The Knowledge and Assurance of Salvation

The knowledge and the assurance of salvation come from believing what the Bible says, and not by what you think you must do in order to be saved. Salvation is received by faith, and not by works, so is the knowledge and the assurance of salvation.

Many hold a belief today that you cannot be sure you’re going to heaven until you actually die and end up there. There are Churches today that teach their congregations that what Jesus Christ did is just the beginning  of what they need. Is that what the Bible teaches? Can’t you really know and be sure today that you’re going to heaven when you die? Can a Christians find the  assurance of salvation in the Bible now? These and many other questions will be answered in this article.

It is true according to the Scriptures that we can know and be sure even now. This is because getting to heaven does not depend on your works, it depends solely on what Jesus Christ did, and His work is complete and perfected.

1 Peter 1:18-21 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

Our “faith and hope” must “be in God”. It is through the work of Jesus Christ that we are justified. Justification is God’s act of declaring the sinners righteous on the basis  of Christ’s redemptive work, and not ours. You can know and be 100% sure that you’re saved. If you aren’t sure whether or not you are saved, or you sometimes doubt your salvation, then this lesson is for you.

The knowledge and the assurance of salvation come from believing what the Bible says, and not by what you think you must do in order to be saved.

Not only does the Bible give us the reason for salvation, the knowledge of salvation, it also gives us the assurance of salvation. There is a clear truth about this all over the New Testament.

In 1 John 5:9-13, the Bible says:

1 John 5:9-13 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10 ¶ He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

The above passage begins in verse 9 by comparing the witness of man to that of God. The witness of God is given through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. This witness (or testimony) is only present in them that believe “on the Son of God”. In other words, if you do not believe in Jesus, then you do not have any knowledge, not to talk of assurance, of salvation.

Verse 11 continues the point by telling us exactly what this record is that was given through Christ:

1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Did you get that? Eternal life HAS BEEN GIVEN. But only those who have believed can have it and know of it. If you do not believe, then you do not and cannot have it. Period!

1 John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

This eternal life “is in His Son”! What this means is that this “life” can only be received through Christ and in Christ. And those who have received it are said in the Bible to be “in Christ” and Christ in them. So the believers get their blessing in Christ. They are kept and secured in Christ.

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Colossians 3:3-4 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

The entire Bible is about the plan of God to give salvation to His people by the remission of their sin through Jesus Christ. The Apostle John speaks specifically to this effect in the thirteenth verse of the fifth Chapter of his first Epistle:

1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Jesus Christ and His Apostles preach that you get everlasting life when you believe, not after you’ve completed some to-do lists. But some Church leaders give you a list of works to do while they ask you to prayer for God to count you worthy for heaven when you die. That is an extra-Biblical teaching, and you shouldn’t believe the lies of the devil.

The Lack of Knowledge

The only reason why false teachers succeed in deception is that many people are ignorant of the truth. The profession of faith without the assurance of salvation is a result of the ignorance of the true gospel. False gospels make performance, rather than faith in Christ, the basis for salvation. Those who are caught in this web of lies are doing their best to merit salvation while they hope to make it to heaven some day. The ignorance of the gospel leads to performance-based Christianity or legalism.

In performance-based Christianity, there is neither the knowledge nor the assurance of salvation. The people are hoping that they make it to heaven, but their hope is based their works. This is a clear rejection of Jesus Christ.

The profession of faith without the assurance of salvation is a result of the ignorance of the true gospel.

False Gospels Removes Assurance

The ignorance of what to believe makes a lot of people believe lies, which in turn lead to the lack of assurance of salvation. If you know what the Bible says, and you believe it, then there is no reason to doubt. But if you have no idea what the Bible says about salvation, then there is no basis for assurance.

Those who are saved and know it have found the word of truth in the Scriptures. They have believed it with all their hearts. And as the Scripture itself says, they have the witness in them (1 John 5:10).

The source of the knowledge and the assurance of salvation is the Word of God, the Bible. Look no further!. It is the Bible that tells us about the fall of man. It tells us that sin came upon all men because of the sin of one man (Romans 5:12). It tells us about the love of God toward man, and the giving of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die for the sins of the whole world (John 3:16).

It is also the Bible which tells us that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will “not perish but have everlasting life”. If we believe that we are sinners because the Bible says so, then we should also believe that we are justified when we believe in Jesus Christ. This is because the Bible says exactly that! Also, if we believe that the Bible is the pure and sure Word of God, then there is no reason to doubt anything it says.

Therefore, read the Bible in context, and believe what it says.

The True Salvation as Described

Salvation is an experience like no other. The Bible describes it with words that make the experience a reality.

“Salvation is a know-so  salvation, when you’re saved, you know it.” Robert Breaker.

Salvation is Birth

Salvation is described in the Bible as a birth. Those who are saved are “born again” (John 3:3). The words born again means born from above. We read in the Gospel of John that those who are saved are born “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13).

The Holy Spirit plays an active role in our salvation. It is Him who converts and regenerates the souls of those who believe. Salvation is not the remodeling or fixing of the one who believed. Rather, it is the creation of a totally new man. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Just like in the natural birth, a man cannot be spiritually reborn and not be aware of it.

Salvation is not the remodeling or fixing of the one who believed. Rather, it is the creation of a totally new man. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Salvation is Marriage

Salvation is also described in terms of marriage. The believe is joined to Christ in this union. You’re in Christ and Christ is in you.

Romans 7:2-4 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

Replace Your Doubt with Worship

We can know, and we must know.

1 Timothy 2:3-6 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

You have believed in the completed work of Jesus Christ confirmed by the Scriptures. This gives you your assurance of salvation. That assurance is based upon the Word of God. If God says something you can bank on it.

Therefore if you’re saved, do not let the Devil deceive or confuse you. Hold fast unto the Word of God, this is where we get our assurance, not from our minds or feelings. Be thankful for your salvation and live the rest of your life for the Lord.

But if you’re not saved, then doubting is good. This is because it is a good way to know that you need to do something about your state and standing. You can come to Christ by faith today, and be saved. Simply put your trust in Christ and His redemptive work. For more on how to believe, please see What It Means to Believe in Jesus Christ, and related articles.

For more on the knowledge and assurance of salvation, please see: John 5:24; 3:18, 36; Romans 8:15-17; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 1 John 1:1-2; 5:9-13,13-15.

Thank you for reading!