How Do I Know I'm Going to Heaven? | Dr. Joel Beeke

Growing in Assurance of Faith

A Reflection on 2 Peter 1:10 — “Make your calling and election sure.”

What Assurance of Faith Really Is

Every true believer wrestles, at some point, with the question: “How do I know I belong to Christ?” Faith and the assurance of faith are not identical. Faith lays hold of Christ; assurance knows that it has laid hold. One may have genuine faith and yet waver in the confidence that it is so. But the goal of mature Christian life is not bare survival—it is the joyful certainty that our life is hidden with Christ in God.

Assurance is not arrogance, nor is it wishful thinking. It is the settled conviction—rooted in Scripture and confirmed by the Spirit—that all sins are forgiven through Christ, that one is adopted as a child of God, and that glory awaits. It brings with it peace, humility, and gratitude, like a tree heavy with fruit or a sail filled with wind. When this fullness of assurance rises in the heart, it naturally overflows in evangelism, worship, and love. Joy fuels obedience.

The Grounds of Assurance

The Reformed fathers summarized Scripture’s teaching on assurance with profound clarity. They taught that assurance does not come through mystical voices, sudden visions, or feelings detached from Scripture. Rather, it stands upon three solid pillars:

1. The Promises of God’s Word

The foundation of assurance is not inward emotion but outward revelation. God has made thousands of promises to His people—each a nail fastened in sure places. When He says, “Whoever comes to Me I will never cast out” (John 6:37), or “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1), those words are stronger than shifting moods. Faith learns to rest on them and say, “If He has spoken, I will believe Him.”

2. The Marks and Fruits of Grace

Assurance grows as a believer sees evidence of grace within—repentance, hunger for holiness, love for God’s people, forgiveness toward enemies, endurance in trials. These are not the roots of salvation, but the fruits that reveal living faith. The Spirit causes them to grow, and Scripture gives us the vocabulary to recognize them. As Peter writes, “Add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge…” (2 Pet 1:5–7). The more these qualities abound, the more assurance blossoms.

3. The Testimony of the Holy Spirit

Finally, assurance deepens through the inner witness of the Spirit. Paul says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8:16). This is not a new revelation but a confirming echo—He illuminates the Word, warms the heart, and seals to the conscience that we truly belong to Christ.

When these three strands intertwine—the promises believed, the fruits observed, and the Spirit’s testimony felt—the believer’s confidence grows strong and steady.

Making Our Calling and Election Sure

Peter’s exhortation, “Make your calling and election sure” (2 Pet 1:10), is not a command to earn salvation, but to confirm it. We do not add merit; we add evidence. Diligent obedience, perseverance in faith, and spiritual growth display that we are not merely professors of faith but possessors of it.

The process is active. Assurance doesn’t fall from heaven overnight; it matures through prayer, repentance, worship, and obedience. The believer who tends these habits finds his assurance deepening—not because he trusts his performance, but because every obedience drives him back to the grace that enables it.

Living in the Joy of Assurance

Assurance changes everything. It turns duty into delight. It transforms fear into freedom. The assured believer sings while working, endures while suffering, and hopes while dying. He looks at the cross and says, “That was for me.” He looks at the empty tomb and says, “My life is hidden there.” He looks to the future and says, “I shall see His face.”

Yet even strong assurance has seasons of cloud and storm. When darkness comes, return to the three foundations:

The promises — read them aloud until they become your heartbeat.

The fruits — remember what God has already changed in you.

The Spirit — ask Him again to bear witness through His Word.

The God who began faith will not leave it half-finished. As we seek to make our calling and election sure, we discover the truth behind Peter’s charge: the assurance we long for is not something we achieve—it is something we receive, through the steady, sanctifying work of the Triune God.

“Faith comes by hearing.”
So keep listening. Keep trusting. Keep walking.
And one day, faith will give way to sight—and assurance will become everlasting joy.

Want to partner with In The Word Daily? Send us an email!
[email protected]