The Assurance of Salvation

 

Many folks are perplexed by this question: “I don't have the assurance of salvation. How can I have the assurance of salvation? Is that something I should always feel? Is it something I should ask God to give me? Do I need to have more faith in order to have the assurance of salvation?”

There are many areas in life that we overcomplicate. The question of our eternal security is one such area. Many believers are perpetually insecure because they don't have a clear answer to this question.

I would like to address this question in a clear and practical way.

Assurance of salvation = knowing that I am saved.

The assurance of salvation comes with salvation. So, if you are a genuine born-again believer, then you have the assurance of salvation.

Let us look at one of the main verses that explains how a person is saved:

• Romans 10:9 — “…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

This verse presents a simple “if/then” statement: if you do A, then B will happen.

I remember when a friend visited our home recently. We were not at home at the time, so I gave him the code to open the lock on our front door. I gave him the PIN and said, “If you enter this PIN, the door will be unlocked and you can enter the house.” I was the one who had originally set up the PIN. My friend did not have the option of choosing his own PIN. It is my house, and I decide how the front door will be unlocked.

So, what would my friend do when he arrived at the house? Would he stand outside and cry, “I can't enter the house”?

If someone asked him, “Why are you crying?” he might say something like, “The owner of the house gave me the PIN, but I don't know whether I should get inside or not.”

I am sure you are already laughing at this, because such a response would be absurd.

My friend entered the PIN, and the door opened—exactly as I had told him. Now he was inside the house.

Can you imagine that a few hours later he began asking himself, “How do I know that I am in the house?”

You are probably laughing again. Why would anyone ask that question if he had already entered the house by following the instructions given to him by the owner?

In a similar way, Romans 10:9 gives us God's stated way of salvation. It clearly tells us what a person must do in order to be saved. In this sense, it is like the instructions I gave my friend for entering my house.

However, there is an important distinction. With salvation, God is not merely concerned with an outward action or verbal formula. God knows the heart. Only God and the individual truly know whether his response to the gospel is genuine.

Others around him may see only the external evidence. They may hear him say that Jesus is Lord, hear him say that he has repented, or see him make a profession of faith. But they cannot know with absolute certainty what has happened in his heart.

Perhaps someone could make a profession of faith merely to satisfy the person who shared the gospel with him. Perhaps he could do it to gain acceptance in a particular group. Perhaps he could even do it because he wants to marry someone who requires him to be a born-again believer.

People can deceive others, and people can even deceive themselves. But God cannot be deceived, because He knows the heart perfectly.

Therefore, the important question for each of us is:

“Have I genuinely repented of my sins and received Jesus as my Lord and Savior?”

If the answer is genuinely yes, then you are saved—and therefore you can have assurance of your salvation.

Not because you are worthy of salvation, but because God has promised salvation to those who genuinely respond to the gospel in faith. The assurance rests not on our worthiness, but on the trustworthiness of the One who made the promise.

It is true that sometimes a believer may question whether he is saved. We may sometimes feel that we don't have any particular “feeling” of assurance. But Romans 10:9—or any other passage promising salvation—does not promise that a believer will always experience a particular emotional sensation called “assurance.”

Our feelings can change from day to day. God's Word does not.

Scripture is inspired by God. Therefore, when God tells us that those who genuinely believe in Christ will be saved, we can trust His promise. If we genuinely believe His promise and yet continually insist, “I did what God asked, but I still don't know whether He saved me,” we are allowing our feelings to contradict what God has said.

Our lives should not be guided primarily by our feelings; rather, they should be directed by what God has revealed in His Word. God's Word gives us the facts, while our feelings can change.

Paul says:

• 2 Corinthians 10:5 — “…taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

The immediate context is broader than simply controlling our feelings, but the principle applies to our thought life: we should bring our thoughts into submission to the truth God has revealed rather than allowing our thoughts and emotions to dictate what we believe.

Paul also says:

• 2 Corinthians 5:7 — “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

In practical terms, this means that we should allow our feelings to follow the facts, rather than allowing our feelings to determine what we believe about God's promises.

Therefore, the assurance of salvation is not primarily a feeling that we must continually search for. It is confidence in God's promise.

So, to conclude:

If you have genuinely done what the Lord has asked you to do in responding to the gospel—repenting of your sins and receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior—then you are saved, and you can have the assurance of your salvation.

Your assurance rests not on how you feel, but on the faithfulness of God and the truth of His Word.