Are you not sure that God loves you? Do you doubt whether your efforts are enough to be accepted by God? Then “assurance of salvation” is probably a topic for you. I have encountered this time and again. Assurance of salvation is also becoming an issue in free churches because there is a lot of fear and uncertainty about God’s attention. People receive pastoral care to help them overcome their fears. Uncertainty about one’s own salvation and fear of an unknown God who not only appears vengeful but also acts capriciously. Salvation uncertainty is a serious problem that haunts many people. In this article we will look into this and try to find the reasons and the solution.

Who speaks of certainty of salvation?

Assurance of salvation is not a word of the Bible. We are therefore dealing with doctrines and traditions. Who uses this word? As positive as the word sounds, the background is negative. Certainty of salvation is only an issue when people are uncertain. So we should not be distracted by the positive wording, but question the Christian context in which this word thrives. I have heard this word over and over again, both in free churches and in rather strict Reformed churches of Calvinist character. It is about the internalized thoughts about who God is and how He relates to us.

It’s about questions like these: Is God for us or rather against us? Can we be sure of His love? And if He were for us, would He perhaps revoke His love and grace once and then punish us? Is there an expiration date on His grace? And if I don’t make “it,” am I lost forever? Such an understanding of God is not liberated by grace, but dependent on “chance” (the unpredictable God), “my perseverance” (the ice-cold, demanding God I must live up to), or other such things.

Doctrine of hell

The word “assurance of salvation” thrives exclusively in the environment of a doctrine of heaven and hell. In this, God is good to some, but ungraciously punishes all others. Linked to an “eternal”, i.e. an “endless” outcome, there is something like a sword of Damocles hanging over the lives of the “insecure”. It has already been said here several times: The doctrine of heaven and hell is not only a false doctrine, but the consequences for many believers (!) are catastrophic. They are terrified and often carry this legacy with them for the rest of their lives. For these people, the gospel is not good news, but remains a threatening message. They are threatened in life.

Hell was invented long after the New Testament was completed and slipped into the Bible. There is no hell in either the Old Testament or the New Testament. Although the word “hell” exists in some translations, the term is missing in others. Hell is a construct that was superimposed on the Bible and still terrifies people today. By this I do not mean the supposed unbelievers, but precisely the believers.

If hell is taught in your community, there is a good chance that many will not be sure of their own salvation. Uncertainty about God’s care and love is rampant among Christians and leads to uncertainty about salvation, salvation and God’s care. This is why the “certainty of salvation” is an issue among Christians in particular.

This is where a conflict arises: the doctrine of hell is seen as an expression of orthodoxy, even if there is nothing about it in the Bible. Some people’s anxiety is treated symptomatically. A better solution would undoubtedly be to uproot the doctrine and replace it with a genuine good news message. However, this rarely happens and the uncertainty about God’s attention remains an issue in the lives of many people.

The imprint of the community

The uncertainty about God’s attention is related to the doctrine that is preached in the community. If you want to investigate the topic of the “uncertainty of salvation”, it is worth taking a look at the teachings of your own community. It can be characterized in very different ways.

1. Christocentric doctrine

One can be at home in a community built on God’s grace, wherein one corrects thoughts about heaven and hell and leads people out into the freedom of Christ. That is one possibility. It is a truly Christocentric teaching.

2. anthropocentric doctrine

Another possibility is that there is nothing going on at all in the community being visited. There are churches, assemblies and communities that are primarily social and do not have much to do with living faith. There you might be left out in the rain with your thoughts. A diffuse, generic religiosity hardly has the power for life-changing development. Life is specific in its demands, so trust in God also wants to receive specific foundations. Spirituality alone cannot do that. It is an anthropocentric teaching – man and his experience are central.

3. a mixed gospel

A third possibility would be that you are in a community where a real mess of grace and law is preached. This is a mixed gospel. Typical statements here are:

• God is for you, but …
• You must believe, otherwise God can do nothing for you and you will be lost forever.
• You must persevere until the end
• You must complete the good run
• You must …

It is easy to see here that the human being is placed centrally. This is an anthropocentric approach. One’s own performance is decisive. Rarely do the representatives of these communities see it similarly, but in practice this is the result of the teaching: If I do nothing, God can do nothing. It depends on me. If I fail, God will also fail toward me. This is a direct result of this teaching.

This does not always sound as radical as I outline here. In many communities, things are more moderate. However, this does not improve the foundation. If the base is dilapidated, a stable house cannot be built on it. It is not possible to establish a healthy understanding of life and faith on a dubious foundation. The prerequisites are missing. Those who are simply more moderate are not better as a result, but simply less pronounced. This also means, as a rule, that one has less profile, less teaching and drifts back and forth between the most diverse interpretations and teachings. There, too, the power of the gospel is missing.

In this mixed gospel, something is demanded of man and something is given by God. A little “me” and a little “him”. This is religious behavior, not a living and liberating faith. I have often experienced it in such a way that Christ truly is proclaimed (about which one may rejoice: Phil 1:18), but at the same time many (unwritten) expectations, specifications and misinterpretations put the believers under pressure. Anyone who thinks for himself and enters such a community for the first time is immediately shooed out – a major problem of many free churches.

The liberation towards Christ

A sound doctrine would be the alternative. Trust in God should be encouraged. In addition, the gospel of grace should be central. We should grow up into Christ precisely so that we are no longer tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, writes Paul in Ephesians 4:11-16. It is the path to union with Christ and trust in God’s work. It is also the way away from own contributions. We need to learn how God sees us. He looks at us in Christ. We have been blessed in Christ (Eph. 1:3-7). This changes everything, because in it His devotion to us from Christ is assured. Our performance is no longer decisive. This does not free us to inactivity, but to gratitude.

Liberation toward Christ cannot flourish in a mixed gospel. It has the wrong premises. Things are mixed up in the Bible that have nothing to do with each other. Texts are misinterpreted, detached from their own context. This results in tangible problems. That’s where the uncertainties arise. This gives rise to ego-centeredness, which comes at the expense of Christ-centeredness. This is the gospel, which is not a true gospel, which Paul puts under the ban (Gal 1:6).

Are these words enough? Unfortunately, not always for those affected. Views and Bible passages have been internalized that do not disappear by a few other Bible texts. One must learn to read the internalized Bible passages anew. Perhaps certain views also need to be reconsidered. It needs alternative thinking. This takes time.

In exchanges with other people who have freed themselves from these thoughts, I hear again and again that these processes can take a very long time. But that’s not the only challenge. Often, a change in oneself triggers fierce resistance within one’s own faith community. Those who free themselves from fears trigger fears of change in others (!). So those who set out for themselves often still have to justify themselves in the faith community. This is a double effort. Instead of experiencing accompaniment and encouragement, many report a lack of understanding, rejection and exclusion.

Let’s assume, for simplicity’s sake, that people want to face all these challenges courageously. Where do you start then?

Obstacles to the certainty of salvation

Whoever wants to know the reasons for an assurance of salvation should also deal with the reasons for uncertainty. Only when we understand the gospel of grace and do not mix it with other ideas can we see more clearly. Now these are theological obstacles to overcome:

1. The Gospels are not written for us
2. The law is not for us
3. We should know the gospel that applies to us.

1. the gospels are not written for us

Most of the problem texts that question an assurance of salvation are taken from the Gospels. This stems from the assumption that the Gospels are talking about today’s church, which they are not. Jesus addressed himself exclusively to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt. 15:24) and came to confirm the promises made to Israel (Rom. 15:8). Jesus addresses Israel, not the nations. He is talking about Israel’s expectation, not about today’s church. He speaks of Israel’s believers as the unmarried bride, not of today’s church as the body of Christ – which only Paul did.

Uncertainty comes from misinterpretation. Bible texts are taken out of their context and applied to the present day. This is done selectively and without reflection, and so a good message for Israel mutates into a bad message for today’s church. What is coherent for Israel in context and has a completely healthy sound is no longer coherent for us. It sounds distorted and also distorts the image of God’s devotion.

Let’s look at this in more detail. The theme in the Gospels is the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom in the “age to come.” Matthew calls it the “kingdom of heaven”, as Daniel had already written that the God of heaven would set up a kingdom under all the heavens (Dan 2:44; Dan 7:27). It is about the future life in this coming age (“the eonian life”, often translated as “eternal life”, Mk 10:30).

The transition to the new kingdom and the situations that apply there are described in detail in the Gospels (Sermon on the Mount Mt 5-7). The imminent upheaval (the parables of the kingdom of heaven, Mt 13) and the direct description of this upheaval (end-time discourse, Mt 24 and Mt 25) all speak of an imminent upheaval that was to be short-lived. In this context, the following statements are made, whereby some see their assurance of salvation threatened:

• “But he who endures to the consummation will be saved” (Matt. 24:13, at the close of this age, Matt. 24:3, just before the consummation, Matt. 24:14, the tribulation, Matt. 24:21).
• “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be shown of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:5, Jesus to Nicodemus, the “teacher of Israel” Jn 3:10 about a promise of Ezekiel to Israel Ezek 36:24-28)
• “So that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16, Jesus in conversation with the rabbi Nicodemus about the coming messianic age).
• “But rather fear him who is able to kill the soul as well as the body in Gehenna” (Mt 10:28 Jesus on the judgment in the Messianic kingdom. See “Is Gehenna hell?”)

These and other passages can be interpreted conclusively from the context and basic text and have nothing to do with our time.

2. the law is not for us

A persistent misconception is the meaning of the law for the community. Calls of the law are not wrong, but we should always keep in mind that
a) the law was given to Israel, the people who were brought out of Egypt (Ex 20:2) – so this does not apply to us, and
b) the law was added by God only to make it clear that no one can keep it (Rom 3:20 and Rom 7:7; Gal 3:19).
We should not start with grace and try to continue by observing the law (Gal 3:1-14; Gal 4:21; Gal 5:1-6, etc.). We should leave the passages on the law in their own context and not confuse them with our situation today. Jesus speaks only to Israel about the Law, not to us:

• “Therefore, whoever breaks even one of these least commandments and so teaches men will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:19).

3. we should know the gospel that applies to us

Along with a misplaced emphasis on the Gospels, Paul’s letters are deemed “too difficult” or “too problematic” and are rarely used. Let us remember, however, that only Paul was an apostle to the nations and his message for us has a completely different focus than that of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles to Israel. There is something like a development in the New Testament. We should realize that not everything is “somehow” for us at the same time. Some things speak directly to us, others do not. This has far-reaching consequences for life and faith. Now what is special about our vocation?

• We are part of the community from all nations. Paul calls out this church as apostles to the nations (Rom 11:13; Eph 3:1-13)
• We are God’s workmanship, called by grace, wholly without works (Eph 2:8-10)
• God looks at us “in Christ” (Eph. 1:3-7). When God looks at us, what Christ did applies
• etc.

Discovering certainty of salvation

There is only real assurance of salvation when we learn that God is for us and that everything has been given to us by grace. Paul provides the theological basis for this.

The church that receives this message is the church from all nations. We make part of it. Let us learn to trust in God’s promises. This is not difficult. If it is unfamiliar, we can learn many things from Paul about this overflowing grace. For Martin Luther, reading the Letter to the Romans (one of Paul’s important letters) sparked the Reformation. That is the power of Paul’s letters for today.

If we reflect on the liberating message of grace in St. Paul’s letters, we will gain a better understanding of the times we live in and thus gain freedom, confidence and foresight. Faith is not an achievement, but salvation is given to us by grace.

Here is God’s promise:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?
He, who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all,
how should He not also with Him grant us all these things in grace?”
Rom 8:31-32

Grace wants to and can reach everyone. No one is perfect. No one is righteous (Rom 3:10-12) This is the reason why God sent His Son. It seems realistic to say that we have all been harmed in some way. We are not flawless. That’s part of life. The question now is how we deal with this. The good news of God’s grace can free us from this. If we come to know God as a gracious God who gives us every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3), then we have a perfect starting point for a new direction.

If we are loved by God, then this love can overflow, then we can also pass this love on. We learn to love ourselves. If God is our Father and He is good to us, we too can become fathers and mothers in gratitude. We also learn to see each other and the neighbor with God’s eyes. Paul writes that the love of Christ urges him to speak of this love and grace (2 Cor. 5:14-21). He has experienced grace and gained confidence. Therefore, he can look to His God and Father with confidence and look away from himself.

The catastrophic effect of the doctrine of hell on believers is often only treated symptomatically. It would be more efficient to pull out the root of the evil (the doctrine of hell). Then you can begin to build your life on grace and God’s care.