 | BIBLICAL MOTIVATION | Our biggest struggle in our life is in believing the Word of God when our mind says that man’s ways are different. The only way to Heaven is through believing that Jesus died for our sins. That is enough because we can do nothing more. |
| | Jesus told us: John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 5:24 – "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 6:40 - "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” The Apostles told us: Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 1 John 5:13 – “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Jesus told the thief on the cross: Luke 23:39-43 – "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: 'Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don’t you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'"
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 | GETTING LAUNCHED | Our biggest struggle in our life is in believing the Word of God when our mind says that man’s ways are different. The only way to Heaven is through believing that Jesus died for our sins. That is enough because we can do nothing more. |
| |  | Step 1 – The first thing to understand is that sin separates us from a holy God. Not only that, the penalty of the sin is death. |
| |  | Step 2 – Then we have to understand that God gave us His Son that we might have eternal life. |
| | | Step 3 – We have to understand that God cannot lie, nor does He change His mind. This was true in Old Testament times as well as today. Isaiah 12:2: Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation."
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 | | Make sure that you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior. There are several plans: Campus Crusade for Christ has a plan called the Four Spiritual Laws. There is a plan called the Roman Road to Salvation. I enjoy the combination of these which is found in the back of a Gideon Testament: - God Loves you. John 3:16 and Romans 5:8
- All are sinners. Romans 3:23 and Romans 3:10
- God has a Remedy for sin. Romans 6:23, John 1:12, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
- All may be Saved Now. Revelation 3:20 and Romans 10:13
- My Decision to Receive Christ as My Savior: Confessing to God that I am sinner, and believing that the Lord Jesus Christ died for my sins on the cross and was raised for my justification, I do now receive and confess Him as my personal Savior.
If you ever prayed this prayer or a similar prayer, then you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior, and one time is enough. |
| | | Step 4 – Rest Assured that you only need to do this once. |
 | CAUTION | Satan will work hard to convince you that you do not believe this whenever you sin. However, we are not saved by our righteousness, but by the Blood of Jesus. |
| | CONTINUING FURTHER | Jesus told the thief on the cross: Luke 23:39-43 – "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: 'Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don’t you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'” This is important because the thief could do nothing more than believe in Jesus as his personal Savior. He was not able to be baptized, he did not join a local church, and he did not tithe or give to the orphans and widows. These are important as we live our lives, but they do not add to or subtract from our salvation. That thief was assured that he was with Jesus in Heaven, and we can be sure of this fact as well.
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| | Take Prayer to the Next Level – Use Scripture! We will use John 5:24 O God, I have heard Your Word and believe in You and in Your Son Jesus Christ. I believe in Your promise of everlasting life. I also trust Your word that I shall not come into judgment, but have passed from death into life.
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 | REMEMBER | That God Loves you and loved you before the foundation of the world. He would not have anyone perish, but has given us all free will and therefore, some will perish. |
| | | Here are a couple of thoughts concerning your Assurance of Salvation: |
| | 1 | There is nothing we can do to escape the judgment of God. It is only by the Grace and pardon of Jesus Christ that we can be free of the judgment that should be ours because of our sins. Read Zechariah 3:1-5 to see how God rebuked Satan and exchanged the filthy clothes of Joshua the high priest for rich and white garments. |
| | 2 | 2 Timothy 1:12b tells us: Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day. Make a list of all the things that you have entrusted to God. Examples: My daily bread: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 My health: If you make the Most High your dwelling, even the LORD, who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. Psalm 91:9-10 My peace: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6-7
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| | Spend a Day or Half-Day Alone in Prayer praising God for His Salvation. This is a powerful activity to plan into your hectic schedule.
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| | | How to go About It – Having set aside a day or portion of a day for prayer, pack a lunch and start out. Find a place where you can be alone, away from distractions. This may be a wooded area near home, or your backyard. An outdoor spot is excellent if you can find it; but don’t get sidetracked into nature studies and fritter away your time. Take along a Bible, a notebook and pencil, a hymnbook, and perhaps a devotional book. Divide the time into three parts: praising God for Who He is, waiting on the Lord, and prayer for yourself. - PRAISING GOD FOR WHO HE IS – You can begin this by reading the final chapters of Psalms, starting with Psalm 145. This is a time to just be like the angels in Heaven in Revelation 4 & 5 who sing "Worthy is the Lamb."
- WAITING ON THE LORD – You can begin this period of waiting by prayerfully reading through and meditating on a shorter book from the Bible. Consider one of the minor prophets or one of Paul's short epistles.
a) To realize His presence.
b) To be cleansed.
c) To worship Him. - PRAYING FOR YOURSELF
a) Guidance and wisdom.
b) Godliness.
c) Concerns and needs. Two Questions: The result of your day of prayer should be answers to the two questions Paul asked the Lord on the Damascus road (Acts 22:6-10). Paul’s first question was, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord replied, “I am Jesus.” You will be seeking to know Him, to find out who He is. The second question Paul asked was, “What shall I do, Lord?” The Lord answered him specifically. This should be answered or reconfirmed for you in that part of the day when you unhurriedly seek His will for you.
You will be blessed! |
| | A great variation to "Spending a Day or Half-Day Alone in Prayer" is to stay up all night praying. Get yourself loaded up on coffee and "go for it!" I believe strongly that God will bless your efforts. Some of my most productive times of prayer have been when I stayed up all night praying.
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| | SUGGESTION | See what other sites have to say about the assurance of Salvation.
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| | We know that God's desire is for all men, women, and children to come to the knowledge of the truth that there is only one mediator between Him and the human race: Jesus Christ. (The Bible, I Timothy 2:4, 5). |
| | Read one of the following two plans of Salvation to settle it forever for you: |
| | | Campus Crusade for Christ has a plan called The Four Spiritual Laws. There is a plan called the Roman Road to Salvation.
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 | FURTHER STUDY | To go deeper, here are some suggestions. Below is a Bible study on the topic of salvation. Follow the suggested study and then work to answer these 3 questions: - What do I see? (Observation) - This is always the most challenging portion of Bible study, which most people give only cursory attention to (unfortunately). The key to doing Bible study is "training the eye to see." Seeing correctly helps you interpret correctly and to be in the correct environment - what it is like to be in the author's shoes.
- What does it mean? (Interpretation) - What are the implications of what I just observed?
- How does it work? (Application) - Two things to look for in this process:
• How does it work for me?
• How does it work for others? |
| | If you have the Bible on computer, look up every place in the Bible the word salvation is used and then make observations, interpretations, and applications (see above). |
 | TECHNICAL POINT | Read what Easton's Bible Dictionary says about "God's Promises are Unchangeable." |
 | PRINTABLE VERSION | Assurance of Salvation (click here) |