“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”
1 John 5:11-13
“That you make know.“
One of the greatest gifts of Christianity is assurance of salvation. The believer in Jesus does not need to wonder if he or she belongs to the Lord and will live with Him forever. Our salvation rests not on our efforts or sincerity but on the promise of God, which is completely reliable and eternally irrevocable.
How do you know?
1. A clear profession of faith in the Lord Jesus.
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
Romans 10:9-10
Citing Joel 2:32, as Peter did on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:21), Paul expounds on that gospel promise (Rom. 10:13) with these clarifying verses. Only two things are necessary to be guaranteed salvation: A) a verbal confession of Jesus as Lord supported by B) heart reliance on the death and resurrection of Jesus. Based simply and only on this trust in the Lord – faith alone – the believer is promised “you will be saved.”
2. Evidence of a change of heart
“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
Titus 3:5-6
At the moment of saving faith God takes your heart of stone and gives you a new heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26). He writes His Law on your heart (Jer. 31:33-34) so that you know the voice and the will of God. Since the Lord is now your Shepherd (Psalm 23), you know His voice and follow it (John 10).
3. The fruit of Christ-like behavior
“You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”
Matthew 7:16-17
Paul describes the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” The follower of Jesus is committed to becoming like his or her Master and the Holy Spirit begins right away to produce this fruit of life change.
4. The internal assurance of the Spirit
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
Romans 8:15-16
The Holy Spirit speaks to your heart and gives you a deep and meaningful sense of peace as an adopted, secure, beloved child of God (John 1:12).
5. Endurance to persevere through a lifetime of struggles
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”
1 John 2:19
It’s not that the Christian will never fail or fall back into sin. But the true believer will not continue in sin (1 John 3:6). The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and leads us to repentance and renewal (1 John 1:9). And we learn to find joy even in our sufferings because they draw us closer to Jesus (Rom. 5; James 1; Php. 3).
So be encouraged, as we reflect on Revelation 14 this week (6/1/25). The final harvest of souls is coming when Jesus will separate those who belong to Him (the wheat harvest) from those who do not (the grape harvest).
You don’t have to wonder where you stand with the Lord! Settle the matter today!