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How you know that you are really saved!
0) Initially you must have begun to believe in Jesus. The key word here is believe.
(James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good. Even the demons believe that--& shudder." To just believe that Jesus exists is not enough - you need to really believe to be really saved. You also cannot believe in something that you know nothing about.1) You must have acknowledged that you have sinned & felt a deep sense of shame because of your sinful nature. (Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God,")
2) You must have asked God to forgive your sins sincerely.
God knows all your past sins, and your future sins, so by asking God to forgive all (past and future) your sins, He will forgive them all. Even though you can't name them at the time.
When you do this you are set free from every sin you have committed in the past, and every sin that you will commit in the future.
You should no longer feel guilty about your sin (even minutes after you have sinned), because you are free through the sacrifice of Jesus.
(Romans 6:14 "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace")
Sin has no power in your life if you have accepted Jesus' free gift of Salvation.3) You must ask and have accepted Jesus into your life, your whole life. This will require faith.
(Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', & believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.")4) You must allow the Holy Spirit to change your lifestyle to fit what the bible teaches.
(John 15:16 "You did not choose me, but I choose you & appointed you to go & bear fruit--fruit that will last.") The fruit mentioned here represents the changes in your life. Of course Christians are far from perfect and you should never judge a persons salvation, but you can judge your own sins and other Christian's sins, by the Word of God (the Bible). (2 Timothy 4:2 "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage -- with great patience and careful instruction.")I am not at all suggesting that a Christian earns their salvation by doing good works or "bearing fruit". Salvation cannot be earned, it is by the Grace of God alone that we can be saved. As the verse above states, you do not even choose God, but God chooses you. (What a mystery! What a privilege to be chosen by God!)
The changes in your life will come naturally if you have really believed.
If point 4 is a maybe then the chances are that you might not be saved, but only God knows. We are not to judge the salvation of people, only God can judge that. God's ways are higher than my ways and He alone knows the heart. (Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.) (John 10:9 "I (Jesus) am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved...")
The parable of the sower is a good illustration; were all the four types of "soils" saved or only the "soil" that produced fruit? By God's grace anyone can be saved, but personally if the Holy Spirit was not active in my life, molding and changing me, then how would I know He was real. How could I be certain that I was going to Heaven if I saw no evidence of the Work of God in my life.
Don't let Jesus be in the background. Jesus must be the foundation on which you live.
My testimony of what Jesus has done in my life
A GDW about the salvation
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For more details on Salvation & how to know Jesus personally please see the following link. http://www.godsdailyword.org/salvation.htm
For discussion about common questions and issues: Note this site speaks of the gifts of the Holy Spirit as being temporary. This is not correct, please read the crit of his article. The other information on the site is excellent. http://www.biblelessons.com
Bob's article on Speaking in tongues has it's flaws I believe in that speaking in tongues is not temporary, but his site encourages further study of the scriptures, reveals deep truths and contains a lot of information pertaining to the history of the church. If you study the rest of the bible more and focus less on the controversial issues you would have done well. The devil would love to distract you from studying God's Word, and what better way to do it than by focusing on a small controversial issue, like speaking in tongues.
An article that speaks contrary to Bob's article and mentions the contradictions to John MacArthur's (Jr.) interpretation of this same topic, can be found here. Apparently MacArthur's opinion is similar to Bob's. The contrary article was taken from http://www.scholarscorner.com/Critical/Cessation.html
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God is the Creator of this earth and everything in it, including you.
After the birth of Jesus in the early first century, Jesus grew and increased in wisdom and stature until he began to teach the Word of God.
Jesus was killed, and His death on a cross was a sacrifice for all the sins of the people in the world.
Jesus' sacrifice conquered death and evil, and Jesus offers a gift of eternal life if you have faith, believe in Him, and if you accept the gift that is on offer.
If your faith is real, you will have good works.
Jesus calls us to lead a life where God makes the rules, where society is not always right, where the crowds are not always doing what God wants, and where the most popular things to the world are far from what God wants.
I have accepted the gift that Jesus Christ offered to me, and I urge you to consider accepting the gift as well. I pray that you may experience the Grace and Mercy of God.
How you know you are saved.
Please read my testimony if you have a moment or visit one of the other links on this site.
May God bless you beyond belief as He has blessed me.
Accept Him.