“HOW TO” SERIES

 

#1:  “How to Know You’re Saved”

 

TEXT:  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.”

 

            Is there any doubt that God wants us to know that we are saved?

 

            However, when it comes to this matter of salvation, it has been my experience that there are four categories of believers:

 

  1. Those who have it but are constantly scared that they’re going to lose it;
  2. Those who aren’t sure that they have it;
  3. Those who have it and are sure that they can’t lose it; and
  4. Those who have it and realize that as long as they look to Christ, they will never lose it.

 

            Let me make my position very clear:  I am confident of my salvation to the extent that were I to die in the next thirty seconds, I am sure that I would find myself immediately in the presence of the Lord.  No brag; just fact. 

 

            Paul wrote in Romans, chapter 8, verse 1:

 

            “…there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…”

 

            I believe, therefore, that I am saved, that I am eternally secure in Christ.

 

            The apostle Paul also wrote in Galatians, chapter 3, verses 26 and 27:

 

            “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

 

            At the age of twelve, with the convicting help of the Holy Spirit, I decided I wanted to be saved, so I decided to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior by responding to Him in repentance, profession of faith, and baptism into Him.  Ever since that day, I have been “in Christ.”

 

            Jesus Himself said in the gospel of John, chapter 15, verse 6:

            “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”

 

            Therefore, I also believe that I am “in Christ” by my own volition, aided by the power of the Holy Spirit which lives within me.

 

            I hope that you are similarly “in Christ.”

 

            Today, I want to draw your attention to the four witnesses that John says testify to the assurance of your salvation, the first of which is…

 

YOUR BELIEF IN JESUS AS THE CHRIST.

 

            Look at 1 John 5:1 – “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…”  That phrase, “born of God” is just another way of saying “saved.”

 

            At first this looks way too simplistic.  I mean, there are people who intellectually recognize Jesus as the Christ, yet they lay no claim whatsoever to being Christians.  What’s the deal?

 

            Evidently, this is nothing new.  James wrote almost a whole chapter on this very thing.  He pointed out that even Satan and his demons recognize Jesus as the Messiah of God, yet they certainly aren’t saved.  Again, what’s the deal?

 

            Here’s the deal.  The believing that results in our being saved is the believing that trusts and obeys.  James points out that Abraham didn’t just believe God; he trusted and obeyed.  He points out that Rahab didn’t just believe in Jehovah God; she chose to serve Him.

 

            Likewise, the Jews on Pentecost didn’t just believe Jesus was the Messiah; they repented and were baptized.  And the same is true for every conversion we read about in the New Testament. 

 

            Is it true for you?

 

            A second witness John presents is…

 

YOUR OVERCOMING OF THE WORLD.

 

            Look at 1 John 5:4 – “…everyone born of God overcomes the world.”

 

            What’s he talking about?  What does it mean to overcome the world?

 

            Simply this:  Satan, the god of this world, is determined that you fail as a Christian, and he’s going to throw everything in the world at you in his effort to defeat you.

 

            But Jesus has overcome the world, and He has equipped you to do the same.  Paul tells us in Romans 8 that our faith in Jesus Christ enables us to conquer death, life, angels, demons, the present, the future, any powers, height, depth, and anything else in all creation!

 

            Just think what you have overcome since you became a Christian! 

 

            When we obey the gospel and the Spirit of Christ comes to live in us, He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world, and we can overcome the world!  Amen?  Amen!

 

            A third witness John calls is…

 

THE CESSATION OF OUR SINFUL WAY OF LIFE.

 

            Look at 1 John 3:9 – “No one who is born of God will continue to sin…”

 

            Does this mean that after we have been born again, of the water and the Spirit, we never ever sin again?  No. 

 

            The Contemporary English Version translates this verse more clearly:  “God’s children cannot keep on being sinful…”

 

            Tell me, do you live your life differently now, compared to how you lived before you became a Christian?

 

            Consider the apostle Paul, for example.  Before he became a Christian, he was a rejecter of Jesus as the Christ, and he did everything he could to wipe Christianity from the face of the earth.  After he became a Christian, he preached Jesus as the Christ and did all he could do to promote Christianity.  He changed his purpose in life and his way of life.  Did he stop sinning entirely?  Not if you believe what he wrote in Romans 7.

 

            It is the same with you and me.  As the bumper sticker you see occasionally says:  “CHRISTIANS AREN’T PERFECT, JUST FORGIVEN.”

 

            A fourth witness John calls is…

YOUR LOVE FOR YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST.

 

            Look at 1 John 3:14,15 – “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.”

 

            And look on down to verses 18 and 19:  “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.  This is then how we know that we belong to the truth…”

 

            We would probably all say that we love each other this morning.  That’s good.  But John would have us take it a step further.  He urges us to “not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 

 

            Look at verse 16:  “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

 

            Think about that…  Is there anyone in this room you would not give your life for?

 

CONCLUSION:

 

            I read about an elderly lady who walked into an insurance office and said she wanted to cancel a life insurance policy.  She explained that ever since her husband died, the premiums were so difficult to keep up.

 

            Looking at the policy, the agent said, “Ma’am, this policy is on your husband’s life.  You don’t have to pay us any more; we must pay you!”

            My dear brother or sister in Christ, the premiums on your soul’s policy were paid over 2,000 years ago, when Jesus died on that cross.  It’s time you enjoyed your forgiveness and your new life in Christ!