. Those who never question their belief that they will stroll through the gates of Heaven with the lifetime of God-hating rebellion on their back are the ones that will be sorely mistaken. The weeping, broken sinner, afraid to approach the throne of God is the one who will inherit the Son's kingdom.

But wouldn't doubt be the same as a skeptic or an agnostic view? When I doubt, I disregard the only thing that saves me, thereby I just have the same mindset I had as an unbeliever. What I mean to say is, if before I was saved I did not believe that Christ could save a sinner as wretched as me, how am I assured that I am saved when I still have the same sentiment as before? How am I assured that I just am not deceiving myself into believing Christ has saved me? Many people "rest their trust" on Christ without really believing, and doubt seems like a good sign things have not changed.

 

[moral necessity]

When I doubt, I disregard the only thing that saves me, thereby I just have the same mindset I had as an unbeliever. What I mean to say is, if before I was saved I did not believe that Christ could save a sinner as wretched as me, how am I assured that I am saved when I still have the same sentiment as before? How am I assured that I just am not deceiving myself into believing Christ has saved me? Many people "rest their trust" on Christ without really believing, and doubt seems like a good sign things have not changed.

[/QUOTE]

The presence of doubt does not disqualify someone from being a believer. The man said, "I believe, help my unbelief." Both can be present to a greater or less degree, and the presence of some measure of the first is what matters. Yet, unbelief is a fruit of the principle of sin within us, and decreases more as our eyes become increasingly focused clearer on Christ and his finished work on our behalf, and increases more as we lose that focus. Our assurance, however, is to be grounded outside of us onto a sure thing, which is Christ's promise, and therefore it can become firm and fixed for Christ does not lie. Subjective assurance is an added blessing, as the Holy Spirit bears witness within us that we are his, as he works sanctification in us more and more. And, as much of our sanctification is not always visible to our senses, and much remaining in us might even appear condemning, we can still have assurance in Christ as an anchor for our souls. "For if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts."