How Do I Really Know? #1

Picture by: Kirsti Pennels

   One of the most frequently asked questions I have come across in talking and ministering to people, is regarding their salvation: "How do I really know I'm saved?" This came as quite a shock to me, because some of these people I would have regarded as being 'strong' believers and yet they still struggled with this foundational issue.

   In contemplating this phenomenon, I started to see a common denominator, that is, in almost every case, these folks were extremely religious. What I mean by religious is, that they said and did all the right things, and were convinced that in the doing, they would earn acceptance from God. A works based faith. This is a very dangerous place to be, because even though many main streams of Christianity preach a version of this, it places the onus on your works, and not on faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, for your salvation.

   Let's see what the bible says we need to do to be saved and how we will know that we are, it's pretty simple:
In John 3:16, Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, explaining to him the new-birth experience, saying that "...whoever believes in Him (Jesus) shall not perish but have eternal life ... " The Apostle Paul reiterates this in Romans 10:9 when he writes, " That if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" Belief (or faith) is an issue of the heart, only God knows your heart and sees your faith, thus He is faithful, by grace, to save you and you automaticaly enter into His eternal blessing.

   Due to a severe lack of understanding of what happens when you get born-again, people tend to get disillusioned, because they feel as though nothing has changed and start to doubt whether, in fact, they were/are truly saved. In a nutshell, this is what happens when you put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour: a)Your sins are forgiven, past, present and future tense b) You are redeemed from every curse that came with the fall of man ,when sin entered the world, with Adam. These include poverty, sickness, disease and fear (all having their root in sin) c) You have the power of God inside of you to change your circumstances and those of others (2Peter 1:3) d) You have inherited eternal life with the Father (John15) (this is a hugely broad topic which deserves deeper exposition, future posts will deal with what happens when you get saved).

   So, realising what you can tap into, once you are born-again, will go a long way in making a reality of what has happened to you in the spirit. Remember you are made up of spirit, soul and body. When you get saved it is your spirit that is renewed, your soul and body remain pretty much the same, initialy. Thus, in the parable of the sower (Matt 13:18), Jesus explains exactly what happens when people start to doubt, He says "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that what was sown in his heart" This makes it very clear as to why people sometimes doubt their salvation, satan steals the truth and replaces it with confusion. There is only one way to counter this: " ... know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32)

   What is the truth then? The truth is that "Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God ... if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us" (1John 4:7-11) "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God ... God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in Him" (1John 4:15-16)

Question: How do I know if I'm saved?
Answer: Love.

"The only thing that counts is faith, expressing itself through love" - Galatians 5:6

   If you love others the way God loves you, not because you have to, but because you want to, because you love them with His love. Because He is on the inside of you. Then there should be no doubt! (see 'Love, Life and Ministry' posts)

   Salvation is thus not a: fruit, works or performance based issue, it is a heart issue. A thankful (loving) heart will produce fruit and inevitably works (James 2:26), not the other way around. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - no by works, so that no man can boast" (Eph 2:8-9)

All scripture quoted from NIV (1984) with emphasis added