Lesson 13: ASSURANCE
Are you sure?
First of all it is important that you are certain you are a Christian and are saved. Are you sure?
- If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31; John 3:16)
- If you have repented, confessed all sin to God and asked His forgiveness, and genuinely want to turn from all sin (1 John 1:9; Acts 2:38)
- If you have received Jesus Christ into your life (John 1:12)
- If you confess Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and
- If you are living for Christ (Matthew 10:22)
1 John 5:11-13 says: “What has God said? That He has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. Whoever has received God’s Son has life; whoever has not received Him has not received life. I have written this to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life.” There is no uncertainty here – we can be sure!
John also said, “These things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing you will have life through His Name” (John 20:31).
Three things may cause you to doubt your salvation
(a) Satan. Do not listen to him! He is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
(b) Feelings. Feelings are not always reliable. If you have fulfilled God's conditions for salvation, as outlined above, then God promises you salvation; and God does not lie!
When trials, temptations, sin or disappointments come into a Christian's life, they may not feel that they are saved. But our salvation does not depend on feelings; it depends only on our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our relationship to Him. Memories of a sinful past may make us feel ashamed, but if we have sincerely confessed these to God and turned from them, then they are completely taken away. In Jeremiah 31:34 God says “I will forgive their sin and I will remember it no more”.
If it is possible to make restitution to someone, for some wrong thing that you have done to them, then do so, if this will help them. Zacchaeus was a man who had cheated many people. After coming to Jesus, he said “If I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will restore it, four times as much” (Luke 19:8).
We must also forgive others for what they have done wrong against us. Jesus said “If you do not forgive others, then neither will God forgive you” (Mark 11:25-26).
(c) Works. You will not be perfect. All Christians still sin on occasions, but we are not saved by our good works or by our good lives. If we could be saved by our good works then there would have been no need for Christ to die for our sins. Ephesians 2:8-9 says "By grace (God's love in sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins) we are saved, and this is received through faith in Him. It is not because of our good works, so no-one can boast.”
How can I be sure I am saved?
1. God promises in His Word, the Bible, to save us if we fulfil His conditions, as outlined above.
2. We have the witness of His Holy Spirit within us. “The Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirits that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).
3. Our lives show it. “If anyone is a Christian, then he is a new person; old things (sins and the old way of life) pass away, and everything becomes new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
QUESTIONS
1. What are some of the things which show that a person has become a Christian? See Matthew 10:22; John 1:12; John 3:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 10:9-10; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 5:11-13. Have you done all of these things?
2. What are some of the things that may cause us to doubt our salvation? What can we do about each of these things if they cause us to doubt?
3. Can we earn our salvation? (See Ephesians 2:8-9). What place do good works have in a Christian's life? (See Ephesians 2:10).
4. What are three different things that enable us to be sure we are saved?
5. What should we do if we don’t “feel saved”?
6. Why did John write his Gospel? (John 20:30-31).