178. ARE YOU TRULY SAVED? EIGHT (8) BIBLICAL INDICATORS TO EXAMINE WHETHER YOU ARE IN THE FAITH

(The Faith Forum Series – Batch 3)

2 Corinthians 13:5 encourages all those who profess themselves to be ‘Christians’, to examine themselves, to determine whether they are truly abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ, have genuine faith and are therefore truly saved.

It is important for every person who professes ‘Christianity’ to conduct this examination, as it is possible for us to be self-deceived. It is possible for us to believe that we are saved when we may not be and it is important that we know for SURE and are not merely assuming that we are.

The verse reads, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

There are many indicators that you can check to assess whether you are really saved or not, some of which I mentioned in Article 73 entitled ‘ARE YOU REALLY SAVED? HERE ARE SOME INDICATORS‘. In addition to those mentioned, I propose to deal with eight (8) biblical indicators in this Article.

EIGHT (8) BIBLICAL INDICATORS THAT YOU ARE TRULY SAVED

According to the book of John, if you are in the faith are abiding in Christ and are therefore truly saved, then:

1. You would first of all have FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD THE FATHER AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.

This only comes through a genuine belief in the Lordship of Jesus Christ and repentance from your old way of living. 1 John 1:3 states: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

2. Although you are not perfect and will slip up at times, you will generally be WALKING IN THE LIGHT AND NOT DARKNESS. 

That is, you would be walking and living your life the way God wants you to live and not according to the desires of your flesh. His righteousness will dictate your actions, behaviour and lifestyle, not the world, the devil or your flesh.

1 John 1:5-6 states: “…God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth…”

3. You will have FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHER GENUINE CHRISTIANS (meaning communion, partnership, comradeship, friendship, love).

This will be because you have two things in common: You have fellowship with the Father and Son and you are walking in light because God is light.

1 John 1:7 states: “But 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.”

4. You will have an ONGOING REPENTANT LIFE, where you willingly, continuously, humbly, sorrowfully and regretfully, admit when you sin and confess it to God, asking him to forgive you of these sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. 

1 John 1:8-10 states: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.”

5. You will obey whatever Jesus says you should do, by AVOIDING SIN, although there are a few times when you may slip. You will do this because you truly believe that he is Lord over all and therefore that he is worthy of and entitled to your complete submission and obedience. 

1 John 2:1-7 states:

  • My little children, these things write I unto you,that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, IF we keep his commandments. He that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
  • (Note Well: The commandments referred to here are the New Testament commandments given by Jesus himself and also through his disciples to the Church under the New Covenant in the New Testament. It does not refer to the laws and commandments given under the Old Covenant which were applicable to the Israelites in the Old Testament, although some of these commandments were repeated and therefore given afresh under the New Covenant. These New Testament commands and instructions are called the ‘law of liberty’ or the ‘law of the Spirit of life’ in Christ Jesus, some of which were given by Jesus in Matthew 5:19 and continuing).
  • 1 John 3:6-10 states: “Whosever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God…”
  • 1 John 2:29 states: “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.”

6. You will LOVE YOUR CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS (family in Christ) BUT ALSO YOUR BIOLOGICAL FAMILY, not in words but in truth and demonstrated in your actions. 

1 John 2:9-11; 3:10-19 states:

  • “He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth because that darkness hath blinded his eyes…whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous…
  • We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good and seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.”
  • 1 John 4:20 states: “If a man say, I love God and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”

7You will HATE AND REJECT THE WORLD’S SYSTEM, CULTURE, THE WAY IT OPERATES AND WHAT IT VALUES.

1 John 2:15-17 states:

  • “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

8. You will CONFESS TO OTHERS THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THAT YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN AND WHAT THIS MEANS AND YOU WILL NOT DENY HIS LORDSHIP, no matter where you are or whose presence you are in. You will not try to hide your identity in Christ or suppress your Christian values but will let people know (even in the workplace) that you belong to him. 

  • 1 John 2:22-24 reads: Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.”
  • Mark 8:34-38 states: “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
  • In Romans 1:16, Paul boldy stated: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

CONCLUSION

In summary, the book of John makes it clear, that if you are truly born of God through Jesus Christ and have his spiritual nature in you, that your faith will overcome the world and you will be victorious. That is, no matter how difficult life may be and how you may be tempted by the world, the devil and the flesh:

  • 1 – You will CONTINUE TO BELIEVE in the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in God the Father (no matter what life throws at you);
  • 2- You will WALK IN THE LIGHT by staying away from what is not of God;
  • 3- You will have FELLOWSHIP and not enmity with your brothers and sisters in the Lord;
  • 4- You will overcome the temptation to be self-righteous and proud and instead, KEEP REPENTING whenever you do mess up or sin;
  • 5 – You will OBEY Jesus instead of serving yourself and doing what you want to do;
  • 6 – You will LOVE your brothers and sisters in Christ and show it in your actions;
  • 7 – You will HATE THIS WORLD’S WICKED, GODLESS SYSTEM;
  • 8 – You will OVERCOME THE PRESSURE OF THE WORLD which wants you to adopt its ways and to deny Christ; and
  • 9 – You will TELL OTHERS ABOUT THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST AND OF WHO YOU ARE IN HIM.

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory, that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5)

(Written on 02nd August, 2018)

Dear Reader, if you found the above Article useful, informative, edifying or interesting, you may also be interested in reading the following:

  • Note 31 – ‘The Blood Of Jesus Gives Spiritual Life’
  • Note 116 – ‘Are You Really Saved? Here Are Some Indicators’
  • Note 166 – ‘Are You Serving The True Jesus?’

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