One thing you don’t have to doubt
We all have doubts.
We leave the house then wonder if we turned the lights off. We doubt our parenting skills when our kids melt down in the grocery store. We question whether we should trust a babysitter we’ve just met to take care of our kids.
Questioning whether you turned the lights off might nag your conscience for a few minutes or even hours, but some doubts stick with us much longer. For many people, the question that keeps them up at night isn't one of self-doubt or forgetfulness. It's a question of where they'll spend eternity and whether or not they’re actually saved.
Maybe you asked Jesus into your life and wondered if it actually worked. Maybe you walked away from the church and questioned whether you were ever really saved. Or, maybe you've always been the good kid but you wonder if there's something more to having a relationship with Jesus. No matter where you're coming from, you don’t have to live in doubt.
Three ways to examine your heart and know if you are saved
1. Have you accepted the grace of God?
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
We don’t have to work for our salvation. Salvation is a gift from God! Because Jesus died for our sins. He did what we could never do and bridged the gap that sin creates between us and God.
Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, we can be forgiven of our sins and saved from death. When we admit that we cannot earn our salvation and accept God’s gift of grace, letting Jesus and not our work save us from death, we are saved!
2. Do you believe that Jesus is Lord?
“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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).
The apostle Paul wrote these words to Christians in Rome, and they are still true for us. All you need to do is believe that Jesus is Lord, and you will be saved. God’s grace made our salvation easy! He gave His one and only Son to die on a cross for our sins so that all we have to do is believe and be saved.
3. Have you committed your life to follow Jesus?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Belief is not a one-time decision; it’s a life commitment. When we truly believe Jesus is the Lord of our lives, we commit everything we do to that belief. We filter our life through the knowledge that we are saved by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus and trust that God knows what is best for us.
Doubt is often hard to defeat. If you are still uncertain about your salvation, we would love to answer your questions. Email hello@newspring.cc or contact your campus staff.