How Do You Know You are Saved?, Part 1

November, 2002

by: Jack Hughes

• Salvation

It is common for people to think they are Christians just because they go to church and call themselves Christians. In the United States, almost everyone thinks they are Christians because, after all, we are a “Christian nation.” This prevalent but erroneous perception has led many to be confused about what it really means to know Jesus Christ in a personal saving relationship. Since life and death, heaven and hell, are in the balances, we want to look at some of the false assurances people cling to and then look at the Bible to see what really gives us assurance that we are the children of God.

False assurance #1: “I Grew up in a Christian Home”

Some people know they are saved because they grew up in a Christian home. It goes like this: Your parents were strong Christians so you must be too — right? They took you to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night when you were growing up. You heard what seemed like millions of sermons and took what seemed to be zillions of sermon and Bible study notes. You have all the classic hymns memorized. You went to children's church, youth group, summer and winter camps. You have memorized many Scriptures. You have even led people to Christ. Everyone knows you have come from a solid Christian family. You are a believer. You can even remember that day when you felt bad about something and you asked Jesus in your heart or the day the Sunday school teacher asked you to raise your hand if you wanted to go to heaven, and you did!

Think about this, if you were to place a young goat among sheep, treat it like a sheep and if you were to tell others it was a sheep, because after all, it grew up in the sheep fold, would that make the goat a sheep? No! The only way for a goat to become a sheep is for a miracle to take place. A goat would have to be transformed into a new creature (II Cor. 5:17), but transformation does not happen by association. The Scriptures are replete with unbelievers who came from families with godly parents. Look at Isaac, a godly man, the promised child, whose son Esau was wicked (Heb. 12:16). Look at Jacob's twelve sons, hardly a godly man in the bunch. Look at Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas who are described as “worthless fellows” literally sons of Belial one of Satan's nicknames (I Sam. 2:12-36; II Cor. 6:15). Consider David a man after God's own heart, the sweet psalmist of Israel and how wicked Absalom was (II Sam. chs. 15-20). Hezekiah was one of the godliest kings of Judah yet his son Mannasseh was the most wicked king Judah ever had (II Kings chs. 20-24). It is true that growing up in a Christian home, learning God's Word from an early age, and going to church is a blessing, but it does not give us assurance that we are saved.

False assurance #2: “My Parents Assured Me That I Was a Christian”

Closely related is the false assurance that you know you are saved because your parents told you so. Parents don't want to think of their children going to hell and burning in the Lake of Fire. They love their children and want what is best for them. Yet many parents, in their zeal to “make sure” their child is saved, pressure their child to pray a prayer or go forward and afterwards tell their child “you are saved!” Then the parent encourages the child to take communion, get baptized, and to tell others they are Christians. All of this is done with good intentions, but it can lead to a dangerous delusion that the child is saved, when actually they are not.

The parent, in their refusal to consider the possibility that their children are not saved, can actually increase the deception of Satan giving false assurance of salvation. The danger of this is obvious. A person who thinks they are already saved never seeks what they think they already have. The ramifications are staggering. If a person thinks they are saved they will often become exasperated trying to live a Christian life in the power of the flesh. They may try to obey God, but it is never from a heart that loves the Lord. They go to church, but don't enjoy the teaching of God's Word. They read their Bible but they don't really understand its spiritual significance. They try to pray but it seems hypocritical. They do all these things but don't seem to grow and they can't get over their sins. Inside, their heart accuses them that they are living a lie. When they consider getting help, their pride keeps telling them that they are saved and not to ruin their reputation by second guessing their salvation, and the delusion continues.

Many parents have done their children a great disservice by giving false assurance to their children that they are saved. The result is an unbeliever who thinks they are saved when they are not. Thus we must not gain assurance of our salvation because of what our parents have told us.

False assurance #3: “I Know I Am a Christian Because I…”

Others believe they are Christians because of something they did. I encounter people like this all the time. I ask them about their salvation and conversion experience and they tell me how long they have attended church, that they were baptized, that they have served in various ministries, that they have never murdered anyone, etc. When pressed as to what exactly saved them, they don't know. When asked what the Gospel is, they don't know. When asked how they know they are saved, they give you a long list of their works.

The Scriptures make it clear that salvation is not a result of our works (Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5; II Tim. 1:9). Yet many are trusting in their works to save them. They know about Jesus, what He did, and why, but when asked how they know they are saved, they leave Jesus out of the picture and talk about their works.

Some of the most subtle forms of works salvation are the “altar call,” “the sinner's prayer,” or “asking Jesus in your heart.” The church, in their desire to see people saved, has developed extra–biblical techniques to “save people.” The concept that we must “ask Jesus into our heart” in order to be saved is not found in the Bible. “Altar calls” are not found in the Bible. The Bible does not tell us to get people “to say the sinner's prayer.” Yet these and other man–made methods of evangelism have caused many to think they are saved when they are not.

It is true that you can go forward at an altar call and be saved — but not from going forward. It is true that you can truly pray the sinner's prayer and be saved — but not from saying the words of the sinner's prayer. It is true that you can “ask Jesus in your heart” as a response to the clear preaching of the Gospel and be saved, but “asking Jesus in your heart” doesn't save you. Churches all around the world have developed quick and easy techniques to “get people saved” but they don't save anyone. Most methods are developed for boasting purposes. Churches want to be able to say, “We had 18 people make decisions for Christ.” They know 18 people “made decisions for Christ” because they “went forward” or “prayed the sinner's prayer.”

A person might have an emotional response to a stirring sermon and go forward. Maybe a Sunday School teacher preaches on hell and tells all the children they will all burn if they don't pray the sinner's prayer, so they all pray the sinner's prayer. Still others ask people if they want to ask Jesus in their heart, and it sounds good, so they say yes. When this happens, the person who has “done something” is told they are now saved and can never lose their salvation. The person is then trusting in a false assurance that what they did saved them, but are not really saved at all. They are trusting in their works but works do not save anyone. Hence, we must not gain assurance that we are saved because of what we have done.

False assurance #4: “The Pastor Assured Me That I Was a Christian”

Another false assurance that many trust in is that “the pastor assured me I was a Christian.” When churches adopt extra–biblical techniques for doing evangelism and people respond to the techniques, then the pastor will often assure those who respond that they are saved and part of the household of God. “You prayed the sinner's prayer,” “You asked Jesus in your heart,” “You went forward at the altar call,” so you can know for certain you are saved. People tend to respect the pastor's judgments on biblical issues and when a pastor assures them that they are saved, people tend to believe it.

The problem is that the Bible doesn't say, “You know you are saved if the pastor says you are.” Many, after believing they were saved because of what their pastor said, later experience true salvation. Pastors, like parents, have done great harm to people giving them assurance where there is none to be had. A pastor, after a detailed interview and long term observance of a person's life, might be reasonably sure a person is saved, but never fully assured. We must be careful not to gain assurance of our salvation from the quick assessments of others. They may be sincere, but in their sincerity they may be sincerely wrong.

Regrettably, we have run out of space, so we will have to look at other false assurances of salvation in the next Calvary Review. Yet, sufficient are the false assurances for the day. Is your assurance of salvation resting on the fact that you grew up in a Christian home? Are you trusting you are saved because your parents told you so? Do you think you are saved because of something you did? Do you think you are saved because your pastor told you so? Remember, false assurance is a delusion which causes people to be content on their way to hell. Take the advice of Paul who said 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?”