Salvation, Free Will and Assurance

Posted by Dan C. on

Is it possible to believe in the complete free will of man in choosing Christ and certain assurance of salvation once saved? I don’t think so. It’s not logical. If I believe that I exercised my ‘free will’ in choosing Christ, that same ‘free will’ goes flying out the window if I believe I have any assurance of my salvation. On the other hand, if I believe that God exercised His complete sovereignty in my salvation, I can also believe that the God who saved me will also keep me, something that is promised in His word.

I had that one figured out even before I believed in the doctrine of God’s sovereign election. I never exactly believed I could lose my salvation, like dropping my wallet on the sidewalk and never seeing it again, but I had to believe that since I had free will to choose Christ, I must also have the free will to turn from Christ, should I choose to do so. The closest I came to having assurance of my salvation during those years was that the longer I served Him, the less likely it would be that I should deny Him. There is no other logic of the matter!

Think about it. . .

4 responses to “Salvation, Free Will and Assurance”

  1. That was my dilemma for years. As I just stated on the other post, I’d never heard of the sovereignty of God. Once I understood it, assurance of salvation came.

    I find it very sad that my great aunt wondered to her dying day, if she would really be accepted. She loved Jesus and did her best to keep her salvation! She lived a frightened life and worried all the way to her death.

    I am thankful her salvation was not based upon understanding assurance, for that would place a “work” as the basis for salvation in the first place. I know she finally has peace, and I imagine a bit of sadness over having wasted so much of her time worrying.

    But then…I know I’m secure, but the affairs of this life do cause anxiety lots of days.

    Thanks, Dan!

    Like

    Reply

  3. My dilemma was similar for years. I trusted Christ for my salvation, and knew that I could never lose it once I had done so. But what if I really didn’t mean it even if I thought I did? What if I had deceived myself into believing that I was truly saved? How could I really know that I had “made the decision” properly, authentically, officially, completely?

    You’re right — it’s not logical to think that you could be completely sure if it is dependent in any way on you. I think this may be the first time I have seen anyone put that into words. Good post.

    Like

    Reply

  4. Nice to meet you Mark and thanks for stopping by! You raised some great points….and i know from experience that the enemy will try and steal our assurance. I am so grateful that the One who saves us by His sovereign grace also sovereignly keeps us. I think is safe to add that our level of ‘felt’ assurance is directly related to our level of obedience, at least as far as love for Him and His word drives that new inner desire to ‘will and do of His good pleasure. I see you have a blog and I will stop by later this evening!

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment