Y o u F e e l

So

?
u Are S a v e d
Yo
This is commendable, but it is not a question
about which you want to be wrong.

By David M. Battle
Published in the Arminian Magazine Volume 28:2, Fall 2010, pp 1-4.
<http://www.fwponline.cc/arminiandex.html>
 So you feel you are saved? This is commendable, but it is not a question about which you
want to be wrong. The Apostle Paul tells the members of the Corinthian church to examine
themselves to see if they are holding to the faith (2 Cor 13:5). Have you tested yourself?

Jesus describes a very sad scene at the judgment. A group of people will stand before the
judge’s bench and will call out to Jesus saying,
“Lord, Lord.” They believed that they were saved
Examine yourselves to see wheth-
and were destined to the New Heavens and the
New Earth (Matt 7:21). Many had even done mi- er you are living in the faith. Test
raculous works in Jesus’ name, but God said to yourselves. Do you not realize that
them, “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matt Jesus Christ is in you?-- unless,
7:21, 25:41). These people felt they were saved, indeed, you fail to meet the test!
but they were not. What a horror to discover on 2 Corithinans 13:5, NRSV
Judgment Day that you were destined for hell and
not heaven! If you are wise, you will take the
time and examine yourself to see if you are holding to the Faith and are not destined for damna-
tion.

So you say that you are saved! This is good, but how do you know that you are speaking the
truth? Salvation is a gift from God. By what evidence do you claim that God has actually giv-
en it to you?

The evidence of salvation is not a mere affirmation of the Gospel story or the participa-
tion in some ritual like baptism or communion. Even the Devil can recount how God sent His
Son to die on the cross as the payment for our sins. He is more aware of spiritual realities than
we are. Others are just self-deceived. I remem-
By what evidence do you ber hearing a young man testify that Jesus had
claim that God has actually died for his sins and then later admitted that he
worshiped Gia, Mother Earth. He was a pagan
given salvation to you? who followed the spirits of this world. He was
not saved. I have even dealt with an alcoholic
The evidence of salvation is who testified that he had responded to an altar
call and that he had prayed the “sinners prayer.”
not a mere affirmation of the He even testified to a “good baptism” which was
Gospel story or the participa- affirmed by some miraculous sign. Yet, he bold-
tion in some ritual like baptism ly continued a drunkard’s life. He clumsily ig-
or communion. nored Paul’s warning that drunkards will not
inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:10; Gal
5:21). Both of these men claimed salivation for
themselves. Sadly, both ignored the clear and repeated teachings of Scripture that neither idola-
ters nor drunkards will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They are walking straight into hell while
singing, “I am bound for the promised land.”

May the Lord have mercy upon those who encourage such delusions.
 Friend, I do not know whether the grace of God has been applied to your soul. I know that
Christ die to pay for our sins and that God sent the Holy Spirit to make us ready for His coming
Kingdom. The question that we need to answer is, “is
The question that we this grace being applied to my life?” How do I test myself
need to answer is, “is this to see if I am holding to the Faith as commanded by Paul (cf.
grace being applied to 2 Cor 13:5)? Am I truly saved? Or am I a delusional repro-
my life?” bate? You must answer these questions for yourself. No
other human on this earth can answer it for you.

Not everybody can have this knowledge. Those who do not believe on the name of the Son
of God have no hope for eternal life. There is no other name given among men whereby anyone
can be saved (Act 4:12), and Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6). You must believe the mes-
sage of the Gospel before you can have assurance.

Fortunately, God has revealed to us the tests that we believers should use to examine the desti-
nation of our souls when we claim salvation. The letter of First John in the New Testament was
written so that the believers could know that they have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

John gives three tests for those who believe on the Name of the Son of God by which they
may know that they have eternal life. The believer must examine himself by these three tests
before he can know that he has salvation.

While the tests are developed throughout the

The Three Tests of Assurance
whole letter, John summarizes them 1 John 5.
The first test, that one who professes to believe First Test: Divine Love
in Christ must pass, is the test of divine love. Second Test: Godliness
He must truly love God. The second test is the Third Test: Witness of the Spirit
life of godly obedience. When a believer experi-
ences joy in obeying God, he will naturally live the holy life. The final test is that the believer
must believe the testimonies of God.
The Greatest Commandment is to love the Lord God with all our heart, mind, soul and
strength. All who are forgiven love God for Jesus tells us that our love for God is directly linked
to God’s forgiveness. Jesus was once at meal and a woman came in and anointed his feet. The
host recognized the woman as an unclean sinner and in his heart disparaged Jesus’ spiritual per-
ception. Jesus knowing what the man was thinking said to him. “If a creditor had two debtors,
one owing $400,000 and the other $200,000, and he forgave their debts which one would love
him more?” The host answered “I suppose the one whom owed him more.” Jesus agreed (Luke
7:41-43). The one who has been forgiven little will love God only a little, but the one whom God
has forgiven much will love God more deeply.
 John states the first sign that believers are born of God is that we love God (1 John 5:1-2). If
we love God then we love those who are born of God for we cannot hate His children and love
Him (1 John 2:9-10). James goes even further and describes as “dead” or “useless” a faith that
does not reach out to the brethren who are in need (James 2:15-17). Furthermore, if you love
someone, you want to be with them. The most basic expression of our love for God is the desire
to join with His children in worship. In short, our love for God motivates us to congregate with
believers in divine worship and to minister to needs of the brethren.

The less we love God the more tepid our is our desire for worship and our motivation to
help others. If we are indifferent to God, we will be indifferent to the congregation of believers.
The greater our indifference the fewer of our sins have been forgiven. Have your sins truly been
forgiven? Do you pass this test?

The second test is the extension of our love in-

Everyone who believes that Je-
sus is the Christ has been born
of God, and everyone who loves
the parent loves the child. 2 By
this we know that we love the
children of God, when we love
God and obey his command-
ments. 3 For the love of God is
this, that we obey his command-
ments. And his commandments
are not burdensome,
4 for whatever is born of God
conquers the world. And this is
the victory that conquers the
world, our faith.
1 John 5:1-4, NRSV
John 2:16-17). These things will no longer be the rule or hold sway over the believer’s life be-
cause the love for God will stand firmly in his heart.
to the life of obedience or the holy life. The be-
liever who has full assurance is motivated by his
love for God to seek and achieve that which is
impossible for the unsaved. John states that we
know we are a child of God “when we love God
and keep His commandments” which the believer
will find are not grievous or burdensome (1 John
5: 2-3). This is like a husband who deeply loves
his wife. He will take pleasure in being with her
and even being there for her during a time of diffi-
culty. The husband who does not love his wife
will find ministering to her a burden and a distrac-
tion from the things that he wants to do. When
we love God, we will find that keeping His com-
mandments are not a cumbersome yoke but a lib-
erating application of righteousness and wisdom.
John states further that the believer who obeys
God out of love will find victory in the world (1
John 5:4-5) because he will overcome this world
and its misguided passions: the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (cf. 1

The second test is divine love blossoming into the holy life. Is your life guided by your love
for God? Do you find pleasure in obeying God? Is your life marked by victories over sins, espe-
cially those common to you before salvation? Examine your own life to see if you pass this test.
 Once one affirms with his own heart and lips that Jesus paid for one’s own sins and has begun
to follow Jesus by obeying our Lord’s commands, assurance may still be lacking. While true as-
surance cannot be had without first having a deep love for God and obeying His commandment,
one can have these and still not have assurance. The third test is the key to assurance.

In the third test is the witness of the Spirit,
which concludes the witness of God concerning His
Son (1 John 5:9). On earth this witness comes by
“the Spirit, the water, and the blood” ( John 5:6, 8).
The divine testimonies of the water and the blood
reaffirm two foundational truths that one must ac-
cept in order to have eternal life. God the Father
testified that Jesus was His only begotten son at the
Baptism (John 1:14, 32-34). A begotten Son pos-
sesses the same essence as His Father. The witness
of the blood declares with power that Jesus is the
Son of God by His bodily resurrection from the
dead (Rom 1:4).
These two truths are foundational to salvation
and one must accept them in order to gain eternal
life. Yet, salvation is not a mere intellectual affirma- that you have eternal life.
tion of these truths. One must chose to believe
them by placing one’s faith in Christ. Once one be-
lieves God, repents of his rebellion against God and 1 John 5:9-13, NRSV
lives in obedient faith, God promises to save.
If we receive human testimony, the
testimony of God is greater; for this is
the testimony of God that he has testi-
fied to his Son. 10 Those who believe
in the Son of God have the testimony
in their hearts. Those who do not be-
lieve in God have made him a liar by
not believing in the testimony that God
has given concerning his Son. 11 And
this is the testimony: God gave us eter-
nal life, and this life is in his Son. 12
Whoever has the Son has life; whoev-
er does not have the Son of God does
not have life. 13 I write these things to
you who believe in the name of the
Son of God, so that you may know

The third test again requires that one believes that Jesus is the Savior from God, that one loves
the Lord with all one’s heart, soul, and strength, and that one is obediently overcoming this fallen
world. The third test or the Witness of the Spirit is also the most difficult to explain. If you have
it, you will know it. If you do not, you will not understand it. If you do not have it, go to God in
prayer and implore Him to open your eyes and know that He is good.

The question here is, “How do you know that God has applied the blood of Jesus to your
own soul?” You can love God, be living the holy life, and accept the first two testimonies of
God and still not have assurance. Again, you cannot claim assurance if you do not love God, are
not living the holy life, or reject either of the first two testimonies of God.

Even if you do have these things, you still lack one thing before you can be assured that
you have salvation. In order to finally have assurance, you must have the experiential knowl-
edge that comes from the witness of the Spirit with your spirit (1 John 5:10). The believer has
full assurance of salvation when the Spirit of God witnesses with the believer’s spirit that God has
adopted him. The believer receives the Spirit of sonship which cries out to God saying, “Father”
(Rom 8:15-17). Assurance comes at that moment when you can look over your life and you
can say; “Yes, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the World” “Yes, I have a
deep love and desire to please God.” “Yes, God is working through me; and I find His work
to be pleasing.” Then at that moment you sense the Spirit of God reaching down and giving
you a full embrace and whisper in your ear, “You are my beloved child” and your soul reach-
es out to God; crying, “Father.” At that moment, you have full assurance.

If you know what I am writing about, take courage and grow deeper in your walk.
Ask God to give you a deeper walk with Him, a deeper love for Him. Grow in holiness and
may God give you ever more intimate assurances that you are His. May you live from faith
to faith and from victory to victory.

If you do not know of what I am writing, I cannot give it to you. Only God can.
Exam your life to seek what you lack. Do you truly believe the testimonies of God? Do you
believe that Jesus is the Son of God come in the flesh? Do you confess that you are a corrupt
sinner who has no claim on God’s love? Do you believe that His death paid for all your sins
and transgressions? If you do not, begin reading the Bible. If you were raised in the Church
read the Gospel of John. If you were not, read the Gospel of Luke and the book of Romans in
the New Testament.

Is the love for God the center of your life? Are

If you believe that Jesus is
you expressing your love by your concern and care for
who the Bible siads He is and His children? If you are not regularly attending church,
that He paid for your sins, begin this Sunday. Seek a church where the Bible is
You can have assuracne. As- expounded and avoid those where self-help, emotions,
sureacne is not knowlege, it philosophy or psychology are exalted. Be sure to seek
is confidence. You either prayerfully the guidance of the Spirit.
have the assurance of the
Are you living the holy life as the Spirit enables?
Spirit or you do not. Put aside every habit and worldly pleasure that keeps
you from seeking God. Avoid doing harm to anyone
and seek to do all the good you can. If you can say, “yes”, to all these questions, then go to
God in prayer and ask Him to search your heart and to try you. Ask Him to reveal if there is
any wicked way in yourself and to lead you in the way of everlasting life (Ps 193:23-24).

If you diligently search, the Spirit will reveal what you need. As John Wesley
taught, assurance is the privilege of the believer. Every believer should have it, but no man
can give it. Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness and you will find grace.