“Am I saved? I am always trying to be good enough to please God. When I am not, I fear that God is angry at me and that my salvation is in question.” Have you ever thought like this? I think this doubt comes to all Christians, “How can God forgive my deliberate sins? If I truly loved Him, and was willing to be crucified with Christ, then wouldn’t I be obedient?”
As the Apostle Paul recounts in Romans 7, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! -– Does this mean that my eternal salvation is not secure? How could God continue to love me when I do not love Him as He deserves? The next verse gives us the answer, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
No one can have peace with God without knowing the answer. Therefore, my intent is to assure you that if you continue to believe in and to hope in Jesus Christ, then you will receive eternal life along with all others who believe.
Our salvation is not earned. It is the “free gift of God.” (Romans 3:24) Otherwise, if we earned it by effort and good deeds, it would be neither “free” nor a “gift.” All that is required is faith. If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose for so that we may also be victors over death and live with Him forever, then we have eternal life and are dearly beloved by the Father. – Yes, that is all that is required, simple faith.
Goodness, holiness, and perfection is a lifetime pursuit, empowered the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit within us at the moment of our confession of faith. The fact that we feel guilty and convicted when we sin is proof that God’s Spirit lives within us. Remember, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
We who believe in Christ have an enemy, Satan, the Accuser of the brethren.” (Romans 12:19) That is the voice we hear when we doubt God’s promise and question the security of our eternal salvation.
Just as Christ refuted Satan’s suggestions by quoting the Holy Scripture, so must we also. Never forget, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John3:16)
Mark Baird
