Assurance of salvation


 * &quot;If you can lose your salvation, you will.&quot; -Tom Nelson

Assurance is a doctrine which states that the inner witness of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the objective promises of God in the New Testament allows the believer to know (be assured) that he/she is elect. As the apostle John stated,
 * &quot;I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life,&quot;(1 John 5:13).

A biblical concept expressed in the writings of Augustine and emphasized by the Reformers, assurance is historically a very important doctrine among Protestants and remains so in many denominations today. In contrast, the Roman Catholic church teaches that one may hope in his salvation, but cannot know for sure since justification is seen as a process and one's life is not yet completed.

While most Protestants believe that one can have &quot;assurance&quot; that they are saved at any given point in time, many such as Methodists and Lutherans believe that one's salvation can be subsequently lost through sinful behavior or rejection of the gospel. In contrast, the Reformed tradition links the doctrine of assurance with the doctrine of Perseverance of the saints (or eternal security) which maintains that true believers will not fall away from the faith.

Resources

 * The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance &amp; Assurance, by Thomas R. Schreiner, Ardel B. Caneday (ISBN 0830815554)

Wesleyan

 * Questions of Clarification for Wesley's Doctrine of Assurance by Michael E. Lodahl
 * The Relationship of Assurance to Justification and Regeneration in the Thought of John Wesley by Scott Kisker