We’ve been there. At some point in our life we’ve been convicted of our flaws, wondering if we have truly given ourselves over to Christ. We’ve doubted the genuineness of our salvation. We’ve wanted a definite answer to this question.
Consider the following:
- Have you ever truly accepted Christ? It is more than an intellectual assertion of His deity — even demons know that He is God (Matthew 8:29; James 2:19). This is a decision that must be done with the head and the heart. Review How To Become A Christian to see if you have asked the Lord into your life — and if it turns out that you are not saved, follow those instructions to get saved immediately!
- Have you performed a fruit inspection? When you are saved, the Holy Spirit lives in you. He will cause you to naturally bear “fruit” (Galatians 5:22-23). Outside of the Word, perhaps the greatest evidence of one’s salvation is a changed life. The Spirit works on different areas of different people at different rates, but the one common factor among all Christians is that there is an overall change from your old self to your new self.
- Our good deeds do not cause salvation; they are the result of salvation. There is a very strong temptation to base your righteousness off of the good deeds you do, as if God only loves you when you please Him. Believing that lie may drive feelings of despair when you don’t perform at your best level, as if you are losing God’s approval and leading God to second-guess His decision. Remember that while we were sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). It is not our love for Him that secures salvation, but rather it is about His love for us! Our deeds don’t cause salvation, and our deeds can’t eliminate our salvation either.
- “Once saved, always saved.” Jesus Himself stated that nobody can snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28-29). That means we cannot lose our salvation! Jesus paid the highest price for our souls – there is no way anyone could take us away from Him.
- God is too powerful for us to slip out! We believe in an omnipotent (all-powerful) God, and to say that He can’t save someone (or keep them saved) would contradict one of His core attributes.
- Our sin is great, but the grace of God is greater! There is nobody that God cannot redeem (Romans 5:20-21)! Perhaps you think that you are disqualified from being a Christian, but Scripture confirms Christ’s strong grip on your life! Don’t give up! You can overcome your sin, just confess it to God and He will forgive you and clean you up (1 John 1:9)!
- Remember that this is about endurance, not speed. Some Christians will progress faster than others, but we are all running this Christian race! It is not a competition, it is about finishing the race. After this life is over, He will reward us for our faithfulness (1 Corinthians 9:23-25; 2 Timothy 4:7-8)! Hang in there!
Stay encouraged!