"Perhaps the most obvious reason for lacking assurance is disobedience, because assurance is the reward for obedience. Hebrews 10:22 strongly points that out: "Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." It's been well said that high degrees of assurance cannot be enjoyed by those who persist in low levels of obedience. To live in sin is to live in doubt."
There are eight reasons for why one lacks assurance says Macarthur. All of them deal with man.
My response obviously when you look to yourself you begin to lack assurance. Am i doing enough? Are my works genuine? By these questions perhaps you begin to work harder, do more things, join a monastery. The truth is that your assurance rest on the gospel of Christ alone. 2 Peter 1 says we must have assurance before we can do good work. The lack of assurance brings about sin and self righteous works. How do you gain assurance? By knowing and understanding the gospel.
Many conditionalist have a gospel that depends on the sinner, whether it is what we do or what the Spirit does in us. They universalize the grace of God and say man must do something or respond. The fact is however this is not the gospel. The good news has nothing to do with us. The gospel is about what God has done freely and unconditionally for His people by dying for them and declaring them righteous for the sake of Christ alone so that they will believe in Christ and trust not in their own righteousness but hope in His righteousness alone imputed.
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