Erosion of the Holy Spirit's gift of faith and assurance : Samuel Rutherford's departure from the Reformation
Creators: name: Bakker, Martin H.
Publisher: name: The University of St Andrews
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Assurance
subject: Assurance of faith
subject: Assurance of salvation
subject: Certainty of faith
subject: Gift of faith
subject: Holy Spirit's gift of faith
subject: Essence of faith
subject: Objective assurance
subject: Subjective assurance
subject: Epistemology of faith and assurance
subject: Good works
subject: Gaining assurance
subject: Strengthening assurance
subject: Reformation theology
subject: Pneumatology
subject: Historical theology
subject: Reformed theology
subject: Puritan theology
subject: Scottish theology
subject: Systematic theology
subject: Calvin vs Calvinism
subject: Purpose of good works in faith and assurance
subject: Inseparability of faith and assurance
subject: Nature of faith and assurance
subject: Joel Beeke
subject: Robert Letham
subject: Anthony Lane
subject: Cornelis Graafland
subject: Richard Muller
subject: Calvin
subject: Heinrich Bullinger
subject: Huldrych Zwingli
subject: Oecolampadius
subject: Martin Bucer
subject: Capito
subject: Wolfgang Musculus
subject: Peter Martyr Vermigli
subject: Theodore Beza
subject: William Cunningham
subject: Thomas Torrance
subject: R. T. Kendall
subject: Charles Bell
subject: Paul Helm
subject: Grounds for assurance
subject: Practical syllogism
subject: John Coffey
subject: Guy Richard
subject: Covenant theology
subject: Habit of faith
subject: Westminster Confession
subject: Experience of salvation
subject: David Dickson
subject: James Durham
subject: George Gillespie
subject: William Guthrie
subject: James Fraser of Brea
subject: Herman Bavinck
subject: BX9225.R94Z5B2
subject: Rutherford, Samuel, 1600-1661
subject: Assurance (Theology)--History of doctrines
subject: Faith
subject: Theology, Doctrinal--History
subject: Reformation

description: A variety of studies describe and explain the development of the ways in which the relationship between faith and assurance is viewed within the Reformed tradition. Attempts have been made to try to lessen the severity of the Reformers’ position on the inseparability of faith and assurance, to defend the segregation in time and sequence of the different aspects of faith, to argue that differing contexts warranted a change in emphasis, or to blame orthodox theology on God’s sovereignty for a perceived lack of assurance. Our approach is different as we identify opposing pneumatological views as the underlying cause for the epistemological separation of faith and assurance so common among later Reformed theologians. First, we demonstrate that most Reformers believe that an initial measure of subjective assurance is an integral part of the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith, imparted at regeneration, through the Spirit’s immediate witness. It is for this reason that the dominant Reformation position is that personal assurance is of the essence of saving faith. Second, we show that the Puritan and Covenanter Samuel Rutherford departs in substance from most Reformers in several ways. Crucially, Rutherford rejects the Spirit’s direct testimony as determinative in the gaining of assurance. In Rutherford’s theology, the Holy Spirit gifts the ability to believe rather than gifting fiducial faith. Contrary to most Reformers, Rutherford makes the distinction between objective and subjective assurance, thereby still allowing the assertion that (objective) assurance is of the essence of saving faith. Consequently, Rutherford departs from most Reformers by employing works to gain assurance rather than to confirm assurance. In other words, Rutherford exhorts people to pursue the personal experience of salvation by good works from a position of uncertainty, rather than encouraging people to do good works from a position of personal assurance.