Look at these promises in the Bible. Remembering them would help
you resist any doubt that will recur in your mind.

1. Promise of [Salvation].

a. Man because of his [sin] is separated from God.

Isaiah 59:2 - "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."

b. All our human efforts to reach God (eg. Good works,
Religion, Morality) will always [fail].

Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

c. God [Ioves] us despite of our sinfulness and has
provided the only way to bring people to Himself. He
sent His Son Jesus Christ to [die] for our sins.

Romans 5:8 - "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

1 Peter 3:18 - "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit."

d. We are saved by [believing] in the Lord Jesus and
[confessing] His Lordship with our mouths.

Romans 10:9 - "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Belief is basically commitment. If I believe that the chair can support my weight, I commit myself to it by sitting on it. This means that my will is involved not my feelings. If we will believe, we will be saved. To confess is to tell other people what you believe.

 

2. Promise of [Eternal Life].

a. Those who believe in Jesus Christ are promised eternal life.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. "

b. The purpose of John writing the Scriptures is that we
may believe. And by so believing we will have eternal
life - we will not be condemned and we will conquer
death (eternal separation from God).

John 20:31 - "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

John 5:24 - "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

3. Promise of [Forgiveness] of Sins.

a. When we confess our sins, God will forgive us and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, we
should no longer feel guilty about our sins since God
remembers them no more.

1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Hebrews 10:17 - "Then he adds, 'Their sins and lawless acts I will
remember no more.' "

4. Promise of [Sonship].

a. To those who believe in Jesus Christ, they will
become [Children of God].

John 1:12 - "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God."

b. To those who belong to God, Jesus promised them
eternal life and no one can snatch them out of His
and the Father's hands.

John 10:27-29 - "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand, My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."

c. However, a Christian can lose his/her salvation if he/she does not walk in obedience to God.

Philippians 2:12,13 – "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

5. Promise that God will keep His [WORD]

a. Jesus promised that His Word will never pass away. This means that whatever God has promised in the Bible, He will do. Our faith depends on God's promises as found in the Bible. God's Word is eternal.

Matthew 24:35 - "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

 

C. The Presence of the Holy Spirit

Christians not only have the Bible containing all of God's wonderful promises, but they also have the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives assuring their hearts that they have been saved.

The Holy Spirit lives in us from the moment we invite Jesus to be the Lord and Saviour of our lives.

We received the Spirit of Sonship which testifies that we are God's children.

Romans 8:15,16 - "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."

Here the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of sonship because He is the One who assures us in our hearts that we are children of God. Whenever we pray to God calling Him our Father, it is a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit because only He can enable us to call God, “Father”. The Holy Spirit also enables us to confess Jesus as Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:3 - "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ' Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit."

D. The Proof of a Changed Life

When a person becomes a Christian, he will experience changes in his life. He becomes a new person on the inside.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

These are some of the changes a new believer will experience in his/her life :

1. Inner Peace

Ephesians 2:17 - "He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near."

2. New awareness of sin

John 16:8 - "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement."

3. Victory over sin

Romans 6:6,7 - "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."

4. Desire to read the Bible

1 Peter 2:2,3 - "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

5. Attitude changes

2 Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

6. Sense of forgiveness

1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Hebrews 10:17 - "Then he adds: ' Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.' "

7. New concern for others

1 John 4:11,12 - "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

E. On Your Own

1. Write down the promise you found most meaningful in this study.
Why not spend some time memorising it?

____________________________________________________________

2. What will you do the next time doubts come into your mind?

____________________________________________________________

3. Now take a few moments to thank God for all He has given you in Christ Jesus.

>> Basics 2: Living the Christian Life