True or False Assurance

Today on Renewing Your Mind. If it's possible to not be in a state of salvation yet to have a confidence and assurance that you are in a state of salvation. How can you tell whether your assurance is a genuine assurance, or a false assurance that's a question countless people and events over the years will be Renewing Your Mind it is Friday and we will controversies will address questions, just like that many times it conferences and events would be here is hosted during times like these that people want to know for sure they're going to heaven. So let's discover what the differences between true and false assurance as we continue to study the subject of growing in the Christian life.

Developing Christian character moving ahead in our sanctification. We recall that in our last session we focused our attention on the vital importance of the assurance of salvation. We looked at Peter's injunction by which he tells us to make our election and are calling sure for the purpose and to the end that we will be fruitful in the Christian life.

We notice that there is a link between the degree of assurance that we have of our relationship with God and our progress in spiritual growth.

Now what I want to do in this session is talk a little bit about this matter of the assurance of salvation and look at some of the problems that come up as we seek to gain that assurance. I like to say that there are two kinds of people in the world. There are the people who divide the world into two kinds of people and the people who don't divide the world did two kinds of people. So I guess I'm one of those who divides the world and the two kinds of people, but today I'm going to go beyond that divided into four kinds of people because when it comes to this question of assurance of salvation.

There are really four categories of people and I'm going to list them for you. First of all, there are those who are not saved.

They're not in a state of grace. They're not in a state of salvation and they know it. They're quite aware of it. Then we have the second group of people who are saved, but don't know it. That is, they are in a state of salvation, but they have no assurance that there in that state because it's quite possible to be in the state of grace and lack assurance thereof. The third group of people are those who are saved, and to know that is these are people in a state of salvation who have an assurance that they are in the state of salvation. I think we can see that these three categories are simple enough to understand there is nothing complicated about it. We can readily perceive those distinctions among this group of three different categories. It's when we get that fourth category that everything gets muddled and all the confusion comes in. And that is that group of people who are not saved but no, they are say that is the say people who have an assurance of salvation but don't have the salvation there sure that they do have now that throws a monkeywrench into everything because when we look at category number three and category number four. They have a common denominator there. Both groups the saved who are assured of their salvation and the unsaved who are assured of their salvation share this one common factor there both sure that they're in a state of salvation.

And yet one of them is not actually in that state. They're so sure about that raises the question then if it's possible to not be in a state of salvation.

And yet to have a confidence and assurance that you are in a state of salvation. How can you tell whether your assurance is a genuine assurance, or a false assurance. Since there is such a thing as false assurance and there is such a thing as true assurance. How do we discern the difference and that's the question I want to explore with you in this session let's start by looking at category number for those who are not in a state of salvation, but have assurance that they are in the state of salvation. How is it possible to have false assurance.

That's what were going to consider now false assurance will basically there are two ways to reach a false kind of assurance. The first way is to have a false view of salvation or of the requirements of salvation. The second way in which we can have false assurance is to have a genuine accurate proper understanding of the requirements of salvation, but have a false view of our own satisfaction of those requirements, so the first one is a doctrinal problem, a problem of understanding what salvation requires and what salvation involves and the second one is a personal problem whereby we read our own state incorrectly so I'll say: signal false view of the self.

Now those are the two categories by which we get tripped up and reach a false sense of assurance I want to take them one at a time. First of all, there's the false view of salvation. They're all different theologies or ideologies abounding that teach how a person can get to heaven, for example, one of the most common views of salvation that we encounter is called universalism and universalism teaches that God ultimately saves everybody and if that's the case it's not too hard to gain assurance of salvation. We just think so logistically for a minute we say everybody is saved. I am a body I'm somebody therefore I am say and I don't think that this is altogether uncommon, almost anytime we go to a funeral.

We hear all kinds of assurances about the dear departed moving and flying to a better life. Going to heaven. Nobody at funerals suggests perhaps that the dear departed has embarked on a voyage this going to take in the some other destination seeking the comfort and consolation at the graveside. We like to hope for the best for those who have left us, and that sometimes people become temporary Universalists. I would say that in our culture. The prevailing doctrine of justification is not the doctrine of justification by faith alone that the Protestant reformers believed was the article upon which the church stands or falls, nor is it even the doctrine of justification by works. I think that the dominant doctrine of justification in our culture is justification by death.

I remember when my son was a little boy.

I asked him the famous diagnostic questions devised by evangelism explosion and I said to him or see its RC, Junior, and speaking of ice and RC have you come to the place in your life that you know for sure that when you die you will go to heaven and he didn't hesitate for assurance and confidence. He said oh yes dad, I'm sure go to heaven and I was pleased with that response. I thought that he was grasping the doctrines of grace in the gospel of Christ and was happy that he had this settled in his soul that I want the next question is, it will.

Suppose RC that you died tonight and you stood before God and God said to you, why should I let you into my heaven, what would you say to God, and again he didn't flinch.

He didn't hesitate.

He looked at me like that was the most ridiculous question anybody could ever ask and he said will, I'd say to God, because I'm a widemouth ticket would what could possibly be important or obvious that as I began to explore this with my son.

I realized that his doctrine of justification with justification by death alone that all one had to do to be saved was to die because he was assuming universal salvation for all who die so his security is assurance at that point. If the biblical doctrine of particular redemption is true, then I would have to say that my sons assurance of salvation. At that point in his life was a false view of salvation. A second view that is widely held the pervasive in our culture is that we are saved by living a good life.

We are justified by our own good works again. When I was involved on the Board of Directors of evangelism explosion and working with that ministry that asked those diagnostic questions that I've mentioned to tens of thousands of people and I was directing a program of EE. In a large church in Ohio where we sent 200 and some people out into the community every week and then the people would report back from their conversations and we kept records and kept track of how people answered these questions.

Over 80% of the people we asked the second question factors closer to 90% of the people we asked the second question.

If you were to die tonight and stood before God and God said to you, why should I let you into my heaven, what would you say almost 90% of the people we asked in terms of that program answered that question with some kind of an answer that we would regard or put in the category of a quote works righteousness answer, the answer would go something like this before I give the answer that we get most of all limited pause here and ask you to answer that question your own mind if you were to stand before God and God said to you looked at you personally and said why should I let you into my heaven how would you answer that question. Well, when I said that almost 90% of the answers were of a works righteousness sort.

The answer will vary, but they basically said something like this will God. I tried to live a good life for God. I did my best for God. I went to church or I went to Sunday school where I was a deacon or I was an elder.

I gave money to the poor or I did this or I did that was terrifying to me to see how many people were relying for their ultimate entrance into the kingdom of God on their performance in righteousness and that was the first clue to me that we have not communicated the New Testament gospel to the American people. If there are people out there still thinking that their performance is enough to spare them from the judgment of a righteous and holy God that they were confident of their destiny because they believed that they had lived a life that was good enough. I'm in the same people would be quick to say that they were not perfect and that they had fallen short of the glory of God, but at least they weren't involved in gross and heinous crimes and they had lived, generally speaking, a pretty good life.

Or as I said they did their best. I remember a student going to one of my professors in seminary because he was upset that he had received a C grade on a term paper that he had written for the professor and the young student was a little bit dismayed by that grade thought he should have received a higher grade and he want to discuss it with the professor and in the midst of their conversation. He said to the professor. But Prof., I did my best on this paper and the professor looked at him and said young man you have never done your best stuck in my mind I thought that's right, no matter how well we have performed we can always conceive that we could have done better had we applied ourselves all the more diligently the classic biblical text of false assurance I think is found, at least in one version of it is found in the 10th chapter of Mark's gospel. In this chapter we have the record of Jesus encounter with the rich young ruler. Let's look at that briefly for a moment. In chapter 10 of Mark, beginning in verse 17 we read this account. Now he was going as he was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before him and asked him good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life.

And so Jesus said to him, why do you call me good, no one is good but one, that is God.

You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not murder. Do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and your mother and he answered and said to him, teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth and then Jesus looking at him, loved him and said to him, one thing you lack go your way, sell whatever you have given to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come, take up the cross and follow me.

But he was sad at this word and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions is an interesting meeting is that Jesus has with this young man who is eager. He comes rushing up to Jesus. He's humble.

He falls down before Jesus kneeling before him, and he asked Jesus the ultimate question. Good teacher. How can I inherit eternal life. He was looking for assurance and the first thing that Jesus does is rebukes him for the way in which he has addressed Jesus he says why do you call me good, don't you know that there is only one who is good, even God.

Now that passage is made.

Some of the critics of the New Testament say will even Jesus didn't claim to be God because here he doesn't receive the accolades of the rich young ruler known enough. What Jesus recognizes instantly with this young man is that the young man has a superficial understanding of goodness he doesn't know that Jesus is God incarnate. For all the rich on roller understands he's running up to a preacher or chore teacher or even a product doesn't know what he's talking to God incarnate becomes up there and he says good teacher. She said wait a minute, why are you calling me good Jesus puts his finger on the man's problem immediately. Then he and his typical teaching fashion goes, the next step. He said you know the commandments does not kill us and not steal the shall not commit adultery, and so on, and he puts the law of God before the rich young ruler in the rich young ruler says, oh, all of these things have I kept from my youth knows the true is that an accurate assessment. Obviously, the rich young ruler had not been present on the sermon on the mount.

When Jesus explained the depth dimension of the 10 Commandments.

When he explained to his audience. The two even lost after a woman was to violate the prohibition against adultery to bear malice against your brother to hate your brother without cause, to be angry at your brother without cause was to break the law of God with respect to murder, but the Pharisees and others had a superficial understanding of the law of God, thinking that as long as they kept themselves from actual adultery or actual murder that they had kept the law and Jesus kept pointing to the deeper requirements of the law and so he sets the lobby for this young ruler and the rich misses all of these have kept from my youth. Note Jesus could've taken the next step in syndrome young man you haven't These for five minutes because nobody did.

He accepted this gratuitous assumption of the young ruler but then put them to the test. He said will. There's just one little thing you lack go sell it. You have to the poor take up your cross and follow me. Jesus is not here saying that it's a universal mandate for all people who want to follow him, that they have to divest themselves of all their private property that's not the point. It seems like if I can read Jesus mind he's going through the law, the 10 Commandments and was the first when the shall have no other gods before me. So he starts with commandment one and puts the man to the test.

He knew this young man and his God was his money is if you really want to keep the law and go sell all that you have any failed the test on the first command in one place.

This can, we need to be mindful that there is such a thing as false assurance and it's deeply rooted in a false understanding of salvation is Dr. RC Sproul and you're listening to Renewing Your Mind. It's all too easy to fall into thinking that we somehow contribute something to our salvation that somehow we can do enough to avoid God's judgment one encouragement to remember that our assurance ultimately rest in Christ alone. By faith we hope you stay with us for a final thought from Dr. scroll the message we just heard is from RC series keeping in step with the Spirit and would like to offer you the entire 20 part series it's included in a USB drive.

We call fruit of the spirit including for other teaching series on that drive, including one on joy and another on love. Plus, you'll find five digital issues of table talk magazine and to e-books. Just give a donation of any amount to leader ministries Sam will be glad to send you these resources you can find us online at Renewing Your Mind.word work. You can call us with your gift at 800-435-4343 and as promised, here's Dr. scroll with a final thought as we end our session today. I want to ask you that question again that I asked a few months ago. Have you come to the place in your thinking where you know for sure that when you die you will go to heaven if you've answered yes to that question. Then I have to ask you the second one. If you would die tonight and stand before God and God said why should I let you into my heaven how would you answer that question. What are you relying on to get you into heaven, and what are you placing your trust for salvation. What is the biblical way of salvation that gives us not only the hope of salvation, but the surety of salvation that becomes the anchor to our souls in perilous time.

Those are critical questions to answer and next week. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson joins us to help us work through the practical implications of being a Christian is series is titled the basics of the Christian life. We hope you'll join us. Beginning Monday here on Renewing Your Mind