Theological glossary · FaithLogic

Assurance (of salvation)

The believer's settled confidence that they belong to God — grounded in Christ's work, the promises of Scripture, and the internal witness of the Spirit.

From Latin ad- + securus, 'without care'; the biblical concept is plērophoria, 'full assurance' (Col 2:2; Heb 6:11; 10:22).

Romans 8:15–16, 38–39; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13–14; 1 John 3:19–24; 5:13 ('that you may know that you have eternal life').

Distinguished by tradition: the Reformed and Wesleyan traditions teach that a real, though not infallible, assurance is normal for the believer (Westminster Confession 18; Wesley's 'witness of the Spirit'). The Catholic tradition (Trent) holds that certainty of one's own final perseverance is not normally given, to guard against presumption.

Its grounds are usually given as threefold: the objective promises of God in Christ, the evidence of a changed life (1 John's 'tests'), and the direct inward witness of the Spirit (Rom 8:16).

Whether assurance of final salvation is normal (Reformed, Wesleyan) or exceptional (Catholic); its relation to the perseverance of the saints; how much weight to give felt experience vs. objective promise.

Open in the glossary for related terms and the doctrines this concept appears in.