Can We Be Sure We Are Saved?

by Sewell Hall
via Gospel Guardian, 23 December 1965

Many people spend much time worrying about whether they are saved. Some believe that salvation involves some miraculous "better-felt-than-told" work of God within their fleshly heart, and they spend a lot of time trying to interpret the past events of their lives to determine if this work has been done. Others are sure it has not been done, and they become almost insane with fear that God has passed them by. These ideas are false and not only rob men and women of the joy of being a Christian but may actually keep them from being saved.

We can be just as sure that we are saved as the Bible is God's word and that God keeps His promises. Our certainty is based on our faith in His word.

If a man goes to a bank to borrow one hundred dollars, the banker will give him a note to sign. The banker may say, "If you will sign this note and send it to me, I will deposit the money in your account." When the man has complied with these conditions and is sure the bank has received the note, he will not hesitate to draw on the deposit. Faith tells him that the banker has done what he promised to do.

Recorded in Mark 16:16 are these words of Jesus, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." When we have done these things, we can be sure of it because we have done what he commanded us, and we have enough confidence in him to be sure he will do what he promised.

After we become God's children, we have another promise: " If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have׳ fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." If I diligently study to see the light and then diligently walk in it, I can be sure he will forgive me of any further sins I commit through weakness or ignorance.

Faith in God's promises is a firm foundation for our certainty of salvation. No other foundation can be trusted; others only deceive. For this reason, we must not depend on what others say. We must personally study the scriptures with great diligence to determine the conditions God has attached to his promises and be certain that we comply with each one to the best of our ability. Only then can we be sure that we are saved.