I Know I Am Saved, Because…
The title above offers a sort of “fill in the blanks” opportunity. Different folk express different views on the
evidence of pardon. A popular song a few
years ago contained the line, “It can’t be wrong, if it feels so right … “– and
it doesn’t take much research to know that this is the majority view.
Some answer “I know I am saved because this is the way my parents (or,
other family members) lived, and it’s good enough for me!” Others say “I know I am saved because my
church is so big and so popular that it must be right.”
Probably the answer most often given is “I know I am saved because it
feels so good.” They are resting their
hope for heaven on feelings, and feelings do not support that confidence.
JACOB AND JOSEPH
Feelings are not assurance of salvation. Feelings may be based on lies, or other
things that becloud the truth. A good
example of the problem with feelings is the case of Jacob, and his deceitful
sons. One of Jacob’s sons, Joseph,
was greatly favored by his father, so much so that his brothers
were jealous of him, even hated him (Genesis 37:4, 11). Their hatred led them to plot against him,
which resulted in his being sold to Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver,
then taken to Egypt. Joseph’s envious
brothers dipped his distinctive robe in the blood of a goat and showed it to
their father, saying to him “This we have found; please identify whether it is
your
Why? Because, based on the
information he had, Jacob sincerely
thought, “felt” his son Joseph was dead, “torn to pieces.” His grief was real; “he refused to be
comforted.”
Was Joseph dead? Or, more to the
point, did Jacob FEEL that he was dead?
The record says,”he refused to be comforted.”
To the one who says, “I know I am saved because it feels so good”,
consider Jacob, whose feelings, based on bad evidence, misled him.
THE HOPE OF HEAVEN
Can we have assurance that we have salvation and the hope (desire AND
expectation) of heaven? Yes.
For instance, Romans 8:16, 17 tells us “The Spirit Himself bears
witness with our spirit, that we are children of God, and if children then
heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him
in order that we may also be glorified with Him”.
The Spirit speaks to us, by His revelation in the Scripture. Jesus said “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your
remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). He did.
As a result of the work of the Holy Spirit, we have the scripture,
breathed out by God, and profitable “that the man of God may be complete … “ (II
Timothy 3:16, 17). The Spirit bears
witness, in the Bible, telling man what
he should do to be saved and how he should live; and man’s spirit responds by
bearing witness that he has complied with that instruction – and thus know
himself to be a child of God, an heir of God and a fellow heir with
Christ. He may therefore know that he is
heaven-bound.
Or again, Peter writes (II Peter
1:5-11) that we should add to our faith virtue, knowledge, self-control,
steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and
love – and after naming two benefits of adding these things to your faith, he
names another benefit in verse 10, “if you practice these qualities you
will never fall “. Do you want
to go to heaven? Then, “do these things”
(ASV) and never fall.
The assurance of salvation is not unconditional; faithful obedience is
required in every case. It is
nonetheless the desire of the Father for all people: the Lord is “not wishing
that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (II Peter 3:9).
You can be sure of your salvation – walk by faith.
Pat
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