How To Know Salvation

 THE EVIDENCES OF TRUE SALVATION

    Do you know people who say they are Christians, but then you wonder whether or not they are really saved?
    Maybe you know of Christians who judge and condemn others, because they don't like them for some reason? They'll say things like, "He has too many tattoos," or, "He doesn't live right," or, "He's Catholic," etc. Are those people going to be saved?
    Some may profess to be Christ’s, but do they truly possess Christ?
    How can anyone know for sure? 

    Well, this isn't a new question. Apparently, the Apostle John dealt with a lot of false converts in the days of the early church, even as today there are false believers mixed in with the true.
    And while none of us are the final judge of a persons grace and salvation, there are ways to tell if he or she is headed in the right direction. 

    The Book of 1 John is one such test given to help us determine this. Here are 7 evidences of one's salvation:

1. Having the Holy Spirit who Convicts us of our Sin
    We all sin, and the Apostle John knew this when he wrote: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
(1 John 1:8, 10) 
    However, when Christian believers sin, we are convicted of our sin by the Holy Spirit who is given to every believer at the moment he or she professes their faith in Christ as their savior. 
    Just before He was to die on the Cross, and go back to the Father after His resurrection, Jesus made this promise about the Holy Spirit,
“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment”
(John 16:8). 
    What this means is that conviction of sin is one of the works of the Holy Spirit. If we have no remorse, no guilt, or no "conviction" after we sin, then there may be no Holy Spirit in us at all. The scriptures insist that every true believer HAS the Holy Spirit within.
    "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."
    (1 John 3:24, also see 1 John 4:13)

2. Not "Sinless", But Sinning LESS
    John also makes it clear that “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4)
    Since, “No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning”
(1 John 3:6-8).
    In other words, if someone claims to be a Christian and yet makes a regular practice of sinning, they are lying to themselves and to God.
    No Christian is sinless, but we should be moved to sin less and less often. Once the sinner comes to Christ, the Holy Spirit gives that person the power to change, to refrain from sinning, which they were powerless to stop before. 
    This is an ongoing process of transformation, known as, "sanctification," where we become more like Christ. The mark of a true believer is not just sorrow and repentance after sinning, but also a yielding to the Holy Spirit's guidance to be transformed more and more into the image of His Son, Jesus.
    "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that 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 practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
    (1 John 1:5 - 7) 
    "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."
    (1 John 2:3 - 6)
    "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith."
    (1 John 5:2 - 4)

3. Loving One Another
    Now pay close attention, here; number 3 has universal application. And if the behavior I see on the internet by fellow Christians towards others is any indication, this is a biggie for many.
    "He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
    (1 John 2:9 - 11)
    Jesus once said that by our love for one another, “...everyone will know you are My disciples”
    (John 13:35)
    BOOM - If you are hating or being hateful to your Christian brothers or sisters, or anyone, for that matter, but calling yourself a Christian, then you are a liar. 
     “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

    (1 John 4:20-21)
    Jesus was more strident on this point. He spoke about hating someone as committing murder in your heart.
    He says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” 
    (Matthew 5:21-23 )
    So also John adds, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
    (1 John 3:15)
    "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
    (1 John 4:7 - 8 )

    Got it? Good.

4. Holding Fast to God's Word
    John warns of the deceptions that were coming into the world that were of the antichrist. (See 1 John 2:18 - 23).
    He follows this warning with the command to, "...let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father."     (1 John 2:24)
    Here he means that which was spoken through oral teaching, but the written Word of God of which John was one author leads us to understand that teaching - holds a special place in the heart of the Christian believer.
    Paul wrote, "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain."
    (1 Corinthians 15:1 - 2)
    Here again, note the emphasis on the oral teaching tradition from before the Bible was known. But today, we have the written Word of God in Scripture to accompany that Tradition.
    John also warned us to be on guard against false teachings, and to test them against the true teachings of God.
    "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God."
    (1 John 4:1 - 3)
    He also gave us additional pointers as to how to test these teachers and their teachings . . .
    "We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error"
    (1 John 4:6)
    and
    "Whoever transgressed and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son."
    (2 John 1:9) 
    Therefore, if you find yourself bending the Word of God to suit yourself, or your ideas, or if you disagree with the teachings of God's Word, that is an indicator of a real problem with your relationship with God.

5. Love for God Instead of Love for the World
    We return again to 1 John 2, where he writes,
    “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world”
    (1 John 2:15-16).
    James also asked the rhetorical question, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God”
    (James 4:4). 
    You cannot love the world, or the things of the world, and say you love God, too, because these two are not compatible with one another. (see also Galatians 5:19-25)
    This includes the people, morals, and the, "attitudes of the day," the 'zeitgeist' of the world. So it's not just material "things," like possessions. But of the latter, there is a special mention:
    If you love God,then you will be storing up treasure in heaven and not on earth, because the things of the world, including earthly treasures, will all pass away. This is why Jesus commanded us to,
    “...not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
    (Matthew 6:19-21)

6. Bearing Fruit
    Here we come to a hotly debated point among Christian believers: Faith versus Action. 
    A great many Christians are of the opinion that all you need is, "faith" - you wave your hands in the air, clutch the Bible, and proclaim, "I believe in Jesus!"
    And while that sounds easy enough on the surface, its a derivation of the original notions of Martin Luther, called, "faith alone," or "sola fides." But, curiously, nowhere in the original Bible is that found.
    The word, "alone," was added by Martin Luther in his own re-write of The Bible. What it said originally, is that faith is outside the workings of the Law (the Old Testament Law)- but that same Law is not abandoned because we have faith. 
    So we have to be careful here about cherry-picking that point, as we're about to see.

    "And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him."
    1 John 2:28 
    "In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."
    1 John 3:10
    James carries this further to say, “...faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”
    (James 2:17).
    What this is saying is that we can't think we are saved ONLY by doing, "works," exclusively, but that a person who is truly headed for salvation will also practice righteous acts. (See John chapter 15)
    False prophets and teachers, just like false Christians, will be known “...by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits”
    (Matthew 7:16-20).
    Jesus is clear, here, that if a "tree", (a person who claims to be a Christian), doesn’t bear good fruit that comes as a result of faith, then that tree will be cut down and cast into the fire.
    He also said that we would, “...recognize them by their fruits.”
    Thus, we can also recognize them by their lack of fruit, i.e., what they produce through action, or, do not produce.
    Even Jesus performed "works," acts of mercy, and said so clearly before the Pharisees.
    So, if one is to truly reach salvation, they’ll not produce bad fruit because bad trees cannot produce good fruit, any more than a good tree can produce bad fruit.
    James also wrote, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
    (James 2:15-17)
    The Apostle John agreed with this when he wrote: “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."
    (1 John 3:17 - 18)

    Pretty clear, isnt it? We must love in deed and not just in words, because faith without any good works is a dead faith. It is not authentic or genuine. It's not the "real thing"!
    What a tragic day that will be for many who say to Christ, “...Lord, Lord” but He will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness”
    (Matthew 7:23).

    What is even worse is that,...

    "On that day many will say” “Lord, Lord” but these same “many,” will be cast into the lake of fire because they were never really born again. (Revelation 20:11-15)

    In short, its both faith AND works of love and mercy in the name of Christ which save us.

7. Proclaiming Christ

    "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."
    (1 John 4:14 - 15)
    Jesus said, “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God”
    (Luke 12:8-9).
    How many people that you work with, or those among your circle of friends or family, know that you are a Christian believer?
    If you don't hit them in the head with it, is that denying Christ before others? Well, it could be called failing to acknowledge Christ, couldn't it? And that may very well be a denial of omission. It is certainly interpreted that way. This means, then, that Christ will deny you before the Father and the angels of God.
    Here's the deal on this - we have far too many who claim to be Christians but are not living in this way. They are silent, underground, "secret agent" Christians who don't bring Christ up in the conversation, because we fear the judgements of men more than God (Matthew 10:28) and they are not like Paul who was not ashamed of the gospel (Romans 1:16).
    Bottom line here is, if we are ashamed of Christ, so will He be of us on the day of His Parousia, His return. But then it will be too late.

Conclusion
    If this article has made you doubt whether you are truly a Christian or not, well, okay. We can call that a good thing.
    That may sound harsh, but its better to look at it today so that you can repent and live in Christ, now... rather than find out that you are not what you imagined on the day of Christ’s judgment of the world (Revelation 20:11-15).
    This is where the rubber meets the road. Our life as Christians is one of continuous exchange. So, examine yourself, now, and daily, “....to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test”
    (2 Corinthians 13:5).
So, if we fearlessly check ourselves and see the evidences of salvation in our lives, then we can be confident in it.
    John wrote: "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us."
    (1 John 4:17 - 19)

    "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
(1 John 5:13)

Adapted from, "Jesus is the Lamb" Facebook group