Am I Really Saved?
I just returned from a great week of camp with our Student Ministry; however, there was one night when the message caused some confusion. Some began to doubt their salvation. They were asking the question, “Am I really saved?”
This was all caused by several things the camp speaker said that night during his message. He spent some time sharing his own testimony in which he said that he thought he was saved as a youth, but he came to believe that he wasn’t truly saved because he was living a sinful lifestyle of doing drugs, having sex, and being involved in other destructive behaviors.
After finally having a few run-ins with the law and seeing one of his friends get murdered, he said that he turned to God and was truly saved after committing to not just believe in Jesus for salvation but to follow Him as Lord.
His passage of Scripture for backing this up was Romans 10:9 where Paul says, 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
A lot of his focus was on confessing Jesus as Lord, which to him meant surrendering to Jesus as our Lord to be truly saved. He said that all true faith in Jesus involves a commitment to follow Jesus as the Lord of our lives.
But is this true?
LORDSHIP SALVATION
What this speaker was referring to was Lordship Salvation. Lordship Salvation says that one cannot become a Christian simply by believing the gospel but must surrender to Jesus as the Lord of their lives as they put their faith in Him to be saved.
I believe that this is adding to the gospel of grace. Once we begin putting stipulations on the gift of salvation, it is no longer a gift. A gift by definition is one that is freely given. It is given without conditions. If conditions are given, it is no longer a gift.
Paul, in Romans 10:9, is not saying that to confess Jesus as Lord means to surrender to Him as the Lord of our lifestyle. Here’s what Paul Enns says about this in the Moody Handbook of Theology…
“Confession of Christ as Lord (in Romans 10:9) identifies Christ as deity; the issue is not concerning His lordship. Lordship is based on the application of the knowledge of Scripture, and the knowledge of Scripture comes with spiritual maturity, which in turn follows salvation. Lordship is important, but it cannot be a condition for salvation; that is adding to the gospel.”
In other words, Lordship is a discipleship issue. Discipleship follows salvation. When Jesus called the twelve to follow Him as disciples, He was calling them to follow Him as a learner.
After we come to Jesus and receive His gift of salvation through faith and are completely regenerated (born again spiritually in our hearts), then we learn about how to walk by faith with Him as our Lord through discipleship.
To say that it is a condition of salvation causes confusion. There is no way to have assurance. Every time we fail to follow Jesus as our Lord in areas of our lives, will cause us to doubt and wonder, “Am I truly saved?”
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
When the apostle John was writing his gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, his goal was to prove Jesus was Lord (deity) and that we might come to believe in Him for salvation.
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
(John 20:30-31)
Through belief in Jesus as our Savior, we receive eternal life. As we are convinced that Jesus is God and the only way to be saved, we place our faith in Him for that salvation and receive it unconditionally.
There are no conditions placed on belief. It is not repent and believe (for more on this, check out this blog post here), believe and be baptized, believe and confess Christ publicly, or believe and surrender. It is simply believe in Jesus for salvation, and you are saved.
Stop doubting your salvation. I know that is easier said than done. It’s much easier to believe in conditions for salvation. We live in a world where we must earn things. To believe that we must commit to following Jesus as the Lord of our lives in behavior and actions as a condition of true saving faith is easier to believe.
It’s much more difficult to simply trust that belief is the only condition for salvation. But it is true, and Jesus doesn’t want you looking around and constantly second-guessing whether you are truly saved. He wants you to know that your salvation in Him is secure and to focus instead on whom you’ve become now in Christ and the life that He has given you and is expressing through you.
THE NEW YOU
The moment you come to believe in Jesus for salvation, He comes to dwell in you (Ephesians 1:13-14) and makes you a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The old you is dead and your sinful nature has been crucified (Romans 6:6-7). You have been raised up with Christ into a new life with Him (Romans 6:4). He has given you a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26).
All of this happens to you at the moment of belief; however, it is possible to not be aware that any of this has occurred in you. If you are not discipled after your salvation, then you may be walking around as if you are the same old person that you were.
I know a lot of believers who lived a good portion of their lives thinking that they were the same old sinners they were before Jesus (still had a sinful nature) but at least knew they were going to heaven when they died one day.
If you don’t know who you’ve become in Christ, then you will still live as your old self. That is why Paul has to tell us in Colossians 3 to take off the old clothes (behaviors that don’t match who we are any longer) and put on new clothes (new behaviors that line up with our new selves).
In other words, we don’t have to tell people that they aren’t really saved if they came to believe in Jesus for salvation but haven’t followed Him as their Lord (in behavior). What we need to show them is what happened to them at salvation through belief in Him.
Show them their new identity. Teach them who they are in Christ. Make them aware that certain behaviors don’t line up with whom they’ve become in Him and that other behaviors are now reflective of the new heart and character they’ve been given as a new creation. Teach them to walk by faith in Christ in them and through them.
This is why discipleship after salvation is so important. Jesus doesn’t want us to miss the abundant life He has given us the moment we come to believe in Him.
AM I REALLY SAVED?
If you have come to believe in Jesus as your Savior, then you are saved. You are spiritually seated in heaven (Colossians 3:1,3). You are in union with Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father. Breathe deep and relax because your salvation is secure.
You have eternal life in Christ while you still live physically in this world. Enjoy Him as your Life. Trust Him as your Life. Allow Him to express His Life through you in word and deed so that His Life is manifested before those who have yet to believe. May He use it to bring them to experience His salvation as well.
In this classic and timeless one-volume resource, Paul Enns offers a comprehensive overview of the five dimensions of theology: biblical, systematic, historical, dogmatic, and contemporary. Each section includes an introduction, chapters on key points, specific studies pertinent to that theology, books for further study, and summary evaluations of each dimension. Charts, graphs, glossary, and indexes add depth and breadth. Theology, once the domain of academicians and learned pastors, is now accessible to anyone interested in understanding the essentials of what Christians believe. The Moody Handbook of Theology is a concise doctrinal reference tool for newcomers and seasoned veterans alike.
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