The Evangelical church is nearly foundered by the misconceived doctrine that profession is faith and faith is assurance and assurance is eternal life. Familiar phrases such as “assurance of salvation,” “eternal security,” and “once saved, always saved” attempt to capture the biblical truth outlined by the Scriptures I John 5:13 and John 10:25-30, among others. Unfortunately, the attempt has had somewhat the same effect on the truth of the doctrine of assurance as exfoliation on a carapace – nothing is left to live by and the vestiges of substance tumble in the wind.

To the believer in Christ, such as I am, “the promises of the gospel and eternal life are assuredly mine, provided I have genuine faith. But I know [also] that there is... read more