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You can turn in your confessions to chapter 18. Does anyone need one or is everybody good? Chapter 18 of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation. last time we looked at the Perseverance of the Saints, and this doctrine of assurance is, of course, very intimately connected. 

The ground of our assurance is essentially stated in the chapter of Perseverance. It's stated previously in the Confession as well, everywhere from chapter 7 all the way up until this point, and even before that. but we have in 17.2, if you'll remember, the immovable realities of perseverance resting upon, not ourselves, but resting upon the immutability of the decree of God that flows from His unchangeable love, the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ in union with Him, the work of the Spirit, the seed of God within us, the oath of God, the covenant of grace, the multifaceted reality that Our salvation is sure and steadfast in the triune God and in the Christ of our confession. 

Here in chapter 18, it has to do with the, if we could say, the effect of perseverance upon the soul of the believer, of the assurance of grace and salvation. So I'll read all four paragraphs and then we will dive into this particular doctrine. 

Chapter 18, paragraph 1, although temporary believers and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God and in a state of salvation, which hope of their shall perish, Yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may in this life be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed. 

This certainty is not a bare, conjectural, and probable persuasion, grounded upon a fallible hope, but an infallible assurance of faith, founded on the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel, and also upon the inward evidence of those graces of the spirit, unto which promises are made, and on the testimony of the spirit of adoption, witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God. 

and as a fruit thereof, keeping the heart both humble and holy. This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it. Yet being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God, he may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of means, attain thereunto. 

And therefore it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure, that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance. 

As far as it is from inclining men to loosen, so far is it from inclining men to looseness. True believers may have the assurance of their salvation diverse ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted, as by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which woundeth the conscience and grieveth the spirit, by some sudden or vehement temptation, by God's withdrawing the light of his countenance and suffering even such as fear him, to walk in darkness and to have no light. Yet are they never destitute of the seed of God and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty out of which, by the operation of the spirit, this assurance may in due time be revived. and by the witch in the meantime they are preserved from utter despair. Amen.

So a lot of language there, a lot of good language concerning the doctrine of assurance of grace and salvation. And just by way of introduction, a reminder that as we work through this, our hope lies solely and alone in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ.

And that's what we're going to, we read that already in paragraph two here. We saw that in paragraph two of chapter 17, the blood and righteousness of Christ resting upon and intermingled with all of those other blessed doctrines regarding the certainty of an immovable and immutable God who in his love decreed a multitude that they may be saved.

There is in the history of the church and in our modern landscape interestingly from a Catholic and a Protestant vantage point, opposition to the doctrine of assurance, referring to it amongst other ways as the sin of presumption. The Roman Catholics, and we could say highly rigid, exclusionary, experio-centric Protestants, rejecting the certainty of assurance as common for believers who rest upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

And to this reality, and we'll refer to it a little bit because the confession here refers to probably the Catholics in the context, but maybe even hyper-Calvinists in paragraph three. But notice what J.C. Ryle says on this particular topic.

But there are some true believers who reject assurance. who shrink from it as a doctrine fraught with danger. They consider it borders on presumption. They seem to think it a proper humility never to feel sure, never to be confident, and to live in a certain degree of doubt and suspense about their souls. This is to be rejected and does much harm. And we'll talk about that as we move along.

The four things that we see in this particular chapter, the first thing that we see is the doctrine of assurance articulated, doctrine of assurance simply stated and defined. We see secondly the pillars of assurance declared in paragraph two. We see the possession of assurance attained in paragraph three, and then we see the trials of assurance endured in paragraph four.

So first, the doctrine of assurance articulated. We see first a negative statement referring to unregenerate men. It's not although temporary believers and unregenerate men, it's although temporary believers and other unregenerate men. In other words, temporary believers are unregenerate.

But the negative statement here first off with regards to what assurance is not. Although temporary believers and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God and in a state of salvation, which hope of theirs shall perish? We ought to note here, against the fears and the doubts that can rise up in Christian hearts, that The Confession is talking about false hopes, in other words, not in Christ's blood and righteousness. They're talking about carnal presumptions, that is, resting upon the flesh, resting upon, perhaps, their own deeds and their own self-righteousness. And as we'll see a little bit later, with regards to a fallible hope in paragraph two, The confession isn't saying that there are some who are resting upon Christ's blood and righteousness who are vainly presuming upon their own salvation. It's temporary believers, unregenerate men, who deceive themselves with false hopes.

In other words, and again, not resting upon those things that are at the heart of the gospel, the perfection of the work of Jesus Christ and faith in him. We might have something of an example, well not something, we do have an example of that. If you turn with me to the Gospel of Luke for a moment.

Luke 18. In Luke 18, the Lord Jesus Christ is introducing, not Luke is introducing, the Lord Jesus Christ's parable of the tax collector. And notice the types of persons that Luke is saying that Christ was speaking to in this particular parable and with this parable, 18.9. Also, he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.

So temporary believers, other unregenerate men, who are resting upon false hopes and carnal presumptions. They were trusting in themselves that they were righteous and despising others. So there is that sort of reality. When we think about presumption, we ought to think about it in this sort of framework or context.

Presumption is a sinful confidence in God's favor or promises without true faith, repentance, or obedience. It's not boldness of faith resting on God's word, but a false security that assumes salvation or blessing apart from the conditions God has revealed, often grounded in self-deceit and carnal hope like this.

Faith says, as the Puritans would say, faith says God has promised and I trust him. Presumption says I'll be fine whether or not I believe or obey.

We need to understand here that proper Christian assurance that should be It's not, and it's not part of the essence of faith, as we'll see here in a moment, but is there for every common Christian, not the super elite, not those who for three years have groveled in their sin, not those who have had extraordinary experiences, not those who have had physiological and emotional rushes of energy at particular times, but for those who simply believe in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Not those who have had multitudes of distinct transitions in their life, of clear revelatory moments of the condescension of God brighter than the noonday sun, but for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Think about it this way, presumption would say in a medical context, I don't need a doctor, I'm sure I'm fine. The Christian assurance and analog of that or referent of that would be something like, I know I'm sick, I need to go to the physician for my healing. That's assurance and I know that that physician has and will heal me.

You could think about it in the realm of a traveler. I refuse to use a map I know that I'm going to get to my destination regardless of any help. The Christian referent to that is, I have a map, I have a captain who navigates me, and I know that I will make it to my destination because of the certainty of the captain.

You see the difference between an assurance and a presumption. Presumption says, I don't need a doctor, I'm sure I'm fine. Assurance says, I know I'm sick, I have a physician who has healed me, and the certainty of that healing is sure in my physician. So we have this negative statement, and again, it doesn't mean, it's not describing persons who vainly deceive themselves by faith in the same objective grounds of salvation as those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. It's false hopes, it's carnal presumptions. It's not resting upon Christ, his blood and righteousness.

So then, positively, we have this language. So, It's not that, but what is it? Middle of the paragraph. Yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may in this life be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed.

Notice it doesn't say, yet such as are 85, who have a perfectly ironed white shirt and a perfectly boring tie with black pants and black shoes, who always do everything perfect, may be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace. All as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, love him in sincerity, endeavor to walk in good conscience before him, may in this life be certainly assured. We have the blessed assurance in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can turn to some passages here that speak to this. Turn with me to 1 John for a moment. 1 John. 1 John 5. This is a wonderful statement because it's very similar to the end of John's Gospel, but it's sort of amplifying something here. In 1 John 5, at verse 13, Remember at the end of John's gospel, in John 20, I believe it's John 20, 30, he is summarizing or he's bringing to a head before the epilogue what's going on in his epistle, in his book, in his gospel. Why did he write it? These things I have written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing you may have life in his name.

Well, in his first epistle, he's writing now to those who believe by virtue of the word, and he says, with regards to assurance and certainty, these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. You see the simplicity for simple Christians, for every Christian. John is writing. to Christians. He's not writing to the super elite. He's not writing to those who lord Christianity over a populace and who keep them from the blessedness of assurance. He's writing simply to those who believe in the name of the Son of God, to Christians. You may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

And just back up to 1 John 2 for a moment, because the, In those struggling with assurance, it's very often the case, well, man, you know. I've sinned, so I can't be assured of my salvation. I was doing really good for a long time, even though in that statement we sin each and every day against God. We don't love him fully as we ought, like the incarnate Christ, with the fullness of our heart, soul, body, and mind. But nevertheless, I've been doing good for a while, and I sin, so man, I don't know if I could be sure of my salvation.

1 John 2, and this isn't to incline men to looseness, as paragraph three ends. This is to continually drive us to Christ and to show us the certainty of salvation in him. In 1 John 2.1, my little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. You see there the direction and the guidance and the proper map for navigating our Christian lives. 

When you sin, doubt your salvation. No. When you sin, waver and grovel and lash yourselves, either literally or metaphorically, with flagellating ropes. No. When you sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 

So we should not sin with impunity, of course, we should not sin that grace may abound, but we know that we will sin as Christians with our remaining corruption, and what do we do? Do we doubt our assurance? Do we doubt our salvation? No, we with joy, though with grief having sinned, with joy fly to the advocate immediately, that advocate who stands at the right hand of the Father on high, looking down upon his saints, receiving their supplications and their prayers through him and sending them to the Father. 

We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We have assurance in him. 

You can also turn to John 5. John 5. The certainty that's stated here is a passage, perhaps it's often, maybe it's overlooked a little bit with regards to assurance. It certainly isn't overlooked with regards to the certainty of salvation, but it should also, because these things are so intimately connected, the certainty of salvation, the certainty of the endurance of that salvation, the perseverance, the preservation of the saints, then therefore the certainty of assurance. 

Notice in 524, most assuredly, the words of Christ here, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. The wonderful simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The words of Christ himself, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me, has everlasting life. 

Let's not just brush over those three words in the English. Has everlasting life. Has it, possesses it now. It can be certain and hopeful in the blessed reality of it. And not only that, but then this negative statement, and shall not come into judgment. There's actually a three-fold certainty here. First, first has everlasting life, negatively shall not come into judgment, and then a reassertion positively has passed from death into life and will live everlastingly. 

We have the blessed certainty from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

And one more passage in the book of Romans, Romans 10. Romans chapter 10, notice verse six, starting there. But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way. Do not say in your heart, who will ascend into heaven, that is, to bring Christ down from above, or who will descend into the abyss, that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. But what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith which we preach. 

that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus, that the Lord Jesus, excuse me, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. You see the ground of assurance being the Lord Jesus Christ, the evidence of that assurance being simply believing in him. Confessing with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Noticeably absent is a litany of conditions to have the assurance of salvation. Noticeably absent, but You actually need to be, metaphorically, knocked off your horse on the road to Damascus. You need to see the glory of the noonday sun, actually even excellently more than that, in the risen Christ, and you need to have that special, extraordinary, revelatory experience in order to have assurance. You need to ensure that your life is perfect. without blemish, before you can actually know for certain that you are the, no, it says, gloriously, if you confess with your mouth that the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead. you will be saved.

It's a blessed simplicity, the blessed glory that our salvation rests not upon ourselves and our doing and our states and those things that we experience, but much rather the blood and righteousness of Christ.

Notice then, on that note, the pillars of assurance declared. The pillars of assurance declared in paragraph two. The first thing we see here is that there is a negative statement with regards to the, what is the type of certainty that this assurance is? What is the type of certainty? First there's this negative statement. This certainty is not. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope. So what assurance is not, or again, the type of certainty that is not in view when we're considering assurance, thanks Jim, this certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon, note, a fallible hope.

And so the idea here isn't that there are persons out there that have persuasion grounded in the infallible hope of the blood and righteousness of Christ, but they better not have assurance because X, Y, and Z. The statement is that the assurance, the certainty and assurance is not such that it is grounded upon a fallible hope. So again, not the blood and righteousness of Christ, but upon something else, my own experiences, my own emotional response to the gospel, my feelings, my works, my righteousness. It's not bare conjecture and it's not a probable persuasion grounded upon those fallible things. Those things are fallible. What is infallible, we'll read in a moment, but those are fallible things. our works, our deeds, our experiences, our emotions, our insert clause here, those are all fallible things.

What then is the type of certainty that is in view with assurance the next set of clauses? But an infallible assurance of faith founded on the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel. And isn't that glorious? that our certainty, that our hope, which is not fallible but infallible, is grounded in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. What else could it be grounded in? All we like sheep have gone astray. There is none who is good, no not one. None who is righteous. the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it? Total depravity, total inability, the reality of everyone who breathes, save for Christ, every human being that has ever lived was, at some point, or is still now, dead in their trespasses and in their sins.

And so salvation comes, And there's to then somehow be something in ourselves that is the ground of our assurance, that is the foundation of our assurance. Even saved by grace, we have that remaining corruption. We have the weakness of the flesh. We have the flesh lusting against the spirit. And so what is our hope? Wherein is our hope, and what does the certainty of our salvation rest upon, and what does our assurance rest upon but, then, the blood and righteousness of Christ? The blood that availed for our sin, that righteousness which avails with God, to stand before the Father clothed in the perfection of Christ. The blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel. That is where our infallible hope is founded upon.

And you remember what Christian hope is. Christian hope is not strong wishing, you know, just wishing really strongly that things are true. Christian hope is not the, you know, the hope that we may have in earthly things and fleshly things. Christian hope is not, you know, the hope that, ah, you know, I'm going to get this promotion or the, you know, the well wishing that, you know, so and so, you know, doesn't look at me strangely. I'm trying to think of examples here and they're escaping me. Those are super boring. But hoping that your favorite sports team wins or hoping that, you know, insert thing here. Christian hope is not well-wishing. It's not strong-wishing. It is the certain expectation that the promises of God, which are yes and amen in Christ, will come true.

God is true to his promises. He who promised is faithful is the language of Hebrews 10.23. Do not waver in your grip upon gospel truth for he who promised is faithful. And that's what's in view in in the certainty and the hope that we have as Christians, the infallible assurance that we have as believers, is that it rests upon an unchanging God who is faithful to his promises. All those who believe in the Son of God will have everlasting life. And so again, positively, Our, the certainty and assurance is not an infallible assurance, excuse me, is not a fallible hope built upon that, but on an infallible assurance of faith founded on the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel.

The blood of Christ, the blood, the death, the cross, these sorts of things, blood, death, of Christ, cross of Christ, I think it was Robert Raymond that said that their theological shorthand for the penal substitutionary sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Whenever we read the blood of Christ, whenever we read the death of Christ, whenever we read of the cross of Christ, we're not to just think abstractly of these things, we're to think specifically of the penal death of Christ. That is, he bore the punishment for all those whom the Father had given to him. We're to see it as that sacrificial, substitutionary, curse-bearing death. He goes in our place, upon the tree, bearing our sins in his own body, that we, having died to sin, might live unto righteousness.

And so the blood of Christ and the righteousness of Christ, these two things are very, they're brought together in the Bible. In one place you can turn is 1 Peter, chapter one. 1 Peter one. The blood and righteousness of Christ. Now at first reading, You might not think that the obedience here is speaking of the obedience of Christ. It's not a terrible error to think that it's speaking of the obedience of Christians, but I think it's much better to see that it's speaking to the obedience of Christ. Notice in 1 Peter 1 at verse 1, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, for those who are fans of, fans, for those, we should all be, of Chalcedon, the Council of Chalcedon in 451, where the doctrine of Christ was articulated, defined, and formulated strongly from the Bible, that was in Bithynia. Bithynia was a particular province for a number of years, all the way into the Byzantine Empire, and then was probably dismembered as a province sometime when the Byzantine Empire was conquered, but Chalcedon was in Bithynia. They're just a little history and geography.

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, notice, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. So, I mean, there's two ways that we could look at that, that, okay, we're, that these things, our predestination and our sanctification is unto our own obedience, I mean, it's not terrible. We have in Ephesians 1 similar language. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we might be holy and without blame before him.

I think as Gil notes and as others have noted, this is a reference to the perfect righteousness of Christ, his blood and righteousness, his obedience and blood being referenced here. What avails For what are we elected unto but being saved by the obedience in the blood of Christ? What does sanctification come from? The application of redemption by the Spirit is built upon the obedience in the blood of Jesus Christ. And so here we have the stuff of our assurance, an infallible assurance of faith founded on the blood and the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

If we think about the blood of Christ from the context of the New Covenant, what is the promise of the new covenant, but we remember Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34, that there is a new covenant being made by God with the house of Israel. And in those days, he will write his law upon their hearts. Everyone will know him from the least of them to the greatest of them, and they will enjoy the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus Christ comes, in accordance with the prophecies, the promises, the types, and the shadows of the Old Testament. And on the night in which he was betrayed, he says, take, drink, this is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. So Hopefully you can see the connection between assurance and that. First of all, the certainty of salvation and that, the blood of Christ, which is the blood of the new covenant, but also then our assurance because that salvation rests upon the perfection of a covenant mediator.

It's not a breakable covenant, it is an unbreakable covenant that rests upon the immutability and the eternal love of God the Father, resting upon the obedience and the blood and the merit of Jesus Christ and his intercession, and therefore our union with him. And so, yes, we are to see our assurance linked to the blood and then, of course, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Our right standing before God, our justification is not of ourselves. It is solely and alone of our champion, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into this world to perfect righteousness and to give that to all of his people. It's imputed to us and it's received by faith alone.

The righteousness of Christ, we could note Titus 3.5, Romans 5.17 and 18, 2 Corinthians 5.21, and of course Philippians 3.9. And notice it's connected to the revelation of the gospel. Founded on the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel. And so gospel truth is the foundation of our assurance. Remember that the gospel is not anyone's feelings, it's not the emotional rush that we're to get in worship, the gospel is not pray for a new heart, the gospel bear with me, is not even believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. That is the summons that proceeds upon the giving of the gospel. The gospel is Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And the blessed truth is that everyone who believes in him will have everlasting life. Believe on that Christ of the gospel who gives his blood, who gives his righteousness. Believe on that Christ and you shall be saved. 

Romans 4.25 and 1 Corinthians 15.1-4 give a good encapsulation of what the gospel is. He was delivered up because of our offenses. He was raised for our justification. And that is wherein our assurance lies. 

Notice the confession here goes on to say, speak with regards to the evidences of the truthfulness of our Christian profession and our assurance, and also upon the inward evidence of those graces of the spirit unto which promises are made, and on the testimony of the spirit of adoption, witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God, and as a fruit thereof, keeping the heart both humble and holy. 

It's very interesting, hopefully you see this as we move along through the confession, but our confession is repletively Trinitarian. From beginning to end, it's not just God in the abstract, it's God in the concrete, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. After reading in paragraph two of the blood and righteousness of the Son, revealed in the Gospel, we now have the testimony of the spirit of adoption, witnessing with our own spirits that we are the children of God. The confession there, taking Romans 8, taking Galatians 4, and arguing for the truth that the Spirit testifies to our own souls that we are the children of God. 

The ministry of the triune God in assurance is clear because the ministry of the triune God in salvation is clear. the testimony of the spirit of adoption, witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God, and as a fruit thereof, keeping the heart both humble and holy. 

We ought to note here that our obedience Our joyful compliance with the law of God, our joyful obedience to the law of God is not so much the ground of our assurance, we've already noted that the ground and foundation is the blood and righteousness of Christ, but it is the evidence of the veracity of our faith. John writes this in his first epistle, that those who know God are those who keep his commandments. 

But there's something important with regards to the order here. If we're struggling with our assurance, with regards to the application of this principle, if we're struggling with our assurance, the answer is not, man, I need to render more obedience. If we're stumbling and we're tripping in our walk with Christ, if we're struggling with assurance, again, the answer isn't, man, I gotta pull up my bootstraps and engage in some law work. This is Edward Fisher on this very thing. Let me warn you. to take heed of forcing and constraining yourself to yield obedience to God's commandments, to the end that you may get an evidence of faith again, or a ground to lay your believing that you have believed upon, and so forcibly to hasten your assurance before the time. But the right way for you in this case, to get your assurance again, is when all other things fail, to look to Christ. That is, go to the word and promise, and leave off and cease awhile to reason about the truth of your faith, and set your heart on work to believe. You see, when we're struggling in our, when we sin, we already read it, we have an advocate with the Father.

When we are struggling with our assurance, we're not to look inwardly with tainted eyes upon the motions of the Spirit in our own obedience and walk with Christ. We're to lift our eyes to heaven and see with eyes of faith the risen and exalted Christ, who has with his blood and righteousness secured for us a salvation that cannot be taken away.

Um... So the evidences of the truthfulness of our Christian profession, these are things that are spoken of in the Bible. Our deeds, though, our joyful obediences are not themselves the ground of our assurance. They're not that which we rest upon. We rest upon, and again, we'll say it 77 more times, the blood and the righteousness of Christ, the champion of our salvation, the captain of our salvation, the mediator and surety of that better covenant.

Notice we see in paragraph three the possession of assurance attained. The possession of assurance attained. There's a class, there's a qualification or a clarification, first, that assurance is not of the essence of faith. I think as one has said, and this might be paraphrasing, but assurance is not of the essence of faith, but it is of the well-being of faith.

Notice this infallible assurance, paragraph three, first clause, doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it. So the The reality is such that a new believer or an old believer, a seasoned believer, may have those and will have those struggles with regards to assurance, with regards to doubt.

We see in paragraph four some of those things that can disquiet the soul in our walks with Christ, in our respective walks with Christ. So this infallible assurance does not so belong to the essence of faith. When we say, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that by faith we are justified, if that one believing, if that one who has faith does not have assurance, that does not mean that they're not justified. Again, assurance is not of the essence of faith, but it is of the well-being of faith.

For Christians, for common Christians, for every Christian, it is to be something that by God's aid and by God's grace, we seek to engender in our walk with Christ. That we seek to prayerfully nourish and grow and snatch upon in our Christian walks that we might know, as John encourages us to know, that we have life in the Son of God's love.

Notice after that clarification there's this positive assertion given, yet, being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God, he may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of means, attain thereunto. So, with the Spirit's aid, in the knowledge of those things that, remember, have been freely given to us from God.

Our assurance is linked to those things freely given by a God of amazing and victorious grace. Again, not carnal presumption, not fleshly obediences that are the ground of our assurance, but our assurance rests upon those things freely given from a glorious God. being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God, he may, notice, without extraordinary revelation. This is where the Roman Catholics and those highly rigid, exclusionary, experio-centric Protestants There's a mouthful for you. This is where they snatch upon the confidence and hope that Christians are to have in the blood and righteousness of Christ. That it's only from extraordinary revelation that we can know the certainty of the hope of our salvation. 

In the tridentine, that is the, The the Council of Trent response to the Reformation the Roman Catholics had more than one article arguing not only against justification by faith alone, but also against the certainty of salvation, against assurance. Arguing against the Protestants that no Christian can in this life have assurance of salvation unless they learn of it by special revelation. 

So unless God immediately speaks to you, unless the Virgin Mary appears in a piece of toast, you cannot know for certain whether the Lord Jesus Christ has most certainly saved you. You must receive something in the way of extraordinary revelation, and this sadly can obtain within certain traditions of Protestantism as well, that it's not the common Christian that can know these things, it must be perhaps the seasoned Christian who has gone through the proper seasons and motions and circumstances, who has been knocked off their proverbial horse on the road to Damascus, and who has seen the glory of the risen Christ, then you can know. If you've received it by some sort of extraordinary means, then you can have that, but not the common Christian who has yet to experience those sorts of things. 

So, rightly, the confessionalists here say that he may without extraordinary revelation, and notice, in the right use of means attain thereunto, attain unto that assurance of salvation. Just the right use of the ordinary means, the confession uses that language, regularly in the confession, and contemporaneous writers use that same language, the right use of the ordinary means. 

That's what God has, our glorious God, following after upon the heels of the simplicity of the gospel delivered to his people, delivers also to his people simple and ordinary means whereby we can be nourished in our walk with Christ. Lord's Day Sabbath, baptism, the Lord's Supper, prayer, and other means ordained by God, the word of God. 

In fact, you can turn back just as a reminder to paragraph one of chapter 14. Paragraph one of chapter 14, the grace of faith whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and notice, and is ordinarily wrought. Never skip past that word ordinarily because it's packed with meaning. Ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the word by which also and by the administration of baptism in the Lord's Supper and other means appointed of God, it is increased and strengthened. 

So that is really what's in view here in paragraph three where we read the right use of means. And in fact, as we fast forward a little bit here, let's have a look at paragraph four as we close because this speaks to the same thing. 

Now in the context of the trials of assurance endured, there is this reality of disquiet, this reality of uneasiness or this reality of an anxious disturbance that can come in the life of the Christian. When David says, why are you disquieted, oh my soul, it has to do with this uneasiness or this disturbance wrought. in the life of the heart and soul of the Christian. True believers may have the assurance of their salvation diverse ways, shaken, diminished, and intermitted. Notice, as by neglecting and preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which woundeth the conscience and grieveth the spirit, by some sudden or vehement temptation, by God's withdrawing the light of his countenance, and suffering even such as fear him to walk in darkness and have no light.

So there's this neglect in the preserving of it that I think is linked to the right use of ordinary means. If someone is struggling with their salvation, I mean, we try as much as possible to steer clear of unnecessary formulae in the Christian life, but there are some simple formulae in the Christian life. If somebody is struggling with assurance, and the question is asked, well, are you reading your Bible? Oh, no. Are you coming to church? Well, once in a while. Are you availing of the Lord's Supper? No, I usually skip that. Well, that is the neglect of the preserving of assurance.

How is it that we enjoy the promises of God? How is it that we avail of the scent spirit? How is it that we avail of the Christ who walks amongst his lampstands, but by going to that lampstand, the church, and availing of the ordinary means that God has ordained for the good of his people?

Yet, wonderful in closing here, yet are they never destitute of the seed of God and life of faith. God never leaves his people. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. That love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart. and conscience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance may in due time be revived, and by the which in the meantime they are preserved from utter despair."

Isn't that great? Our God preserves us from utter despair. He retains that seed that is within us, and by the Spirit and by our own diligence in not neglecting the preserving of assurance, we're to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of God, and always seek after that blessed assurance, which is of the well-being of faith, not of the essence of it, but of the well-being of it.

May we pray to God that we would have that assurance because it is for each and every Christian to enjoy that we may know that we have life in the Son of God.

Let's pray. God, we thank you for your truth. We rejoice in your goodness to us. We thank you for this truth. We pray that you would encourage and engender in all of the hearts of all of your people this blessedness of assurance that Christ has come into this world, sinners to save, that He has done so, and that He will bring many sons and daughters to glory, and that in this life, we can be assured of that. As part of that well-being of faith, we can know that in the Son of God, we have life, and that He most certainly will bring to glory a multitude of sinners from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.

Do go with us into worship. Help us to honor you, to serve you, to bring glory to you in the context of this local church, and we pray In Christ's name, amen.

Any questions for three minutes? Four minutes. Questions, comments?