How do i know if i'm saved?

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youngartist

Guest
#1
I couldn't post in the teens forum because I'm afraid they may be unsure. I have been having thoughts lately that I may not be saved...are these things satan is putting in my head or am I just not saved?
 

LoverofJesus28

Junior Member
Feb 6, 2009
6
0
0
#2
well have u 100 percent whole heartly gave ur self to jesus christ? and have u told him u want him to be your personal savior forever and that u know what and why he came to earth for? if u have done these things then lord willing u have been saved from ur past sins, but as he told the woman by the well.. go and sin no more! have u turned from ur old self and gave ur self to God and the his son jesus?
 
Y

youngartist

Guest
#3
thanks, joe. it's just lately I've been having thoughts of wether i'm truly saved or not...and I know that jesus died for our sins and he rose on the third day.

Some pple say that when they got saved that they felt a whole "forty pounds" of releif. I'm not really sure that I have had that releif. although when I pray sometimes I feel a release....just not that exagerated forty pounds......does that make any sense?
 
T

thefightinglamb

Guest
#4
Do you know who the Lord is? Meaning kind of like that 'relationship' sense that churches talk about...do you really know him?

Do you seek him? DO you love him? More importantly, do you know how much he loves you?

Do you know what His love is? Do you know what happened on the cross?

Do you KNOW He was raised from the dead?

Do you feel/see the Holy Spirit?

Do you talk to the Lord?

Just some questions to consider...and even if you get them right, it doesn't mean you're saved...unless the Lord tells you you are in His hands...

God bless
I hope this helps
tony
 
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youngartist

Guest
#5
yes lamb,
this does help...I do know I am saved, I have discussed this with my youth pastor.
the only question i saw that I may struggle with is feeling the holy spirit.
 
F

faith79

Guest
#6
yes lamb,
this does help...I do know I am saved, I have discussed this with my youth pastor.
Have you read Isaiah 53? It might help to reflect on the reality of Christ's coming, his sacrifice for our sins, that we who believe in him get his righteousness - and he, who committed no sin, took all of it, from all human history for us. When you stop and think how real this is, just as real as the chair you are sitting in, well, it has blown my mind! And that he did not die but conquered death - and as you say, rose on the 3rd day. 1st Corinthians 15:12-23 explains more about the resurrection of Christ, and also of the dead. 1st Thessalonians 4:10: "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep [dead], we may live together with him."
 
A

amorelife

Guest
#7
Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.


It's as simple as that. But you have to believe in your heart as well as confessing it with your mouth. People can say a lot of things from their mouth, then their heart, which in my eyes is the most important when it comes to God, can be feeling a totally different thing.

For example: If you are praying over someone for healing, from your mouth the words flow, but if you don't believe in your heart that God has the power to use you to heal someone, then guess what? It's not going to work.

Well I don't know how much this will help you, I just felt an urge to write this.

Take care & I pray that God will continuously bless you and pour out his love in your life,

Tiffany.
 
Y

youngartist

Guest
#8
Thanks tiffany and faith79,
all of this advice really does help. Im not mature in the spirit of god, but I am working very hard to develop that relationship. I've only been saved for five months and my life has been great. I'm so thankful for the scriptures that you two took time to share.
thanks and god bless both of you!
 
B

Baruch

Guest
#9
I couldn't post in the teens forum because I'm afraid they may be unsure. I have been having thoughts lately that I may not be saved...are these things satan is putting in my head or am I just not saved?
If Jesus has not risen, then our faith would be in vain, but because you believe He is risen, you are saved. No man can come to the Son unless it is the Father that draws him or her. Those that love the darkness will not come to the Light lest their evil deeds be reproved. The fact that you believe, shows that God has enabled you to see the Truth and set you free from the bondage to sin and to death.

It is those extras that wayward belivers cast forth as some gunatlet that is pretty much saying that faith in Jesus Christ is not enough.

So what does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ? That by believing in God that He did it, we place our trust in Jesus Christ Our Saviour for eternal life as well as being Our Good Shepherd to lead us and guide us in the way we ought to go. Why save us and reconcile us to God unless we are having a relationship based on trust with Him now? This is how we get to know Him and the power of His resurrection as the just shall live by faith in the Son of God in living this christian life.

So what are the extras that places the emphasis and the hope away from Jesus to ourselves? What is it that takes away our resting in Him when we came to Him?

Extra #1. "Make a commitment to follow Christ." Why? We are not in a religion, but a relatiosnhip. I am to be a witness of Him by my faith in Him, not by my boasting of the flesh in living this christian life as if it is done by keeping our commitment to follow Him. He will help us live as His. The power in living the christian life is of God and not of us. Do we not trust Him to help us live as His as well as for eternal life? That is all a child can do and they are free to come to Him. The Gospel is that simple.

No matter how much the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak therefore what is impossible with man, is possible with God... only by faith in Jesus Christ, trusting Him at His Word. God has made the Covenant saying He will do it. We are justified by faith when we believe He will. This is the only way the religious of the world are to come to Him because not very many mighty men nor nobles are called for they see that as void of any religious pride whatsoever, but our assuarances and our hope are on Christ... not on ourselves... thus our faith stands apart from the religious strivings in the world.

Extra #2. "One must seek a sign to know that they are saved. To feel the Holy Ghost or speak in tongues is a sign that the believer is not dead along with that church that speak not in tongues." And yet Jesus said an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and so no sign shall be given it except the sign of Jonah... that is to say that Jesus was three days and three nights in the earth. The fact that He is risen is proof enough for blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believe.

Of all the lies casted towards the believers to have doubts, this is a whopper of a one that declares that faith in Jesus Christ is not enough. Signs are to follow believers; believers are not to follow after signs. Tongues are for a sign for unbelievers; but prophesying are for the believers.

Of all things to exalt is this false teaching that "another baptism of the Holy Spirit that comes with evidence of tongues" for it departs from the faith plainly as there is only one baptism of the Holy Spirit and that happens when Jesus has baptized you as promised for coming to and believing in Jesus. Ephesians 1:12-15 & 1 Corinthians 12:13 & Ephsians 4:4-6) The only thing a believer will know about the Holy Spirit personally is that He dwells in us and abides in us forever as the Holy Spirit leads us to honour the Son by testifying of the Son so as to glorify the Son and thereby the Father. (Galatians 3:14,26 & Hebrews 11:1,6)

There is a rest for the people of God: (Hebrews 4:1-3,9-11 & Matthew 11:28-30) How we bear witness of the Good News of what Christ has done is important as we must stand apart from the world in their religious strivings that are seeking to obtain righteousness by their merits and thus why many religious christians have doubts.. and from the rudiments found in the world in how they seek after other spirits to receive for they receive them as they see it, but not so for every believer.. John 14:16-17 as those that are born again by the Spirit is like teh wind.. they don't know whence it comes or whiether it goeth.. so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. It is by faith in Jesus that we have received the Spirit of PROMISE.

So rest in Jesus when you came to Him. He is Our Assurance of salvation as well as for living this christian life thus the just shall live by faith and not by a religious yoke nor after signs and wonders.

Jesus Christ is the Good News to man. He is the Gospel. Anything else is just a thief to cause doubts.
 
P

palaton

Guest
#10
The fact that anyone is questioning their salvation is grounds to examine themselves with sober judgement and to study the scripture more carefully, praying for the holy spirit to reveal truth to them.

Doubt is caused by uncertainty and when a person doubts, it's usually because something deep inside them is gnawing away at them. To doubt God is a sin, but to doubt some kind of spiritual experience or manifestation believed to be from God is the first ray of truth penetrating the mind.

If you don't know something, aren't sure of something or feel uncertain about something, that uncertainty is supposed to intuitively propel you to begin searching for the truth concerning your doubt so that you can resolve it.

Usually you have the doubt because your intuition or spiritual sense is telling you something is not quite right. A person who is about to take a plane trip has an intuitive doubt that something doesn't feel right and they disregard it to their peril. A mother fears that the man picking up her daughter at school is not quite the upright person she thought he was. She arrives at the school to find her daughter abducted. She should have trusted her instinct.

All these doubts are supposed to lead us to investigate why we have the doubt. If our faith is in doubt and we question why we feel the way we do, it is supposed to lead us to truth which can deepen our faith and put our fears to rest. People fear something, usually because there is something which they are ignorant about and need to look into. Doubt is therefore a very normal and healthy part of being human.

The problem we are facing in the church is this plain and simple: Salvation is not being preached correctly

1 Pet 1:9 tells us that the GOAL of our faith is the salvation of our souls.
Heb 1:11 defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for, which remain as yet unseen (or unreceived)

What is the church telling us? That when we receive Jesus into our hearts by faith we are saved.
We are saved then we must walk in faith. To receive salvation the minute we begin in the faith would contravene the whole purpose of faith and it would obviate the testing of faith. Remember the affliction of Job who was handed over to Satan for sifting or the testing of his faith before he was declared to be righteous.

So according to the church salvation is at the inception of one's faith. If Peter tells us that salvation is the GOAL of the faith, HOW is it possible that we can attain the goal of our faith when we begin in the faith?
If you have faith that you will win a race, how can you win that race without running it. The bible says you win the race when you star the race and then you run. Impossible!

The bible says the start of faith is point A and then we must walk in faith until we are saved at point B
The church says we start in the faith at point A and we simultaneously receive the goal of our faith at A
there is no point B for the church. Why because the church says point B is attained when you reach point A

Imagine a walking race from NYC to LA. The bible says you set off from NYC, walk the race to the very end with patient endurance and with tribulation, then as the outcome of your faith and after a season, you arrive at LA (the goal of your walk in faith). Now what does the church say? Well you leave NYC but as you are leaving NYC you simultaneously arrive in LA, and now you must walk in faith. Well what's the point if you already reached the goal as you were setting out?.

Faith means you expect to receive something ultimately because you are walking in the hope of receiving it, but the church says you received it the minute you asked for it. The church says accept Jesus, you ARE saved, now walk in faith. Peter says accept Jesus, walk in faith and you WILL BE saved.
In truth if God were to grant a person salvation the minute they asked for it, there would be no need for faith, only belief. How are we supposed to walk in faith when the church tells us we already received the goal of our faith? We are walking aimlessly for a hope we are told we already received.

The church's version of salvation is flawed and it forgets to tell people the truth according to Jude 1:3
We have to EARNESTLY CONTEND for the faith. My dictionary says to STRIVE, FIGHT or STRUGGLE.
What does Paul says about OUR struggle? He says it's not against flesh or blood, but against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms. (Evil spirit forces) It's a spiritual war against our enemies which surround us because our souls are sin-full.

The final battle of the church, will be the battle of the christians who have woken up to the reality of their fallen natures and who earnestly seek to enter the kingdom promised by God to the OVERCOMERS of the early church and to the church to come. These people will be the pillars of the RISEN church when they overcome the devil's hold on their souls. These men and women who went through AFFLICTION and TESTING before their souls were glorified or RAISED-UP into the kingdom. They will receive the POWER of the holy spirit and they will be truely "in Christ".

Before salvation is claimed, it must be CONTENDED for in a spiritual battle ensuring deliverance of the soul from indwelling sin. The fiery trial or the final judgment. 1 Tim 6:2 says fight the good fight. 1 Tim 6:2 says to exert ALL your strength in the HONOURABLE struggle for the faith.
The righteous who put away sin and do good will rise to eternal life (inherit the kingdom), but the unrighteous who continue to sin once they realise the full truth will be condemned, saved but as those escaping through the flames. The quality work of each man will be tested with fire. The wheat will be brought into the kingdom and the chaff will be burned up.
 
B

Baruch

Guest
#11
The fact that anyone is questioning their salvation is grounds to examine themselves with sober judgement and to study the scripture more carefully, praying for the holy spirit to reveal truth to them.

Doubt is caused by uncertainty and when a person doubts, it's usually because something deep inside them is gnawing away at them. To doubt God is a sin, but to doubt some kind of spiritual experience or manifestation believed to be from God is the first ray of truth penetrating the mind.

If you don't know something, aren't sure of something or feel uncertain about something, that uncertainty is supposed to intuitively propel you to begin searching for the truth concerning your doubt so that you can resolve it.

Usually you have the doubt because your intuition or spiritual sense is telling you something is not quite right. A person who is about to take a plane trip has an intuitive doubt that something doesn't feel right and they disregard it to their peril. A mother fears that the man picking up her daughter at school is not quite the upright person she thought he was. She arrives at the school to find her daughter abducted. She should have trusted her instinct.

All these doubts are supposed to lead us to investigate why we have the doubt. If our faith is in doubt and we question why we feel the way we do, it is supposed to lead us to truth which can deepen our faith and put our fears to rest. People fear something, usually because there is something which they are ignorant about and need to look into. Doubt is therefore a very normal and healthy part of being human.

The problem we are facing in the church is this plain and simple: Salvation is not being preached correctly

1 Pet 1:9 tells us that the GOAL of our faith is the salvation of our souls.
Heb 1:11 defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for, which remain as yet unseen (or unreceived)

What is the church telling us? That when we receive Jesus into our hearts by faith we are saved.
We are saved then we must walk in faith. To receive salvation the minute we begin in the faith would contravene the whole purpose of faith and it would obviate the testing of faith. Remember the affliction of Job who was handed over to Satan for sifting or the testing of his faith before he was declared to be righteous.

So according to the church salvation is at the inception of one's faith. If Peter tells us that salvation is the GOAL of the faith, HOW is it possible that we can attain the goal of our faith when we begin in the faith?
If you have faith that you will win a race, how can you win that race without running it. The bible says you win the race when you star the race and then you run. Impossible!

The bible says the start of faith is point A and then we must walk in faith until we are saved at point B
The church says we start in the faith at point A and we simultaneously receive the goal of our faith at A
there is no point B for the church. Why because the church says point B is attained when you reach point A

Imagine a walking race from NYC to LA. The bible says you set off from NYC, walk the race to the very end with patient endurance and with tribulation, then as the outcome of your faith and after a season, you arrive at LA (the goal of your walk in faith). Now what does the church say? Well you leave NYC but as you are leaving NYC you simultaneously arrive in LA, and now you must walk in faith. Well what's the point if you already reached the goal as you were setting out?.

Faith means you expect to receive something ultimately because you are walking in the hope of receiving it, but the church says you received it the minute you asked for it. The church says accept Jesus, you ARE saved, now walk in faith. Peter says accept Jesus, walk in faith and you WILL BE saved.
In truth if God were to grant a person salvation the minute they asked for it, there would be no need for faith, only belief. How are we supposed to walk in faith when the church tells us we already received the goal of our faith? We are walking aimlessly for a hope we are told we already received.

The church's version of salvation is flawed and it forgets to tell people the truth according to Jude 1:3
We have to EARNESTLY CONTEND for the faith. My dictionary says to STRIVE, FIGHT or STRUGGLE.
What does Paul says about OUR struggle? He says it's not against flesh or blood, but against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms. (Evil spirit forces) It's a spiritual war against our enemies which surround us because our souls are sin-full.

The final battle of the church, will be the battle of the christians who have woken up to the reality of their fallen natures and who earnestly seek to enter the kingdom promised by God to the OVERCOMERS of the early church and to the church to come. These people will be the pillars of the RISEN church when they overcome the devil's hold on their souls. These men and women who went through AFFLICTION and TESTING before their souls were glorified or RAISED-UP into the kingdom. They will receive the POWER of the holy spirit and they will be truely "in Christ".

Before salvation is claimed, it must be CONTENDED for in a spiritual battle ensuring deliverance of the soul from indwelling sin. The fiery trial or the final judgment. 1 Tim 6:2 says fight the good fight. 1 Tim 6:2 says to exert ALL your strength in the HONOURABLE struggle for the faith.
The righteous who put away sin and do good will rise to eternal life (inherit the kingdom), but the unrighteous who continue to sin once they realise the full truth will be condemned, saved but as those escaping through the flames. The quality work of each man will be tested with fire. The wheat will be brought into the kingdom and the chaff will be burned up.
According to the Gospel of grace, salvation has been preached correctly as it is to be presented as simple that even a child can freely come to Him. How else can the Gentile believers in Acts 10 have received the Holy Ghost just by believing in Jesus as they heard Him being preached? The whole idea of receiving the "Spirit of adoption" means you are a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ, thus saved.

It is the race of not deviating from that rest in Jesus. It is contending for the faith of what you had heard from the beginning. It is not looking to yourself to finish it but by faith in Jesus that He will.

Those that seek Him for eternal life and knows now they have a relationship with God the Father through the Son, knows they need Him just as well for helping them to live as His thus the just shall live by faith.

So since no flesh shall glory in His Presence and no men shall glory in man, all the believers ready for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be casting their rewards of their crowns at His feet for He did it as the crowns are His corwning achievement in us as we have received them by faith in Our Enabler.

So as we trust Him to lead us away from temptations and deliever us from the evil one, we stand fast in the liberty in which Christ has set us free and entangel ourselves not again in any yoke of bondage to obtain righteousness or to do His work in us by our merits, willpower, or flesh in keeping the deeds of the Law.

So as we strive to labour into that rest in Jesus, we do so by ceasing from our works as God did from His that we are saved. We trust Him to finish it as He is the finisher of our faith as well as the author.

That is how we are witnesses of Him as being the Good News. We cannot be witnesses if the end result of the Good News has not been received yet. If salvation is a process, then where is the witness? It is contending for the faith from which you have heard and received in the beginning that is the good fight. It is the glory of God found through Jesus Christ.
 
D

Derek

Guest
#12
Hey new believer. =) im one too. Ive been saved for just over a year now. Let me tell you, questioning your salvation is something that just happens. I do it too from time to time. I think its a way that we strengthen our faith and press on for answers. If we feel like theres some distance between us and God then we tend to push to close the gap. Maybe its just a way that God gets us to draw near to Him, you know? Anyways, I go through it too and I promise you if you just keep loving Jesus and going foward it will pass and you will grow from it.
 
P

palaton

Guest
#13
If Paul was saved and the apostles claimed to be saved, then how come we can't do the things which the apostles could do??
 
D

da67thEpistle

Guest
#14
I couldn't post in the teens forum because I'm afraid they may be unsure. I have been having thoughts lately that I may not be saved...are these things satan is putting in my head or am I just not saved?

Popular Christianity today preaches that you repeat a simple little two-liner prayer in a big church auditorium or look up at the pulpit to acknowledge the pastor and instantly your saved, nothing to it. Unfortunately, most people go back to their normal lives after that and don't ever understand what it means to be saved. EVERY Christian will question their salvation and, in truth, I believe that's one of the very evidences of your salvation. Its the over-confident and extremely content and secure people who think they have done all they can that should be worried about their standing with the Lord. To me, salvation is an everyday process, not necessarily a one-time happening. Don't get me wrong we all have that specific moment where we feel that we truly chose to ask the Lord into our hearts and follow Him and that should be seen as the START of our salvation, but it should really not end there. Salvation means constant self-examination and comparison to the ways of the Lord. If you find yourself feeling "wordly" it may not necessarily mean your not saved but that you need to get your priories straight (and its already a significant change that you've realized you're acting "wordly", most people don't even see that in themselves). Just remember salvation isn't some sort of pit-stop on the road to reaching God, but it stays with us all the way and validates our commitment to God, through Jesus of couse :). I don't know if you like hip hop at all but if your interested there is a very well done song about self-examination and the constant checking of ones priorites by a rapper named Trip Lee. He's a very Christ-centered individual. You can hear the song here if you wish and it has the lyrics to read:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7oEI1P2trg

God bless.
 
F

faith79

Guest
#15
There's also a book, The Way of the Master by Ray Comfort, that mentions how many people at conventions who are invited to accept Christ, come down and accept Christ but on follow-up, have not been living any differently 1 year later and who haven't changed their beliefs. It seemed to make them just feel good for a little while which means they probably weren't actually saved.
there is a link to a radio program but I haven't listened to that, am just now reading the book- www.wayofthemasterradio.com.
 
Y

youngartist

Guest
#16
well my life has been changed for the better dramatically since i've been saved...I feel closer to god and have a deep desire to know more and further my knowledge about the word. I have changed the way I live in many ways...I don't take narcotics that aren't prescribed to me anymore, i don't drink, I don't smoke, and I don't cuss....I don't judge pple either like I used to before I got saved!
 
B

badgerboy1848

Guest
#17
John Lennon said it best when he said "war is over...if you want it"

IMO its the same way with jesus, "you are saved...if you want it"

meaning that to say simple prayer, isint enough. You have to do gods work on earth, to achieve the tresures of heaven
 
M

Maddog

Guest
#18
I'm going to differ from the typical Evangelical response; I don't believe in the doctrine of assurance. I will simply advise you to keep the Faith, seek God always, and run the race for as long as you are still on this earth.
 
L

LemmingDrop

Guest
#19
Popular Christianity today preaches that you repeat a simple little two-liner prayer in a big church auditorium or look up at the pulpit to acknowledge the pastor and instantly your saved, nothing to it. Unfortunately, most people go back to their normal lives after that and don't ever understand what it means to be saved. EVERY Christian will question their salvation and, in truth, I believe that's one of the very evidences of your salvation. Its the over-confident and extremely content and secure people who think they have done all they can that should be worried about their standing with the Lord. To me, salvation is an everyday process, not necessarily a one-time happening. Don't get me wrong we all have that specific moment where we feel that we truly chose to ask the Lord into our hearts and follow Him and that should be seen as the START of our salvation, but it should really not end there. Salvation means constant self-examination and comparison to the ways of the Lord. If you find yourself feeling "wordly" it may not necessarily mean your not saved but that you need to get your priories straight (and its already a significant change that you've realized you're acting "wordly", most people don't even see that in themselves). Just remember salvation isn't some sort of pit-stop on the road to reaching God, but it stays with us all the way and validates our commitment to God, through Jesus of couse :). I don't know if you like hip hop at all but if your interested there is a very well done song about self-examination and the constant checking of ones priorites by a rapper named Trip Lee. He's a very Christ-centered individual. You can hear the song here if you wish and it has the lyrics to read:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7oEI1P2trg

God bless.

I was sitting here thinking of how to respond to the first post and realized that you've already put it better than I could.
Well said! Also, my friend here at college is a big fan of Trip Lee : )

I also struggled with the question of whether or not I was actually saved. I accepted jesus as my savior before I was six years old. So its hard for me to evaluate my pre and post christianity self to see whether or not I have really changed after becoming a follower.

I still struggle with this from time to time, but one thing that helps me is the knowledge that we're all going through a process of change. God is working in us from the moment that we are saved so that we can become the Christian that we are supposed to be- a process that will never really be complete until we get to heaven.
 

DinoDillinger

Senior Member
Jul 28, 2009
839
19
18
#20
I'm going to differ from the typical Evangelical response; I don't believe in the doctrine of assurance. I will simply advise you to keep the Faith, seek God always, and run the race for as long as you are still on this earth.
I have a feeling I know why.

To the original poster, read 1 John. A couple posts on this thread are misguided, a big part of faith is trusting God, not men, so get in the bible and seek God's counsil.