Lamb:

And in the eleventh section it is affirmed, “That all the assurance that any man has is grounded mainly and principally upon the uniform, regular, constant tenor of his life and conversation in the ways of holiness.”

To this I answer, first, every true believer that is the child of God knows it, for “he that believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself.” [1 John 5:10.].

And secondly, this witness is not principally from the ways of holiness, but from the Spirit of God which bears witness to the soul of every true believer that he is the child of God; “Yea, and because they are sons, God has sent forth [the Spirit of]¹ his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father, and witnesses such heirs of God through Christ” [Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:6-7.]; yea, the Office of the Spirit, which every faithful soul receives is that “they may know the things that are freely given them of God,” [1 Cor. 2:12.].

Thirdly, as Christians witness of his good estate with God does not arise from his holiness so much as holiness arises from the witness as from its proper cause; “for it is the grace of God that brings salvation unto all men,” [Tit. 2:11.], and so particularly, to each man’s heart and soul, that is in any way effectual to teach him to “deny ungodliness,” &c., and all the works that have never so great a show of piety and holiness in them as are dead, hypocrites, and merely carnal, and fleshly, that sprung not from the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us [Rom. 5:5.]: and so it is true, that “he that does righteousness is righteous,” [1 John 4:18, 19.], which none does but he that works from love and life, not for love and life, for righteous works do not make a righteous man, but a righteous man does make or work righteous works, for the tree is before the fruit, and as is the tree such is the fruit; and therefore as it is true, and the Scriptures quoted do prove that righteousness is the constant trade of a righteous man; so it is as true, that the assurance that believers have is not grounded mainly and principally upon the uniform and regular constant tenor of his life and conversation in the ways of holiness; neither do any of the Scriptures quoted it so; and therefore the alleging of them for this purpose is but a perverting and endeavoring to make them speak that which is not in them and the Doctrine not true, nor has it foundation to bear it up, but is uncomfortable.

Thomas Lamb, Absolute Freedom from sin by Christs Death for the World, as the object of faith in opposition to the conditional set forth by Mr John Goodwin in his Book (hereby appearing falsly) entituled [Redemption Redeemed], (London: Printed by H.H. for the Authour, and are to be sold by him, and also by William Larnar in Fleet-street at the Sign of the Black Moor, 1656), 10-11. [Some spelling modernized; marginal citations cited inline; and underlining mine.]

[Note: the context of this work is Lamb’s polemic against the Arminian John Goodwin. In it, Lamb affirms both sovereign election and unlimited expiation against Goodwin’s denials of perseverance of the saints and support for “free will.”]

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¹Square bracketed insert mine.