Renewing Assurance

Renewing Your Mind

Ligonier Ministries

Religion & Spirituality, Reformed, Study, Jesus, Preaching, Christianity, Scripture, Spirit, Bible, Holy, Theology, Christian, God, Teaching

4.8 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Our assurance of salvation can increase or diminish over time. Why does this happen? And what should we do about it? Today, Joel Beeke considers reasons why a Christian may lose a sense of assurance and how it can be renewed.

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Meet Today’s Teacher:

Joel Beeke is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and a pastor at Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, MI.

Meet the Host:

Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of media for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast.

Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

Transcript

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0:00.0	As backsliding begins with the neglect of genuine prayer and dependency on the Spirit,
0:05.0	revival of assurance begins with renewed prayer, confession and forsaking of sin,
0:11.0	and a longing cry of the heart that the Holy Spirit not be taken from us.
0:25.6	Sometimes, if we feel distant from God, we know why. We're aware that we've been gradually backsliding,
0:28.6	neglecting spiritual disciplines that we once delighted in.
0:32.6	But what if, as far as you can tell, you're not backsliding? How should you respond then?
0:39.2	How do we, regardless of the circumstances, renew our assurance?
0:44.2	Thank you for being with us for this Tuesday edition of Renewing Your Mind.
0:48.4	I'm Nathan W. Bingham.
0:50.3	We're spending most of this week considering the important and practical subject of assurance.
0:57.0	Joe Beakey is our guest teacher, and he is examining the Bible and the Westminster Confession
1:02.0	of Faith to help us think about assurance well.
1:05.0	Yesterday he considered how to cultivate assurance.
1:09.0	Today he looks at further reasons you may lack assurance and how to cultivate assurance. Today, he looks at further reasons you may lack assurance and how to
1:13.2	renew it. Here's Dr. Beakey. In this lecture on assurance of faith, we want to begin by reading
1:22.9	from Psalm 51, verses 8 through 12,
1:34.2	Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
1:39.4	Hide thy face from my sins and blot out all mine iniquities.
1:45.2	Created me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
1:51.8	Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me.
2:01.2	Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit.
2:09.2	The Westminster Confessions' famous chapter 18 on assurance of faith reads as follows.
	...

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