These Sections teach —

1st. That this infallible assurance is not of the essence of faith — that on the contrary a man may be a true believer and yet destitute of this assurance.

2d. That being, nevertheless, as taught in the preceding Sections, attainable in this life in the use of ordinary means, without extraordinary revelation, it is consequently the duty of every one to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure, because this assurance, instead of inclining men to negligence, tends properly to increase (a) spiritual peace and joy, (6) love and thankfulness to God, and (c) strength and cheerfulness in the works of obedience.

3d. True believers after having attained this assurance may have it shaken, diminished and intermitted, the cause or occasions of which are such as — (a) negligence in preserving this grace in full exercise; (6) falling into some special sin , (c) some sudden and vehement temptations; (d) God's temporary withdrawing of the light of his countenance.

28*

4th. Nevertheless, since, as was shown under Chapter xvii., no true believer is ever permitted totally to fall away from grace, he is never left entirely without any token of God's favour, and, the root of faith remaining, this assurance may in due time be revived.

1st. That this infallible assurance is not of the essence of saving faith is affirmed over and over again in our Standards, and is true. Assurance, in one degree or another of it, is of the essence of faith, because just in proportion to the strength of our faith is our assurance of the truth of that which we believe. But since true faith exists in very various degrees of strength, and since its exercises are sometimes intermitted, it follows that the assurance which accompanies true faith is not always a /mZ^ assurance.*

Besides this, the phrase " full or infallible assurance," in this Chapter, does not relate to the certainty of our faith or trust as to the truth of the object upon which the faith rests — that is, the divine promise of salvation in Christ — but to the certainty of our hope or belief as to our own personal relation to Christ and eternal salvation. Hence it follows that while assurance, in some degree of it, does belong to the essence of all real faith in the sufficiency of Christ and the truth of the promises, it is not in any degree essential to a genuine faith that the believer should be persuaded of the truth of his own experience and the safety of his estate. Theologians consequently have distinguished between the assurance of faith (Heb. x. 22) — that is, a strong faith as to the truth of Christ — and the assurance of hope (Heb. vi. 11) — that is, a certain persuasion that we are tru^^ be- * Conf. Faith, ch. xiv. g 3; L. Cat., Q. 81.

lievers, aiivl therefore safe. This latter is also called the assurance of sense, because it rests upon the inward sense the soul has of the reality of its own spiritual experiences. The first is of the essence of faith, and terminates directly upon Christ and his promise^ and hence is called the direct act of faith. The latter is not of the essence of faith, but its fruit, and is called the reflex act of faith, because it is drawn as an inference from the experience of the graces of the Spirit which the soul discerns when it reflects upon its own consciousness. God says that whosoever believes is saved — That is the object of direct faith. I believe — That is the matter of conscious experience. Therefore I am saved — That is the matter of inference and the essence of full assurance.*

That this full assurance of our own gracious state is not of the essence of saving faith is proved — (1.) From the form in which the offer of salvation in Christ, which is the object of saving faith, is set forth in the Scriptures. ^' Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" "Whosoever will, let him come;" " Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." The matter revealed, and therefore the truth accepted by faith, is not that God is reconciled to me in Christ, but that Christ is presented to me as the foundation of truth, and will save me if I do truly trust. It is evident that trust itself is something diiferent from the certainty that we do trust, and that our trust is of tlie right kind. (2.) All the promises of the Bible are made to classes — to believers, to saints, etc. — and not to

♦ Dr. William Cunningham's Reformers and Theology of the Reformation, Essay iii.

individuals. (3.) Paul appeared to doubt as tc the genuineness of his faith long after he was a true believer. (4.) As we saw above, the Bible contains many exhortations addressed to believers to go on to the grace of full assurance, as something beyond their present attainments. Heb. vi. 11 ; 2 Pet. i. 10. (5.) The experience of the great body of God's people in modern times proves the same thing.

2d. Since this infallible assurance is not of the essence of faith, but its fruit, and one of the highest attainments of the divine life, and since it may be attained in this life in the use of ordinary means, without extraordinary revelation, it follows necessarily that its attainment is a duty as well as a grace, that all that leads to it should be diligently sought, and that all that prevents it should be carefully avoided. Genuine assurance cannot lead to looseness and indifference in the cultivation of grace and the performance of religious duties, since its very existence depends (a) upon the evidence afforded by diligence in those duties, and by the strength of those graces, that we are true believers, and (6) upon the approving witness of the Holy Spirit. As we have seen above, under Sections i. and ii., a false and presumptuous assurance is to be discriminated from a genuine assurance by certain clear, practical marks. On the contrary, genuine assurance naturally leads to a legitimate and abiding peace and joy, and to love and thankfulness to God, and these, from the very laws of our being, to greater buoyancy, strength and chterfuhiess in the practice of obedience in every department of duty. It hence follows that every principle of self-interest and every obligation resting upon us as Christians conspire to

induce us to use all diligence in seeking the full attainment and the abiding enjoyment of this grace.

3d. Since this assurance rests upon the consciousness of gracious experiences and the witness of the Holy Ghost, and, as we have seen under Chapters xiii. and xvii., that true Christians may temporarily, though never totally, fall from the exercise of grace, and since these exercises in this life are never perfect and unmixed with carnal elements, it necessarily follows that the assurance which rests upon them must be subject to be shaken, diminished and intermitted in divers ways. (cR.) Since it is a duty as well as a grace, it must be impefilled by any want of diligence in preserving it in full exercise. (6.) Since it rests upon the consciousness of gracious exercises, it must be marred, if not intermitted, by any notable fall into sin which grieves the Holy Spirit and wounds the conscience, thus clouding the sense of forgiveness and diminishing the evidence of grace, (c.) The same may evidently be effected by some vehement temptation, (d.) The same effect may be produced by God's withdrawing the light of his countenance, in the way of fatherly discipline, for the purpose of trying our faith and convincing us of our entire dependence and of the all-sufficiency of his gracious help.

4th. Since the true believer may fall into sin, but may never fall totally from grace, it is self-evident, as taught in these Sections, that he may lose the exercise of full assurance, but that he cannot lose the principle from which it springs; and that hence, through the blessing of God upon the diligent use of the appropriate means, it may be strengthened when weakened, and recovered when lost.

That the assurance that one is in a gracious state does not belong to the essence of faith, requires no proof. This assurance arises from the perception of the fruits and evidences of faith; and it is manifest that faith must exist before its evidences can be discerned. All faith is founded on testimony; but there is no testimony in the Scriptures declaring to any man that he is in a state of grace; this, therefore, cannot be object of faith. This kind of assurance, as has been already shown, is ordinarily obtained by reflection, or by a process of reasoning. But, although the assurance described in this chapter is not essential to faith, yet there is an assurance which belongs to the essence of faith, and this our Confession recognises in the chapter which treats of saving faith. It makes the principal acts of saving faith to consist in " accepting, receiving, and resting " on Christ for salvation; and it is impossible for one to rest on Christ for salvation without believing or trusting that he shall be saved by him. Whoever rests upon a person for doing a certain thing in his favour, must have a persuasion, or assurance, that he will do that thing for him. Indeed, assurance is so essential to faith, that without it there can be no faith, human or divine. To believe a report, is to be persuaded or assured of the truth of the report; to believe a promise, is to be persuaded or assured that the promiser will do as he has said. In like manner, to believe in Christ for salvation, is to be persuaded or assured that we shall be saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That assurance which is essential to faith, is generally termed the assurance of faith ; and the assurance of grace and salvation is termed the assurance of sense. By some the former is called an objective, and the latter a subjective assurance. There is a marked distinction hetween them; the former having for its object the faithfulness of God in the gospel testimony; whereas the latter has for its object the existence of a gracious work in the soul. The former arises from a single view of what is contained in the Word of God; the latter, from a combined view of his Word without us and of his work within us. The former is an assurance that God

is presently giving Christ, with his salvation to us, in the fi'ee oiFer and pi'omise of the gospel; the latter is an assurance tliat Christ and his salvation are already ours in real possession and enjoyment. That is inseparable from saving faith; this is both separable, and often actually separated, from the exercise of true faith.

There are twTD extremes in reference to this subject, which ought to be avoided. The one is, that there is no assurance in the direct act of faith, and that assurance can only be derived from the marks and evidences of a gracious state; the other is, that the assurance of personal salvation is so essential to saving faith, that no one can be a genuine believer who has any doubts of his own salvation. We apprehend, on the one hand, that while the assurance which arises from marks and evidences of a gracious state does not belong to the essence of faith, yet there is an assurance in the direc* act of faith, foimded upon nothing about the person himself, but solely upon the Word of God; and, on the other hand, that though there is an assurance essential to faith, yet the believer may be often perplexed with doubts and fears concerning his personal salvation, because there is still much unbelief, and other corruptions, remaining in him, and these frequently prevail against him.

It will be sufficient briefly to state the other truths contained in these sections.

1. As the assurance of their gracious state is attainable by believers, in the due use of ordinary means, so it is their duty to give diligence, and use their utmost endeavours to obtain it. This is incumbent upon them by the command of God, and it is necessary to their own comfort, though not to their safety.

2. This assurance is not the attainment of all believers ; and, after it has been enjoyed, it may be weakened, and even lost for a season. It is liable to be shaken by bodily infirmity, by their own negligence, by temptation, by that visitation of God which the Scriptures call his hiding his face from his people, and by occasional transgression.

3. Although believers may forfeit their assurance, yet they are never entirely destitute of gracious habits and dispositions, nor left to sink into utter despair; and their assurance may, by the operation of the Spirit, be in due time revived.

4. This assurance, instead of encouraging believers to indulge in sin, excites them to the vigorous pursuit of holiness. Such as boast of their assurance, and yet can deliberately practise known sin, are only vain pretenders. True assurance cannot be attained or preserved without close walking

1 92 CONFESSION OF FAITH. [^CHAP. XIX.

with God in all his commandments and ordinances blameless. We must judge of the tendency of the assurance of salvation by what the apostles of our Lord have said concerning it; and they uniformly improve it as a motive to holiness.— Rom. xiii. 11-14; 1 Cor. xv. 58; 1 John iii. 2, 3.