We Can Be Sure

I recently listened to one of my regular podcasts - "Back to the Bible" by Dr. Woodrow Kroll. You can download the podcasts here. The topic of 3 recent bible study podcasts led by Dr. Kroll were on the topic that I seem to ponder quite frequently in my own life - salvation assurance. Dr. Kroll studied the 4th and 5th chapters of the epistle of 1 John, and outlined several ways that a believer can know that he or she is truly saved and is a child of God. These chapters in 1 John are written by John as a way for believers to know that they are saved, and I found them a refreshing and clarifying analysis of the topic. For someone that examines his faith rather frequently, Dr. Kroll did a nice job of listing out the various evidence in a believer's life as written in 1 John.

(The list below are my paraphrases, quotes, and notes from Dr. Kroll's study directly from his verse by verse study of 1 John 4 and 5)

1. A true believer walks in God's light. He or she has a passion for God's Word, and desires God's examination and scrutiny in their life. They welcome God's light to show them where they have sinned and need repentance. This obviously comes through more time spent in God's Word and in prayer.

2. A true believer desires fellowship with other believers. Those truly born again enjoy fellowship with other people who are born again. They enjoy the Christian church and the community that it offers.

3. True believers recognize sin in their lives and are concerned about their sin. They have a keen sense of their own sinfulness and are convicted by sin (the work of the Holy Spirit). They are bothered by sin in their life and bothered by sin and injustice in the world. They cringe when they have an impure thought, and feel awful when they do or say something wrong.

4. True believers desire to keep the Word of God. They willfully obey God's Word.

5. Those truly saved do not love the world.

6. Those truly saved eagerly await the coming of our Lord Jesus. They long for the day they will be with Jesus.

7. True believers search their lives for any sin that they need to repent of and remove. They seek to remove sins that they struggle with and fall into. They do not look upon sins that they struggle with with indifference or no regard. They try and take their sin as seriously as God does.

8. Truly saved people have a genuine love for other believers. This does not mean that believers will always agree or act the same as each other, but genuinely saved people tend to love their fellow believers.

9. True believers demonstrate their love for others, not only in what they say, but especially in what they do.

10. The Holy Spirit's witness within you tells you that you are born again. You also have a heightened conscious by the Word of God that convicts of sin, which is also the work of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit speaks loudly to you that you are indeed a child of God.

11. True believers desire to live a Godly life. They desire to pursue holiness.

12. True believers have a heightened ability to decipher truth from error. By spending more and more time in God's Word, true believers hear from the Lord and are able to ascertain truth from untruth. They can identify Satan's lies. They know when they hear or read false teaching that is not in alignment with God's Word.

13. Those truly born again confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He is Lord of their life. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, is born of God!

14. Truly saved people exhibit faith that overcomes in this world. They overcome trials and tribulation. Their faith in the Lord remains steadfast and true. They pursue to the end.

15. Truly saved people know they are saved because they believe the promises of God. The adage holds true - "God said it, I believe it, that settles it!" God says that He will give us eternal life and save us from our sin and provides the necessary steps to salvation in His Word. Truly saved people believe this and confess it.

16. Those that are truly born again trust the purpose of God's Word. By reading God's Word more and more, assurance of salvation will grow.

This study was incredibly fruitful for me as I examined and continue to examine my life and my faith. Dr Kroll teaches that a true believer may not see the evidence of all of these areas in his or her life, but they should definitely see some. They should also see a growing pattern in these areas and to desire to grow in all of these areas.

How does one become saved?

1. Accept that you are a sinner and that you cannot save yourself.
2. Believe that Jesus died specifically for this reason: to pay the penalty for your sin.
3. Confess that you need Jesus and claim Him to be your Savior.

If you genuinely do these 3 things, under the authority of God's Word, you are indeed saved!