How Can I Be Sure of My Salvation?
The greatest gift that one can receive in life is the gift of salvation in Christ. This gift includes the forgiveness of sins, a regenerated heart, union with Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, adoption by God, and ultimately an intimate relationship with God for all of eternity.
But oftentimes we can find ourselves doubting if our salvation is real. We don’t feel forgiven, we become overly aware of our struggle with sin, we don’t think we are worthy of a relationship with God, and we begin to wonder, “Am I really going to spend eternity with Christ when I die?”
The Apostle John dealt with this in one of his letters. In 1 John 3:20 he writes,
“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”
John acknowledged that it's possible for our heart to lie to us about our salvation, while God knows the truth that we are actually saved.
Here’s the good news: God doesn’t want you to walk around wondering if you are saved or not. He has designed us to walk in confidence that we are forgiven, adopted, and saved by Him! But how does God communicate this truth to us? He does this primarily in two ways: The Witness of the Spirit and The Witness of Your Life.
The Witness of the Spirit
Romans 8:15–16 says,
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…”
Let's break this down by each verse. In verse 15, the Apostle Paul says that if you are saved, you have received the Holy Spirit. Paul specifically uses “The Spirit of Adoption” to refer to the Holy Spirit. Paul is pointing out that receiving the Holy Spirit is a mark that you have been adopted by God. He says that the only way we can identify God as our true Father is by the power of the Holy Spirit within us. But how does this work?
In verse 16, He shows us that the Holy Spirit actually speaks to our spirit, or our inner person, that we are children of God. How this practically works we don’t know. I would conclude that this is a spiritual mystery and beyond our understanding. Although it is mysterious, it does not make it any less true. In some real way, the Holy Spirit speaks to the inner part of us to assure us that He has taken up residence within us and that we have been adopted by God.
John Wesley, one of my favorite theologians, says this regarding the Witness of the Spirit in his sermon promptly titled The Witness of the Spirit: “The testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God; that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given himself for me; and that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God.”
I believe I witnessed a real-life example of this “inner witness” just a few weeks ago. I have the privilege of leading our Middle School services on Sunday Mornings at High Praises. After wrapping up my sermon, I gave the opportunity for those who don’t know Christ to give their lives to Him. I saw two young men who had never attended a service before raise their hands to accept Christ. After small group time, I approached them to talk about their decision. I said to them, “Do you feel that you have a good understanding of the Gospel? Do you feel like you know what you’ve committed to today?” One of the students responded and said, “I just know that I am saved. I even feel tingly all over! I know that I am saved!”
Although the young man’s response may sound funny, I believe that the Spirit of Adoption was teaching Him to cry, “Abba, Father!”
The Witness of Your Life
Let's head back to the small book of 1 John. John was writing this book to a number of churches because false teachers had arisen and confused everyone about the truth of God and salvation. The church members began to doubt whether or not they were truly saved because of the confusing philosophy of the false teachers. John set out to clarify to these churches how they could know that they are saved. In 1 John 5:13 he writes,
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Throughout the letter, John specifically focuses on three ways that we can examine our lives to know that we are saved. John says that we can know we are saved if we display right believing, right living, and right loving.
Right Believing
1 John 1:3 says,
“that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
The first test of true salvation is right believing. What I especially mean is right believing around the saving work of Jesus Christ.
The false teachers of the day denied that Jesus came in a physical body, but instead said that he simply appeared to be human. If Christ is not human, then He cannot represent humanity and cannot truly sacrifice Himself, leaving sin unpaid for and humanity unredeemed.
Do you believe that 2,000 years ago Christ became both God and Man, that He lived a sinless life on the earth, that He died on a cross, and that 3 days later He rose again? Have you received His free gift of forgiveness by faith, based on His life, death, and resurrection? Then you are saved.
Right Living
1 John 2:3 says,
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”
The second test of true salvation is a life characterized by obedience to the commandments of Christ. The false teachers of the day believed that due to a secret spiritual knowledge that only a select few possessed, they were guaranteed salvation regardless of the way that they lived; therefore, they lived their lives in direct opposition to the commandments of God.
True followers of Christ have been regenerated by the Spirit, are being made more like Jesus every day, and are trying their best to obey the commands of God. The point isn’t perfection but progress. Do you genuinely desire to put to death the worldliness inside of you? Do you hate sin and love righteousness? Do you display the fruit of the Spirit like love, joy, and kindness? Then you are saved.
Right Loving
1 John 2:9–11 says,
“He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
Love is one of the central themes of Christianity. For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son. Christ commanded His disciples to love one another as He loved them. A Christian life is a life characterized by loving one another with the same love that Jesus has for us. This means we must display selfless, service-minded, sacrificial love for others regularly.
Do you regularly display love for other people? Do you believe that all people have value regardless of race, religion, gender, or socio-economic status? Do you serve your family, your friends, your community, or your coworkers by giving them your time or resources even if you don’t get anything out of it? Do you forgive those who don’t deserve your forgiveness? You are saved.
Take A Quick Survey
Are you doubting your salvation? Take a quick look at your life.
Have you felt the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit declaring that you’re a child of God at some point in your life? If you haven’t heard His voice recently, ask for Him to reveal Himself again.
Do you believe that Jesus is Lord, do you obey His commands, and do you love other people? If your answer to all three of those questions is “yes,” then walk confidently in your salvation. You are a child of God!
Arise, my soul, arise; Shake off thy guilty fears; The bleeding Sacrifice in my behalf appears: Before the throne my Surety stands, My name is written on His hands.
My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear: He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear: With confidence I now draw nigh, And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry. -Charles Wesley
