Make Sure of Your Salvation

The Bible advises us to make sure of our salvation, 2 Peter 2:10. The reason is that there are many false teachers and false churches that only deceive, Jude 1:4; Matthew 7:15; 2 Peter 2:1. Therefore, we need to look at the Bible and make sure of our salvation. This is an overview of salvation that answers many questions. While this article gives much insight into salvation, it does not attempt to explain every detail

In Acts 17:24-31 we see that God created the heavens and the earth and all things on the earth. Mankind is to seek after the Lord and in Him we live and have our being and He will judge all mankind, Revelation 20:11-15. God is also holy and righteous, Revelation 15:3-4. We all have to face the problem of sin. Sin is the transgression of God's laws. We offend God, if we fail to keep His commands. As for the ten commandments, if we have violated any one of them, we are guilty of sin just as if we had violated them all. How many of us has sinned? In Romans 3:23, Ecclesiastes 7:20 and Psalms 14:1-3 we find that the Bible says we have all sinned. Then one might ask is there a penalty for sin and if so what is it? In Romans 6:23 it says that the wages of sin is death, which is the second death.

We need to remember that there are two deaths for those who have not accepted what Christ did on the cross for all mankind. The first death is the physical death when the body dies and is buried and the soul and spirit either go to heaven or to hell, depending on the choice one made while alive on earth. The second death is a spiritual death, after being judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, which is an eternal separation from God in a lake of fire, Revelation 2:11; 20:14; 21:8. A Christian does not go through the second death, but the lost, those who are not Christians, experience the second death. Neither death is one of unconsciousness.

We find that one act of sin is an offense to God. Since God hates sin and cannot dwell in the presence of sin, the sinner must be cast out of the presence of God, Luke 9:25; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9. Some say, after a quick glance at the Bible, that they cannot see how they can be good enough to be a Christian. Doing all these good deeds mentioned in the Bible will never make up for the times we have failed. To put it simply, no matter how hard you try to get to heaven by good deeds you will fail, Romans 4:4-5; Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:5-7.

Since we cannot meet God's requirements for going to heaven by our own works, just how do we get into heaven? As we have already seen, we cannot get into heaven by our own works so we clearly need a Savior, one who is separate from sinners, Matthew 1:20-23; 3:17; 15:20-22; Hebrews 4:14-15; 7:25-27. Jesus Christ is the Savior we need, One who is perfect and 1 Corinthianscan take away our sins and provide us with the righteousness we need to get into heaven,Romans 3:21-22; 5:17; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Acts 4:12. Jesus is one with God and became human by being born of the virgin Mary. He is both God and man. Since He had no earthly father He was born without a sinful nature. He lived a perfect life, He committed no sin, Hebrews 4:14-15. Jesus was our substitute and died our death to pay for the penalty of our sins, Romans 6:23; 5:6-8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

What did the death of Christ on the cross accomplish?

1. His death on the cross was for all mankind, Romans 3:22; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.

2. His death on the cross was the payment for all our sins, past, present, and future, Acts 13:38-39; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:10; 10:12; 10:14; 10:17.

3. His death provided redemption and He became our Redeemer, Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:14.

4. His death paid for our sins and His resurrection is the means of our justification, Romans 3:24-26; 5:1; 5:8-9.

5. His death, burial, and resurrection take away our sins and gives us His righteousness.
When we have faith in what Christ has done for us His righteousness is imputed to us, Romans 4:3; 4:21-25; 5:17-21.

So what do we have to do to be saved? The Bible says that we are to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and we shall be saved, Acts 16:30-31. Since we cannot work for salvation, Christ has done all the work for us by dying for our sins. We just have to accept what Christ has done for us to receive the gift of eternal life, which is only through Jesus Christ, Romans 6:23. Salvation is by grace through faith, Ephesians 2:8-9. To try to work for salvation means that we are still in our sins and unsaved, Romans 4:4-5; 10:1-4; 11:6; Galatians 1:6-9; 2:21; 5:4; Philippians 3:3-9.

If you believe in what Christ has done for you and place your trust for salvation in Him you are saved forever. When we are first saved, God gives us the gift of eternal life, Titus 1:2. We are cleansed from our sins, sanctified unto God and justified by God, 1 Corinthians 6:11. We are then born again into God's family, regenerated and renewed by God's Holy Spirit, and become a new creation in Christ, Galatians 3:26; Titus 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17.

When we first believe the Holy Spirit of God indwells the believer and by His permanent indwelling and presence they have eternal life, Romans 8:2; 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 3:17. When someone believes om Christ, it is the Holy Spirit that seals them until the day of redemption. The day of redemption is when Christ returns in the air and gives us our new, incorruptible, bodies and takes Christians home to heaven, Ephesians 1:12-14; Galatians 4:4-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. This Holy Spirit of God that indwells us is also given to us as a guarantee to us of eternal life. The Bible calls it an "earnest", a down payment, 2 Corinthians 1:20-22; 5:5-6; Ephesians 1:12-14; 4:30. Eternal life as a gift is what we receive at the moment of belief, Romans 8:35-39; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:11-13; Titus :2. This also means that one cannot lose their salvation.

Someone might now say that since we are saved eternally we can go on living the way we were and sin doesn't matter. There are also those that don't believe in the gift of eternal salvation that say those who believe in eternal security believe they can sin. The Bible actually asks this same question, saying, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" Next the Bible itself answers that question. The Bible says, "God Forbid"!, Romans 6:1-2; 6:5. So those who say that those who believe in eternal security think they can continue in sin are either ignorant or deceived. That is a straw man argument.

When someone is saved, it is the Holy Spirit that baptizes them into the body of Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection the moment we believe the gospel. This is a baptism into the body of Christ and is not water baptism, 1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 2:10-13. Because of this the Father see's us as in His Son who is righteous. Being in the body of Jesus Christ makes us secure and saved. Everyone that is a member of the Body of Christ and being in the body of Christ are to serve Jesus Christ, who is their head, Romans 6:3-6; 6:11-13; 6:19-23.

We have been saved to serve God. It should be noted that we are saved by faith and not by works, but then we must not forget that we are saved to do good works, Ephesians 2:8-10. The love that Jesus displayed on the cross motivates Christians to do good works, to serve Him who loved us enough to give His life for us and pay for our sins. Christians don't work to go to heaven but because of the love that Jesus has shown, Romans 12:1-2; Titus 2:11-14.