How Do We Know If We Are Saved?

New Perspectives– How Do We Know If We Are Saved?

Joshua Bush, Discipleship Minister

This may seem like a little bit of a silly question, but the question comes from an honest look at ourselves both as individual followers of Jesus Christ and as a community of believers all headed toward maturity in Him.

A lot of times I get asked the question “How do we know if we are truly saved,” or “Can you really tell if a person is a genuine follower of Jesus?”  On the one hand, this is a great question in that people are earnestly trying to determine if they, or someone they know, is living the life Jesus called them to live.  On the other hand, I feel this question may be misguided.  In a sense, the question “How do we know if we are truly saved,” implies a “one-and-done” kind of mentality.  Essentially, the ‘answer’ to the question becomes “Well… have you checked all the boxes on your salvation ‘to-do’ list?”  If just being ‘saved’ is the goal, well then just be baptized and accept Jesus as your Savior.  Box checked.

So instead of asking “How do we know if we are truly saved,” I prefer rephrasing the question to “How am I furthering God’s Kingdom?”  This phrasing assumes that we’ve already accepted Jesus Christ as our savior and it takes one additional step and places us into a position of humble submission by asserting that Jesus is our Lord.  This question already assumes we’ve accepted Jesus into our lives and forces us to consider the more tangible implications of our place within His plans for salvation history.  By asking “How am I furthering God’s Kingdom,” I must assume responsibility for my own life and my own obedience, all the while God is actively involved in the process of my sanctification - where God renews and transforms our entire being.

The reason I bring it up is because our acceptance and obedience to baptism is only the first step toward our relationship with God.  We move from death to life, lost to found, darkness to light.  But often we find comfort in only taking the first step rather than continuing our walk towards him.  The first step is great, don’t get me wrong, but it is only a singular step.

Thinking in terms of “How can I progress God’s Kingdom in my own life,” suggests that we are walking lock step, side-by-side with Jesus.  This way of thinking means that we submit to Jesus’ leading, abide by His teachings, live by His word, model ourselves according to the Spirit, disciple others in faithfulness, keep His commands, share His love, and so much more.  It’s not a “one-and-done.” Rather, it is a way of life.  Not just something we tack on to the end of our personalities, but rather something that defines who we are.

So next month, we’re going to lay out some key indicators we can use to help us understand if we are walking alongside Jesus or if we’ve only taken a single step and have struggled to continue our walk toward Him.