ASSURANCE (a-shur'ans). The sense in which this term is used theologically is that of a firm persuasion of our being in a state of salvation. The doctrine itself has been matter of dispute among divines, and when considered as implying not only that we are now accepted of God through Christ, but that we shall be finally saved, or when it is so taken as to deny a state of salvation to those who are not so assured as to be free from all doubt, it is in many views questionable.
1. Assurance of final salvation must stand or fall with the doctrine of personal unconditional election, and is chiefly held by divines of the Cal vinistic school; and that nothing is an evidence of a state of present salvation but so entire a per suasion as amounts to assurance in the strongest sense, might be denied upon the ground that degrees of grace, of real saving grace, are un doubtedly mentioned in Scripture, 2. Assurance, ho‘s ever, is spoken ui m the New lestament and stands prominent as one of the leading doctrines of religion. experience. We have "full assurance of understanding." that is. a perfect knowledge and entire persuasion of the truth of the doctrine of Christ. The "assurance of faith," in Lich. ix :22, is an entire trust in the sacrifice and priestly office of Christ. The "as surance of hope," mentioned in Heb. I, relates to the heavenly inheritance, and must necessarily imply a full persuasion that we are "the children of God," and therefore "heirs of his glory"; and from this passage it must certainly be concluded that such an assurance is what every Christian ought to aim at, and that it is attainable. This, however, does not exclude occasional doubt and of faith from the earlier stages of his experience.
3. A comforting and abiding persuasion of pres ent acceptance by God, through Chris., we may sin is, in the present life, forgis en as ot ten as it is thus repented of, and as often as we exercise the required and specific acts of trust in the merits of our Saviour ; but that this forgiveness of our sins is not in any way made known unto us: so that sic are left, as to our feelings, in precisely the same state as if sin were not forgiven till after death, namely, in grief and trouble of mind, re lieved only by hope ;—or, 3. The scriptural view is, that when sin is forgiven by the mercy of God through Christ, we are, by some means, assured of it, and peace :nd satisfaction of mind take the place of anxiety and fear.
4. The first of the above conclusions is suffi ciently disproved by the authority of Scripture, which exhibits justification as a blessing attainable in this life, and represents it as actually experi enced by true believers. "Therefore being justi fied by faith" ( Rom. v :1). "There is now no condemnation :u them who arc in Christ Jesus" thereiore affirm, must in various d-grees follow true faith. In support of this view, the following remarks may be offered: If it is the doctrine of the inspired records that man is by nature prone to evil, and that in prac tice he violates that law under is hick as a creature he is placed, and is thereby exposed to punish ment; if also it is there stated that an act of grace and pardon is promise(: on the conditions of re pentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ ; if that repentance implies consideration of our ways, a sense of the displeasure of Alti•glity God, contrition of heart, and consequently trouble and grief of mind, mixed, however, v ith a hope inspired by the promise of forgiveness, and which leads to earnest supplication for the actual pardon of sin so promised, it will follow from these prem ises—either: 1. That forgiveness is not to be
expected till after the termination of our course of probation, that is, in another life; and that, there fore, this trouble and apprehension of mind can only be assuaged by the hope we may hase of a favorable final decision on our case;—or, 2. That ( Rom. viii:i). The quotations might be multi plied, but these are decisive. The notion that though an act of forgiveness may take place, we are unable to ascertain a fact so important to us, is also irreconcilable with many Scriptures ut which the writers of the New Testament speak of an experience, not confined personally to them selves, or to those Christians who were endorsed with spiritual gifts, but common to all Christians "living justified by faith, we have peace with God" Rom v "We joy in God, by whom we have received the reconciliation" ( RIM) ). reconciled unto God by the death of his S in" (Rom. y "We have not received the spirit of b anlage again to fear, hut the Spirit of adopti %%hereby we cry, Abba, Father" Wow. viii t To these may be added innumerable passages hick express the comfort. the confidence. and the joy of Christians; their "friendship" %sal, God ; their "access" to him ; their entire union and de lightful intercourse with him ; and their absolute iiofunence in the success of their prayers such ilaccagcc arc perfectly consist( et with deep humility and self-diffidence; but they are irrec oncilable with a state of hostility between the par ties, and with an unascertained and only hoped for restoration of friendship and favor. Even in Old Testament times it was realized, as shown in the beautiful description of Isaiah (xxxii:17), where for A. V. 'quietness and assurance' R. V. reads 'quietness and confidence,' the original word de noting 'to hang upon something,' hence figura tively 'to trust.' 5. An assurance, therefore, that the sins which are felt to "be a burden intolerable" are forgiven, and that the ground of that apprehension of future punishment which causes the penitent to "bewail his manifold sins," is taken away by restoration to the favor of the offended God, must be allowed, or nothing would be more incongruous and impos sible than the comfort, the peace, the rejoicing of spirit, which in the Scriptures are attributed to be'ievers.
6. Few Christians of evangelical views have, therefore, denied the possibility of our becoming assured of the favor of God in a sufficient degree to give substantial comfort to the mind. Their differences have rather respected the means by which the contrite become assured of that change in their relation to Almighty God, whom they have offended, which in Scripture is expressed by the term justification. The question has been (where the notion of an assurance of eternal salva tion has not been under discussion), by what means the assurance of the Divine favor is conveyed to the mind. Some have concluded that we obtain it by inference, others by the direct testimony of the Holy Spirit to the mind. (See HOLY GHOST.) (Watson's Theol. Diet.; Hastings' Bib. Diet.)