does this mean someone is saved???

[baptistgirl21]

ok so I read an article online and was wanting to know if this means someone is really saved or not. here's what it said
"what if jesus doesn't want me"
not every soul has a dramatic conversion experience. thos who don't, become easy targets for satan

then it says:
have u asked jesus to save you but nothing happened? did you try asking him 10 more times and now you're terribly worried that he isn't listening or he's decided not to accept u for some reason? if u sincerely asked jesus to save u and now can't shake the feeling that he just isn't going to for whatever reason, I have good news for u. feeling sick with worry over the subject of salvation is one of the surest indicatiors that you are infact saved."

this is me right here!!! I've asked god to save me for 4 years now and didn't experience a thing. I didn't feel god save me and didn't feel converted or whatever. I never had an experience and I stumbled across this. I thought it was god telling me that I am a Christian because I worry everyday if I aint saved because I haven't felt god save me and I've been feeling like I'm not forgiven and god didn't want me because just the other night I was mean to my mom and felt bad because she cried so I asked god to forgive me. I also asked god to save me because I wanted to get closer to god because I want to do things Christian like but if I aint saved then it aint gonna work because the bible says that god doesn't listen to sinners and I'm going through some problems right now. i remember the first time i asked god to save me. i was probably in the 7th or 8th grade, I'm not sure but i remember not feeling anything =( i didn't feel god save me like people says they do. my nephew said when he got saved he felt it but i didn't. i didn't feel jesus or have a wonderful experience. i didn't feel forgiven. and sometimes i feel like committing suicide because if I'm going to hell then i might as well end it now. but i want to go to heaven really bad. i don't want to go to hell but it looks like i might be going there =( i don't want to burn forever. i want to see my papaw again. i want peace and happiness. i want to hurry up and leave this world because my anxiety and depression is so bad. i want to trust god and count on god but if I'm not saved then I'm going to hell. i never felt god draw me. i just asked god to save me because i didn't want to go to hell and i was scared and i wanted to get closer to god. i want to pray in confidence. i want to tell people I'm saved but i can't. i can't say yes and i can't say no because i just don't know. people asks if I'm saved and i say yes but i don't really know because i didn't feel god save me. i feel disgusted to say that I'm a Christian. how can i say that??? I'm not a Christian but there is nothing else i can do. i keep asking god to save me and ask for answers but nothing =(. till i read this article but am having trouble believing it was god because it could be satan tricking me. this makes twice I've found a article on this. do you think I'm saved and is what i read correct???

 

[Avid]

... if u sincerely asked jesus to save u and now can't shake the feeling that he just isn't going to for whatever reason, I have good news for u. feeling sick with worry over the subject of salvation is one of the surest indicatiors that you are infact saved."

God is not about simply rescuing people, but making them into new creatures.

II 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.
​

If the person in question is truly concerned, it may soon happen they will be tired enough to actually believe God, and take Him at His word. When God's word makes a requirement or demand upon our lives (Jesus is LORD of all, and makes what demands that are right in His sight,) we had best follow him, do as He directs, and stop playing this worldly game.

I say a worldly game, because other religions do this type of thing. If they ask enough times, or say the right words over and over, it is accepted that their gods will hear them.

I Kings 18
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
​

As long as we think this happens on our own terms, the result described in what you read is what might be expected. That person needs to read the scriptures, learn of God, and seek his face.

this is me right here!!! I've asked god to save me for 4 years now and didn't experience a thing. I didn't feel god save me and didn't feel converted or whatever. I never had an experience and I stumbled across this. I thought it was god telling me that I am a Christian because I worry everyday if I aint saved because I haven't felt god save me and I've been feeling like I'm not forgiven and god didn't want me because just the other night I was mean to my mom and felt bad because she cried so I asked god to forgive me...

If you are tired of the continual effort to have this work out for you, and you are ready to seek the LORD, there are many good helpful scriptures to read.

Psalm 105
4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

Hosea 10
12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

I Samuel 12
24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

Jeremiah 29
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Joel 2
12 ¶ Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

Acts 17
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
​

There are excellent books written over hundreds of years by people who experienced the same things you are experiencing. If these affect you as they did me, you will be amazed at how someone had a similar experience to yours 300 years ago, and wrote about it!

It is high time to turn to the LORD, and seek Him. Read just a few short sermons on the following page.

Sermons and Books
Deep spiritual knowledge from 50 to 350 years ago.
​

http://www.achristianspirit.com/sermons.html

There are 50 good sermons and books, and they can direct you. You may wish to start with the short sermon or pamphlet called:

The Hypocrite's Religion
by Thomas Brooks (1608−1680)​

http://www.achristianspirit.com/HypocritesReligion.html

This may help you understand what I mean. Then, read this small book that is very specific to your situation:

The Strait Gate,
or
GREAT DIFFICULTY OF
GOING TO HEAVEN:
PLAINLY PROVING, BY THE SCRIPTURES,
THAT NOT ONLY THE RUDE AND PROFANE,
BUT MANY GREAT PROFESSORS,
WILL COME SHORT OF THAT KINGDOM.
by John Bunyan (1628-1688)
​

http://www.achristianspirit.com/StraitGate.html

May the LORD bless you with understanding in His precious word.
.

 

[JesusTaxiExpress]

Fully repent......Absorb as much God as you can.....Read the Bible, go to church, fellowship, listen to Christian music, and watch and listen to Christian shows.....

I would almost guarantee if you do this you will feel different....

Try it...Make God #1 in your life.,,.seek seek seek him.....

Do this, and get ready ready to feel true peace, and blessings from God.....

Hope this helps

EDIT: oh ya.....and of course...Pray Pray Pray ! Talk to God like he is your best friend....Tell him how you truly feel from deep in your heart...

 

[Ribosome]

acdcfan19, I totally understand what you are going through. When I was younger I went through exact same thing. I understand your suffering and the pain that lack of assurance of salvation brings. I've doubted my salvation prolly since I was 10 years old up until I turned 27... I've prolly lost 10 years off my lifespan due to the stress of this problem. I do have advice for you.

My view on the problem of assurance of salvation, is that the problem is actually with the soteriology we are being taught. Most of Christianity leaves it up to man to determine his own salvation, despite all their claims that salvation is not by works. There are various views in Christianity about what one has to do to be saved. Some say you simply have to be convinced in your mind that Jesus is the Christ who has died and rose for your sins, and by simply believing that this is a fact, God gives you salvation. This view is called "free grace". Others will claim that faith alone is not enough, and will go on to say things like "saving faith must produce good works". This one is a nasty trap which has caused me great deal of pain, and I encourage you to avoid it as well. This view is simply faith+good works earn a man his salvation.

It is my belief, that no man can earn his way into heaven. If anything is required from man to get into heaven, that is works salvation. Anything, to me, includes the cognitive work of faith. This is why assurance of salvation is a huge problem in Christianity, because everyone is relying on themselves, their faith or their works, to get themselves into heaven. But what constitutes saving faith? Which facts are the bare minimum required? How do you measure the sincerity of the heart? How many works are required to prove one has saving faith? As long as we rely on ourselves, we will doubt our salvation, as we ought to if we want to make our way into heaven by works.

I myself, have found rest in universal salvation, that by his work, Christ has saved the world, and we are all going to heaven. I am convinced this is the only way to have assurance of salvation, because this is the only way that does not rely on our own efforts.

I wish you relief from your suffering!

 

[twin1954]

Rolf Barnard once said that the only person who will tell a lost person that they are saved is another lost person. Beware those who tell you that you are saved given your story.

What I see is that you want to escape Hell and go to Heaven but you don't want to be actually saved from your sin. I see that you feel remorse for the things that you do but don't really hate it to the point of self loathing. You want the blessing of God but you don't need His mercy. You haven't yet found out what it is to be a sinner. You haven't seen yourself as God sees you. If and when that ever happens you will fall at the feet of the Savior begging mercy. All those who came to Christ Jesus the Lord begging mercy found it. Those who came any other way didn't.

 

[Ribosome]

Rolf Barnard once said that the only person who will tell a lost person that they are saved is another lost person.

Gee, how nice of you, twin lol.

 

[skypair]

It is my belief, that no man can earn his way into heaven. If anything is required from man to get into heaven, that is works salvation.

Perhaps this will be helpful to you and acdcfan: We aren't, in prayer, asking God to save us so much as we are letting God save us. How? When we repent of our sin and of our sin nature and commend our lives to Him and His will, this (throughout the Bible) lets God justify us to and with His righteousness. We are not just praying for salvation at death but salvation throughout our lives (you both seem to sense that).

But here's where it gets good .. and you get assurance. If you have truly given your life over to God, you will realize that all your sin has been forgiven and that He will live His life through you. You don't have to struggle anymore over what to do when and how. Those all are in His hands now. Man! I was double blessed when this happened to me as a 16 year old. You WILL realize that you are starting a new life — born again! It's IMMEDIATE assurance.

What usually happens next is that you desire to know more about your Father and Jesus Christ. I mean, that is part of the "roadmap" of your life! And you are almost like the new baby crying, "Waaa! Hey, I exist!" (in God's kingdom) You share your birth with others. I mean, that is how assured you are that you can speak in real terms about salvation!

Perhaps all you did was pray to be saved. maybe you couldn't even pray that because you believed somehow that you were already saved. These can never assure us. They are empty beliefs .. or as Paul called them, "belief/faith in vain" (1Cor 15:2, 14,17).

I'll pray for you both. There's nothing like being born again into the world — a child of God with the Spirit as your witness/assurance, Ro 8:16!

skypair

 

[Avid]

...When we repent of our sin and of our sin nature and commend our lives to Him and His will,

 

[Emmy]

Dear acdcfan19. In Luke 10: 25-28: Jesus is asked by a Lawyer: " Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered: " Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: DO THIS, and you shall LIVE." To be saved is to have eternal life. God wants our Love, freely given and NO conditions asked. In Matthew7: 7-10: we are told: " ask and you shall receive," there we ask God for Love and Joy, then thank God, then share all Love and Joy with our neighbour: all we know and all we meet. We keep asking and thanking God, then share all Love and Joy with our neighbour.
We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on loving and caring. God sees our loving efforts, and God will bless us.
The Bible tells us to " Repent and to be Born Again," we give up all our selfish and unloving deeds and words, and start loving and caring all around us.
We will find that people will treat us the same as we treat people, and we will enjoy life. The Holy Spirit will help and guide us, and Jesus our Saviour will lead us all the way: JESUS IS THE WAY. I say this with love, acdcfan.
Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[terryjohn]

Many accept heaven over hell, but was that what was on offer tobegin with? Is God into bribes? Accepting Christ's lordship is more about the person of Christ and more about love than fear. I don't think I could really trust one who sided with me out of fear. Practice the presence of God. Honesty is important. I have heard God speak to me on numerous occassions, but He let me do most of the talking. The joy of my salvation is in His person and truth Christ.

 

[JLR1300]

The answer to assurance is to trust Jesus to save you. If you really trust Jesus to save you then you will not have a lot of doubts about your salvation because you are trusting Jesus to save you. See what I mean? Your problem is that you are not really trusting Jesus to save you. You are religious but you don't yet have faith in Christ to save you. The main problem is that you are looking to yourself and to the commandments for salvation. You are wondering, did I say the prayer just right? That is looking to yourself and to your ability to pray correctly. Someone else said "Love the Lord" That is looking to your ability to keep the commandment to love God. Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment in the LAW and Jesus answered " You shall love the Lord your God" So loving God is not the Gospel it is the LAW. It is what you can do for God. Paul said in Romans "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law" Loving God is a good thing but it is not how we are justified. Loving God is keeping the Law and there is no salvation in trying to keep the law. Instead, salvation is by faith in Jesus. Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins and so we can be forgiven. All we have to do is to believe that even though we are sinners and cannot keep the law nevertheless we are saved and right with God because Jesus has paid for our sins and he forgives us. If we believe that we are saved because we are good... for instance, because we Love God we are looking to ourselves and trusting in ourselves for salvation and so we are not really saved. That is why we don't have assurance after praying and trying to love God enough to be saved. So you must quit looking to yourself. Just go to Jesus and say Lord I know that I am so sinful and wicked that all of my righteousness is just filthy rags. Nothing I do is good. Nevertheless, I trust and believe that I am now right with God because Jesus has paid for my sins by dying on the cross. Now you may say... what right do I have to simply believe that Jesus saves me? Because the Bible invites everyone to believe. For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son (to die on the cross for our sins) that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. If you will just trust and believe that Jesus's blood covers your sins and saves you then you are saved. You won't have much more problems with assurance if you really believe this. Believe the Gospel and be saved today. And if anyone tells you that before you can be saved you have to repent just remember... the greek word for repentance is metanoia and it simply means to change your mind. In verses about salvation it simply means to stop believing you can do anything to save yourself or help yourself to be saved and just to trust in Jesus alone for salvation. Change your mind about trying to save yourself and just believe that the blood of Jesus covers your sins. Jesus died and rose again so that you can be saved. He paid the total price for salvation so don't try to add anything to it ... believe that He saves you and gives you his mercy and He does.....

 

[Avid]

... you want to escape Hell and go to Heaven but you don't want to be actually saved from your sin. I see that you feel remorse for the things that you do but don't really hate it to the point of self loathing...

Very interesting take. The affections and lusts are the same as before, but there is a new glimmer of interest in something that is not yet realized. How to obtain it seems to escape the sinner, but the interest is not going away just yet.

Colossians 3
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
​

Do we really want the salvation of the LORD? Learn of God from His holy word. Contrary to what we may have heard about the LORD, He is not waiting for us to ACCEPT Him as LORD. He is LORD of all, over the whole universe, and our acceptance of this fact is merely the first step of turning from the rebellion (shared by all people walking this Earth,) till God changes their view, and gives them a new heart.
.

 

[skypair]

TIf you really trust Jesus to save you then you will not have a lot of doubts about your salvation because you are trusting Jesus to save you.

It helps to have an understanding of what faith is. Faith = knowledge + assent (belief) + appropriation. It is the appropriation where most fall short. You see, faith is the evidence of belief, Heb 11:1.

Sounds weird, doesn't it? What evidence can we have that we are saved? 1) The Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God" — and that happens almost immediately upon our prayer of repentance calling on the name of Jesus Christ for salvation. 2) 1Jn gives us many evidences of our salvation: a) We love God and others. b) We keep His commandments (LOVE) and they are not grievous, 1:3. c) We understand the Word of God when we read it, 2:20. d) We overcome the world. These are just some of the evidences that we have believed and appropriated Christ's sacrifice for our own salvation.


skypair