For some historical perspective, great Protestant preachers like George Whitefield, Johnathan Edwards, and other Calvinist ministers (whose theology agreed with the Westminster Confession) during the First Great Awakening of the 18th century had a very developed theology of salvation involving stages of discernment. There were essentially 3 stages: conviction of sin, conversion, and consolation.
Conviction of sin was most commonly the result of the preaching of the Law, which revealed God’s holiness and human sinfulness and helplessness. Through the preaching of the Law, the Holy Spirit convicted people of their sin as preparation for conversion and this stage was characterized by sorrow and anguish over one’s sin. 18th-century Calvinist pastors would encourage people under conviction to make use of the means of grace (prayer, Bible study, attending church and striving to make better moral decisions). While these actions could not produce saving faith, Calvinists believed saving faith would not be received without this preparation. Conviction often lasted weeks or months.
The next stage was conversion, which was the experience of regeneration or being born again. It was accompanied by saving faith, repentance and love for God. Regeneration was an instantaneous work of the Holy Spirit, but it had to be discerned through self-examination and was realized only gradually. The signs people looked for were things such as a new awareness of Christ’s beauty, a desire to love God and follow his law. A person came to love God and hate sin for God’s own sake–this characterized true conversion. False conversion was motivated by fear of punishment. Conversion took place over several days or weeks under the pastoral guidance of a trained minister.
Even someone who had experienced conversion might still have doubts about whether he was or was not among the elect. Consolation or assurance of salvation grew out of Christian maturity and sanctification. Pastors continued to encourage converts to examine themselves for marks of true religious affections or desires (this was essentially what Jonathan Edwards’ famous treatise on Religious Affections was meant to help people do). Besides self examination, converts had to actually practice the Christian religion, actively growing in grace and holiness through moritification of sin and using the means of grace provided by God. The quest for assurance was not something achieved quickly. It usually took months or even years for converts to gain the assurance of faith.
I got all of this from Robert Caldwell’s Theologies of the American Revivalists: From Whitefield to Finney, which is a really interesting study.
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