When I’m out witnessing with Born of Him Ministries, we sometimes run into professing Christians who are stumbling drunk and/or yell at us that we shouldn’t be preaching the Gospel in the open air. Also recently, Rick Santorum said that “If the President says that he’s a Christian, he’s a Christian.” So these things made me wonder, how do you know that you are really saved?
Does just saying that you are a Christian make you a Christian? In Matthew 15:7-8, Jesus said “You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you saying, This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” I would hate to have Jesus call me a hypocrite. A hypocrite is a person who pretends to be one thing, but really is another. A hypocrite is not a true believer. So being a Christian is more than just saying that you are one.
So how do you know that you have truly been born again? How do you know that you are really saved? For one thing, God gives you a new heart when you are saved. He takes away your heart of stone and He gives you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). God also puts His Spirit within you and then you follow His will (Ezekiel 36:27). God transforms you by giving you the deposit of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:5).
The apostle Paul says that we are a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We no longer desire the lusts of the flesh that we previously lusted after (Romans 8:4-6). Paul further says that a carnal person (one who desires selfish pleasures) is an enemy of God (Romans 8:7-8). So if you live selfishly for yourself, then your life is not pleasing to God.
Jesus also said that people will recognize His disciples by their fruit, in other words by their works (John 15:8). Your good works don’t save you, but because you are a new creature, you become spiritually minded. You want to do the will of God. You want to please God and not yourself.
God will save you wherever you are if you repent and put your faith in Jesus. But God won’t leave you in your sinful state. God saves us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, but He continually draws us closer to Himself. This is called sanctification. God is Holy so He calls us to be holy. The Holy Spirit convicts you when you sin, when you are living for yourself and not living for God.
The sanctification process continues from the day of your salvation until the day you die (2 Thessalonians 2:13). God continues to work on you during your lifetime . This is the best way to know that you are truly saved. You no longer desire the things you did before you were saved. If you say you are a Christian and you are out stumbling drunk with your friends, then you really need to question whether or not you are really saved. (I used to do this years ago – professing to be a Christian the whole time, but I was actually a false convert).
Eternal life is so much more important than fleeting sinful pleasures. If you are unsure of your salvation, then please cry out to God to have mercy upon you, turn away from your sins and surrender your life fully and completely to Jesus Christ. Please do this today. Then, read your Bible everyday to learn more about the will of God.