THE MESSAGE BELOW IS TAKEN FROM MY WEEKLY PIECE IN THE CHURCH BULLETIN HERE IN
EINDHOVEN _________________________________________________ Dear Friend:
Asking questions is how we grow spiritually. But we have to ensure that we ask
the right questions. "How can I lose five kilos" is a good question to ask for
your body's sake; but it will not help your soul. From a spiritual point of
view, the greatest question anyone can ask is: "What must I do to be saved?".
Paul and Silas must have been overjoyed when they were asked that question by
the surprised jailer in Philippi (Acts 16:29-31). The Apostle Peter must have
also been overjoyed when he was asked a similar question by a crowd in
Jerusalem after he preached a powerful sermon (Acts 2:37-41). The answer was
always along the same lines: "Repent and believe with all your heart in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit". To "repent" means to be so profoundly sorry for all the wrong
you have ever done that you want your life turned around. To "believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ" means to accept as true what is said about Him in the Bible
- especially that He came to save people from their guilt before God for their
sins, by taking the punishment for them on the cross and by being raised from
the dead after He had died. If they repent and believe this, crowds of 3000
can be saved. If they repent and believe this, whole households can be saved.
From one little question, great things can happen! I have been asked that
question by confused people on a number of occasions. To be asked such a
question is a great gift for a pastor. But there is another question that I
have been asked on even more occasions. It is: "How do I know I am saved?". If
I had a dollar for every time I have ever been asked that question, it would
buy me a lot of hot dinners! Fortunately, there are many different signs that
one is really a Christian. Here are just nine of them: 1) The very first sign
that you are a believer is an ardent hatred of sin (Psa.119:104; Job 1:1;
Psa.26:5; 84:10; Prov.8:13; Rom.7:22-24). Your own sin will be even more
detestable than everyone else's in the world put together, and it will drive
you to the foot of the Cross. When your heart is wholly inclined towards a
hatred of sin, you can be certain you are a believer. 2) Another sign that you
are a believer is that you will have a strong, lively and joyful love for the
one in whom you have believed: the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Pet.1:8). In fact, for
a person to claim to be a Christian and not love the Lord Jesus Christ is not
only unthinkable but it will also lead to an awful judgement from God (1
Cor.16:22). 3) Another sign that you are a believer is that you will have a
deep love for the Word of God - the Bible (Psa.119:97 & 103). It will be your
only objective source of truth for morality, religious knowledge and day-to-day living. To hear it preached through, and read from, will be a joy to you.
You will always want to understand more about it. 4) Another sign that you are
a believer is that you will have a deep and lasting love for all true
Christians (1 John 3:14). You will find that you now have a built-in instinct
to detect real believers; and you will love them above all others too
(Gal.6:10). By this you will know you have been saved. 5) Another sign that
you are a believer is that you will have an intimate understanding that you
have been adopted into God's family by receiving the Holy Spirit as a
"deposit" and guarantee of the fullness of future glory in the age to come
(Rom.8:15-17; Eph.1:13-14). You will really know that God is your Father and
that you are His child. 6) Another sign that you are a believer is that you
will experience the power of prayer and the continual desire to pray. You will
live in great gratitude for the fact that you have "access" to Him (Rom.5:1-2)
and for the precious promises in Psa.145:18 and Heb.4:16. 7) Another sign that
you are a believer is that you will be able to detect real growth in your
knowledge, faith and love (2 Thess.1:3; 1 Pet.2:2-3; 2 Pet.3:18; Eph.4:14-15).
This will be something you can measure over a period of time. You will be able
to say "Last year I was there. This year I am here". And you will notice the
difference. 8) Another sign that you are a believer is that your whole
"worldview" will be different to both how it was before you believed and to
that of the rest of the unbelieving world (2 Cor.5:17). You will have a brand-new spiritual and moral outlook on everything. No longer will you make
yourself the sole judge of what is right or wrong (which is what Satan seduced
our first parents into, Gen.3:5) but you will realise that you must follow
God's judgements on all matters. 9) Another sign that you are a believer is
that you will have an intense longing for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ
(Rom.8:23-25; 2 Tim.4:8). This will not make you into an escapist; for you
still have to live in this world in order to grow and as a witness to truth.
But your greatest desire is to see an end to sin and corruption and for
righteousness to be once more established in the universe. You know that this
will come only through the return of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev.21:1-5); and
you long for this. All these, and more, are the signs that you have really
been saved. Do we see these evidences in ourselves? It is important to make
your calling and election sure (2 Pet.1:10). As Thomas Brooks warns in his
book "Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices", the enemy of souls is always
trying to destabilise Christians by putting them in a "sad, doubting,
questioning and uncomfortable condition". However, it is the Lord's desire to
give us unshakable assurance (Heb.6:19-20; Jn.14:2; 1 Jn.5:10-12 & 13;
Rom.8:16 & 28, etc.). It is therefore my earnest prayer that we will be
questioners of the right kind and see the fruit of the above signs of
salvation growing in our lives daily. For that is the pastor's joy; and it is
his joy because it is God's joy too. Your pastor & friend, ALAN MORRISON
Diakrisis International
AM@diakrisis.org - http://www.diakrisis.org