1 John 5:13
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13a; emphasis added). You need to understand what salvation is, so that you know that you are saved.
What Is Salvation?
Salvation is the pardon of our sin, and peace with God. (See Romans 5:1,8:1; Colossians 1:20-21.) Salvation is power, through the presence of the Holy Spirit in you. (See John 14:26, Acts 1:8.) And salvation means perfection. Now, this does not mean you will never sin again. God demands perfection (see Matthew 5:48), and the blood of Jesus provides perfection in God’s sight. (see 1 John 1:7.)
Human Nature—as God Created It
When God made man and woman, He made them with three things:
1. Body. That’s obvious.
2. Soul. The Greek word for “soul” is psyche. The soul is you—your mind, emotion, and will.
3. Spirit. The Bible makes a distinction between soul and spirit. (See Hebrews 4:12.) The spirit is what makes you different from animals and plants. It is spirit that enables you to know and worship God. (See John 4:24.) When we are saved, the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are the children of God. (See Romans 8:16.)
God created Adam healthy in body, happy in soul, and holy in spirit.
What Does It Mean to Be Lost?
“The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “Lost” is every man, woman, and child without Christ.
The day Adam ate the fruit, he died immediately in his spirit, progressively in his soul, and ultimately in his body. (See Genesis 2:17.) Lost people are dead. Their minds and bodies are operating, but they are separated from God, cut off from the source of life. You are lost by nature. We inherited that nature from Adam. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Man is never satisfied. He is seeking something to fill a void—though he may not know it, he is trying to reach God. But there is a barrier between himself and God: sin.
How Do You Get Saved?
A Philippian jailer once asked Paul and Silas, “‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household’” (Acts 16:31-31).
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Man cannot bring himself back to God, because of the sin barrier. But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only way to Heaven. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
In every person’s life, there is a throne. By nature, the one sitting on that throne is Self. A Christian is someone who has Christ on that throne. When you are saved, you are justified immediately in your spirit, sanctified progressively in your soul, and glorified ultimately in your body. (See Romans 8:30.)
That is how to be saved, and here is the assurance of your salvation: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).
