Sermon Notes
Can I
Know That I Am Saved?
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. I
was sitting in an audience of 1500 high school and
college students when the speaker conducted
an
informal survey. He asked everyone to close
their
eyes so the questions might be answered as
anonymously as possible. He then
asked people to raise their hands in
response to three questions. The first question
was, “If you died right now how many of you believe you would
be saved?” The
second question was, “If you died right now
how many of you believe you would be
lost?” The third question was, “How many of
you do not know where you would spend
eternity?”
1. He reported that more people raised
their hands saying they would be lost rather
than being saved. The vast majority,
however, said they didn’t know.
2. This was not a secular gathering in a
far off city. It was a youth rally at a
congregation in Arkansas. The vast
majority of the people in the audience were
from Christian homes.
3. Through my years in ministry I have
observed these percentages consistently. One
of the most frequently asked questions
people have is, “Can I really know I am
saved?”
I. DEFINING THE TERMINOLOGY
A. As we begin to answer that question it
is important that we define our terminology.
The terms, “saved” and “lost” are used
in many ways by people.
1. As I use the term “lost” in this
message I am referring to a person who is
separated from God because of sin
and who, if they die in that state, will spend
eternity separated from God.
a. If you believe the Bible, this is
not a matter of subjective opinion. The Bible
clearly teaches the tragedy of
sin and the heartbreak of being lost.
b. In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus spoke of
two roads a person can travel in life. “Enter
through the narrow gate; for the
gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to
destruction, and there are many
who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small
and the way is narrow that leads
to life, and there are few who find it.”
c. Later, in Matthew 7:21-23 - “Not
everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he who does the will of My Father who is in
heaven will enter. 22 Many
will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in Your name, and in
Your name cast out demons, and in Your
name perform many miracles?’ 23 And
then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew
you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness.’
d. In John 5:28-29 Jesus said, “Do
not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in
which all who are in the tombs
will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth;
those who did the good deeds to
a resurrection of life, those who committed
the evil deeds to a resurrection
of judgment.”
e. Jesus proclaimed a truth that is
revealed throughout the Bible. There is a
way of life and a way of death.
There is a way of blessing and a way of
condemnation. In Mark 16:16 he
said, “He who has believed and has been
baptized shall be saved; but he
who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
2. When we use the term “saved,” we’re
talking about a person whose sins have
been forgiven. A person who has been
reconciled to God through the sacrifice of
Jesus on the cross.
a. God does not want anyone to be
lost. “The Lord is not slow about His promise,
as some count slowness, but is
patient toward you, not wishing for any to
perish but for all to come to
repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
b. It was for the purpose of
redemption, the forgiveness of our sins and the
reconciliation of humanity with
God that Jesus came, lived a sinless life and
was offered as an atoning
sacrifice on the cross. In his resurrection He
overcame death once and for all
and he offers us eternal life.
c. In John 3:16-17 Jesus said, “For
God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish, but have
eternal life. 17 For
God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world,
but that the world might be
saved through Him.”
B. The question we are asking is, “Can I
really know I am saved?”
1. Paul certainly believed he was saved.
a. In Philippians 1:21 he said, “For
to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” He
went on to explain that he faced
a dilemma. For him to remain was more
needed by them but to be with
Christ was far better for him. What a confident
spirit.
b. Near the end of his life Paul
wrote, “For I am already being poured out as a
drink offering, and the time of
my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good
fight, I have finished the
course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is
laid up for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will award to me on that
day; and not only to me, but also to all who
have loved His appearing” (2
Timothy 4:6-7).
2. John wrote in 1 John 5:13 – “These
things I have written to you who believe in
the name of the Son of God, so that
you may know that you have eternal life.”
3. You may be thinking, “these men were
apostles, of course they knew they were
saved.” Though they were apostles and
had been gifted by the Holy Spirit their
salvation came from the same source
ours does the death, burial and
resurrection of Christ.
II. HOW CAN I KNOW I AM SAVED?
A. We can know we are saved when we trust
the certainty of Christ rather than the
uncertainty of human feelings.
1. We live in a “feelings” oriented
culture. We want everything to make
us feel warm and fuzzy. We allow our
personal feelings to become the standard
by which we live.
a. When the first “Star Wars” movie
was released someone asked producer
George Lucas if “the Force” was
symbolic for God. Lucas replied, “It is
whatever you want it to be.”
That is the type of subjective theology that
permeates our society.
b. There is a song entitled, “You
Light Up My Life,” which has a line, “It can’t be
wrong when it feels so right.”
2. The problem is that feelings can be
affected by a wide variety of factors.
a. There are physical factors of
health, nutrition, proper rest and exercise.
b. There are mental factors. In the
natural course of life I have days where I feel
great. I am happy, social and
confident. I also have days when I am reserved
and insecure. My relationship
with God is not determined by my feelings on a
particular day.
c. Feelings are affected by
circumstances. You may go from the mountaintop of
excitement to the valley of
despair in a few minutes depending on
circumstances. Your relationship
with God transcends those circumstances
because it is grounded in
Christ.
B. Your salvation is not based upon what
others may say about you.
1. Some of you may have had others say
things about you that were very unkind.
a. You may have had people tell you
in one way or another you were not worthy
of God’s love.
b. People may have told you through
their words or actions that you are not
important. They may have hurt
you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
2. Many years ago a woman visited with
me and told me with tears in her eyes and
a tissue in hand, of an abusive
relationship she had been involved in. She told
me how dirty she felt and how she
wasn’t sure that anyone could or would love
her – even God.
a. The message of scripture is of
God’s love for us regardless of what others say
about us.
b. Jesus went to those who were
sinners. When the Pharisees questioned him
he said, “it is not those who
are well who need a physician but those who are
sick. I did not come to call the
righteous but sinners” (Mk.2:15-17).
C. Your salvation is not based upon your
works but upon the work of Christ.
1. I am not saying that works are not
important. James reminds us that “faith
without works is dead” – James 2:17.
2. Are any of us capable of doing enough
good works to earn our own salvation? If
so, why did Christ die? If we could
be righteous enough why did Jesus have to
die?
3. So many of us trudge through life
carrying a load of guilt and doubt and
insecurity for no reason. The work
of redemption is done by Jesus.
a. Romans 8:1-2 – “Therefore there
is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus. 2 For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free
from the law of sin and of
death.”
b. 1 John 1:7 – “but if we walk in
the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have
fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from
all sin.”’
3. It really comes down to a matter of
trust doesn’t it? If you are trusting in yourself
and your ability to be good enough,
to do enough good works, to be righteous
enough by yourself and climb the
spiritual ladder to glory you will always feel
inferior. If you will trust Christ
who has done it and offers you salvation. If your
works flow out of the joy of that
salvation and not as means of attaining it you’ll
come to know the confidence that
Paul spoke of when he said, “for me to live is
Christ and to die is gain.”
CONCLUSION:
A. “In
Christ Alone”
In Christ alone, Who took on
flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless
babe!
This gift of love and
righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to
save.
Till on that cross as Jesus
died,
The wrath of God was
satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I
live.
B.
Through Christ alone you can have confidence and be sure of your salvation. May
I
ask you if you have that certainty today?
For those who want to confess your faith in
Christ and be baptized into Him we extend
this invitation to come as we sing.
.
