How Do I Know I am I Saved? – Assurance of Salvation: part 2
This is part two of the series on assurance of salvation. In part one, we looked at the common scenario of how someone doubts whether or not they are saved, and what the most common way to try and combat such doubts: a test of sincerity.
Yet from the previous study, we saw that it was possible for a person to be sincere in their prayer, and yet still be without salvation: because if we don’t even know who Jesus is, or why He has died on the cross, then we have would have little idea what we are even being saved from in the first place.
So, having looked at the concerns, and found that—at least in some people—there can be a very real danger that a person truly is not born again, we move on to the next section: what the Bible says specifically about having an assurance of salvation. Not simply what salvation is or is not, but specifically how we can know for sure whether or not we are truly saved.
(To read the first part, please see: How Do I Know I Am I Saved? – Assurance of Salvation: part 1, otherwise, continue on for part two below.)
The benefits of assurance
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” -1 John 5:13-15
Beyond simply going to heaven when we die, our life on earth will be much more at peace if we are assured in some way that we are in God’s will, and we have been born again. The verses above tell us that we will have a “confidence” when we pray to God, and when we know that we are His children, and we know His will, God will answer us and give us the requests that we’ve prayed for.
Now note above that the apostle John has said “these things I have written unto you…” to the end that we might know for sure that we are indeed saved. Now, it would stand to reason then, to ask: what are “these things” that he wrote for us to help us be assured of our salvation? Let’s take a look at John’s first epistle and find out:
The first test: obedience
“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he [Jesus] walked.” -1 John 2:3-6
One of the first ways that the apostle John lists as a way to know if we are in right relation with God is whether or not we obey Christ’s commandments.
This is not to say that we are perfect in every way—for even John says earlier, “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves”—but rather, that we are truly seeking to make Jesus Christ the Lord of our life, and we do not cling to our old sinful habits where we were the reigning king of ourselves.
True, we may still even struggle with sin, but the key is sometimes found just by virtue of the fact that we are struggling against it. We may be fighting an inward fight against the desires of our own flesh, but perhaps the most important part is that we are fighting against them, and are continually seeking to bring Jesus Christ to the forefront of our hearts and lives.
“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” -1 John 3:8-9
Again, John says in a general sense, whoever commits sin is of the devil, and whoever keeps himself from sin is of God. Yet, in these verses, the word “commit” is not necessarily indicative of a one-time act, or of anything even in the past. It’s rather a continuing action of committing sins as a lifestyle. John is here saying that one who is born of God cannot continually sin and make that his lifestyle; while for an unsaved person a lifestyle of continual and unceasing sin would be a normal and expected thing.
If we’ve not given up the struggle, and we have not backslid into complete surrender to our own selfish will: if we have that inner witness of God’s Spirit stirring us up against our own selfish imaginations and actions—we can count this an evidence of our own salvation.
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” -Galatians 5:16-17
The second test: love for other Christians
“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” -1 John 2:9-11
Another topic that the apostle John mentions very often in his first epistle is the sense of brotherhood among Christians. Scripture teaches us that if we are truly born again, and are the sons or daughters of God, then we ought to share a common love for our new spiritual family.
Note that this love is different than other types of fellowship commonly found in the world. For instance, we may meet someone or be in association with another that shares many of the same interests or values that we hold. It may be a political party, or a hobbyist club, or something of the like.
Yet with Christians, this love is unlike these types of love: it is not that we love only the Christians that share most of our earthly backgrounds: ethnicity, social status, dress, music, etc. Rather, we may meet someone that, according to outward appearances and superficial details could not be more polar opposite to us, but deep down inside, we have a fellowship of God’s Spirit, and are in the same family.
If two believers are truly born again, and are alive in Christ and seeking to bring glory to the Savior, then a remarkable love will be evident in their hearts. If someone gets a true sense of a person’s heart and ministry, and sees that they are genuinely try to please and glorify Jesus in all that they do, they will be loved by true Christians. If one holds malice or harbors hate against another one of God’s children, then this is a sign that God’s love and forgiveness is no where to be found in that person’s heart.
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” -1 John 4:20-21
John continues on to say that those who truly will hate Christians are only those that are unsaved and lost. For, just as Christ was despised and rejected by the world and all the religious phonies of the day, so too are we to expect to be hated and despised if we truly have God’s regenerative work done in our hearts.
“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” -1 John 3:13-15
The third test: God’s Spirit, or the world’s?
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the worldpasseth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” -1 John 2:15-17
The last area that we’ll look at for assurance of salvation is two-pronged: do we love the world and the things in it, or do we have God’s eternal Spirit in our hearts? The two elements are opposite each other: one is passing away, and is sinful; the other is eternal, and gives us proof that we have been born again.
When we are truly saved, the Bible says that God gives us His Holy Spirit as His “seal” that we belong to Him.
“In whom [Christ] ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest [guarantee or pledge] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” -Ephesians 1:13-14
About this Holy Spirit, the apostle John also testifies and confirms: that if we have God’s Spirit, we know that we belong to God:
“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” -1 John 3:23-24
Can you see a pattern? John sort of reviews the two previous evidences of salvation: that we obey God’s commands, and love one another, and he then tells us that the way that we do this, and the way that this love is made possible is all through one source: God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
God’s indwelling Spirit is the ultimate proof of our salvation. By God’s Spirit, we are supernaturally enable to fight and resist against sin and live a holy and pure life (or die trying), and through His Spirit we also have a fellowship with other true believers who also have this same Spirit.
As a matter of fact, the term “Christian” really means a follower of Christ, and “Christ” simply means one that is anointed. In the Old Testament, one was anointed with oil, to signify that God’s Spirit was resting upon someone. Yet in the New Testament, beginning at Jesus’ baptism, we see that Jesus truly was the “Christ” when he was anointed with the very Spirit of God:
“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:” -Matthew 3:16
And today, when we call ourselves Christians, it is not merely that we are “followers” of Christ—that is, followers of the Anointed One—in a superficial sense of doing the same things He did, or believing the same teachings He taught; but rather, we are ourselves anointed and filled with the very same Spirit of God as Christ has been. It is the presence (or absence) of this Spirit that marks us as a true believer, or as a Judas Iscariot: as a child of God, or as a clever fraud masquerading as one who is born again.
If we do not have God’s Spirit, and if we are indeed unsaved, then our lives will be characterized not only by internal sin, and hate for the family of God, but also a love for the world. Without God’s Spirit leading us and guiding us into spiritual truth, we will only be lead about by our lusts, and this will ultimately be shown in our love for the things that are in the world.
In the world and within the people of the world, there is found the lust of the flesh and eyes. The desires of our own heart and eyes will be the dominant force in our lives. We will not care about the ultimate furtherance of Christ’s gospel, but we will seek to please only ourselves, and seek comforts. The fundamental element of worldliness is selfishness. (Even if we are doing something that we think is good for someone else, at the heart of the matter, we are doing these good deeds in the pride of our hearts, and we declare that we know what is “good” much more than God does.) So we see how John says that those who are saved will do the will of God, not the will of the world, or whatever is perceived to be “good.”
“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” -1 John 2:17
In seeking after assurance of our salvation, perhaps the most important place to look is after God’s indwelling Spirit. True, His Spirit is unseen and hidden within a believer’s heart, yet it’s workings and effects ought to be apparent: taking the shape of obedience to God, and in a love for other true Christians.
We ought to consider the words of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians, when he writes of a spiritual division between the saved and the lost, which is seen from the presence (or lack thereof) of God’s Spirit within a peron’s heart. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9), and this is the difference between the saved and the lost.
“For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” -1 Corinthians 2:11-14
For part three of the series on assurance of salvation, we’ll be looking at assurances given in Scripture other than those discussed and found in 1 John.
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