How can a person be saved from hell and assured of entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? That question is one of the most important questions that can be asked and must be answered.
“Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists” (Heb 11:6). Paul said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). 1 Corinthians 15:1-3 teaches that a person is saved through faith in the truth that Christ died for my sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Ephesians 2:8 teaches that a person is saved by grace through faith. Look at all those glorious promises and many more in the NT that answer how I can be assured of entering the eternal kingdom. These promises are for you and your children and their children and as many as our God calls to himself. God desires that the Gentiles hear the gospel message and believe (Acts 15:7). John 3:16-18 puts everyone in two categories—those who believe [present-tense verb] are not condemned [glory to God], and those who do not believe [present-tense verb] are condemned.
But since the Bible warns about unbelief (Heb 3:19), false converts (2Co 11:26), professing Christians (Tit 1:16), and on and on—how can I know if my faith is real, or how can I know if I am saved? (Read Matthew 7 & 13.)
The evidences (plural) of saving faith are numerous! Believers believe. They don’t believe for a moment. They believe. This doesn’t mean they don’t have times of doubt, but their lives are characterized by faith in Christ as their Savior and the Lord. The NT does not provide metrics of measurement—just generalities. It doesn’t say only a month of unbelief, and then that proves you are not saved. Nothing like that is in the Bible. Instead, believers inherit eternal life, and unbelievers don’t (Rev 21:8). So, believe the good news that Christ died for you.
Saved people are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, a relationship with the indwelling Holy Spirit is a giant assurance of salvation. Does He lead you (Rom 8:14-16)? Convict you? Illuminate Scripture? Answer your prayers, etc.? Is the Spirit of Christ in you? I can’t answer that for you any more than you can answer for me. The desires of the Spirit and the flesh are opposed, and the true believer will sometimes experience an internal war for control (Gal 5:16-17). But the fruit of the Spirit gives evidence
Believers are new creations. The old has passed away (2Co 5:17). But here again, the NT doesn’t say how new is new. It will be different for everyone. One person is gradually becoming new—others experience an insane overnight transformation. But you know whether you are new—examine your faith and life and ask if you have experienced Christ’s transforming work of grace.
Love. God is love. Those who are God’s, love. They love God and others (John 13:34-35). Read all of 1 Corinthians 13:4-9.
Obey. Christ’s sheep hear his voice and obey him (John 10). They don’t obey perfectly or all the time, but they obey. Again, the NT doesn’t provide a metric like 90% is enough. It is more this or that. Believers obey, and unbelievers do not obey. Consider Hebrews 5:9, “[Jesus] became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” Pause and think about that.
Your child is struggling with their own assurance of salvation—work through faith in Christ first—turn to Hebrews 5:9 and show them the Word of God. And ask: Is obeying Christ important to you? Do you see yourself obeying more or less lately? Can you remember when you chose to obey Christ instead of yourself? Stop and make a clear distinction. Make sure your child knows they are not saved by obedience to Christ. Stress she or he is saved by grace but talk about how obedience can provide evidence of his saving relationship with Christ. Explain that good works (Mat 5:16, Eph 2:10) are their faith being lived out (Jam 2:24). Turn to Philippians 1:6 and show them that Christ, who began a good work in them, will carry it on to completion. Ensure they know that the NT has both warning passages and eternal promises of salvation. Take them to Jude v. 1 and 21. Teach them the tension of God keeping us for Christ Jesus (v.1), yet v. 21 tells us to keep ourselves in the love of God. There is no better book to study concerning assurance of salvation than 1 John 1-5.
Finally, let me explain why I stress “believe, believe, believe” so much. Football players play football—nearly year-round. And golfers golf whenever the weather permits, nearly 12 months a year. And, if I lived somewhere else, I would ski all the time. I love skiing. In the same way, believers believe. We walk by faith (2Co 5:7). We use the shield of faith to war against the flaming darts of Satan (Eph 6:16). Believers grow in their faith (2Th 1:3).
Born-again, Spirit-filled, blood-washed, regenerated, and justified, adopted sons and daughters of God believe the gospel. They do not continue to believe to be born again a 2nd time or to keep their salvation—they continue to believe because they are born again (Luke 13:23-24). What if I said there is “saving” faith and “evidentiary” faith (Luke 18:8) to help draw the distinction I am trying to communicate? Would that help? We are saved by faith and live by faith.
Use the illustration of marriage. Explain how you don’t get married over and over, but you do provide evidence of being married by the life you live. Wearing the wedding band, being faithful, expressing love, yielding to one another, etc., show others you are married. We don’t show people our wedding video to prove we are married, although that was when the relationship began. The same can be said for a saving relationship with Jesus. Like a husband loves his wife, saved people love Jesus, and other followers of Christ. They want to spend time together (Heb 10:26).
