Source:

Sämtliche schriften und briefe series I, volume 11
Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften (ed)
pp 349-350


Date: 17/27 March 1695

Note - This piece was written for Duchess Benedicte, and enclosed in Leibniz's letter to her of 17/27 March 1695.

Translated from the French


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LEIBNIZ: ON THE CERTAINTY OF SALVATION


[A I 11, p349]

     A much discussed question among gentlemen of the Roman Church and the Protestants is about whether we can be assured of being fully reconciled with God and consequently of being in a state of salvation. The former seems to say no, and the Protestants protest loudly about that, saying that this doctrine gives rise to insurmountable perplexities and anxieties, which are capable of making a dying man despair, and are completely contrary to the internal joy of God's children as well as to the tranquillity of their conscience.
     In my opinion, the two sides agree upon what Holy Scripture says: that we should work for our salvation with fear,1 that is, that we should not have any presumption of our powers, and that we should labour diligently in that which concerns our salvation.2 Since it is very true that the path is narrow,3 and that we would not be able to walk it without the assistance of grace.
     It is also agreed that we are not assured of the future, or of our final perseverance. For although one may be in a state of salvation at the present time, one may yet commit a new sin, and die unrepentant. This is why he who is upstanding should take care not to fall.4 Thus we do not know if we are among the elect, and consequently if we are an object of love or hatred.
     Therefore, there remains only the question that can be asked about our present state: whether, when we are reconciled with God, we can be assured that we are so, and whether we are thus assured of our conversion, of our true repentance, and consequently of our justification; so that we could have grounds to believe that we would be saved if we were to die at this moment of time. For this is what is called being in a state of salvation. The Protestants are in favour of it, and they have grounds to be surprised that some on the opposite side throw into doubt a doctrine that is so clear and so salutary; throwing consciences into strange turmoils and anxieties, without any grounds, and removing [A I 11, p350] every possible way of having the mind at rest, which can only serve to keep superstition alive and to frighten feeble minds, which helps to stir them into action though it can bring about despair at the point of death. The unshakeable foundation of the Protestants is that we are in the state of salvation when we have faith which is deep or accompanied by charity, that is, faith together with a love of God. Now each man can know if he has, at the present time, this deep faith or not. For as faith and charity are internal acts of our understanding and of our will and, in a word, consist in our thoughts, we cannot fail to know whether we have these thoughts, and we cannot fail to feel them when we have them. Consequently, since we are able to know whether we have deep faith, we will also be able to know if we are in a state of salvation at the present time.
     Perhaps the Council of Trent is not so averse to this doctrine as is thought. For it speaks very cautiously and denies only that we should believe with a certainty of divine faith that we are in a state of salvation; that is, it denies that this reflection on ourselves, or rather this knowledge of our own state, is a point of faith. I believe that one can agree with the Council about that, since the articles of faith specifically concern universal doctrines and not our particular circumstances. It is therefore sufficient to have here the same degree of human certainty which is considered sufficient in the ordinary actions of life. And even if a person were not to make this express reflection on his state, he would not cease to be justified, provided that he truly had a sincere faith and love of God.
     I will not mention the passages from Holy Scripture which the Protestants employ in this matter, like for example the one by St. Paul, who notes that the spirit of God testifies to our spirit that we are God's children,5 and many other passages, for they are familiar enough. And the reason I have given, based on Scripture, is sufficient to resolve the question.




NOTES:

1. An allusion to Philippians 2.12: 'So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.'
2. An allusion to 2 Peter 1.10: 'Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.'
3. An allusion to Matthew 7.14.
4. An allusion to 1 Corinthians 10.12: 'Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.'
5. An allusion to Romans 8:16: 'The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.'


© Lloyd Strickland 2006
With thanks to Geert de Wilde