Faith & Assurance

If faith were assurance , then a man's sins would be pardoned before he believes , for he must necessarily be pardoned before he can know he is pardoned . The candle must be lighted before I can see it is lighted . The child must be born before I can be assured it is born . The object must be before the act . Assurance is rather the fruit of faith , than faith itself . It is in faith as flower is in the root ; faith in time , after much communion with God , acquaintance with the word , and experience of His dealings with the soul , may flourish into assurance . But as the root truly lives before the flower appears , and continues when it has shed its beautiful leaves , and is gone again ; so doth true justifying faith live before assurance comes and after it disappears. William Gurnall

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