In this lesson we will see the assurance and security of salvation. Among today’s Christians there are many different views concerning salvation. Some people consider that it is impossible to know today that we are saved, while others think that after we are saved we may still perish. The Bible shows us, however, that our salvation is not a matter of speculation, nor is it a matter of uncertainty. Rather, it is something which can be confirmed with assurance and which we may know with full confidence. Moreover, our salvation is secure. Once we have it, we have it eternally. It can never be shaken or changed.
Many people consider that believing is a present matter and that receiving salvation is a future matter, that is, that a man believes today and will be saved in the future. However, the Bible tells us clearly and definitely that at the moment a man believes, he is saved (Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:10). It is not that he will be saved in the future, but that he is already saved today. He is saved at the very time that he believes. Salvation immediately follows believing, for there is no space of time between the two.
When a person believes, he is saved. The Bible clearly reveals that when a person believes, he is forgiven of his sins (Acts 10:43; 1 John 2:12), freed (John 3:18; Gal. 3:13), washed (1 Cor. 6:11; Acts 15:9), sanctified (1 Cor. 6:11; Acts 26:18), justified (Rom. 5:1; 3:28, 30; Gal. 3:8, 24; Acts 13:39), and reconciled to God (Rom. 5:10). Therefore, when we believe, we are redeemed and we are saved.
When a person believes, he is not only redeemed but also regenerated. John 1:12-13 clearly points out that anyone who believes in the Lord is born of God and becomes a child of God. Hence, as long as a man believes into the Lord Jesus, he is regenerated, he has God’s eternal life, and he will not perish forever (John 3:15-16); that is, he is saved.
When a person believes, he passes out of death into life. John 3:16 and 5:24 tell us that he who believes has eternal life, and he will not be judged nor will he perish; he has passed out of death into life. Hence, as long as we believe, we have eternal life, and we are no longer condemned or judged; we have passed out of death into life.
The above three points clearly prove that we need only to believe, and we are saved immediately.
First, the assurance of our salvation is based on the Word of God (1 John 5:13). Through the Bible God tells us and testifies to us concerning the redemption which He has accomplished for us through His Son; through the Bible He also reveals to us and bears witness concerning the salvation that has been wrought in us through the Spirit in His Son. Therefore, by the word of God in the Scriptures we know that we are saved. The Scripture verses quoted in the foregoing section concerning our receiving salvation at the moment we believe are not only God’s revelation and promise to us, but they are also His covenant and written evidence to us. By His word in the covenant and by the written evidence we can know, even with confidence and assurance, that once we believe in the Lord, we are forgiven of our sins, freed, washed, sanctified, justified, and reconciled to God, we have eternal life and shall not perish, we have passed out of death into life, and we are saved.
Man acquires an inheritance by a testament. The written words of the covenant in the Bible were left to us by the Lord as a testament (Heb. 9:15-16), by which we may inherit the blessings of His salvation. When a person intends to bequeath his possessions, he lists his possessions in a will and bequeaths them to the inheritor. Likewise, the Lord has given His salvation to us by including it in His testament—the Bible. A man receives a bequest according to the clear stipulations expressed in the will, not according to his own consideration or imagination. Likewise, we inherit the Lord’s salvation according to the plain statements contained in the Bible, His testament, not according to our own imagination or sensation. Hence, since we have the Bible as an outward proof to us, we do not need our feelings; according to the plain statements, we can assuredly know that we have received grace, that we are saved. This is a proof that is outside of us, which we may call the outward proof.