Exposing Calvinism: Assurance of Salvation?

Here are some comments from Calvinists and non-/anti-Calvinists from the Soteriology 101 post "Romans 8:29-30 or How We Can Trust God at His Word".  

Romans 8:29-30 (KJV): “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son … Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Calvinists interpret these verses to mean that God predestines who goes to heaven, that He elects certain sinners to be saved and then calls them (and only them) to believe, leaving the rest to go to hell with no chance to be saved.  

But these verses don't say that.  They say that God predestines those He "foreknows" (those who will believe) to be conformed to the image of Jesus.  This is not about certain sinners being predestined to be saved but about God predestining believers to be conformed to Jesus's image, to be glorified in the end.  (And anyone can believe.)

You can read the whole post for yourself, but at the end of the Soteriology 101 post is this note: "As Pastor Bob shows, Paul’s point is to encourage the believer as to how they can trust God’s promise that they will be vindicated from their present persecution by glorification.  How can the Christian trust this promise?  By looking at how God fulfilled that promise to the saints of old.  Paul’s point is not to tell believers HOW they became believers as the Calvinist must render it i.e. 'The Golden Chain of Salvation.'"

This led to a discussion in the comment section about trusting God's promises and about the assurance of salvation (or more accurately, the lack of assurance of salvation for Calvinists).  (These comments are not necessarily in order or totally connected to each other, but I am reposting some of the most meaningful and relevant ones.  FYI, I made minor corrections for clarity and better grammar.)

I commented, in reply to "As Pastor Bob shows, Paul’s point is to encourage the believer as to how they can trust God’s promise that they will be vindicated from their present persecution by glorification.”:

I absolutely believe that the God of the Bible is trustworthy and can be taken at His Word.

But I wonder how Calvinists can ever trust their Calvi-god when he never means what he says or says what he means, when he has “secret double-meanings” for everything he says and the terms he uses, and when he gives commands that are contrary to his real Will (such as when he tells Adam and Eve that he doesn’t want them to eat the forbidden fruit, but then he causes them to eat it because his real Will is that they sin).  How can they ever trust Calvi-god’s commands or what he says when there’s always a “hidden layer” that contradicts what he said?

Calvinism destroys God’s trustworthiness, among other things.  And if we can’t trust that He says what He means and means what He says, then we may as well throw the Bible out, along with our faith!

Oh, the damage Calvinism has done – using God’s Word to destroy the reliability of God’s Word and His character, and using “humility” against Christians (making them feel that “good humble Christians” accept Calvinism without question)!

Calvinism makes a mess of God’s Truth.  But when you throw out the Calvinism, it all starts to make sense, it’s all consistent, and you realize that God is indeed good, holy, righteous, loving, and trustworthy!  Just like the Bible says (when it’s read as it is written, without wearing “Calvinist glasses” or having Calvinist theologians tell you how to read it).

BR.D. (non-Calvinist) says:

But what does the individual Calvinist ACTUALLY have that he can TRUST concerning Calvin’s god’s will for his life?

1) He can trust that Calvin’s god – as the divine potter – designs the MANY out of the human population – for eternal torment in a lake of fire.

2) He can trust that he is either part of the MANY or he is part of the FEW.

3) He can trust that the benevolent promises he reads in scripture are Calvin’s god’s ENUNCIATED will for his life – while Calvin’s god’s SECRET will for his life may be the opposite.

4) He can trust that Calvin’s god holds out salvation as a -quote “Savor of condemnation” to a – quote “LARGE MIXTURE” of Calvinists.  And then at some point later – quote “Strikes them with greater blindness”.

5) He can trust that Calvin’s god determines those Calvinists to have a FALSE perception that they are elect when Calvin’s god knows they are not.  So he can trust the statistical probability that he is a part of that LARGE MIXTURE and is thus fated for eternal torment in a lake of fire.

CONCLUSION:

He can trust Calvin’s god leads him to believe he is “Jacob whom I love,”

when in fact he is REALLY “Esau whom I hate”.

Graceadict (non-Calvinist) comments:

Great Article and Great post BR.D – Responding to your post BR.D on what can be trusted by the Calvinist.

The Calvinist's Biggest Question is NOT: a.) What is the gospel?  What is Truth?

Nor is it 2.) Have I placed my faith/trust in the gospel?

Those questions in a very practical sense are totally irrelevant.  The ONLY thing that matters is, Am I Elect?

The ONLY question that really matters in Calvinism is: Am I irresistibly and unconditionally Elected for Salvation or Am I irresistibly Elected for Damnation by God?  Nothing else matters!!!!  Never has, Never will.

Like you point out, the Calvinist doesn’t know and can’t know if the “faith/trust” that has been given him is a “genuine saving faith” or a “temporary faith” or a “counterfeit faith” as John MacArthur (JMac) calls it.  For the Calvinist, the best proof that he has genuine faith is the P of TULIP - “his own works” - so he looks constantly to his own doings to see if maybe there is enough indication that he might be the elect.  But even there he can’t be sure - because in Calvinism the ONLY guarantee that he is saved is IF he has enough good works all the way to the end.  BUT once again, those good works could be “counterfeit works.”  The Pharisees were very very very devoted to the end, and yet they were not saved.  So the honest Calvinist can never have assurance of his Salvation even though he might teach “Eternal Security”.  He can’t know that he is actually one of the “Eternally Secure”.

The Calvinist paradigm takes people's focus away from the Gospel and trusting in the Gospel and Christ alone to a constant looking to one's own works, one's own desires, own's own goodness inside of one's self [to prove that they are one of the elect].

There's a clip of John MacArthur trying to reassure a young lady of how Calvinists can be assured of their salvation.  [My note: There's a link to the clip in the *NOTE at the bottom of this post, but be warned that it's from a website that looks favorably on him.]  Notice how this young lady wants assurance of her salvation.  But not once does JMac point her to the cross and Jesus crucified on her behalf.  Not once does JMac ask her if she is trusting in His sacrifice Alone for her Salvation.  [Not once does JMac remind her of God's faithfulness, of His promise to save those who believe, reminding her that all she has to do to be saved is to believe in Jesus as her Lord and Savior and then she will be saved as God promised.]  The ONLY thing JMac does is get her to examine her own deeds and desires.  Calvinism leads people down the wrong path, changing the focus from Jesus Christ and HIM crucified [and God's promises and faithfulness] to you and your deeds and your feelings.  It is sad.  

  

Farther down in the comment section, TS00 (non-Calvinist) comments:

I wonder what would happen if Calvinists were to try to place themselves in the perspective of those who are not ‘chosen’ or ‘elected’ by God.  Of course the Calvinist always assumes he is [truly] elect, so he can glibly talk about God’s right to pass over or damn anyone He wants – because he considers himself safe from such a horrible fate.  If the Calvinist were truly able to reflect upon the things he affirms from the perspective of being rejected, I wonder if he might think a little differently.

He can be so bold about accepting God’s right to condemn helpless, hopeless born into sin people – because he is certain that he has been chosen for reprieve.  Apparently he doesn’t see how unloving he is to not care about the horrific fate of others, even though scripture command us to love others as self.

Graceadict replies:

So true TSOO!  Another thing that to me is very disturbing about the Calvinist system is that they believe their God is like that, unloving to most people, and they are being conformed to the image of their God.  So the more a Calvinist is being conformed to the image of their God, the more normal that becomes to him.  His reasoning is: “If God does not love them except very superficially, then to be like my God is to also love them very superficially”.  Being conformed to the image of the Calvi-god is actually horrific.  So sad but true.

GraceAdict also writes: 

Within Calvinism the ONLY question that has ever really mattered or ever will matter is: Am I elect for Salvation or Am I chosen by God for Reprobation?  And the answer to that can only be ascertained at death.  

Since the answer to that question within Calvinism is unattainable this side of eternity, the Calvinist has to try and discern what kind of faith he has been given.  He has to figure out if he has a “temporary faith,” a “spurious faith,” a “counterfeit faith,” a “human faith,” or the “gift faith [true faith]” - for within Calvinism, all of these are very real possibilities.  God Himself (in Calvinism) is even the distributor of the different kinds of faith, whether it's fake/temporary or real/lasting.

Since ascertaining what kind of faith the Calvinist has is kind of difficult [and they can't know for sure which type they were given until the end of their life], the next step for trying to figure out if he is truly elect is to look to his own doings, his own works.  Are his own works good enough to prove to himself and others that he has the genuine “gift faith”?  For within Calvinism, if you have the “gift faith,” this faith is NOT a defective faith but a “constantly working faith,” and those works are really good, they do not fail, and they are ever increasing in number and quality.  

[My note: So the Calvinist has to see evidence of this - an increasing abundance of good works till the end of their life - to figure out if they are truly saved or not.  They do not think they can make a decision to believe in Jesus, and so they can't put any stock in the fact that they "chose to believe" in Jesus.  They think God decides if they believe or not, and the evidence of this is their good works or their feelings about how secure/saved they feel.  So their assurance of salvation is not in God's promise to save those who choose to believe in Jesus (because they don't think people can "choose to believe"), but in their good works and their hope that it really does indicate that God truly chose them to be saved and gave them "saving faith."  But they can't know for sure if they got true "saving faith" or not, until they end of their lives, only if they "persevered" in the faith all the way to the end.  Backsliding or doubts, to a Calvinist, might indicate to them that they were given fake/temporary faith instead of real/saving faith, which makes them have to always wonder and worry if they are really one of the elect or not, which is why they have to always look at their works for evidence of true faith.  It's sad, but I've recently seen several Christian celebrities who "left the faith."  They were Calvinists who got caught up in a sinful lifestyle, and because of that they figured that they must not really be one of the elect.  And so if they are one of the non-elect, then there's nothing they can do about it but accept it and live like it.  It's sad.  Can you see the damage a bad theology can do?]

Here the Calvinist needs to put on an extra dose of pride to answer the question in the affirmative.  He has to feel really good about the quality of his works and the quantity of his works in order to believe that God really does love him [and that God really did choose him for salvation].

Within Calvinism, it is hard to be humble and admit you are a mess because to admit you are a mess is to admit your faith is not the genuine “gift faith” because the genuine faith is not a defective faith but a working faith and a persevering faith, always onward and upward.

Within the Calvinist system, those who are most assured of their salvation are also those who are most prideful and arrogant about their works.  To gain assurance that he is the elect, the Calvinist goes on a "works crusade" where he tries to work enough to prove to God and himself that he must be the elect.  But then deep down inside, he knows that even the Pharisees and Religious zealots of every stripe work hard (yet are not really saved), so even his works don’t leave him with any sense of peace because he could be working [fruitlessly] just like the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Pharisees.

At the end of the day the question remains: "Are my works enough and good enough?  I do not know if I am the Elect for Salvation or Elect for Reprobation.  I do not know if I have the 'gift faith' or if my 'works are good enough' to confirm my salvation and so be saved.  Without my good works being good enough and being great enough in quantity, there is NO possible way to 'confirm' my salvation."

Only the Arrogant Calvinist is able to affirm “I know that I am the Elect and God genuinely loves me because my works are good enough and great enough in quantity and duration to confirm that I have the 'gift faith' – Praise be to God I am Elect.”

So what can the Calvinist trust about his God?

Rhutchin (Calvinist) replies: 

This might be an issue for those outside Calvinism, but I am not aware that it is an issue inside Calvinism.  Calvinists believe that Christ died for their sins and that God gives them faith to believe this.

I replied to Rhutchin: 

You just proved TS00’s point that '[The Calvinist] can be so bold about accepting God’s right to condemn helpless, hopeless born into sin people – because he is certain that he has been chosen for reprieve.'  [Calvinists can be assured that Christ died for the sins of the elect, but they cannot be sure that they themselves are one of the elect.]  

You (Rhutchin) are claiming that Calvinists are certain they have true faith, and not evanescent faith (a fake, temporary faith that God gives some people to make them think they are saved when they really aren't).

... Calvin himself taught that those with evanescent faith will be tricked (by Calvi-god) into thinking they have true faith, to the point that they won’t see a difference.  See John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 3, Chapter 2, Section 11:

“I am aware it seems unaccountable to some how faith is attributed to the reprobate, seeing that it is declared by Paul to be one of the fruits of election; and yet the difficulty is easily solved: for though none are enlightened into faith, and truly feel the efficacy of the Gospel, with the exception of those who are fore-ordained to salvation, yet experience shows that the REPROBATE ARE SOMETIMES AFFECTED IN A WAY SO SIMILAR TO THE ELECT, THAT EVEN IN THEIR OWN JUDGMENT THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM.  Hence it is not strange, that by the Apostle a taste of heavenly gifts, and BY CHRIST HIMSELF A TEMPORARY FAITH, IS ASCRIBED TO THEM.  Not that they truly perceive the power of spiritual grace and the sure light of faith; but the Lord, THE BETTER TO CONVICT THEM, and leave them without excuse, INSTILLS IN THEIR MINDS SUCH A SENSE OF HIS GOODNESS as can be felt WITHOUT the Spirit of adoption.”

In a different string of comments, Rhutchin says: “The Calvinist looks to Christ as the source of his salvation.”

I replied: 

No!  The Calvinist looks to his belief that God 'elected' him as the source of his salvation, that Calvi-god 'forced' him to look to Christ (trusting that Calvi-god didn’t really just give them evanescent grace, yet not knowing for sure till they die).  Because the Calvinist cannot look anywhere on his own.  He can only do as Calvi-god forces him to do.

In reply to Graceadict's comment (“[The Calvinist] has to feel really good about the quality of his works and the quantity of his works in order to believe that God really does love him.”), Rhutchin calls it a false representation of Calvinists. 

I replied: 

But it’s not a false representation.  Because if a Calvinist has to wonder if they might have been given evanescent grace (fake election), then they cannot really rest assured in their election as proof of their salvation.  They can only find assurance of their salvation if they 'persevere in the faith,' in good works, all the way to the end of their lives, thereby 'proving' that they had genuine faith and not fake faith.  (And if a Calvinist is not concerned that they might have been given evanescent grace instead of genuine, saving grace then they don’t really understand their own theology.)

Also in reply to Graceadict's comment about (paraphrased) how Calvinists can't humbly admit they are a mess because "being a mess" might indicate that God gave them fake faith, not genuine faith, Rhutchin says: “For the Calvinist, admitting that you are a mess comes from the faith that God has given him.”

I replied: 

Wow!  How mighty big and humble of the Calvinists!  Having 'faith from Calvi-god' to admit that Calvi-god (who predestines and causes everything that happens) has caused you to sin, to do things wrong, to be a mess, and then he caused you to admit you are a mess.  Very humble!  Admitting Calvi-god’s causation of sin/messes for him!

On a different note, I made this comment: 

As a Gospel-believing, non-Calvinist, my assurance of salvation is in God Himself, in His trustworthy character and in His clearly-stated Word, in His promise to do what He said He’d do (forgive me and save me) if I do what He says I must do to be saved: believe in the Lord Jesus.

Whereas a Calvinist’s 'assurance of salvation' is merely in the hope that they were truly elected by Calvi-god and not given 'fake salvation,' evanescent grace.

Because Calvi-god is known to deceive people, to say one thing but mean another, to cause people to do the opposite of what he commands them to do, to cause sin but punish people for it, to pretend to love all and to offer salvation to all but then to create most people for hell to show off his sick sense of "justice against sin" and to show the elect how much he loves them in comparison to the non-elect, etc.

If Calvinists want to trust a “god” like that, then that’s their choice.

I, however, would find no comfort or assurance in being “saved” by a lying, deceptive, contradictory, unloving, unjust, untrustworthy “god” like that.

After all, if Calvi-god gets glory by creating most people to be hated and to be sent to hell … if he gets glory for causing sin … if he gets glory for causing some people to think they’re elected when they’re really not (deceiving them into thinking they’re saved until the very end) … and if he can’t ever really be trusted to mean what he says or say what he means because he always has a secondary “secret” layer of meaning behind everything he says (which contradicts what he said) … then what’s to stop him from “getting glory” by tricking all Calvinists into believing lies (into thinking they have real faith when they don't) just so he can punish them in hell!?!

How can any Calvinist ever be sure that their whole theology isn’t a great big trick by a god who likes to deceive people, to put them in hell, to make them feel saved when they’re not, and to cause sin and unbelief … for his glory!?!

Some assurance that is!  Calvinists should not be commended for their fierce devotion to a god like that.  They should be pitied!

Rhutchin asked for verses to support my comment that Calvi-god deceives the elect.

I replied:  

First, notice that I am talking about CALVI-god deceiving people, not the God of the Bible.  So I am not looking for biblical references of God deceiving people because Calvi-god and the God of the Bible are not the same person.  And secondly, I did not specify that Calvi-god deceives the "elect."  So that’s not the issue here.  I said Calvi-god deceives “people” [people who think they are elect].  And notice that I included “Calvinism,” not just John Calvin, because Calvinism itself teaches us these things about Calvi-god, if not by actual words than by the hidden things they really believe that they cover up with more "acceptable-sounding" layers of nonsense.

But for one example of Calvi-god’s deceptiveness, which I posted earlier, see John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 3, Chapter 2, Section 11:

“… yet experience shows that the REPROBATE ARE SOMETIMES AFFECTED IN A WAY SO SIMILAR TO THE ELECT, THAT EVEN IN THEIR OWN JUDGMENT THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM.  Hence it is not strange, that by the Apostle a taste of heavenly gifts, and BY CHRIST HIMSELF A TEMPORARY FAITH, IS ASCRIBED TO THEM.  Not that they truly perceive the power of spiritual grace and the sure light of faith; but the Lord, THE BETTER TO CONVICT THEM, and leave them without excuse, INSTILLS IN THEIR MINDS SUCH A SENSE OF HIS GOODNESS as can be felt WITHOUT the Spirit of adoption.”

In this example, according to Calvin himself, Calvi-god himself deceives people into thinking they are elected when they are not, in order to have more reason to damn them to hell.

Maybe, as you say, Calvi-god doesn’t trick his “elected” people, but he does trick non-elected people into thinking they are elected.  How then can any Calvinist be assured of their election and salvation, if Calvi-god likes to trick people into thinking they are elected when they are not?  Who’s to say Calvi-god hasn’t tricked most Calvinists into thinking they are saved, yet only really “elected” a tiny few of them?  Which Calvinists then are truly elected and which aren’t?  Which Calvinist leaders can you trust to give you the “right answers” about Calvinism and Calvi-god, if you can’t know which are truly elected and which are not because THEY THEMSELVES can’t even know if they are truly elected or not (according to Calvin)?  And if Calvi-god likes to deceive people and gets glory by putting people in hell, then who’s to say that he hasn’t deceived EVERYONE, that no one is saved and we are all predestined to hell for his glory?  

A god who deceives cannot be trusted at any time, in any way.

Additionally, if Calvinists insist that Calvi-god is the God of the Bible (HE’S NOT!), then we have plenty of examples of deceptiveness by Calvi-god.  Because the Bible tells us over and over again to seek God and to choose whom we will serve and to choose between obedience and disobedience.  Any normal, logical person would read these (along with many other commands) as instructions to us to make our choices, to choose the right thing.  But if the Bible was written by Calvi-god (IT WASN’T!), a god who knows we cannot make any real choices on our own because he alone has already predetermined everything we will do and he causes us to choose what we do, then he deceives us all throughout the Bible into thinking we have a choice, that we can make decisions ... when we really don't.  Why instruct people to make the right choice if they never really had a choice to begin with?

Deceptive!

Also, if Calvinists insist Calvi-god is the God of the Bible (HE ISN’T!), then Calvi-god also deceives us by saying things in the Bible like “God loves all men” and “Jesus died for all men/sins” and “God doesn’t want anyone to perish.”  The clear, obvious understanding of these verses would be “God loves all men” and “Jesus died for all men/sins” and “God doesn’t want anyone to perish.”  Yet Calvi-god would be deceiving us because he has "secret, double-meanings" behind all these verses – hidden meanings that apparently were revealed only to super-special, enlightened Calvinists who somehow figured out what God REALLY meant to say when He wrote one thing but supposedly meant another.  According to Calvi-god and to Calvinism, "all" doesn’t really mean "all."  It means “only the elect” (or “all kinds of people,” but not “all people”).  Calvi-god only really loved the elect and Calvi-Jesus only died for the elect, for the few lucky people who won the “salvation lottery.”

So if Calvi-god wrote the Bible (HE DIDN’T!), plainly saying that he loves all people and that Jesus died for all men and that he wants no one to perish, yet really meaning that he truly loved ONLY the elect and that Jesus ONLY died for the elect and that he really does want people in hell for his glory, then he deceives us all throughout the Bible.  (Yet they cover this up by saying Calvi-god loves the non-elect too, but with a different kind of love, a “gives them food and water while they’re alive before sending them to eternal hell” kind of love.  Wow, that’s some amazing love!  If this is how Calvi-god shows his love to people, I’d hate to get on his bad side!)

And yet, the Calvinist might simply counter with the idea that Calvi-god deceives only the non-elect, those destined to perish anyway, but that the Calvinist elect have the truth all figured out!  [Once again, though, how could anyone trust a god who deceives people?  And if you have to be elect to figure out the truth, but if the elect can't know for sure that they are truly elect, then can anyone claim that they really know the truth?  Or that they can ever really know the truth?]

Bravo, Calvinists!  Enjoy eternity with that kind of a god!  With a god who tricks people into thinking they’re saved when they’re not, who deceives us into thinking we can make choices when we can’t, who commands us not to sin but then causes us to sin and then punishes us for it (and don’t give me that “remote source vs. proximate source of sin” garbage!), and who “loves” most people by creating them specifically so that he could hate them and send them to hell for the things he caused them to do!

Calvi-god’s hidden double-meanings for words and verses contradict what the Bible clearly and simply says.  And if this isn’t deception then nothing is!

(I’m so sick and tired of Calvinism’s nonsense.  Seriously!  I just don’t have the time or energy for it right now.  And so I think I’m going to take a break for awhile.  I need time to cool down.  But one last thing before I go …

Rhutchin, have you given God permission yet to correct your theology if you’re wrong?  And “I ask for wisdom” doesn’t count!  That’s an excuse to not pray “God, correct me if I am wrong in how I am understanding You and Your Word.”

But if Calvinists want to refuse to pray for correction and they want to keep convincing themselves that their “wisdom” comes from the God of the Bible, then that’s their choice!  No skin off my back.  I’m not the one who’ll be standing before God trying to defend how I altered His Word to fit my errant theology and how I destroyed His good, holy, loving character in the process!)

*An additional note about the John MacArthur clip: 

In the John MacArthur video clip (click here, once again be warned it's from a website that looks favorably on him, and you can also find the link in Graceadict's comment - about 40-ish comments down - in the comment section of this Soteriology 101 post), a young woman - with shaky voice, on the verge of tears - asked John MacArthur (a Calvinist of the highest order) how she can know for sure that she is saved (one of the elect).  And MacArthur’s answer is that she (that Calvinists) can know she is saved because of her desires to know God, to be known by Him, to please Him and honor Him, etc.  He says that we have to "assess the genuineness of our salvation by our desires."  He says that assurance of salvation is "the confidence I have in my mind of my salvation," and that it’s based on your desires, on if you have godly desires, because (as he says) "un-regenerated people don't have those desires."

Now, of course, our desires can be helpful indicators of if we are truly saved.  If we do not see certain changes in our lives - the fruit of the Spirit - then we should examine our hearts to see if we really did commit to Jesus or if we just convinced ourselves we did.  But our desires about God and our good works cannot conclusively "prove" whether we are truly saved or not, nor are they the basis for our security of salvation.  Do not even worldly people have good desires that God would approve of, like taking care of orphans or feeding the hungry?

And remember what Calvin said: “…yet experience shows that the reprobate are sometimes affected in a way so similar to the elect, that even in their own judgment there is no difference between them”.  If the non-elect who got evanescent grace feel the exact same way as the elect, to the extent that they can’t tell there’s a difference between the two, then how could you possibly use your desires as reliable indicators that you are truly one of the elect?  When evanescent grace can fade at any future time in your life, there's no way to know.  When the non-elect feel the same as the elect, there’s no way to know.

Besides, do you know who else had the desire to know God, be known by Him, please Him, honor Him, etc.?  The Pharisees.  The Jewish leaders and teachers of the Law.  They really wanted to please God, zealously studying and obeying the Law to please Him and make themselves acceptable to Him, and yet they rejected Jesus and hung Him on a cross for claiming He was God.  And what about the rich young ruler who kept the law and desired to please God but who couldn't bring himself to give it all up to turn fully to Christ (Matthew 19:16-22)?

Just because we have good desires about God and good works does not mean that we are right with God, that we are saved.  And just because we think about “God” doesn’t mean much - because “God” is vague and can mean anything to anyone.  All religions have their own version of God.  In fact, “… Even the demons believe [that there is one God] – and shudder.” (James 2:19)  

It’s not what we think or feel about “God” that determines if we are saved or not, but it’s what we think about Jesus, if we believe in Him as Lord and Savior.  That is what makes all the difference.  (I think it's telling that MacArthur focused on our thoughts about God instead of on our beliefs about Jesus, when the Bible says salvation comes through our belief in Jesus.  Does this not alert you to the subtle satanic twistings behind such a theology?)  

But since Calvinists don’t think you get to decide what you believe about Him, it’s no wonder that they wouldn’t include “belief in Jesus” as evidence of their salvation.  Of course, Calvinists think they truly believe in Jesus, they hope that God gave them real faith (and maybe they ignore the fear that they might not really be elect) … but they can’t know for sure till the end.  And so they point to their feelings and works and other such things as “evidence” that they are “persevering” in the faith, which must “prove” that they are one of the elect - at least for now, and as long as they didn’t get “evanescent grace.”

Of course, if we are truly committed to Jesus and are filled with the Spirit, we will/should see certain godly changes and desires in our lives over time, as the Spirit helps us grow in the faith.  But just having good, godly desires and works at some point in time does not mean that we are truly committed to Him.  It could just mean that we are living like the Pharisees.  For many people, the good, godly desires are there, the good thoughts about “God” are there, but the decision to turn to Jesus Christ is not.  Many people believe in and pursue "God" while ignoring, resisting, or rejecting Jesus.  And so tallying up our good desires about God to determine if we are really saved leaves us with a very flimsy, shaky, and possibly self-deceiving assurance of salvation!

(How many people in all these wayward churches today have convinced themselves that they are right with God because of the good things they do and feel?  How many think that the good things they do and the good feelings they have are all the "proof" they need?  How many will fall away later when life gets tough or when they want to follow their own desires, thinking "Oh well.  I gave Christianity a try, but it wasn't for me"?  How many will hear Jesus say to them “Away from me!  I never knew you.”?)

And besides that, our feelings and desires shift with our moods and our energy levels.  Our zeal for the Lord waxes and wanes.  We obey one day but disobey the next.  The life of faith is a long journey, full of ups and downs, low points and high points, good feelings one day but bad the next.  What an exhausted, discouraged mess we’d be if we had to look to ourselves - to our feelings, desires, and works - to determine if we are really saved or not.  Our assurance would change monthly or daily.

And so our assurance of salvation cannot rest on our wishy-washy feelings or our good works.  Our assurance isn't found in hoping that God really did elect us and really did cause us to have real, saving faith (instead of the fake kind).  Our assurance isn’t in the idea that God will cause us to "persevere” to the end if we are really elect.

Our assurance is found in the promises of God, in trusting Him to do what He said He would do, if we do what He said we need to do.  That is how we can be assured of salvation!  Biblically, our assurance of salvation rests on God’s promise to save those who choose to believe in Jesus, to put their faith in Him, to accept Him as Lord of their lives.

Romans 10:9 (KJV): "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."  

John 3:16: "... whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life".  

John 1:12: "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

John 20:31: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

John 6:28-29: "Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?'  Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent [Jesus].'"  

   

This is where our assurance is!  If we do what He said we need to do (believe in the Lord Jesus) then we can trust Him to do what He said He would do (save our souls).

But JMac leaves this out - that the genuineness of our faith is really based on our decision to believe in Jesus, to make Him our Lord and Savior, not on whether we have proper, godly desires or not.

And why does JMac (and other Calvinists) leave this out?

Because they don't think we can do the one thing God told us we need to do to be saved: Believe!

They think God has to do it for us, that He has to give faith to the elect because they can't choose to have faith on their own, which means that they can only really hope that they are truly saved, that God gave them real faith instead of fake faith.  And the only way they can tell if He gave them real faith is by assessing their works and desires to see if they are good and godly enough to indicate real faith.  They don't get to decide if they believe in Jesus or not; all they can do is try to figure out what God has decided for them.

No wonder Calvinists have no assurance of salvation!

Also in this clip, JMac differentiates between "security" and "assurance."

He says that security of salvation is "I am saved [one of the elect] and He [God] will keep me until I see Him face to face."

This sounds comforting.  But it begs the question "Yeah, sure, God will keep His elect secure, but am I truly one of the elect?  And how can I know for sure?"

Calvinists find security in knowing that God will keep the elect in the faith all the way till the end, but the reality is that they cannot know for sure that they themselves are truly one of the elect, not until they see if they "persevered" all the way till the end of their lives.  Not very "secure," now is it?

And then JMac says that assurance of salvation is "the confidence I have in my mind of my salvation," and he says that this is based on your desires, on if you have godly desires, because (as he says) "un-regenerated people don't have those desires."

But once again, what about the Pharisees?  The Jewish religious leaders?  Or how about the rich young ruler who kept the law and desired to please God but who couldn't bring himself to give it all up to turn fully to Christ (Matthew 19:16-22)?

For many people, the good, godly desires are there, but the decision to turn to Jesus Christ is not.  Many people believe in and pursue "God" while ignoring, resisting, or rejecting Jesus.  And so tallying up our desires about God to determine if we are really saved leaves us with a very flimsy, shaky, and possibly self-deceptive assurance of salvation!

JMac asks "Why do we struggle with assurance?"  And he suggests that it's because we still struggle with our old, sinful natures, and it makes us feel bad, causing us to wonder if we are really saved or not.

But let me take a stab at answering the question of "Why do Calvinists struggle with assurance?":

"Umm ... let me see ... could it be that Calvinists struggle with assurance because you say that they have to trust their wishy-washy feelings to determine if they are really saved or not!?!  Could it be because (in Calvinism) they have no control over their choice to believe in Jesus, and so they can only hope, pray, trust that God really does want them personally to be saved and that He gave them real faith, not fake faith!?!  Could it be because they can't know till the end of our lives if they had real or fake faith, only after they see if He caused them to "persevere" in the faith!?!  Could it be because Calvinism has made a mess of the gospel and has destroyed God's trustworthy, righteous, just, loving character, turning Him into a god who doesn't love all people, doesn't want all people to be saved, who causes sin for his glory, who causes most people to reject him but then punishes them eternally in hell for what he caused them to do, etc.!?!"

No wonder Calvinists are scared!

I'd be afraid of a god like that too! 

The thing is, Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike struggle sometimes with doubts about whether we are truly saved or not.  We backslide and drift into sin sometimes and get into low points in our walk with the Lord.  This is normal, Calvinist or not.  

But the big, critical difference between Calvinists and non-Calvinists is this:

Non-Calvinists believe that God really does want all people to be saved and that it's possible for all people to be saved because Jesus really did die for all sins of all people.  And so they can know for sure that God loves them, specifically and personally, that He wants them to be saved, that Jesus died for them, and that they can be saved if they put their faith in Jesus.  God offers salvation to all people but He lets us decide to accept it or reject it.  And so we are responsible for if we believe or not.  And if we choose to believe in Jesus, we can trust that we are saved.  [And if we find out at some point that we didn't really commit to Jesus but just thought we did, then it's our fault.  We tricked ourselves into thinking we were saved when we aren't.  But - and this is huge! - we can do something about it.  We can "turn the ship around," choosing at that point to genuinely put our faith in Him, to accept Him as Lord and Savior, and then we will be saved.  God promises to save those who believe in Jesus - and anyone can believe - and that is a promise we can rest in.  It's where our assurance is found.]

But in Calvinism, God is responsible for whether we believe or not.  And there's nothing we can do about it.  We don't know if God really loves us specifically or if Jesus really died for us personally.  We don't know if salvation was truly offered to us.  We don't get to decide if we believe in Jesus or not.  We don't get to decide if God gave us fake faith or real faith.  We don't get to decide if we persevere in the faith or not.  And so all we can do is hope, wonder, pray that God truly does love us, that Jesus really did die for us, that God really did predestine us for heaven, that He really did give us real faith, and that He really will keep us in the faith until we die (but we won't know for sure till the end).  [And if we question our salvation or backslide, there's nothing we could do about it anyway.  It's God's fault if we backslide.  It's God's fault if we leave the faith, because He gave us fake faith, not real.  And there's nothing we can do about it.  We can't do anything to "turn the ship around."  God has to do it.  And so if He doesn't, we are hopelessly lost.]  

The Calvinist's assurance isn't in God's promise to save those who choose to believe (because they don't think we can choose to believe); it's in their hope that God truly did cause them to believe and that He will keep them in the faith till the end.  And so they are always looking for evidence of whether they got real faith or fake faith, through their works and feelings, always hoping they are godly enough to prove they are truly one of the elect, always wondering if every new sin or doubt or backslidden moment is an indication that they aren't truly saved, but not able to know for sure till the end of their lives and not able to do anything about it anyway.  Not very reassuring, now is it?  

To belabor the point, let me give a simple (imperfect) illustration of the difference between biblical assurance of salvation and Calvinist "assurance" of salvation:

The biblical, non-Calvinist version: There's a plane bound for heaven, and God says that whoever reaches out and accepts the ticket that He bought for them, that He freely offers them, will board the plane and be saved.  There's a ticket for everyone, and anyone can accept a ticket and be saved.  But God has decided to allow each person to decide if they want the ticket or not.  He will not force heaven on anyone because He wants to let people decide for themselves if they want to be with Him eternally or not.  And sadly, many will reject the ticket, and so they will not be in heaven in the end.  But it won't be God's fault; it will be theirs, for rejecting the free gift Jesus paid for with His blood, the salvation that He offers and wants them to accept.  But in humble gratitude, you reach out and accept the ticket.  And because you did so, as you walk up to gate to show your ticket, you can be absolutely assured that you will be allowed to board the plane - because God promised you so.  And God can be trusted to keep His promises.

But here's the Calvinist version, the pathetic, twisted Calvinist gospel: In Calvinism, there is not a ticket for everyone, but only for a few people, and it's all been decided long ago and cannot change.  And Calvi-god himself randomly chooses (and is the only one who really knows) who gets a ticket and who doesn't.  Of course, everyone who gets a ticket has the assurance that they will board the plane, but there's no way to know if you personally will get a ticket.  Calvi-god commands everyone to reach out and accept a ticket, even, ironically, the non-elect who were predestined to never get a ticket.  But the kicker is, no one has the ability to reach out and accept a ticket ... because that would be "works."  And so we all have to just wait and see if Calvi-god does it for us, if He makes us accept the ticket.  And even though you might feel sure that he gave you a ticket, all you can really do your whole life is wonder, hope, trust (and convince yourself) that it's a real ticket, and not a fake one, that you'll be let on the plane when you reach the gate.  And if you do eventually realize it was a fake ticket (if you lost your ticket somehow), then there's nothing you can do about it anyway.  Because Calvi-god caused it to happen to punish you more in hell and to get more glory for himself through it.  It's a roll of the dice, a cosmic lottery, and you can only hope your name was chosen.     

How's that for assurance of salvation for the Calvinist!?!

Having to wonder if God really does love you, if Jesus really did die for you, if God really gave you real faith, if He will really keep you in the faith all the way till the end  - and yet knowing that there's nothing you could do about any of it anyway - is not "assurance of salvation," no matter how much Calvinists claim it is.  It's "tricking yourself into thinking you are really one of the elect, when you might not be and can't know for sure and can't do anything about it anyway."

But for the rest of us, the non-Calvinists, this is the basis for our salvation and our assurance: If we choose to believe in Jesus, if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, then we can trust that God will save us.  Because that's what He promised to do.