There are two kinds of "assurance," as taught by the creeds, and both of them are matters of ordinary, everyday experience by many Christians. There are certain clear statements in the Bible as to the kind of person a Christian is. He must bear certain signs and marks and do certain things. He must love God and his neighbor; he must love the Church; he must be earnest and patient and bear the various "fruits of the Spirit." Now, a person can tell whether he is doing those things, whether his soul has these marks or not. Added to this test, however, is the direct "witness of the Spirit," the Spirit himself "bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God" (Rom. 8:16; II Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13). This is the voice of God, assuring us that we are his. It is important to remember that we should not wait for assurance, but must persistently and with determination believe God's word. Any one who is in doubt whether he is a child of God or not should insist immediately upon beginning: to trust him. We become Christians by believing that Christ really does forgive our sins and receive us, remembering that he said: "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). As we continue to trust him we shall find ourselves manifesting the fruits of the Spirit, and God will whisper to us that we are his.
