Bavinck spricht am Schluss seines Buches „Die Gewissheit des Glaubens“ (The Certainty of Faith) von den Früchten der Gewissheit. Er zeichnet dabei ein Konstrastbild zwischen einem unsicheren, auf das eigene Innere ausgerichteten Glaubensleben, und einem zuversichtlichen, ausserhalb der eigenen Person verankerten Leben, das freudig die Aufgaben in der Welt seines Vaters anpackt.
Das unsichere, auf das eigene innere ausgerichtete Leben:
One’s life in the world formed a sharp contrast to one’s spiritual life; the former always seemed more or less to involve serving the world. In any case, it was life of a lower order. To sit in quiet contemplation or to relate to the circle of the faithful what God had wrought in one’s soul—this was really living, this was the ideal, this was the Christian’s real destiny. (93)
Certainty became the goal rather than the starting point of all his striving. To be saved was the object of all his desires. Unsure about his own state, he had enough work looking after himself and lacked the courage and strength to turn his eyes outward and assume the work of reforming the world. It was sufficient if at the end of his troublesome life he might be taken up into heaven. He preferred to leave the earth to the servants of the world. (94)
Dagegen das in Gott gegründete, zuversichtliche, anderen dienende Leben:
The foundations of his hope are fixed, for they lie outside him in God’s word, which will never be moved. He doesn’t need to constantly examine the genuineness and strength of the foundation on which the building of his salvation has been built. He is a child of God not on the basis of all kinds of inner experiences but on the basis of the promises of the Lord. Assured of this, he can now freely look around and enjoy all the good gifts and the perfect gift that descends from the Father of lights. Everything is his because he is Christ’s and Christ is God’s. The whole world becomes material for his duty. (95)
Die Gebetskammer ist ein wichtiger Raum, jedoch nicht das ganze Haus:
The prayer chamber is the inner room, although it is not the whole house in which he lives and functions. Spiritual life does not exclude family and social life, business and politics, art and science. It is distinct from these; it is also of much greater value, but it does not stand irreconcilably opposed to it. Rather it is the power that enables us to faithfully fulfill our earthly calling, stamping all of life as service to God. The Kingdom of God is, to be sure, like a pearl more precious than the whole world, but it is also like a leaven that leavens the entire dough. Faith isn’t only the way of salvation, it also involves overcoming the world. (96)
In dieser Zuversicht gedeiht die Freude auch an Gottes Schöpfung:
He loves the flowers that grow at his feet and admires the stars that sparkle overhead. He does not disdain the arts, which are to him a precious gift from God. Nor does he belittle the sciences, for these, too, are a gift from the Father of lights. He believes that everything God has created is good and that, taken in thanksgiving, nothing is condemned. He labors not for success and doesn’t work for wages, but he does what comes to hand, seeing, by means of God’s commandments, though ignorant of what the future may bring. He does good works without thinking twice and bears fruit before he realizes it. He is like a flower that spreads its fragrance unawares. He is, in a word, a man of God, perfectly equipped to all good works. And while for him to live is Christ, in the end to die is gain. (97)
