How do we know?

How do we know that we are a Christian? We believe that we are saved by God’s power to save us, called grace, through our faith in Him to save us. There are no special works or magic words. You make a decision and God keeps His promise. You believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and make Him the owner, Lord, of your life and He will save you. It sounds simple, yet I hear from people all the time who pray but doubt their salvation. How do we know for sure?

When someone comes to me with doubts I direct them to the book of 1 John. This short letter from the apostle John, only five chapters, tells us what we need to know to know that we know Jesus. The stated purpose of the book is, “So that you may know that you have eternal life.” (5:13)

The first mark of salvation is that we, “walk in the light,” (1:7). When we know His truth He gives us more insight into His nature, our new nature, and our neighbor’s needs. In fact, a person who is not a Christian does not have this insight.

Paul put it this way, “But the natural man does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to know it since it is evaluated spiritually.” (1 Cor. 2:14) This is not the only mark of salvation. There are others, but this is a good place to start.

What do you understand that you could not understand before? Understanding is the key to overcoming. With understanding comes the power to say no to those things that seemed to control you before, and say yes to the one you did not seem to be able to obey before.

Jesus does not just save your soul. He saves your understanding also. On the day of Pentecost Peter declared to the crowd, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” (Acts 2:40). Salvation begins now with God giving you the power to do His will. That is the power of grace that assures us that we are one of His children. That is how we know. In the light of salvation, we see the change in our own life.
Bro. Robin