“This 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 every one 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; so far is it from inclining men to looseness” (XVIII. 3).
Isaiah 50:10 is one of many verses that is abused in an effort to advance the Assembly’s self-righteous cause. The apostle Paul serves as an excellent example of one who continually trusted in the name of the Lord while walking in darkness:
“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:8-10).
Romans 8:16 and Galatians 4:6 refute the heresy that a true believer can be in the dark about whether God is his Father or not. Once again, when we compare Scripture with Scripture we see that Scripture is being disrespected and twisted to serve an agenda. To “walk in darkness” is to be overwhelmed by a trying and painful circumstance or situation. 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 gave us an illuminating example of this.
To assert assurance of justification by works is ipso facto to assert justification by works. How so? Because while this person SAYS he is justified by the imputed righteousness of Christ alone, he simultaneously says that he can only obtain (or maintain or regain) an actual assurance of this alleged justification by Christ’s righteousness alone by means of his works. So, he says that he has faith in the imputed righteousness of Christ alone, while also saying that he can only be sure that he actually has this alleged “faith” by means of his works. His assurance of his justification is found in his own works. He is ignorantly going about to establish his own righteousness in order that he may convince himself that he has truly submitted himself to the righteousness of God (cf. Romans 10:1-4). Clearly, it shows just the opposite — he has NOT and is NOT submitted to the righteousness of Christ at all (Romans 10:1-4).
Agrammatos 