Some people think that when God forgave you, he only forgave you the sins you committed up until the point you're saved,

and from then on, those aren't forgiven.

There is confusion about grace, there is confusion about mercy, there is confusion about the degree and the extent of forgiveness in Christ,

and as long as you're confused about that, you have reason to doubt your salvation.

Welcome to Grace to You featuring the Bible teaching of John MacArthur. I'm your host,

Phil Johnson. Twenty-nine years after Japan surrendered and World War II officially ended, one Japanese soldier,

Hero Unada, was still fighting, convinced that the enemy was circulating false rumors of a cease fire. He hid in the jungle in the Philippines until 1974 refusing to surrender. Now, you may find hero's story bewildering. It certainly

was foolish to keep fighting, but in a sense, that's what each of us does when we fight to

earn salvation, when we don't accept God's forgiveness by faith alone. Keep that in mind today

as we continue John MacArthur's series

on myths about salvation, looking at the war against your sin that Christ has already won,

and the surrender he calls you to. With today's lesson now, here's John.

Why do people who are Christians lack assurance? I'm going to give you several reasons,

okay? Number one, some might lack assurance because of being under strong preaching on God's

holy standard. Some might lack assurance because of being under strong preaching on God's holy

standard.

What do you mean by that?

Well, what I mean is demanding preaching, confrontive preaching, convicting preaching that holds up a high standard of holiness, the kind of preaching that forces people to see their sinfulness, that forces them to acknowledge

the holiness of God, that calls them to a lofty standard of Christian living, may lead

some to a lack of assurance.

You say, well, is that bad?

No, no, not really.

...