The Doctrine of Assurance
This morning’s text is 2 Corinthians 13, verses 5 through 7. Today we will be looking at one of the most precious doctrines in all of Scripture: the doctrine of assurance. This doctrine has been removed from the thinking of many American Christians today, and it has led to devastating consequences in American Christianity. In John chapter three, it states that anyone who believes has eternal life.
But this doctrine raises the question: how do you know that you really believe? How do you know that you really are a Christian? It is not as shallow as saying, “I believe, so I know I’m going to heaven.” It is the evidence that I know that I believe.
2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?
We do this by examining ourselves. In that examination, what are we looking for? Jesus Christ in us. The question is: does the Holy Spirit dwell within us? The Holy Spirit is one in essence with Christ, so if the Holy Spirit is in us, that is Jesus Christ in us. Does the Holy Spirit dwell within you?
True assurance is never separated from the work of Christ and his work on the cross. His work on the cross is what paved the way for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. He does this by giving us new affections and new desires for Christ. This is a privilege that only Christians possess. Many in this room think it is important to know Christ, and yes, you are right. But the far greater question is: does Christ know you?
Consider it this way. If you go to the White House and approach the gates and say, “I know the president,” it means nothing. The guards will send you away. But if the president knows you, you will be let through. The same is true with the kingdom of God. Many will go to the gates and say, “Lord, Lord.” But if Christ does not know you, he will say, “I never knew you.” And what awaits those whom Christ never knew is eternal destruction. Hell awaits them.
As we work through today’s text, we must examine whether Christ is in us as the basis of our assurance. We will spend the majority of our time on the phrase in verse five: examine yourselves. Paul here is speaking of a deep examination, not the light scan of the heart that many perform.
The Corinthians were ruthless in their criticism of the apostle Paul. In 2 Corinthians alone, Paul defends himself in approximately 2,300 words, more words than are found in Galatians, Philippians, 1 Timothy, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, 2 Thessalonians, Titus, and Philemon combined. They accused him of being dishonest with money. They accused him of being bold in his letters but cowardly face to face. They questioned his apostleship. They claimed his ministry operated in the flesh because it changed so much. In 2 Corinthians 11, he lists his hardships just to prove his dedication to them. He defended himself in more words than nine epistles put together.
So when Paul says examine yourself, he is saying to the Corinthians: use that same examination you have applied to me, and turn it on yourselves.
We are trained to do this today. We are very critical. People say Tom Brady was too slow. They say LeBron is not clutch. They say Michael Jordan needed Scottie Pippen. Even famous Christians of the last century are not spared, people say John MacArthur’s demeanor is too harsh, that Billy Graham did his work for political gain. We rarely see the good in people; we only look for the bad.
Just as the Corinthians of old were ruthless in their criticism, we need to apply that critical eye to our own hearts. This is not a simple scan. We need to get into the nooks, crannies, cracks, and crevices within, to see whether Christ Jesus is there. True believers should see fruit and desires that come from Christ. And we can know this. This is a privilege we have as believers.
1 John 5:13 NASB These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
We can know. This is not an impossibility, it is a privilege. The reason many people today lack assurance is that they do not examine themselves. This word examine is used throughout Scripture. Today we will consider three ways: in an academic sense, in a legal sense, and in a military sense.
Examine Yourself in an Academic Manner
In school, two people learn things from a test. The teacher gives the test to see where the student is, and the grade also tells the student where they stand in the course material. But in the spiritual life, that is not how it works. When God tests us, he does it so that we can understand the condition of our own hearts, not so that he can learn something. Only one person learns, whether God is testing us or we are testing ourselves.
Just as school is a public place, we begin by examining our public life, and we must do so in light of the infallible Word of God. You cannot examine yourself by any other standard. All other tests fail. Our assurance is found in the person and work of Christ, which we discover in the Word of God. When looking at the external actions of Christians, 1 Corinthians states:
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NASB Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
There is more than this when we examine our public lives, but this is a useful outline: does your public life hold up? Is Jesus Christ in you? Many in our culture today struggle with these things. Alcohol, fornication, and adultery have enslaved many. Some people do not have to try to be swindlers, it is their subconscious instinct. They are slaves.
All of these external sins make promises. But Christ frees us from those promises if we are in him, for he gives us faith in the greater promise of Christ. One evidence that Christ Jesus is in you is that you are not a slave to these sins in public.
Galatians 5:1 NASB It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
If your life on the outside does not, for the most part, line up with the Word of God, you should have no assurance. You may claim to believe, but you believe the lies of the devil. Your fleshly desires are trusted over the person and work of Christ. It is probably the evidence that you have never begun to believe in the first place. You never trusted the work of Christ on the cross. The desires of your heart are evil. The devil, who hates you, you call a friend without even knowing it.
This is why we must examine ourselves. In certain parts of this world, there are fossilized dinosaur footprints. Children try to jump from footprint to footprint, and they cannot, the footprints are too far apart. Christians should try to walk in the footprints of Christ. We will never be able to do it perfectly. His footprints are too far for us to reach. But are you trying with everything in your power to walk as he walked? Or are you still selling yourself out for the weak promises the world offers?
We are not asking for perfection. Does your public life indicate that you are trying to walk in the footprints of Christ? Does your life, under further examination, reveal that Christ has already saved you? The foundation of our assurance is not our performance, but the finished work of Christ.
Although examining ourselves in our public lives is a good place to begin, the examination is far from complete. The Pharisees would have passed this public test with flying colors. In their public life, people could find no fault with them. And yet in Matthew 23, the Lord called them whitewashed tombs.
This is the easiest of the tests to pass. I do not mean sinlessness, I mean that sin does not characterize your character. Many people in their public life can act like a Christian, but many are vain pretenders. That is why a deeper examination is needed.
Examine Yourself in a Legal Manner
In the court of law, motive is examined. This is why we have first, second, third, and fourth degree murder, because motive matters in a murder trial. The action alone is not what is considered; it is the deeper motive. And God knows our deeper motives. The ultimate Judge knows the motives of the heart.
Proverbs 16:2 NASB All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives.
One of the real problems is that we have a wicked lawyer within us: our own heart. Our heart makes us believe our ways are clean in our own sight.
Jeremiah 17:9 NASB "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
Most of you know Johnny Cochran, famous for his legendary defense of O.J. Simpson. Everyone believed O.J. was guilty, and yet Cochran secured an acquittal. But I can defend myself better than Johnny Cochran defended O.J. When accused of something wrong, I will produce six things someone else has done. I will make five reasons to justify what I was accused of. That is what our hearts do. They cross-examine, shift blame, and discredit others instead of confronting the real problem.
We must not allow our hearts to mount a defense. Something within us insists that the crimes against God are not that serious. We say, “I didn’t hurt anyone,” or “My sins aren’t as bad as others.’” And perhaps the most dangerous: “Christ will forgive me anyway, so it doesn’t matter what I do.”
This causes us to neglect God. At the end of a hard day, we feel we deserve to indulge the desires of the flesh. But the only thing any of us deserves is hell. You cannot let your heart convince you to indulge in fleshly desires. We need to go to Christ even at the end of the day. Motive matters. Do not let your heart trick you like a skilled lawyer.
You must also examine your sins individually. When committing any one sin, many other sins are likely being committed internally as well. When I do not read the Word of God, many sins follow: I trust my own wisdom over God’s, which is pride and idolatry. I neglect God, which means I chose to love something more than him. Not loving God is a real sin.
Let me state this plainly: if you do not read the Word of God, do you even love your own family? The most loving thing you can do for your family is to walk with Christ beside them. When I do not read the Word, I am telling those closest to me that I do not love them the way I should. One action, not reading the Bible, and see how many sins are attached to it.
On the other end, selfish motives may be present even when you do read. You may read your Bible for the knowledge, so that you appear smarter to those around you. Motive matters. Take the single act of reading your Bible: if you don’t do it, it can be sinful. If you do, it can also be sinful. The ultimate Judge of the world knows your motives.
Matthew 5:28 NASB but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
The heart is the topic of concern. Outwardly, nothing wrong has been done. But when lust is present, we defile in our minds someone made in the image of God. We have chosen the pleasure of the eye over the glory of God. Notice how many sins are attached to lust when you look deeper: selfishness and idolatry are both present. When Jesus was asked what the two greatest commandments are in Matthew 22:37–39, he replied:
Matthew 22:37-39 NASB And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' 38 "This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
Both are typically broken when you lust. When you break down your sins like this, actions and motives together, your examination goes deeper, and it helps you understand the hidden motives that lie within. Even the good that we do can have sinful motives. When Christ is in us, for the most part our motives are God-glorifying. We will not have God-glorifying motives at all times, we are human. But if Christ Jesus is in you, your motives are generally to the glory of God alone. Not “to the glory of God and to the glory of myself.” To the glory of God alone.
Is the evidence within your motives pointing toward Christ? And is the reason you are striving to walk in Christ’s footsteps, to impress the world, or because Christ is loved?
Examine Yourself in a Military Sense
In war, a faulty examination can have fatal consequences. In America today, many people carry a false assurance of salvation. Many think they are saved because they once believed and their pastor told them, “Once saved, always saved.” That statement is true. But the better wording and more precise doctrine is the perseverance of the saints. That doctrine states: those who have been genuinely saved by God will be kept by his power to the end and will continue in the faith to the end. It is not merely that I believe and God will save me at the end, it is that he will cause me to continue in the faith to the end. The evidence is there.
If you do not continue in the faith, it is evidence that you never had it in the first place. People in this country carry assurance they should never have had. Bad theology is taught all across America. Pastors who do not know the Word of God leave their congregations with a shallow view of Christianity. They preach assurance without stating what assurance is founded in: the person and work of Christ. And so people mis-examine themselves, or do not examine themselves at all, producing false assurance.
There are two common ways people mis-examine themselves. Some trust in their immense knowledge. They have a theology of God that is five miles wide and an inch deep. Their faith is in their knowledge and not in Christ. Hitler made a similar mistake when examining his army: he thought he could fight the Russians in the east and the Americans and British in the west simultaneously. He spread his army too wide and too thin, and it led to his destruction. Just as he faced destruction through mis-examination, those who mis-examine whether Christ is within them may face eternal consequences. Good theology without Christ is just bad theology. It is worthless. Christ is at the center of every doctrine.
On the other end, there are people who say, “I don’t need theology that is far and wide. I have my good works. My theology may not be broad, but it is deep because it is founded on the cross. I don’t need to read the Word of God, I do good works, and my life is good.” But how do these people get their assurance? They do not know. They do not know the Word of God. We examine ourselves in the light of the Word of God. They do not read the Scriptures; they do not know the person and work of Christ; and so they have false assurance. These are people who studied the English course material in math class.
Doctrine matters. Theology matters. Even if your theology is not far and wide, go back to the cross. Study the Word of God. People who do not care about the Word of God do not care about God the way they should. These people will be ambushed one day. Death will come upon them, and they will not be ready.
In the Revolutionary War, the British fielded an army of great depth, 20,000 men marching in a one to two mile radius across the American countryside. They were not aware of the dangers ahead. The guerrilla warfare tactics of the Americans caught them off guard and led to their demise. Their faith was in their numbers, but their density caused them not to see what lay ahead. Likewise, the lack of the Word of God in certain Christians produces faith in works rather than faith in Christ, where true Christian depth comes from. One day death may ambush them, and since Christ is not within them, they will be bound for hell. This is why the person and work of Christ is foundational to a Christian’s assurance.
Consider Gideon. In Judges 6–8, he saw nothing promising when examining his army. He had 300 men who lapped water off the ground like dogs. That is what he had to work with against the Midianites. But under examination, Gideon realized it was enough, because he found assurance from God, the ultimate Commander in Chief. Faith was to be in him alone. Just as God was the determining factor in Gideon’s army, it is Christ in us that determines whether we pass the test. The test is not that we are perfect, but that our affections are generally toward Jesus Christ.
Hitler trusted the size of his army and mis-examined its strength. The British trusted the density of their army and mis-examined the battlefield. Gideon trusted neither numbers nor strength. He trusted God.
In war, compromises are often made. But when you compromise, you make deals with the devil, and you will lose. Do not compromise, not even over what feels like a minor sin. One saying I have come to hate is: “God isn’t ready for me to get over this sin.” What you are really saying is: “I don’t feel like fighting because I feel powerless, and I trust the promises of the flesh.”
Christian, the throne of grace is open to you. Go to the Lord of angel armies. Go to the mercy seat of God when temptations overwhelm you. Do not compromise. Fight to the bitter end. The weapons of your warfare are prayer and the Word. Go to your weapons. Do not make a deal with the enemy without going to your Commander in Chief.
Know the sins that entice you well. Know what causes them to take root. In war, you must know the enemy’s strengths and your own weaknesses. When you commit sins at night, it is likely because of small compromises made throughout the day. The armor of God was not put on in the morning, and now the fiery darts of temptation are flying while you are still trying to put it on. Stay ready for the sins that consistently linger in your life. Cut off what gives those sins life. Sins are like humans in that they need oxygen. Cut it off.
The devil slithers when his prey is off guard. One evidence that Christ is in you is that you fight. You are trying to walk like Christ. You seek God and try to stay on guard, not for selfish motives, but to the glory of God alone. You are not comfortable with sin taking hold. When sin begins to gain ground, you go to God. You may have to pray ten thousand times for certain sins to go away. Keep going to the throne of grace. Do not compromise.
And do not merely examine, test yourself. You can go to a car dealership and examine a car all day, but no one buys without a test drive. Step out into the busy world you live in. Examine your private heart, yes, but also test yourself in the life you actually live. Are you walking with Christ? Are you trying to walk in his footprints?
2 Corinthians 13:6 NASB But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.
Paul is anticipating the Corinthians to push back. They were critical of him, and he expects a response to what he claimed in verse five. He dismisses their objection before they even make it. They were going to say, “Stop looking at us, Paul, go look at yourself.” And Paul says: those of us who are in Christ Jesus, it will be made known. It will be undeniable. We have examined ourselves.
Christ Jesus will be recognizable even to those who do not believe. And this is often what causes unbelievers to oppose us. They hate the God who lives within. They notice the change, and they hate it, because they hate who lives within you.
Paul also knows there will be those who fail the test. People get upset with sermons like this, because when you suggest that someone they love may not be genuinely saved, it is uncomfortable. But Paul does it out of love. Though the Corinthians slandered him, he still loves them. That is why he gives this stern warning.
Parents, you are your children’s number one teachers. Children confess faith often. But is there any evidence of Christ in them? Even as young believers, are they taking steps? Do their motives look anything like God-glorifying motives? To say that Christ is in someone when there is no fruit is to say that Christ is weak. Can God truly live within someone and not change them?
A few weeks ago, David spoke about Moses going up to Mount Sinai. Moses descends, and his face is glowing, because he has encountered God. When God lives within you, there is something noticeable about it. His light is undeniable.
Do you see that in yourself? Do you see it in your children? Do not give them false assurance. Tell them: “You are not walking with Christ.” And if they do not continue in the faith, that is evidence they were never saved to begin with. Be gentle, but speak the truth. If you have a brother or sister in Christ who is not walking with him, do not just stand by and watch. Gently tell them to stop.
2 Corinthians 13:7 NASB Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved.
Paul does not care what the Corinthians think of him. He prays that they do right, even if it means appearing unapproved in their eyes. He does not care if they dislike his harsh words, because he is doing it for their betterment.
One evidence that Christ is in you is the ability to tell people the hard truth. People may come against you for it, but do not stand by and watch them wound your Savior. We must be more accountable with one another. Do it gently. But we should not need the approval of others to live this life.
Christ was unapproved by many. But God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and his people approved of Christ. And that was enough.
Conclusion
A message like this can be discouraging. You may not see much change in your life. You may think Christ is not in you because there is little evidence. Examine yourselves. We lack assurance precisely because we do not examine ourselves. We are commanded to examine, it is not a suggestion. Students who examine the course material have greater assurance that they will pass the test.
Look within. Do you see Christ Jesus in there? That is the assurance of our faith. When you feel rotten and unworthy, Christ within you encourages. When sin feels like it lingers, look back at who you used to be. You may have sinned, but you are far less the sinner you once were. That itself is evidence that you have been walking with Christ.
If you actually know the Father and he knows you, that is where your assurance rests. Those in Christ Jesus have the promise of heaven and can be assured of it.
Ask yourself: do you have more affection for Christ today than you did five years ago? Than you did a year ago? That is evidence that Christ is in you, he is changing you. The change will be undeniable.
We can be assured of this because of Jesus Christ. In an academic sense, he walked the perfect private and public life when we could not, and that is why we call him the unblemished Lamb. He legally declared us righteous before the Judge who is God the Father. And he could only do that because he is our great military Commander, the one who went before us and defeated sin and death on our behalf.
Closing Prayer
Father, Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for each and every person in this room. Thank you for the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. For those who do not yet have Christ Jesus dwelling within them, capture their souls. Bring them to you. Help this be an encouragement to our souls. Help us examine deeply the deepest parts of our hearts. Help us have better motives and greater desires. Help us walk in public with a walk worthy of you.
Help us strive to walk in the footsteps of Christ. We know we will never make it on our own, but even if it takes a head-first dive from footprint to footprint, help us strive with all our power. Sustain us. You are the author, perfecter, and sustainer of our faith. We will grow tired, give us water from the well that will not run dry, to continue in the faith. And we know you will.
Glorify yourself, O God. In Jesus’ name, amen.