Six Months in and I'm Already Doubting My Salvation

[cerulean]

I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance. Is there any hope for me?

 

[chevyontheriver]

I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance. Is there any hope for me?

The 'assurance' thing is a trap. As you have discovered. Don't get stuck in it. Instead, think about the love that God has for you. That love gives you a hope of salvation. Show some of that love to others.

 

[SolomonVII]

I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance. Is there any hope for me?

Have you experienced joy in anything?
Is your life completely joyless right now?

 

[cerulean]

Have you experienced joy in anything?
Is your life completely joyless right now?

Of course I've experienced joy before, just not in God. Before I became a Christian, I could experience joy in food and music and entertainment and all kinds of things, but now even those things leave me feeling empty, because all I long for is joy in God. I just don't understand how I could be a born-again Christian when I'm more miserable now than I ever was as a nonbeliever.

 

[longwait]

Taste and see that the Lord is God. The Lord will guard you in amazing ways. When you realize that joy and love for the Lord will naturally come.

 

[thesunisout]

I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance. Is there any hope for me?

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, which grows. Maybe right now your joy is still in seed form. I didn't feel much joy for the first couple of years I was saved. I was under heavy demonic oppression which God had to slowly pull me out of it.

Your salvation isn't based on feelings that you have; if that was the foundation we would all be lost. Salvation is based on the finished work of Jesus Christ, on His righteousness. That is where your faith has to rest and endure beyond any feeling you may be having. Our salvation is based on truth and not anything else.

 

[SolomonVII]

Of course I've experienced joy before, just not in God. Before I became a Christian, I could experience joy in food and music and entertainment and all kinds of things, but now even those things leave me feeling empty, because all I long for is joy in God. I just don't understand how I could be a born-again Christian when I'm more miserable now than I ever was as a nonbeliever.

So then, it was not for lack of joy that you chose to become a Christian. What was it that you were looking for when you chose the Christian path, over the path that you were on before?

 

[ripple the car]

I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance. Is there any hope for me?

Yeah, we don't always feel joy. Sometimes we feel depressed, stressed, anxious, or lonely. But the will, grace, and mercy of God does not depend on our emotions, nor do our emotions necessarily serve as an accurate reflection of God's will or point of view. God loves you, friend, and will help you to love Him, too.

 

[ToBeLoved]

Of course I've experienced joy before, just not in God. Before I became a Christian, I could experience joy in food and music and entertainment and all kinds of things, but now even those things leave me feeling empty, because all I long for is joy in God. I just don't understand how I could be a born-again Christian when I'm more miserable now than I ever was as a nonbeliever.

I think 'joy' is a stronger word about someone's overall state in life, like when you have a deeper feeling of overall alignment that you and your morals, values and actions are in alignment with each other.

When joy is talked about in the Bible I think it is mostly in this context. Feelings or moments of pleasure are not how the Bible uses this word. It is usually a deeper feeling of wellness overall like the verse "it is well with my soul".

 

[cerulean]

So then, it was not for lack of joy that you chose to become a Christian. What was it that you were looking for when you chose the Christian path, over the path that you were on before?

To be honest, it was mostly a fear of going to hell.

 

[cerulean]

Yeah, we don't always feel joy. Sometimes we feel depressed, stressed, anxious, or lonely. But the will, grace, and mercy of God does not depend on our emotions, nor do our emotions necessarily serve as an accurate reflection of God's will or point of view. God loves you, friend, and will help you to love Him, too.

I'm not just saying that I've lost my joy, or that I don't feel joyful all the time. I'm saying that I've never felt joy in the Lord. Not once. That's what worries me.

 

[cerulean]

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, which grows. Maybe right now your joy is still in seed form. I didn't feel much joy for the first couple of years I was saved. I was under heavy demonic oppression which God had to slowly pull me out of it.

Your salvation isn't based on feelings that you have; if that was the foundation we would all be lost. Salvation is based on the finished work of Jesus Christ, on His righteousness. That is where your faith has to rest and endure beyond any feeling you may be having. Our salvation is based on truth and not anything else.

How can I be sure, though?

 

[SolomonVII]

To be honest, it was mostly a fear of going to hell.

Seeing God as a cruel master and acting strictly out of fear of what he could do to us would leave almost anybody feeling joyless.
Joy in this world is no deeper than the feeling that you get while enjoying a great steak and a glass of good wine. Joy in the Lord comes through taking the talents that he has given any of us, and generating a profit out of them for him.
Becoming Christian involves reaching a level of spiritual maturity that there is no coming back from. There is no turning back to when all it made to make you happy was a entertainment and music and food. While there is no reason that a Christian cannot appreciate these blessings from the Lord as much as anybody, most of us reach a point in our spiritual maturity when we fully understand that to dedicate our lives to these kinds of enjoyments is an empty mode of existence. Experiencing deeper joy in the Lord involves finding out where your talents lie, and turning them into a profit for him. It involves taking up your cross and following him. We share in the joy that he experiences in us through the work we do for him. Joy comes through suffering.

Our salvation does not lie in the works we do for him, but our joy most certainly does. Joy comes when our hard work for him pays off and we turn a profit, and he greets us with the words "well done good and faithful servant".

 

[ToBeLoved]

To be honest, it was mostly a fear of going to hell.

That is not a bad thing, fear of going to hell. As a matter of fact, the Bible says fear and reverence for God is the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Point being if fear is what brings us TO God, that is a good thing.

As your relationship with God grows, those fears should be put on the side burner because after you are a child of God you have no reason to fear for your eternal destination.

Then it should progress into awe, love and massive respect.

 

[ToBeLoved]

How can I be sure, though?

Why do you need to 'be sure'.

Seriously, very few things in life we are really sure of. We think we are sure of things, but most things we make a reasonable decision and then experience it as we grow.

 

[ripple the car]

I'm not just saying that I've lost my joy, or that I don't feel joyful all the time. I'm saying that I've never felt joy in the Lord. Not once. That's what worries me.

Sometimes our longing to get close to, remain with, please, and honor God is a type of joy. Not a happy or exhaled feeling, but a real love.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta had a complicated, dark, dry inner life, and was apparently unable to "feel" much of anything. But she loved what she did.

Our lives in Christ may not always mirror an exuberant praise and worship song. Or ever. That's ok. God loves you, and you can love Him back, too. Even if you don't feel anything.

 

[thesunisout]

How can I be sure, though?

Romans 8:15-17

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

You need to seek the Lord and stand upon this scripture that says that the Holy Spirit will bear witness to your spirit that you are saved. Ask the Lord to bear witness to you this way, and if you are not saved, to reveal that to you. Know and understand that the Lord doesn't want you to perish; He is eager to reveal the truth to you. If you are saved He wants you to be assured of it, and if you're not, He wants you to immediately repent and come to Him. You aren't hanging off the edge of a cliff here; the Lord has your life in His hands and wants you to know the truth.

 

[AvgJoe]

I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance. Is there any hope for me?

Question: "How can I have assurance of my salvation?"

Answer: Many followers of Jesus Christ look for the assurance of salvation in the wrong places. We tend to seek assurance of salvation in the things God is doing in our lives, in our spiritual growth, in the good works and obedience to God’s Word that is evident in our Christian walk. While these things can be evidence of salvation, they are not what we should base the assurance of our salvation. Rather, we should find the assurance of our salvation in the objective truth of God’s Word. We should have confident trust that we are saved based on the promises God has declared, not because of our subjective experiences.

How can you have assurance of salvation? Consider 1 John 5:11–13: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Who is it that has the Son? It is those who have believed in Him (John 1:12). If you have Jesus, you have life. Not temporary life, but eternal.

God wants us to have assurance of our salvation. We should not live our Christian lives wondering and worrying each day whether or not we are truly saved. That is why the Bible makes the plan of salvation so clear. Believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Acts 16:31). “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Have yourepented? Do you believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins and rose again from the dead (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21)? Do you trust Him alone for salvation? If your answer to these questions is “yes,” you are saved! Assurance means freedom from doubt. By taking God’s Word to heart, you can have no doubt about the reality of your eternal salvation.

Jesus Himself assures those who believe in Him: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28–29). Eternal life is just that—eternal. There is no one, not even yourself, who can take Christ’s God-given gift of salvation away from you.

We hide God’s Word in our hearts so that we do not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11), and this includes the sin of doubt. Take joy in what God’s Word is saying to you: instead of doubting, we can live with confidence! We can have the assurance from Christ’s own Word that our salvation will never be in question. Our assurance of salvation is based on the perfect and complete salvation God has provided for us through Jesus Christ.

www.gotquestions.org/assurance-salvation.html

 

[hedrick]

Lots of people have this question. It's largely a trap, because almost everyone looks to themselves for some sign of salvation. But trust is supposed to be in God, not any feeling of our own. The recommendation from most Christians is to look at what Christ did for us. That's the basis of knowing that God cares about us.

To be honest, it was mostly a fear of going to hell.

I understand. But I'm not sure that's going to be a lasting motivation for being a Christian. I think you'll have trouble if you don't at some point see value to the Christian life itself.

Some of this has to do with the kind of Christianity you're following. Jesus said his yoke was light. But that are some Christians who make it heavy.

 

[discipler7]

Six Months in and I'm Already Doubting My Salvation
Is there any hope for me?

.
Doubts mostly come from the devil. Similarly for immoral lust, hate, anger, greed, selfishness, jealousy, fears/worries, etc.(JOHN.8:44, MATTHEW.16:23 & 23:27, MARK.7:21, 1JOHN.3:8) The cause is Adam's Original Sin which all humans have inherited or are born with.(ROMANS.5:12)

Either ignore such doubts(= ignore him) or apply the Word of God.(MATTHEW.4:1-11, EPH.6:16-17)

Sinful/evil-thoughts may bear fruit into sins/evil-deeds/law-breaking = will be cursed by God or His agents(eg the police/government).
....... God's Law/Word gives life on earth. God's Son gives eternal life in heaven. Jesus = the Word.(JOHN.1:1 & 6:63)