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Subject: Assurance of Salvation
Replies: 50 Views: 2646
n1ck 11.04.08 - 08:51pm
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 08:52pm
2 Corinthians 13:5 '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!' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 08:56pm
The apostle Paul said this to the church of Corinth. Paul was having a lot of trouble with the Christians there who were still sinful. Look at what he says to them in the opening lines of chapter 13: *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 08:57pm
2 Corinthians 13:1-2 'This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:01pm
What is interesting here is that Paul was talking to Christians. They all believed, and they must have all said a prayer at some point in there lives repenting and asking Jesus to come into their heart. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:04pm
But clearly, Paul is teaching that just because you believe (even satan believes!) and you said a prayer one time, it doesnt necessarily mean that you are saved! Read chapter 13 vs 5 again: 'Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves....' Paul is telling them that they must test themselves (present tense) to see if they are in the faith (i.e. saved). *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:16pm
Test yourselves how? How do you test yourself to see if you are saved? Ask almost any Christian how they know they are saved, and they will say something like 'I just know that I am saved'. But Proverbs 14:12 says 'There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.' Or, they might say 'I just know in my heart that I am saved', but Jeremiah 17:9 says 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?'. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:22pm
We need to test ourselves against the SCRIPTURE. We need to compare ourselves to the Bible. Too many Christians compare themselves with others who call themselves Christians who compare themselves with others who call themselves Christians. It's like: 'Well so and so in my church does it so it must be right.' We need to compare ourselves with the WORD OF GOD. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:23pm
Now listen to me: Jesus Christ said in Matthew 7:21 'Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:28pm
The significance of Jesus saying the word 'Lord' twice is important to understand here. Jesus was not refering to somebody who calls out to the Lord for the first time on his death bed. The significance of Jesus saying it twice was to show that He was talking about somebody who emphatically and regularly declares that Jesus is Lord. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:31pm
And Jesus is saying that not everybody who declares 'Lord, Lord' is saved. But the ones who do the will of the Father ARE saved! WE OUGHT TO FIND OUT WHAT THE WILL OF THE FATHER IS AND OBEY! *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:36pm
Right, down to the business end. Grab your bibles and turn to the book of 1 John... *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:40pm
In his first epistle, John outlines several tests that we can take to see if we are saved. Let us take a look at them. Note that nowhere in the letter does John say that a past experience of faith constitutes an assurance or guarantee of salvation. To assume that we possess eternal life based purely on a past experience is a grave error. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:46pm
TEST 1: We have assurance of salvation if we believe, accept and remain in the 'Word of Life' i.e. the living Christ and in the original message of Christ (Gospel) and the NT apostles. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:48pm
1 John 1:1-2 'That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:51pm
TEST 2: We have assurance of salvation if we habitually and persistently practice righteousness rather than sin. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:53pm
1 John 1:5-7 ' This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:55pm
1 John 2:29 'If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:56pm
1 John 3:7-10 'Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 09:59pm
TEST 3: We can have assurance of salvation if we confess our sins and repent *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:00pm
1 John 1:8-10 'If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:01pm
TEST 4: We can have assurance of salvation if we submit to Jesus as Lord of our lives and sincerely endeavor to obey His commands. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:03pm
1 John 2:3-6 'And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:06pm
1 John 5:2 'By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:07pm
TEST 5: We can have assurance of salvation if we love our brothers and sisters. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:09pm
1 John 2:9-11 'Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:12pm
1 John 3:14-18 'We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:14pm
1 John 4:7-8 'Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:16pm
TEST 6: We can have assurance of salvation if we love the Father and the Son rather than the world, and we overcome the influence of the world. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:18pm
1 John 2:15-17 'Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:19pm
1 John 4:4-6 'Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:21pm
1 John 5:4 'For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:24pm
TEST 7: We can have assurance of salvation if we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and the Saviour. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:26pm
1 John 2:22-25 'Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us--eternal life.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:27pm
1 John 4:13-15 'By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:28pm
1 John 5:13 'I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:33pm
TEST 8: We can have assurance of salvation if we are conscious of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:34pm
1 John 4:13 'By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:34pm
1 John 3:24 'Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:36pm
See also Romans 8:16 'The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:40pm
TEST 9: We can have assurance of salvation if we earnestly long and hope for Christ's return to receive us to Himself. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:41pm
1 John 4:17 'By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 10:42pm
1 John 3:2-3 'Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.' *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 11:00pm
I heard a sermon on this subject by Pastor Paul Washer, and it opened my eyes such as I cannot explain. Since studying this message the Holy Spirit has convicted me of a lot of things in my life that were not right with God. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 11:02pm
Brothers and sisters, I pray that God will also use this topic to open your eyes to something new, or to speak to you in some way as He did with me. *
n1ck 11.04.08 - 11:04pm
Remember, I am not saying that you must do all the things listed in the 9 tests in order to become saved. I am saying that if you are saved, then the things in the 9 tests will be automatically evident in your life. So, if these things are not evident in your life, it is a sign that you may not be saved, and that you need to study the Word, and repent. Always compare yourself with the scripture rather than compare yourself with other people. *
n1ck 17.05.08 - 12:41pm
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. *
drakess9 24.06.08 - 01:11am
Simply thankyou Nick *
n1ck 29.08.08 - 07:06pm
You're welcome drakess *
iilmadme 12.04.09 - 05:20am
Thanks nick,thank God ur here x *
