Wednesday, March 1, 2023
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 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. 1 John 5:11-13
How Can I Be Sure I’m Saved?
Faith can be a really hard concept to grasp because there is nothing to literally grasp with our hands. It is intangible and this is why we struggle with it at times. Also, faith stands alone, apart from our feelings and circumstances but our feelings and circumstances can totally derail our faith if we are not careful. We want something “concrete,” something we can see or feel and faith is based on the word of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. So how can we know if we are really saved?
When John wrote the scripture above, he wanted us to have the most solid assurance of faith in Jesus and His word that we could ever have. This testimony is God’s own testimony of giving us eternal life in His son, Jesus. John wanted us to be sure we that we know that we have eternal life if we have asked Him to be our Savior. Satan will use our past sins and failures to plant seeds of doubt in our minds, with thoughts that we are too unworthy to be a child of God. He wants us to be discouraged in our walk, casting doubt that we are even saved at all. These are not of God, but the enemy’s way of taking us out of the battle. When those thoughts are thrown at us, we need to focus fully on what the truth really is. We may feel convicted by God, but that does not lead to doubting salvation. That conviction leads to restoration.
In the sermon this past Sunday we learned three ways we can have assurance that we are secure in Jesus and have eternal life: Taken from “Can I Know for Sure?”
You can be sure you are secure because of the message of the Bible - The Bible tells us that when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we receive the gift of eternal life as well. If you believe that the Bible is true - the Word of God - then you can believe that if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you have the security of eternal life in Him. “But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20: 31
You can be sure you are secure because of the Witness of God Himself - The testimony of God is greater than any other testimony. He is the King of Kings, Sovereign God, and Creator of the Universe. Who would we listen to over Him? If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.” 1John 5:9-10 “
You can be sure you are secure because of the evidence of a changed life - If we have Jesus in our lives, our life will be changed. We may not have a dramatic story or testimony, but we will still be changed.
· You live a new lifestyle - You will live a life that glorifies God in all you do and say.
· You have a new loyalty - You will not allow anything or anyone to be in a higher place in your life than God it. He comes first before everything.
· You have a new love - You will not love anything or anyone more than you love Him.
John gave us this information because he knew we would fail at times or that we would doubt our salvation. We won’t do this perfectly. But our salvation is not dependent on anything we do, or don’t do, outside of accepting Him as our Savior. Perfection and good works do not gain us salvation. We can thank God for His testimony of who Jesus is and His love for us that sent Jesus to the cross to bear our sin and pay the debt. We can know with certainty that we have salvation and eternal life because it only depends on what Jesus has done for us.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
