: A Doubting Calvinist is someone who says they believe in election, but sometimes doubt they are elect.

And there can only be one reason that they doubt their salvation. Their doubting springs from a suspicion that something needs to be done ON TOP of the work of Christ for salvation. Where else could their doubts come from ? If they believed Christ has done EVERYTHING, they would not doubt (they would know that nothing is required from them, and there would be nothing to doubt). However, since they do doubt their salvation, it shows that they suspect there is something to be done ON TOP of Christ's work for salvation. And since they can never be certain that they've done enough ON TOP of Christ's work, they are left doubting their salvation. About Me: ASSURANCE OF SALVATION So... the question is... How can a man know he is saved? Well, everyone agrees that to know something is true, you need evidence. For example, how do you know Australia exists? I assume you've never been down here. You've never seen it with your own eyes. But would you doubt Australia existing? Of course not. Many people will tell you "I've been to Australia." and plenty of television stations claim to have images of Australia. You have something like absolute certainty that Australia exists, don't you? And your certainty is based on the claims of fallible men. Now, think about this - you're getting absolute certainty after listening to the claims of men - Men who can lie, be mistaken and miscommunicate. ... ok... Perhaps you're wondering - "What has this got to do with assurance of salvation? Just because I'm often certain about what men say... how does this relate to assurance?" Well - If you are often certain about what fallible men say, won't you always be certain about what an infallible God says? You often gain certainty from your fellow men who lie, so why aren't you always certain of what the God who cannot lie, says? "We receive the testimony of man, but the testimony of God is greater" (1 John 5) You don't need to visit Australia to believe it exists - the testimony of men are enough to assure you of this point. So why isn't the testimony of God that "EVERYONE BELIEVING IS JUSTIFIED" (Acts 13:39) sufficient for you to be assured of your salvation? Why do you need any other evidence than the promises of God? Think for a moment about the analogies Scripture uses for conversion. For example, would it have been possible for the resurrected Lazarus to have thought "I wonder if I'm still dead"? Or could the blind man given sight think, "Hmm. I wonder if I am still blind"? Of course not! He says, "One thing I do know; that being blind, now I see." (John 9:25) And it's exactly the same with conversion - you cannot doubt it's happened to you. It's simply impossible to have your mind converted to the truth, but to later think, "Hmm. I dunno, Am I still "darkened in the intellect"? (Eph 4:18). Conversion is simply hearing/seeing the Gospel to be God's eternal truth. (Luke 8:10ff) To say a man can believe the Gospel and be unconscious of his belief, is like saying you can be alive and not know you are alive! Now a lot of people reading this will completely disagree. One person, for example, wrote me, "Is it necessary that someone have a mature doctrinal understanding, or is holding them to a doctrinal position in order to be saved...?" My response to him was... No! NOTHING is required for salvation. Christ has completely exhausted the Law with his obedience, satisfying every jot and tittle. The Law was never designed to be obeyed for life, except by The Man. Gal 3:17. He's put away sin forever, Heb 9:12. In our hands, the Law is powerless, Rom 8:3, but he came and magnified the Law! Isa 42:21. This is great news - the only Gospel.

So can you believe this, and doubt your salvation? If you know Christ has ALL power in heaven and earth, Mt 28:18, how can you doubt his work is enough? You can't - so anyone that peddles a "gospel" where man must do something ON TOP of Christ's work for assurance and counting Christ's work as insufficient. Clearly, they are NOT part of the "little flock" ruling with Christ in his kingdom now, Mt 25:34. By saying we must do something to enter the kingdom, they deny that the Father gives the Kingdom to the little flock, Luke 12:32. And by insisting that, in order to be saved, we must do something BEFORE we have faith, they make carnal, earthly works of death, the requirements to gain life. ______ Are the Psalms David's own private experiences? Well, think about this analogy: Imagine..... A preacher gets up in the pulpit and reads the parable of the sowers. He reflects upon the context of this passage and he also talks about the Jewish agricultural customs in Christ's day. Then based on his grammatical-historical analysis, the preacher concludes by listing what he think the "soils" and "seed" might represent. Did you notice something? The preacher never looked at Christ's infallible interpretation of the parable. Most people would accuse him of "exalting himself above Christ". This is true -- the preacher is ignoring Christ's interpretation, and exalting his own methods and ideas above Christ's. Now -- Why is it OK for preachers to interpret the PSALMS (without looking at Christ's interpretation of the Psalms)? Christ and the Apostles applied at least 30 Psalms to Christ. So isn't your preacher "exalting himself above Christ" when he says a Psalm is describing DAVID, when Christ said the Psalm was describing HIMSELF ALONE? See the Psalms Challenge (a project to prove that none of the Psalms are David's own personal experiences)http://psalms.pbwiki.comIn the past I was a lost Calvinist (a Calvinist who doubts their salvation).However, one day I realised that the Psalms are not about David's experiences. The Apostles only apply the Psalms to Christ. And ever since then I have had full assurance. I recognise that all those passages in the Psalms which talk about God hiding his face, withdrawing his presence, pouring his fury, having wrath etc, are talking about Christ on the cross (Heb 5:7).My hope is that other Calvinists will stop believing John Piper's view (that the Psalms are about David's experiences), and start believing what the Apostles say!Then they will have full assurance of salvation! They will be COMFORTED by the Psalms, because they will see CHRIST SUFFERING in the Psalms. And thus they will stop thinking that they should undergo the experiences described in the Psalms! QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF- Where is there a single instance of a believer doubting their salvation in the entire Bible? If say 'David was forsaken in the psalms' - then, where did the Apostles say the Psalms are David's own personal experiences? They only applied them to Christ's experiences! 'No prophecy is of any private interpretation... the prophets wrote about the sufferings of Christ' (1 Pet 1:11, 2 Pet 1:20)- Do all believers have the gift of prayer? Or are some believers deprived of this gift? If all believers have it, then all believers must have full assurance of salvation. Because prayer includes crying 'abba, father'. Now, if a believer was ignorant that God is their Abba, then they can't cry abba, can they? Therefore, if all believers can cry Abba, they must all know God is their Abba. Surely, this is what Paul means when he says God has given believers the spirit of adoption to cry abba - i.e. that all believers know Christ has redeemed them.- What is Justification? 'Being justified by faith we have peace with God' (Rom 5:1). Can a man be justified and yet be ignorant that he is reckoned righteous? IF HE DOESN'T KNOW HE IS JUSTIFIED, THEN WHO HAS GOD JUSTIFIED? Not this man! He's still un-justified. He doesn't have peace with God! He's still at emnity with God - doubting God's promises, calling God

a liar, etc. 'By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many'. Think of a courthouse. The accused is fearful, uncertain, agnostic about his future. Whether he is a free man or a soon to be prison-slave is up in the air. UNLESS THE JUDGE GIVES HIM KNOWLEDGE OF FREEDOM - A VERDICT OF NOT GUILTY - then the man IS NOT JUSTIFIED.Really - What happens at Justification? Nothing on God's side. God cannot change. He already loved the elect sinner before he justified them. Sure, there is rejoicing on the part of the angels who hear God's verdict of not-guilty in the heavens. But on man's side - is the man left in the dark, uncertain, wandering aimlessly, enslaved to Satan, under the curse of the Law (in his mind) etc? Surely, when God justifies an elect sinner, the verdict is given not only in heaven, but in the man's mind to (obviously only through the entrance of the Word of God which declares 'everyone believing is justified' Acts 13:39)'By this we perceive the Love of God, that Christ lay down his life for us'.Does a man know who God is, if he is ignorant that God is Love? And can a man know the Love of God, apart from perceiving Christ saying, 'this is my body broken for you, and my blood shed for you.'? Surely, only those who know that God is THEIR JUST GOD AND SAVIOR, know the Love of God in Christ. And since all believers 'know God', they must know God has 'no condemnation for them in Christ Jesus'.