View source for Assurance (theology)

[[File:Saint Francis of Assisi church in Pieńsk (13).jpg|thumb|The Holy Spirit [[Doves as symbols|depicted as a dove]]; assurance was described by [[John Wesley]] as the "Witness of the Spirit".]]
As a general term in theological use, '''assurance''' refers to a believer's confidence in God, God's response to prayer, and the hope of eternal salvation. In [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christianity|Christian]] [[doctrine]], the term "assurance", also known as the '''Witness of the Spirit''', affirms that the inner [[witness]] of the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] allows the Christian [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciple]] to know that they are [[Justification (theology)|justified]].<ref name="Yates2015">{{cite book |last1=Yates |first1=Arthur S. |title=The Doctrine of Assurance: With Special Reference to John Wesley |date=2015 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=9781498205047 |language=en |quote=Writing to Arthur Bedford on 4th August 1738, Wesley says: 'That assurance of which alone I speak, I should not choose to call an assurance of salvation, but rather (with the Scriptures) the assurance of faith... . I think the Scriptural words are ...}}</ref><ref name="Emmanuel2002">{{cite book |title=Guidebook of the Emmanuel Association of Churches |date=2002 |publisher=[[Emmanuel Association]] |location=[[Logansport, Indiana|Logansport]] |page=9 |language=English}}</ref> Based on the writings of [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine of Hippo]], ''assurance'' was historically an important doctrine in [[Lutheranism]] and [[Calvinism]], and remains a distinguishing doctrine of [[Methodism]] and [[Quakerism]], although there are differences among these Christian traditions.<ref name="Yates2015"/><ref name="CYMF2018"/> Hymns that celebrate the witness of the Holy Spirit, such as [[Fanny Crosby]]'s "[[Blessed Assurance]]", are sung in Christian liturgies to celebrate the belief in assurance.

==John Wesley and Methodism==
[[John Wesley]] believed that all [[Christians]] have a faith which implies an ''assurance'' of [[God]]'s forgiving love, and that one would feel that ''assurance'', or the "witness of the Spirit". This understanding is grounded in [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]'s affirmation, "...ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The same Spirit beareth witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God..." ([[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 8:15–16, ''Wesley's translation''). This experience was mirrored for Wesley in his [[Aldersgate]] experience wherein he "knew" he was loved by God and that his sins were forgiven.

:''"I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken my sin, even mine."'' —from Wesley's Journal<ref>{{cite web |title=John Wesley: Journal of John Wesley – Christian Classics Ethereal Library |url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/journal.vi.ii.xvi.html}}</ref>

Early in his ministry Wesley had to defend his understanding of ''assurance''. In 1738, [[Arthur Bedford (writer)|Arthur Bedford]] had published a [[sermon]] in which he misquoted Wesley's teachings. Bedford had misunderstood Wesley as saying that a Christian could be assured of persevering in a state of salvation, the [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]] view.

In a letter dated September 28, 1738, Wesley wrote, "The ''assurance'' of which I alone speak I should not choose to call an ''assurance'' of salvation, but rather (with the Scriptures), the ''assurance'' of faith. ...[This] is not the essence of faith, but a distinct gift of the Holy Ghost, whereby God shines upon his own work, and shows us that we are justified through faith in Christ. ...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.'"<ref>The discussion of Wesley's understanding of ''assurance'' is a revision of information presented on the website "Days of Wesley", copyright 2004, Days of Wesley, Conrad Archer, [http://www.gbgm-umc.org/sonorafirst/handa.html#assurance Entry on Assurance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050122163742/http://www.gbgm-umc.org/sonorafirst/handa.html#assurance |date=2005-01-22 }}.</ref>

The full assurance of faith taught by Methodists is the [[Holy Spirit]]'s witness to a person who has been [[Born again#Methodism|regenerated]] and [[entire sanctification|entirely sanctified]].<ref name="AbrahamKirby2009">{{cite book |last1=Abraham |first1=William J. |last2=Kirby |first2=James E. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies |date=2009 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780191607431 |language=en}}</ref> This full assurance of faith "excludes all doubt and fear since the heart has now been perfected in love", consistent with a Wesleyan–Arminian interpretation of [[1 John]], which proclaims "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 John|4:18|KJV}}: KJV</ref><ref name="AbrahamKirby2009"/> John Wesley emphasized that this is not an assurance about the future, but about the present state of the believer (Methodist theology teaches that [[Apostasy in Christianity|apostasy]] can occur through sin or a loss of faith).<ref name="AbrahamKirby2009"/> Believers can be assured that they are the adopted children of God and will be with Him for eternity if they continue in holiness by trusting in Christ and obeying God's [[Ten Commandments#Methodist|commandments]] in this life.<ref name="AbrahamKirby2009"/>

The [[Pilgrim Nazarene Church]], a [[Methodist]] denomination in the [[conservative holiness movement|conservative holiness]] tradition, teaches:<ref name="PNC2017">{{cite web|url=http://www.pilgrimnazarene.org/pages/beliefs/holiness.html|title=Holiness|year=2017|work=The Witness of the Spirit|publisher=Pilgrim Nazarene Church|language=en|access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref><blockquote>''The witness of the Spirit is that inward impression wrought on the soul whereby the Spirit of God immediately and directly assures our spirit that Bible conditions are met for salvation and the work of grace is complete in the soul (). Therefore, the Spirit bears witness to both the salvation of the sinner and the sanctification of the believer (; ().''</blockquote>The [[Emmanuel Association|Emmanuel Association of Churches]], another Methodist denomination, states:<ref name="Emmanuel2002" /><blockquote>''The witness of the Spirit is that inward impression wrought on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God immediately and directly assures our spirit that the Bible conditions are met for salvation and the work of grace is complete in the soul (, ). Therefore none should think they are either saved or sanctified until the Spirit of God has added His testimony (). And if we take care to walk with God, and not grieve the Holy Ghost, we shall have an abiding testimony ().''</blockquote>

==Quakerism==
The [[Central Yearly Meeting of Friends]], a Holiness Quaker denomination, teaches in reference to the experiences of the [[Born again|New Birth]] and [[Christian perfection#Quaker teaching|Perfection]] "that the Spirit of God gives to each born again person an inward witness that he is truly a child of God and to each truly sanctified person a witness that he is entirely sanctified."<ref name="CYMF2018"/> Quakers hold that the "witness of the Spirit is nothing more than the communication and assurance of God through the Spirit to the inward consciousness of the seeking and the believing soul that he has received that which he desired of God, that God has both hear the prayer and performed His work of grace in the heart (; ; ,)."<ref name="CYMF2018">{{cite book |title=Manual of Faith and Practice of Central Yearly Meeting of Friends |date=2018 |publisher=[[Central Yearly Meeting of Friends]] |page=28 |language=English}}</ref>

==Baptists==
[[Baptist]]s teach that a "person is born again when he/she believes on the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (the death, burial, and resurrection) and he/she calls upon the name of the Lord."<ref name="Longwe2011"/> Those who have been [[new birth|born again]], according to Baptist teaching, know that they are "a child of God because the Holy Spirit witnesses to them that they are."<ref name="Longwe2011">{{cite book |last1=Longwe |first1=Hany |title=Christians by Grace—Baptists by Choice: A History of the Baptist Convention of Malawi |date=2011 |publisher=African Books Collective |isbn=978-99960-27-02-4 |page=429 |language=English}}</ref>

==Lutheranism==
[[File:AugsburgConfessionArticle18FreeWill.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|...man's will has some liberty to choose civil righteousness, and to work things subject to reason. But it has no power, without the Holy Ghost, to work the righteousness of God, that is, spiritual righteousness...—[[Augsburg Confession]], Art. 18: Of Free Will<ref>See [http://www.bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.php#article18 Augsburg Confession, Article XVIII: Of Free Will]</ref>]]
[[Lutherans|Lutheranism]] accepts [[monergism]], which states that salvation is by God's act alone, and rejects the teaching that humans in their fallen state have a [[free will]] concerning spiritual matters.<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%202:14;&version=50;], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%2012:3;&version=31; 12:3], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.%208:7;&version=31;], [[Martin Chemnitz]], [[Examination of the Council of Trent]]: Vol. I. Trans. Fred Kramer,  St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, pp. 409–453, "Seventh Topic, Concerning Free Will: From the Decree of the Sixth Session of the Council of Trent".</ref> Lutherans believe that although humans have free will concerning civil righteousness, they cannot work spiritual righteousness without the Holy Spirit, since righteousness in the heart cannot be wrought in the absence of the Holy Spirit.<ref>[http://www.bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.html#article18 Augsburg Confession, Article 18, Of Free Will] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915154222/http://www.bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.html#article18 |date=2008-09-15 }}.</ref> Lutherans believe that the elect are predestined to salvation.<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2013:48;&version=9;], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph.%201:4-11;&version=47;], [http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-ep.html#XI.%20Election. Epitome of the Formula of Concord, Article 11, Election] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210532/http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-ep.html#XI.%20Election.|date=2008-10-10}}, Mueller, J.T., Christian Dogmatics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 585–589, section "The Doctrine of Eternal Election: 1. The Definition of the Term", and Engelder, T.E.W., [[Iarchive:MN41551ucmf 1|Popular Symbolics]]. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 124–128, Part XXXI. "The Election of Grace", paragraph 176.</ref> According to Lutheranism, Christians should be assured that they are among the predestined.<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Thessalonians%202:13;&version=50;], Mueller, J. T., Christian Dogmatics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 589–593, section "The Doctrine of Eternal Election: 2. How Believers are to Consider Their Election, and Engelder, T. E. W., [[Iarchive:MN41551ucmf 1|Popular Symbolics]]. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 127–128, Part XXXI. "The Election of Grace", paragraph 180.</ref> Lutherans believe that all who trust in Jesus alone can be certain of their salvation, for it is in Christ's work and his promises in which their certainty lies.<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.%208:33;&version=47;], Engelder, T. E. W., [[Iarchive:MN41551ucmf 1|Popular Symbolics]]. St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 127–128, Part XXXI. "The Election of Grace", paragraph 179.</ref> However, they disagree with those that make predestination the source of salvation rather than Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection. Unlike [[Calvinism|Calvinists]], Lutherans do not believe in a predestination to damnation.<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Tim.%202:4;&version=31;], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Pet.%203:9;&version=31;], [http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-ep.html#XI.%20Election. Epitome of the Formula of Concord, Article 11, Election] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210532/http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-ep.html#XI.%20Election.|date=2008-10-10}}, and Engelder's [[Iarchive:MN41551ucmf 1|Popular Symbolics]], Part XXXI. The Election of Grace, pp. 124–128.</ref> Instead, Lutherans teach eternal damnation is a result of the unbeliever's sins, rejection of the forgiveness of sins, and unbelief, all of which occur when God chooses not to positively intervene during the unbeliever's lifetime.<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea%2013:9;&version=9;], Mueller, J. T., Christian Dogmatics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 637, section "The Doctrine of the Last Things (Eschatology), part 7. "Eternal Damnation", and Engelder, T.E.W., [[Iarchive:MN41551ucmf 1|Popular Symbolics]]. St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 135–136, Part XXXIX. "Eternal Death", paragraph 196.</ref> The central final hope of the Christian is "the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting" as confessed in the [[Apostles' Creed]], but Lutherans also teach that, at death, Christian souls are immediately taken into the presence of Jesus in heaven,<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2023:42-43;&version=31;], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Cor.%205:8;&version=31;], Engelder, T. E. W., [[Iarchive:MN41551ucmf 1|Popular Symbolics]]. St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 130, Part XXXIV. "The State of the Soul in the Interval Between Death and the Resurrection", paragraph 185.</ref> where they await this bodily resurrection and the second coming of Jesus on the Last Day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bible Gateway passage:  – English Standard Version |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2015%3A22-24&version=ESV |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=Bible Gateway |pages=616–619 |language=en}}</ref>

==Reformed==
[[Reformed Christianity]] (Calvinism) has had controversies over the doctrine of assurance, many however teach that believers may have assurance of their salvation especially through the work of the [[Holy Spirit]] and also by looking at the character of their lives. The idea that because good works necessarily result from true faith one can gain assurance by observing evidences of faith in their life is called the [[practical syllogism (theology)|practical syllogism]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beeke |first1=Joel |title=Drawn Into Controversie: Reformed Theological Diversity and Debates Within Seventeenth-Century British Puritanism |publisher=[[Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht]] |year=2011 |editor1-last=Haykin |editor1-first=Michael A. G. |location=[[Göttingen]], Germany |page=273 |chapter=The Assurance Debate |editor2-last=Jones |editor2-first=Mark}}</ref> If they believe God's promises and seek to live in accord with God's commands, then their good deeds done in response with a cheerful heart provide proof that can strengthen their assurance of salvation against doubts. This assurance is not, however, a necessary consequence of salvation, and such assurance may be shaken as well as strengthened.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Westminster Standards – 1647 Westminster Confession of Faith {{!}} Reformed Theology at A Puritan's Mind |url=https://www.apuritansmind.com/westminster-standards/ |access-date=2023-04-25 |at=Chapter 18 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[Westminster Confession of Faith]] affirms<ref>[[Westminster Confession of Faith]], Chapter 18, paragraph 3</ref> that assurance is attainable though the wait for it may be long:

<blockquote>''"...infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it: yet, being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God, he may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of ordinary means, attain thereunto. And therefore it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure; that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance..."'' </blockquote>

Additionally, the Augustinian doctrines of grace regarding [[predestination]] are taught in the [[Reformed churches]] primarily to assure believers of their salvation since the Calvinist doctrines emphasize that salvation is entirely a sovereign gift of God apart from the recipient's choice, deeds, or feelings (compare [[perseverance of the saints]]).

The [[Marrow Brethren]], being a group inside Reformed theology instead taught that assurance is to be grounded upon the gospel, while their opponents emphasized the human element in assurance.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holmes |first=Andrew R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YhJREAAAQBAJ&dq=Marrow+brethren+doctrines&pg= |title=The Shaping of Ulster Presbyterian Belief and Practice, 1770–1840 |date=2006-11-02 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-153717-2 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=VanDoodewaard |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzQSEAAAQBAJ&dq=Marrow+brethren+assurance&pg=PT109 |title=The Marrow Controversy and Seceder Tradition: Atonement, Saving Faith, and the Gospel offer in Scotland (1718–1799) |date=2011-11-01 |publisher=Reformation Heritage Books |isbn=978-1-60178-329-5 |language=en}}</ref>

==Anabaptism==
Anabaptists who belong to [[Conservative Mennonite]] and [[New Order Amish]] communities teach the belief in assurance—"that one can know the state of his soul while on earth".<ref name="AA2010"/> This differs from the [[Old Order Amish]] understanding, who teach a "living hope" of salvation.<ref name="AA2010">{{cite web |title=What's the difference between New Order and Old Order Amish? |url=https://amishamerica.com/whats-the-difference-between-new-order-and-old-order-amish/|year=2010 |publisher=Amish America |access-date=22 May 2021 |language=English}}</ref> Obedience to [[Jesus]] and a careful keeping of the [[Ten Commandments]], in addition to loving one another and being at peace with others are seen as "earmarks of the saved".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fretz |first1=Clarence Y. |title=How To Make SURE You Are Saved |url=https://www.anabaptists.org/tracts/saved.html |publisher=Anabaptists |access-date=22 May 2021 |language=English}}</ref>

==Similarities in Catholic teaching==

The [[Catholic Church]] teaches that an [[infallible]] certitude of final salvation, as supposed in Calvinism, is not a usual experience, as seen in the sixteenth canon of the sixth session of the [[Council of Trent]]:

"If any one saith, that he will for certain, of an absolute and infallible certainty, have that great gift of perseverance unto the end, unless he have learned this by special revelation; let him be anathema."<ref>{{Cite web |date=1848 |title=CT table |url=https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=history.hanover.edu}}</ref>
 
In critiquing the Reformed doctrine of the assurance of salvation, prominent Catholic [[apologist]] [[Robert Sungenis]] notes a complication of the doctrine as it relates to the historic Protestant doctrine of ''[[Sola fide]]'':<blockquote>''"The burden is on the Reformed position because [it] says that a person can live his whole life thinking that he is justified by faith and yet come to the point in time where he stands at the judgment seat of God and finds out that he did not have the works that qualified the faith to be justifying faith and therefore God would say to him, "I'm sorry, you were never justified in the first place." So, if there’s anyone who lives under a cloud of terror, it’s the Reformed position because he never knows whether he did the proper works in order to qualify the faith that he needs for justification. And this is especially important because the Reformed position says that works can never enter into the faith that procures my justification, because works are all in sanctification. So, if works can never enter into the faith that I need for justification, how can they ever qualify the faith that I need for justification? So, he's in a double dilemma now."''</blockquote>Catholics recognize that a certainty of faith is ascribed to St. [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] (,) and speculate that the [[Virgin Mary]] also probably possessed it. [[Jesus Christ]] as man, however, did not need to believe since he ''knew'' it. [[Ludwig Ott]] argues that a high moral, human certainty of having sanctifying grace is possible, on the grounds that one is not conscious of an unforgiven grave sin, but by no means faith which is believing with divine certainty,<ref>Ludwig Ott, ''Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma'' IV/I § 22.</ref> and that with some probability one can locate positive signs of predestination, which does not mean that their lack be a sign of reprobation: He lists persistent action of the virtues recommended in the [[Eight Beatitudes]], [[frequent Communion]], active [[charity (virtue)|charity]], love for Christ and the [[Catholic Church|Church]] and devotion to the [[Blessed Virgin]].<ref>Ludwig Ott, ''Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma'' IV/I § 12.</ref> Moreover, and especially, a Catholic can, and should, have certain<ref>St. [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Summa Theologica]], II/ IV</ref> ''[[hope (virtue)|hope]]'' for eternal salvation, which does not rest chiefly on a grace already received, but rather on prospective future forgiveness by God's omnipotence and mercy. The point in question is that however certain, the hope must retain its proper name and not be confused with faith. If together with a determination for sin, this hope is in danger of giving way to [[presumption]].<ref>See Summa Theologica, II/ I for the differences. – Let it be said, for the sake of those readers that may feel difficulty in overcoming some sins whatever, that hope in even only a future repenting, combined with a certain sorrow for the sins, is as such valid hope; that not hoping is never a legitimate way of avoiding presumption; and that despair is worse than presumption, as St. Thomas teaches in Summa Theologica, II/ II.</ref>

In the Catholic tradition, a close equivalent to a doctrine of assurance has been a doctrine of final perseverance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1911 |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Final Perseverance |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11711a.htm |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> Compliance with [[First Friday Devotions]] has sometimes been taught as a means to final perseverance.

==See also==
*"[[Blessed Assurance]]", hymn by Fanny Crosby
*[[Conditional preservation of the saints]]
*[[Perseverance of the saints]]

==Further reading==
* TBD

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040912185041/http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyan_theology/theojrnl/21-25/23-12.htm Questions of Clarification for Wesley's Doctrine of Assurance] by Michael E. Lodahl
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040923134425/http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyan_theology/theojrnl/26-30/28-3.htm The Relationship of Assurance to Justification and Regeneration in the Thought of John Wesley] by Scott Kisker
* [https://www.gbs.edu/knowing-that-we-know-him-the-doctrine-of-assurance/Knowing That We Know Him: The Doctrine of Assurance] by Michael Avery (Wesleyan-Arminian)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20001119121000/http://gbgm-umc.org/UMHistory/Wesley/sermons/serm-010.stm Sermon #10: "The Witness of the Spirit, Part 1"] by [[John Wesley]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20001011100011/http://gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/serm-011.stm Sermon #11: "The Witness of the Spirit, Part 2"] by [[John Wesley]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20001011095916/http://gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/serm-012.stm Sermon #12: "The Witness of Our Own Spirit"] by [[John Wesley]]
* Heaven on Earth: a Treatise on Christian Assurance by [[Thomas Brooks (Puritan)|Brooks, Thomas]], Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1961. First published 1654 {{ISBN|0-85151-356-5}}
* [[William Guthrie (Puritan)|Guthrie, William]] (1620–1665). [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/guthrie/interest2.toc.html "The Christian's Great Interest"]. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
* [[J C Ryle|Ryle, J.C.]] [http://www.biblebb.com/files/ryle/assurance.htm "Assurance"]. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060619093045/http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/gendoct_09_security.cfm Assemblies of God position on Assurance of Salvation]
* [http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Assurance/ Monergism.com: Directory of Theology: Assurance]

==References==


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[[Category:Evangelical theology]]
[[Category:Calvinist theology]]
[[Category:Arminianism]]
[[Category:Methodism]]
[[Category:Lutheran theology]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Salvation in Protestantism]]