Can I Really Know For Sure?
Since the start of the Covenant of Grace (New Testament) which replaced the Book of the Law (Old Testament), many have asked the question, am I really saved? How can I know and how can I be sure?
There are so many people in these modern days who are concerned with that very thing. They are so afraid that they have done something wrong and that they will not be called to heaven at the end of the age. This can be caused by a couple of things. Let’s go back and look as to where sin first began and why.
The first man and woman was made by God Himself. To begin with they were perfect and walked with God. God made man first, then gave him a companion but didn’t name her. Then God took a rib out of Adam and made Eve. We don’t know how long after Adam she was made. But God not only allowed Adam to name all of the animals, but also to name the woman whom he called Eve. That made Adam or man, responsible for the woman. Adam was also over all the animals, see Gen. 2:21-25. That’s exactly what the bible teaches us.
At some point in time, Eve ran across a serpent (who actually was the devil in disguise). Eve knew that God had forbidden the two not to eat of that tree of knowledge which was in the center of the garden. But the serpent told Eve she had misunderstood God, as he is a liar and a deceiver. Then Eve took of the fruit and did eat. That’s when our troubles began. We can see this in Genesis 3:1-7.
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
That was where the fall of man began, in the Garden of Eden as Satan (the serpent), caused the doubt in Eve so she disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit. Satan is a liar, slanderer, and a murderer. And he has the ability to instill doubt in our minds today if we don’t know the true Word of God. And because of the sin that was in Adam and Eve, every person born since that time (except Jesus whose Father is God), has inherited that sin nature.
We are all related back to Adam and Eve and when they defied God when He told them not to eat, every person ever born from those two until today inherited their sin nature. And guess what? That’s why so many don’t know for sure that they are truly saved. It is the work of Satan who wanted to be god and worshipped as god. And he does his best to take away God’s people for his own. That’s what we fight against daily and that’s why so many don’t read, study or know God’s Word, even though His Word is given us in the bible.
The answers lie in God’s love letter to us. We call it the Holy Bible. But then many will tell us how the bible was written by man, which is very true, it was. God gave inspiration to 40 men who were the one’s tasked to do the writing as it was dictated to them by God Himself.
We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” And in 2 Peter 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” This was a call to recognize His truth as priority, namely that Scripture is not of human origin.
Today we must be careful as to which bible we read, as there are many cults in this world today. And they have twisted God’s Word as they are doing the devils work. It is our duty and responsibility to read God’s Word daily and let the Holy Spirit lead and guide us after we give our life to Jesus. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
There are some who don’t believe in the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus as we know Him is God the Son. He is also known as the “Word”. Most don’t realize that God the Word was the Creator who made all things. I will give you the scripture to see this: Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Then we see in the book of John: John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:2 “The same was in the beginning with God.” John 1:3, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Now we jump down to verse 14: John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
The Word (Jesus Christ), took on the form of flesh and dwelt here on this earth with us. He is called Immanuel (God with us). In Matthew 1:23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
God’s Holy Spirit put the seed into Mary who was Jesus’ earthly mother.
So why do so many people doubt or worry that they may not really be saved? Or are asking how can I know for sure or can I? Well the answer is yes, you can. That is why I felt compelled to write this article, so that you can find comfort in God’s Holy Word.
The bible tells us about Abram whose name was changed to Abraham whose name was changed by God in Genesis 17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
Abraham was a man who heard God and in Genesis 15:6 we see: Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. So, you see Abraham believed God and obeyed what He told him.
Abraham believed God even to the sacrificing of his own son as God had commanded him. But that was a test for Abraham, as God stopped Abraham at the last moment just before he killed his own son Isaac.
Here are some additional scriptures from the New Testament concerning this:
Romans 4:9 “[Cometh] this blessedness then upon the circumcision [only], or upon the uncircumcision also?” for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
Romans 4:22 “And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”
James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
The point is that God has a purpose for each of us and we are to not only read and know His words to us, but we must spend time in our bible daily so as to learn all about the one we must love and obey unconditionally. Matthew 22:37: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
For those who don’t read their bible much (if at all), how do you know what God wants from you? In today’s world, there is so much going on around us, that many of us just doesn’t seem to have time for God. Sure, at some point we may have heard a scripture such as John 3:16 which is a very popular scripture and many a preacher has used it in their sermons: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And that’s it! For many all they want you to do is to walk down the aisle and be baptized but are not taught or learn the why of anything about God’s Word. And believe me there is much more one needs to know to have a Relationship with Jesus. They need to be taught many, many things from the bible as to what believing in Him looks like. What does a new Christian do? What is expected from them? And how will they know if they are not taught by other like-minded Christians and truly dedicated pastors?
This is why God told us this: Hebrews 10:25: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Some think it’s okay to only learn from the internet and not go to church regularly. That isn’t what this is teaching as you can see, but we should help one another as “Iron sharpens Iron”. Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Besides, how can you know if what you’re being told is the truth or not? Believe me that there are many cults out there teaching heresies and leading others directly to hell. Then one day you will die and find yourself standing before Jesus at the Great White Throne Judgment Seat alone. And the excuse of “a preacher told me this or that”, or “I read this on the internet” won’t fly. Believe me, those people won’t be standing there to defend you when you stand before the Judge. It is entirely your responsibility to know the truth, and you will be judged accordingly.
So how do we know for sure we’re saved by what scripture tells us? For one, when we are saved, we receive a gift from God. That gift is called the Holy Spirit and unless we receive that spirit, we are not saved. So how does this come about and what are the signs, you ask?
First we will look at John 6:44 which tells us: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. So, this is the work of the Holy Spirit sent by the Father that draws a person to Jesus.
Next what does Jesus do then? John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. At the end of the world, Jesus gives us back to the Father.
You have just seen the work of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The 3 attributes of God. Here is more of the working of the Holy Spirit:
Romans 8:16-24 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
So many people who are Christians are afraid they can lose their salvation as some teach. That is simply not true. Once you have received the Holy Spirit in your life, you can never lose it. But that’s not to say you can’t lose the joy of your salvation as king David did for a year or so, but he never lost his salvation.
Sin can cause a person to lose their joy of salvation until they repent of their sin and turn away from it as king David did. Then the joy returns. Therefore, don’t believe Satan when he tries to convince you otherwise like he did to Eve in the garden. It can never happen.
I want you to go to Psalm 51 and read all 17 verses. See especially Psalm 51:12 “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit.”
In Psalm 51 David had lost his relationship with God due to unconfessed sin. But then God sent Nathan who confronted David about his sin with Bath-sheba and the killing of Uriah, her husband. And what to do to recover the Joy of his salvation which he had temporary lost. Today we don’t have prophets like they had back in those days, now we have the Holy Spirit who comforts, leads and guides us. And of course, God’s Holy Word, the Bible.
After Jesus’ resurrection, He walked the earth for 40 days. Then He sent the apostles to a special place where they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was called Pentecost as we read in Acts 1-11:
1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Wait for the Holy Spirit
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
The Ascension
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
And then we read in Acts 2:1-13 beginning with verse 1: (You will notice that some of these scriptures are underlined as I want you to remember them).
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Some have rewritten things in their bibles so that it includes their false teaching. And one must have sound teaching so that you don’t get caught up in believing those lies yourself. It’s very much like what was done during the war with Hitler in Germany, Goebbels, who was Adolf Hitler’s Propaganda Minister in Nazi Germany said: If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.
Some religions will tell you that you MUST speak in tongues to be saved. That is a lie! Those who spoke did so in languages of those present so they could understand them. But the miracle was that those Galileans were speaking a language they had never spoken before. See the article at https://discoverrevelation.com/speaking-in-tongues/
These Acts 1 and 2 verses happens after the ascension of Jesus who walked the earth 40 days after the Resurrection. Then He returned to heaven at the right hand of the Father where He is today. But you see that the Holy Spirit is given to those who are believers in this time we are living which is called the “Covenant of Grace”.
There is a second teaching that is heresy, and that is only 144,000 will go to heaven. This is blatantly untrue. The bible clearly teaches that 12,000 Jews from each of the 12 tribes will be the ones who will be lifted up during the time of Tribulation to bring a very large number of non-believers to Jesus and those will be the ones the Antichrist will try to kill as they will not bow a knee to him. Another lie that Satan will push to keep people from accepting Jesus.
Now let’s look at the scriptures that tell us that we cannot lose our salvation as we have been given the Holy Spirit who lives within us as we are the temple of God as His followers. (Notice he will abide with you for ever).
John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Finally, we see that Jesus tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us if we are His. So, we cannot lose what was given to us by His own words.
This does not mean that an unbeliever can’t be cleansed by the Blood of Christ as he can if he answers the call of the drawing of the Holy Spirit which I mentioned above in John 6:44. He certainly can as mankind has been given “free choice” to choose while here on earth, either good or bad, the choice is ours.
There are 3 things that happen to a Christian that you will see in the bible. They are Justified, Sanctified and finally Glorified. Here is what we see in Romans and the explanation which I show on www.bible-studys.org:
Romans 8:30 “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified .”
It is so important at the end of Romans 8:30 that you look closely at the word “Glorified”. A person who is Glorified is guaranteed that upon death, that person will go directly to heaven. That is what this is saying. Once Glorified, your future destination is set, it cannot be changed.
In 2 Timothy we read:
2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”
“Called”: The calling (of 8:28), is pre-temporal; it occurred before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4). The calling here is temporal and refers to the effectual communication of the gospel, resulting in salvation.
“Justified” indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s judicial standing before God. There is no just cause in man to warrant justification. This unmerited favor is bestowed through the redemption paid by Jesus Christ on the cross. The redeemed sinner is released on the basis of the ransom’s having been paid.
“Glorified”: Glorification is God’s doing. While God’s foreknowledge and predestination take place in eternity, and while God’s calling and justification are realized in history, God’s glorifying is yet future. It is as certain, however, as the previous works. Hence glorified is in the past tense. From God’s point of view, it is already accomplished.
The plan was set at the foundation of the world. Man could not be saved by his own deeds, he must have a Savior. That Savior we must have is Jesus Christ our Lord. We do know that God’s call for many of His ministers was a call before they were even born, like John the Baptist.
John the Baptist’s entire life (even before birth), was planned of God. Read the account of John the Baptist’s birth (in Luke chapter 1). This does not mean that John had no Choice. He could have refused, but he didn’t. God knew he would carry out God’s purpose in his life. Obedience to God’s will in our life will bring peace in our life too.
Most people today take their call to serve God far too lightly. It is serious business to answer God’s call and serve God. We must first be able to say, “not my will be done, but thine O Lord” and then say, “ Here am I Lord, send me“.
There is one point that is not mentioned in the scripture above and that word is Sanctification and the meaning is to be “Set Apart as to declare Holy”. As we mature in the word of God and develop as the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, guide and also our Comforter, we are constantly being Sanctified as well. God will allow His children to go through all kinds of trials and tribulations to both strengthen and teach us. As this happens, we will learn that He will help us through everything and that is a very good thing. I call it progressive Sanctification.
To embellish on what kind of things I just spoke of, shows us what to expect:
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience . But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
1 Corinthians 10:13 There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able ; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Titus 3:8 “[This is] a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life , which the Lord has promised to them that love him.
Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience;
So, we are told that we will go through various trials and tribulations, but these are not to punish us but to make us stronger as we learn to trust God to be with us and help us through anything that we go through.
Here are a few short verses that I will never forget:
1 Thess. 5:16: Rejoice always.
1 Thess. 5:17: Pray without ceasing.
1 Thess. 5:18: In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
These are very good to learn by heart and remember as they can help you in whatever situation you find yourself in, especially during hard times.
Here are a few more scriptures it would be good to read and learn.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever ; (while Jesus was here with us on the earth, He was our comforter).
Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 7:21-23 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord .
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me .
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men. It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age .
Before I end this article, let me give you my testimony which I feel may help others as they see how I came to the Lord.
First I would like to say this. I can count some 18 or so times when I should have been killed by doing some of the most dangerous things one could do. I can tell you that I spent almost 8 years in the USAF and for the last 4 years, flew with a crew of men who performed early warning patrol off the western coast out over the Pacific Ocean, back in the early 60’s. I can’t tell you how many times we had to abort due to the losing of engines, fires, etc. And for some unknown reason each time that happened, I had a premonition that something was going to happen before our flight started.
But one thing sticks out more than the others before those last 4 years. I was stationed 50 miles west of Okinawa on an island that was only 4 miles wide and 8 miles long. At the top of a small mountain, was a radar site. This was about 320 miles off the coast of Red China. The island had a coral reef that surrounded the entire island except for a boat dock where small ships could come in with troops and supplies/food stuff for which there was about a 100 foot opening in the reef.
One day a friend of mine and myself decided to go sailing and we hitched a ride down to that boat dock where my friend had a homemade sailboat made with a tip tank from a T-33 Jet. It had been cut in half and a person down in the local village had made outriggers, mast, and large rudder for it. But my friend had never sailed it up to that time. This would be its maiden voyage.
Oh, did I tell you this was happening during condition 2 of a typhoon which was upon us with 70 mile an hour winds which were constantly picking up? And yes, we snuck down to the boat dock in the back of a transport which was going to the village to bring everyone back to base. We weren’t supposed to leave the base during this storm.
My friend pulled the sailboat out where he had hidden it under the boat dock, put it into the water and I got in first. When he opened the sail that little 6 to 7-foot thing jumped up on the water and was skimming along at a very high rate of speed. Something I thought only speed boats did. We headed right through that opening in the reef as that was the way the wind was directly blowing. I am sure you have seen some tremendously high waves on TV at various times, so let me tell you that the waves we encountered that day were as high or higher that any large telephone pole you’ve even seen. One minute we were at the top of the world, the next we were down in a what seemed like a deep hole at the bottom of those waves.
Very soon the Island we left began to disappear as we went further out to sea. Did I tell you that neither of us knew anything about sail boating? Well you know now! One thing you DON’T DO is to turn into the wind without taking down the sail. But that is exactly what we did. My friend was pretty good size (well over 6-foot) and leaped out as far as he could like a cat onto the outrigger which was raising very fast as we were about to be capsized. Then a miracle happened, the boat leveled out. Then we learned how to crab in a sailboat. In other words, you can’t sail directly into the wind, but must do it in angles using the wind to help you to zip zag into the wind.
It took forever to get back to the corral reef which had some 40-foot breakers crashing down on it as the waves were hitting it hard. But finally, we managed to get back to the boat dock and then took forever to get back to base.
Looking back on that, we had accomplished the impossible all thanks to the Grace of God as we certainly didn’t deserve what He did for us and brought us back alive. Especially because of the life I had been living. I would say anyone else would have had a close to a zero possibility of accomplishing that. And not to bright me was never scared at any time during this whole thing. I can look back and see that God had a plan for me now, but it is a shame it took me so long to grow a brain as I could have done so much more for Him.
So, let me fast forward some 40 years.
It began when I was much younger and was not reading the Bible In fact, I dropped out of church disgusted after two churches in a row I attended shut down. It took me 25 years approximately to return attending church as my second wife talked me into going back to church. Yes, I divorced and remarried.
I was always able to pretty much do what I wanted, when I wanted as far as controlling myself and my emotions. Such as smoking which I did when I was in the service for almost 8 years. Drinking, carousing around, etc. But I had a couple of habits such as watching porn and using bad language which I couldn’t seem to overcome. So, over the years I pretty much rationalized that I did other good things to overcome the bad things. That was stupid, terrible thinking on my part as it doesn’t work that way.
Also, I was NOT reading or studying any bible. But God didn’t give up on me even if I had given up on Him. I decided to go back to church one day as my wife had asked me to do. We continued going to church for some 3-1/2 years. Then one day we decided to move from Missouri to Texas as she had family down there. We moved and bought a fairly new house in a very small town called Aquilla. Then we found a little Baptist church located in Golson which was about 8 miles away.
We had been going there every Sunday and really enjoyed the preacher and the congregation of primarily farmers. And yes, many in my men’s Sunday School class wore bib overalls. So, we moved our membership there. And still I was not reading my bible. As the time went by, I began discovering more and more about God and that’s when I began to draw closer to Him. One day I remember telling God that I would do whatever He wanted from me.
On that following Sunday after telling God that, I went to church and the men’s Sunday School class dropped a bomb on me. They asked me to be their teacher. At that point in my life I knew very little about His Word and of course my first instinct was to say no. But I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth as I had told God just a few days earlier I would do whatever He wanted from me.
I ended up asking them to give me a week to think about it. Of course, God and I had a lot of conversations that week. But I could not change anything, and I knew I had to do exactly what I had told God that I would do … anything. That next Sunday I told the class yes, I would do it.
And I did until about a year later we moved back to Missouri and moved our membership back to a local Baptist church there. Since, I’ve taught 8 years in the AWANA program for kids, became a Sunday School teacher in the church we joined, taught a home bible study class, became a Gideon, and built up a very profitable internet business. I ended up selling the business and walking away from it so I could do those two web sites shown below which took about 17 years to complete.
All because of a vow I made to God and then did it when He called me. It wasn’t always easy, but if I had to do everything all over again, I would have never dropped out of church. But I learned a lot during those years which prepped me to do what I did on those two websites.
What must I do to be saved scriptures
The following scriptures teaches that salvation is a gift of God, received by His Grace through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
It is strongly suggested that after reading each of these scriptures that you go to our commentaries found on “Books of the Bible” and see a detailed explanation of the meaning we have for each scripture.
These can be found at http://www.bible-studys.org
Begin by clicking on the book which takes you to whatever book you’re looking for. And at the bottom of that page you will find the directory. Just click on which chapter or section you’re looking for. Every scripture in the bible is explained there.
Matthew 3:2 “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:”
Matthew 3:11 “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and [with] fire:”
Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Luke 13:5 “ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish .”
Luke 24:47 “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:36 “ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him .”
John 7:38 “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
John 11:25 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”
John 11:26 “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
Acts 3:11 “And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.”
Acts 13:38 “Be it known unto you therefore, men [and] brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:”
Acts 13:39 “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
Acts 15:11 “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”
Acts 16:30 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Acts 16:31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”
Acts 17:31 “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead.”
Acts 20:21 “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
Romans 1:17 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
Romans 3:22 “Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:”
Romans 3:25 “Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
Romans 4:3 “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
Romans 4:5 “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
Romans 4:16 “Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,”
Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Romans 10:9 “ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved .”
Romans 10:10 “ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation .”
Romans 10:11 “ For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed .”
1 Corinthians 15:2: “By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”
2 Corinthians 7:9 “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new .
2 Corinthians 7:10 ” For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
Galatians 3:6 “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Galatians 3:7 “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”
Galatians 3:8 “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
Galatians 3:9 “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”
Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
Galatians 3:26 “ For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:”
Philippians 3:8 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ,”
Philippians 3:9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”
Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 2:25 “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”
2 Timothy 3:15 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 2:29 “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.”
1 John 3:9 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
1 John 5:1 “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”
1 John 5:4 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith.”
1 John 5:5 “ Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God ?”
1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
1 John 5:18 “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
Revelation 16:9 “And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.”
Revelation 16:11 “And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”
Now before I end this message to you, I want you to ponder on something. Our time here on earth currently is about 70 to 80 years normally. Of course, you occasionally see some living over a hundred years, but no where near some of the older saints who lived around 900 plus years. So, let’s look closely at the 70 to 80 years. We are put here on this earth for a reason, and it is to do what God created us to do. And to love and serve Him, not ourselves or anything we make into a god that takes our focus off Him and onto things we have such a high priority for.
Things such as sporting events, jobs, TV, iPhones, golfing, and many other things people put ahead of God. And many don’t go to church at all. They’re too busy wrapped up in what the world can give them.
Some of you think as I did when I was young, I can always do that when I get older, I want to have fun now. But what if your plans are interrupted by an accident in which you are killed without knowing Jesus as your Savior? You are put here to serve God and that should be your entire focus in this life. Each day you should live your life for God.
The alternative one should consider, is how long is eternity? Millions and millions of years and more. Where do you want to spend eternity? With God in a Paradise you cannot imagine (where every day is a day full of happiness and joy), in a body which will never get old or sick. Where night never comes, and you will live with God and millions upon millions of those who gave their life to God.
Or the alternative is to be with Satan in a place of darkness called hell. Where it is without light as the light is only in heaven. Where things will grab you in the dark, the sound of constant screaming, and being in constant pain and torment in the lake of fire. Heaven or hell, that is your choice. But it will be a place of constant torment and suffering such as you can only imagine. Those are your two choices heaven or hell and God allows each of us to decide where we will go.
When a person gives their life to Jesus, then sees how much their life has changed, that’s when you can know that you were given the Holy Spirit. You have become a new creation.
So, I ask you this. Wouldn’t it be a thousand times better (or millions), to serve God and do what He put us on this earth for during these 70 or 80 years now. Doing what He wants us to do by serving Him daily. Doing the things that He Himself created us to do. And be willing to give up those things which pleases us, instead of Him? 80 years serving Him then living in complete paradise for eternity, as opposed to doing what pleases us here on the earth now. Doesn’t make so much sense when you think about it that way does it?
Much has been written here to show you that once you chose to follow God, He will never leave nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 … for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Ezek. 36:25-27 “I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of Flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances”.
Yes, you will go through trials and tribulations as we all do, and many of those trials will be hard. But He will be by our side and help us through those difficult times. He has given us His Word on that, and our God cannot lie. That would go completely beyond His nature and would be impossible for Him to do.
You have been given a lot of scriptures explaining why once you give you heart, mind and soul to Him, you will be with Him forever. And don’t believe anyone who tries to tell you then that you can lose your salvation because once you have been given His Holy Spirit, you will be Glorified (as scripture shows above). But what a person can lose, are some of the rewards that everyone receives when they go to heaven. These rewards are some of the things that are being sent to heaven by our actions and obedience to God.
Deut. 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul .
So, make it a commitment to read and study your bible daily. Then you will learn everything God expects from you. And when you read, don’t speed read, but meditate on what you are reading and commit as much as possible to memory. And each year you will be surprised at how much you will remember because that’s another thing the Holy Spirit does for a person. He helps to bring things back to your memory as you need it. How neat is that?
One of the things we are told to do is to witness to others. By learning what is in the bible, we are able to begin helping others as we all go through. But it does take time and the Holy Spirit can teach each of us what He wants us to know so that we can fill the purpose of what we were put here to do.
You will discover that Paul who was called by God did not learn from other men, he learned from the Holy Spirit. He went into the wilderness for 3 years while he was being taught. Galatians 1:17 “Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.”
“Jerusalem … Arabia … Damascus”: Rather than immediately traveling to Jerusalem to be instructed by the apostles, Paul instead went to Nabatean Arabia, a wilderness desert that stretched east of Damascus down to the Sinai Peninsula. After being prepared for ministry by the Lord, he returned to minister in nearby Damascus.
Following his Damascus road conversion Paul made no trip to Jerusalem, where the apostles were, but spent approximately three years in Arabia. It is implied that he conferred with God there. During these three years, he was not taught by men.
Not even the other apostles were to teach Paul. He was to be taught of the Spirit of God. Paul was in the desert of Arabia 3 years in training by the Holy Spirit.
This is very important to notice who did Paul’s training, the Holy Spirit. Paul spent 3 years being trained by the Holy Spirit. That’s the same thing which happens to us, we are and will be taught by the Holy Spirit. Don’t get impatient trying to learn everything at once, as this will be a process in which you will be taught over time. Then you will notice from year to year just how much your faith and knowledge has grown.
We are told to go and tell others about Jesus and the Gospel. This is what a faithful Christian does. So let me conclude this and tell you a story about a man named Clinton who I have served with prior to his death.
Clinton was a fellow Gideon who loved to tell others about Christ and to give them a small Gideon bible. One day he met a man named Penn Jillette who was an atheist at a function he went to.
In 2009, the outspoken atheist Penn Jillette effusively praised a Christian businessman for giving him a Bible and proclaiming that salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.
The businessman was “really kind and nice and sane and looked me in the eyes and talked to me and then gave me this Bible.”
“And I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all,” Jillette said at the time. “If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward.”
Jillette asked: “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”
In contrast, he said, the businessman “cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible.”
“I’ll tell you; he was a very, very, very good man, and that’s really important … that was a really good man who gave me that book,” Jillette said.
That’s what the people of God do, because of their love of God and the love of others. As you can see here, not only did it affect this atheist non-believer, but because of what Penn Jillette said, how many other lives could have been changed? We never know, but if we are faithful to following God’s Holy Word, we know it is what He wants as it is in His Plan.
It is my sincere prayer that this article helps everyone who is haunted by wondering if they are really saved or not. Do not worry or fear as God’s Words are very plain and He will be with you as you overcome that fear.
Go here: http://www.bible-studys.org for 65 books of the bible, or https://www.bible-studys.org/Books%20of%20the%20Bible.html for the book of Revelation, to see commentaries on every book, every scripture of the entire bible.
May God’s Holy Spirit fill you with His Wisdom and Understanding as you read and study God’s Holy Word.
And may your life be filled with joy knowing that when you accepted Jesus Christ and saw how your life was changed, it was then your life was Glorified and that God had accepted you for His own for eternity. That is the Salvation that you can never lose.
Return to Individual SubjectsCan I Really Know For Sure?
Since the start of the Covenant of Grace (New Testament) which replaced the Book of the Law (Old Testament), many have asked the question, am I really saved? How can I know and how can I be sure?
There are so many people in these modern days who are concerned with that very thing. They are so afraid that they have done something wrong and that they will not be called to heaven at the end of the age. This can be caused by a couple of things. Let’s go back and look as to where sin first began and why.
The first man and woman was made by God Himself. To begin with they were perfect and walked with God. God made man first, then gave him a companion but didn’t name her. Then God took a rib out of Adam and made Eve. We don’t know how long after Adam she was made. But God not only allowed Adam to name all of the animals, but also to name the woman whom he called Eve. That made Adam or man, responsible for the woman. Adam was also over all the animals, see Gen. 2:21-25. That’s exactly what the bible teaches us.
At some point in time, Eve ran across a serpent (who actually was the devil in disguise). Eve knew that God had forbidden the two not to eat of that tree of knowledge which was in the center of the garden. But the serpent told Eve she had misunderstood God, as he is a liar and a deceiver. Then Eve took of the fruit and did eat. That’s when our troubles began. We can see this in Genesis 3:1-7.
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
That was where the fall of man began, in the Garden of Eden as Satan (the serpent), caused the doubt in Eve so she disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit. Satan is a liar, slanderer, and a murderer. And he has the ability to instill doubt in our minds today if we don’t know the true Word of God. And because of the sin that was in Adam and Eve, every person born since that time (except Jesus whose Father is God), has inherited that sin nature.
We are all related back to Adam and Eve and when they defied God when He told them not to eat, every person ever born from those two until today inherited their sin nature. And guess what? That’s why so many don’t know for sure that they are truly saved. It is the work of Satan who wanted to be god and worshipped as god. And he does his best to take away God’s people for his own. That’s what we fight against daily and that’s why so many don’t read, study or know God’s Word, even though His Word is given us in the bible.
The answers lie in God’s love letter to us. We call it the Holy Bible. But then many will tell us how the bible was written by man, which is very true, it was. God gave inspiration to 40 men who were the one’s tasked to do the writing as it was dictated to them by God Himself.
We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” And in 2 Peter 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” This was a call to recognize His truth as priority, namely that Scripture is not of human origin.
Today we must be careful as to which bible we read, as there are many cults in this world today. And they have twisted God’s Word as they are doing the devils work. It is our duty and responsibility to read God’s Word daily and let the Holy Spirit lead and guide us after we give our life to Jesus. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
There are some who don’t believe in the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus as we know Him is God the Son. He is also known as the “Word”. Most don’t realize that God the Word was the Creator who made all things. I will give you the scripture to see this: Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Then we see in the book of John: John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:2 “The same was in the beginning with God.” John 1:3, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Now we jump down to verse 14: John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
The Word (Jesus Christ), took on the form of flesh and dwelt here on this earth with us. He is called Immanuel (God with us). In Matthew 1:23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
God’s Holy Spirit put the seed into Mary who was Jesus’ earthly mother.
So why do so many people doubt or worry that they may not really be saved? Or are asking how can I know for sure or can I? Well the answer is yes, you can. That is why I felt compelled to write this article, so that you can find comfort in God’s Holy Word.
The bible tells us about Abram whose name was changed to Abraham whose name was changed by God in Genesis 17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
Abraham was a man who heard God and in Genesis 15:6 we see: Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. So, you see Abraham believed God and obeyed what He told him.
Abraham believed God even to the sacrificing of his own son as God had commanded him. But that was a test for Abraham, as God stopped Abraham at the last moment just before he killed his own son Isaac.
Here are some additional scriptures from the New Testament concerning this:
Romans 4:9 “[Cometh] this blessedness then upon the circumcision [only], or upon the uncircumcision also?” for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
Romans 4:22 “And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”
James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
The point is that God has a purpose for each of us and we are to not only read and know His words to us, but we must spend time in our bible daily so as to learn all about the one we must love and obey unconditionally. Matthew 22:37: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
For those who don’t read their bible much (if at all), how do you know what God wants from you? In today’s world, there is so much going on around us, that many of us just doesn’t seem to have time for God. Sure, at some point we may have heard a scripture such as John 3:16 which is a very popular scripture and many a preacher has used it in their sermons: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And that’s it! For many all they want you to do is to walk down the aisle and be baptized but are not taught or learn the why of anything about God’s Word. And believe me there is much more one needs to know to have a Relationship with Jesus. They need to be taught many, many things from the bible as to what believing in Him looks like. What does a new Christian do? What is expected from them? And how will they know if they are not taught by other like-minded Christians and truly dedicated pastors?
This is why God told us this: Hebrews 10:25: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Some think it’s okay to only learn from the internet and not go to church regularly. That isn’t what this is teaching as you can see, but we should help one another as “Iron sharpens Iron”. Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Besides, how can you know if what you’re being told is the truth or not? Believe me that there are many cults out there teaching heresies and leading others directly to hell. Then one day you will die and find yourself standing before Jesus at the Great White Throne Judgment Seat alone. And the excuse of “a preacher told me this or that”, or “I read this on the internet” won’t fly. Believe me, those people won’t be standing there to defend you when you stand before the Judge. It is entirely your responsibility to know the truth, and you will be judged accordingly.
So how do we know for sure we’re saved by what scripture tells us? For one, when we are saved, we receive a gift from God. That gift is called the Holy Spirit and unless we receive that spirit, we are not saved. So how does this come about and what are the signs, you ask?
First we will look at John 6:44 which tells us: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. So, this is the work of the Holy Spirit sent by the Father that draws a person to Jesus.
Next what does Jesus do then? John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. At the end of the world, Jesus gives us back to the Father.
You have just seen the work of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The 3 attributes of God. Here is more of the working of the Holy Spirit:
Romans 8:16-24 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
So many people who are Christians are afraid they can lose their salvation as some teach. That is simply not true. Once you have received the Holy Spirit in your life, you can never lose it. But that’s not to say you can’t lose the joy of your salvation as king David did for a year or so, but he never lost his salvation.
Sin can cause a person to lose their joy of salvation until they repent of their sin and turn away from it as king David did. Then the joy returns. Therefore, don’t believe Satan when he tries to convince you otherwise like he did to Eve in the garden. It can never happen.
I want you to go to Psalm 51 and read all 17 verses. See especially Psalm 51:12 “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit.”
In Psalm 51 David had lost his relationship with God due to unconfessed sin. But then God sent Nathan who confronted David about his sin with Bath-sheba and the killing of Uriah, her husband. And what to do to recover the Joy of his salvation which he had temporary lost. Today we don’t have prophets like they had back in those days, now we have the Holy Spirit who comforts, leads and guides us. And of course, God’s Holy Word, the Bible.
After Jesus’ resurrection, He walked the earth for 40 days. Then He sent the apostles to a special place where they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was called Pentecost as we read in Acts 1-11:
1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Wait for the Holy Spirit
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
The Ascension
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
And then we read in Acts 2:1-13 beginning with verse 1: (You will notice that some of these scriptures are underlined as I want you to remember them).
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Some have rewritten things in their bibles so that it includes their false teaching. And one must have sound teaching so that you don’t get caught up in believing those lies yourself. It’s very much like what was done during the war with Hitler in Germany, Goebbels, who was Adolf Hitler’s Propaganda Minister in Nazi Germany said: If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.
Some religions will tell you that you MUST speak in tongues to be saved. That is a lie! Those who spoke did so in languages of those present so they could understand them. But the miracle was that those Galileans were speaking a language they had never spoken before. See the article at https://discoverrevelation.com/speaking-in-tongues/
These Acts 1 and 2 verses happens after the ascension of Jesus who walked the earth 40 days after the Resurrection. Then He returned to heaven at the right hand of the Father where He is today. But you see that the Holy Spirit is given to those who are believers in this time we are living which is called the “Covenant of Grace”.
There is a second teaching that is heresy, and that is only 144,000 will go to heaven. This is blatantly untrue. The bible clearly teaches that 12,000 Jews from each of the 12 tribes will be the ones who will be lifted up during the time of Tribulation to bring a very large number of non-believers to Jesus and those will be the ones the Antichrist will try to kill as they will not bow a knee to him. Another lie that Satan will push to keep people from accepting Jesus.
Now let’s look at the scriptures that tell us that we cannot lose our salvation as we have been given the Holy Spirit who lives within us as we are the temple of God as His followers. (Notice he will abide with you for ever).
John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Finally, we see that Jesus tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us if we are His. So, we cannot lose what was given to us by His own words.
This does not mean that an unbeliever can’t be cleansed by the Blood of Christ as he can if he answers the call of the drawing of the Holy Spirit which I mentioned above in John 6:44. He certainly can as mankind has been given “free choice” to choose while here on earth, either good or bad, the choice is ours.
There are 3 things that happen to a Christian that you will see in the bible. They are Justified, Sanctified and finally Glorified. Here is what we see in Romans and the explanation which I show on www.bible-studys.org:
Romans 8:30 “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified .”
It is so important at the end of Romans 8:30 that you look closely at the word “Glorified”. A person who is Glorified is guaranteed that upon death, that person will go directly to heaven. That is what this is saying. Once Glorified, your future destination is set, it cannot be changed.
In 2 Timothy we read:
2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”
“Called”: The calling (of 8:28), is pre-temporal; it occurred before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4). The calling here is temporal and refers to the effectual communication of the gospel, resulting in salvation.
“Justified” indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s judicial standing before God. There is no just cause in man to warrant justification. This unmerited favor is bestowed through the redemption paid by Jesus Christ on the cross. The redeemed sinner is released on the basis of the ransom’s having been paid.
“Glorified”: Glorification is God’s doing. While God’s foreknowledge and predestination take place in eternity, and while God’s calling and justification are realized in history, God’s glorifying is yet future. It is as certain, however, as the previous works. Hence glorified is in the past tense. From God’s point of view, it is already accomplished.
The plan was set at the foundation of the world. Man could not be saved by his own deeds, he must have a Savior. That Savior we must have is Jesus Christ our Lord. We do know that God’s call for many of His ministers was a call before they were even born, like John the Baptist.
John the Baptist’s entire life (even before birth), was planned of God. Read the account of John the Baptist’s birth (in Luke chapter 1). This does not mean that John had no Choice. He could have refused, but he didn’t. God knew he would carry out God’s purpose in his life. Obedience to God’s will in our life will bring peace in our life too.
Most people today take their call to serve God far too lightly. It is serious business to answer God’s call and serve God. We must first be able to say, “not my will be done, but thine O Lord” and then say, “ Here am I Lord, send me“.
There is one point that is not mentioned in the scripture above and that word is Sanctification and the meaning is to be “Set Apart as to declare Holy”. As we mature in the word of God and develop as the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, guide and also our Comforter, we are constantly being Sanctified as well. God will allow His children to go through all kinds of trials and tribulations to both strengthen and teach us. As this happens, we will learn that He will help us through everything and that is a very good thing. I call it progressive Sanctification.
To embellish on what kind of things I just spoke of, shows us what to expect:
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience . But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
1 Corinthians 10:13 There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able ; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Titus 3:8 “[This is] a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life , which the Lord has promised to them that love him.
Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience;
So, we are told that we will go through various trials and tribulations, but these are not to punish us but to make us stronger as we learn to trust God to be with us and help us through anything that we go through.
Here are a few short verses that I will never forget:
1 Thess. 5:16: Rejoice always.
1 Thess. 5:17: Pray without ceasing.
1 Thess. 5:18: In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
These are very good to learn by heart and remember as they can help you in whatever situation you find yourself in, especially during hard times.
Here are a few more scriptures it would be good to read and learn.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever ; (while Jesus was here with us on the earth, He was our comforter).
Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 7:21-23 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord .
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me .
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men. It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age .
Before I end this article, let me give you my testimony which I feel may help others as they see how I came to the Lord.
First I would like to say this. I can count some 18 or so times when I should have been killed by doing some of the most dangerous things one could do. I can tell you that I spent almost 8 years in the USAF and for the last 4 years, flew with a crew of men who performed early warning patrol off the western coast out over the Pacific Ocean, back in the early 60’s. I can’t tell you how many times we had to abort due to the losing of engines, fires, etc. And for some unknown reason each time that happened, I had a premonition that something was going to happen before our flight started.
But one thing sticks out more than the others before those last 4 years. I was stationed 50 miles west of Okinawa on an island that was only 4 miles wide and 8 miles long. At the top of a small mountain, was a radar site. This was about 320 miles off the coast of Red China. The island had a coral reef that surrounded the entire island except for a boat dock where small ships could come in with troops and supplies/food stuff for which there was about a 100 foot opening in the reef.
One day a friend of mine and myself decided to go sailing and we hitched a ride down to that boat dock where my friend had a homemade sailboat made with a tip tank from a T-33 Jet. It had been cut in half and a person down in the local village had made outriggers, mast, and large rudder for it. But my friend had never sailed it up to that time. This would be its maiden voyage.
Oh, did I tell you this was happening during condition 2 of a typhoon which was upon us with 70 mile an hour winds which were constantly picking up? And yes, we snuck down to the boat dock in the back of a transport which was going to the village to bring everyone back to base. We weren’t supposed to leave the base during this storm.
My friend pulled the sailboat out where he had hidden it under the boat dock, put it into the water and I got in first. When he opened the sail that little 6 to 7-foot thing jumped up on the water and was skimming along at a very high rate of speed. Something I thought only speed boats did. We headed right through that opening in the reef as that was the way the wind was directly blowing. I am sure you have seen some tremendously high waves on TV at various times, so let me tell you that the waves we encountered that day were as high or higher that any large telephone pole you’ve even seen. One minute we were at the top of the world, the next we were down in a what seemed like a deep hole at the bottom of those waves.
Very soon the Island we left began to disappear as we went further out to sea. Did I tell you that neither of us knew anything about sail boating? Well you know now! One thing you DON’T DO is to turn into the wind without taking down the sail. But that is exactly what we did. My friend was pretty good size (well over 6-foot) and leaped out as far as he could like a cat onto the outrigger which was raising very fast as we were about to be capsized. Then a miracle happened, the boat leveled out. Then we learned how to crab in a sailboat. In other words, you can’t sail directly into the wind, but must do it in angles using the wind to help you to zip zag into the wind.
It took forever to get back to the corral reef which had some 40-foot breakers crashing down on it as the waves were hitting it hard. But finally, we managed to get back to the boat dock and then took forever to get back to base.
Looking back on that, we had accomplished the impossible all thanks to the Grace of God as we certainly didn’t deserve what He did for us and brought us back alive. Especially because of the life I had been living. I would say anyone else would have had a close to a zero possibility of accomplishing that. And not to bright me was never scared at any time during this whole thing. I can look back and see that God had a plan for me now, but it is a shame it took me so long to grow a brain as I could have done so much more for Him.
So, let me fast forward some 40 years.
It began when I was much younger and was not reading the Bible In fact, I dropped out of church disgusted after two churches in a row I attended shut down. It took me 25 years approximately to return attending church as my second wife talked me into going back to church. Yes, I divorced and remarried.
I was always able to pretty much do what I wanted, when I wanted as far as controlling myself and my emotions. Such as smoking which I did when I was in the service for almost 8 years. Drinking, carousing around, etc. But I had a couple of habits such as watching porn and using bad language which I couldn’t seem to overcome. So, over the years I pretty much rationalized that I did other good things to overcome the bad things. That was stupid, terrible thinking on my part as it doesn’t work that way.
Also, I was NOT reading or studying any bible. But God didn’t give up on me even if I had given up on Him. I decided to go back to church one day as my wife had asked me to do. We continued going to church for some 3-1/2 years. Then one day we decided to move from Missouri to Texas as she had family down there. We moved and bought a fairly new house in a very small town called Aquilla. Then we found a little Baptist church located in Golson which was about 8 miles away.
We had been going there every Sunday and really enjoyed the preacher and the congregation of primarily farmers. And yes, many in my men’s Sunday School class wore bib overalls. So, we moved our membership there. And still I was not reading my bible. As the time went by, I began discovering more and more about God and that’s when I began to draw closer to Him. One day I remember telling God that I would do whatever He wanted from me.
On that following Sunday after telling God that, I went to church and the men’s Sunday School class dropped a bomb on me. They asked me to be their teacher. At that point in my life I knew very little about His Word and of course my first instinct was to say no. But I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth as I had told God just a few days earlier I would do whatever He wanted from me.
I ended up asking them to give me a week to think about it. Of course, God and I had a lot of conversations that week. But I could not change anything, and I knew I had to do exactly what I had told God that I would do … anything. That next Sunday I told the class yes, I would do it.
And I did until about a year later we moved back to Missouri and moved our membership back to a local Baptist church there. Since, I’ve taught 8 years in the AWANA program for kids, became a Sunday School teacher in the church we joined, taught a home bible study class, became a Gideon, and built up a very profitable internet business. I ended up selling the business and walking away from it so I could do those two web sites shown below which took about 17 years to complete.
All because of a vow I made to God and then did it when He called me. It wasn’t always easy, but if I had to do everything all over again, I would have never dropped out of church. But I learned a lot during those years which prepped me to do what I did on those two websites.
What must I do to be saved scriptures
The following scriptures teaches that salvation is a gift of God, received by His Grace through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
It is strongly suggested that after reading each of these scriptures that you go to our commentaries found on “Books of the Bible” and see a detailed explanation of the meaning we have for each scripture.
These can be found at http://www.bible-studys.org
Begin by clicking on the book which takes you to whatever book you’re looking for. And at the bottom of that page you will find the directory. Just click on which chapter or section you’re looking for. Every scripture in the bible is explained there.
Matthew 3:2 “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:”
Matthew 3:11 “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and [with] fire:”
Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Luke 13:5 “ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish .”
Luke 24:47 “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:36 “ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him .”
John 7:38 “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
John 11:25 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”
John 11:26 “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
Acts 3:11 “And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.”
Acts 13:38 “Be it known unto you therefore, men [and] brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:”
Acts 13:39 “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
Acts 15:11 “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”
Acts 16:30 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Acts 16:31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”
Acts 17:31 “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead.”
Acts 20:21 “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
Romans 1:17 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
Romans 3:22 “Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:”
Romans 3:25 “Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
Romans 4:3 “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
Romans 4:5 “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
Romans 4:16 “Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,”
Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Romans 10:9 “ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved .”
Romans 10:10 “ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation .”
Romans 10:11 “ For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed .”
1 Corinthians 15:2: “By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”
2 Corinthians 7:9 “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new .
2 Corinthians 7:10 ” For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
Galatians 3:6 “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Galatians 3:7 “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”
Galatians 3:8 “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
Galatians 3:9 “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”
Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
Galatians 3:26 “ For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:”
Philippians 3:8 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ,”
Philippians 3:9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”
Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 2:25 “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”
2 Timothy 3:15 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 2:29 “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.”
1 John 3:9 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
1 John 5:1 “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”
1 John 5:4 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith.”
1 John 5:5 “ Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God ?”
1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
1 John 5:18 “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
Revelation 16:9 “And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.”
Revelation 16:11 “And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”
Now before I end this message to you, I want you to ponder on something. Our time here on earth currently is about 70 to 80 years normally. Of course, you occasionally see some living over a hundred years, but no where near some of the older saints who lived around 900 plus years. So, let’s look closely at the 70 to 80 years. We are put here on this earth for a reason, and it is to do what God created us to do. And to love and serve Him, not ourselves or anything we make into a god that takes our focus off Him and onto things we have such a high priority for.
Things such as sporting events, jobs, TV, iPhones, golfing, and many other things people put ahead of God. And many don’t go to church at all. They’re too busy wrapped up in what the world can give them.
Some of you think as I did when I was young, I can always do that when I get older, I want to have fun now. But what if your plans are interrupted by an accident in which you are killed without knowing Jesus as your Savior? You are put here to serve God and that should be your entire focus in this life. Each day you should live your life for God.
The alternative one should consider, is how long is eternity? Millions and millions of years and more. Where do you want to spend eternity? With God in a Paradise you cannot imagine (where every day is a day full of happiness and joy), in a body which will never get old or sick. Where night never comes, and you will live with God and millions upon millions of those who gave their life to God.
Or the alternative is to be with Satan in a place of darkness called hell. Where it is without light as the light is only in heaven. Where things will grab you in the dark, the sound of constant screaming, and being in constant pain and torment in the lake of fire. Heaven or hell, that is your choice. But it will be a place of constant torment and suffering such as you can only imagine. Those are your two choices heaven or hell and God allows each of us to decide where we will go.
When a person gives their life to Jesus, then sees how much their life has changed, that’s when you can know that you were given the Holy Spirit. You have become a new creation.
So, I ask you this. Wouldn’t it be a thousand times better (or millions), to serve God and do what He put us on this earth for during these 70 or 80 years now. Doing what He wants us to do by serving Him daily. Doing the things that He Himself created us to do. And be willing to give up those things which pleases us, instead of Him? 80 years serving Him then living in complete paradise for eternity, as opposed to doing what pleases us here on the earth now. Doesn’t make so much sense when you think about it that way does it?
Much has been written here to show you that once you chose to follow God, He will never leave nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 … for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Ezek. 36:25-27 “I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of Flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances”.
Yes, you will go through trials and tribulations as we all do, and many of those trials will be hard. But He will be by our side and help us through those difficult times. He has given us His Word on that, and our God cannot lie. That would go completely beyond His nature and would be impossible for Him to do.
You have been given a lot of scriptures explaining why once you give you heart, mind and soul to Him, you will be with Him forever. And don’t believe anyone who tries to tell you then that you can lose your salvation because once you have been given His Holy Spirit, you will be Glorified (as scripture shows above). But what a person can lose, are some of the rewards that everyone receives when they go to heaven. These rewards are some of the things that are being sent to heaven by our actions and obedience to God.
Deut. 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul .
So, make it a commitment to read and study your bible daily. Then you will learn everything God expects from you. And when you read, don’t speed read, but meditate on what you are reading and commit as much as possible to memory. And each year you will be surprised at how much you will remember because that’s another thing the Holy Spirit does for a person. He helps to bring things back to your memory as you need it. How neat is that?
One of the things we are told to do is to witness to others. By learning what is in the bible, we are able to begin helping others as we all go through. But it does take time and the Holy Spirit can teach each of us what He wants us to know so that we can fill the purpose of what we were put here to do.
You will discover that Paul who was called by God did not learn from other men, he learned from the Holy Spirit. He went into the wilderness for 3 years while he was being taught. Galatians 1:17 “Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.”
“Jerusalem … Arabia … Damascus”: Rather than immediately traveling to Jerusalem to be instructed by the apostles, Paul instead went to Nabatean Arabia, a wilderness desert that stretched east of Damascus down to the Sinai Peninsula. After being prepared for ministry by the Lord, he returned to minister in nearby Damascus.
Following his Damascus road conversion Paul made no trip to Jerusalem, where the apostles were, but spent approximately three years in Arabia. It is implied that he conferred with God there. During these three years, he was not taught by men.
Not even the other apostles were to teach Paul. He was to be taught of the Spirit of God. Paul was in the desert of Arabia 3 years in training by the Holy Spirit.
This is very important to notice who did Paul’s training, the Holy Spirit. Paul spent 3 years being trained by the Holy Spirit. That’s the same thing which happens to us, we are and will be taught by the Holy Spirit. Don’t get impatient trying to learn everything at once, as this will be a process in which you will be taught over time. Then you will notice from year to year just how much your faith and knowledge has grown.
We are told to go and tell others about Jesus and the Gospel. This is what a faithful Christian does. So let me conclude this and tell you a story about a man named Clinton who I have served with prior to his death.
Clinton was a fellow Gideon who loved to tell others about Christ and to give them a small Gideon bible. One day he met a man named Penn Jillette who was an atheist at a function he went to.
In 2009, the outspoken atheist Penn Jillette effusively praised a Christian businessman for giving him a Bible and proclaiming that salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.
The businessman was “really kind and nice and sane and looked me in the eyes and talked to me and then gave me this Bible.”
“And I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all,” Jillette said at the time. “If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward.”
Jillette asked: “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”
In contrast, he said, the businessman “cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible.”
“I’ll tell you; he was a very, very, very good man, and that’s really important … that was a really good man who gave me that book,” Jillette said.
That’s what the people of God do, because of their love of God and the love of others. As you can see here, not only did it affect this atheist non-believer, but because of what Penn Jillette said, how many other lives could have been changed? We never know, but if we are faithful to following God’s Holy Word, we know it is what He wants as it is in His Plan.
It is my sincere prayer that this article helps everyone who is haunted by wondering if they are really saved or not. Do not worry or fear as God’s Words are very plain and He will be with you as you overcome that fear.
Go here: http://www.bible-studys.org for 65 books of the bible, or https://www.bible-studys.org/Books%20of%20the%20Bible.html for the book of Revelation, to see commentaries on every book, every scripture of the entire bible.
May God’s Holy Spirit fill you with His Wisdom and Understanding as you read and study God’s Holy Word.
And may your life be filled with joy knowing that when you accepted Jesus Christ and saw how your life was changed, it was then your life was Glorified and that God had accepted you for His own for eternity. That is the Salvation that you can never lose.
Return to Individual Subjects