by The data from Christology and pneumatology flow into soteriology. I will discuss the distinctive work of both the Son of God and the Spirit of God in the procuring of salvation for humanity and what role each of them have. Second, I will make clear the distinction between the assurance of salvation, the evidence of salvation, and security of salvation by contrasting the 3 terms.
The work of the Son of God was a critical component to a Christian’s salvation. Salvation would not be possible if it were not of the works of Jesus and what He did for humanity. The Son of God became incarnate for several reasons and had multiple roles for salvation. He revealed the Trinity, provided commandments to follow, explained how life should be lived, and what is needed for salvation. He rules over everything. He reconciled the penalty of sin and intercedes for Christians to have a pathway to God after physical death.
The work of the Holy Spirit is another critical component to a Christian’s salvation. The work of the Holy Spirit starts at regeneration. Once God elects and responds to a person’s submission to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is the agent that produces the supernatural transformation of the believer with the implantation of spiritual energy.[1] This is what most refer to as the conversion where a person turns towards Jesus in faith and repents by abandoning sin. The Holy Spirit has several other roles after regeneration. One of the roles is empowering, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;” (Acts 1:8, New King James Version). This is the power to overcome temptations and mature in sanctification. With the indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes illumination of truth, “He will guide you into all truth;” (John 16:13). There is also a role of teaching from the Holy Spirit, “He will teach you all things” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit intercedes for the Christian, “the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Rom. 8:26). Erickson states, “The Holy Spirit also works sanctification in the life of the believer.”[2] Another important role is the bestowing of spiritual gifts for the Christian to use within the body of Christ.
Assurance of salvation, evidence of salvation, and security of salvation are different from each other. Erickson states, “Finally, perseverance is implied by the biblical teaching that we can be assured of salvation.”[3] “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). The evidence of salvation contains repentance and visible fruit of the Spirit. Erickson states, “repentance is a prerequisite for salvation…Real repentance is sorrow for one’s sin because of the wrong done to God and the hurt inflicted upon him. This sorrow is accompanied by a genuine desire to abandon that sin. There is regret over the sin irrespective of sin’s personal consequence.”[4] “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23). The security of salvation means that once a person is truly saved, they will always be considered saved and cannot lose their salvation. “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” (John 10:28-29).
It is comforting to know the different roles of each and that they are work together within the Trinity to provide salvation. Grudem rightly stated, “The work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church.”[5] The body of Christ is where each believer needs to use their spiritual gifts and their character should exemplify the fruit of the spirit as stated in Gal. 5:22-23.
Professor’s Musings on the Topic
Regarding the assurance, evidence and security of salvation, let’s consider how “holiness” fits in here.
If I asked you, “Are you holy?” what would you say? Be careful, it’s kind of a trick question. In fact, it is a Dilemma. If you say, “Yes, I’m holy” then the Bible, and the people closest to you, with good reason, would blow the whistle on you, because your behavior does not always align perfectly with what it means to be holy in practice. If you say, “No, I’m not holy,” and you are a genuine follower of Christ, then the Bible, and biblical theologians with good reason, would blow the whistle on you, because the Bible declares that the perfect righteousness and holiness of Christ has been imputed to you making you who are “in Christ” perfectly holy.
So how do we resolve this Dilemma in a biblically faithful way without contradiction? We have to divide the question about holiness into two parts so we can answer Yes” to one holiness question, and “No” to the other. In practice, let’s face it, you and I are not perfectly holy…yet. But, our position in Christ makes it possible for God Himself to justify us, and declare us to be perfectly holy in Christ.
So, here’s the way to resolve this Dilemma and answer these TWO questions rather than one…..
As a follower of Christ, are you perfectly holy in practice? – No, regrettably, I’m not yet perfectly holy in practice because I have recently sinned in a variety of ways in attitude and deed by commission and omission.
As a follower of Christ, are you perfectly holy in position? – Yes, thankfully, I’m perfectly holy in position because I am in Christ and Christ has never sinned in any way in attitude or deed by commission and omission.
Now, so how does this understanding of holiness intersect assurance, evidence and security of salvation? Let’s work backwards….
1. As a follower of Christ, my salvation is secure because of the combination of my perfectly holy position in Christ, and Christ’s perfectly holy practice. I am not perfectly holy in practice, but my salvation is not based on my own holiness in practice, but the holiness of Christ in practice, and His substitutionary atonement which paid entirely for my unholiness.
2. As a follower of Christ, the evidence of my salvation, too, is composed of a combination of my imperfectly holy practice and my perfectly holy position. While not perfectly holy in practice at all times, my life demonstrates a pattern of transforming into a life of holiness in practice. And, my holy position in Christ was immediate at the time of my union with Christ after conversion.
3. As a follower of Christ, the assurance of my salvation is in direct proportion to my confidence in the security and the evidence of my salvation. While I may not actually be sure of my salvation, that is another matter altogether, there is strong evidence of trending towards holy practice even though perfect holiness has not been achieved, yet, while relying on Christ’s perfect holiness in practice, and my perfect holiness in position. As a follower of Christ, I have good reason for being assured of my salvation.
I know this has been a bit dense in content, but I hope that my proposal for solving the Dilemma of holiness helps us understand better the questions of security, evidence and assurance of our salvation…My two cents… –Dr. Carrigan
Bibliography
Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013.
[1] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 795.
[2] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 797.
[3] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 917.
[4] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 868.
[5] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 778.