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The 'full assurance of faith' (Hebrews 10.22) is 'neither more nor less than hope; or a conviction, wrought in us by the Holy Ghost, that we have a measure of the true faith in Christ.'" [5] The full assurance of faith taught by Methodists is the Holy Spirit's witness to a person who has been regenerated and entirely sanctified. [6]
Augustine: "Or; That the disciples here say, It is a phantasm, figures those who yielding to the Devil shall doubt of the coming of Christ.That Peter cries to the Lord for help that he should not be drowned, signifies that He shall purge His Church with certain trials even after the last persecution; as Paul also notes, saying, He shall be saved, yet so as by fire (1 Corinthians 3:15)."
Apart from scripture, experience is the strongest proof of Christianity. "What the scriptures promise, I enjoy". [10] Again, Wesley insisted that we cannot have reasonable assurance of something unless we have experienced it personally. John Wesley was assured of both justification and sanctification because he had experienced them in his own life.
Jesus lives today and everyone who puts their faith in Him will live forever with Him.
Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) arrived at the same conclusion in his own readings of the early church fathers. In responding to Calvinist William Perkins arguments for the perseverance of the saints, he wrote: "In reference to the sentiments of the [early church] fathers, you doubtless know that almost all antiquity is of the opinion, that believers can fall away and perish."
The Dallas Theological Seminary sums up the general consensus of free grace theology in Article XI of its doctrinal statement, in reference to assurance: [133] We believe it is the privilege, not only of some, but of all who are born again by the Spirit through faith in Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, to be assured of their salvation from ...
This passage concerning the function of faith in relation to the covenant of God is often used as a definition of faith. Υποστασις (hy-po'sta-sis), translated "assurance" here, commonly appears in ancient papyrus business documents, conveying the idea that a covenant is an exchange of assurances which guarantees the future transfer of possessions described in the contract.
The doctrine of perseverance of the saints can suggest that a believer have some assurance of final salvation. However, this interpretation faces criticism for its perceived inconsistency. In orthodox Calvinism, while the elect will persevere to the end, believers cannot know they are elect until they persevere to the end. [66]