{"id":1004,"date":"2020-03-01T22:52:24","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T22:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.glitterandgraceteens.com\/?p=1004"},"modified":"2020-03-01T22:52:24","modified_gmt":"2020-03-01T22:52:24","slug":"unsure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/?p=1004","title":{"rendered":"Unsure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd we can be sure<\/em><\/strong> that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, \u201cI know God,\u201d but doesn\u2019t obey God\u2019s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God\u2019s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. <\/em>Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u202d\u202d1 John\u202c \u202d2:3-6\u202c \u202dNLT\u202c\u202c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does your life reflect the life of Christ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most common comments I\u2019ve heard while working in ministry is \u201cI\u2019m not sure if I\u2019m really saved.\u201d Any time this question is asked, I first ask the person to consider what salvation means to them. Is salvation an emotion-led decision or a life changing surrender? Is it a temporary change or will it fade shortly afterwards? Can you sin without feeling the pain of hurting your Heavenly Father, or do you know you are wrong and seek Him for guidance? All of these questions are answered in God\u2019s Word; however, most people just want a secure yes or no answer. The truth is, I cannot tell anyone if they are saved or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can look at a person\u2019s lifestyle and make a guess where they stand with Christ, but it is not my place to decide whether or not they are truly saved. True salvation is a choice that each person has to make on their own. No one can force it and no one can verify another person\u2019s decision, not even your pastor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salvation is a commitment between a person and God. Only those two parties will know if a person is truly saved. It is a choice, not a checklist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible does show us multiple times what salvation should look like, but that does not mean a \u201cgood person that follows the commandments alone\u201d is saved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

True salvation begins when a person recognizes their need for forgiveness, believes in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and surrenders their life to Him. From that point on, a believer\u2019s fruits will start to grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul describes salvation as \u201cfreedom from the power of sin.\u2019\u201d A true believer knows the power of sin but defeats it through the power of the Holy Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u202d\u202dRomans\u202c \u202d6:6-11\u202c \u202dNLT<\/em>\u202c\u202c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over and over again, Paul states, \u201cWe know…\u201d A person that is truly saved knows<\/em><\/strong> who they are in Him and knows<\/em><\/strong>that they are  \u201cdead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.\u201d (Romans 6:11) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1 John 2, the Bible gives us several if \/ then situations that describe a follower of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>And we can be sure<\/em><\/strong> that we know him if we obey his commandments.\u201d 1 John 2:3<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scripture continues to say that a believer that does not follow the commandments but says he is a follower of Christ is a liar in the eyes of God, making his\/her salvation false. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf someone claims, \u201cI know God,\u201d but doesn\u2019t obey God\u2019s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God\u2019s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. <\/em>Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.\u201d 1 John 2:3-6<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be sure of your salvation, you don\u2019t need anyone else to guess your eternal destination; instead, you need to humbly seek your Heavenly Father and ask Him to reveal your relationship with Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t have a relationship without having a conversation first, and a relationship will not grow without communication and dedication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve surrendered your life to Christ, others should see it. No one should have doubt if you are a Christian or not, especially yourself. The people around<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you should see you as different from the sinful world. They should feel His presence when you are around, and know that you are doing all that you can to reflect Christ to others. You don\u2019t have to be perfect, but you should have an innate desire to serve and surrender to the Lord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.\u201d 1 John 3:6<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you say you are a Christian, are you living as Jesus did? Can others tell you are a follower of Christ? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Answer the questions above honestly and you\u2019ll know how sure you are in your salvation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t waste another day being unsure. Turn your life over to Christ and let Him show you what surrender truly means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May God bless you and show you His grace every day! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, \u201cI know God,\u201d but doesn\u2019t obey God\u2019s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God\u2019s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we … Continue reading Unsure<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-devotions"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1004"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1006,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004\/revisions\/1006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}