Certainty of Salvation
Author: Steve Amato
Description: How you can know your salvation status based on the Bible and on your behavior
Keywords: bible study,eternal security, bible study, christian behavior, salvation status, christian life, christian lifestyle

# How Can You Be Sure
of Your Salvation Status?

Translations: 简体中文 繁體中文

If you are trying to obtain or maintain your salvation status based on your performance, you have yet to believe the gospel. A believer in Christ has given up the idea that by his performance he can obtain the righteousness of God. As Paul writes

> "Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." Romans 4:4,5

Rather he has put his faith in God's grace alone to save him.

> "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast." Eph 2:8,9

To the believer, though having a hopeful anticipation of going to heaven, yet even now reckons himself to have already died and passed through the judgement.

> "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24

HOWEVER, the promises concerning eternal life are only applicable to those who actually believe. The quality of faith that God requires for justification to be applied is not trivial. It is not a sort of "experiment" belief or wavering opinion characteristic of those who fall away, but an unwavering conviction as Paul describes, giving the example of Abraham:

> "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Rom 4:20,21

And so though a Christian may say to the world and to himself that he believes in Christ, how does he know whether he believes with the quality of faith that saves? It is with this uncertainty that Paul warns the Corinthians.

> "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2Cor 13:5

As does Peter:

> "Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure." 2Peter 1:10

How can a Christian measure his salvation status?
How can he be certain about his election?

Though a believer is completely confident in the promise of God, yet in determining his salvation status, there is a measure of uncertainty. For it is based on a relative measurement of his outward behavior. And though a person's salvation status has a huge effect on a person's ultimate destiny and standing before God, yet it may only have a subtle effect on his behavior. However, in the extreme cases, one can speak with more certainty about a person's salvation status. Examples:

CONFIDENT ASSURANCE:

> "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." 2Tim 4:7,8

> 1Thess 1:3-8 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,

> > because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia— your faith in God has become known everywhere.

DEFINITELY NOT SAVED:

> "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." 1John 2:19

> "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1Cor 6:9,10

However, most Christian's behavior falls somewhere in between these extremes. More often I find it more common to disqualify those who merely claim to be "Christians" to be Christians in name only because their behavior and convictions are so contrary to what the Bible teaches. These are in a class I call "nominal Christians". Of these, the apostates are those with totally unchristlike behavior. Such are mentioned in Jude, 2Peter 2 and 1John 2:19 where they are referred to as "They".

SALVATION STATUS
Unsaved | Saved
Nominal Christians | Christians born of God

BEHAVIOR
Totally UnChristlike (Apostates) | Somewhat UnChristlike | Somewhat Christlike | Totally Christlike
Nominal Christians |
| Christians born of God

In this way, the more Christlike a Christian's behavior, the more certain he is of his salvation status. Jesus said "You shall know them by their fruit". These are some characteristics whereby you may measure your salvation status:

Love

- To what extent are you involved in the lives of those in need?
- Are you involved in edifying other Christians?

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." 1John 3:18-20

"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers." 1John 3:14

Obedience to God's commands

- Are you constantly asking yourself "what does God want me to do?"
- Are you comparing you performance against the Word of God?
- Do you view the Bible as merely containing good ideas or opinions, or do you approach it with an attitude of submission and take it as the authoritative source in determining your direction in life?

"Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them." 1John 3:24

"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1John 2:3-6

Subjective feelings produced by the Holy Spirit

- Do you find you have power to overcome sin which you hadn't before?
- Do have a sense of the constant presence of God?
- Do you find that you are relatively aware of sin in yourself and in the world and have a hatred for such sin?

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" Rom 8:16

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him." 1John 3:21-22

"We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit" 1John 4:13

"And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." 1John 3:24

Agrees with the Bible

- Do you often find that you disagree with the authors of the Bible?

"You are looking only on the surface of things. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as he." 2Cor 10:7

"We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood." 1John 4:6

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1Cor 2:14

Understands the Bible

- Do you find it difficult to understand the Bible?

"But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." 2Cor 3:14-16

"As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit-- just as it has taught you, remain in him." 1John 2:27

Persevering Faith

- Do you feel like you are playing "Christianity" and that you may be feeling tire of it, or do you feel that Christianity is so much a part of you that to be otherwise would be artificial?

"We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." Heb 3:14

"By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." 1Cor 15:2

Confident Faith

- Are you overly timid when talking about your faith to others?
- Does the fear of what other people think hinder you from applying the Bible to your life?
- Are you afraid that if you do what the Bible says it may cause conflicts in your relationships?

"But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast." Heb 3:6

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Heb 4:16

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." Heb 10:35

"'But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." Heb 10:38,39

Bears "Fruit"

- Has becoming a Christian had any positive effect on your character? Or are you the same person as before you were a Christian?
- Are there other people who have come to Christ or grown as Christians because of your influence?

"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Matt 7:19,20

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Gal 5:22,23

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Does not live a lifestyle of sin

- If people were to closely evaluate your life and give you a label, would they label you as some sort of a "sinner" - as he is "an alchoholic" or "a slanderer" or "a swindler" or "a liar" or "a homosexual"?
- Or do you rather find that try as you might you just don't seem to be able to live a lifestyle of sin?

"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him...No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." 1John 3:6,9

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1Cor 6:9,10

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Gal 5:19-21

"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Rev 21:8

The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources