"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21
The NewTestament gives very high standards for discerning the true Christian life, and it also issues many warnings to avoid self-deception concerning salvation (see Matt. 25).
One of the causes of self-deception is a wrong understanding of the doctrine of assurance. Many people become self-deceived by well-meaning Christian witnesses who tell them that to be saved, they simply have to make a decision for Christ and then, based on that prayer of decision, never doubt their salvation again.
Sadly, such evangelistic workers are attempting to certify someone's salvation apart from the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and the future evidence of spiritual fruit accompanied by obedience to the Word (John8:31). Only God can give a person real assurance of salvation, by the Spirit working through His Word (see Rom. 8:14-16).
John MacArthur, Truth for Today,
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