Summary
We read this as a pastor’s guide to assurance, written for believers who want clarity, not guesswork.
William Guthrie is careful, searching, and deeply gospel minded, aiming to help us distinguish true faith from false confidence, and to rest in Christ with settled peace.
Why Should We Read This Resource?
We are helped because Guthrie addresses the conscience with both honesty and tenderness. He will not flatter the careless, yet he is determined not to crush the penitent. The goal is assurance grounded in Christ and evidenced in a changed life.
We also benefit from how Scripture is brought to bear on the heart. Guthrie’s counsel is not abstract, it is aimed at real doubts, real temptations, and real spiritual confusion.
For pastors, this is a valuable tool for discipleship and careful pastoral conversation. We are given categories for probing, clarifying, and comforting, while keeping the gospel central.
Closing Recommendation
We strongly recommend this as a wise, clarifying companion for anyone seeking settled assurance and steady obedience.
William Guthrie
William Guthrie was a Scottish minister of the seventeenth century, serving in the Presbyterian and firmly Reformed tradition during the turbulent years of the Covenanters.
He is best known for The Christian’s Great Interest, a searching and pastorally wise guide to assurance of salvation. Guthrie writes as one who knows the struggles of the conscience. He sets out the difference between true and false faith, presses the necessity of repentance and personal trust in Christ, and labours to show how believers may attain settled confidence grounded in the promises of the covenant of grace. His preaching and writing reflect a close handling of Scripture and a desire to bring doctrinal clarity into the service of real souls.
We continue to value Guthrie because he speaks plainly without shallowness. He will not soothe the careless, yet he refuses to crush the penitent. His work strengthens pastors in the careful work of probing hearts, clarifying the gospel, and nurturing mature assurance.
Recommended titles include The Christian’s Great Interest and Sermons by William Guthrie.
Theological Perspective: Reformed