How do you know you are "saved" or "not saved"

[Triumph1300]

Just looking for opinions on this subject.
What is the evidence?
Are you sure?

 

[Wrangler]

The Holy Spirit came to me. It was a supernatural experience. That's how I know.

However, I am not saying that is a requirement for all. Do you meet the salvation requirements of Scripture? Roman 10:9, those who exclaim Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead will be saved.

Obviously, the gates of heaven will not be breached by mere lip service. Do you really meet the Romans 10:9 criteria? It is a matter of life or death. Hence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Hope this helps.

 

[1stCenturyLady]

The "evidence" is being free from sin. That is what happens when we are born again of the Spirit. That is why Jesus said, we MUST be born again.

Romans 6:6-22
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also,]reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.


12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.


15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.


20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

 

[Adam]

Just looking for opinions on this subject.
What is the evidence?
Are you sure?

Look at your life, do you feel ashamed of it? Do you pretend to be someone you're not? Do you condemn others? Do you help others? Do you give love freely to all people? This will determine how you will be judged.

 

[atpollard]

Just looking for opinions on this subject.
What is the evidence?
Are you sure?

Galatians 5:16-24 [NASB95]

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.​

 

[Tommy Cool]

Just looking for opinions on this subject.
What is the evidence?
Are you sure?

This don’t fly with many people which is their choice… But I am not sidelining your thread to deliberate this with others….. If you have questions, I am happy to answer them.

The only way I am aware of in the Word of God that allows you know of a certainty you are born again is by speaking in tongues ….which is available to all believers ….it’s not a gift ….it’s a manifestation of the gift… of the spirit you were given at the new birth.

1Co 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.


A literal of verse 3, could be: “Because you were led away by dumb idols in the past. I want to declare unto you that no one who is speaking in tongues is denouncing or calling Jesus accursed. And no one is really capable of declaring that Jesus is lord in their life except by way of speaking in tongues, which is the spirit in manifestation.

 

[360watt]

You know you are saved, because you have believed Jesus is God, He died and rose again.. and that by entrusting your salvation with Him you have eternal life.

What does it say in the book of John?

Joh_17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Joh_5:24 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.

The evidence of being saved is the testimony of the Holy Spirit in your soul. Having been converted there will be fruit from being saved. This may not be very visible to others.. but the Holy Spirit will guide, direct, encourage, rebuke etc..

 

[Johann]

Just looking for opinions on this subject.
What is the evidence?
Are you sure?

This is one of the most important questions in the Christian life. Many believers doubt their salvation because they don’t see signs of genuine faith in their lives. There are those who say we should never doubt our decision to follow Christ, but the Bible encourages us to examine ourselves to see if we are truly “in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Thankfully, God has given us ample instruction for how we can know for sure that we have eternal life. The first epistle of John was actually written for that purpose, as it states in 1 John 5:13, "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."

There is a series of tests in 1 John that we can use to examine ourselves and our faith. As we look at them, remember that no one will perfectly fulfill all of them all the time, but they should reveal a consistent trend that characterizes our lives as we grow in grace.

1. Do you enjoy having fellowship with Christ and His redeemed people? (1 John 1:3)
2. Would people say you walk in the light, or walk in the darkness? (1 John 1:6-7)
3. Do you admit and confess your sin? (1 John 1:8)
4. Are you obedient to God’s Word? (1 John 2:3-5)
5. Does your life indicate you love God rather than the world? (1 John 2:15)
6. Is your life characterized by "doing what is right"? (1 John 2:29)
7. Do you seek to maintain a pure life? (1 John 3:3)
8. Do you see a decreasing pattern of sin in your life? (1 John 3:5-6) [Note: this refers to not continuing in sin as a way of life, not a total absence of sin.]
9. Do you demonstrate love for other Christians? (1 John 3:14)
10. Do you "walk the walk," versus just "talking the talk"? (1 John 3:18-19)
11. Do you maintain a clear conscience? (1 John 3:21)
12. Do you experience victory in your Christian walk? (1 John 5:4)

If you are able to truthfully answer "Yes" to these questions (or a majority of them, and are working on the others), then your life is bearing the fruit of true salvation. Jesus said that it is by our fruits that we are known as His disciples (Matthew 7:20). Fruitless branches—professing believers who do not display the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) are cut off and thrown into the fire (John 15:6). A genuine faith is one that not only believes in God (the demons themselves do that - James 2:19), but leads to open confession of sin and obedience to Christ’s commands. Remember, we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works (Ephesians 2:8-9), but our works should display the reality of our salvation (James 2:17-18). Genuine saving faith will always produce works; a faith that is perpetually without works is no faith at all and saves no one.

In addition to these confirmations, we need to remember God’s promises and the reality of the war we are in. Satan is just as real as Jesus Christ, and he is a formidable enemy of our souls. When we turn to Christ, Satan will look for every opportunity to deceive and defeat us. He will try to convince us that we are unworthy failures or that God has given up on us. When we are in Christ, we have the assurance that we are kept by Him. Jesus Himself prayed for us in John 17:11 that the Father would "protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one." Again in verse 15, He prayed, "keep them from the evil one."

In John 10:27-29, Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." If you hear and obey the voice of Jesus, then you are one of His sheep, and He will never let you go. Jesus gave a wonderful word picture here of Christians securely held within His loving hands and the Father’s almighty hands wrapping themselves around His, giving us a double assurance of eternal security.

What are some of the signs of genuine saving faith? | GotQuestions.org

What are some of the signs of genuine saving faith? What sort of evidence should there be of true saving faith?

www.gotquestions.org

 

[shortangel]

true, if you have accepted Jesus into your heart & asked him to forgive you & that he died for you & rose again, you are saved

 

[bbyrd009]

Just looking for opinions on this subject.
What is the evidence?
Are you sure?

i have a simple guide that i use, never failed me yet; if they say that they are "saved" i know that they are as lost as two boys kissing

 

[FactsPlease]

Just looking for opinions on this subject.
What is the evidence?
Are you sure?

Didn't Jesus say he who endured to the END WOULD BE?

 

[Triumph1300]

The only way I am aware of in the Word of God that allows you know of a certainty you are born again is by speaking in tongues ….which is available to all believers …

Well....if speaking in tongues is available to all believers, it means they are already saved.
Btw. I don't think tongue speaking is a condition to be saved. But of course I am not a United Pentecostal ;-)

 

[Triumph1300]

I posted the OP because it's an Interesting subject for the following reason.
People go through the motions of becoming "born again" which is the requirement for salvation.
(It says you MUST be BORN AGAIN)

After that people say "I am saved".

Now look at this:
When you are sick call upon the elders of the church, according to scripture, after anointing with oil and laying on of hands the sick will be healed.

But most of them, after this procedure, are still sick.

So, how can you be sure you are saved, and when following biblical instructions for being healed does not work??

See where I am getting at?
How do you know your salvation is for sure a fact.

......I came to Christ in 1980.
Over 40 years ago.
I believe I am saved.

I am just rocking the boat here a bit.

Because I have seen it all in various churches from various preachers.

Be careful.

 

[Triumph1300]

i have a simple guide that i use, never failed me yet; if they say that they are "saved" i know that they are as lost as two boys kissing

Good thing you posted at the end.

 

[bbyrd009]

Good thing you posted at the end.

right?
Bc there is a chance the two boys kissing might be saved

 

[FactsPlease]

Than you, too, deny what Christ said?

 

[ScottA]

Just looking for opinions on this subject.
What is the evidence?
Are you sure?

What one thinks they "know" and what one actually knows, are two different things; and "believing" is neither.

If one has this thinking/knowing/believing clearly defined, the answer to whether you are saved or not, is that you know it.

You know that you are changed, that you may have all the same old memories as you did before, but not the same wants and desires, not the same outlook on most of life. You also know you are not alone, as if your conscience is now gone and in its place is another that is you, but not you...which is by evidences in your actions and thoughts from that first moment on, Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit. And yes, others will notice a change in you too.

But having said all that, it is not what you hope and merely believe is true, not unknowingly apparent just because that is perhaps the way you would think it is supposed to be. That's called wishful thinking...and if that is all you have experienced, it's not that you need to have seen the heavens part or heard a voice from heaven, for it is often rather "a still, small voice" only in spirit. But if you question whether or not you are saved--pray, and keep praying, that God reveal Himself to you and in you, that you may "know"...and He will answer. But be patient. If He does not soon answer, you should consider it His grace--He is being gentle by not letting you down hard, not with a shock of great difference, but little by little as any good parent would do for their child. Walk then in His promise, in hope. Focus on being a good student and a good listener--not of men, but of the spirit of God whom has drawn you...and do this knowing that the Spirit cannot be seen by you just yet, but rather can be witnessed. And then shall come the day when He makes Himself "known" to you--when He and you are both ready.

 

[bbyrd009]

Than you, too, deny what Christ said?

ok then, the two boys kissing might endure to the end, whereas the testifier of self "i am saved" is just deceived

 

[FactsPlease]

Obviously, facts mean little to bbyrd...

 

[Johann]

Didn't Jesus say he who endured to the END WOULD BE?

No PRESENT salvation?