Do I have intellectual assent or saving faith?

[ChexMix19]

I know that even the demons believe Jesus is Christ, and they even tremble. I don't know if that's the belief I have. I do believe Jesus is Christ and that He died on the cross and was resurrected. I'm unsure if I've placed my faith in Him, but I've prayed and asked Him to save me many, many times. When I see possible fruits of salvation, I doubt whether they're really from the Holy Spirit, or if they're through me doing things I know I should be doing. And I watch every single little thing I do just to make sure I don't slip up and sin and when I do, I feel condemned immediately. If you can help with any of this , I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[DiscipleHeLovesToo]

your by being alive to post this is obvious evidence that He HAS saved you "many, many times" - He's been faithful! Jesus died for all your sins over 2000 years ago, so all your sins were future sins to Him at that time (even the ones you haven't committed yet); so why are you so focused on every single thing you do to make sure you don't slip up? EVERY slip up is already paid for - none are left out - you can't mess up enough to even begin to tax His forgiveness. relax; the war is over already - you just have to fight some battles against an already defeated foe, the devil - and he's afraid of you. focus on perceiving God's situational leading; the more you perceive and follow His leading, the less you'll slip up - effortlessly. this will help:

http://www.awmi.net/audio/audio-teachings/#/awm_1014aa_gospelI.mp3
http://moorelife.org/listseries.php?xml=rss/SpiritLedLife.xml
http://moorelife.org/listseries.php?xml=rss/SpiritLedLife2.xml

 

[mytel]

I think its important to believe that Jesus died on the cross (and was later risen), as a sacrifice for our sins. So that it is through His grace, not our performance that we have been saved. We need to recognise that we are in need of Him, we can't earn salvation alone through our own efforts. So i would say that we need to focus on the grace we have received through Him.

 

[1watchman]

I know that even the demons believe Jesus is Christ, and they even tremble. I don't know if that's the belief I have. I do believe Jesus is Christ and that He died on the cross and was resurrected. I'm unsure if I've placed my faith in Him, but I've prayed and asked Him to save me many, many times. When I see possible fruits of salvation, I doubt whether they're really from the Holy Spirit, or if they're through me doing things I know I should be doing. And I watch every single little thing I do just to make sure I don't slip up and sin and when I do, I feel condemned immediately. If you can help with any of this , I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

It sounds like you doubt the Lord saved you. Asking God to save you will accomplish little toward salvation, though it is a right gesture of belief in God. Only when one truly thanks God for the gift of His Son, and receives the Lord Jesus as paying the price of salvation on the Cross, will it become real to you. Acknowledge to Him you are NOW receiving Him and trust it is DONE, not just be intellectualizing the matter. If you are being honest to Him, He will come and make His abode with you and seal you as a "child of God" ---read all of John 14 and note the promise in Verse 13 of the triune God indwelling the true believer. It should be settled in your heart, and you then should be walking and talking with your Savior and not keep denying His work. Are you even reading the Gospel truth?

 

[Goodbook]

If you suffering OCD, it sounds like...aiki (another member of CF) had some good advice on here.

 

[BFine]

I know that even the demons believe Jesus is Christ, and they even tremble. I don't know if that's the belief I have. I do believe Jesus is Christ and that He died on the cross and was resurrected. I'm unsure if I've placed my faith in Him,
*Who are you trusting in right now for salvation?
but I've prayed and asked Him to save me many, many times.
*Jesus is true to the Word of God... if you seek Him for
salvation, He will grant it.
Believe it.
You struggle with believing?
So do another person in the Bible who said:
"I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Doubting ...
Jesus was patient with Thomas, who's known as "doubting Thomas"... the Lord didn't turn him away
even though Thomas doubted.

When I see possible fruits of salvation, I doubt whether they're really from the Holy Spirit, or if they're through me doing things I know I should be doing.
*The "initiator" is the Holy Spirit of God... we usually follow along doing what the Holy Spirit /and or the Word of God instructs us to do...we are to "practice" these things...showing agape(sacrificial love), patience, self-control, kindness etc.
Apostle Paul spoke on this here: Philippians 4:9
"Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace will be with you."

Also here: Romans 12:9-21.

 

[Soyeong]

I know that even the demons believe Jesus is Christ, and they even tremble. I don't know if that's the belief I have. I do believe Jesus is Christ and that He died on the cross and was resurrected. I'm unsure if I've placed my faith in Him, but I've prayed and asked Him to save me many, many times. When I see possible fruits of salvation, I doubt whether they're really from the Holy Spirit, or if they're through me doing things I know I should be doing. And I watch every single little thing I do just to make sure I don't slip up and sin and when I do, I feel condemned immediately. If you can help with any of this , I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

Salvation from sin involves both being saved from having a sinful conduct and from the penalty for having a sinful conduct. The moment that you put your faith in Jesus, you have been saved from the penalty of your sin, but there is still an ongoing process of sanctification of being made to be like Jesus in being free from having sinful conduct, which is the good work God began in you that He will carry to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. No matter how hard we try, we can not produce fruit or refrain from sin on our own, so it is something that we need to trust or have faith in God to bring about in our lives. So your focus should not be on doing something good because your salvation will be in question if you don't or on making sure you don't slip up because you will slip up, but rather your focus should be on how much you love God and how much you trust Him. If you love God, then you will seek to demonstrate your love for Him by practicing obedience to Him and if you trust that God knows the right way for you to live, then you will practice obedience to Him, and when you fail to obey Him, then you will practice repentance. Sanctification always goes slower than we'd like, but we need to act with faith that that is what God is doing in our lives.

 

[farout]

I know that even the demons believe Jesus is Christ, and they even tremble. I don't know if that's the belief I have. I do believe Jesus is Christ and that He died on the cross and was resurrected. I'm unsure if I've placed my faith in Him, but I've prayed and asked Him to save me many, many times. When I see possible fruits of salvation, I doubt whether they're really from the Holy Spirit, or if they're through me doing things I know I should be doing. And I watch every single little thing I do just to make sure I don't slip up and sin and when I do, I feel condemned immediately. If you can help with any of this , I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

Are you a follower? What is your prayer life like are you praying about things during the day? Are you in the WORD (bible) everyday? Do you have a Study Bible and really reading the notes, and do you have some Biblical tools to help you understand what you read. What church are you involved in? What additional preachers / teachers do you listen to, in helping you to grow spiritually? Then I ask are growing in your closeness to the Father and Jesus Christ? How grateful are you and for what?

If you answer thai I would be willing to help you some more. Blessings friend.