I am asked this question quite often by Christians, many of them having been Christians for a long time, about the assurance of their salvation. This article attempts to answer that question.
First of all, a believer’s salvation is known only to God, because God, in the beginning, before anything was created, determined who would be the elect —His chosen ones —who would receive salvation. That is a fact of the revealed word of God.
Many Christians today doubt their assurance of salvation. They look to God’s work in their lives for verification of their salvation. For example, Christians may look at the types or the amount of good work in their lives, or they may look at their obedience to God’s revealed Word. They may also look for the blessings of God in their lives.
However, we should not look subjectively for the things that God does in our lives. We should look objectively at the truth of God’s Word. We should accept the promises made by God regarding our salvation as outlined in His Word.
According to 1 John 5:11-13, “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” Therefore, by believing in the life and works of Jesus Christ, as revealed to us in the word of God, Christians are assured of their salvation.
It is not the works of God that appear in our lives, but it is the objective truth of God’s Word that assures us of our salvation. Our sanctification is important, but it is not the assurance of our salvation; it is the evidence of our salvation. To know that we believe in the life and works of Jesus Christ is to be assured of our salvation (Acts 17:31; Rom. 8:16). The evidence that we see in our lives of our salvation is just that, the fruit of our salvation.
As Christians, it is not how righteous we are, or how many good works we do, or what kind of good works we do, or how often we read the Bible, or that we attend church and participate in our church’s functions during our life after salvation. It is none of these things that assures us of our salvation, but it is the objective view of God’s revealed Word regarding our salvation that counts (Heb. 6:11, 10:22).
When Christians read the Bible, they find in Colossians 2:2-5:
that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Paul is teaching the Colossians and all Christians that their belief in the life and works of Jesus Christ gives them full assurance of salvation. He warns them not to believe others who try to take their assurance away from them.
I do not usually write articles with large passages of Scripture. However, in this case, I believe it is necessary for the assurance of your salvation that you read the following passage.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Pet. 3-9).
The Christians’ belief in Jesus Christ, the gospel, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our salvation (Eph. 1:13, 14). God has promised us that because He began a good work in us, our salvation, He will continue to the end on the Day of Judgment (Phil. 1:6).
