Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Assured?

There are many times when I find myself doubting my salvation. It's common among believers. We ask ourselves if there is confidence in our relationship with God. It's almost like asking yourself if your spouse is still married to you or if your kids are really your kids. It'd be awful if your kid came up to you asking if you are still their parent.

So how can we have assurance that we know God saved us?

1 John 3:16 says "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." 


John writes that we know love because God sent His only Son to die for us. 

Religion says that we should love one another to earn a spot in Heaven.
Christianity, a relationship with God, says that He first loved us and enables us to love. By the love we have with one another, the sacrificial love, it's proof that we are following Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

In verse 18 it says "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."


We love sacrificially. I show love towards my family not because it will get me to Heaven and not because they did something in return. I love them out of sacrifice and because that is what I am called to do. I love them because Jesus first loved them. 


John continues to write about our confidence in verses 19-24. 
"By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us."

Although, it is impossible to love sacrificially 100% of the time, we can still be assured of our salvation through loving others because God first loved us. It's not natural to want to give to others. It's natural to be selfish and it's natural to love others because you want love in return. The Holy Spirit living inside of me is allowing me to love others sacrificially. 

So should I doubt my salvation as much as I do? No, I shouldn't. But I most likely will because my flesh will take over. It's important to know that I do have salvation though. 


Do you doubt your salvation?

Do you love sacrificially?

Or do you love to get love in return?

Or do you not love at all?

Here's a little cheesy video for you to enjoy (: