Are You Sure?

“Nothing is more important for us than to know that we are indeed the children of God… You can’t really enjoy the blessings of the Christian life unless you’ve got this assurance.”  Martin Lloyd-Jones

Every Christian struggles with a sense of assurance from time to time, and some may even come to believe that they’re only meant to hope that they’re saved.  But the Bible teaches that those who believe in the name of the Son of God can know that you have eternal life (I John 5:13). 

There are two errors into which Christians often fall in this matter of assurance.  The first is to be so eager to assure everyone who makes a “profession of faith” that we ignore the clear Biblical warnings against false assurances. The second is to set such high standards for personal holiness that any sense of assurance becomes unattainable. For this reason, it’s absolutely essential that we understand what God’s Word has to say about this matter of assurance.

To the question, “How can I be sure I’m a Christian?" many sources might direct you back to the time when you accepted Christ. To be sure, this is a critical moment in any Christian’s life – perhaps the most critical.  But the way we gain assurance of our salvation is not by looking to some past activity of our own but by looking at what God has done (and is still doing). According to Donald Whitney, “The reality of salvation is not demonstrated so much by the experience at the beginning as by the fruit since then. It is not the backward look that is important in gaining assurance, but the look at what you believe and are doing now.”

Paul exhorted each of us to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Though such examination might seem scary at first, the result will likely be a more fruitful, joyous walk with Christ and a more effective ministry to others.  Whitney writes, “Satan knows that Christians are most effective when they’re sure of their salvation, and ineffective when they’re not.”

In the process of examining yourself, guard against the tendency to focus only on what’s wrong in your life.  Nowhere in the Bible do we read that every Christian will possess every evidence of salvation all at once. Read through the book of 1 John, a list of "tests" for examining yourself, and you'll see right away that it was written to believers. It's not uncommon for Christians to struggle with a sense of assurance, but as Whitney writes, “The Bible requires only the presence of evidences, not the perfection of them.” So rather than focusing only on what's wrong, give thanks for what's right, and continue to pray about what needs work.  Seek the Lord and allow him to change your heart.  Your actions will be sure to follow.  After all, the fact that you even care about the absence of certain evidences might itself be evidence that you’re a Christian.