How do we know?

What does it mean, to be a Christian?

How are you a Christian?

Why?

How do you know that you are saved?  Because you believe?  How do you know that you believe?

How can we be sure that we believe when so many people say that they believe and we know that they don’t?

The doctrine of security says once saved always saved…IF…you are a true believer.  That’s true, that is in the bible.  But the doctrine of assurance is this, how do you know that you are a true believer?

How can you know?

Well I just know that I know.  Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

Another answer you might give is…”well, I know in my heart of hearts that I am saved.”

In Jeremiah 17:9 it says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Does it make sense why this is wrong?  Its because God is the only source of truth.  You can’t decide what is true based purely on what you think and how you feel.  Do you really want to trust a mind that is faulty?  Do you really want to trust a heart that is wicked?

Some say that they are saved because a preacher told them that they are saved…

…since when do men have that kind of authority?

And what has been suggested is the worst of them all, some say, “I know that I am saved because I have been walking with God.”

I will never say to you, if you’re walking with God then you’re saved and if you stop walking with God you’re not saved anymore.  We have assurance, confidence, we know that we have come to know God, not because of some prayer that you prayed once, not because of one moment of repenting, of telling God, you are right and I am wrong and then changing.  It is about constant repentance.

2 Corinthians 13:5-6

“5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.

How can we test ourselves to see if we really are saved?  Is it okay to test ourselves to see if we’re really saved?  How can we be sure if we are or if we are not?

What if we’re not saved?  What do we do?

We can’t treat being saved as if we are making a decision or a choice that labels us as “saved” the moment that we decide to do it.  Being saved is whether or not the Holy Spirit is at work in your life, revealing the Truth to you and calling you to act on that Truth.  Without God reaching out to you, you will never understand any of what I’ve said tonight.

Its about God, not about you.

Salvation is a gift given to you by God, not something you buy from God with how well or how much you love him.

If I am saved, you will be able to see that in my life.  And if you don’t see that in my life, then I can’t argue with you if you doubt my salvation.

If I call myself a basketball player but you never see me playing basketball, how is it bad for you to tell me that I’m not?

…

Your salvation is not an event.  It is not a moment.  It is not a picture taken that you really liked so had a print made and you put it in your wallet so that you could show people.

No.

Your salvation is a journey that starts when the Holy Spirit works in your heart to reveal to you how badly you need Jesus, and when you see how much you need Him you respond by believing in Him, that He died for you, so that you didn’t have to, that He rose from the dead, so that you could too.

And your salvation doesn’t end there, it lives, it moves, it breathes, it acts, it speaks…

We are encouraged in Philippians 2:12-13, “12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

If we truly are Christians, we need to work out our salvation…not to earn it, or to justify ourselves, or prove ourselves.

Why?  Why work out our salvation?

Try this.  Picture that you’re walking out in the woods, and you’re freezing.  If you don’t get warm soon, you will die.  But you see something ahead.  A light.  It is a fire.  You approach it, but you’re not sure…

Is this a fire?  How do I know?  Tell me, how do you know that a fire is a fire?

A man is sitting next to the fire and he invites you to share his fire, and be warm, and not die.

You accept.  You are now warm.  You will not die from the cold.

We work out our salvation because without it we will die.  We work out our salvation so that others will see the light, and come in from the cold, and live as well.

Work out your salvation by living a life of constant repentance because God tells us to, because it is good for us, because it will share that light with others, because that is why we were made, to be in a close relationship with Him.

What is constant repentance mean?  It isn’t confessing your sins to God and asking for forgiveness, these two things are parts of the process of repentance…

…and the third and final part is this, now go, and sin no more…change, be different, do not just be hearers and speakers of the word, but be whole and complete by DOING the word.

Constant repentance is the fingerprint, the signature of the Holy Spirit having brought us into salvation, where we will live, and not die.

So ask yourself, how do I know that I am saved?  Do I live a life of constant repentance?  Of seeking after God and His Will over our Will?  A life of sacrificial love for others?

I could go on and on.  Want to know whether or not you’re saved?  Go to the bible and see for yourself.