I was in a Bible study earlier and the discussion got to Salvation and pretty much they were saying that they believe they’re saved because the Bible says they are. I was trying to ask them what makes you believe you are saved what evidence do you have of the work of God in your life. They couldn’t answer.
The Bible really tells you how to get saved and how to remain saved. But you are not saved because of what it says because of what Jesus did. You are saved because God actually saves you from sin. That is the evidence that that one is saved. The way they were staining it it is like if I was an employer and someone came to me and they said I have the certificate proving that I can do a job and it’s a diploma or a certificate of completion for some technical school or a doctorate or whatever. And higher the guy and he proves he does not know what he’s doing he does not know how to do his job. I would say that piece of paperwork means absolutely nothing because you don’t have the work to prove that you know what you’re doing. If one says that they are saved and does not have the work within them that God save them. Then what the Bible says does not mean anything. They can say they’re saved by grace all that they want but if the grace of God is that not at work in their life if they are not a new creation if they are still in bondage to all their sins. Been saying they’re saved by grace does not mean anything it’s just saying a bunch of words with no meaning. If one is truly saved by God’s grace then people who used to know them would see a big change. With some people the change is so major that they are unrecognizable. Like people who had demonic possession in the neighbor set free given salvation and set free from all the demons given a new heart that is free and clean of demons and sin. That they are totally different. That’s why the scripture says you really need to know them by their fruits do they have their fruit salvation within them. I’m not just talking about a bunch of Bible knowledge or head knowledge or then just stating that they’re saved because a lot of people say that they are saved because they believe they are saved. It’s all in their head it is a mental concept
#1First let me say that I think you may be confusing two different things in your beliefs. It happens a lot. In fact, most churches confuse them. They are Salvation, and Relationship.If someone truly believes that Jesus is Lord, then they are saved. Period. Salvation has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of intentional works on our part. If you believe in Jesus as Lord, you will be saved. That is salvation!Everything after that is not about salvation but is about your relationship with the Lord.It is a misconception that just because you are saved, you will suddenly start doing good works. Scripture says faith without works is dead, but it never says their salvation is dead. Anything to do with works is about our relationship and not our salvation. IF someone is truly living for the Lord, their works will be more evident. The stronger your relationship with God is, the stronger your faith will be. The more faith you have, the more works that will be evident. If someone believes but does not work on their relationship with the Lord, their relationship will become stale and die. That does not mean they are not saved. It only means their relationship is at rock bottom. That is when a Christian becomes most vulnerable to truly lose faith completely and stop believing. If that happens, then they have lost their salvation. When we believe in Jesus as Lord, it is because God gave us a new spirit, but that spirit does not automatically make you a great Christian. It only means you now have a spirit that can believe. Once you do believe however, it is extremely important to focus on growing in the Lord. Those who do will gain greater faith and show they are new creatures in the Lord. Those who do not are vulnerable to losing the faith they do have. ---------------#2The amount of difference it makes in us and the fruits we bear will all depend on who we were before being saved. Some are partiers, drug abusers, criminals and hard cases. They will show much greater changes than someone who was raised to be kind and respectful and not swear. Me, I was raised to be kind and respectful and not swear. I was always a kind person and when I was saved, it really didnt make a big difference in me in the way I acted. So you cannot always expect a major difference in a person.---------------#3You would be surprised at how many things people are taught wrong. For instance, the vast majority of churches teach that Jesus died so we can be forgiven for our sins. The truth is, God forgave sins in the OT. Jesus forgave the sins of two people before He even died. Jesus didnt actually die so we could be forgiven for our sins. He died so we could be forgiven without the need of animal sacrifices to atone for those sins. He was the last sacrifice.Most churches teach that it is unforgiven sin that sends us to hell, but again, thats not actually true. What keeps us out of heaven is a soul that is corrupted by sin. Shall we say, stained by sin. If it was truly just unforgiven sin that keeps us out of heaven, then all the newborn babies that have ever died before they even had an opportunity to sin would have gone right to heaven. Yet we know for a fact that before the crucifixion, not one of them went to heaven. Jesus told us that at that moment nobody but He had ever ascended to heaven.The truth is, the forgiveness of sin is not what saves us. The washing of our souls is what saves us. The forgiveness of sin is more about our relationship with God than salvation. But churches always confuse those things and so it has become the forgiveness of sin that saves us when scripture never truly teaches that. Once you realize that salvation and relationship are two different things, you start seeing scriptures a little different. Jesus says plainly in John 3:18 that anyone who believes is not condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he does not believe in the only begotten Son of God. He does not say those who believe and do good things is saved. He never does. If someone says they believe Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, and they can outwardly say that Jesus is Lord and mean it. They are saved. Period. They have every right to believe they are saved because that is what scripture literally teaches. Even if they have a sin they are stuck in. That sin does not mean they were never changed to begin with. It only means that they have not been working hard enough to grow in their personal relationship with the Lord.
Jesus’ concern becomes apparent when He says: “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” (John 7:24). This shows Jesus wants us to judge, but we must judge righteously. The Law of Moses says: “In righteousness, you shall judge your neighbour.” Leviticus 19:16)-
This depends on what translations of the Holy Scriptures you are using. For instance Romans says man is not saved by works alone but by grace. The correct translation from the Greek is actually works of the law. Meaning the Old Testament. So we are saved by the belief in the atonement and picking up our own cross and living those principles by our lord Jesus Christ. You will find in James: faith without works Is dead. Meaning we need to do the work as well. I’m just a Catholic Though what do I know?
Section 2 of 2:Ask this question. . . Have I been BAPTIZED in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost in TRUTH? Am I truly FOLLOWING the commandments and teachings of JESUS by LOVING GOD and LOVING EACH OTHER?You cannot say that your FAITH is a TRUE faith unless you follow His ways - and it is our FAITH that will be tried by fire in the end as the Holy Spirit stands witness to how we chose to live our lives – FOR GOD out of LOVE FOR HIM, or for evil.And why call ye Me, LORD, LORD, and DO NOT THE THINGS WHICH I SAY? Whosoever COMES TO ME, and HEARS MY SAYINGS, and DOES THEM, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that HEARS, and DOES NOT, is like a man that WITHOUT a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately IT FELL; and the RUIN of that house WAS GREAT. Lk6:46-49NOT every one that says unto Me, LORD, LORD, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that DOES the WILL of MY FATHER which is in heaven. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: DEPART from Me, ye that WORK INIQUITY. Mt7:21-23When once the Master of the house is risen up, and has shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, LORD, LORD, open unto us; and He shall answer and say unto you, I KNOW YOU NOT whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou has taught in our streets. But He shall say, I tell you, I KNOW YOU NOT whence ye are; DEPART from Me, all ye WORKERS of INIQUITY. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. Lk13:25-28Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having THIS seal, The Lord KNOWS them that ARE HIS. And, let EVERY ONE that NAMES the NAME of Christ DEPART FROM INIQUITY. 2Tm2:19And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall NOT live BY BREAD alone, but by EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD. Mt.4:3-4And the devil said unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall NOT live BY BREAD alone, but by EVERY WORD OF GOD. Lk.4:3-4SCRIPTURAL OBSERVATION:Jesus is the TRUE BREAD of God from heaven; the living BREAD; the BREAD of life.Therefore, since Jesus is OUR BREAD, we do not live by our faith in Jesus alone, but by our faith in Jesus AND every word of God.This includes His commandments which are written in our hearts.Do we then make void the law through FAITH? GOD FORBID: yea, we establish the law. Rm.3:31Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, AND the FAITH of Jesus. Rv.14:12I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou has a little strength, and has KEPT MY WORD, and has NOT denied My name. Rv.3:8And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, and HAVE the TESTIMONY of Jesus Christ. Rv.12:17And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain FOR THE WORD OF GOD, and for the TESTIMONY which they held: Rv.6:9Blessed are they that DO His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Rv.22:14We do not have to BE perfect. Only JESUS is PERFECT. It is our FAITH that is KEY.When we have FAITH in JESUS, we are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. That is the whole purpose of HIS DEATH. He died FOR OUR SINS.Scripture tells us:If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn 1:9Wherefore I say unto you, ALL MANNER OF SIN AND BLASPHEMY SHALL BE FORGIVEN unto men: but the BLASPHEMY against the The HOLY GHOST shall NOT be FORGIVEN unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it SHALL BE FORGIVEN him: but whosoever speaketh against the HOLY GHOST, it shall NOT be FORGIVEN him, NEITHER in this world, NEITHER in the world to come. Mt.12:31-32Verily I say unto you, ALL SINS SHALL BE FORGIVEN unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall BLASPHEME against the HOLY GHOST hath NEVER FORGIVENESS, but is in danger of ETERNAL DAMNATION. Because they SAID, He hath an UNCLEAN SPIRIT. Mk 3:28-30NEVER LOSE YOUR FAITH.WITHOUT FAITH, there IS NO SALVATION.
We don’t know the lives of people, how they live and what they do in the dark. Each man should know whether he is saved or not, if not he must put right and repent. Salvation is working on one’s self daily. The world is corrupt and can easily draw the weak ones, therefore help one another along to stay clean. The bible says we are saved by grace, therefore we should put away sin in our lives and walk straight with the help of the Savior. We need Him every moment. Not one person on this earth can say that he never made a mistake and there is no need for repentance, we all need God’s help and we all repent some time or the other. I’m not talking about wilful sinning. Putting your hand in the fire when you know that you are going to get burnt. Enjoy the Christian life that you’ve accepted and keep away from wilful sin.
I agree for the most part. But salvation is more like the employer who knows that the employee has an understanding of what the job is but will be doing on the job training. Walking with Christ toward spiritual maturity and understanding is a life long learning experience. We’re still saved unless we consciously make the decision to turn away from Him. But we’ll always have obstacles. Sometimes we’ll handle them in a Godly way and sometimes not.
One scripture that springs to mind ‘His Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God . . . ‘ As a friend of mine used to say ‘You know it in your knower’. Also, another way is because of the fruit in our lives. Bad tree = bad fruit. Good tree = good fruit. If we are born again, we are new creations. The old has gone, the new has come. That’s not to say that we don’t sin at all, but that we do not allow sin to reign any more, and that primarily we are slaves to righteousness as scripture says.
Saved because the Bible says… who would think that could be true {{sarcasm}}.It could only be true if the Biblr calls people to believe, have faith, etc.
How do I know if I’m really saved? This is such an important question, and it deserves a careful answer. The Bible clearly teaches that the moment a person turns from his sin and trusts in Jesus to be forgiven of his sin, he is saved (Acts 2:37-41). He has passed from spiritual death to spiritual life (John 5:24) and has been declared not guilty in God’s court of law (Rom 3:21-26). From God’s perspective, his salvation is an objective reality that cannot be changed (Rom 8:28-30).But from our subjective experience, we may not feel certain. The difficulties of life and discouragement over our sin can lead us to question the reality of our salvation. Or perhaps we read one of the “warning” passages about turning away from the faith or the unforgivable sin and yet again ask the question, “how do I know if I’m really saved?”The Apostle John wrote his first letter to address this very question: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). So when we read through John’s letter, we see that he answers this question from several different angles.The starting point is the person and work of Jesus Christ. He describes Christ as our advocate (1 John 2:1), meaning that he pleads our case before the Father when Satan accuses us. Through his sacrificial death on the cross for our sins Jesus has satisfied God’s righteous wrath against us (1 John 1:7; 2:2; 4:10). By confessing that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God who came in the flesh to save us from our sins we can be confident that we have eternal life (1 John 4:2, 13-15; 5:13). Therefore “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12).John does not stop there, however. He builds on the foundation of ongoing trust in the person and work of Christ by reminding us about the testimony of the Holy Spirit living inside of believers (1 John 3:24). The Spirit reminds us of the truth of who Jesus is and what he has done for us (1 John 4:2, 6). As we experience the Spirit at work in our lives we are reassured that God truly abides in us (1 John 4:13).Of course, faith in Jesus Christ and our perception of the Holy Spirit living inside of us can still seem quite subjective. That is why John points to how a person lives as tangible evidence of truly being born again. Those who truly know Jesus Christ by faith will actively pursue obeying God’s commandments (1 John 2:3) just as Jesus himself did (1 John 2:6). The most fundamental commandment is to believe in Jesus (1John 3:22-24), but genuine faith works itself out in love in tangible acts of love towards others, especially fellow believers (1 John 3:11-18; 4:7-12, 20-21; 5:1-2). Those who are children of God show their true identity by pursuing a pattern of turning away from sin and towards a life of righteousness (1 John 3:4-10). And when we inevitably fall short of perfect obedience, we have the promise that God is faithful to forgive and cleanse us (1 John 1:9).How do I know if I’m really saved? Put simply, our salvation depends solely on the person and work of Jesus Christ. As we continue to trust in him, we will experience the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives to make us more like Jesus. When we see this happening, our assurance that we truly are one of God’s children grows.
Wow you nailed it! My prayer is for all who receive Christ to read and study the Bible and come to know God as He really is and wants to be known.
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