I am frequently debilitated by thoughts that I might not be saved. What should I do?

Let me start broadly and talk about issues of assurance more generally, and then I’ll narrow in a bit further to talk about what I think is the heart of the question. Christians can lack assurance about their salvation for many reasons.

One could be faulty theology regarding the nature of salvation. One of the great theological emphases of the Reformed tradition is that salvation is of God through and through. A person responds in faith and repentance because God effectually calls them and gives them new life through his Spirit. If salvation is ultimately up to me then yes, I’m on shaky ground. But if salvation belongs to the Lord, then his saints will persevere. We can’t lose our salvation. Philippians 1:6—“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.” God begins and God finishes the work of salvation in a believer.

So, faulty understanding of salvation. But also, faculty theology regarding the nature of sanctification and the ongoing struggle with sin. A struggle with sin is not evidence a person isn’t saved. Sinless perfection this side of glory is not possible. The apostle John talks about this in 1 John. Let me read 1 John 1:8, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” And then he says in 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that do may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” This provides a lot of reassurance.

Another impediment to assurance may be regret and shame over past sin. Sometimes we lack assurance because it’s hard to believe the good news is as good as it really is. But it’s true. He really has put our sins away as far as the east is from the west. He covers our shame and gives us his royal coat of righteousness.

What else, what are some other reasons why we may lack assurance? It could be misunderstanding about the unpardonable sin, that is, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Jesus talks about this in Matthew 12:31–32. This sin is a persistent and deliberate attribution of Jesus’s miraculous powers to Satan. The warning there is directed against the Pharisees, hard-hearted leaders who are leading God’s people astray. That isn’t the issue with someone who is anxious about the state of their souls.

What else? Sometimes people have a lack of assurance because they’re not able to point to a definitive conversion experience, perhaps because they grew up in a believing family and there was never a time when they didn’t profess faith in Christ. Well, that in itself is a beautiful testimony, no less amazing than a slave-trader-turned-believer story, which was John Newton’s testimony.

And then lack of assurance may be associated with an ongoing pattern of sin in your life for which you are not repentant. It’s not surprising that consistently and persistently acting in ways that are contrary to God’s revealed will in Scripture could be associated with doubts about where you stand with God. But there’s a remedy, right? And the remedy is 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So the answer there is to turn and embrace the forgiveness that is yours in Christ. You’re not a lost cause.

And then finally, it’s important to note that lacking assurance is not the same thing as lacking salvation. A person can be a Christian without being sure. As the theologians put it, a full assurance of salvation does not belong to the very essence of faith.

Addressing these issues biblically and theologically can be helpful to grow in assurance. But the original question may be highlighting an experience that is more entrenched and difficult. In fact, the way the question is put gives some clues—words like “frequently” or “debilitated” show the extent of the struggle and suggest that for this person, gaining additional biblical information will likely not help, at least for any length of time. Or praying the sinner’s prayer for the tenth time or the fiftieth or the hundredth time. Or having family members who know and love you speak of the fruit that they’ve seen in your life doesn’t bring lasting reassurance either. It’s quite likely that the person has actually studied Scripture extensively and understands the barriers to assurance that I’ve already mentioned.

Having recurrent and perhaps even intrusive thoughts about not being saved is a common feature of what is known as scrupulosity, which has been described for centuries within Christianity. Because the struggle fits a pattern consistent with the modern-day description of obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, it’s also known as religious or moral OCD. Those with scrupulosity often struggle with other moral dilemmas, such as whether or not they sinned in a given situation, or what the correct doctrinal position is on a particular issue.

It’s helpful to understand that those who struggle in this way operate out of certain patterns of thinking that include a need for absolute certainty, perfectionism, an inflated sense of responsibility, and giving too much credence to these repeated thoughts and doubts.

So in light of those tendencies, let me suggest a few ways to proceed.

The first is doubt your doubt. Just because you have this thought that you might not be saved, that’s not a reliable indicator of reality. You need in a sense to take the risk of forsaking the perceived validity of your thinking and perspective, particularly when everyone else around you is saying something different.

Secondly, it’s important to learn to live with ambiguity and uncertainty. Admit that you’re trying to achieve an absolute certainty that ironically would leave no room for faith! Living without 100% certainty means that you have to cast yourself on God’s mercy and care.

Thirdly, look “upward.” Take your eyes off yourself and focus on what Scripture says about the goodness and mercy and grace of God. The Bible doesn’t push its hearers to this self-focused or self-absorbed internal quest for assurance. Rather, Scripture proclaims Christ and urges people everywhere to turn to him. As one of my counselees said, “The grounding for my assurance occurred 2,000 years ago.” So focus on the objective work of Christ for his people.

And then lastly, turn to Jesus today.  Even for Christians who do have relative assurance of their salvation, the call is always, “Will I turn to Jesus today? Will I seek his help? Will I look for his grace and mercy in my time of need?”

John Calvin noted in the Institutes that with all true faith there is always an admixture of doubt. So it’s appropriate to say frequently, “Lord I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). And remember, it’s not the strength of your faith but the direction of your faith that matters.