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INTRODUCTION
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There is only one question that a person needs to ask himself or herself: Does he or she truly believe? It seems like a simple question requiring only a simple answer. But there is much more to it than just believing in the existence of God. For demons also believe and tremble (James 2:19). So, who are we supposed to believe? Clearly, we must believe in Christ. A well-known verse that even some unbelievers are familiar with is John 3:16, where it tells us that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. But what does it mean to believe in Him? Let us discuss this.
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ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY ON THE VARIOUS ASPECTS AFFECTING A PERSON’S SALVATION
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John 12:46 (NASB95) states:
(46) I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
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John 12:46 Commentary: Many have quoted John 3:16 to convince themselves that all they need is to believe in Christ and they will be saved. But what does it mean to believe in Christ? John 12:46 clearly tells us that everyone who believes in Him will not remain in darkness. Conversely, if a person remains in darkness, then he has not truly believed in Him. What then is darkness and what is light? Well, Christ is certainly not referring to light that can be measured in lumens. Let us take a look at John 3:19-21.
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John 3:19-21 (NASB95) states:
(19) This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. (20) For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (21) But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
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John 3:19-20 Commentary: According to John 3:19-21, evil deeds and untruthfulness are associated with darkness. Men who practice them hates the Light and does not come to the Light. Who is the Light? John 12:46 tells us that Christ is the Light; He came as Light into the world. So, how can people remaining in darkness say they believe in Christ? If a person wants to be sure of his salvation, he needs to examine himself and see if he is persistently walking in darkness. If he is, then he can be very sure that he is still dead in his sins and if he still does not repent, eternal punishment will come to him on the day of judgment. Rom 10:9 tells us that if a person confesses with his mouth, Jesus as Lord and believes in his heart that God has raised Him from the dead, he will be saved. But can this person confess Jesus as Lord only with his lips? In his heart, is Christ truly his Lord? An important question a person has to ask himself. Similarly, Rom 10:13 also tells us that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Again, it comes down to whether the person who calls on His name actually treats Him as His Lord and obeys Him! We suspect many will be calling on the name of the Lord on the last day but we doubt all of them will be saved. Let us take a look at Matt 7:21.
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Matt 7:21 (NASB95) states:
(21) “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.
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Matt 7:21 Commentary: Verse 21 tells us that just calling on the name of the Lord is not going to be enough. Only the person who does the will of the Father will enter into the kingdom of heaven. What then is the will of the Father? John 6:40 tells us that the will of the Father is for him to believe in Christ. And what does it mean to believe in Christ? We are repeating ourselves here again, to truly believe in Christ, he or she must not remain in darkness. Thus John 12:46 has brought us back to what we have been emphasizing since the beginning of this article. Any person who is still living a lifestyle of habitual sin, cannot claim to truly believe in Christ. And if he does not truly believe in Him, then he is still dead in his sins. Some might argue that a person is saved by grace through faith, not as a result of works. This is definitely true. We cannot earn our salvation by good works. But what we are emphasizing is not about earning our salvation, but rather the evidence of good works AFTER our salvation. Is there evidence of it?
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CONCLUSION
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Saying the sinner’s prayer with a pastor or a counselor is only the beginning of a person’s journey with God, and it may or may not eventually lead to his eternal salvation. This world is a troublesome place where there are rocky places and places filled with thorns and not every place has good soil (Matt 13:18-23) – we are referring to a person’s heart. It is true that the elect were predestined a long time ago to be saved (Eph 1:3-6). They say, “once saved always saved.’ But the problem is that nobody has ever seen the list that shows those who are saved and those who are not (if the list even exist at all). But it is most surely in the mind of God because the Lord knows those who are His (2 Tim 2:19). Thus the only way a person can be sure of his salvation is for him to examine himself (2 Cor 13:5). And what shall he examine with regard to himself? He needs to examine his lifestyle and his walk with Christ. A person who says he knows Christ but keeps on sinning habitually either does not know what he is talking about, or he is a liar. The person who is born of God does not keep sinning because God’s seed abides in him (1 John 3:9).
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A person can live a blameless life if he wants to. But he will likely encounter difficulty when it comes to his mind. For a Christian, what is in his mind is as important as his physical actions. He needs to search his own heart, that is, the inner depths of his mind to see if darkness lurks in there. A person who is truly saved will persistently strive to sent his mind on the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (Rom 8:5-6). What then, are the things of the Spirit? John 16:13-14 tells us that the Holy Spirit will guide the person into all truth and take what is Christ’s and declare it to him. Thus the things of the Spirit is everything that Christ have said in Scripture. The truly saved will live his or her life according to Scripture. Automatically, he or she will conform to the image of Christ over time (Rom 8:29). So once again, how can a person be sure of his or her own salvation? He or she needs to examine his own life to see the evidence of change over time. Is he becoming more holy and more like Christ over time? Or, is he still sinning like nobody’s business?