Many followers of Jesus Christ look for certainty of salvation in the wrong place.
We look for the certainty of salvation in what God has done in our lives, in our spiritual growth, in our good works and obedience to God’s Word is evidence of the Christian walk. While these things may be evidence of salvation, they are not the basis of certainty of salvation. Instead, we find the purpose of certainty of salvation in the Word of God. We must have a confident belief that we are safe based on God’s promises, not because of our own experience.
How can you know for sure if you are saved? Consider 1 John 5:11-13: “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 am writing this letter to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” Who are those who have a son? They are those who believe in Him (John 1:12). If you have Jesus, you have life. Not temporary, but eternal life.
God wants us to be sure of our salvation. We cannot live our Christian lives wondering and worrying every day whether we are truly saved or not. That is why the Bible has made the program of salvation clear. Believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Acts 16:31). “For 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” (Romans 10:9). Have you repented of your sins? Do you believe that Jesus is the Savior and that He died to pay for your sins (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21)? Have you trusted Him alone for salvation? If your answer to these questions is “yes”, you are saved! Certainty means “to have no doubt.” By taking God’s Word to heart you can place beyond doubt the reality and truth of your eternal salvation.
Jesus himself confirms this to those who believe in him: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father has given them to me, He is the Greatest. No one will snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29). Eternal life is eternal. There is no one, not even you, who can take away the gift of God-given salvation from you.
We hide the word of God in our hearts so that we do not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11), and this includes the sin of doubt. Rejoice in what the Word of God tells you: so that instead of doubting, we can live with faith! We can be assured from Christ’s own words that our salvation will never be called into question. Our certainty is based on God’s love for us through Jesus Christ.