How Does A Christian Know They Are Saved?

Is there a way that a Christian can know for sure that they are saved?

Who Does the Saving?

We begin by first looking at who does the saving. The idea that we can save ourselves or that we ensure our own salvation is contrary to biblical doctrine (Eph 2:8-9) because as the Apostle John wrote, “to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). It was not the will of the flesh (mankind) but the will of God that we became the children of God and you had no more control or choice in your being born than does a child who’s born because it is God Who brings the person to repentance and faith in Christ. Christ alone saves (Acts 4:12). What we must do, the only thing we can do, is come to Christ and plead for forgiveness and after God grants us repentance, we put our trust in Him, but the point is, it is God Who grants repentance, just as the Apostle Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2nd Pet 3:9). The Apostle Paul adds that “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” (2nd Tim 2:24-25). In both these verses we read that it is God Who grants repentance, therefore it is not of human effort or of the will of man but of the will of God whereby we are saved.

How can we Know?

To begin with, we know that “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom 8:9) just as he also wrote, “all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom 8:14), so unless someone has received the Holy Spirit they cannot even claim to know whether they’re saved or not. Paul says that they are definitely not saved without God’s Spirit being in them. Incidentally, the Spirit can tell us whether we are saved or not because “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8:16). The work of the Holy Spirit is to bring confirmation to the believer that they are the “children of God” since “The Spirit himself bears witness out our spirit.” That is what He does. He makes it perfectly clear whether we’re born again or not. Elsewhere the Apostle Paul wrote “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (2nd Cor 2:11).

Evidence of Salvation

How can we know if we’re a child of God beyond the Spirit’s confirmation? It is as the Apostle John wrote; “by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1st John 2:3) for “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1st John 2:4-5a). It is “By this we may know that we are in him” (1st John 2:5b) since “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1st John 2:6). Nobody can have assurance of their salvation if they’re not walking in obedience. It’s ridiculous to say you love God but don’t what He asks us to do. That simply shows they’re a false convert because “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him” (1st John 2:29), just as anyone who does not live a life of righteousness (not perfection) cannot be born again by God’s Spirit.

Loving our Brothers and Sisters

Another true test as to whether a person is professing faith or actually possessing faith is if they love others, particularly those in the household of God. John writes that “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him” (1st John 3:6) but more than that, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1st John 3:14-15). You cannot claim to be a child of God and hate your brother or sister. It is incompatible with the biblical definition of a believer, no matter what you think or say.

Conclusion

One of the best books in the Bible that can show you that you are saved and that you’ll know is the Book of 1st John. There are more “knows” in this book (32) than nearly any other book in the Bible, so read it so that you can know whether you’re a child of God or not. You can only hear two possible messages from Christ after His return; “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41) or you’ll hear “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt 25:34) and you will hear Jesus say it was because, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.