ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

There are a lot of people in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, known as the Body of Christ that need assurance of salvation. There could be various reason for this specific need, but we will look at the three major reasons dealt with in the local church or in a meeting held by a minister of God.

Group 1 - There are many people who believe in God, yes, they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but term salvation is not familiar to them. They are not sure what we are talking about when someone ask the question, "Are you save?" Some denominations believe on the death of Jesus as their Savoir but don’t use the term salvation when they are speaking about themselves.

Group 2 - Some other percentage of people know about salvation and what the term means but are uncertain if they are saved or not because they don't feel God's Presence in the same measure they did before.

Group 3 - Are the others who question their salvation due to physical or mental practice of sin on a habitual basis.

Group 1 - The first percentage of people will be helped by a simple definition of Salvation.

Salvation generally means that a person believes that the Son of God was sent from God the Father, to redeem mankind. For all people on this earth have sinned, and our sins brought eternal judgement to the earth, which included spiritual and physical separation from God. Physically we are destined to a place known as "Hades" or hell, Hell is filled with fire, darkness and brimstone for eternal judgment. This is the future designation for the spiritually dead who choose to reject Jesus as Savoir. We, as Christians, believe Jesus walked the earth as a sinless man, totally innocent but went to the cross not for His own sins but rather the sins of the world (including yours personally). Jesus was crucified unjustly so that He and ONLY He could pay the ransom for our sins. Being publicly crucified on a cross and bearing the sins (sickness, disease, pain, depression, confusion, aches, mental torments, etc....) of every person upon the face of the earth for all times. He died and was raised to life (the resurrection) by the Father God and Holy Spirit to a victorious throne in the Heavens above. We say now that Jesus has a glorified body in place of His physical body which died for the sins of the world. Jesus Christ alone paid the great price for our sins. This explains the plan of redemption for all people upon the earth, yes, even other religions. If you believe in this doctrine and confess Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. You are saved in the general meaning of the term. Another meaning includes the life giving power of God working through your life, by this we use the term “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” found in Philippians 2:12 (KJV) This definition of salvation indicates that it is a process that will not be perfected until we reach heaven or the Lord returns to call us unto Himself. I know that the Lord is very excited about His children so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if He came back to receive us this night. For He will surely come and He will come soon, I pray that those who are not saved would be saved today. Having Jesus in your heart guarantees you that you are saved from hell and saved from the mental torment of living in darkness because you don’t know any better. Dying in darkness means you can not see to understand the Goodness of God all around you because your thinking that Jesus doesn't really matter. Some say Jesus was a wise man, I agree. Some say that Jesus is the Son of God, I agree. Some say that Jesus is all God and at the same time He is all man, I agree. Some say that He was only a man and not the Son of God, I strongly disagree. The key is what do you say? Hopefully, you are with Angela and I and Peter, and can boldly confess, Jesus you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Matthew 16:13-17
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. KJV

If you can speak verse 16 out loud and believe the words describing the salvation purpose and process you are saved. You are a partaker of God's Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen!

Group 2 - The second scenario may be solved with an increase of knowledge about what the Word of God states about salvation. First to repeat the key scripture on being saved in Romans 10:6-13

6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. KJV

Notice the first condition of the heart that must be met is, “Do you believe that Jesus died and God raised Him up from the dead?” If you admit that you need a Savior because of your sins that you personally committed, you are half way there. Now the second condition is of the mouth which is, “You must openly confess with your mouth that I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior”. If you know that you have done that you should also know that you are saved according to Romans 10:9. The atoning work at the cross was done specifically for you He died for your sins so that you could have eternal life. Let us look at another verse in that same set of scriptures. Notice verse 13 it states, “That whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. Do you qualify to be a whosoever? If you are a living human being on this earth the correct answer is, yes. The next action is "shall call upon" which means you are calling upon Him as your Savoir. This indicates that you have some understanding of what you are doing. You not only believe on Jesus as a person but you also believe He is the Son of God who died on the cross for your sins. If this is true in your heart you can easily fulfil the third part of proclaiming the Name of Lord, yes, confessing Jesus, this makes you a Christian. Once that is done the last part of the verse states "shall be saved" but note that it is a very, very, very, short time frame for shall. I like to think of it as instantaneously, a microsecond, the time it takes you to think, basically so fast you can't measure it. With that being said, as soon as you speak out the words of calling upon the Name of the Lord Jesus you are saved. Not going to be one day in the future. You are saved. That set of verses gave us two separate witness of just how easy it is to be saved let us look at another

Joel 2:32
And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
As the LORD has said,
Among the remnant whom the LORD calls. NKJV

This verse in the Old Testament is basically saying the same thing. If you believe in God and you call upon Him in the manner demonstration in the Holy Bible you are saved. The Lord didn't change from the Old Testament to the New Testament but what changed is His Plan for people to obtain the Salvation of God. Now for our age we must confess Jesus Christ as Lord and believe on Jesus as the blood sacrifice for our sins. The sin issue must be dealt with we just believe that it was in the person of Jesus Christ. However to thoroughly convince of the simplicity of salvation we will look at another verse found in 1 John 4:13-16

13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. KJV

This is a New Testament passage that speaks about our knowing that we are saved. Notice in verse 13 it states that we know that we dwell in him (speaking of Jesus and our Heavenly Father) because His Holy Spirit dwells within us. The next verse states that we testify (openly confess before others) that the Father sent Jesus to be the Savoir of the world. The ideal about every person on the earth needing a Savoir is not only what we believe but it is what we also confess to others seeking help upon the earth. The next verse 15 goes back to what we discussed early, “Are you a whosoever?” The correct answer is yes. Have you confessed that Jesus is the Son of God (or your Lord)? If you have answered yes to both questions then without any shadow of doubt God dwells in you. It does not matter if you feel Him or see Him or always hear His voice He is dwelling in you. You must believe that for no other reason than the Word of God told you so. To see truth and choose not to believe it would mean that a person is choosing to be difficult for no other reason than they just don't want to believe that God meant what He said. Angela and I choose to take God at His Word because I know God can not lie. If you are willing to spend the extra time searching God's Word for areas of God that you need more information on you will be sure of God’s Promise too. I know Angela and I are saved, I believe that with all my heart and I confess that to people who are open to our testimony because Jesus is our personal Savoir and Lord.

Group 3 - The third group of people probably needs a refresher course about who they are in Christ Jesus. They are born-again believers, therefore it is up to each believer to believe what God said about them. We will look at some scriptures that clearly speak to the issue of no sin being powerful enough to separate a true believer from Christ Jesus. Behold Romans 8:33-39

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. KJV

God loved you before you were His children and since God is Constant Love He shall never stop loving you. Remember that you are in God's Hand and according to John 10:27-29 no one can take you out of His Hand.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. KJV

My dear friend, brother or sister in Christ, who do you know that is strong enough to arm-wrestle God down to defeat. All the forces known to man (and even those unknown to mankind) had an opportunity to prove their strength against God Almighty at Calvary, but we all know God won and His enemies lost (decisively). So it is very important that you remind yourself just who you are in Christ Jesus. You are a Believer and you believe God Loves You, and you also believe Jesus died for your sins, you as a believer should believe that it is impossible for God to lie according Hebrews 6:17,18

17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: KJV

These truths are fundamental cornerstones of the Christian faith. Therefore it is inconceivable to me how any Christian could question their salvation because of their actions. Your salvation is based upon the precious Blood of Jesus Christ. God looked at the actions of Jesus, man only needs to believe in Jesus Christ and confess His Name to partake of God’s great plan of salvation. Remember Ephesians 2:8-9

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. KJV

These scriptures reminds us that we are under God’s unmerited Grace, not works of the Law. For if you earned your salvation it is no more grace but works of law and if that is your mentality you really need to read more about the forgiveness of all our sins through the grace of the shed Blood of Jesus Christ.

Romans 11:5-6
5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. KJV

If you have committed a known sin before God the simple answer to that issue is found in 1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. KJV

This verse is as true today as it was when the Apostle John wrote it over two thousand (2,000) years ago. As soon as you confess and forsake that sin you are clean before your Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ. You must not condemn yourself for committing the sin. Remember godly sorrow (conviction) brings forth repentance, but the sorrow of this world (those thoughts or words that tell you that unworthy or a loser, condemnation) are working death, which is ungodly.

2 Corinthians 7:9-10
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. KJV

As a believer in Christ you must choose to ignore all evil thoughts and holdfast to those thoughts that are true. Remember Philippians 4:8-9

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. KJV

My dear saint it is your responsibility to believe God’s Holy Written Word is true for you. You must be willing to speak against every evil thought of condemnation by quoting God’s Word of truth out loud when ungodly thoughts try to influence your mind. When you resist those ungodly thoughts with the spoken Word of God in the Name of Jesus, those evil thoughts will flee from you according to James 4:7

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. KJV

Jesus had to do the same thing when He dealt with the devil and you as His disciple must follow His example according to Luke 4:3-8

3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. KJV

This simple act of your faith is part of your obligation to the Father God and Jesus Christ. No one can, or should, force you to believe God’s Word and speak God’s Word. You must make a conscious effort and decision to do what is right before God and your fellow man. This fundamental belief is your decision and your responsibility alone. God sent His begotten Son to testify to these truths and the Lord Jesus proved these truths by His lifestyle, and death, and triumphant resurrection. Since God did all the work it is not fair (nor right) to inwardly or outwardly choose to disbelieve that He really doesn’t love you or that God is unjust because He does not mean what He said in the Holy Bible. You must cast off condemnation by meditating, pondering, muttering, and speaking out loud Romans 8:1-2

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. KJV

I know someone could say, “But brother Eric and sister Angie, I have committed the unpardonable sin”. First of all if you are still reading this article and you still believe that Jesus is Lord, you have not committed the unpardonable sin. For a deeper understanding or explanation of the unpardonable sin click on this link UNPARDONABLE SIN.

Remember, we stated earlier sin is not the problem with you and God, the only problem you have with God, in this context, is your belief that you are saved. I am not saying once saved always saved, but I am clearly proclaiming that once you are saved, you have to determine that you don’t desire to receive God’s love and forgiveness any more. A well thought out public rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ and His people in your heart leads to the very serious risk of not being saved. No person on this earth can lose salvation simply because you can not lose God. God is omnipresent and He chose to save you, He died, He arose, and He loves, and He washes you clean with His Own Precious Blood. Therefore to think that it is all about your actions, your lifestyle, your perfection is relying on works of the law, and I my faith friend will have no part of that doctrine. It is erroneous under this dispensation of Grace. Someone will say, “I know someone who once knew Christ Jesus and they are not serving Him today” and I would say, “so what”. We are not talking about someone else we are talking about you. If you want to be assured of your salvation, then be assured you are saved. If you believe the simple message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ rest in His message of Love toward you. God loves you and Jesus died so that you could receive His eternal life for your salvation. Either you believe that and confess Jesus as Lord or you do not. If you believe that simple message and confess Jesus as Lord, you are saved. If you do not confess Jesus as Lord because you choose not to believe on the redemption of His Blood, you are not saved and you need to repent and call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to obtain God’s Mercy. Click on “How to be Saved” for more information. To all others simply be assured of your very own personal salvation because I know God is sure of His plan of salvation for you. Amen!

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:- John 1:10-12 KJV

In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster

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