Dr. David Jeremiah's Difficult Assurance Of Salvation

Ephesians 1:12-14, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”

Pastor David Jeremiah is way off in some of his Bible theology. In 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4 we are warned by the Apostle Paul about complicating “the simplicity that is in Christ.” My Christian friend Curtis Smale made these helpful true observations:

Dr. David Jeremiah’s False Bases for Assurance of Salvation

I just listened to a sermon by Dr. David Jeremiah. The problem with so many of these preachers is that they preach the biblical truth that if you believe in Jesus you’re saved forever—and then they take it back in the next sentence by telling you that if you don’t do these things and don’t stop doing these other things, then you probably aren’t saved.

My Criticisms of David Jeremiah’s teachings about salvation:

• There are no “Birthmarks of salvation.”
• Confession of faith is not necessary for salvation or proof of it. (False confessors; some Jews in the time of Jesus believed in Him, but would not confess their faith in Him because they did not want to be rejected by other Jews and thrown out of the synagogue.)
• Practicing righteousness is not a condition of salvation or proof of it. (There are civic-righteous Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Roman Catholics, Jews.)
• Love is not a condition of salvation or proof of it. (Loving Atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, secular people)
• Conflict with evil is not a condition of salvation or proof of it. (Human-level Righteous non-believers)
• Winning over sin is not a condition of salvation or proof of it. (Unbelievers in AA)
• Repenting/stopping sin is not a condition of salvation or proof of it. (the sinning believers in the Corinthian church)
• Good works are not a condition of salvation or proof of it.
• We don’t ask God to forgive us for sins because He has forgiven us of all sins. (Colossians)

Jeremiah does not understand the new nature perfection.

Conscience is not a condition of salvation or proof of it.

The biblical truth is, if anyone ever believed in Jesus, they are saved forever and indwelled by the Holy Spirit, forgiven and destined for Heaven. They know whether they believe or not. 

—Curtis Smale

As our text passages of Scripture teach, the evidence that a person is a child of God is the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only an individual can determine. That is what the Epistle of 1st John is all about. 1st John 5:13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” Many Bible students misunderstand the Epistle of 1st John, thinking that we should examine our life and works to see if we are saved. But the Bible never says that. What saith the Scripture? 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” God authored 1st John so that you, as an individual believer, can determine if you have the Holy Spirit. 

And how do we get the Holy Spirit? Galatians 3:1-2, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Notice that capital “S,” meaning the Holy Spirit of God. You get saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit by simply putting your faith (reliance) in the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ when you hear it preached. Paul calls this “the hearing of faith.” 

We see this beautifully evidenced in Acts chapter 10. The Apostle Peter preached the Good News of Jesus crucified on the cross, buried and risen the third day, and when Cornelius simply believed what he heard, he was immediately saved and indwelt with God's Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38-43). Kindly said, Pastor Jeremiah complicates the simplicity of the Gospel. 

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Once you receive a “gift” from someone, the concept of it being freely yours without any obligations whatsoever is something that even a small child can understand. With that fact in mind, it is truly sad and tragic that preachers, of all people, should be the very ones to complicate God's free gift of grace through faith alone.