How Can We Know We Are Saved? How Can We Communicate That to Others?

The book of I John was written for the express purpose of helping us determine whether we are saved or not. Here are some of the tests:
  1. Do we walk in darkness? (I John 1:6) That is not to say that we do not sin because John tells us in I John 1:8 that if the say we don’t sin then the truth isn’t in us. Rather, we should ask ourselves whether we desire to do good or not.
  2. Do we keep his commandments? (I John 2:3) People who are saved are no longer under the law, but they have a desire to do what God has commanded anyway.
  3. Do we lust for the present world? (I John 2:15) What is important to you? Do you want to make lots of money so you can buy a nice home, have the latest technology, go to all the parties, or would you rather be serving the Lord?
  4. Do we believe that Jesus is the Christ? (I John 2:22) Are we trusting Jesus and Jesus alone for our salvation or are we relying on things like the money we give to church, the number of times we read our Bible, the things we do for the poor, even whether our parents were Christians or not?
  5. Are we habitual sinners? (I John 3:6) Those who lead a sinful lifestyle are not saved. Those with are righteous lifestyle are.
  6. Does the world hate us? (I John 3:13) Do the people who love this present world like us or do they think we’re weirdoes because of our commitment to the Lord? We can expect the world to hate us.
  7. Do we love the brethren? (I John 4:20) People who are save have a natural love for other people who are saved. Do we love God and keep his commandments?
  8. Is the Holy Spirit living within us? (I John 5:12) Everyone who has fellowship with the Holy Spirit of God. We feel his guiding presence, telling us the difference between right and wrong, helping us to desire the things of God. Anyone who doesn’t have that isn’t saved.

As for how one can communicate that to someone else: anyone can say that they are saved and on the surface we would take their word for it. However, the Bible says that we will know them by their fruit. If a person says they are saved, but they have no desire to get involved in church, they have no desire to win others to the Lord, they have no desire to study the Bible, they so no indication of a love for God or other people, and they live a sinful lifestyle, people will begin to doubt that person is saved, no matter what the person might say.

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