Acts xiii. 39 is very useful in dealing with this class of persons. Ask the inquirer: “What does this verse say that all who believe are?” “Justified.” Then ask him, “Do you believe?” “What are you then?” It will probably take two or three times going over it before he sees it and when he answers “I am justified,” tell him to thank God for justifying him and confess Christ, and see to it that he does so. Many inquirers of this class stumble over the fact that they have not the witness of the Holy Spirit. Show them from 1 John v. 10 that the witness of the word to their acceptance is sufficient, and that, if they believe not this witness of God in His word, they make Him a liar. Show them further from Eph. i. 13, that it is after we believe the testimony of the word that we are “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” The natural order in assurance is this: First, assurance of our justification, _resting on the “Word of God.”_ Second, public confession of Christ, “with the mouth,” Romans x. 10. Third, the witness of the Holy Spirit. The trouble with many is that they wish to invert this order and have the witness of the Holy Spirit before they confess Christ with the mouth. From Matt. x. 32, 33, we learn that when we confess Christ before men, then He confesses us before the Father. We cannot reasonably expect the witness of the Spirit from the Father until we are confessed before the Father. So confession of Christ logically precedes the witness of the Spirit. It is very important in using these texts to make clear what saving faith is; because many may say that they believe when they do not, in the sense of these texts, and so get a false assurance and entertain false hopes and never find deliverance. There is a great deal of careless dealing with those who lack assurance. Workers are so anxious to have inquirers come out clearly that they urge them on to assurance when they have no right to have assurance of salvation as they have not really accepted Christ. John i. 12, and 2 Tim. i. 12, make very clear what believing is—receiving Jesus or committing to Jesus. Romans x. 10, will serve a similar purpose by showing that it “is _with the heart_ man believeth unto righteousness.” 2. _Those who lack assurance because of sin._ The trouble with those who lack assurance is, often, that there is some sin or questionable practice which they ought to confess and give up. John viii. 12; Is. lv. 7; Prov. xxviii. 13; Ps. xxxii. 1‒5, are useful passages in dealing with this class of men, for they show that it is when sin is confessed and forsaken and we follow Christ, that we receive pardon, light and assurance. Often times it is well when one lacks assurance to put the question squarely to him: “Do you know of any sin on to which you are holding or anything in your life which your conscience troubles you about?” II. BACK–SLIDERS. There are two classes of back–sliders and they should be dealt with in different ways.