David Platt – Assurance of Salvation – In light of the danger of spiritual deception, how can someone know they are a Christian?

(Photo via beingisgood.blogspot.com)

Spiritual deception is a very dangerous thing. So, it’s wise to ask: How do I know if I am truly a follower of Christ? Scripture even encourages us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 to test ourselves, examine ourselves to see if we’re in the faith? So we have to ask the question first and foremost- HAVE YOU REPENTED and BELIEVED?

• Have we repented and believed?
• Have we turned from our sin and ourselves and trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord?
• Have we turned aside  from our every effort to save ourselves and said: Only in Christ, by faith alone in Him, can I be made right before God.
• Have you leaned completely on Him for Salvation?
• Have you submitted your life to Him, as the Savior and Lord that He is?

Have you repented and believed? These are questions that the Scripture beckons us to ask. (photo via frontlinedc.com)

And then, Scripture gives us books like 1 John. I would encourage  anybody struggling with assurance of salvation to spend time in 1 John. 1 John is written so that me might have assurance, so that we might know that we are followers of Christ. And that assurance is based on the past work of Christ on the cross for us, and our continually believing in that, and then the effects of that in our lives. There’s no question that the Spirit of God assures us of His presence with us as we walk with him, as we obey him.

That’s part of what 1 John is about. The more we walk with Christ, the more we obey Christ, the more we live out the life of Christ, the more our assurance grows. It’s not that we’re earning salvation by what we’re doing. It’s that we’re assured of the salvation we already have because we see evidence of the Spirit of Christ working in us. I would encourage anybody who is wrestling with this. These are good things to wrestle with.

So, examine: What does Scripture teach about what it really means to follow Christ? Repent and believe. Has this become a reality in my life? And then, spend time in 1 John, ask questions: Am I continually believing in Christ, am I continually following Christ? Or, are there areas where I need to repent of sin, that’s creeping back into my life? And, as the Spirit works that conviction back into our heart, the Spirit’s work is actually, in a sense, affirming us, that we’re His child and He’s drawing us into a deeper and a deeper intimacy with Himself. These are good questions to ask. They’re questions we need to ask. Video via ViewRadical on Youtube.