You knew that, "Christ died for OUR sin, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures . . ." (1 Corinthians 15:3b-4) You knew we'd all sinned. (Romans 3:23) You knew the punishment for your sin was death. (Romans 6:23)You never doubted that, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners . . ." (1 Tim. 1:15) And you knew that, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
It was EASY for you to call upon Jesus. It was logical. It was Simple. It was True.
THEN . . .the doubts came.
And everything you knew to be true, came into question. For some of you, you never experienced doubts, and that is AWESOME, but I know that many of us struggled in our childhood, younger teen years, or even our older years with doubts. Doubts we couldn't explain away. Doubts we couldn't answer.
When I was 3 1/2 years old, I accepted Christ. I remember it. I gave my life to God, and I knew I was saved. But when I got older, I struggled a LOT with doubts. It wasn't until I was 16 years old, that I KNEW with certainty that I was saved.
I heard the voices of doubt in my head. "What if you didn't mean it last time?" So I prayed over and over. I heard other doubts . . . "Why would God save you? Why would a Holy God love you?" I struggled. I KNEW the truth, but I struggled. I could tell myself what the Bible said . . . but I still struggled.
Why?
Because at some point in my Christian life, I took my eyes off of the cross. I doubted, because I was looking to the wrong person. Like Peter, my eyes were off the Savior, and on the waves. I looked at my faith, and doubted, because my faith was weak. Then I realized, it's NOT how hard I believe that saves me!!!! It's God that saves me. I can pray. I can beg God to help me MEAN it this time. I can try to have faith, but if my eyes are on my pitiful attempts at faith, I'm going to DOUBT!
I had to step back . . . and give it to God. I had to come to the place where I could say . . . "God, I know you love me. I know you died for me, and I know you saved me because I called upon you in faith. Right now, I doubt MYSELF, but I'm SURE of YOUR LOVE."
God is the SAME yesterday, today, and forever!
God doesn't say one day, "Call unto me and I'll answer thee!" And say the next day. "Figure it out yourself." God WANTS you to KNOW that you're saved.
So, for me, I doubted because my eyes were off of Christ. What about you?
I'm sure I'm missing a few, but from my limited experience, people doubt because of one of three things.
1. Feelings.
They don't FEEL saved. Well, feelings lie. Our feelings change from day to day, but God DOESN'T. Think back to a time in your life when you felt close to God. Guess what? He's still the same. He's still there. He hasn't left. If your feelings have changed, it's not reason to doubt God, it just means you're an emotional person! Don't trust your feelings. Feelings change, God NEVER CHANGES!
2. Sin in Your Life.
From personal experience, I can say that when there is sin in my life, I can't maintain a good relationship with God. When we're not in a good relationship with God, we're going to have doubts. We NEED to stay close to God. If there is sin in your life that's holding you back from loving God the way you should, DEAL WITH IT!!! There is NO sin that is worth holding onto instead of God.
3. You're Not Saved.
It's possible to grow up in a Christian home and know all the facts, and not be saved. Your faith cannot be in your family's Christian status. Your faith can't be in your church, or your pastor, or your parents. Your faith can't be in a prayer you said, or even in your own faith. Your faith MUST be in GOD, and GOD alone! If you're not sure about your salvation, MAKE SURE!!!! We don't know how much time we have left on this earth, and we need to KNOW that we know that we know we're saved. God wants to hear from you. He stands, offering the living water to all. If you're thirsty, COME TO HIM!
Maybe you're not sure? Maybe you're having doubts, but you don't think it's related to any of the above three things. That's okay. Whatever the issue is between you and God. Take it to Him!
Do you want to know a secret? God actually gave us a book so that we could know if we were saved or not. Ever read 1st John? "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that yehave eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5:13.
READ 1st John. There are SO MANY things in 1st John about KNOWING we're saved.
You Can KNOW!
What if you know you're saved, but you're confused . . . you don't have a date where you can say you got saved because you were so young, and maybe you've heard someone say you have to know the date. Well, just like a child being born, there is an EXACT day, where you were born again spiritually, but remember, there are many people in the world, who don't actually know what day is their birthday is. Some cultures don't keep track, some children's parents never told anyone before they died. So, I'm NOT worried about the date, what I am worried about is . . . DID it happen? Can you say with certainty that there was a time when you put your faith in Christ? Maybe you don't remember because you were so young. Do you have faith in God now? Then there was a day when you put your trust in God. When it happened is not important. DID it happen? Is the important question.
Maybe you've never done that. Don't put it off. Talk to God! If you have questions, ask them! Talk to your pastor, or parents. Feel free to ask questions here! Get the answers you need.
If you're saved, and you're doubting it, let go, and trust God. If there's sin, deal with it, if there's doubts, cling to Christ.
Amen! This was wonderfully encouraging. Thanks so much Priscilla!
ReplyDeleteThats good Sis. I dont remember any dates when I was saved but I know I was becouse it changed my life and it has still been changing:)
ReplyDeletezorro