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Dr. Ronald Powell
Salvation
A Checklist
From the Book of 1st John
The Bible is the best commentary to provide accurate answers to real questions. Have you wondered, Can people really know if they have eternal life? The Book of 1 John answers this question with a firm yes.
"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:13
- Do I live by the truth, rejecting deeds done in darkness?
"If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth." 1 John 1:6 - Do I enjoy fellowship with other believers?
"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7 - Do I have a love for God's Word and seek to obey it?
"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." 1 John 2:3-5 - Do I reject the values I see in the world system?
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:15-17 - Do I look forward to the return of Christ?
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." 1 John 3:2-3 - Do I sin less than I did before I claimed to become a Christian?
"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." 1 John 3:6 - Do I experience opposition because of my love for Christ?
"Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you." 1 John 3:13 - Do I genuinely love other Christians?
"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death." 1 John 3:14 - Do I truly believe in Jesus by fully relying on Him for my salvation and my future?
"Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." 1 John 5:10-11 - Do I experience answered prayer?
"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.... This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 3:21-22; 5:14-15 - Do I have discernment of spiritual truth?
"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." 1 John 4:6
Question
: "After I prayed a prayer for salvation, I thought I was saved but I have lost all interest in the things of God. Could I have lost my salvation or was I never really saved?"
Answer:
There is no "magic formula" wording that guarantees salvation. Just saying certain words for salvation does not mean you experience authentic salvation. A person can profess Christ, but not possess Christ. Salvation requires yielding your will to God's will. Many people intellectually understand who Jesus is, yet they have never yielded their will to His will-they have never allowed the Lord to take ownership of their lives. That is why Jesus said:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" Matthew 7:21-23
Causes For Doubting Salvation
Let's assume your father purchased an airplane ticket for you to fly from New York City to London. You board the plane and take off for England-you placed your faith in the pilot. Halfway over the Atlantic Ocean, you mistakenly believe the plane has turned and is heading back to New York. Question. Is your destination London or not? Your incorrect belief is not the determining factor, nor does it alter the course. The pilot and the plane are landing in London!
If you exercised your faith to rely on Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior, you relinquished control of your life to His control. He became the "pilot" of your life. Regardless of how you feel or think, your eternal destination depends on the Lord. His bloodshed on the cross literally bought the full forgiveness of your sins. With that purchase came a free gift-your ticket to heaven for eternity.
A. Common Causes
"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?" 2 Corinthians 13:5
- Questioning a childhood decision
- Failing to forgive an offender
- Continuing in un-repentance of sin
- Lacking the willingness to change sinful patterns
- Depending on church membership
- Relying on personal effort and works
- Lacking faith in Scripture
- Expecting feelings or emotions to confirm salvation
- Intellectualizing spiritual truths
- Confusing backsliding with loss of salvation
B. Common Question about Doubting Salvation
Question
:
"What happens to someone who is genuinely born again, experiences a changed life, but later disbelieves... at least for a period of time? If a person stops believing, doesn't that person also stop being saved?"
Answer:
No, the Bible says once you are truly born again-once you receive the new birth-you receive an "inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you.
" Every honest believer experiences periods of doubt. Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is the flip side of the same coin. Sincere doubt signifies a search-a search that God honors.
"In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you." 1 Peter 1:3-4
C. Root Cause
Wrong Belief:
"I can't be sure that I'll go to heaven until my life is over and the good works in my life are weighed against the bad ones."
Right Belief:
I am sure that I'll go to heaven because I have responded to God's requirement for salvation-not good works, but believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and giving Him ownership of my life.
"When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7
NEXT SERVICE:
1:00 Pm - This Sunday @ Crosswinds International
109 Westfaul Dr
Macon, Ga. 31216
478-254-3143
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