How Do You Know You are Saved?, Part 4

February, 2003

by: Jack Hughes

• Salvation

In the last three Calvary Reviews we have asked the question, “How do you know you are saved?” We have looked at twelve different false assurances of salvation that people often cling, to give them assurance they are saved:

1. Growing up in a Christian home;
2. Assurance from your parents;
3. Going forward at an altar call, raising a hand to accept Christ, asking Jesus in your heart, or signing a card;
4. Assurance from your pastor;
5. Professing you are a Christian;
6. Going to Church regularly;
7. Being faithful to pray;
8. Being convicted about your sin;
9. Being faithful to read your Bible;
10. Being excited about church and Christianity;
11. Enjoying good sermons; and
12. Being a moral person.

All of these activities may happen in the life of a truly saved person but they may also be present in the lives of unbelievers. So the question still needs to be answered, “How do you know you are saved?”

This leads us to several doctrinal issues that we must understand before we can answer the question of what gives believers assurance they are saved. The doctrinal issues that we need to understand are:

1. Who is Jesus?
2. What did Jesus do to save us?
3. How does a person get saved by what Jesus Christ did?
4. What happens to a person who gets saved by Jesus Christ?

Who is Jesus?

Volumes have been written about Jesus, but in a nutshell, Jesus Christ is God incarnate which means God made flesh. The Scriptures teach that there is one God who has chosen to reveal himself in three distinct persons i.e., the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God the Son, one hundred percent both God and man. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and lived a perfect life. He never sinned but always did the will of His Father.

What did Jesus do to save us?

Jesus was born to die. He came to earth to live a perfect life so that He might offer himself up as the Lamb of God, a perfect sacrifice for the sins of men. He was falsely accused, unjustly tried, and crucified as a criminal. On the cross He bore the sins of the world upon Himself, suffered in our place, received the wrath of God in our stead, and died the death we should have died. After He was crucified He was buried and after three days proved He had conquered sin and death by being resurrected from the dead. Because He lived a perfect life and willingly offered himself up for the sins of men, He is the only perfect sacrifice and substitute for men.

How does a person get saved by what Jesus Christ did?

When we talk about being saved, we need to understand what we are being saved from. The Scriptures teach that all men are sinners and all men fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:10-18). The Scriptures teach the wages of sin is death, not only physical death, but also spiritual death. Everyone deserves to experience the wrath of God poured out upon them in hell, or more precisely the lake of fire, for all eternity. Because God is holy and just He must punish sin. Because He is also good, loving, and compassionate, He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ into the world, so that the world might be saved through Him. These are the facts of the Gospel message.

The bad news is that all men are sinners and deserve to suffer eternal torment in the lake of fire because of their sin. The good news is that God incarnate, Jesus Christ, died as a sacrifice for our sins on the cross, was buried, and after three days was resurrected from the dead. God, through Christ, has made a way for undeserving sinners to be saved through Jesus Christ.

But merely knowing the facts of the Gospel does not save us. James speaks of the demons who believe in God, but tremble (James 2:19). Many people know the facts of the Gospel and may even believe that they are true and still they may not be saved. The Gospel to them is like a vaccination for a deadly disease. They may know they have the disease but just believing that the vaccination exists does not cure them. No, in order to be cured they must receive the vaccination and apply it to their life. In the same way, knowing the facts of the Gospel does not save us. We must know the facts of the Gospel and have the work of Christ on the cross applied to us. This happens when a person places their faith or believes in Jesus Christ.

There are basically two different kinds of “faith” or “belief.” One kind of belief is to have an intellectual grasp of something, to mentally agree that it is true or right. Another kind of belief has an intellectual grasp of something but it is also willing to trust in what is believed in. This latter kind of faith is what is needed to be saved. A Christian is a person who knows the facts of the Gospel and is willing to put his trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ to save him.

True saving faith requires turning from our sins and receiving Jesus Christ. This is called “repentance.” Repentance is having a change of mind that results in a change of direction. Biblically, it is understanding that you are a sinner and that your sin has offended a holy God. It is a commitment to turn from your sin and follow after Jesus Christ. Isaiah described it this way in Isa. 55:7“Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” Jesus put it this way in Mk. 1:15, “Repent and believe the gospel.” Before you can follow after Christ, you must turn from or repent of your sins. To turn in faith to Jesus Christ is to turn away from your sins.

What happens to a person who gets saved by Jesus Christ?

When a person does repent and believe in the Gospel, he is saved. Salvation is a work of God in a person's life and it results in many changes, some legal and some experiential. Legally, the person is justified before God. This means they are declared to be righteous on the merits of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. Their sin is atoned for by the blood of Christ and they are forgiven of their sins. God's just requirements for the penalty of their sin are satisfied through Christ. They are now holy and blameless before God because of what Christ did.

Experientially salvation includes a life change. This life change is called “regeneration.” When a person is saved he receives the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts, warns, strengthens, and helps the believer understand the Word of God. The Holy Spirit helps the believer walk in a way that is pleasing to God. The true believer undergoes a life change, a radical transformation because of the Holy Spirit's work. They begin to think of God more, they begin to thirst after righteousness, they long to talk to God in prayer, they hunger for the pure milk of the Word, they begin to see everything in a different way. The life they have received in Jesus Christ causes them to be new creatures, old things pass away and all things become new (II Cor. 5:17). This is just a brief summary of what happens when God saves a person.

It must be understood that salvation is a work of God's grace in a person's life. God draws a person to Himself, He opens his eyes to the truth, He grants him repentance, He brings him the Gospel message, He saves, sanctifies, and then glorifies him. This life change cannot be hidden. Unbelievers can fake being saved and believers can fall into sin for a time and look like they are not saved, but in the long run the saving work of God in a person's life is manifest. “Every good tree will produce good fruit” (Mt. 7:17-20).

What gives a believer assurance they are truly saved?

All of this leads us to the answer to our question, “How do you know you are saved?”

First, do you know the Gospel? If you do not know the Gospel then you cannot be saved because the Gospel is what God uses to save those who believe (Rom. 1:16; I Cor. 1:18).

Second, are you trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone to save you?

Third, have you repented of your sins, asked Jesus Christ to forgive you, and committed in your heart to follow after Christ?

Fourth, you must not trust in your good works to save you or trust in Jesus Christ and your good works to save you. Salvation is not by works, it is by God's undeserved and unearned grace, mercy, and love (Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5; II Tim. 1:9). If you are trusting in any thing other than Jesus Christ alone, you are trusting in a false gospel, which cannot save you.

Fifth, is your life transformed? When you examine your heart, what does it tell you? When you look at your life, what does it reveal? Do you love God? Do you love the Word of God? Do you love the people of God? Do you desire to obey Jesus Christ out of love and devotion? Do you mourn over your sin? Do you see God changing you into the image and likeness of Christ? These things give us assurance that we are saved.

Salvation is not a matter of working hard to be good so God will save you. Salvation is by God's grace, through repentance and faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Once you are saved, then you will begin to pursue righteousness and sanctification because you become a new creature in Christ (II Cor. 7:1; Heb. 12:14). Your works do not save you but salvation produces a desire to do those things that please God.

An unbeliever may experience many of the same things a true believer might experience. This is why many unbelievers think they are saved. The difference is the heart. Salvation produces a new heart, which has new motivations and desires. A true believer loves God from the heart. What drives your life? What does your heart tell you? Is your heart fixed on the glory of God or self?

All of us need to heed the Apostle Paul's admonition in II Cor. 13:5“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?” If we fail the test we need to act on Paul's admonition in Acts 17:30-31“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” We must understand the Gospel of salvation which Paul summarized in I Cor. 15:1-4, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, ... that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” If we have repented and believed in the gospel then what Paul said to the Romans will be true in our lives as well, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:16-17). Repent, believe, and be changed for the glory of God!