Doubts on Salvation

Doubts on Salvation

In the following e-mail exchanges, the e-mailers' comments are in black and enclosed in "greater than" and "lesser than" signs. My comments are in red.

>Subject: Help. I have a question. I believe I was saved but am having doubts.

Hi,

I believe I was saved as a child. I believed by hearing the gospel message, and then put my full faith and trust in Jesus to become my Lord and Savior (approx. age 7). Now as an adult I am having doubt. It is very specific. I have no doubt that I trusted Jesus with full faith from my heart, but I am not certain that I really came thinking of myself as a "sinner" when I trusted. Does this make sense (I was seven)? Please help me with this.

I knew I needed Jesus to save me and prayed the sinner's prayer with my pastor with faith in Jesus, but I really did not conceive of myself as particularly sinful -- and I remember feeling awkward about the "sinner" part of the prayer, but I prayed in agreement. So now I feel torn, do I need to re-confess? Or is this all just silly doubt?

Since I was saved I have always been interested in the things of God. I read my Bible, pray, go to church, teach Bible Study, and even frequently witness to others. However, this doubt is strong. Help!

Manford
6/13/03<

It is very common for people who made confessions as a child to have doubts later on. The simple faith of a child can be saving faith, but most often it is not based on much knowledge or experience. In your case, as a child you probably would not have had much of a sense of sin. But now, being older, you, as with all of us, have unfortunately had more personal experience with sin. So it is understandable that you now are struggling.

Given such a situation, it is also common for people who made a confession as children to "re-commit" their lives to Christ. This would not be a denial that you really were saved as a child but that you now realize you need to strengthen that commitment with your now greater knowledge of the faith and of yourself. It would be similar to a married couple re-stating their vows. They're already married, but they are saying that if they had to do it over again, they would.

I hope that helps.

God bless,
Gary Z.

>Subject: Re: Help. I have a question. I believe I was saved but am having doubts.

Thank you very much. Your reply helped me and is a blessing.

Manford
6/17/03<

>Hello, I would like to ask you for an advice. My biggest doubt about whether I am saved is whether I fulfilled the condition of faith. In Eph 2:8,9 and Romans 3:24 I find words as for free, as a gift, by grace, God's gift. To me, that means that a person can be saved without him having e.g. good motives or despite his self-centeredness or lack of desire for sanctification. He just has to ask God to justify him because of Jesus.<

It is true that salvation is a free gift. But the motive for asking for salvation is that you have recognized that you are a sinner who needs forgiveness. As for self-centeredness and a lack of desire for sanctification, if you are truly repentant for your sins, and if you truly are asking for forgiveness and salvation, then God will forgive and save you. Then, as a result of being saved, He will gradually change you. This will include over time working on your self-centeredness and giving you the desire for sanctification. But it will take time. It won't be an overnight process.

> I think that I understand this right, but I am not 100% sure. In Eph 2:8 it says that we are saved trough faith. In Hebrews 11:1 it says that "faith is ... the conviction of the things not seen". In my opinion, to have a conviction means to be completely, 100% sure at that moment. Therefore, I wouldn't say that I have a conviction that salvation is free.

The doubt is small. I think that salvation is free, I am just not completely sure. The doubt has a form of "What if I understood the Scriptures wrong?"<

The question is, what does your doubt entail? If you are still thinking that God will accept you based on your good works, then that is a problem. A part of recognizing that you are a sinner is to recognize that you cannot earn God's forgiveness. Again, you need to accept His gift of forgiveness and salvation.

> Since I don't have the conviction about salvation being free, does that mean that I don't have faith in Christ? (which would mean that I am not saved then)<

You need to have faith that Christ is able to save you fully. If you feel you need to add to what He has done for you, then you are not truly trusting in His sacrifice on your behalf. Whether you are saved or not, I will not venture to say. I leave such decisions in the hands of the only One capable of making them.

> Looking forward to your answer,
Rasto
4/20/2001<

You appear to at least have a desire for salvation. But you need to ask yourself why? Is it just a fear of going to hell, or are you genuinely repentant for you sins? The former is a start, but you also need to recognize why a person goes to hell. It is because they have not accepted that they are sinners standing condemned before a perfectly holy God.

I would suggest you consider the issue of sin. That should clear up some of your doubts. reading (or re-reading) the Book of Romans would also help, along with maybe Galatians.

>I write this to you with all respect from one Christian to another. I am also a practicing roman catholic. Out of my love and devotion to Christ, I revere Mary, of whom gave birth to him and was chosen by our Lord. Chosen by our Lord and we were told by Christ that she was our mother before he died for us.<

I don't remember Jesus ever saying this. If you're referring to Jesus' statement from the cross to John, He was simply being sure his aged mother would be taken care of after His death. Nothing more.

> I do believe that this distinction makes her more important than the rest of us. I am not sinless, I am full of sin, but through Christ I am forgiven when I confess my sins to him. Christ is my savior and lives within my heart. But, I am not saved for eternity, until I have been judged by him of which cannot happen until I die. I do not understand the saved issue, or the sinless believer that you speak of on your site. I believe my faith and life are a journey with the Lord and a path to salvation. Salvation is not determined until judgment. Will you please clarify your belief for me. I would like to understand it.

Thank you and God Bless,
Patsy
4/30/2001<

You believe you're forgiven, but you don't believe you're saved. I don't want to debate semantics, as that's all it may be. But it could be that you're not sure if Christ will really accept you or not when you die. But the question is, if you are forgiven, then what would separate you from Christ? (see Rom 8:31-39). Do you still feel you need to add something to what He has done for you to be saved?

To me, Christ has done all that is necessary for my salvation. I add nothing to it, nor can I ever add to it. He has saved me by His grace, and on that basis I can be assured of my salvation. To doubt my salvation is to say that Christ did not do enough.

The other possibility is you're raising a question in regards to eternal security. You believe you'd be saved if you died right now, but you think it's possible you might do something in the future before you die to cause you to lose your salvation.

I would suggest you see the items listed at Eternal Security and the article Salvation in the Roman Catholic Church. My Scripture Workbook also has studies on salvation and on eternal security.

Forgiveness and Salvation

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