The Assurance of Salvation

The Assurance of Salvation

by David Scott

Did you know that it is possible to be certain your sins are forgiven? Do you have the assurance that you will go to heaven when you die? Or do you only hope these things are so? If you think you must wait until after death to learn whether your good works outweigh your sins and failures on the scales of God's justice, you are mistaken. The apostle Paul corrected this fallacy in Eph. 2:8-9. It is possible to know right now that you are right with God. Today you can have the assurance your sins are forgiven and God has saved you.

How can I make such a wonderful promise? It is because God Himself already made this promise. God inspired Paul to write, "For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance" (1 Thes. 1:5). Paul explained how this assurance works in Rom. 8:16 -- "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God." If you do not have a witness in your heart from the Holy Spirit that you are a child of God, it is because you are not.

However, you do not have to remain in this condition any longer. You can be born again just as the apostle John said -- "But as many as received Him (Jesus Christ), to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, ...of God." (John 1:12-13) So what does it mean to believe in His name? This is explained in several other places. In 1 John 5:1, it is written, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." 1 John 4:15 says, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." Therefore, in order to be born again you must believe that Jesus is both the Christ (Messiah) and the Son of God.

John explained this another way in 1 John 5:10-13 -- "He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 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." This means that salvation doesn't depend solely upon what you believe about Jesus in your head, but also having Him live in your heart. It also promises that you can know for certain if He is in your life.

To have Jesus Christ in your heart there are three more things God expects you to do. Paul stated two in Rom. 10:9 -- "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Thus, you must not only acknowledge Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God, but also as the Lord. You must also believe He rose from the dead three days after He died on the cross for your sins.

The third thing is repentance. John the baptist preached repentance for salvation in Mark 1:4. After Jesus was baptized in verse 9, He began to preach repentance too in verse 15. After Jesus chose and trained 12 apostles, they also preached repentance (Mark 6:12). So what does it mean to repent? It basically means two things -- being sorry for your sins, and deciding to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This means you will not only ask God for forgiveness, but also ask Jesus to live within your heart by His Spirit.

If you want to be sure of your salvation, I suggest the following prayer:

Dear God, I come to you in Jesus' name. I admit that I'm a sinner in need of your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. I also believe Jesus rose from the dead, which proves He is your Son. It also proves He is the Christ. Please forgive me, O God. I want to live for you from now on. I receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior right now. Lord Jesus, please come and live in my heart by your Spirit. Amen.

I do not know exactly how God will give you the assurance He has answered your prayer. God does this for different people in different ways. But I do know He has promised to save you if you come to Him on His terms. One of His promises is recorded in 1 John 1:9 -- "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If you prayed the above prayer, He has forgiven you. Let Him choose the way in which He will give you the assurance of this fact. He will make the presence of His Spirit in your life real in some way.

This reminds me of something that happened to a missionary I worked with in Canada during the early 1970's. Irwin flew into an Indian reservation in northern Ontario where he was met by three chiefs, who proposed an insightful challenge to him. They said, "The Mennonites came to us first and read that book (Bible) to us. Then the Anglicans came and read that book to us. The Catholics came next and read that book to us. We have come to the conclusion that, if it is true, it should be more than just words. If you have come to only read that book to us, we want you to leave. If you can show us that it is more than just religious words, you can stay."

Irwin replied by saying, "You are right. The gospel is more than just words. Bring someone to me who is blind, deaf, or crippled and God will heal them." They then brought a young girl, who had been deaf for about 10 years. God healed her immediately as Irwin prayed for her. The chiefs were so pleased that they invited him to stay. While he was there over 90% of that tribe became converted from their pagan ways to the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a perfect example of what Paul said, which I quoted above (1 Thes. 1:5) -- that the gospel does not just come with words, but also with power, the Holy Spirit, and much assurance. God wants you to have that assurance. He does not want you living your whole life hoping that you will be saved in the end. He wants you to know now that you are right with Him. The choice is yours. Today is the day of salvation. Whosoever believes in Him (Jesus Christ) will not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).