DB Clips: How Do I Know if I’m Really Saved?
Today we’re looking at the question, “How Do I Know if I’m Saved?”
We ask this question for a very important reason. Everything that the world tells us runs counter to what the Bible declares about salvation.
When you boil down how sin entered the world, it basically came from a rejection of what God offered in an attempt to do it on our own. The serpent’s promise to them was that if they ate of the tree they would be like God. He said they would know good and evil. Up to that point God had given them everything they needed, and everything was good.
This rejection of God and attempt to go it on our own is what you find in every religion on the planet aside from Christianity. I call this counterfeit Christianity because it is a rejection of the Gospel of God and just like every other religion it’s an attempt to do it on our own.
What does this look like in practice? One of the main ways you see it is in an internal need or external command from your church to be good enough for salvation.
In every other religion you must earn your salvation. Christianity is the only religion where salvation is a gift given rather than something earned. So a false Christianity is one where you are commanded to earn your salvation.
Consider 1 Corinthians 12:3. It says, “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.”
On the surface that might seem a bit curious to say you could only say “Jesus is Lord” by the Holy Spirit. I’ve certainly heard that phrase in a movie said by a non-Christian, so there must be more to it.
I believe the difference is this: when I find salvation from God, knowing that my salvation is a gift I didn’t earn and don’t deserve I have a trust in Jesus whom my salvation comes from. In a sense saying “Jesus is Lord” is a declaration that His word is true, and my salvation is assured aside from my own efforts.
A counterfeit-Christianity says, yes, Jesus is Lord, but you must still work for your salvation. Essentially denying Jesus’ Lordship and putting salvation on my own shoulders. The same sin and rejection that happened in the garden.
Anything outside of faith in Jesus for your salvation is a false Christianity. Romans 10:9 explains salvation in the simplest way possible.
“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
There is no alternative and no substitute. An authentic salvation comes from faith and faith alone. You may look to the Old Testament and say God commanded them to make sacrifices and show themselves as God’s chosen people.
I would refute this in two ways. The first being the Father of the Israelite nation, Abraham, and how he found salvation. Romans 4:3 says “Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” There was no demand of sacrifice from God, just a requirement of faith.
Hebrews 10:1-4 also confirms this. Vs 4 concludes the thought with this, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Even if the Israelites of the Old Testament did everything perfectly, without faith in God their salvation is nothing.
God tells the people of Israel this over and over. We see this in Hosea 6:6, God says, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
When we find salvation, the overwhelming love and grace, and the knowledge of the sacrifice made, changes us in a way that nothing else can.
God doesn’t want our work. What could we possibly bring to Him? If all our efforts could we ever do something or make something better? Our only hope is in God and the gift of salvation that He offers.
If your heart is dull and you no longer feel the overwhelming joy of His salvation, perhaps it’s because you are trying to earn it once again. Listen to God’s words in Hosea, He desires steadfast love and a knowledge of Him. A knowledge that only comes from spending time with Him.
If you’d like to learn more about this topic, go to our website at dbcc.com, click on Grow, then sermons. Look for the teaching series on Colossians and click on the sermon titled “Beware of Counterfeit Christianity.”
Thanks, and God Bless.