Full Assurance Of Salvation

"Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble"  (2 Peter 1:10, HCSB).   


It is not presumption nor conjecture to believe one is saved eternally in real-time, it's faith and a boon to one's well-being, even justification and a motive and reason to do good.  We should be able to quote 2 Tim. 1:12 that saying, I know whom I have believed and am confident that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him day.   Assurance is paramount and enhances our sanctification and is the helmet of salvation to fight Satan and his minions.  If we lack assurance, our walk is paralyzed and we are in limbo, so to speak, meaning we are not resting in faith.  Assurance is not of the essence of faith, and not an automatic fruit, but it is commanded and our duty to know (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10), not just be idly curious about!  Assurance isn't the job description of the pastor-teacher but individual responsibility to examine their heart.  All one can do is "reassure."

Actually, some believers are congenital doubters or have little faith, but false assurance is the bigger problem (believing one is secure without biblical warrant or sanction).  Also, note that it's not some one's job description to certify your salvation--they can only give reassurance:  One must examine his own heart and the fruits of his faith, and see if they align with the Word of God and the witness of the inward Spirit (per Romans 8:16; 2 Cor. 13:5). 

We need not speculate about our destiny with God, for we can take God at His Word and at face value, standing on the promises of God; however, this implies we are not ignorant of the Word and have faith to begin with. In the final analysis, realize that we don't rest on conjecture, but certainty!

God is the great Promise Keeper and His Word "cannot be broken"; He has given us His Spirit as the earnest money or down payment on our salvation dividend.  Our destiny is in God's hands!  Believing this, we ought to rest in faith and stop trying to save ourselves by piety or religiosity.  We see salvation as a done deal (a fait accompli) with nothing we can add improvements to it, and we cannot earn, deserve, nor pay it back--it's the gift of God received through faith by grace, giving all the credit and glory to God (Soli Deo Gloria!  "Salvation is of the LORD," per Jonah 2:9). Salvation is not of us, nor of us and the LORD, but solely of the LORD.

In sum, taking a verse that you can cling to as a promise is the way to have assurance, and some call this a spiritual birth certificate, for example, a favorite of mine: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life [now], and shall not come into condemnation, but has [past tense or done deal] passed from death unto life" (John 5:24, KJV).    Soli Deo Gloria!

Staying On Track With God

"... If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all" (Is. 7:9, HCSB).

Psalm 31:15 says that our times our in God's hands or our future is in His hands.  This is good to know because our lives have been written out like a novel even before we were born (cf. Psalm 139:16).   God will fulfill His purpose for us with or without our cooperation because we are called according to the purpose of His will and all things will work out for the good in the end (cf. Psalm 138:8; 57:2; Rom. 8:28).   When David had fulfilled God's purpose (plan) God took him (cf. Acts 13:36).   God does have a purpose for everyone and everything, even the wicked for the day of evil (cf. Prov. 16:4).  But as believers God has a special plan of good for us, to prosper us in our endeavors and to use us as His vessels of honor.  (cf. Jeremiah 29:11).

We don't have "to reason why, but to do and die" (as The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson penned).  Those who hear the beat of a different drum cannot keep in step.  Only two people tuned to the same instrument are in tune with each other!   When our lives are surrendered to His will and we relinquish ownership of our soul, He guides us according to His will and purpose.  The providence of God assures that He is in control of all events, circumstances, things, animals, plants, and people--even all thrones, powers, and dominions to bring Him glory (cf. Ephesians 1:11; Is. 43:7). 

Now, it is apparent that we don't always walk in the Spirit doing God's will (whenever we sin we must confess it immediately), for we all fall short of God's glorious ideal and despite the fact that perfection is the standard, the direction is the test.  We are to keep in step with the Spirit and to walk with God even as Noah did.  This can only be accomplished by keeping short accounts with God, confession-of-sin-wise.   What happens is that we reckon our schedules to be more important than God's and our priorities already to be aligned with His, when they may be out of step with the Spirit unawares.  Jesus walked as close to God as can be imagined and yet never saw an urgent need as an interruption.  Now, you can say that He knows all and foresaw what God's plan was or the ultimate results would be, but Jesus walked on this earth with the limitations of a man, not knowing anything but what the Father told Him--for knowing the future isn't consistent with human weakness and humiliation.

In the story of Jesus raising the daughter of Jairus in Mark 5, Jesus stopped to heal a woman with a blood-flow issue of twelve years before going on to heal her.  He knew that it is impossible to get off track from God's timetable if one walks in the Spirit and does what is right; namely, heal the woman in her need. We must also trust God's triage and priorities instead of limiting our vision to our perspective.  Jesus did that when He heard of Lazarus and didn't hurry on to get to Bethany to heal him, but lingered.  Jesus wasn't one to be rushed!

It is a serious blunder to do your own thing (cf. Isa. 53:6; Judges 17:6; 21:25), to set your own agenda, to go your own way, to be in a hurry to do God's will (ironic!) and not to trust in the Lord's timing to keep the main thing the main thing and to keep your eyes on Jesus as the focus, not yourself.  If you are engaged in the business of the Lord, God will see to it that it is done right and in time--He will not linger nor delay to do His will.  There is proper etiquette:  Back to God's house, back to God's Word, back to God's will, back to God's work, and back to God's Spirit.   As Habakkuk 2:3, NLT says "... If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.  It will not be delayed [tarry]."

God's eternal perspective of time (the vantage point of eternity) in seeing the big picture from beginning to end gives Him the ability to guide our lives and we should not "lean unto our own understanding" (cf. Prov. 3:5), but we should entrust everything to Providence--God is in control and we cannot alter His plan--He has and needs no Plan B.  As humans, we tend to hate being interrupted because we take issue with something being more important than the issue at hand or what we're engaged in, but this is all part of our pride in not letting God be God or having control over our circumstances--we must assume that God has allowed this interruption to readjust our timing (like missing a light in traffic to make us late, because God thought we were going too fast--how do we know whether God wasn't preventing an accident down the road?).

In sum, there is no such thing as an interruption with Jesus--He's never too busy for us and nothing is too trivial to be a bother or nuisance.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Dwelling In God's House

What exactly was David referring to in verse 6 of the 23rd Psalm?  "... and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever!" (in the HCSB it says "as long as I live.")  This was a confession of faith an article of a creed, or a proclamation of victory that all was well with his soul and he knew to Whom he belonged.  There are three key doctrinal points to be made from this verse.
First,  he was assured of his salvation as it were.
Second, it commenced immediately or he owned it in the present tense (i.e., eternal life in Christ the Chief Shepherd referred to).
Third, he could not lose this confidence or his security was assured and good as God's Word.  David was emphatically proclaiming his salvation and announcing to us that he will be there in the LORD's house as a sure thing, for He is the perfect Promise Keeper.

David connected with the Lord on a personal level and sensed His presence in his life; you might say he knew that God is the One who is there, as Schaeffer called God, "The God who is there!"  As he also said, "He is there, and He is not silent."  We cannot be any closer than that--we converse with Him--in one level this psalm is a prayer of faith! David's faith expressed a deep fellowship and not just second-hand knowledge.

That is to say that we can have assurance of our salvation and don't have to wonder or just "hope" for the best; that our salvation begins in real time (it is not provisional and we are not on probation to earn our salvation or to keep it); and that our salvation is eternal and cannot be forfeited or lost--once you have it, you can never lose it--you're family and one of the Shepherd's sheep.  This is vital to know because the assurance of salvation and the eternal security of the believer are to be distinguished, but not separated!  They go hand in hand and you cannot have one without the other--we must never divorce them!

If there wasn't any security you would be presumptuous to say you had assurance or were saved, because you don't know if you might lose it by some future sin or might commit apostasy or fall away as a backslider and not recover. If there's no assurance, there's no security; if there's no security, there's no assurance--this is logic and by definition.  Just by the definition of eternal life, we say that it cannot end and begins and goes on from Day One, and from there all of one's days into eternity!  How can you have eternal life for one day?  You either partake of eternal life or you don't!  In sum, we share in God's life and are considered members of His household!

Our heritage as believers is the peace of God, which is manifest in multiple ways.  We have the peace with God, of God, and with ourselves.  This knowledge that we can rest in peace knowing we belong to God and are secure in our legacy, is really living the good life or life to the max! Our peace is the peace that surpasses all understanding!  Isaiah 57:21 says, "there is no peace, says my God,  for the wicked" and Rom. 3:17 says that "and the way of peace they do not know."  As they say, know Jesus, know peace; no Jesus, no peace!

"I was glad when they said unto mem, let us go into the house of the LORD" (cf. Psalm 122:1).     Soli Deo Gloria!

Assurance And Security Part 3

The best Bible verse I've seen for eternal security is Rom. 8:29-30, which says that all who are predestined are justified--none are lost ("For whom He foreknew, He predestined, and whom He predestined, He called, and whom He called He justified"). Jesus also said none are lost except the son of perdition and we are "kept" (See Jude vv. 1-4 for the promise). Without eternal security, there is no assurance of salvation like Romanists maintain. If our salvation depends on our behavior or conduct we might blow it in the end. Who would know that he would endure to the end unless God promised it in His Word? "He who endures to the end shall be saved." (This is not a proviso of salvation, but a promise that we will be saved.) (Matt. 10:22; 24:13) God doesn't quit on us, but finishes what He starts (He doesn't teach us to swim to let us drown): "For He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion" (Phil. 1:6). "Tetelestai!" (It is finished, PAID IN FULL!.) Soli Deo Gloria.

Assurance And Security Part 2

The doctrines of eternal security and assurance of salvation are interconnected. The truth or falsity of one bears on the credibility of the other. Romanists deny any sure doctrine of assurance, though they say assurance is possible for some by divine revelation to that effect, and say that one who is born-again cannot say for sure that he is numbered among the predestined--that would be presumption. St. Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, said that this is not arrogant stoutness (presumption), but faith. Wesleyans believe in present assurance, but deny any perseverance is guaranteed. They believe they can lose their salvation and deny the ditty, "Once saved, always saved." Most Lutherans believe that if you lose your faith, you will lose your salvation, even though Martin Luther was orthodox in his belief of the perseverance of the saints. Security is a fact, assurance is an acknowledgment of a fact and the two can be distinguished or differentiated, but not separated.  You cannot logically affirm one without the other!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Notes From Lecture Of Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, Jr.

Dr. Johnson (predecessor of Norman L. Geisler and my first teacher of sound doctrine,) mentioned three assurances of salvation: The evidential (works of righteousness, love of the brethren, overcoming sin per 1 John 3:7); the internal witness of the Holy Spirit per (Rom. 8:16 as the Spirit bears witness with our spirit); and the external witness of the reliable Word of God itself. Trusting in the Word cannot be more reliable, so we should cling to our favorite verse of assurance, e.g., John 6:37 which says, "He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." This is like having a "spiritual birth certificate."

Salvation brings life, but assurance brings joy. "Do we have faith to die by or just one we can live with?" says Dr. Johnson.

He made it clear that one can be saved and have no assurance or a weak faith with doubts. It is God's will for us to know for sure absolutely. Not just out of curiosity, but as a boon to our faith and a duty to God to have a strong faith. Augustine of Hippo said that assurance is no "arrogant stoutness," but faith, and no presumption at all. What shall we trust: God's infallible Word or our experience?   Soli Deo Gloria!

Note:  Dr. Johnson baptized me and was criticized at DTS (Dallas Theological Seminary) for his strict Reformed theology. He was the pastor at Believers Chapel in Dallas, Texas.   He also was one of Charles Swindoll's professors at DTS.   

Basic Assurance

I have seen stats and data that support the conclusion that most Christians are not sure of their salvation. At least 50 percent of Christians claim to be unsure. In some churches, 95 percent of the members are unsure (mostly Roman Catholic). Assurance of salvation does not belong to the essence of faith and doesn't always exist with saving faith. God is more interested in whether our faith is sincere and unfeigned and not hypocritical than being unwavering. Everyone's faith is tested at times because it is more precious as gold and silver in God's eyes. Someone whose faith has never been tested has weak faith. It isn't the amount of faith, but the object of the faith.

We don't need divine intervention or a revelation to the effect that we are saved, like hearing voices or seeing visions, to know we are saved. God's Word is true and He cannot lie. If we have done our part of the promise of salvation and God's Word says we're saved, then God has more to lose than we do by not saving us, we would lose our soul, but God would lose His deity. Some claim to have experiences, but we should still base our assurance on the Word of God and stand on the promises of God, relying on His Word, not walking in the "glow" of some experience, or clinging to the memory of some emotional encounter.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Assurance And Security

"Our assurance is not based on our feelings, behavior...but on the character of God...." We may have a question of semantics here, but it seems to me that we are reassured by our subjective experience and objective faith in God's Word. Our ultimate "security" is in God's hands as we are inscribed on the palms of His hands (cf. Isaiah 49:16). We are sealed and a down payment has been paid to guarantee His promise. We are given assurance and security as a GIFT.

One cannot be "unborn" nor "unjustified" and so our salvation is as permanent as adoption can be. God's judgment of our justification is permanent. Christ is interceding for us, so who can be against us?

Do I understand you, that you don't believe in the final perseverance of the saints? Do you believe that it doesn't matter how you live as long as you know you are saved (antinomianism which is libertinism)? False security and presumption are wrong. Do you dichotomize (split into two factions) Christians into spiritual spheres? I don't believe some Christians can sin and say that it's alright because they are "carnal" Christians, but Christians can be carnal at times. (Look at the reality of Rom. 7--"Oh, wretched man that I am.") This is not a "Christian experience," but it is, nevertheless, the experience of many. This seems to be the anticlimax of the book of Romans but it is really the starting point--our END IS GOD'S BEGINNING according to Watchman Nee.

I believe you can fall away, but not absolutely, and finally. I do not believe that apostasy is a "clear and present danger" for the believer. I have heard it said that you should not believe in "eternal security" but perseverance. That means that we cooperate with God in our final security. I disagree with this, partly out of a personal experience where I can say I have strayed from the Lord and He has brought me back out of grace, and partly out of scripture.

The difference is not that we can say, "Now that I am a Christian I can go see a for fun and not worry about my salvation." I do not think any real genuine believer would ever say that it is only hypothetical. You can do what you want to if you love Jesus, but the things you want to do are different and are changed. We are held and kept in His hands and He has a tight grip on us. We do persevere in the end, though we may have our ups and downs and backslide, God, will heal us.

No Christian ever truly presumes on the grace of God or purposely goes astray; it usually happens slowly (he drifts away), by not being in fellowship or not going to church and waking up one day and realizing what you did, as God grants you repentance like the prodigal son. The Christian may go into sin, but he doesn't want to deep inside, he is just succumbing to temptation--it's not a temptation to some, who have no right to judge. God can cure him of his weakness and bring him back to the fold. If God allows it to happen, He has a purpose, because no one can thwart God's plan or resist His will.

One must understand that perseverance does not mean we will not sin frequently, or fall into it, but that our faith will not fail (David never lost faith, though he was out of fellowship for about one year). We should really give God the glory and stress the preservation that He does on our behalf. A word to the wise is sufficient: The Scriptural caveat is, "Let him who thinks he stands to take heed lest he falls" (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12). There, but for the grace of God go I. NB: Security and assurance can be distinguished but not separated--they go hand in hand and cannot exist independently.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Blessed Assurance!

"... Do not be unbelieving, but believing" (cf. John 20:27).
"For the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God" (cf. Rom. 8:16).
"For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (cf. 2 Tim. 1:12).
"... [B]e all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure" (2 Pet. 1:10, ESV).

The title is taken from Fanny Crosby's hymn.  We don't find out we're saved because we're curious, but because we are commanded to do so in 2 Pet. 1:10, but it's not an automatic fruit of salvation, even if one's faith is alive and growing--for dead faith or faith minus works doesn't save (cf. James 2:20), and we are commanded o examine ourselves as to whether Christ is in us on a regular basis to reassure ourselves. (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5).  It is not the preacher's duty or job description (nor any authority figure's for that matter) to give assurance of salvation--they can only reassure, but one must trust in the Word as a conviction and join it to the assurance of the Holy Spirit as dual assurance.

We must learn the lesson to take God at His Word, once the initial highs and feelings have left us (when normalcy sets in) and the feelings of our initial response to salvation when God is testing the validity and reality of our faith, which is more precious than gold and silver and must be confirmed by fire.  If we don't have any assurance, we will be paralyzed in our walk and stunted in growth, not able to walk forward with Christ in faith, but treading water and going backward even.  This assurance is meant to enhance our sanctification and to be a boon to our experience in Christ.

R. C. Sproul says that to gain authentic assurance we must "search our own hearts and examine the fruit of our faith."  And also that "the Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit" is God's normative methodology of assurance.  When we are fully assured we will never succumb to doubt, having on our helmet of salvation, because it will be a done deal and we can overcome the Anfectung (Luther's German for attack) of Satan.  Let's be leery of being like those who waver in the faith and are rebuked and chided by Jesus, "Oh you of little faith!"

Note that no one has to have perfect assurance nor perfect faith in this life to get saved, or it wouldn't be called faith but knowledge.  If someone says he has no doubts, he's never been tested in his faith or doesn't know himself well, for faith is not the same as knowledge of which we will inherit in glory.  NB:  you will never have "smoking gun" evidence that you can be as assured as you see the sunshine in the sky, for we are commanded to walk by faith and not by sight in 2 Cor. 5:7.  You don't need all the answers to believe or make a decision for Christ!

We are to "taste and see that the LORD is good," so that we can existentially and empirically know God by the experience of the spiritual world by faith. One of God's chief complaints and pet peeve is that man doesn't have the "knowledge of God" (cf. Hos. 4:1).  Later cf. Hosea 6:3 which says to let us know, let us go on to know the LORD.  We can sincerely pray for God to increase our faith, and God does commend strong faith, but it isn't the amount of faith that saves, but the object (faith doesn't save, Christ does, or it is fideism, faith in faith).   There are degrees of certitude and the faith/doubt continuum varies throughout one's spiritual journey.

Many preachers dichotomize salvation's security from its assurance in the here and now--these must never be divorced for they are two sides of the same coin and one cannot exist logically without the other (if you can lose it, how can you ever have full assurance and know you won't slip into sin?).  We say in theology that we can indeed distinguish these doctrines, but cannot separate them--they are two sides of the same coin (the flip side).

Roman Catholics will tell you that assurance is a pure sin of presumption unless you've had a special revelation or experience with God to assure you, but it's not conjecture nor presumption, it's doable and a duty.  It's true, as some may point out, that some leave the faith, but these were never genuine believers in the first place according to John in 1 John 2:19.  Orthodox doctrine says that we persevere in the faith as God preserves us, for if it weren't for grace, none of us would survive spiritually.

The biggest problem in the church regarding this issue is not patient with struggling believers who have doubts, but bearing with those who presume and have false assurance, for assurance must be biblical and based on sound doctrine or dogma.   And so people can be ignorant of Scripture or aren't taking God at His Word--or they may simply be going by feeling. We are accountable for the faith bestowed on us to be faithful to it and grow fruit accordingly (cf. Rom. 12:3), and our faith must not be feigned or hypocritical, but sound and sincere--i.e., albeit not perfect (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5).

In sum, the best assurance is to claim the promises of God as one's spiritual birth certificate, like one of mine in John 6:37 that says, "He who comes to Me I will in no way cast out." FIND YOUR OWN SPIRITUAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE OR PASSAGE THAT SPEAKS TO YOUR OWN HEART AND SITUATION.     Soli Deo Gloria!

But God Is Faithful

"No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised"  (Rom. 4:20-21, ESV).

"... [For] I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me"  (2 Tim. 1:12, ESV). 

God is faithful, even when we aren't.  "... [Great] is [God's] faithfulness" (Lam. 3:23, NIV). We are invited to "feed on His faithfulness" (cf. Psalm 37:3).   The same verse in the ESV says to "befriend faithfulness."  Likewise, the HCSB says to "cultivate faithfulness."  David says, "...your faithfulness [reaches] to the skies" (Psalm 36:5, NIV).  Will you make known His faithfulness (cf. Psalm 89:1)? Will you declare His faithfulness (cf. Psalm 40:10, NIV)?   Shall it be declared in the grave (cf. Psalm 88:11)?  "... [With] my mouth I will make known thy faithfulness to all generations"  (Psalm 89:1, KJV).  God is known by His faithfulness:  "Your faithfulness surrounds you";  "You are entirely faithful" (Psalm 89:8, NIV, NLT).

Our security in Christ depends on God's faithfulness, not ours: "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself"  (2 Tim. 2:13, KJV).  He betroths us to Himself in faithfulness (cf. Hos. 2:20).  We endure in Christ and overcome because of God's faithfulness: He preserves as we persevere!  We are "kept by the power of God" (cf. 1 Pet. 1:5). For we can do nothing apart from Christ (cf. John 15:5).  God gets the glory for our salvation.

"The righteous man shall live by his faithfulness" (cf. Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:37-38; Hab. 2:4).  We must be careful not to divorce faithfulness from faith!  They go hand in hand and come as one package--the righteous live by faith and go from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:17), ever-increasing in faithfulness.  Never divorce the two, for what God has joined together, let not man put asunder (cf. Mark 10:9).  If we are not faithful, we lack faith, and the flip side is valid also:  if we are lack faith, we'll be unfaithful!  We will hear Jesus commend us:  "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!"  We are not rewarded according to our faith if it's not put into action and applied.  We are rewarded according to the faithfulness we exercise in doing works by faith and as a result and byproduct of faith (cf. Rom. 2:6).

Faith must produce good works, and good works must result from a living and saving faith, or the faith is bogus (as James 2:20 says, "...[Faith] without works is dead").  The Reformed formula was: "We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone" (which would be antinomianism, or libertinism and lawlessness).  Not having good works to validate your faith makes it suspect!  You could say that faith and faithfulness can be distinguished, but not separated; they never are independent of each other, but work as a team. Faith is merely the flip side of faithfulness!  In the Hebrew, there is one word used for faith and faithfulness--Hab. 2:4 is translated with both words: "The righteous shall walk [live] by faith [by faithfulness]."

The point is that saving and genuine faith expresses itself (you see it in action!); the saints of old all pleased God by their acts of faith (Heb. 11:8, NLT, says, "...it was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him..."); obedience is the true measure of faith, not experiences, feelings, or ecstasies. God is not looking for our achievements, but our obedience! He wants us, not our works are done in the flesh!  Lip service and head belief or intellectual assent don't cut it as the real thing, God wants reliance, trust, and obedience to the Jesus as Lord--the only way "to be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey," the hymn goes!  Jesus promised that he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much to emphasize the value of faith.     Soli Deo Gloria! 

Assurance Of Salvation

My area of expertise (quite ironically) seems to be the assurance of salvation since I have backslid so many times, I have been dogged by this issue, and have had to repent and do the first things over and go back to square one so to speak. Sometimes I have compared myself to other Christians and have been discouraged, e.g., when they say they hear God's voice audibly and I don't, I think something is wrong, but later God reassures me.

If you just go by feelings it seems like I have been saved many times over, but that is not biblical. The Bible makes it clear that if you could lose your salvation, you cannot regain it (See Heb. 6:1-9). God wants you to stand on the promises of God and "rely" on His Word, not go by experience or feeling. We do not walk in the "glow" of some mountaintop experience or cling to the memory of some emotional or ecstatic encounter, we learn to have faith that is tested and proven.  God isn't impressed with feelings as much as by faith!

I know the best assurance is that which comes from a holy and obedient life per Is. 32:17 which says, "The fruit of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance." Disobedience and consequent chastisement take away ones feeling of the joy of salvation and one may doubt his position in Christ.

My assurance comes from John 5:24, which says that He who comes to Christ will in no wise be cast out--that's my spiritual birth-certificate!  God said it in His Word, I believe it in my heart, that settles it in my mind!   No one is ever lost in the shuffle due to the Golden Chain of Redemption in Rom. 8:29-30.   Soli Deo Gloria!