Are you saved?
I can’t answer that
No human being can
People want a surefire, tried and tested method to give them the answer
Those answers are in the word of God
I can tell you them, anybody can
You can read them yourself
But for it to be real to you, for you,
God has to open the eyes of your understanding,
like He did with the disciples in Matthew 16
It’s not enough to know the scriptures
He, Jesus, His Holy Spirit must reveal the scriptures to you
Fear and trembling
We have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling
So says the word of God
The Pharisee and the Tax Gatherer is a parable
that exemplifies the humility God is looking for
And the publican, standing afar off,
would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote upon his breast,
saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Luke 18:13
Salvation is a gift
It is a beautiful gift for all to receive
It is not a right
We cannot jut demand it because there are scriptures that tell about it,
or because Paul taught about it
or even because you said the sinners prayer
You may have been born again when you said the sinners prayer
The only one who knows that is God and you if He reveals that to you
We can’t get salvation without God
We can’t claim it, demand it, call it into being
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6
We can’t bypass Him with our fancy doctrines, the doctrines of men
We must meet with God and receive the gift of salvation
It is a beautiful gift
The most beautiful gift we will ever receive
We also have to keep in mind that we don’t own it
It is subject to Jesus and His grace
It is a gift we must ever cherish and value,
fearing the One who has power to cast both our body and soul into Hell
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear:
Fear him, which after he hath killed
hath power to cast into hell;
yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Luke 12:5
Fearing God does not leave when we receive salvation
Our crosses are to be carried every moment of every day, ideally
The choices we make, whether or not to obey His commands
Those choices given to us each and every day
in many different circumstances
We cannot escape the responsibility of following Christ
He asks much of us, mainly to remember that He is God and we are not
That our flesh profits nothing and that we are made from dust
and our fleshly efforts are of no value
Without Him, we can do nothing that amounts to anything
So, if you want to know whether you are saved or not,
get with God, ask Him what He requires of you,
take hold of His garment,
wrestle with Him if you have to, like Jacob did
but get an answer straight from Him
You may need to fast, spend time in prayer and reading His word
It is your responsibility
When Judgment Day arrives, nobody else will be there
Just you and God/Jesus/Holy Spirit
If you think of that and realize
that He is the One who will defend you and welcome you
or cast you into Hell’s fire,
if you have given heaven your diligence
and considered it a pearl of great price,
He will let you know here and now
The word is full of the answers
Be committed to your search don’t let go of Him until you know
Hearing from someone else is not going to cut it
Jesus said My sheep know My voice
Seek His face, listen for His voice and find the answer
so that you know you’ve heard from God
and you will find it easier to follow Him with your whole heart
Scriptural References:
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi,
he asked his disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist:
some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him,
Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona:
for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 16:14-17
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Philippians 2:12
The Pharisee and Tax Collector
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves
that they were righteous, and despised others:
Two men went up into the temple to pray;
the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
And the publican, standing afar off,
would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other:
for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased;
and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Luke 18:9-14
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 9:23
It is the spirit that quickeneth;
the flesh profiteth nothing:
the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:63
I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5
For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
Matthew 9:21
And Jacob was left alone;
and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him,
he touched the hollow of his thigh;
and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh.
And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel:
for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.
And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?
And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him,
and he halted upon his thigh.
Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank,
which is upon the hollow of the thigh,
unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh
in the sinew that shrank.
Genesis 32:24-32
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment
Hebrews 9:27
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man,
seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-46
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
John 10:27