Many people are absolutely certain that they belong to God and therefore they have no doubts about where they are going once they die. But there are also many people of faith who are unsure about their salvation. If you are in doubt about your salvation, the following may help:
Do you base your salvation on what you do for God, instead of what God has done for you? The Bible says that we can do nothing to earn our salvation. Tit. 3:5: He saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us. Eph. 2:8-9: For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it. It’s very good to attend church regularly, to pray, read the Bible, do good to others, etc. But if we do it to obtain eternal life, we miss the essence of the gospel (Gal 2:21). Then Jesus died in vain for us. We do good deeds not to be saved, but because we have been saved.
Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins too and that He is your personal Redeemer? That is the only way to be saved. John 1:12: Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God’s children. John 3:36: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God’s punishment. John 5:24: I am telling you the truth: those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged, but have already passed from death to life.
The Bible says that we can know for certain that we have eternal life if we believe in Jesus as our Saviour! 1 John 5:11-13: And this is the testimony: 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. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life
We know that we have eternal life because changes have taken place in our lives since we became a Christian. Jesus died so that our sins can be forgiven, but also so that we can be rid of our sins. Rom. 6:6: And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. If we belong to Christ, we become new beings. 2 Cor. 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! We become a new person when we accept Christ and changes in our lives are inevitable. We then want to obey God. This is a process and it is not always easy. Paul said, Rom 7:21: So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. But he is sure of his salvation. Phil. 1: “My desire is to depart and be with Christ.”
In 1618 Christian churches drew up a document to state what they believe. It is still used in churches today. They wrote that if the faithful cannot be certain of their redemption, “then they would be the most wretched of all people.”
Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.
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