How Do I Know I'm Saved?

1 John 5:11–12

Introduction

Have you ever wondered, “What if I only think I'm saved?”

What if I prayed the prayer, but nothing really happened?

What if I sin too much?

What if someday I stop believing?

How can I actually know?

John doesn't say, “I hope you have eternal life.”

He says: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13

God wants you to have assurance.

1. I Know I'm Saved Because My Salvation Is in Jesus

1 John 5:11–12

John gives us two categories:

Whoever has the Son has life.

Whoever does not have the Son does not have life.

Notice what John doesn't say:

Whoever is a good person has life.

Whoever goes to church has life.

Whoever grew up in a Christian family has life.

Whoever prayed a prayer has life.

Whoever has the Son has life.

Ephesians 2:8–9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

We are saved by grace through faith, not by works.

Faith is not just believing in God, but believing in the promises of God

John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

The question isn't: “Am I good enough?”

It's: “Have I trusted Jesus Christ?”

Think about this:

You can know all the words to Christian songs and still not know Christ.

You can have a Bible app on your phone and still not have Jesus.

You can go to youth group every week and still need to personally surrender your life to Christ.

Being around Jesus isn't the same as belonging to Jesus.

2. I Know I'm Saved Because My Life Is Changing

This is where we need balance.

You don't change your life to get saved.

Jesus saves you, and then He begins changing your life.

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”

1 John 2:3–4: And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,

John says obedience is evidence that we know Christ.

Obedience is doing what you're told with a good attitude.

1 John 3:9: No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.

John describes a genuine believer as someone who doesn't make a settled practice of sin.

That doesn't mean Christians never sin.

1 John 1:8: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The difference is direction.

Before Christ: “I want my way.”

After Christ: “I want Jesus' way.”

You may still stumble.

You may still struggle.

You may still have temptations.

But there should be a growing desire to follow Christ.

Christian maturity is not perfection. It's progression.

3. I Know I'm Saved Because I Love What God Loves

1 John 3:14:  We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

John says we know we have passed from death to life because we love fellow believers.

1 John 4:19: We love because he first loved us.

“We love because he first loved us.”

When Jesus changes you, He changes what you love.

You begin to develop a love for:

God's Word

prayer

worship

God's people

serving

righteousness

sharing Christ

Again, this doesn't mean you'll always feel like doing those things.

But there is a new desire.

Ask :

Do I love Jesus, or do I just love what Jesus can give me?

Do I want:

forgiveness without repentance?

heaven without holiness?

blessings without obedience?

Christianity without Christ?

Jesus isn't an accessory to your life. He is your life.

4. I Know I'm Saved Because I Never Give Up on Jesus

This is where we address the difficult question:

“What about someone who walks away?”

1 John 2:19: They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

John describes people who left the Christian community and says their departure demonstrated that they were not truly “of us.”

That is a serious warning.

But we need to distinguish between:

A Christian who falls away for a season

and

A person who ultimately rejects Christ.

Peter denied Jesus in Luke 22:54–62, but Peter came back to the Lord.

Jesus restored him in John 21:15–19.

So a Christian can:

struggle,

doubt,

fall into serious sin,

become spiritually cold,

wander.

God's grace and love pursues His children.

Hebrews 12:6: For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.

God disciplines those He loves.

Discipline means = to educate, instruct, train

Philippians 1:6: And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

God will complete the good work He began.

5. Can I Lose My Salvation?

Jesus' answer: John 10:27–29:  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

Jesus says His sheep hear His voice; He knows them; they follow Him; and no one can snatch them from His hand.

Romans 8:38–39: For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing in creation can separate us from God's love in Christ.

So can a genuine Christian sin?

Absolutely.

Can a genuine Christian fall badly?

Yes.

Can a genuine Christian struggle with doubt?

Yes.

Does salvation depend on a Christian maintaining perfect performance?

No.

Our salvation rests on Christ.

But here's the warning:

Don't use eternal security as an excuse to live in sin.

Romans 6:1–2: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Paul says God's grace is not permission to continue living in sin.

The person who says: “I'm saved, so I can do whatever I want.” has misunderstood salvation.

God’s saving grace doesn't make you want to run away from Jesus, but it teaches you to run toward Jesus.

Do I Believe in Jesus as my Savior?

Go back to 1 John 5:11–12.

John makes it incredibly simple:

If you have the Son, Jesus, you have life.

If you don't have the Son, Jesus, you don't have life.

“Look to Jesus.”

If you're saved, rest in Christ.

If you're struggling, run to Christ.

If you've wandered, come back to Christ.

If you've never trusted Him, trust Christ today.

If you're afraid you aren't saved, don't run away from Jesus, run toward Him.

Final question for the students:

“Do I have the Son?”

Because the promise isn't: “Whoever is perfect has life.”

It's: “Whoever has the Son has life.” 1 John 5:12

And that is where true assurance begins.

Main Idea: Salvation isn't about being perfect; it's about belonging to Jesus.