How Do You Know You are Saved?, Part 3

January, 2003

by: Jack Hughes

• Salvation

Out of all the issues in life, there is no more important issue than our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Marriage, children, our job, money or possessions pale in comparison. As Jesus said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” Your salvation, your relationship to the Lord, determines your eternal future and it is the single greatest fact about you. Because of this we have been looking at false assurances of salvation. Many people are deceived by Satan into clinging to false assurances that they are saved, when they are not. We learned that in the final day of judgment many who think they are saved, who say they are Christians, who know Jesus' name and even profess Him as Lord will be cast into hell because they didn't really have a personal relationship with Him (Mt. 7:21-23). Imagine the terror of standing before the Lord, thinking you are saved, only to be rejected and cast into hell when it is too late to repent!

This is why we are taking time to look at false assurances of salvation. So far we have learned: Growing up in a Christian home is no assurance you are saved; Your parent's estimation of you is no assurance you are saved; Going forward at an altar call, raising your hand at an evangelistic meeting, signing a card or asking Jesus in your heart is no assurance you are saved; The pastor's estimation of you is no assurance you are saved; Professing you are a Christian is no assurance you are saved; Going to church faithfully is no assurance you are saved; And the practice of personal prayer is no assurance you are saved.

All of these things may be experienced by true believers, and some of them are things true believers do, but, in and of themselves, they don't tell us about our true spiritual condition. An unbeliever may grow up in a Christian home and think they are saved when they are not. Parents can think their children are saved and tell them they are saved when they are not. Many people have gone forward at an altar call, raised their hand, signed a card, or asked Jesus in their heart and yet not been saved. Pastors cannot tell for certain if someone is saved. Many profess with their mouth that they know Christ, but don't. Many faithfully attend church but are not believers. Many people pray, even cult members pray, but the activity of prayer, in and of itself, is no assurance you are saved. Let's look at a few more false assurances of salvation.

False assurance #8: “I Am Convicted about My Sin”

Some believe that they are saved because they are convicted about their sin. But conviction of sin, in and of itself, is no assurance you are saved. Jesus in Jn. 16:8 said that the Holy Spirit would “convict the world concerning sin and judgment.” Jesus was speaking about unbelievers because in the very next verse he explains, “concerning sin, because they do not believe me.” In Rom. 2:15 the Apostle Paul explains how God has put his law in the hearts of all men and a conscience that both accuses and defends. All unbelievers have consciences and if their conscience is not seared as with a branding iron, they will be convicted about their sin (I Tim. 4:1-5). Esau is an example of a man who was very sorry he had sinned and wept bitterly, but found no place for repentance (Heb. 12:16-17). So conviction of sin is no assurance we are saved either.

False assurance #9: “I Am Faithful to Read My Bible”

Some people are faithful readers of the Word of God. Every day, maybe in the morning or at night, they open the Word of God and read from it. This gives some assurance that they are saved. They may even know some true believers who don't read their Bible as faithfully as they do. They convince themselves that they are better Christians because of their Bible reading, but they are not. Consider the Pharisees of Jesus' time who Jesus exposed as lying hypocrites who were of their father the Devil (Mt. 23; Jn. 8). They were experts in the Scriptures. One of Jesus' sarcastic remarks to them was “Have you not read…” (Mt. 12:3, 5; 19:4; 22:31; 12:26). Of course they read the Scriptures. They were experts in the Word of God, but they didn't know God. They are like many in the world today who may have a keen grasp of Biblical content and who may diligently study the Word of God, but yet are not saved. Your faithful reading of the Word of God, in and of itself, is no assurance that you are saved.

False assurance #10: “I Am Excited about Being a Christian”

Others are assured they are saved because they are excited about being a Christian, about going to church, or because they like doing ministry. They rely on their emotions to tell them they are Christians. Yet, emotions go up and down and a person's excitement is not necessarily an indication they are saved. Jesus spoke of these kinds of people in the parable of the soils. He described one kind of person whose response to the Gospel is like seed sown in rocky places. Jesus, explaining the seed sown among rocky places, said, “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction and persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away” (Mt. 13:20-22). Some people come to church, get all excited about it, hear the Word preached, but then as soon as they have to stand up for Christ, they fall away and depart from the faith (Jn. 12:26). Excitement, in and of itself, is no assurance you are saved.

False assurance #11: “I Enjoy Listening to a Good Sermon”

Some people think they are saved because they like to hear a good sermon. They may even like very hardhitting sermons and their desire and willingness to sit and listen to good preaching makes them think they are saved. Yet unbelievers can enjoy listening to good preaching, also. The crowds loved to follow Jesus around and listen to him preach, but most of them fell away. The prophet Ezekiel had the same problem as Christ. In Ezek. 33:31-32, the Lord spoke through Ezekiel to the people of Israel and said, “They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain. Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them.” Many desire to hear good preaching. They like it for its literary or oratorical excellence, or maybe they got used to it growing up, or maybe they like the guilt that comes from it and they think they are growing in the Lord just because they are convicted of their sin week after week. John tells us that many who followed Jesus for a while and heard his preaching “were not walking with Him any more” (Jn. 6:66). There are many carnal reasons for enjoying good preaching. Whatever the reason, it is clear that enjoying good preaching is no assurance that we are saved.

False assurance #12: “I Am a Moral Person”

One of the more frequent false assurances of salvation that people cling to is “comparative morality.” What I mean by “comparative morality” is a morality based on your life compared with other people who are clearly “worse sinners than you are.” I often have the opportunity to ask people about their relationship to the Lord and I am surprised at how many people appeal to their moral lifestyle for assurance they are saved. They will say things like, “I have never murdered anyone,” “I have never committed adultery,” “I have tried to go to church,” “I have read my Bible,” etc. In their minds they must be a Christian because many people don't do any of those things and surely there are those who are worse than they are. This is “morality by comparison,” find someone who is a greater sinner than you are and then compare yourself with them to make yourself feel morally superior.

Not surprisingly, the Bible addresses this kind of person also. Jesus told a story about two men, one a despised tax collector and another an honored and respected Pharisee in Lk. 18:10-14, “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Here we see a perfect example of “comparative morality.” The Pharisee compared himself with others who were “worse sinners” and felt justified before God, yet wasn't.

If we are going to compare our morality with anyone it needs to be God, whose holiness is infinite and whose righteousness is perfect. Compared to God we are all desperately wicked. God is the standard of morality, not other sin cursed men. The Scriptures make it clear, “There is none righteous, no not even one,” (Rom. 3:10).

Do you believe you are a Christian? If so, what are you trusting in to give you assurance that you are truly saved? Are you trusting in your conviction of sin, your Bible reading, your excitement of Christianity, your delight in listening to a good sermon, or your comparative morality? What does the Bible say gives a person assurance they are really saved? In the next Calvary Review we answer this most important question.