How do you know for sure?

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Mandy

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1 John 5:12-13
He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life.
These things I have written unto you who 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.

We can know, because we know that God is faithful and that His promises are true.
And His promise is that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

Just continue to seek God's face and do your best in His strength to live for Him.

I know exactly how you feel. I went through the same thing and I think the important thing is that we simply wait on Him and trust Him to lead us. If He is truly leading us then we will be doing what He would have us to do.
 
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Blackhawk

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Stogus,

This is really weird but we talked about this in Sunday school last sunday. My teacher read a portion of one of Spurgeon's books. He said that you know you are saved if you fear God.

deut 29:19 When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, "I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way."

If this is what you think then be worrried but if you fear God kind of like you did your parents when you were a child then Spurgeon said that you are saved. So in a way you being truly concerned about God and your salvation proves that you are saved.

blackhaw6
 
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LuckyCharm

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I've been meaning to reply to this ever since I saw it this morning, but had to wait till my lunch hour.

A passage from 1 John 3 comes to mind with this question:

19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence
20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God

It doesn't depend on what our "hearts" tell us, although it is wonderful when our hearts do indeed manage to grasp the reality of our salvation. But when they don't, we just need to remember that God is greater than our hearts.

Peace,

Cheryl
 
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RayNay714

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Stogus,
It is easy for us to doubt that we have salvation because we cannot be perfect. Trust in the Lord and he will renew your strength. When you have those doubts, look to the cross, and He will lead you back to that place where you KNOW that Jesus is Lord. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Trust in him!
RayNay
 
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Terri

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Originally posted by StogusMaximus

Every once in awhile I get the feeling that something is missing, that I haven't done enough.


Hi StogusMaximus,

I think what the Lord wants most from us is for us to be close to him. Perhaps your not as close to the Lord as you would want. I find these to be very dangerous times spiritually. Just reading the Bible when I can doesn't seem to keep me as close to the Lord as I would like. I have to pray without ceasing--I try to constantly have a bible verse repeating in my mind. Since I have began this, I have come to feel great joy and feel closer to the Lord than I ever thought possible.

Love you in the Lord,

Terri
 
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Hishandmaiden

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Stogus,
what you experience, I have experienced, too for two years of my Christian life. I felt that something is amiss and what I do is not enough. But, not so anymore. Seek hard, and you will find up what it is that you thought you missed.
 
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Blackwing

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sometimes i feel fear in my heart on what is going to happen in the future and what is life like in heaven coz it's beyond what I can comprehend sometimes.

Then God will assure me that He is in control and all these things will come in due time

Thanks for the thread, I needed that assurance again
 
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tericl2

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In another thread someone posted (solo66 I think) about David and how he was so transparent. You can see this through out the Psalms. He, often, didn't feel like he was close to God, but he went to God in prayer and told God how he felt.

i think we need to be transparent in this manner. God knows anyway, and we shouldn't be embarrassed to let God know how we feel.

Another thing I would like to add, which my preacher points out constantly, is that our salvation and our faith isn't a feeling. It is something we KNOW and we need to live by what we know, not what we feel.

All that said, I know, as I think every Christian does, how this feels. I have actually been struggling with this myself for the last week or so. So, for the prayer warriors out there....add me to your list! :)

With hope in Christ
 
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Mandy

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Amen!
The just shall walk by faith, not by sight.
Sometimes it is hard to remember not to go by how we feel. I too struggle with this from time to time. I went through a period where I was very unsure of my salvation. It was horrible. It's funny though I look back at that time period and am amazed to see He was there with me all along.
I think David is one of the people in the Bible that really inspires me. He really sought the Lord and he was not perfect, yet God considered him a man after his own heart.
 
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Stogus, this dilemma is not uncommon. Try to remember that you're not a Christian because you feel like one. You're a Christian because of a commitment you've made to follow Jesus.

Salvation is not a one-time experience, it's a relationship, and therefore it's a process, built on a foundation of trust. Like any relationship, there will be ups and downs. There will be days where you can literally feel the Holy Spirit inside your skin, and some days you feel like God is a million miles away. Every Christian goes through that, due to our imperfect nature.

But a couple of things you said concern me...

I believe that Jesus was without sin, and that he died on a cross for me. I go to church every Sunday and I try to read my Bible when I can.

Every once in awhile I get the feeling that something is missing, that I haven't done enough.

Substitute the word "believe" with the word "trust". Is it still true for you? If you know what happened, but aren't depending on it, that might be part of the problem. Just because you pray the sinners' prayer doesn't absolve you from having to depend on Jesus for salvation. We have to depend on Him and trust that His sacrifice paid for our sins continually. Like I said before, salvation is a process, not an event.

The other thing that concerns me is your statement that you might not have "done enough". We cannot ever 'do enough'. We cannot earn our way into heaven. The Bible says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, not by works lest any man should boast." If someone (flesh or spirit) is telling you that you're not 'doing enough' to be saved, you are being lied to.

What I would tell you to do is:

1) Keep on (or start) trusting that Jesus' sacrifice was enough to reconcile you to the Father.

2) Continue to develop your relationship with God through prayer, Bible study, worship, and service.
 
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Hi everyone!
These words of wisdom & sincerity have watered my soul!!! Thank GOD for sisters & brothers in the Lord. Been away from "home" for a long time. I started praying earnestly for God to bring me home & He did 02/03/02!!! My biggest problem was depending on self. Now it's like being held safely & securely by someone who you know loves you. Ahhh such peace.......PTL. StogusMaximus - pray, fast & PTL its gonna be alright our Lord Jesus has overcome the world & in Him so will you love ya!!!!
 
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