Assurance: A Christian Exclusive
Can I really KNOW that I am saved?
True biblical Christianity is the only faith that has the concept of assurance. Assurance means that we know for sure that we have eternal life right now and are going to heaven when we die.
Salvation comes as a free gift from God when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Once you have salvation it cannot ever be lost. Salvation is not dependent on you being good. Rather it is dependent on the Savior’s ability to save. Salvation is based on HIS finished work, not your good works. We trust in the promises of God in his Word. We are NOT trusting in our feelings of worth or good deeds. Salvation comes from faith, not feelings.
Romans 8:1
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
John 5:24
24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
In John 5:24, Jesus said that The one who “hears My word” and “believes” HAS everlasting life (right now),
and "DOES NOT COME INTO JUDGMENT, but has PASSED". The spiritual birth is a one-time event, not an ongoing process. It is a passing into eternal life, just like the natural birth is a passing into this life. There is a process of growing in Christ that follows, but birth precedes that growth. Just like in the natural world, you have to be born spiritually before you can grow spiritually.
John 10:27-29
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
Jesus holds his sheep in his hand. He promises that they will never perish. Nothing can get to us and take away our salvation because we are held by the hand of Jesus, the mighty Savior.
1 John 5:11-13
11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Notice in 1 John 5:13 that you can KNOW for sure that you have eternal life right now if you have the Son as your Savior. This should give us a powerful sense of security and confidence in the Lord.
Growing In Christ: The 2 Natures
Rom 8:29
29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
Those who are saved are being conformed to the image of His Son. They are being molded into the character of Christ.
2 Cor 5:17
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
For those who are "in Christ", the old way of life has passed away in practice. Once saved, we are no longer willful, practicing sinners, but now we have 2 natures in ourselves: one carnal and the other spiritual, warring against each other.
These 2 natures are the “old self” and the “new self”. Saved people will never be perfect during this earthly lifetime since they retain their sinful nature. Our old sinful self is with us until we get new, glorified, sin-free bodies. However, if we grow in Christ, the new self begins to dominate our life more and more.
Rom 7:21-8:1
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Sometimes saved people will question their own salvation when they see this struggle within themselves. If you know Christ as your personal savior and have this battle going on between your 2 natures, do not think that it means that you are lost. On the contrary, having a war going on between the "law of your mind" (v.23) and the "law in your members" is strong evidence that you ARE saved.
Lost people who do not know Christ as their savior may have a struggle going on, but they only have one nature to struggle with: the carnal. They do not have the new nature that comes with the new birth. So they have no hope of having the spiritual dominate their lives in that condition. They must experience the new birth to have victory over the carnal nature.
Eph 4:22-24
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Someone told it like this:
A little boy had two dogs who used to fight over a bone. One day an old man saw the two dogs fighting and asked the little boy "Sonny, which one usually wins?" The little boy replied "Whichever one I say 'sick 'em' to!"
So it is with our 2 natures once we are saved. Whichever one we encourage the most will have dominance over our life. " For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Gal 6:8
Next Steps:
You can know for sure that you will go to heaven when you die. Here's how:
- Recognize the fact that you are lost.
- Know That Sin Causes Death.
- Repent Toward God With Genuine Sorrow for The Fact That You Are A Sinner.
- Recognize That Jesus Died As Your Substitute and Paid For All Your Sins.
- Ask God To Forgive You Because of What Jesus Did and Trust His Word That He Will
If you trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have begun a wonderful new life with Him. Now:
- Read your Bible every day to get to know Jesus better. This is God talking to you.
- Pray to God the Father every day. This is you talking to God.
- Be baptized, worship, fellowship and serve the Lord with other Christians in a scriptural New Testament church.
- Tell others about Jesus Christ.
If you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please click here to send us a secure email and tell us about it.
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