How to know that you are saved - sure signs that you have faith

Faith is an invisible substance. It's something that you see for yourself. The only way you can prove you have faith is if you understood the gospel and have decided to call on Jesus in prayer. Believing and confessing the right gospel and the right Jesus (the gospel of faith alone without works and eternal unconditional eternal security and the trinity) is the only thing that matters for salvation – salvation is a one time thing - Romans 10 :10, 13). The reason so many christians doubt their salvation is because of a couple things : 1 - sins which destroys their boldness and their fellowship with the Lord (spiritual immaturity - because walking in the Spirit brings about peace with God in your life and you can see Him answer your prayers, work things out and lead you intro all truth. If you walk in the flesh, you will grieve the Holy Spirit and He will stop revealing truth until you get right again and you won’t be effective in soulwinning. There’s no possible way to lose salvation but you can lose the peace and the joy of your salvation. Salvation gives you a right standing with God on an eternal basis, but you can screw up your life on this earth which will bring chastisement and loss of rewards). 2 - Ignorance concerning the fundamentals of the gospel (lack of clarity), and crucial bible verses can also lead to major doubts (especially if you were told all your life that salvation is based on your works rather than by faith alone in the blood of Jesus – i.e. if you don’t have the works then you’re not saved.). You can also develop the obsession, that, although you’ve called on Jesus in prayer, you’ve made the impardonable sin (or you've lost your salvation through sin) or that you’re somehow trusting in works althought you know that salvation is apart from any of the works that you do (and demons love to play with obsessions and fear). Once you’ve called on Jesus, write down the date in which you first heard the gospel and believed on Christ. You need to develop your trust that you know that you’re saved (you’re believing in your heart), and the best way to do that is to go to church and to prepare yourself to preach the gospel. If you can remember how you got saved, you should be able to tells others also. Doubts will be dissolved over time as you learn the fundamentals of the gospel and core bible doctrine and as you yield to the Spirit (if you can understand Bible doctrine, that is a good sign). Faith is trust. Trust builds over time. You need to rejoice and find something productive to do with your time to enjoy salvation and to rest yourself.

Process of growth:

1.        You hear the gospel preached from a saved person.

2.       You know that you are a lost sinner on your way to hell (You deserve hell).

3.       You call on Jesus by faith and ask him to save you in prayer by believing that He’s the Son of God (God manifest in the flesh, the second person of the trinity) and that He died on the cross, was buried and rose again to pay for all of your sins and that He offers you eternal life as a gift with no strings attached.

4.       The holy spirit (3rd person of the trinity, the Spirit of Christ) moves into your mind and body and resides there forevermore.

5.  You are convicted of your sins, you desire to do right, you desire to know the truth from the Bible and you desire to reach people with the gospel.  (Salvation is not a process and is seperate from the christian life (yes, the christian life is optional because salvation is not based on your works), but growth in grace is a process. You start off with the right desires, but as Paul said in Romans 7, you find not the means to do them, (this is especially true if you are immature, disobedient and lonely - and since we are mortal, fallen men, we will struggle with sin all the days of our lives, especially sins which we have already developped in the early phases of our lives. That’s why being filled with the Spirit through the Bible and preaching from a local church or group is crucial to live a clean life). The holy spirit will recall the Bible verses and the sermons you’ve listened to and will rebuke you when you’re making wrong decisions or facing temptations and comfort you when you’re afflicted (diseases, weaknesses, trials and persecutions, etc.).

6.       You love the brethren. You agree with hard Bible preaching and you start to grow in grace and knowledge as you yield to the word of God (KJV) and the Spirit’s leading in your life (the works that God has called you to do – Romans 12, 1Corinthians 12, 14). You develop a Bible mindset and you proceed to a greater level of understanding and wisdom on how to explain hard passages amongst the rest of the Bible (you see the bigger picture, and the important aspects as well). You’re able to better discern between right and wrong, and you let God conform you to His image through disciplining yourself (that’s what is meant by ‘’work out your salvation with fear and trembling’’ (trust and obey) – not for salvation (because you’ve already received it) but only to please the Lord. You cannot lose salvation no matter what, but you can get a severe chastisement down here.

7.       If you disobey the Lord and sin (especially through big sins), you will be chastised by God (bad things will happen in your life, some can bring permanent damage on your life and body depending on the severity of the sins you commit. Being stubborn and disobedient will stunt your christian growth and your ability to walk with God (as well as your peace of mind) and your relationship with others. You will fear God. Sin not only hurts yourself, but others also. No one can make you walk with God if you do not want to. Grievous sins can lead to death and a miserable life and loss of rewards in heaven. Salvation is guaranteed, but happiness and rewards in this life are only obtained through the door of obedience. Remember Romans 14 :12 and 1Corinthians 3 and the judgment seat of Christ. Your salvation is forever settled, however your rewards in heaven and the quality of your life down here are based on the works that you do and your own discipline. God can use as strong a measure as He sees fit to correct you, and if you refuse it long enough, you will be broken.

     8. If you persevere to do right and you’re patient in trials (testings), you will see the blessings of God in your life and He will lead you to greater works. If you endure to the end, you get a full reward. If you do any amount of works and then cease for a while or fall away, you will lose the time you failed to serve God, but if manage to get back on track you can still get something great and acceptable (plan B or C or whatever). Keep your mind on the things of the Lord and find whatever good you can do, and bring everything to the Lord in prayer. You ought to desire a full christian life. (Is anything too hard for the Lord? Only if it’s too hard to believe on your end).