Replies

“Assurance of salvation is based on Scripture, not a *sinner’s prayer*.”

There is a distinction in the scripture between the assurance of salvation and the certainty or security of salvation. A believer can lose his or her assurance but not the security of salvation.

I John 3:18-20 NKJV
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

Our assurance has to do with our obedience. John clarifies that it is not merely based on words but also deeds (and truth, because even words and deeds can be insincere). But our security is based on God knowing us. Believers are kept by God’s power, Peter tells us.

I Peter 1:5 NKJV
who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

So the distinction between assurance and security is the difference between our knowledge versus God’s perfect knowledge.

I was taught for most of my life to base assurance on having sincerely said the sinner’s prayer. Or, at least this is how I perceived what I had been taught. But this is incorrect. John shows that our conscience bears witness based on the fruit of obedience in word and deed. Paul also speaks about the inner witness in our spirits by our awareness of the indwelling Holy Spirit. So, assurance of salvation is not merely theoretical but is also experiential.

Romans 8:16 NKJV
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

“When the Christians in Ephesus burned their scrolls, it was a choice they made and not at the demand of Paul and i doubt it happened immediately.”

Acts 19:19-20 NKJV
Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

From the passage, I think you are right about the timing. This event was the culmination of more than two years of ministry by Paul, after having thoroughly preached the Gospel to the whole surrounding region. The passage does not indicate whether these books were something baptized believers had been holding onto or if new converts burned them after having been convinced by the incident with the seven sons of Sceva and Paul’s mighty miracles.

“I’m not going to be legalistic about someone because they don’t immediately do what I think they should or what I demand.”

There have to be some minimal standards of conduct for a person to be considered to be a believer.

I Corinthians 5:11-13 NKJV
But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

I Corinthians 6:9-11 NKJV
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 homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Galatians 6:1 NKJV
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

“I wait to see the fruit. THAT is what proves the genuineness of their faith.”

How long?

And are you going to embrace and celebrate the salvation of someone who not only has not shown any evidence but is living openly in rebellion against God’s moral laws?

This woman said herself, “I guess I don’t really want Jesus, do I?”

Was MacArthur being too demanding when he suggested that this woman immediately get rid of her connections to prostitution? Isn’t this exactly the same requirement Jesus had for the woman caught in adultery?

John 8:10-11 NKJV
When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

I and many others have experienced getting rid of things in our lives that were a “provision for the flesh” (as in Romans 13:14) but then later returned to the sins associated with those things. For example, if a believer is recovering from a drug addiction, he or she may get rid of the drugs, but later may fall back into drug abuse. But getting rid of these drugs is a required step in recovery. A person who refuses to get rid of them is not yet serious about quitting the drug abuse.

Repentance is essential to the Gospel. It is required of unbelievers to become believers. It is required of believers to walk with Christ. A person unwilling to repent and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus is not yet a believer. A person who professes to be a believer but stubbornly refuses to repent of known sin, and at least seek to bring his or her life into obedience to Christ, needs to reevaluate his or her faith in Christ.

It is appropriate to ask myself: Am I a genuine believer? Did I truly place my faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior? Did I understand and believe the true Gospel of the true Messiah? Examining ourselves in this regard is a command of scripture.