August 16, 2006
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I used to be a Presbyterian (and doubted my salvation, as the Westminster Confession told me to).
Let me explain why I think Presbyterians doubt their salvation. The Confession teaches that the “light of nature reveals to all men there is a God” and it says that God writes His laws on the hearts of all men. In expounding this view, modern Presbyterians like Cornelius Van Til have said that “all men know that the God of the Bible is the true God.” I even read one Reformed writer saying, “Bible critics attack the Bible because they know it is the Word of God” (Herman Hanko, Standard Bearer). Countless Reformed folk — Boston, Warfield, Hodge, Calvin, Luther, Spurgeon, Owen etc — have said that it’s possible to believe the gospel in your “head” and not in your “heart”. And that is possible to “assent” to the gospel but not have “faith” in Christ. All these theologians are teaching that the unregenerate
dear andrew,
i am not as verbose, but i would offer to you paul’s own comments on all peoples.
rom. 1:18-23
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptilesi believe these men you mentioned separated the mere belief of something and faith. as the comment before suggested, the point is that even demons believe. and though the passage eludes me, another demonstration of the law is found by unbelievers in the general sense in that they too also take care of their own. the difference is in salvation. van til also asserts that this is the main difference, that there is no true point of contact betweent the believer and unbeliever. that is why faith is an important part of that equation and presuppositions are the points of argument.(see his work in the defense of the faith).
of course, pauline theology is packed, and you do have a point about doubting salvation. however, that doubt is something that God often uses to grow men as well. you can see that as an example in paul’s further writing in romans 7, in which the traditional view is that the description of that particular man in v. 15-25 is in fact paul.(you can see the latest magazine put out by modern reformation and the article by kim riddlebarger) paul himself struggled with believing. to trust and be faithful in Christ is not an easy journey. that is the point of paul.
YES, we should have assurance, but at times we have unbelief, that is why we need the gospel daily. the gospel must be preached to us everyday by each one of us because we do not believe it again and again. that’s the point of hosea. though hosea took gomer as a bride she kept running to lovers less wild. yet, it was God who called him to go after his wife again and again. that’s the picture of Christ and the church in that we always find lovers less wild. our hearts are fleeting and whoring in that sense.
i would encourage you to wrestle with the texts on this point. the regenerate man struggles with sin and belief because the affects of the fall are so great. no wonder they doubt their salvation at times, however fickle the heart, the Scriptures are what give us assurance. hence, that’s why presbyterians and dutch reformed churches recite confession and assurance of forgiveness. we need to hear the gospel everyday (as my favorite artist derek webb would assert, check out his house show album). also, if you have not already, please check out meredith kline’s work on the kingdom prologue. it’s called kingdom prologue, and his other books “structure of biblical authority”, and “images of the spirit”. great works. worth the read, and definately something up your ally in terms of scholarship. kline himself would make the same point as i… only much more elegantly, if not more nuanced in the distinction of man’s sinfulness in the covenant community, and the extent of his grace to us.
basically, the fact that we do not live in a theocracy anymore, but yet still await the day is driving us mad. mad for justice, mad for assurance, mad for things to be as they should be. the groanings of the earth are troublesome for fickle hearts that continue to sin. yes, as i agree with you that we must have assurance of salvation, all reformed must believe it. however, the roots of sin in our hearts are great. that is what that man meant when he said “lord, i believe, help my unbelief.” praise God for imputed righteousness and the Word for that is what gives the Christian the true assurance of salvation, not just mere knowledge.
I don’t really know you, but I figured I’d comment anyways.
Alright, I’m not going to lie and say that I read all of this post or all of the comments related to the post… but i did read this part “Anyone who believes in the existence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a BELIEVER and is justified by Christ’s righteousness.” And well… i disagree. What about in Matthew 7 where Jesus says “not everyone who says to be Lord, Lord will inherit the kingdom of God”. Or what about the parables where Jesus tells us to give our life to him (basically all of them). OK, salvation is found in faith alone by grace alone… but i can believe that there is a God, never come to salvation by that God, and still be unregenerate. I think Piper does a better job of explaining this in Desiring God.
I have to agree with Fletcher.(On two at least two points) I haven’t read your systematic theological posting as I don’t really wanna spend that kind of time. Maybe you could be more brief in your future posts. Also Belief in God, God’s law & the Bible being the Word of God, does not necessarily mean a person’s regenerate. Granted those things are necessary elements of salvation but the Bible is clear that trusting in Jesus Christ and his atoning work for us on the cross is the crutial element which is the basis for our justification. We can believe in God, the Bible, etc. and still be trusting in our own good works to get us into heaven. There are those who trust in their personal “decision” to recieve Jesus Christ.
When, in John 17 Christ talks about those who trust in God and Jesus Christ, he is doing more than espousing a Trinitarian doctrine. “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name it is his title, his identity. It carries with it the whole concept of his being chosen to be the propitiation for our sins.
By the way, where are you getting this that Boston, Warfield, Hodge, Calvin, Luther, Spurgeon, Owen doubted their salvation? I guess it’s possible but I’d like to know your source. I think that you might have a non sequiter arguement there.
But God’s word is filled with texts cautioning us to examine our lives to see if we are truly trusting in God or if it is only a “said faith”. I suppose we could debate this till Jesus comes back but in short I’m not at all convinced by your arguement. There’s just too many holes in it.
SDG
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