I was not saved! Though I thought I was!

[bumpkin1]

I have spent the last five years of my life believing in Jesus as my Savior, after I confessed it with my mouth. However, soon enough I turned back to my sins of lust, alcohol, porn, exc. Then about two weeks ago out of nowhere It occured to me that I really didn't believe as strongly as I thought. Needless to say, THIS SCARED ME! I felt like that seed that fell by the wayside. Sure, I believed Jesus was the Messiah, but I never applied Him to my heart. All of those sins that I still did I could not resist.

So, I searched the scriptures on my own. I began to examine my life and after reading the Word and also good info from a credible site, I came to the eye opening conclusion that I NEVER REALLY KNEW HIM! I didn't want to turn my life over to Jesus. I never wanted to give Jesus my all.

So, A few nights went by and I decided that I needed to talk with my Lord. So, I got on my knees and I confessed that I was a true, filthy sinner. I confessed that I needed Jesus in my life and I asked God to fill me with His Holy Spirit and for Jesus to come into my life. I felt a warm peace come over me better than anything I could ever describe. I truly felt saved!

A couple of days later, I again felt that I wasn't sure. But, I am convinced I am because I IMMEDIATELY no longer have sexual lusts to look at porn, to drink whiskey, or to sin. I can't deny that my life has changed. I have a hunger for God's word and I seek to be ever so close to Him. I am even considering starting a fasting regiment to draw closer to Him.

I still worry a little though, because I was "Sure" all of these years, yet I look back and see I wasn't. I don't want to be one of those that stands before my Father on my day of judgement and says "Lord, Lord"; but He would say "I NEVER KNEW YOU!"

Please examine your ownselves! Are you in a walk that is pleasing to Him? Or do you truly know Jesus? I pray I continue to grow close to Him!

 

[DIVA_for_Christ]

Hallelujah!!! Praise God!!!

What an awesome testimony. See you hit a key point, any one can claim Jesus, with their mouths. But we have to have Him in our heart.

Be encouraged and know, because you had a change of heart it has come across in your testimony and I could tell by the Spirit of God, that He has penetrated your heart.

Allow Him to continue to walk you through the refining process, be obedient to Him no matter what and understand that this process will seem difficult at times, but continue to hold onto your faith and know that God is catching you up. He is pulling you closer to Him and the closer you get to Him, He will require you to let go of anything that is not of Him.

You are in an awesome place, hold onto the joy of your salvation!!!

 

[BeyondFaith]

There is a popular saying by theologian Karl Rahner summed it up greatly:

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today… is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is simply what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable.

​

 

[MarkEvan]

Wow that is almost word for word my own testamony, its a great feeling to know that you have peace with God. For you and everyone else who are born again there are words of Paul which are relavant........from now on we are to serve God through 'faith working through love.'


Mark .

 

[fifi]

I have spent the last five years of my life believing in Jesus as my Savior, after I confessed it with my mouth. However, soon enough I turned back to my sins of lust, alcohol, porn, exc. Then about two weeks ago out of nowhere It occured to me that I really didn't believe as strongly as I thought. Needless to say, THIS SCARED ME! I felt like that seed that fell by the wayside. Sure, I believed Jesus was the Messiah, but I never applied Him to my heart. All of those sins that I still did I could not resist.

So, I searched the scriptures on my own. I began to examine my life and after reading the Word and also good info from a credible site, I came to the eye opening conclusion that I NEVER REALLY KNEW HIM! I didn't want to turn my life over to Jesus. I never wanted to give Jesus my all.

So, A few nights went by and I decided that I needed to talk with my Lord. So, I got on my knees and I confessed that I was a true, filthy sinner. I confessed that I needed Jesus in my life and I asked God to fill me with His Holy Spirit and for Jesus to come into my life. I felt a warm peace come over me better than anything I could ever describe. I truly felt saved!

A couple of days later, I again felt that I wasn't sure. But, I am convinced I am because I IMMEDIATELY no longer have sexual lusts to look at porn, to drink whiskey, or to sin. I can't deny that my life has changed. I have a hunger for God's word and I seek to be ever so close to Him. I am even considering starting a fasting regiment to draw closer to Him.

I still worry a little though, because I was "Sure" all of these years, yet I look back and see I wasn't. I don't want to be one of those that stands before my Father on my day of judgement and says "Lord, Lord"; but He would say "I NEVER KNEW YOU!"

Please examine your ownselves! Are you in a walk that is pleasing to Him? Or do you truly know Jesus? I pray I continue to grow close to Him!

that is awsome to hear Great testomony.

 

[flicka]

Honest questions here:

What if someone thinks they are but really aren't and also has none of the bad habits you have to act as some kind of alarm system to alert them to their mistake? If you start drinking or looking at porn again does that mean you really aren't saved this time either?

Thinking you are saved when you really aren't doesn't compute with me and I really really wish some certified christians would question this so I didn't have to risk a warning by posting here. It's the unwillingness of other believers to question and challenge these kinds of assertations made by people in their own group that make us non believers doubt pretty much everything y'all say. We do read your posts and a bunch of "yes men" doesn't count for much.

 

[MarkEvan]

The scriptures tell us that satan is on the 'prowl looking for whom he may devour,' he doesn`t need to devour those who don`t believe because they are already his. That leaves those who do believe, and satan has had plenty of time learning how to decive people into believing they are ok.

 

[fifi]

The scriptures tell us that satan is on the 'prowl looking for whom he may devour,' he doesn`t need to devour those who don`t believe because they are already his. That leaves those who do believe, and satan has had plenty of time learning how to decive people into believing they are ok.

very true saten does not mess with unless you you are serving God. the bible says in john 10:10 that the devil comes to steal kill and destroy and this is talking about those that are already saved. if you are not saved then the devil does not really bother you. and that true about the devil has plenty of time. because he does not sleep are take a break he is always trying to make us fall.

 

[DIVA_for_Christ]

Honest questions here:

What if someone thinks they are but really aren't and also has none of the bad habits you have to act as some kind of alarm system to alert them to their mistake? If you start drinking or looking at porn again does that mean you really aren't saved this time either?

Thinking you are saved when you really aren't doesn't compute with me and I really really wish some certified christians would question this so I didn't have to risk a warning by posting here. It's the unwillingness of other believers to question and challenge these kinds of assertations made by people in their own group that make us non believers doubt pretty much everything y'all say. We do read your posts and a bunch of "yes men" doesn't count for much.

First off let me say - I am not respoding to this post in order to classify myself as a certified Christian. I'm responding because I can sense and see the sincerity and the validity of your question.

The best way for me to explain is that salvation is more than just thinking and then saying with your mouth that you believe and receive Jesus as Lord as Saviour of your life. Salvation is a heart issue. When you truly believe that Jesus died for you and took your sins as His own, died, so that you can live and then rose again, there is an immediate heart change. I can't really put it in words, but you know and feel the difference - it's way past being just an emotionally experience, it's a spiritual one. You know you are different and your desires start to change. You desire to please God, you come to feel and know His love for you as the unique individual He created you to be.

Being saved does not mean that all of a sudden we are perfect people who have no issues. In our salvation walk, we have to learn to go through the different processes God has for us to santify us. So someone who is saved can struggle with former sins, but instead of their hearts being in a hard cold place of who cares, they cry out to God to help them. You have the Holy Spirit in you and everytime you mess up He convicts you to do the right thing. The purposes of His conviction
is to draw us closer to Him.

The problem with some Christians is they have religion but don't have a real relationship with God (this is a major problem in the church here in NC). This can happen when we put God in a box of how we think He should be, will be, has been, etc. It also can happen because we don't allow God to process us and we can take on a holier than thou attitude and that is so not God.

Walking through God's process teaching us how to love all people unconditionally, even when they are mean, nasty and cruel towards us.

I can tell you as a Christian that some of the meaniest and nastiest people I've been hurt by is other Christians, but to God be the glory because in those experiences, He taught me how not to treat people. He also taught me that they hurt me because they themselves have been hurt. In other words, hurt people hurt people because that's all they know. But God calls us to break patterns of the way things were done to us /what we did to others and pick up His ways of loving, caring, nuturing, encouraging, sharing, etc.

Also when you've been where another person has been spiritually and emotionally, there's no need to question them because you understand exactly where they are and what God is doing in their lives. So instead we can praise God because we can see and identify what He is doing in their life.

I hope I was able to answer your questions with what you were looking for.

God Bless!

 

[GodsTwo]

I have spent the last five years of my life believing in Jesus as my Savior, after I confessed it with my mouth. However, soon enough I turned back to my sins of lust, alcohol, porn, exc. Then about two weeks ago out of nowhere It occured to me that I really didn't believe as strongly as I thought. Needless to say, THIS SCARED ME! I felt like that seed that fell by the wayside. Sure, I believed Jesus was the Messiah, but I never applied Him to my heart. All of those sins that I still did I could not resist.

So, I searched the scriptures on my own. I began to examine my life and after reading the Word and also good info from a credible site, I came to the eye opening conclusion that I NEVER REALLY KNEW HIM! I didn't want to turn my life over to Jesus. I never wanted to give Jesus my all.

So, A few nights went by and I decided that I needed to talk with my Lord. So, I got on my knees and I confessed that I was a true, filthy sinner. I confessed that I needed Jesus in my life and I asked God to fill me with His Holy Spirit and for Jesus to come into my life. I felt a warm peace come over me better than anything I could ever describe. I truly felt saved!

A couple of days later, I again felt that I wasn't sure. But, I am convinced I am because I IMMEDIATELY no longer have sexual lusts to look at porn, to drink whiskey, or to sin. I can't deny that my life has changed. I have a hunger for God's word and I seek to be ever so close to Him. I am even considering starting a fasting regiment to draw closer to Him.

I still worry a little though, because I was "Sure" all of these years, yet I look back and see I wasn't. I don't want to be one of those that stands before my Father on my day of judgement and says "Lord, Lord"; but He would say "I NEVER KNEW YOU!"

Please examine your ownselves! Are you in a walk that is pleasing to Him? Or do you truly know Jesus? I pray I continue to grow close to Him!

AMEN! Great post!

 

[flyingsum0]

Some Great Great words here Brother

 

[Psalms34]

I went through kinda the same thing. I was saved when I was 12, I didn’t grow up in a Christian home or anything but I was always drawn to Jesus as far back as I remember. Anyway, by the time I was 15 (teen years) I was beginning to slide into stuff I should never have. By the time I was 19 I was pretty messed up and pretty far from God. I made a re-commitment at 20, felt as if I had never really been saved before then but after much bible study, prayer and retrospect of my past I realized I really had been saved when I was 12 and that the whole time I was sliding that Jesus was there protecting me and gently pulling me back on track. Whatever your situation, grab on with both hands today and don’t let go, and let the past worry about the past.

 

[tpirob]

I have spent the last five years of my life believing in Jesus as my Savior, after I confessed it with my mouth. However, soon enough I turned back to my sins of lust, alcohol, porn, exc. Then about two weeks ago out of nowhere It occured to me that I really didn't believe as strongly as I thought. Needless to say, THIS SCARED ME! I felt like that seed that fell by the wayside. Sure, I believed Jesus was the Messiah, but I never applied Him to my heart. All of those sins that I still did I could not resist.

So, I searched the scriptures on my own. I began to examine my life and after reading the Word and also good info from a credible site, I came to the eye opening conclusion that I NEVER REALLY KNEW HIM! I didn't want to turn my life over to Jesus. I never wanted to give Jesus my all.

So, A few nights went by and I decided that I needed to talk with my Lord. So, I got on my knees and I confessed that I was a true, filthy sinner. I confessed that I needed Jesus in my life and I asked God to fill me with His Holy Spirit and for Jesus to come into my life. I felt a warm peace come over me better than anything I could ever describe. I truly felt saved!

A couple of days later, I again felt that I wasn't sure. But, I am convinced I am because I IMMEDIATELY no longer have sexual lusts to look at porn, to drink whiskey, or to sin. I can't deny that my life has changed. I have a hunger for God's word and I seek to be ever so close to Him. I am even considering starting a fasting regiment to draw closer to Him.

I still worry a little though, because I was "Sure" all of these years, yet I look back and see I wasn't. I don't want to be one of those that stands before my Father on my day of judgement and says "Lord, Lord"; but He would say "I NEVER KNEW YOU!"

Please examine your ownselves! Are you in a walk that is pleasing to Him? Or do you truly know Jesus? I pray I continue to grow close to Him!

Amen my brother. Boy does your story ever resonate with me....almost the same scenario, but different circumstances. I just got that feeling of being "saved" last Friday. Mind you, this is coming from a guy that thought the whole "saved" thing was a crock of you-know-what.

Blessings to you brother,

-Rob

 

[Kelly]

First I am happy you feel renewed in the Spirit.

But, you were a Christian all along. How good to we have to be to get into heaven? Get my meaning?

There's a type of saved like a man escaping from a burning building, but it's still being saved.

 

[romans6and6]

I like the fact that when you felt convicted by the Holy Spirit concerning sin that you did not rely upon past “professions of faith,” but instead went to the Word of God and examined yourself to see if your life was lining up to it.

Paul, told the Corinthians in 2Corinthians 13:5:

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

Here, and throughout the New Testament, we see two types of people – Either they are “in the faith” and Jesus Christ is “in” them, or they are reprobates. There were some in the Corinthian church who were reprobates. They were allowing adultery to continue in their church. One of their members was committing adultery with his father’s wife, a sin, as Paul said, that is “not so much named among the Gentiles.” (1Corint. 5:2) Instead of repenting, and mourning, and properly dealing with this sin, they were “puffed up.”

In testing ourselves to see whether we be in the faith or not, one must not look to ourselves or to others as the measuring stick. Paul told these same Corinthians in II Corinthians 10:12, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” If one seeks to compare himself with his fellow church-member, or neighbor, he may feel that he is doing all right.

The measuring stick that we are to use in determining whether we “be in the faith” is the Word of God. The authority of the Scriptures is what we are to look to and rely upon. We are not to look to man’s teachings, to Denominational Catechisms, or even to the Reformers or Reformed Theology. It is such things that are blinding the minds and eyes from receiving the truth of the gospel. We need not look to man or church doctrine as an “end all,” but instead look into the Scriptures and seek to see what the early Apostles saw.

Paul told these same Corinthians in 1Corintians 6:9-11:

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Paul calls these and other “such things” the “works of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:19) He makes it clear that they which do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God, and that a child of God no longer commits the works of the flesh. He tells the Corinthians that “such were some of you.” But that they were washed, sanctified, and justified – ALL past tenses.

Also, after making a distinction between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:19-23, he then says:

“And they that are Christ’s [the born again saint] have crucified the flesh with its affections and lust.” They are no longer committing the works of the flesh because their old man of sin has been crucified with Christ, and they now possess and grow in the fruit of the Spirit.

These are two different states – sin and righteousness, the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit, good fruit and corrupt fruit, light and darkness, etc. and they cannot co-exist in a person at the same time.

I encourage you to continue in the faith, continue in the study of the Word, continue believing the gospel, continue keeping yourself in the love of God (Jude 21), and do not let yourself be influenced by the popular message of the day that a child of God is still a sinner.