How can I know if my faith is genuine or if I'm deceiving myself?
Few questions trouble the Christian conscience more deeply than that of the genuineness of one's own faith. This concern is especially poignant for fathers and spiritual leaders who bear the additional burden of wondering whether their faith is authentic enough to guide their families. The Scriptures themselves call us to this sobering self-examination: "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (2 Corinthians 13:5).
This article explores the biblical foundations for assurance, the theological understanding of genuine faith, practical tests for discerning true conversion, and the particular challenges men face in this spiritual journey.
The Biblical Foundation for Assurance
Scripture speaks with two voices on assurance. It offers rich promises of security for believers: "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). Yet it also warns soberly against false confidence: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 7:21). This tension is not a contradiction but a healthy dialectic designed to promote both confidence and vigilance.
Historically, Christian theologians have emphasized that assurance is possible but not automatic. The Westminster Confession states that assurance is "an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made, [and] the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God."[1] This three-fold foundation—divine promises, inward graces, and the Spirit's witness—forms the basis for genuine assurance.
Self-Deception: The Danger of False Faith
The human heart has an unparalleled capacity for self-deception. Jeremiah declares, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). This sobering reality demands vigilance. Jonathan Edwards observed that during religious awakenings, many professed conversion who later fell away, proving that "a man may be affected with the story of Christ, and the sufferings of Christ, and have desires after him, and yet not have saving faith in him."[2]
Self-deception typically manifests in several ways:
Intellectual Assent Without Heart Transformation: James warns that "even the demons believe—and shudder!" (James 2:19).
Emotional Experiences Without Genuine Repentance: The seed that falls on rocky ground "immediately receives it with joy," yet falls away when tribulation comes (Matthew 13:20-21).
Cultural Christianity Without Personal Conversion: Many adopt Christian practices without personally embracing Christ.
Moral Reformation Without Spiritual Regeneration: External behaviors may change without an internal work of grace.
Charles Spurgeon cautioned, "The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation."[3]
Biblical Tests for Genuine Faith
Scripture provides several tests by which believers may examine their faith:
Doctrinal Test: Do you believe the gospel? "Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God" (1 John 4:2).
Moral Test: Is your life characterized by obedience? "By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments" (1 John 2:3).
Social Test: Do you love other believers? "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers" (1 John 3:14).
Spiritual Test: Do you experience the inner witness of the Holy Spirit? "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16).
Perseverance Test: Do you continue in faith? "The one who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13).
Of these tests, perseverance most conclusively demonstrates genuineness. As R.C. Sproul observed, "The Westminster Confession declares that those who are effectually called and regenerated will persevere in grace to the end...This means that if you have been truly converted, you will endure to the end."[4]
Particular Challenges for Men and Fathers
Men, particularly fathers, face unique challenges regarding assurance:
Leadership Pressure: The biblical call to spiritual leadership (Ephesians 5:23, 6:4) can create performance anxiety.
Compartmentalization: Men often separate their faith from daily living, breeding doubt.
Achievement Orientation: Men typically measure themselves by accomplishments, potentially viewing faith as something to achieve rather than receive.
Emotional Restraint: Cultural expectations for men to suppress emotions can inhibit the affective dimensions of faith.
Family Spiritual Legacy: Fathers bear the weight of their family's spiritual formation, creating additional pressure.
Voddie Baucham addresses this challenge: "We cannot give what we do not possess. If we do not love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength...we cannot hope to be used as instruments to point our children to the cross."[5]
The Place of Doubt in the Christian Life
Counterintuitively, doubt can evidence genuine faith. As Spurgeon noted, "It is not faith, but unbelief that makes us doubt whether our sins are forgiven because of the greatness of our sins."[6] Only those who genuinely value salvation worry about losing it.
John Newton wrote, "I endeavour to maintain a suspicion of myself, to preserve a jealousie and fear, not of the goodness, power, or faithfulness of the Lord, but of my own weakness, blindness, unfaithfulness, and inconsistency."[7] This "holy suspicion" of self, coupled with confidence in God, characterizes mature faith.
The Place of Assurance in the Christian Life
The Westminster Confession notes that "this infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties, before he be partaker of it."[8] Assurance is the privilege, not the essence, of faith.
However, Scripture presents assurance as normative. As Paul wrote, "I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me" (2 Timothy 1:12). Such confidence glorifies God and enables joyful Christian service.
The Path to Greater Assurance
For those struggling with assurance, several practical steps can help:
Focus on Christ Rather Than Self: As Calvin advised, "We shall never find peace if we look for it in ourselves. If you want to find consolation in your tribulations, cast your eyes on Christ."9
Practice Spiritual Disciplines: Regular Bible reading, prayer, worship, and fellowship strengthen faith.
Confess Sin Promptly: Unconfessed sin diminishes assurance.
Serve Others: Active service often confirms calling. "I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18).
Seek Godly Counsel: Trusted pastors and mature believers can often see evidences of grace we miss in ourselves.
The question "How can I know if my faith is genuine?" reveals both spiritual sensitivity and humility. The very asking suggests a heart that values authentic relationship with God. While self-deception remains a real danger, Scripture provides objective tests for increasing confidence.
For men, particularly fathers, the quest for assurance carries special significance as they lead their families. Yet the pressure of this responsibility need not crush them. As John Newton reminds us, "Our righteousness is in Him, and our hope depends, not upon the exercise of grace in us, but upon the fulness of grace and love in Him, and upon His obedience unto death."[10]
The Christian tradition, while acknowledging the possibility of false profession, equally emphasizes God's preserving grace for His people. Those whom God has called, He will keep. In this confidence, we examine ourselves not in paralyzing fear but in humble dependence, knowing that "he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
For Further Reading
The Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards
Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Saved Without a Doubt by John MacArthur
Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J.D. Greear
Almost a Christian by Matthew Mead
Am I Really a Christian? by Mike McKinley
Footnotes
1. Westminster Confession of Faith, 18.2.
2. Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections, Part 2, Section XII.
3. Charles Spurgeon, "Self-Righteousness—A Smoldering Heap of Rubbish," June 10, 1866.
4. R.C. Sproul, Can I Lose My Salvation? (Orlando: Reformation Trust, 2015), 32.
5. Voddie Baucham, Family Driven Faith (Wheaton: Crossway, 2007), 19.
6. Charles Spurgeon, "Faith's Dawn and Its Clouds," March 1, 1874.
7. John Newton, Works of John Newton, Vol. 2 (Banner of Truth, 1985), 117.
8. Westminster Confession of Faith, 18.3.
9. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.2.24.
10. John Newton, Works of John Newton, Vol. 1 (Banner of Truth, 1985), 230.