Assurance of Salvation

Conversion was not just euphoria of enthusiasm; emotions were deceptive and sure to change. Evidences of God’s work had to be substantial and lasting. Like eighteenth-century observers of nature, Timothy kept records of the indications of spiritual experiences among his parishioners and knew exactly what to look for. In observing the state of souls, the East Windsor pastor was drawing on more than a century of highly developed Puritan science. Yet the object of this science-whether an apparent spiritual experience was a work of God or a Satanic imitation-was notoriously elusive. Satan’s favorite device was self-deception. Self-generated religious enthusiasm could look like the real thing for a time but soon would fade away. - George Marsden, Jonathan Edwards: A Life,26.