The idea that we can't know with absolute 100 percent certainty that we are saved seems extremely dangerous to me. 1 John 5:13 says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that *ye may know that ye have eternal life,* and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." I think the people in Matthew are lying at least to God, and maybe to themselves. If they are honest with themselves, they would have to admit that they know they are not saved and are instead trying to earn their salvation by their good works. We know we are saved because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. That sealing gives us irrefutable proof that we are saved. As an example, when I was in high school, my mind was a trash heap full of wicked and sinful thoughts. There were many times that I doubted my salvation as a result, but I'm quite confident I was actually saved at the time because of the deep conviction from the Holy Spirit.
Thanks. Yeah, I think it comes down to the question of, are we talking about cartesian certainty here? Or a reasonable confidence given the evaluation of the evidence in our lives, the evidence of the creation, resurrection, etc? I'm also sympathetic to Reformed Epistemology, the view that belief in God is properly basic and therefore constitutes a defeater defeater. So make no mistake, I hold a high view of salvation and believe we can KNOW (have a high degree of confidence given the evidence) we're saved. But that examination of our lives from time to time is necessary, according to Paul.
Agree - sealing by the Holy Spirit. However, again, when Paul says to examine ourselves to see whether or not we're in the faith, he could have just said "Do you feel the Holy Spirit?" It seems self-reflection on the kind of things I mentioned would be an appropriate examination.
So, a discussion about Cartesian certainty is certainly (pun intended 😄) above my pay grade. But if we can use the term "certainty" in the sense that common, everyday people use it (i.e., "I'm certain this chair isn't going to collapse when I sit in it" … and, for what it's worth, I do think the "chair analogy" is a good one for our forensic faith), I think Scripture is quite clear that we can know with certainty that we are saved. Clearly, a person who is saved as a young child, or who has little memory of a significant change in their behavior is inevitably going to have doubts. But, this is why Philippians 1:6 has been a huge comfort to me in the past: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ". That doesn't mean we can't always (no matter how mature in our spiritual walk) become more confident in our salvation. Indeed, for anything that is true, more and more evidence can be piled up to confirm that truth. I can believe that a chair will support my weight because of experience, but if I run simulations evaluating how strong the chair is, I can be even more confident that it is capable of supporting my weight. Further tests and evaluations could also be done, and each one could make me even more confident. The interesting thing, in my opinion about biblical faith, is that it might start out as the equivalent of a three-legged stool (i.e., extremely solid and entirely capable of supporting our weight, but not the most comfortable), but as we investigate the rationality for our faith, the "chair" transforms from a three-legged stool into a Lay-Z-Boy (i.e., extremely solid/entirely capable, but also extremely comfortable).
The idea that we can't know with absolute 100 percent certainty that we are saved seems extremely dangerous to me. 1 John 5:13 says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that *ye may know that ye have eternal life,* and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." I think the people in Matthew are lying at least to God, and maybe to themselves. If they are honest with themselves, they would have to admit that they know they are not saved and are instead trying to earn their salvation by their good works. We know we are saved because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. That sealing gives us irrefutable proof that we are saved. As an example, when I was in high school, my mind was a trash heap full of wicked and sinful thoughts. There were many times that I doubted my salvation as a result, but I'm quite confident I was actually saved at the time because of the deep conviction from the Holy Spirit.
Thanks. Yeah, I think it comes down to the question of, are we talking about cartesian certainty here? Or a reasonable confidence given the evaluation of the evidence in our lives, the evidence of the creation, resurrection, etc? I'm also sympathetic to Reformed Epistemology, the view that belief in God is properly basic and therefore constitutes a defeater defeater. So make no mistake, I hold a high view of salvation and believe we can KNOW (have a high degree of confidence given the evidence) we're saved. But that examination of our lives from time to time is necessary, according to Paul.
Agree - sealing by the Holy Spirit. However, again, when Paul says to examine ourselves to see whether or not we're in the faith, he could have just said "Do you feel the Holy Spirit?" It seems self-reflection on the kind of things I mentioned would be an appropriate examination.
So, a discussion about Cartesian certainty is certainly (pun intended 😄) above my pay grade. But if we can use the term "certainty" in the sense that common, everyday people use it (i.e., "I'm certain this chair isn't going to collapse when I sit in it" … and, for what it's worth, I do think the "chair analogy" is a good one for our forensic faith), I think Scripture is quite clear that we can know with certainty that we are saved. Clearly, a person who is saved as a young child, or who has little memory of a significant change in their behavior is inevitably going to have doubts. But, this is why Philippians 1:6 has been a huge comfort to me in the past: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ". That doesn't mean we can't always (no matter how mature in our spiritual walk) become more confident in our salvation. Indeed, for anything that is true, more and more evidence can be piled up to confirm that truth. I can believe that a chair will support my weight because of experience, but if I run simulations evaluating how strong the chair is, I can be even more confident that it is capable of supporting my weight. Further tests and evaluations could also be done, and each one could make me even more confident. The interesting thing, in my opinion about biblical faith, is that it might start out as the equivalent of a three-legged stool (i.e., extremely solid and entirely capable of supporting our weight, but not the most comfortable), but as we investigate the rationality for our faith, the "chair" transforms from a three-legged stool into a Lay-Z-Boy (i.e., extremely solid/entirely capable, but also extremely comfortable).