07-Misreading Paul

When Paul challenged the Corinthians to examine themselves –
‘Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test
yourselves’ – was he implying that the believer gets his assurance
by probing himself as to his progressive sanctification, looking
to see if he has enough evidence to conclude that he truly is a
child of God? Not at all! Although, since the time of the later
Puritans, most believers have been taught that this is the way to
try to reach assurance, it is quite wrong; it runs counter to the
new covenant. I have coined a phrase for it: ‘legal assurance’.
And this legal assurance is in stark contrast to the new-covenant
way. As the New Testament makes as clear as noonday, the
believer receives his assurance by the witness (the sealing, the
anointing) of the Spirit, and he gets this witness at the point of
conversion.