Perhaps you know someone who can’t seem to come to assurance that they are Christians.They’ve asked Him to save them several times, and feel content each time, but sooner or later, they question whether they really believed or repented, or did so the right way or “enough.”
Perhaps that person is you.
It was me for a couple of decades. I shared my struggle with assurance and how God helped me with it here.
Satan can trip people up over assurance because if we’re insecure about our salvation, we come to a standstill in our Christian growth. We don’t have the confidence to serve the Lord in any way. Instead of going forward in our Christian lives, we’re spinning our wheels over the same issues.
On the other hand, there is such a thing as false assurance. Jesus said there would be people who stand before Him some day, fully assured that they are all right spiritually. They’ll be shocked to hear Him say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
So the stakes are high.
In Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know For Sure You Are Saved, J. D. Greear says he might hold the “Guinness Book of World Records entry for ‘amount of times having prayed the sinner’s prayer.'” He shares his own testimony of struggles with assurance.
Then he explains that God truly wants us to have assurance. He shares what it means that Jesus died in our place and why we can trust Him, along with separate chapters on the nature of true faith and repentance. Another chapter discusses the seeming contradiction between Bible verses that say we will never lose our salvation with other verses that appear to indicate we can. The last two chapters cover evidences of salvation in 1 John and what to do with continued doubts. One appendix deals with whether one needs to be baptized again if they’ve made subsequent professions of faith after baptism. The second deals with the “indispensable link between assurance and the doctrine of justification by faith alone.”
At first glance, I thought this book was about reasons not to use the terminology of “asking Jesus into your heart” as a way of telling people how to be saved. Greear discusses this briefly, saying he thinks it can be used as long as the gospel has been fully understood.
Some of the quotes that stood out to me:
Salvation comes not because you prayed a prayer correctly, but because you have leaned the hopes of your soul on the finished work of Christ (Location 269, Kindle).
I can say with certainty that God wants you to have certainty about your salvation. He changes, encourages, and motivates us not by the uncertainty of fear, but by the security of love. That is one of the things that makes the gospel absolutely distinct from all other religious messages in the world (Location 295).
We don’t hope we are forgiven, we know it, because our standing before God has nothing to do with our worthiness, but the worthiness of the Advocate who now stands in our place (Location 551).
If you base your assurance on what you do or how well you do it, you’ll never find assurance. You’ll always be wondering if you are doing enough. If your assurance is based on what Christ has done, however, you can rest in His performance. Your salvation is as secure as His finished work (Location 654).
When we come to Jesus nothing can be off-limits. We cannot come with preconditions or limitations. To possess eternal life, we must be willing to let everything else go. We don’t approach Jesus to negotiate eternal life; we approach Him in total surrender. As C. S. Lewis famously said, “We don’t come to Him as bad people trying to become good people; we come as rebels to lay down our arms” (Location 887).
You don’t follow Jesus like you follow someone on Twitter, where you are free to take or leave their thoughts at your leisure. Following Jesus is not letting Him come into your life to be an influence, even if it’s a significant influence. Following Jesus means submitting to Him in all areas at all times regardless of whether you agree with what He says or not (Location 979).
If repentance were perfection, none of these people repented. Repentance, however, means recognizing Jesus’ authority and submitting to it, even though you know your heart is weak, divided, and pulled in conflicting directions. Repentance includes a plea for God to change your inconsistent, divided heart (Ps. 86: 11; Mark 9: 24) (Location 1019).
Greear writes pastorally, basing his answers firmly in Scripture but with everyday rather than academic language. I’ve not read him before, and I might disagree with a couple of his minor points. But overall I think this book was tremendously helpful both for those who have made a false profession and those who fear they might have.
Stray Thoughts 
Interesting premise for a book! I wonder if a lot of the angst (am I saved? am I not?) may come from the style of a church service, specifically thinking about altar calls. I grew up with altar calls every Sunday. There were specific people (and even families) you could count on to come up repeatedly, often for “rededication” (which might be an attempt to get saved “for real” this time). In the past 40 years, none of the churches I’ve attended have had altar calls. In some ways I am not a fan of that, although my husband doesn’t understand why. I say, “Then how do you have the opportunity to be saved?” I know — you can do it in your heart, in the peace of your own home. But the altar call gives a specific moment for the decision to be made. I do think, though, that having that each week can ramp up emotions (at least for some) and lead to them questioning whether or not their original salvation experience was “real.” Just some thoughts …???
We’ve been in services where the altar calls have been manipulative. I think that’s why some churches abandoned them.
When I was a young mom, I appreciated them because if I wanted to take time to talk or pray with someone, there was a ready-made time for that during the invitation. Afterwards, we scrambled to get kids from the nursery and then home for lunch and naps.
I don’t know if regular altar calls increased doubts about salvation. I’d hope that the gospel would be preached regularly whether an altar call was issued or not. That might always shake up some people, but thankfully, books and counsel like this helps get them grounded.
Good review! I think there is a place for alter calls (like a billy graham crusade, a large church revival meeting) but let’s face it: there is no “Right” way to becoming born again!! It’s a different experience for everyone. I accepted CHrist as my personal Savior (“Got saved”) at church camp while a hymn was being sung after the sermon. Yes i knelt at an alter.
My husband when he was a teen, knelt on his bedroom floor!!
My daughter was in her little bed!
My other daughter was at VBS in a classroom.
the point? God meets us when we ask, believe, confess. period. doens’t matter where.
This sounds like a really good read. And I appreciate your review. It’s certainly good for thought.
Assurance of salvation is something I struggled with for years. I’ve heard a few teachers who speak against the phrase “asking Jesus into your heart.” Paul Washer is one of them. I think that if you know absolutely what it means to come to Jesus in repentance and surrender, then maybe that’s okay. Otherwise, it can become a phrase thrown out at an altar call that may or may not be effective. Good review.
I love that quote, “Salvation comes not because you prayed a prayer correctly, but because you have leaned the hopes of your soul on the finished work of Christ.”
This seems like such a good book and important topic. So many struggle with assurance at some point in their lives. Thank you for the review!
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