One question many new believers ask frequently is how can I be sure that I’m saved? Whether you are a new believer or an experienced Church worker who wants to help new believers get rooted in their faith, this post will be of help to you. Actually when someone is born again, literally there is no automatic physical change. The new believer that just got born again would still have his normal body height and size. His new birth doesn’t change his skin color or gender. So what actually got saved at new birth is the human spirit. Not the physical body or mind. So We need to daily renew our mind with the word of God and put our body under subjection so that our mind and body will obediently yield to the biding of the Spirit of God in our human spirit. So how can someone be sure that he is truly saved after receiving Christ as Lord and personal Saviour? Below are few Biblical principles on which the new believer can base his assurance of Salvation upon.
The Inner Witness of the Holy Spirit
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirt, that we are the children of God” Romans 8:16
One of the ways to have assurance of salvation is through the witness of the Spirit. When someone is truly born again, there will be a deep conviction in his spirit that he is now a child of God. When your conscience is blaming you or telling you to give your heart to Jesus, it means you are not yet saved. No one knows a man better than his own spirit. The voice of your conscience is the voice of your human spirit. Every sinner has a dead conscience smeared with hot iron. But when someone turns to the Lord, his conscience is quickened to yield to the will of him who created Him. The bible says,
“Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God” 1 John 3:21
We can have assurance of our salvation through the inner witness of the Spirit of God with our human spirit. This comes through the voice of our conscience. When one is born again, his own heart will attest to that reality. You can’t get born again and won’t know it in your own heart. The new birth happens in the human heart and flows through every other aspect of his life.
You Will Have Peace of Mind and Peace with God
The wicked may have everything except peace. That’s why the bible says there is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22). So when someone is saved, one of the parameters to ascertain his assurance of salvation is peace of mind and peace with God. Every truly saved believer has peace of mind and peace with God. The bible says,
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1
To be justified means to be declared innocent, blameless, guiltless and righteous. When a sinner accepts Christ as his Lord and Saviour, the sinner is discharged and acquitted of all his sins because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When God looks at the sinner, He doesn’t see that wicked and wretched sinner he was before, God now sees him as the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor 5:21). This is the reason we could have peace with God. It is not based on what we did or didn’t do but because of our faith in Jesus Christ. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to us in His name. Our assurance of salvation is not based on our good works or high moral standard. Our assurance of salvation is based on the fact that we now have peace with God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Genuine and authentic salvation gives peace of mind and peace with God. Jesus said,
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” John 14:27
One of the ways we can have assurance of our salvation is when have the peace of the Lord in our hearts. One who is saved and born again does not fear the unknown. The peace of the Lord terminates the fear of the future. If you can feel the peace of the Lord in your heart, be rest assured that you are saved. Peace of mind and peace with God are indicators of a heart saved by grace.
Faith in the Integrity of the Word of God
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil” Hebrews 6:19
How to have assurance of salvation is to firmly believe in the truth that got you saved. We are saved by grace through faith and not by works, lest any man should boast. If salvation is by faith, it can only be assured by faith. If faith gave birth to your salvation, you can only be sure that you have it through the same faith. Faith in the word of God that said, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” Rom 10:9-10 is the hope we have as an anchor of our soul. So next time someone asks you, how sure are you that you are saved? Tell them that your faith in the integrity of the written word is the assurance you have and the scriptures cannot be broken. God said it, and I believe it, that settles it!
How to have Assurance of Salvation is by Your Fruit
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit” Matt 7:16-17
That ideology that salvation is only a thing of the heart is not the full gospel. If the heart of man is the root, then your character and behavior are the fruits that come from your heart. Make no mistakes, when someone is truly saved, there will be visible transformation in his actions, conversation and mindset. Salvation does not change God, it changes us. If salvation cannot change a man, nothing else can change him. The proof of genuine salvation is repentance from dead works and faith towards God. A man who has not changed his old sinful ways cannot have assurance of salvation. By your actions, conversation and thoughts, you can know if you are truly saved or not. You can’t be saved and still love to continue in sin. You can’t truly receive Christ and still continue with your old sinful ways of life. The proof of salvation is genuine repentance. Please don’t get it contorted, once saved is not saved forever. One can lose his salvation when he denies Jesus and returns back to sin and the world. In the same vein, one who is a sinner right now can get saved through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
One of the ways to ensure that our salvation is still intact is to always take a daily inventory of our lives and conducts. We are to examine ourselves daily to see if we are still in the faith. Because the distance between the truth and error is a thin line. It is very easy for one to fall from grace yet thinking he is standing. Let us continue to observe our ways of life in line with the truth of the scriptures. The word of God is our compass and constitution. As we follow God’s principles and precepts, we will not lose our treasure. Having read to this point, I believe you now know how to have assurance of Salvation. Use one or more sentences below to let us know what you think about this subject. Someone may learn something good from your positive contributions or opinion.
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