How can I tell if I am really saved?

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, it?s not just an empty prayer. You should experience real change in your life, and heart, if your salvation was real and true. If you’re wondering, “Am I really saved?”, read on for tips and resources to help you answer these questions:

• Am I really saved? How can I be sure?
• How does it happen?
• Is being saved the same as being ?born again??

I pray these words bring comfort and clarity to your heart. And if they don?t, keep reading to the end of this article to learn how you can be saved.

Yes you can be sure of your salvation. When you are born again, or saved, there is evidence that is produced in your life.

For more clarity on how you can know if you’re saved I have two sermons I’d encourage you to listen to:

1. How Can I Tell If I’m really Saved, Pastor John Piper, of Desiring God.
2. When is Saving Repentance Impossible, Pastor John Piper, of Desiring God.

Eternal life and salvation are a free gift from God. You can?t earn it, and you don?t get it because you are ?good?.

Eternal life and the gift of salvation comes through grace by faith, which again, is a gift of God. Grace is God?s supernatural power which touches our hearts and gives us faith, even a tiny bit, so that we can in turn put our trust, our faith, in Jesus as our Lord.

It?s called ?being saved? because at that point, the point of salvation, a supernatural exchange takes place. When we receive Him as our Lord, Jesus takes upon Himself the burden and penalty of our sin, and we are ?saved? from the guilt and the punishment we deserve, which included eternal separation from God at the time of our death, which is hell. With Jesus as our Lord, we are born again into eternal life with God, and are cleansed from our sin, and shame, and presented blameless before God at the time of our death.

I know it sounds a bit crazy, it is crazy good. His love is real! My testimony is that after my salvation, I got to a point where I felt a freedom and joy I?d never experienced apart from God. Read more about my story below.

Am I Saved? How can I be sure?

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44

If my best friend were asking me this question, I would tell her yes. The bible teaches there are outward signs of the inward transformation that comes with salvation. However church attendance isn?t necessarily one of those ?signs?.

Let me share an example from my own life.

I considered myself a spiritual ?seeker? as a young woman, open to different faiths and religions. I loved visiting vintage stained glass covered churches, and found the incense soaked Buddhist temples and chanting cd?s facinating. I sought out unitarian churches, devoured books on spirituality, and even began attending one neighborhood church for a short time.

I was drawn in by the lively gospel music that spilled out of the windows. I wandered in, enjoyed the service, built relationships and friendships and kept returning for more. I?m quite sure I even responded to an end of sermon call for salvation, several times. But I wasn?t saved.

How do I know? My heart was never transformed.

Even though I went to the building every Sunday, I still lived my life the same way I did before I went to that church. My decisions about how to live, about media, and really about everything, were fundamentally the same. I also don?t remember reading a bible or praying regularly.

I had no major shift in my heart bringing a desire to live for Christ. Most of all, I had no conviction of sin. Therefore I know I wasn?t saved. I simply became religious for a short time. There was no Godly power in my faith. I wasn?t asking myself, how can I agree with His words and ways and apply them to my life? This is the danger of just attending a church, or even growing up in the church, yet never having a watershed moment with God yourself.

The question you must ask yourself is, ?Have I been changed?? Or I am just seeking a God that I can mold to fit my idea of a good life? This video by Francis Chan of CrazyLove explains more about truly hearing and accepting the gospel.

How will salvation change my life? 

If you?re wondering??How can I know I am saved?? here are some clear evidences of salvation. You have a…

1. Belief that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died to pay for your sins, was resurrected on the third day, and is alive today.
2. A joyful expectation and hope in His goodness towards you and His power in your life.
3. A transformed heart. A heart that is turned towards God, and filled with love and gratitude for His sacrifice and gift of salvation.
4. Conviction of sin, and a belief that God?s ways are better than your own. You may not be living completely sin free, but you do have a genuine desire to turn from your sin, and live a life that honors God.
5. A hunger to learn about God.

Here are some things to consider that may not be evidence of salvation.

1. Baptism doesn?t guarantee salvation.
2. You?re not automatically saved because your family took you to church as a child or young adult. Even if religion was your family?s cultural practice, or tradition, it?s not a guarantee of salvation.
3. You?re not automatically saved because you prayed the salvation prayer once.

Although I may have believed that Jesus died for my sins, I didn?t have any of the heart transformations I described as evidences of salvation. My life wasn?t transformed.

How my salvation story unfolded. 

Praise the Lord, on February 4th 2009, I prayed the “salvation prayer”.  I KNOW He answered my prayer, and saved me, because as I look back, I can clearly see the trajectory of my life shifted.

Later that day, I remember driving down the road and seeing a message written on the back of a dirty truck. I think it said something like, ?John 3:19 whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.? It may seem silly to you, but I was so elated, because I knew it was a confirmation from God!

Although it took about a year or so for me to be fully surrendered to God the more I prayed and asked for His leadership in my life, the more He showed Himself mighty.

As my relationship with God grew, my desire to be pleasing to Him became greater than my desire to live a culturally acceptable, yet sinful life. I received the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, who blesses me with His Presence. You can read more about this on my blogpost, How I experienced a touch from Holy Spirit.

I developed such a joy and hunger for God, as I listened to sermons, read the bible and worshiped with other believers. I found delight in searching Him out.

10+ years later, I?m still hungry for more of God?s presence in my life, and enjoying the journey.  Life with Him as my Shepherd has been filled with some trials for sure, but also many wonderful adventures, peace, joy and love. He?s lead me to a season of studying the word, moving across the country to become a missionary, and back to the marketplace. He?s also  lead me to my husband and 5 amazing step-children.

Most of all, I can say that I look forward to eternity with Him. It?s true that death has lost its sting (not that I?m looking forward to it), because I trust that He will raise me up, as He has raised himself up.

Can I be saved?

Yes.. today..you can be saved!

In just one moment, with just one prayer, sincerely from your heart to  Jesus’s ears, your whole life can be transformed.

Believe me, His love for you is greater than anyone else’s, and He?s got such good things planned for those who are His. He has the power to help you lay down sins, and shame, past mistakes, so that you can pick up the restored and transformed life He has for you.

Psalm 16:11 says:

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

So, whenever you?re ready, you can say this simple salvation prayer, from CBN.com:

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you took the pain of the cross to give me new life. I ask you to come into my life and give me your peace and joy. I confess that I am a sinner — that I have gone my own way and have done wrong. Please forgive me for my sins. I receive you now as my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Help me to follow you and serve you all my life. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, with sincerity of heart, you are now a child of God. The things of your old life has passed away and He has made all things new.

You have entered into everlasting life with God and fellowship with saints across the globe. You will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! And beloved, we will together worship and see Jesus Christ face to face.

What does it mean to be ?saved? or ?born again??

Even though I know how it feels to be saved, here?s a biblical and practical explanation I found about what happens during Salvation on CBN:

To become ?born again? or upon conversion to Christianity, all people go through the following process:

1. Confess that they are a sinner in need of a Savior
2. Repent from that sin
3. Acknowledge and believe that Jesus is the One Savior who can take away their sin (because of His deity, and His death and resurrection)
4. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah
5. Receive the Holy Spirit to guide them in daily life
6. Have their names written in the Lamb?s book of life, where upon death they will not be destined to a life separated from God ? instead, they will be ?saved? from eternity in hell, and receive access to heaven and eternal fellowship with God

The term ?saved? simply refers to the standing a believer has in Jesus Christ. With the guarantee of heaven, believers are ?saved? from eternal damnation in hell. All who are believers are sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ, and seen as righteous in the eyes of the Lord??saved? to be with God in heaven.

Being ?born again? means that after salvation, you are no longer just living according to the flesh, but you have been born of the spirit, the Holy Spirit, unto eternal life with Jesus. Here are a couple of scriptures written by Peter, a disciple of Jesus, that explain:

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. 1Peter 1:3 NLT

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. 1Peter 1:23 NLT

Beloved, thank you for reading all the way to the end of this post! Please comment below and share how your life changed after becoming saved! I would love to hear from you!!

If you?ve just received your salvation CONGRATULATIONS!!! Please leave quick comment below so that we can share in the celebration of your new life in Christ.

And be sure to subscribe, and hit reply on my email, so that we can keep in in touch and I can encourage and pray for you.