Checklist Evangelism and Questions about Assurance

Updated and Revised: May 12, 2008 2:31 PM PST

Reformed Lordship Salvation and Assurance
For Reformed Theology and Lordship Salvation, assurance can never be certain because of where they look for it. The foundation for assurance in LS is threefold, two of which are totally subjective. These pillars, two of which are crumbling, are the word of God, perseverance in faith and works, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit. The problem for assurance in Reformed Lordship Salvation has already been documented on this blog extensively. In a nutshell, because one's faith can fail, thus showing he is reprobate, having only exercised a spurious, non-saving faith, one's capacity for assurance can only come as he endures and perseveres in faith and good works, which are the inevitable signs of (and conditions for) eternal life, and ruminates upon their strength. What a roller-coaster of emotion this can generate, in that circumstances in one's life will invariably dictate the degree of one's assurance. Often, adherents to LS are found dangling over the pit of despair, wondering if they have spurious or genuine faith. Such was characteristically the case in the Puritans of time past.

Checklist Evangelism's Quest for Assurance of Salvation
But this post is not going to consider assurance from the perspective of Reformed Lordship Salvation. What I want to look closely at is one's search for assurance in the traditionalistic and inconsistent theology of the checklist evangelists. Many who consider themselves free grace (albeit inconsistently) state that assurance is the birthright of every Christian but that a Christian many not experience assurance the day of their spiritual birth. This, in and of itself, is grievous error, because assurance is of the essential nature of saving faith. Be that as it may, what I am concerned with here is ascertaining exactly where should this individual, who has been evangelized by a checklist evangelist, supposed to go in order to have assurance of their salvation for either the first time or later if he loses it?

These traditionalists will state, correctly, that assurance will only be founded upon the objective word of God (although not all of them will assert that this assurance is certainty, which understanding, too, is in error). But where must they turn to in the Bible in order to find this objective assurance of their eternal well-being?

We must understand that this is a very big problem for them. Let me tell you why. These traditionalists require that the lost become converts to their specific doctrinal statements or creeds as a condition, mandated by God, for eternal life. For example, one well known creedal statement required to be assented to for eternal life goes something like this: 1) Jesus is God, 2) Jesus is man, 3) Jesus died substitutionally for sins, 4) Jesus rose bodily from the dead, 5) Salvation is received by grace through trusting these facts. It must also be noted here that each one of these statements has a number of subpoints which give them context that must also be assented to in their minutia, or one will fail to fulfill their conditions, and the checklist evangelist will not consider such a one saved.

Questions illustrating the problem for checklist evangelists' quest for assurance:

If someone has been evangelized this way, where can he turn to in order to find assurance in the scriptures?

What passages will he have to string together? What exercises in logic will he have to employ?

What will be the steps to find assurance in the objective word of God?

Is there any clear passage or passages that shows for him all of the conditions that he must fulfill and that promises eternal life, justification, or eternal salvation upon actually fulfilling them?

Free Grace Theology, Saving Faith, and Assurance
Consistent Free Grace Theology understands that eternal life is received the moment that one simply places his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There are no stipulations, provisos, codicils, or strings attached. When one believes in Jesus of Nazareth for eternal life he will never perish but has everlasting life. To substantiate this claim, Consistent Free Grace evangelists turn the lost to such passages as John 3:16, 5:24; 6:35-40, 47; 11:25-26. These passages show in a straightforward, unambiguous, and clear fashion that eternal life and the guarantee against perishing comes to the one who simply believes in Jesus.

But here is the thing. When someone evangelized by a Consistent Free Grace Theology advocate loses his or her assurance for whatever reason, the same scriptures that were introduced to him in evangelism are the same passages that he must turn to in order to find assurance! John 6:47 states, "Solemnly I assert to you, whoever believes in Me has everlasting life." "Believing in" someone is simply trust and reliance upon that person for something specific. In the context of the previously mentioned evangelistic verses, what Jesus is being trusted for and relied upon for is everlasting life. A person knows whether or not they believe Jesus when He solemnly asserts His gratuitous promise and guarantee. The moment that they look to Jesus in faith, who is the Guarantor of eternal life to the believer, they will again find perfect peace and certain assurance (they had it the moment the exercised saving faith, but that is another issue). Why? Because faith is simply being convinced that something is true. If they are convinced that Jesus is telling the truth in His promise then they know, certainly, that they have eternal life, because the possession of such is explicitly guaranteed in His promise. Furthermore, Jesus would be lying if eternal life didn't come simply by taking Him at His word, believing Him in His promise, trusting Him for what He offers, unconditionally, to the lost. [This is a problem, in and of itself, for checklist evangelists, because in a sense, they make Jesus a liar. Jesus makes a solemn assertion that anyone who simply trusts in Him has everlasting life. Checklist evangelists would have someone go to hell who sincerely trusted in Jesus for the gift He offers by faith, yet who was not privy or understanding of their supplemental additions to saving faith, their fundamentalist creeds that they impose on the Lost as God mandated conditions for receiving everlasting life.]

The Roadblocks to Assurance found in Checklist Evangelism
But what of the plight for assurance by the checklist evangelists and those who are evangelized by them? This is crucial to recognize: There is no passage written by Paul, Peter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Jude, James, or the writer of the Hebrews, or any statements by Jesus (recorded for us in the Scriptures) that articulates that eternal life is guaranteed to the one who fulfills the many conditions imposed on the lost by these traditionalists. Where can he turn to for assurance? No scripture(s) line up with his evangelistic experience! If he has to turn to many passages in order to string together some weak support for what he has been told are God mandated requirements for eternal life, how will he be satisfied that he has found them all? Since there are so many conditions and they are never found all in one place, how is he to be sure that he has in reality found all of the doctrines and facts that he must assent to in order to have confidence that he has indeed fulfilled them and so certainly have assurance that he is saved? It is a slippery slope that can lead to great uncertainties.

I already hear some of the objections by the checklist evangelists. They may say that they can turn to passages such as John 3:16 for assurance. But here is the problem for them. John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." This passage states unequivocally that "whoever believes in Him" is the one who shall never perish but has eternal life. Believing in someone is simply trusting in that person for something specific. In this context it is shown that what one is relying upon Jesus for by faith is eternal life and the guarantee that one will never perish.

But the checklist evangelists understand "believing in" Jesus to mean something much more complex than that. They believe it is assenting to a plethora of historical and doctrinal facts in addition to belief in Jesus. How can they use this verse for assurance when there is no clear affirmation anywhere in the Scriptures equating "believing in" (pisteuo eis) Jesus with the multitude of creedal assertions that they are convinced are required to be assented to by mandate of God for the express purpose of receiving everlasting life? How can they be sure that they haven't missed something that "believing in" Jesus may encompass? They cannot. There is no verse or passage that clearly identifies "believing in" Jesus with the assent to specific and enumerable doctrinal and historical facts. Furthermore, when Jesus pronounced His promises such as John 3:16 and 11:25-26, he was merely eliciting trust in Him for eternal well-being, not asking them to assent to a wide range of doctrinal facts!

Furthermore, if John 3:16 is sufficient to be singled out for assurance by a checklist evangelist, how is it insufficient as a statement denoting saving faith in his estimation? Such is the inconsistency of their position. John 3:16 does not enumerate for us all of the conditions for eternal life in the opinion of checklist evangelists.

For me, John 3:16 is a sufficient articulation of the single condition mandated by God for eternal life: "believ[ing] in" Jesus. Therefore it is a sufficient scripture to turn to in order to find assurance.

Illustration
If my mom wrote this to me, "I promise that if you send me your mortgage bill for this month that the day I receive it I will send in the payment" where can I get assurance that my mortgage payment was indeed paid for after having sent her the mortgage bill in the mail? Quite simply by doing this: reading the promise of my mom, knowing I fulfilled the condition for her explicit guarantee.

Conclusion
One can ONLY have assurance of the stated consequences of specific conditions if one knows those conditions and then fulfills them. In John 3:16, there is only the one condition given by Jesus (and thus by Consistent Free Grace advocates), faith in Him; there is no run-down of all the conditions that the checklist evangelists impose on the lost. Therefore, checklist evangelists cannot legitimately find assurance in that verse.

Where one finds the conditions for receiving everlasting life and then fulfills them will be the same place that he must look to for assurance. Unfortunately for checklist evangelists, there is no passage that conditions the reception of eternal life on the multitude of historical and doctrinal facts they impose on the lost. The quest for assurance by checklist evangelists and those whom they evangelize can only be described as a scavenger hunt where no one can win.