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NASB | 1 John 3:24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 3:24 The one who habitually keeps His commandments [obeying His word and following His precepts, abides and] remains in Him, and He in him. By this we know and have the proof that He [really] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us [as a gift]. |
Subject: How do we know that we are truly saved? |
Bible Note: It is very simple and very clear (2 Peter 3:17). But sometimes we assure people of their salvation on a false basis: things like, "Say this prayer..." or "Walk down the aisle...", etc. (Eph 2:9) Every example in scripture of a new believer is marked by a changed life. That's very simple too. I recall an anecdote regarding the great evangelist George Whitefield. He was walking along the docks in Boston. A drunken sailor stopped him, saying something along the lines of, "Hey, George, remember me? You saved me four years ago!" Whitefield replied, "I must have saved you. If Christ had saved you, you wouldn't be drunk right now." What you are speaking to, the old divines called the clarity of scripture (Rom 1:20). However, none of those divines would sell the clarity of scripture as easy believism or cheap grace. Each time God saves a soul it is an incredible and miraculous act (John 1:13). It represents a plan of God followed through with perfect faithfulness (Eph 1:4, 3:11), rooted in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2), fully satisfying the justice of a Holy Father (Romans 5:18). It is a work that He alone can perform (John 6:44). The Bible explicitly says that we were saved in order to perform good works (1 Tim 6:18, 2 Tim 3:17, Titus 2:14, and elsewhere). Why should we not expect, therefore, to see evidences of salvation? In Him, Doc PS By the way, where does scripture teach that only the person knows if they are saved or not? |