Saved Without a Doubt

There are many things we will never know for sure in this life. Many questions that trouble us will not be understood until God gives us perfect understanding in eternity to come.  Yet happily, there are things we can know for sure, today, which can give us great joy and confidence.  For instance, we can know without any doubt what it means to have peace with God, to be forgiven, to be absolutely sure we will go to Heaven when we die.  We can know these things because God has given us all the answers and understanding we need to cope with life, to extinguish every fear, and to make us know for certain the way of eternal life.

It’s Not a Secret

God has not hidden His plan of salvation from mankind.  The Bible tells us that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  Therefore, God has plainly revealed in the Bible the knowledge we need in order to be saved.  In Deuteronomy 30:11 God says to us, “For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.  It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?  Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?  But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.”

God hasn’t kept the way to heaven a secret.  He came to earth to pay the price for our salvation and made it possible for us to become His redeemed and adopted children.  Jesus openly walked before men, died before men, and rose again from the grave to demonstrate publicly that He was who He said He was—Almighty God in human form, the promised Savior of the world!  God tells us very plainly, “…there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  Jesus said, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).  Jesus alone has the answer to our heart’s deepest need.

We Can Know For Sure

There are actually many places in the Bible where God talks to us about assurance of our salvation.  In 1 John 5:13 we read, “These things have I written unto you that ye might know ye have eternal life….”  In Romans 8:15-16, God says to those who have been saved, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”  Nothing brings joy to the human heart like knowing we are the beloved of God, forgiven and kept safe by His power and not our own!  Nothing thrills our hearts like knowing that God will not condemn us, nor reject us, nor separate us from Him for all of eternity.

Before we are saved, God’s Spirit convinces our hearts that there is a judgment to come and that God holds man responsible for his sinful condition.  After we are saved, God’s Spirit convinces our hearts that we are forgiven and that we are His beloved children with all the privileges and joys that relationship entails.  Be sure of this, God wants His children to know they have eternal life.

You may be asking, “How can I know for certain that I’ve been saved and have this eternal life the Bible speaks of?”  There are four basic truths you need to understand so that you may know for certain you are saved.

• You must know and believe you are a sinner.
• You must know there is a judgment and price to be paid for sin.
• You must know that God came to earth in the form of man (Jesus) and took the judgment for sin upon Himself.
• You must know it is not enough for you to believe you are a sinner and that Jesus, as God, died on the cross.

Many people know and believe these things but are not saved. God’s forgiveness and salvation are only ours when we receive it God’s way, on God’s terms.

We Sin Because of What We Are

Let’s go back and start with the first thing you must understand—We are all sinners.  We sin because of what we are, and what we are (sinners) is what separates us from God. In Romans 3:10 God tells us, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.”  The word righteous means perfect, and God is saying there is not one of us who is perfect or righteous enough to merit salvation.  If we try, we will discover that we utterly fall short of God’s perfection, which is what we need to have if we expect to earn our own salvation.  Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”  Every single one of us falls short of God’s glory and holiness, and that holiness encompasses all that the person of Christ is.

Many people mistakenly think if they keep the Ten Commandments, and their “good” somehow outweighs their “bad,” God will pardon them and grant eternal life.  This is a grave error, for the Bible plainly teaches that “…by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified [pardoned] in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20).  God did not give us the Ten Commandments, or any commandments, for the purpose of earning our own salvation by keeping them. Rather, God’s commandments make us understand that such things as lying, jealousy, hatred, bitterness, lust, selfishness, etc., are violations of God’s law—violations of which we are all guilty.

As we consider God’s commandments, and honestly assess our lives, we realize we are guilty of sinning against God.  No matter how “good” we may think we are, God says there is “none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12).  The moment we compare ourselves against God’s law rather than our neighbor or our own ideas of righteousness, we can come to no other conclusion than what God has already declared—all are guilty because all have sinned.  God’s laws are good, and keeping them is beneficial; but keeping them can never save us from the penalty of our sins.  Our good deeds and intentions can never make us pure or innocent.  In Galatians 3:21-24 Paul asked, “Is the law then against the promises of God?  God forbid; for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe …Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

Payday Always Comes

The second thing we must understand is that there is a penalty for sin.  Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death….” Wages are the recompense, or payment, which we receive in return for what we have done.  In this verse God is speaking of the recompense that we receive in return for our sins.  This recompense is death.  The death He is referring to is not the physical death of our bodies, but eternal death, which is separation from God, and torment forever.  Those who die in their sins without God’s forgiveness and pardon will stand before God and be judged and sentenced according to the law—God’s law.

God warns, “It is appointed unto men once to die; but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).  We read about this judgment of the unsaved in Revelation 20:12-15.  “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened:  and another book was opened, which is the book of life:  and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them:  and they were judged every man according to their works.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”  No words are able to capture the horror and doom of a soul that dies unsaved.  Yet with the utmost affection and earnest care, God impresses upon man the way of escape.

The Love of God

The third thing you must understand is that Jesus died in our place.  The Bible tells us that, “God so loved the world [this includes you and me] that He gave His only begotten son [the Lord Jesus Christ], that whosoever [anyone] believeth on Him, should not perish [die eternally lost], but have everlasting life [life forever with God in Heaven].”  The first part of Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death….”  This is very sobering and discouraging news.  However, the second part of the verse says, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  This is fantastic, wonderful news!  God says eternal life is a gift.  This means that it costs the recipient nothing.  A gift is given without conditions or strings attached. It is not received because of anything we have done.  The gift of eternal life is only received through Jesus Christ and what He did to purchase it.  Though it costs us nothing, it cost Christ everything.  God says in Romans 5:8, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  This means, Christ died in our place—He took the punishment and judgment for our sins that we rightly deserved.  Furthermore, He did so because He loved us, not because there was anything good or desirable in us at all.

Earlier we pointed out that no one is justified, or pardoned, from the penalty of sin by keeping the Ten Commandments. That does not mean man is without hope, or without means of being pardoned. God provided a way for man to be forgiven—He paid the price Himself.  God says in Romans 5:9, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”  The wages of sin is death—the price of our sin was Christ’s death on the cross.

Imagine that I received a ticket for speeding 100 MPH down the highway, and you went with me to court.  We stood together before the judge, and he questioned me about the speeding.  I was caught; I knew I had indeed sped.  The judge asked me to enter a plea.  I pled guilty.  The judge, in accordance to the law, gave a sentence.  In this case he ordered me to pay a $500 fine.  I began to cry, and say, “But I don’t have $500!”  The judge replied, “Then you must spend some time in jail.”  Again I cried, knowing I was guilty and helpless to justify myself.  You, standing next to me, spoke up and said, “Judge, I love this person, and I’d like to pay this man’s fine.”  The judge said, “But he does not deserve that!”  You answer, “I know.  But I love him, and I want to pay his penalty myself and spare him this judgment.”  The judge then turned to me and asked, “Will you accept this payment for your ticket?”  Of course I said, “Yes!”  At that point you put down $500, and the bailiff marked the ticket “Paid in full.”  No one can ever arrest me for that crime again for a legally binding transaction has taken place.  The penalty has been paid, and I received it as payment for my violation.

In a similar, though far more dramatic way, we are rightly judged by God to be guilty of being a sinner.  The penalty for sin is death.  The judge, Jesus Christ, being just and fair must pass down the appropriate sentence.  We are helpless to justify ourselves.  Nothing good we can do erases the fact that we have violated God’s laws.  We are guilty.  The Judge, however, has pity and compassion.  In addition to being perfectly just and holy, He is also loving and merciful.  The penalty must be paid.  The law must be followed.  But the Judge has the power to pay the penalty Himself.  In love for the guilty one, He gives Himself to suffer and die in the guilty one’s place.  The penalty is now paid in full, and so He turns to the guilty one and  asks, “Will you acknowledge you are helpless to save yourself, and are guilty of violating God’s laws?  Will you accept the gift of forgiveness I have made possible?  Will you trust me to pay your penalty rather than trying to justify yourself, in a vain attempt to pay the penalty yourself?”

The Bible tells us, “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17-18).  Jesus did not come to condemn, because we were already condemned sinners.  He came to pay the penalty for our sin and to offer eternal life to all those who would believe and trust in Him.  If we refuse to acknowledge our sin and plead guilty, if we refuse to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him for forgiveness and salvation, then we are left to die in our sins and guilt.  We will then stand before the Judge after we die.  The evidence will be presented—every idle word, every angry look, every selfish act, every lustful thought, and every sin we ever committed in our life.  We will be pronounced guilty, and we will know we are guilty of all God has judged us for.  Then we will be sentenced.  The appropriate punishment will be pronounced.  Finally, we will be ushered away by the angels and cast into hell where there will be no chance for parole, no hope for escape … ever.

Jesus warned, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).  How senseless to refuse Christ’s offer!  How foolish to insist on doing things our own way!  How blind to think our life is better without Christ!  How sad to love sin more than a Savior who gave Himself to rescue us from sin!  Those who would reject the Savior are left to pay the penalty of their sin themselves. They will one day stand before God and be judged for their sins, including their rejection of Christ.

Salvation Must Be Received God’s Way

The fourth thing you must understand is how you must receive salvation, for it can only be received God’s way—not yours, not anyone else’s.  Merely acknowledging that the Bible is God’s Word, that Jesus is God, that you are a sinner, and that Jesus came to earth and died to pay the price for man’s sins does not save you.  Many people intellectually agree with these points, but are not saved.  Many more people religiously observe Bible commands thinking they will someday be saved because they have attempted to keep them.  However, no one is saved on his or her own merit.  No one.

In Matthew 7:21-23 God warns, “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. 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.”  Notice that these people whom Jesus has spoken of called Him, “Lord.”  They knew Who He was!  Notice they prophesied, or proclaimed, truth concerning Him.  They knew the Word of God!  Notice that these people even cast out demons, having compassion for others, and did many other good deeds. They were very giving and self-sacrificial.  In spite of all this, notice that Jesus ultimately tells them He has NEVER known them.  Even sadder, He calls them workers of iniquity and tells them to depart from Him. According to Revelation 20, they are lost forever, without hope, without Christ, and without forgiveness.

Now what is the will of the Father that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 7:21?  It is certainly not doing all these religious things to earn salvation.  In John 6:28-29 we are plainly told by Jesus what doing the will of the Father is concerning salvation. “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”  Those who believe, rely upon, or put their trust in what Christ has done, not in what they have done, are those who do the will of God.

Carefully study Romans 10:1-3.  In this passage we read, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”  The apostle Paul is speaking to a group of very religious people, yet he says, they are not saved.  They are very zealous concerning God.  However, Paul points out that they do not yet understand God’s righteousness.  They are trying to establish their own righteousness and goodness instead.  Like the people in Matthew 7, they are striving to do good works to earn God’s favor and win salvation.  They haven’t yet come to the place where they realize they are helpless sinners who are not capable of being perfect or good enough to merit their own salvation.  They have not submitted themselves to God’s plan, or God’s work on their behalf.  Rather, they want to live life their own way and be saved their own way.

Jesus explains this rejection of God’s way of salvation in John 3:19-21.  He says, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”  Those who want to live their life their own way and want to be saved on their own terms hate God’s truth. They are indignant and angry to hear they are helpless sinners who deserve hell, not heaven.  Such people hate to hear that their good deeds cannot save them, or that they are lost and in desperate need of God’s forgiveness.  They do not want their way of life challenged, because they love their sins and have no intention of turning from them.  They want to excuse and justify them—not confess them as offenses against a holy God.  In short, they want a salvation that allows them to continue living in open rebellion against God’s Word while providing assurance they are forgiven and accepted by God.  Such obstinacy only insures their continued condemnation and inability to know the peace that true repentance brings.

In contrast, the Bible tells us those who truly believe are those who also understand they are helpless sinners whose only hope is Christ.  Genuine belief always produces a change in attitude about sin and a desire to be freed from it.  Believing people come enthusiastically to the cross of Jesus and embrace both God’s judgment on their sin, and God’s offer of forgiveness and pardon.  To those who do not claim any righteousness of their own, and those who do not excuse but rather cling to their sin believing it’s “not that bad,” God has a wonderful promise.  He says in Romans 10:9-10, “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.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  Those who confess, or acknowledge, that Jesus is exactly who He said He was—God in human form—and those who embrace Him with their heart, believing Jesus died on the cross for their sins and rose again with power from the grave shall be saved.

The Bible explains that with our heart we believe, or trust God, for righteousness.  Salvation is not simply acknowledging with our mind that Jesus is who He said He is.  It is putting our trust in Him, and Him alone, for salvation, and embracing Him with our heart as our God, our Savior and Lord.  To those who will receive Christ as their Savior, God says, “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 1:12).  “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).  These verses don’t say, “might be saved,” or “eventually you’ll be saved.”  These verses say, “shall be saved.”  That’s a promise from God.

Believing God’s Promises Gives Us Peace

Because we know and believe that God cannot lie, we can know and believe what He promises. He has given His promise to save those who trust Him.  Jesus said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).  Jesus promises that no one who comes to Him and depends on Him alone for salvation and forgiveness of sins will go away rejected.  He accepts and forgives anyone who will receive Him as his or her Savior.

Will you acknowledge to God that you are a sinner who is guilty of breaking His good and perfect law?  Are you willing to admit that you cannot save yourself or merit salvation through your own righteousness?  Do you believe that Jesus Christ was who He said He was (God), and that He died and rose again from the grave?  Are you willing to completely depend on Him to forgive you for your sins and take you to heaven when you die?  If you can answer “yes” to all these questions, go to the Lord Jesus in prayer and call upon Him to save you.  Trust Him completely, and place your confidence in His Word and His promise to hear and to save you.

The Bible says, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  You have the word of Jesus Himself for He said, “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” (John 5:24).  Notice that our faith and confidence come as a result of hearing God’s Word and depending completely on what God has said.  We can never have lasting assurance of our salvation if our faith rests on our feelings, on the opinion of others, or on our experiences.  Assurance only comes as a result of focusing on God Himself and on His Word and never as the result of focusing on our inward self or on our feelings or experiences.  Though you may be timid or doubting, if you have enough faith to come to Christ, you have enough faith to be saved!  John 6:37 assures us, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

Suppose you had enough faith to entrust your life savings to your local bank for deposit.  Though you may fear and fret over the reality of your transaction or the ability of the bank to safeguard your money, your fretting in no way affects the safety of your money.  You may make yourself miserable with doubting because you can’t trust the word of the bank, but the safety of your money in no way rests on your feelings or your fears.  Since it is the bank’s responsibility to keep and safeguard your money, it remains safe in spite of you!  In the same way, God is responsible to do the saving and keeping of your soul when you entrust yourself completely to His care.  He will save and keep you whether you fear and fret in the night or not.  Paul expressed his confidence in God’s ability and power to keep his soul when he said, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).  Notice that the power to save and keep is God’s responsibility and depends only on God’s ability. We are simply to believe.

If you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will find your comfort and assurance in the truths God has spoken.  As you grow in your knowledge of Christ and learn how to rely on the surety of God’s Word, your faith will grow and your joy will be full!  God says to new believers, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).  Be sure to include a regular time of Bible reading and prayer in your daily routine, and do not neglect to join and attend a church where the Word of God is faithfully preached.  Please let us know of your decision to trust Christ.  If you have any questions, we would be happy to answer them for you and provide you with the help you need to get started in your Christian life.