Perhaps you yourself doubt, groaning, “Do I really belong to God’s family?”

I do not believe there exists any significant difference between being saved and staying saved. Salvation is always by Jesus Christ. That truth remains unchanged regardless which side of the cross we live on. Only faith in Jesus will save us; only faith in Jesus will keep us. None of my works brought me into salvation, and none of my works will keep me in salvation. Christ, and Christ alone, is all I need.

Does that mean faith is the sum total of salvation and of being sure I’m saved? No! If faith alone will open Heaven to us, the object of our faith would be immaterial. We could hold the Islamic faith or adhere to Judaism or revere our great-grandmother’s slipper or belong to a conservative Mennonite church…and boldly gain access to the heavenly kingdom. But it isn’t that way!

Faith in Christ is the essence and fulness of our redemption and of our certainty of being saved. Reread the quote above and realize that the Savior wants to give you unconditional assurance of salvation! (And go ahead, click the link and learn more.)

As we live by faith and walk in the light, God’s Spirit within us uses His Word to give witness to us that we are saved. Even so…

We humans require proof and tangible reality before we can experience assurance. That is true in many areas of our lives, but let’s focus particularly on the issue of salvation. “How can I know for sure that I am saved?” has got to be one of the key recurring questions in the church. Something as tangible and experiential as baptism doesn’t prove it. And if the experience doesn’t prove it, then a baptismal certificate certainly won’t do it either. So how can we know we are saved then?

Well, perhaps following another question can lead you to an answer: Are you living in God’s love?

Here are two verses from the articles linked to above:

“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14).

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

To those, I add one that has seized my heart of late: “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12). Life comes only by Jesus Christ!