Doubts

Have you ever had doubts about your salvation? Is it possible to be saved and have doubts? Are you saved and never had doubts? Let’s see what John had to say about the subject and how we can know for sure that we are saved.

This book is called “Names and Numbers”. Are your names written in this book? God has a book too. It is called the “The Book of Life.” It is a book that has all the names of people that has truly accepted Christ as their Savior. Let’s read about this book.

Rev 20:12-15

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

(NIV)

Notice that the verses say books were open. Everything that we have done, everything that we have said and every thought that we have had has been recorded.

John wrote this letter for all Christians, even for us today. With everything that is going on in the world today, many Christians are questioning whether the Bible is completely accurate and the true Word of God. Some may even be questioning their salvation.

John wrote this letter to dispel doubts and to give assurance that we can know that we are saved.

I Jn 5:13

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

(NIV)

Yes, we can and should know for sure that we are saved. John is talking to Christians; (to you that believe in the name of the Son of God), those are all Christians. He is talking to us here today. He tells us that he is writing these words so that we can know “K”-“N”-“O”-“W” that we have eternal life. If you have a doubt about your salvation then there is something wrong with your spirit.

Rom 8:5

5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

(NIV)

Rom 8:9

9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

(NIV)

The Spirit of God lives in the hearts of all true believing Christians. This means that we no longer let our human desires control our lives, but we allow the Spirit of God, the Holy spirit, to control our desires and actions. When you accepted Christ as your Savior, The Father sent His Holy Spirit to live in you.

There are three tests that can let you know you for sure that you have been saved.

Test 1: Do You Obey His Commands:

I Jn 2:1-6

1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:

6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

(NIV)

In verse 3 of the KJV it say:

3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

The Greek word for keep in this verse is:

5083 tereo (tay-reh’-o); meaning a watch as in maritime on the old sailing ships when they watched the stars for their navigation directions. They would watch the North Star so that they could maintain their correct course of travel. Sometimes a strong wind would blow them off course or clouds may obscure the star, but by keeping watch on the stars, they could return back to their correct course.