Am I Still Saved?
By
Michael Lane, Executive Director, Delve Christian Ministries
Being saved by Jesus is for life - it cannot be taken away. However, if you are not exhibiting the outward signs of being a Christian and if you are not living the way that Christ asks, you may rightly wonder if your conversion was genuine and if you were ever saved to begin with.
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If you read any tract or Christian web site (including this one), you will find a short little prayer along with the assertion that if you pray this prayer, you will be saved. So that's it? Say that prayer and you're set for eternity? Perhaps. If you say that prayer and earnestly mean every word, then yes, Jesus will save you. But it's not really the prayer which saves you. It's your confession, your repentance and your faith which save you. Without the right intentions behind it, the prayer is just a bunch of empty words. Yet, if it's our faith and not some words which save us, are we still saved if we lose our faith down the road?
What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?
Let's dig a little deeper and get to the heart of what Jesus asks of us. Jesus tells the rich man to sell everything and follow Him. He tells another man whose father just died to let the dead bury the dead and to come follow Him immediately. He tells us that we must love Him more than our mother and father if we are going to follow Him. Another man declares that he will follow Jesus after he says goodbye to his family, but Jesus says he is unfit. Finally, He tells us that whomever will follow Him must take up their cross daily or they are not worthy.
Clearly, it takes more than a bunch of words to become a follower of Jesus. Time and again, Jesus shows His followers that they must give up everything, put Him above all else and to do it now. If we hesitate or insist on holding onto the things of this world, we are unfit to follow Him. What He wants is simple, but never easy. Jesus Christ wants to be the most important person in your life.
Let's look at what this means in practical terms for the 21st century. What does it mean to "not put Jesus first?" Few of us can identify with burying our father or saying goodbye to our family, but search inside yourself and see if any of these feel a bit familiar.>
- You don't go to church on Sundays when you're visiting your mom because it makes her uncomfortable.
- You don't say grace in the cafeteria at work because you get strange looks.
- You won't read the Bible in public because you're afraid of what people might think.
- You watch movies with some really dirty content on the grounds that you're a mature adult who can handle it.
- You refuse to give up your dirty little habit because it's not hurting anyone and no one really knows about it.
- You don't tithe like you should in church because money's been tight lately.
- You never seem to find the time to pray because you're just so busy.
- You know you should be doing more to serve in the community, but you need those extra hours at work to get the big promotion and you're dead tired after work.
- Some people came around the house looking for money for the poor, and you didn't give anything because all the change you have is to buy coffee in the morning.
Let's be realistic, none of these are serious, right? None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. But these offenses are symbolic of something deeper. In each of these examples, something is taking over the number one spot which Jesus has claimed for himself. Your spouse, your mother, your work, your vacation, your pride or your personal time come first and Jesus comes a distant second. If you recognize these issues in your life, ask for forgiveness and make a serious effort to do better, than that's as much as anyone can ask. You have nothing to worry about.
But alarm bells should be going off if you have any issues like this in your life on a regular basis and are making no effort to make it right. That's not a mistake, that's rebellion. If after being saved you go back to your old ways and don't change into a new person, something is seriously wrong.
Jesus is not a "get-out-of-jail-free" card and reciting a few quick lines of prayer do not make you a Christian. If you truly believe in your heart that Jesus is the savior, are you really living for Him? Does Jesus occupy the top spot in your heart at every moment?
One-way Ticket
We all have friends or family who gave their lives to Jesus years ago but no longer pay Him any attention at all. There is nothing in their attitude or behavior that would even hint that they are a Christian. Are they still saved? The Bible tells us clearly that we cannot become "un-saved." It is a one-way ticket and once you truly ask Jesus into your heart, you will never be condemned by sin again.
The question you might ask is "were they ever really saved?" If their life has not changed and they no longer seem to be living for Jesus, perhaps the answer is no. It might be that their profession to know Christ was only on the surface but they never truly accepted him in their heart. Only Jesus knows, but in my mind, if they are no longer on good enough speaking terms with Him to ask Him personally, that's a pretty bad sign.
If you fall into that category of "I used to live for Jesus but the fire has gone out", please spend some time reading other articles in this category. Remember why it was that you called out to Him in the first place, get to know Him again and let Him light that fire in you once more. If you have some concerns that you may not be saved, ask Jesus once again to save you and then really start living for Him.
Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help and most of all, let us know if we can pray for you.
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Comments
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Great article!
Reminds me of a quote I just read the other day:
“The requirement for salvation is not just a prayer. The requirement is an open, totally empty heart that’s ready to be full of Jesus Christ. After saying the sinner’s prayer, if in a few months your friends can’t tell that you’re born again, if your relatives can’t see a change in you, if your teacher can’t see that you’re a Christian, you’re probably not!” “Because let me tell you something, when someone’s born again they get excited! It changes the way they live, what they do, how they speak, how they act, what they do with their money, their cars, their girlfriends-It’s all different! Then how come it looks the same? How come Christians are trying to ride the line?”
Keith Green
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1/8/2010 6:01:47 PM
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Ignited~Faith, Member of Delve into Jesus since 2/20/2008
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One of the great lies of Satan is to make a true believer doubt their salvation. We become highly ineffective when we spend all our time wondering if we are truly saved - analysing if the things we do or have done are an indication of true salvation. As Christians we are in a process of sanctification. First, when we are saved by grace through trust in the atoning work of Jesus Christ we received positional sanctification i.e. we take a position in the family of God. This is forever and cannot be lost just as a son or daughter do not stop being a son or daughter even if they are estranged. Second, we are progressively sanctified. This is the life long process of becoming more like Jesus in our Character. This can be a slower process for some as we struggle with sin, the world and the devil. Some wander off the track and are lead astray but they are never lost. We miss the blessings that God has for us when we choose not to live within his will. The fact is that once we are saved we are no longer labelled as sinners by God as we are now saints. We need to remember this and resist the Devil who roams around trying to deceive us and devour us. Jesus is greater and he will never lose those that he has saved!!
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1/2/2011 3:56:41 PM
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Stept, Member of Delve into Jesus since 1/2/2011
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