Doubts about Salvation
You might doubt if you’ve ever been saved, or maybe you’re afraid you lost it. I’ll cover both here.
If you’re worried you haven’t been saved…
There are a couple ways to look at it. The Bible says how to be saved, and how to know we are saved.
- How to be saved
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”- Romans 10:9
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”-Luke 18:10–14
Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior, confessing your sins and believing He died for you to be forgiven?
- How to know you’re saved
“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 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 the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” — 1 John 4:12–16
Do you see evidence of God working in your heart? This is not about what you do but what God does in your heart. You’ll see things in a new light. You’ll be motivated to love God and others in a way you weren’t before.
Still wondering?
Sometimes people worry they don’t believe enough, or they’re not surrendered enough, or they’re not sincere enough in whatever way. That’s not what God is looking for! God looks for humility. We come to God realizing His goodness — that is humility! We need to justify Him, not ourselves.
In Luke 18:10–14, Jesus used the example of a man who prayed “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” The right attitude is “I am not good, but You are.”
If you’re afraid you lost your salvation…
- God is faithful to complete what He started!
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” — Philippians 1:6
- God is our Father!
He doesn’t give up on us; if we stray, He leads us back.
“For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” — Hebrews 12:6
About a Christian man who was living in sin, Paul wrote, “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” — 1 Corinthians 5:5 (He did repent, and was restored in 2 Corinthians 2. God knows how to turn us around!)
- God is loving.
He is not too harsh; He wants everyone in heaven.
“The Lord…is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” — 2 Peter 3:9
“For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies, says the Lord God. Therefore turn and live!” — Ezekiel 18:32
- God has promised that anyone who is willing, can be saved.
Even if you feel like you’ve gone too far, God’s promise is true. Focus on His promises, not your feelings. (Also see my post “Can I be forgiven?”)
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” — Revelation 22:17
