How Do You Know if You’re Really Saved? (Part III)

by Keith Fong

The Doubting

There is no more common question in the church than, “How do I know I’m a Christian?” It is a question surrounded by much fear, asked with much longing, bursting from a heart starved for hope. If you have asked that question, I have written this series on assurance of salvation especially for you. 

In part 1, I defined assurance of faith. In part 2, I spoke to the Dead and the Deceived. This post, part 3, is for the Doubting and the Delighted. 

If this is you, there are ten-thousand wonderful things to say to you. But the first is this: the character of God is steadfast love.

God is a Father who Loves His Children

God is the Father of all believers, and He desires them to be assured of His love. Why does He do this? Because He is our heavenly Father. As a perfect Father, He desires for His children to be assured of their salvation. He is not holding out of us, keeping us at arm’s length, afraid to get too close. He knows literally everything about you—past, present, and future. And He is involved in literally everything in your life. He is loving you, dear child of God, all the day and night. He accomplishes this through many means, but I will cover just three. 

How Do You Know if You’re Really Saved? (Part II)

by Keith Fong

In our last post, I defined assurance as knowing you know and believe the gospel, as confidence in the reality of your salvation. That means, when it comes to assurance, there are only four kinds of people: 

In this post, I’ll discuss the Dead and the Deceived. 

I. The Dead

The dead are unbelievers who do not believe and who know they do not believe. Self-aware unbelievers need to hear one thing: you  need to know Jesus Christ—that He lived, and He died, and He rose to save sinners. This the gospel message: 

God: He is Creator: holy, just, wise, Almighty, Sovereign. He rules and He reigns and deserves all your love and obedience.

Man: You are a sinner, accountable to Him and yet a rebel deserving His wrath. It is not simply that you have broken a few commands but you have utterly rejected Him as the Lord of glory. For such offenses, you deserve death.

Response: And now, seeing the helplessness of your own state, the irresistible delightfulness and beauty of this Savior, you turn from your sin (that’s called repentance) cast yourself on His mercy (that’s called faith) to save your soul. Salvation is by grace alone (a free gift) alone, achieved by Christ alone (His finished work), received by faith alone (not your good works).

You must believe/trust/depend in this Savior. Knowing stories about Jesus is not enough. Living according to Christian morals is not enough. Being friends with Christians is not enough. Going to church will not save you. Jesus, the Savior, must save you. 

You can be forgiven not by becoming a better person, but by making your good outweigh your bad but simply by trusting/believing/having faith that Jesus death is enough. Christ came for sinners. That’s what every dead sinner must hear and must believe to be saved! 

How Do You Know if You’re Really Saved? (Part I)

by Keith Fong

I’ve been going to church before I was even born. While I was growing up, my parents took me to the same church every Sunday all the way until I moved out for college. And as I grew up going to church, I doubted my salvation constantly. Most Sundays, at the end of the sermon, my pastor would invite any unbelievers in the congregation to pray a prayer with him—a prayer of salvation—asking Jesus into their heart. I would always pray that prayer, just in case the last time “hadn’t worked.” 

But no matter how many times I prayed, and how earnestly I prayed it, if I was honest, I had no peace. Did it work that time? How could I know if I was really saved? I knew Jesus was a real person, that He really rose from the dead, but was I real? Was I really a Christian? 

Two Ways To Know You Are Saved

by J.D. Greear

I get the question from Christians a lot: “How can I know for sure that I’m saved?” So often, in fact, that I wrote a book addressing it: Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You Are Saved. I wrestled with the question a lot, and I was shocked to learn how common my struggle was.

Many Christians experience their spiritual lives as a roller coaster of emotion. Some days they feel like they really understand the gospel, but other days it doesn’t sit right with them—either because of sin in their lives, or unanswered questions, or the fear that “I don’t really know Christ” … or even because of a bad night’s rest! These believers don’t usually doubt Jesus, but they wonder if something is missing. Shouldn’t things be different? More pointedly, shouldn’t they be different?

One of the most important things to do when struggling with assurance of salvation is to surround yourself with other believers. Get in a small group (or something similar) and air your struggles. You can read book after book, but there is absolutely no substitute for sharing concerns with someone who knows you. As we often say at the Summit, “Discipleship happens in relationship.” Your Christian friends can help make the truth of the gospel personal and relevant, helping you discern the difference between a legitimate red flag and a false alarm.

Within our communities, I’ve found two truths that help reinforce the experience of assurance. These aren’t comprehensive, but if we keep these two truths in front of us, then we really can rest in what God has done to save us: