Assurance of Salvation
In previous entries, we’ve looked at a doubt that is common among Christians, as well as those who profess to be Christians, which is the question: how do I know I am saved? We’ve also looked at the book of 1 John, and seen how we can have assurance of our salvation.
Today, I’d like to take a look at ways in the Bible that we can know that we are truly born again, (outside of 1 John, which was examined in part 2), and perhaps this could be part three of the series: assurance of salvation.
Doubting of salvation
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” -Colossians 3:1
Most commonly, we simply use the rationalization that we “believe in Jesus” to assure ourselves that we are truly born again. And while it is very much true that a confession of faith is the practical means of salvation in a person’s life, we ought to understand that if this confession was true and right, then God will work in us through His Holy Spirit, and our lives will have certain characteristics whereby we can be assured that God has indeed saved us.
“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” -James 2:19
In the verse above, James shows that mere belief in God is of little value in and of itself: even the devil believes in God. And in numerous places in the gospels, when Jesus was casting out demons, they would confess that Christ was the Holy One of Israel.
“And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.” -Luke 4:33-35
The devils knew that Jesus was the Lord of all creation, and they now know that He is the Savior of all mankind—to whomever will accept His gift of grace. And yet, the devils are not saved simply because they “believe” or know that Jesus is both Lord and Savior: He is not their Lord, (that is, they rebel against Him, and refuse to submit to His will), nor is Jesus their Savior, (seeing that Jesus came to save the souls of men, not angels).
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” -Luke 6:46
But besides the devils, Jesus said that many people will call Him “Lord,” and will be expecting to go to heaven for their supposed profession of “faith.” Yet without a genuine trust in Jesus Christ, we are no better than devils. If we are truly born again, our lives will be changed, and we will become a part of a new family: the family of God. We will seek to please our Father in heaven, rather than our old father from beneath: the devil.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” -Matthew 7:21-23
Notice that Jesus did not say to those going to hell, “I knew you once, and you did good for a while, but now I’m afraid you fell back and I have to cast you into hell.” But rather, they were never saved, and they were fooled from the very beginning, and never had any measure of God’s grace upon their lives. To these, Christ says, “I never knew you, depart from me…”
We see from the passages above that it is a very real possibility that we can be deceived, and have a false hope of salvation, when we in fact were never known of God. In seeing this somber reality, we ought to instead take heart: for God has included many verses in Scripture to both lead us to salvation, and to assure our hearts that we are indeed saved—if we would only have the courage to stop and truly examine our lives in light of God’s word.
Let’s take a look at a few of the areas of Scripture that deal with assurance of salvation:
Assurance #1: Born into a new family
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” -Romans 8:14-16
As is mentioned extensively in 1 John, we see also in many other parts of Scripture where the Holy Spirit gives us an assurance of salvation in numerous ways: one of which is called the “Spirit of adoption.” That is, God’s Spirit dwells within us, and out of an almost instinctive reaction, we cry unto God as our Father.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. . . . That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” -John 3:3, 6
From God’s Spirit—which He has placed within the heart of every true believer—we find love and adoration for our new Heavenly Father, and we are assured that we are the children of God.
Assurance #2: Knowing the will of God
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” -John 15:13-15
When we are truly born again, God gives us of His Spirit, and shows Himself and His will and His desires through the Spirit that lives within us. Today, one of the chief ways that God communicates with us is through His Scripture—the Bible—and yet it is more than simply the words written on the page.
When we read His words, God’s Spirit within us will teach us and open our eyes to the will of God, and to spiritual truths that are hidden to the rest of the world. (If this were not true, then Bible scholars would be among the most godly men, and best able to discern God’s will: yet without the Holy Spirit, they are just as blind as other unsaved men.)
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. . . . But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” -John 14:21-23, 26
When we are truly saved, we receive God’s promised Holy Ghost in our hearts, and through His leading, we are able to do the things that He has planned for our life. We are able to do the truly miraculous: we are able to do the will of God. “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:17).
Assurance #3: Corrected by God when we go astray
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” -Hebrews 12:6-8
Perhaps one of the greatest evidences that we have been born again, though it is hidden way down at number three on the list, (the numbering was chosen in no particular order), is that when we do sin, God will punish us and correct us for our actions. Not to destroy us, but to restore us.
This assurance of salvation is closely linked to the first one: that we have the Spirit of adoption and we are truly in God’s family, and God is our Heavenly Father. For, if we are in God’s family, then God will deal with us as sons; and if a son tries to run away, or he goes amiss, then a true and faithful father will come after him and bring him back on track. God, as a loving father, would not let any of His dear children wander too far astray in the world.
If we are allowed to do whatever we please, and we face no repercussions from God, and feel no guilt or shame in our actions, then we have every reason to believe that we do not belong to God’s family, and we have not been born again.
“But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” -Hebrews 12:8
What son is there, that would not be ashamed in doing something that his father hates? And what father is there, who would not try to straighten out his dear child and lovingly show Him the right way? Not to destroy him or make him feel awful, but to the end result that he might be made strong, and do the right thing in the future, and be brought back into fellowship with the rest of the family of God.
Yet if we are strangers to God, and if we do not belong to His family, then God will not always correct us: much in the same way that a father would not necessarily correct a neighbor’s boy who was misbehaving.
And Job sees this very same phenomenon in the midst of his trials, and remarks of the lack of disciplinary action (referred to as “the rod of God”), that God refrains from taking against strangers and the heathen.
“Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.” -Job 21:8-9
And contrast this with the promise of God to chastise those that belong to His family, as written in the psalms:
“If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” -Psalm 89:30-34
Assurance #4: A new song
Lastly, one evidence that we have been born again is that the Lord will put a new song into our hearts. This is not simply a change of preferences, or a learning of new teachings or ways, which lead to new favoring in music. It is a work of the Holy Spirit upon a man’s heart, giving him peace and joy that he has been born again: and out of this joy pours forth a song of thanksgiving and praise.
“Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.” -Psalm 42:8
Recognizing the emotional aspect of music, it’s important to note that this is more than simply an emotional thing, where we may get caught up in the emotion of a song or worship time at church, but it is a spiritual song springing from God’s Spirit living within us, and it wells forth both when we are with others in church, and also when we are alone upon our bed. Though it is expressed outwardly in music, it is a song whose sole instrument is a redeemed heart, and whose sole leader and conductor is the joy that is found in Christ.
Listen to the words of David, and hear the love that comes from his heart as he retells God’s goodness to him:
“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.” -Psalm 40:1-3
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