Throughout Scripture, Christians are mentioned as having been, being, and will be saved. Therefore, it is okay for Christians to refer to themselves as “saved.” However, the elect, or Christians, will not have their salvation consummated until the last day, Judgment Day, when Jesus comes again for the second and last time.
But how do I know for sure that I am saved?
We know from Matthew 7:21-23 that not everyone who calls themselves a Christian will “enter the kingdom of heaven.” The only humans that will spend eternity in heaven with God are the ones who do “the will of my Father who is in heaven” during their life on earth. Going to church and doing Christian things alone won’t work.
The first place to look in the Bible for information about salvation is Romans 10:9, 10. It reads in parallel, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” In verses 9 and 10, Paul uses parallelism to show “that heart–belief and mouth-confession belong together for justification…and salvation.”[1]
There are several things Christians must understand, though, from this passage of scripture. First of all, it is conditional. You must believe that Jesus is your lord and that Jesus was raised from the dead by God. Secondly, you will be saved, but it is personal because it involves you personally. Someone else cannot make this statement for you. The third thing is that your salvation, Christianity, and belief that Jesus is your lord are public. You are to confess in public (Matt. 10:32). You are not to keep this personal and not share it with others.
The fourth thing verse 9 teaches Christians is what to confess: that Jesus is the master, Lord, and savior of their lives and that God has raised Jesus from the dead. Be open about your Christianity to everyone you meet. Don’t keep what you believe a secret.
Fifthly, we must believe in Jesus and God, not just in our minds but in our hearts. We must believe to the very core of our being. And we must be willing to act upon our belief.
After all this, verse 9 tells us we will have eternity in heaven with God.
In verse 10, the apostle Paul uses a literary technique called parallelism to show us “that heart–belief and mouth–confession belong together for justification…and salvation.”[2]
Throughout sacred scripture, Christians are taught that the salvation and justification that we receive from God come to us if we believe that Christ became man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross as the only perfect sacrifice for our sins, and was raised from the dead. Scripture tells us that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will have eternal life (John 3:16, 6:47; Acts 16:31; 1 John 5:13). The Bible teaches Christians they will never lose their salvation (John 10:28, 29; Phil. 1:6). Christians know they will never be condemned once saved (Rom. 8:1). Those who are in the Kingdom of God, the body of Christ, believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and they are saved (Mark 16:15, 16; 1 Cor, 3, 4; John 3:16; Col. 1:13, 1). The elect know that the grace of God allows them to receive justification and sanctification (Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:5), and we are told in the bible that we are not saved by works or anything we do ourselves (Gal. 2:16; Titus 3:5).
CONCLUSION
You have assurance of your justification and salvation if you believe everything the Bible says about Jesus and God. It is not sufficient that you know this; it is necessary that you really believe this and that you trust in it to the very core of your being so much that you will act upon the biblical truth found in the Bible. Believing everything the Bible teaches about Jesus and God is all you must have to be assured of your justification and salvation in the new heaven and earth forever. Believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and believe that He was raised from the dead by God.
[1] R.C. Sproul, gen. ed., The Reformation Study Bible, Rom., n. 10:9, 10, (Reformation Trust Publishing, 2015 (ESV)), p. 1998.
[2] Sproul, p. 1998
