Man wanted to 

be like God, but 

without God, 

before God, 

and not in accordance with God.

Man wanted to 

be like God, but 

without God, 

before God, 

and not in accordance with God.

Isaiah 30:15 (NKJV): In returning and rest you shall be saved;

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.

Isaiah 30:15 (NKJV): In returning and rest you shall be saved;

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.

We see then that it is quite easy to have a false sense of security about our salvation. But what if we do have a proper understanding of what salvation requires, does that guarantee that we will avoid a false assurance of salvation?

By no means. The devil himself knows what is required for salvation. He knows who the Savior is. He understands the intellectual part of salvation better than we do. But he does not put his personal trust in Christ for his salvation. He hates the Jesus who is the Savior.

We can have a proper understanding of what salvation is and still delude ourselves about whether or not we meet the requirements of salvation. We may think that we have faith when in fact we have no faith. We may think that we are believing in Christ but the Christ we embrace is not the biblical Christ. We may think that we love God but the God we love is an idol.

Do we love a God who is sovereign? Do we love a God who sends people to hell? Do we love a God who demands absolute obedience? Do we love a Christ who will say to some on the last day, “Depart from me, I never knew you”? I am not asking whether we love this God and this Christ perfectly; I am asking whether we love this God and this Christ at all.

We see then that it is quite easy to have a false sense of security about our salvation. But what if we do have a proper understanding of what salvation requires, does that guarantee that we will avoid a false assurance of salvation?

By no means. The devil himself knows what is required for salvation. He knows who the Savior is. He understands the intellectual part of salvation better than we do. But he does not put his personal trust in Christ for his salvation. He hates the Jesus who is the Savior.

We can have a proper understanding of what salvation is and still delude ourselves about whether or not we meet the requirements of salvation. We may think that we have faith when in fact we have no faith. We may think that we are believing in Christ but the Christ we embrace is not the biblical Christ. We may think that we love God but the God we love is an idol.

Do we love a God who is sovereign? Do we love a God who sends people to hell? Do we love a God who demands absolute obedience? Do we love a Christ who will say to some on the last day, “Depart from me, I never knew you”? I am not asking whether we love this God and this Christ perfectly; I am asking whether we love this God and this Christ at all.

Man’s first sin

397 Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command. This is what man’s first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness. (1707, 2541; 1850, 215)

398 In that sin man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned him. He chose himself over and against God, against the requirements of his creaturely status and therefore against his own good. Constituted in a state of holiness, man was destined to be fully “divinized” by God in glory. Seduced by the devil, he wanted to “be like God,” but “without God, before God, and not in accordance with God.” (2084, 2113)

399 Scripture portrays the tragic consequences of this first disobedience. Adam and Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness. They become afraid of the God of whom they have conceived a distorted image—that of a God jealous of his prerogatives.